《I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship, so I Became a Space Mercenary》 Chapter 627.2 After our conversation, a maid brought us some tea. Mei and I returned to the ck Lotus after finishing it. What? Why didn¡¯t we join in the fight against the Bradys when we brought the battle bots with us? That¡¯s fair enough, but Hartmut himself told me, ¡°It¡¯s my duty as governor to destroy the bandits, and I¡¯m going to do it myself.¡± I appreciate his kindness, but I wouldn¡¯t have minded it if he asked me for my help. Well, putting myself in danger with no reward would be ridiculous, and simply pointless¡­ If I had to point out any benefit that I could gain from this, it would be improving my battle senses by stepping into the line of death. Since my current situation was not like a game where I could simply level up after some simplebat, in the end I would need to take risks to gain any benefit, that¡¯s why I decided to leave the rest to Hartmut. ¡°Ah, wee back, Hiro-sama! You¡¯re back early, huh?¡± (Mimi) ¡°Well, it was decided that I would not be participating in destroying Bradys. I¡¯ve also talked to Hartmut. Regarding the pandemic, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s probably going to get under control soon, so I think it¡¯s about time we leave this colony¡­¡± ¡°Big Bro! How did it go!?¡± (Tina) ¡°¨COh you see- ugah!?¡± I was talking to Mimi, but when Tina heard my voice, she came running out of the cafeteria and tackled me in the side of my head when I was just about to reply to her. ¡°Calm down¡­I¡¯ve talked to Hartmut, and he finally said he¡¯ll take heed of my words and act ordingly. But, yes, he said he wants to make Aylia happy in the end. He also told me that he likes Aylia not only for her looks but also for her heart, so I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any need to worry about her. The rest is just a matter of what they will do about it.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­okay. Thanks, Big Bro.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± I pat Tina on the head. I was d to see that she finally understood what I meant before. It was time to say goodbye to this colony, and it was also time to have Linda be returned to Aylia in the colony. ¡°Oh, where¡¯s Dr. Shoko? I haven¡¯t seen her in thest couple of days.¡± ¡°She¡¯s holed up in herb. Should I call her?¡± ¡°No, I hope she¡¯s okay, but what the heck is she doing?¡± Curious, I decided to visit Dr. Shoko¡¯sb. What in the world was she doing in herb for two days? ¡°Dr. Shoko? What are you¡­oh¡­¡± ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Dr. Shoko¡¯sb was covered in mushrooms. No, they were not growing all over the ce, but each nt was kept in a case, but there were a lot of them. Not just ten or twenty but much more. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± ¡°Ahh¡­ I was wondering if there was any way to breed the mushrooms that caused the spread of pathogens and then render those pathogens harmless. I¡¯ve been doing a lot of trial and error so far, and from that, I¡¯ve developed a cure for humans. However, if we don¡¯t eliminate the source of the pandemic, it will never be contained, right? That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been tinkering around to see if I could create a mushroom that would counteract those mushrooms that spread the pathogen.¡± ¡°I see¡­? Will it work?¡± ¡°Well, yes. It might work, but we¡¯d have to contaminate the colony with a new breed of fungus in exchange. I doubt it would be approved.¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think so!¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± Dr. Shokoughed as she said so. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve finished designing a purification nanomachine that targets only the pathogen in question, so we can use that instead. But it¡¯s still difficult to control when used on living organisms.¡± ¡°I see¡­? Then, do you think the pandemic of this colony can be dealt with?¡± ¡°If we use a special medicine and purification nanomachines together, I think we can stop it right away. Oh, I¡¯vepiled the data and samples, so please take care of them. I¡¯m going to take a shower and have a good night¡¯s sleep. Fuaaah¡­¡± Saying that, Dr. Shoko shoved a sturdy-looking container that looked like it could hold a bunch of stuff onto me. After that, she yawned and left theb. ¡°¡­Now that I think about it, isn¡¯t Dr. Shoko the most dangerous person on this ship?¡± I shuddered as I felt the weight of the container I had received. Chapter 0: Prologue I woke up to freezing coldness. It was dark and cold. Where is this ce? I opened my eyes and looked around, only to find a veritable ocean of stars before me. It was my first time seeing such an amazingly grand starry sky. There were bright and dim stars, a colorful neb and an asteroid field which seemed surprisingly close by. ¡°What the hell?!¡± Asteroids, which looked like a bunch of scattered floating rocky debris, were practically right before my very eyes. The heck! I¡¯m sure there¡¯s no ce on Earth where you can actually see these things from this up close. It¡¯s quitemon to see this type of scenery in games and movies though. But it¡¯s absolutely impossible to see them from a distance which made them visible to the naked eye for real. ¡°A dream¡­? No, this biting cold¡ª¡± The bone piercing coldness just felt way too real. The feeling of being lightheaded right after waking up and this rising sense of uneasiness also seemed eerily real. ¡°Just where is this ce anyway¡­?¡± The ce where I¡¯m currently at doesn¡¯t seem to be very big. Am I sitting on some sort of chair? There¡¯s something like a seatbelt installed¡­¡­ Wait up. Instead of that, what is this weird floaty sensation? Just what the hell is going on here?! Because I was suddenly thrown into an unknown situation, I was close to having a panic attack, but my eyes gradually got used to the darkness. ¡°This is¡­¡­¡± A familiar interface came before my eyes. Yeah, this room¡­ No, this cockpit was really familiar. ¡°This was the game¡¯s¡­ Krishna¡¯s cockpit? Is this actually a dream after all?¡± No matter how I look at it, this seems to be the cockpit of the custom ship I had in a game I¡¯ve been ying for a couple of years now¡ª the Krishna. The game was an MMO called [Ste Online]. It was a game designed with a lot of freedom afforded to the yers. It was set in a vast universe where you could go on grand adventures, enlist yourself as a mercenary and make your mark on the battlefield, purchase a fully armed spaceship and engage in interster escort missions and the like. It was a game where a lot of yers with different y styles gathered and interacted. I yed a standard Mercenary style. In order to purchase a high spec battleship with strongbat ability, I did any and every possible job which could earn me in-game currency, such as bing a transporter-for-hire. I generally yed with the goal of earning enough to get a ship with a certain level ofbat ability, followed by farming credits once again by undertaking mercenary work with the said ship and then finally recing my current ship with a newer, better one. Ad nauseam. That kind of thing. My current ship, the Krishna, was something which got released from an in-game event a few months back. yers had to bring their A-game in order to get one for themselves. It was still rtively new. Its official model name was the [ASX-08 Krishna]. It was quite a unique ship and I simply just called it Krishna. It was a dangerous machine thatbined the maneuverability and speed of a small craft and the firepower of a heavy cruiser. Depending on the situation, even shooting down a full-fledged warship was doable. ¡°Anyways¡­¡± I operated the touch panel interface of the ship¡¯s controls and brought the life support systems online. Warm air soon permeated throughout the cockpit. ¡°That was close¡­ If I lost consciousness again in that situation, I would¡¯ve suffocated to death!¡± Evidence of oxygen depletion inside the ship was still present on a small screen which disyed the temperature and oxygen levels. It indicated the average temperature within the whole ship was now slightly below minus 10 degrees. For now, I¡¯ve managed to avert a life-threatening situation, even if I still don¡¯t have any idea about what¡¯s going on. ¡°Really now. What¡¯s with all this shit?¡± I crossed my arms and sank in thought while gazing at the bright cockpit controls before me. No matter how I look at it, this really is inside the cockpit of my personal starship in the game Ste Online. I¡¯ve heard of guys dreaming about being inside the games they¡¯ve been ying sometimes. Things like ying horror games and ending up dreaming of being chased by terrifying creatures or ying sword and sorcery RPGs and dreaming of ying monsters with one¡¯s own sword in hand. It was amon enough story. ¡°But am I currently having a lucid dream or something?¡± A lucid dream is a dream during which the dreamer is aware that they¡¯re dreaming. But I also heard one often wakes up after realizing they were just having a lucid dream¡­ The problem is, there¡¯s no sign of me waking up at all. Moreover, the gradually increasing warmth inside this cockpit and the other sensations I¡¯m experiencing all over my body felt nothing like a dream as well. ¡°Hmm¡­?¡± Even after mulling over my current situation over and over again, no definite answer came to mind. I tried pinching my cheeks and poking my head. They were definitely painful. Is this not a dream after all? No, that can¡¯t be. Right? I thought it seemed surprisingly easy to operate, so I tried it and managed to maneuver Krishna just fine. I had a little trouble with the foot pedals and the control stick because I was so used to controlling the ship with a keyboard and mouse, but I managed to get the hang of them after a while. Since I was now controlling the ship directly, it became possible to perform more detailed maneuvers. ¡°There really isn¡¯t no sign of me waking up huh?¡± I repeatedly elerated and decelerated and genuinely felt my body pressing onto the seat due to the constant shifts in speed and the seatbelt digging into me due to inertia. But my stubborn head still refused to wake up from this absurd dream. ¡°Alrighty, let¡¯s try firing off some weapons then.¡± I¡¯m actually starting to get into this shit. I brought the weapon systems online and activated the ship¡¯s ordnance. Afterward, a part of the ship¡¯s hull transformed and four maniptor arms came out. The maniptor arms each had a military-grade pulseser cannon equipped. They were considered to be the weapons sporting the most firepower in Ste Online, and were sometimes called Heavy Lasers. And I had four of these bad boys with me. In addition, two gun barrels extended out from both sides of the cockpit. These wererge-caliber canister-shot cannons and were called shotgun cannons in the game. They fire off powerful canister rounds that scatter highly destructive shards and were optimal during closebat. Most small warships would get wrecked from two well-ced shots. I had another ¡®trump card¡¯ on hand, but I don¡¯t n on firing it at all. That¡¯s because its ammo was way too expensive. ¡°Alright, here we go!¡± I locked on to arge asteroid nearby and fired the fourser cannons. ¡°Whoah!?¡± The azure energy beams fired by the four cannons directly hit the asteroid in question and utterly destroyed it in one shot. Its fragments scattered and hit the energy shield deployed around Krishna and caused the shield to flux. ¡°That was quite the firepower¡­¡± So this was the power of a heavyser that¡¯s able to deplete a warship¡¯s energy shield in seconds andpletely destroy it after directly piercing its hull¡­ It sure wasn¡¯t half-assed. And with this, I can¡¯t keep running away from the issue any longer. I gotta acknowledge this situation as ¡®reality¡¯. This was no dream. It was as real as it gets. Chapter 1: - First?Battle # 001- First Battle I couldn¡¯t wake up even after repeatedly pinching my cheeks, which hurt as expected. The resulting Gs from speeding up and slowing down made me suffer, and I managed topletely wreck an asteroid using heavyser cannons. Its fragments rained down on the ship but were blocked by an energy shield. From all these crazy things that happened to me so far, it seems I have no choice but to acknowledge my present situation. But once I do, It¡¯ll bring a whole host of other problems. Just why did all this happen to someone like me? I don¡¯t understand at all. I can¡¯t think of any possible reason how I managed to get myself wrapped up in this kind of crazy situation. ¡°Just what did I do yesterday anyway?¡± I should have gone to work like usual, came back from work like usual, ate my meal like usual, took a shower, yed some games and went straight to sleep. I didn¡¯t get hit by the ever omnipresent truck-san or receive a mysterious message on theputer I use to y games. ¡°I really don¡¯t get this.¡± But there¡¯s really no useining. Let¡¯s think positive. If all this is true, then it seems I managed to get myself transported to the world of Ste Online. So wouldn¡¯t it be possible for me to live freely as a mercenary just like when I was ying the game? To not be tied down by anything and only relying on ones own power. Yep, sounds pretty good. It sounds a hundred times better than awork management job with next to no prospects of promotion. Seems I can make pretty good use of my gaming skills too. Great, I¡¯m feeling much better already. Sometimes, you just gotta enjoy whatever jam you find yourself in. Yup. Let¡¯s do just that. I¡¯m a bit uneasy, but let¡¯s try ignoring that feeling as much as possible. Ignorance is bliss. Well then, since that¡¯s decided¡­ where the heck am I anyway? I tried to confirm my coordinates on the Gxy Map only to find the words NO DATA being disyed. I totally have no clue about where I am and what¡¯s out there. Man, this is real bad. Anyways, the universe is quite vast. It wasn¡¯t a ce where you could simply wander around while expecting things to somehow go your way without any definite info on hand. In the Ste Online MMO, yers still haven¡¯t managed to reach the center of the gxy even though four years have passed since the game went live. I don¡¯t know if the situation was the same in this universe, but I think it would be safer to assume it had the same scale. I temporarily gave up on confirming my current location and proceeded to check on the status of the ship. I didn¡¯t really have any bounties put up against me. Guess that¡¯s a good thing, considering my current circumstances. I won¡¯t be suddenly caught by Sector Patrol and forced to eat rotten food in jail or anything of the sort. Next, I checked my current registered affiliation and avable funds. I was apparently unaffiliated. I was an out and out civilian who doesn¡¯t even belong to the Mercenary Guild. My registered Captain Name seems to be the same with the one I used in-game. And my total wealth was a whopping 0 Enel. What the heck? I sure am one dirt poor sob. ¡°All that money I painstakingly saved¡­¡± I muttered in despair as I proceeded to check the ship¡¯s cargo. ¡°Let¡¯s see how much food there is avable¡­¡± When I operated the touch panel disy, I was able to confirm that the minimum amount of food and water have been safely stored inside the cargo hold. How conscientious. Just who prepared this for me, I wonder? I had no idea. There were also a few rounds of scattershot shells and two spare energy packs for the ship. ¡°And there¡¯s also some rare metals huh¡­ That¡¯s quite a lot. This is bad.¡± What¡¯s wrong with this stuff, you ask? Well, first I¡¯ll have to exin about Ste Online¡¯s in-game currency. In the world of Ste Online, physical banknotes and coins have been long obsolete, and an electronic currency called Enel was the trading medium widely used all throughout the gxy. Enel exchange was pretty simple and convenient, but since it¡¯s an e-currency, there was a need to keep track and regte all transaction records involving it. Let¡¯s go back to the topic of rare metals. Rare metals were, as the name implied, valuable resource materials which were extremely scarce in amount across the gxy. They could be exchanged for lots of Enel at almost any colony or space station. In short, they were just like gold, silver or precious jewels on Earth. Since trading directly with materials involved a whole lot of trouble, this method was only used by shady folk who wished to avoid being traced back through conventional Enel exchanges. So I think you guys already have an idea after me telling this much, but let me spell it out for you anyway. Carrying this much rare metal would make me a pretty tempting target for folks engaged in a particr line of ¡®work¡¯. In game terms, the encounter rate for hostile NPCs would shoot through the roof. [Warning. We are being scanned by an unidentified ship.] The support AI installed on Krishna gave out a warning. ¡°Well, that was fast¡­¡± Just because I was scanned without warning didn¡¯t mean the other party were definitely space pirates. It may be that it was a mistake due to my ship having a malfunction. Or maybe the other party was just someone who¡¯s passing by and just happened to scan me. Right. Let¡¯s not kid ourselves. I¡¯m most probably being scanned because I was he suspicious. An unknown ship containing a boatload of valuable and difficult to acquire materials moored in the middle of a deste space sector was definitely suspicious as heck. They were probably suspecting me of being in the middle an illegal trade with criminal elements using rare metals or something. [The unknown ship has brought its weapon systems online.] Ah, how heartless Lady Luck is. Looks like she wasn¡¯t inclined to bless me with her smile this time. The odds of suddenly getting threatened with weapons at the ready by an opponent who doesn¡¯t even seem to be a bounty hunter right in the middle of nowhere was supposed to be a low 1 in 10 chance, yet here we were. ¡°Hey there, brotha. You taking a nap in a ce like this?¡± ¡°Ha- Ahahaha. There¡¯s actually nothing of interest here folks. Now please don¡¯t mind me and hurry along.¡± ¡°Huh? Don¡¯t say that brotha. Isn¡¯t it a good thing that we¡¯ve luckily managed to meet each other within this vast universe? How bout ya share some of the cargo ya have there with us poor folk. Ya do that and we won¡¯t give ya much trouble, kay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to refuse. How about I sell some off to you for a good price?¡± In the middle of our negotiations, three other unidentified ships suddenly warped out and arrived at the sector we were located on. All of their weapons were already deployed and were primed for firing at a moments notice. When they closed in enough, info on the three unknowns appeared on my monitor¡¯s screen. Their overall build was a great, heaping mess of haphazard modules forcefully joined together. All of them had moderate cargo capacity and were fairly capable of fielding weapons. It was just that their maintenance seemed severelycking. There were lots of scratches and dents on them. They really looked like your typical pirate ships. ¡°Hm? Now that¡¯s quite an unfamiliar ship model. Where¡¯d the shipe from, kid?¡± ¡°Noment.¡± I scanned the unknown enemy ships as well while thinking they were most probably bona fide space pirates. Yep, that¡¯s a hit alright. Every ship had a bounty of 5,000 to 8,000 Enel. ¡°Hah, you¡¯ve scanned us huh? Well, can¡¯t be helped. Just hand over all yer cargo. Ya do that kid and I¡¯ll at least leave ya with yer life intact.¡± ¡°Hah¡­ Guess I really gotta do this huh?¡± I started to harden my resolve while gradually raising the energy output of the main generator from normal level to battle level. What am I resolving myself for? Well, for massacring some unfortunate folks of course. This rare metal was extremely important to me. People can¡¯t live without money after all. If I were to get threatened with weapons in order to forcefully take these babies away from me, then I¡¯ll have to respond in kind, in virtue of self defense. In other words, that means thoroughly crushing these fucking space pirates. ¡°Yep. Atta boy. Ya don¡¯t wanna kick the bucket just yet right?¡± ¡°Yeah. Guess so.¡± It¡¯s obvious what would happen if humans were to lose the protection of ships within the vacuum of space. In the first ce, they¡¯d get done in once they get caught up in a ship¡¯s explosion. Even though I was undoubtedly going to engage in a battle to the death moments away from now, there was no sense of fear within me. Maybe because the ship I¡¯m helming right now was Krishna. The ships the pirates sported used civilian general purpose models as bases and were several generations old. The output of their main generators, shield strength and weaponry were all horriblycking. They weren¡¯t properly maintained and their armor was brittle as fuck. On the other hand, my Krishna was a bona fide military model which has been modified to peak performance by yours truly. The shield output and weapon firepower were lightyears beyond their trashy models, and its armor was also military grade. Let me put this bluntly. There wasn¡¯t even a tiny sliver of a chance that I¡¯ll lose. This wasn¡¯t going to be a battle, but a one sided hunt. Or rather, a deathtrap. The generator output finally reached battle level. ¡°If you guys don¡¯t want to die, then I suggest you surrender. I think I¡¯d probably end up killing you anyway, so don¡¯t hold a grudge, alright?¡± ¡°Ya sure bark hard for someone facing three opponents huh? Ya better not regret this kid!¡± The pirate ships surrounding me turned their bows toward me all at once. In that instant, I fired up Krishna¡¯s throttle to maximum. ¡°Gah!¡± ¡°What the¡ª!?¡± ¡°That¡¯s fast!?¡± While being assaulted by Gs, I operated the touch panel and brought my ship¡¯s weapons online. The shape of Krishna¡¯s streamlined hull transformed and four maniptor arms equipped with pulseser cannons appeared from within. Weapon bays on each side of the cockpit opened up, and two gleamingrge caliber cannon barrels stretched forward. The auxiliary thrusters sted out, allowing the ship to make a sudden reverse turn while preserving all its built up momentum. In mere moments, all four pulseser cannons were aimed straight at the space pirate¡¯s ships. ¡°The bastard just transformed!!!¡± The military grade pulseser cannons fired in session and easily pierced the shield and physical armor of a pirate ship, causing a series of explosions within its hull. Its cockpit seems to have been burnt to a crisp as well. ¡°With just one attack!?¡± I wordlessly elerated and took the rear of a fleeing pirate ship. The heavy Gs caused my field of vision to darken. I fired the pulseser cannons again once I felt a bit better. ¡°N¡ª No! I don¡¯t wanna die! I don¡¯t wanna die! I don¡¯t¡ª!!!¡± The four pulseser cannon energy beams effortlessly smashed through the shield and ruthlessly pierced through the main boosters of the pirate ship whose pilot was crying desperately for dear life. When the beams reached the main generator, the second ship also exploded to bits. ¡°Ya fucking bastaaard! I¡¯ll fucking kill ya!¡± The third ship didn¡¯t choose to flee, but challenged me to a dogfight instead. Does he want to get even after seeing his friends get killed? There¡¯s almost no way to effectively avoidser cannon fireunching out at the speed of light. So what does one do instead? Move erratically so your opponent couln¡¯t get a proper lock. ¡°Guh!? Arrgh¡­!¡± I controlled Krishna to make random maneuvers by using the various auxiliary thrusters while interchangeably elerating and decelerating constantly. I might throw up from this. ¡°Shit! Ya sure are one slippery bastard!¡± The space pirate adjusted his firing angle ordingly andunched off some shots towards me. It was an action I¡¯d never encountered in the game. As I thought, this really wasn¡¯t a dream, and the one riding inside that thing was a human just like me. It honestly made me feel like vomiting. Perhaps my urge to vomit had an influence on my handling of Krishna, or maybe the pirate¡¯s aiming adjustments managed to catch up to my evasive maneuvers, butser cannon fire finally managed to hit Krishna dead on. ¡°It¡ª It didn¡¯t even flinch!?¡± The redser fired off by the pirate ship waspletely blocked by Krishna¡¯s energy shield, and could not even leave any burn marks on its armor. Guess that settles it huh? I started to elerate towards the pirate ship with its bow pointing towards me. The pirate ship also rushed towards me. It was like a chicken race. The pirate ship frantically fired off itsser cannons in ast ditch effort, but it was ultimately futile. Even if the shots managed to hit Krishna, they couldn¡¯t even get past its energy shield. ¡°S¡ª Stooop! Mommy¡ª!¡± Before I crashed into it, I maneuvered out of the opposing ship¡¯s way, and fired off two canister rounds straight at it the moment our units passed each other by. The shards shot out at super-high speed and broke through the pirate ship¡¯s energy shield, punching its hull full of holes. Swiss cheese is ready to be served. ¡°Hah! Haaah, ha¡­¡± I rapidly brought the ship around and adjusted my messy breathing while gazing at the exploding pirate ship, decreased the generator output back to normal levels and turned the weapon systems offline. The feeling of wanting to throw up had settled down before I knew it. Were my insides just shaken up from all those reckless maneuvers? It wasn¡¯t something caused by any sort of psychological aversion? Hm, I seem to be made of tougher stuff than I gave myself credit for. ¡°I didn¡¯t manage to wake up even after experiencing all this stuff. Guess this truly is ¡®reality¡¯ huh¡­¡± I can¡¯t sink into negative thoughts. Let¡¯s think positively. Positive. Otherwise, I¡¯d die. Mentally, that is. Chapter 2: – Battle’s?Aftermath # 002 ¨C Battle¡¯s Aftermath ¡°Well, this sure is troublesome.¡± Alright, I¡¯ll admit it. This isn¡¯t some dream. But it¡¯ll be really troublesome moving forward. As for why it¡¯s troublesome, that¡¯s because I have absolutely no clue what to do from now on. Before I had a handle on what was going on, I found myself all alone inside a spaceship smack dab in the middle of space. I don¡¯t know how I got here. I don¡¯t even know if there was any method to go back home. ¡°Maybe there was a cutting-edge VR device capable of full immersion being developed in secret and I somehow got involved and am now in full-dive or something?¡± I tried messing around with the console and pulled up the menu. ¡°Log out!¡± I screamed, but there was nothing resembling a logout menu that came up. There was nothing which could take me away from this present version of reality. How heartless. In this situation which I can only describe as annoying, I can do little else apart from trying to adapt as much as possible. Humans are adaptable creatures. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll work out somehow. ¡°If I change my line of thinking, things may not be so bad after all.¡± I have my personal machine with me, and my piloting skills don¡¯t seem to be half bad as well. Most of all, I¡¯ve personally confirmed that this ship has enough firepower to crush any random space pirate ship whiches my way. If so, then living as a mercenary, like in the game Ste Online was quite doable. Fortunately, I have enough supplies inside the cargo hold, so I should be able to earn some money hunting down pirates with this ship and my piloting skills. Furthermore, the total bounty for the pirates I managed to scan and destroy earlier amounts to 19,000 Enel. I don¡¯t have a grasp of the general market prices in this world yet, but the bounty for fully armed pirate ships shouldn¡¯t be too bad. Considering the market prices in the Ste Online game, 19,000 Enel wasn¡¯t nearly enough to purchase a spaceship. But replenishing this ship¡¯s energy, ammo, supplies and paying for maintenance should all be within budget, with some room to spare. ¡°Oh yeah. I gotta retrieve some data and supplies first.¡± In Ste Online, you could plunder the wreckage of the pirate ships you destroyed for supplies and data caches. You usually won¡¯t get a lot of money, but there were surprising finds sometimes. By analyzing the data caches, it¡¯s possible to obtain info about the surrounding space sector. If you¡¯re lucky, you might even get to obtain the coordinates of the pirate¡¯s main base. Once you obtain the coordinates of the pirate base, you could initiate an attack and destroy them in order to plunder all the treasures they¡¯ve managed to save up. Alternatively, you can sell the info to the Sector Guards stationed in the system in exchange for a hefty reward. Both are quite profitable prospects. I piloted Krishna and stripped away all supplies, data caches and rtively undamaged weaponry from the pirate ship wreckages. Ste Online spacecraft came standard with drones for collecting materials. Naturally, my Krishna also came equipped with them. ¡°There¡¯s nothing particrly valuable huh.¡± The pirate¡¯s supplies mainly consisted of low-quality junk food and brewed liquor. Although brewed liquor sells at a reasonable value, depending on the local space empire governing the star system, there were times when they were deemed illegal goods. This item was quite the hot-potato. Well, even if they¡¯re illegal goods, the worst that could happen if I get caught with them was the liquor getting confiscated and me getting an earful from the local authorities. It would have been quite dangerous if they had illegally captured ves or drugs on-board instead. On top of them getting confiscated, you¡¯d get pped with hefty fines, get banished from the star system or worse, get attacked by the Sector Guards on sight. ¡°Oh.¡± The data cache was a hit. In addition to the coordinates of the main space stations in this star system, I also got the location of the pirate base. Even if I just decided to sell this info, it¡¯ll me a considerable amount more than the total bounty of those three pirate ships I shot down earlier. Apparently, there were no habitables in this particr star system based on the data I¡¯ve obtained. There seem to be a lot of asteroid belts rich in mineral resources, and it looks like mining bases and space prisons (where they force prisoners to mine in a harsh environments) and trading colonies were scattered throughout the system instead. ¡°There¡¯s no data for the other neighboring star systems huh¡­¡± Unfortunately, only the data for this particr star system was avable, and I couldn¡¯t find any map data for the ones surrounding it. I still don¡¯t know where exactly in the gxy this star system was located. In order to find that out, I¡¯d have to connect to an informationwork on a station or colony nearby. ¡°If I have to go to one, then it¡¯ll definitely have to be a trading colony.¡± For the time being, I inputted a course for thergest trading colony nearby. ording to the info I just obtained, there was a Sector Guard base located there too. It would be convenient if I managed to im the bounty money and sell off the info regarding the pirate headquarters there. I set the main generator output to cruise mode and pointed the bow towards the direction of the trading colony. The throttle gradually increased, and after sufficient eleration was reached, the FTL Drive was activated. ¡°Whoah!¡­¡± The scenery before my eyes suddenly stretched out, and the stars, which looked like spots of light earlier, turned into shining lines which flowed backwards. I wasn¡¯t knowledgeable about the technical details regarding the FTL Drive, and Ste Online also didn¡¯t borate on it much, but this function was mainly used for travelling between distant coordinates within star systems. I confirmed that the scenery I was gazing at from inside the cockpit was actually moving, so I think it simply was something like moving at extremely tremendous speeds. Since the ship didn¡¯t crash into space debris or asteroid fields along the way, I¡¯m guessing it also makes use of a special evasion program or technology as well. By the way, this Krishna is also equipped with the function to navigate between different star systems themselves. It¡¯s called Hyperdrive, and it makes use of a subspace corridor as a shortcut to travel at speeds much faster than light in order to reach other star systems. Of course, I have no idea about the theories involved either. It¡¯s important for both the game and the yers to have a method to travel between different star systems, so don¡¯t ask about how it works cause it just does dude! It was that kind of thing. I don¡¯t really care either way since I¡¯m not a Sci-fi otaku or anything¡­ There¡¯s also a hyper long distance travelling method which makes use of wormhole gates. These are usually managed by NPC-run space empires, and its use was oftentimes severely restricted. Some yers seemed to have gained ess by increasing their contributions to the local space empires in their respective spheres of activity, but a solo-y mercenary like me didn¡¯t have ess to that particr method. I passed by a gas giant while thinking about the wonders of space travel. I suddenly had the urge to stop the FTL drive to take in the magnificent cosmic sights, but I managed to hold myself back and continued to rush towards the trading colony. If I dicked around like that, there was a good chance I¡¯d be attacked by space pirates again. What¡¯s needed to be prioritized right now was not satisfying my intellectual curiosity, but reaching the trading colony within a safe zone as soon as possible and obtaining more information. Afterwards, I¡¯ll have plenty of time to observe giant gass, asteroid fields and any other mysterious cosmic sight I¡¯d never had the opportunity to see in person before. Yeah, that¡¯ll be the case. At least, I hope it would be. I didn¡¯t have any particr fixation towards things involving sci-fi or space, but even I would feel like sightseeing when presented with such magnificent sceneries. Space is actually quite a lonely ce. I should treasure this newfound sense of curiosity from now on. While I was busy mulling over my feelings towards the greater universe, Krishna¡¯s support AI informed me that we were nearing the trading colony. I tried to brace myself for the moment when the FTL Drive gets deactivated, but it went smoother than expected. What about the effects of inertia? Perhaps the ship is equipped with a system which effectively nullifies it or something. I operated the cockpit¡¯s side disy like usual and sent a docking request to the hangar bay of the trading colony. [This is the Port Administration Department of Colony ¨C Termaine Prime. We¡¯ve received your docking request. Um, Captain¡­? I¡¯m sorry, but the data about your identification seems to be corrupted.] ¡°Eh? Ah¡­ this ship¡¯s official designation is the Krishna. My name is¡ª¡± Name. Name, huh? My real name¡¯s something somon you¡¯d find a hundred others named like me if you bothered to look so¡­ ¡­I¡¯ll just use the in-game name I confirmed earlier instead. ¡°It¡¯s Hiro. I¡¯m Captain Hiro.¡± Thus, a mercenary named Captain Hiro was born in this gxy. It was August 10, 2397 of the Gran Imperial Calendar. *TL note ¨C Regarding Hiro¡¯s name choice: The raws have his in-game name in katakana, which is usually used to write loan words from English and other foreignnguages. So, it may seem that Hiro is just your typical Japanese name, but the context is that he¡¯s using a foreign sounding name and not your normal Japanese one. Still confused? Don¡¯t worry and just roll with it lol Chapter 3: – Interrogation and?Serena-sama # 003 ¨C Interrogation and Serena-sama Well then, I guess it¡¯s about time to talk a little bit about me, a guy formerly named Takahiro Satou. Japanese. Born and bred in Hokkaido. Twenty-seven years old. Single. After finishing high school, studied and graduated from a local technical university and worked for a localpany soon after. I dated a woman I managed to hook up with on the in my college days, but it was a long distance rtionship and we soon broke up. I was hired as an in-housework administrator just because I could use a PC fairly well, but I had no specialized knowledge so I had to learn everything from scratch as I went about work. I spent my days cracking down on employees essing news sites, mail order sites and suspicious browser games and ero-sites during working hours. My hobby is gaming. Just gaming. I had broad tastes, and I yed just about every genre from both Japanese and Western titles. I became addicted to a certain FPS game and managed to be the Scoring King and a Single Digit Ranker after piling up copious amounts of effort for a considerable amount of time. There wasn¡¯t enough leeway to take the overall number 1 spot, but I was in the running for number 1 or 2 in Japan at the time. I spent my days fragging mooks so much that my gaze turned into something my co-workers described as ¡°super sharp and way too scary¡±. But those days were eventually reced by times spent adventuring all over the vast universe when Ste Online went live. I also got into it quite a lot. That¡¯s about all I can say about me¡­ Oh, and my favorite food is carbonated drinks. I can¡¯t get enough of that feeling when the bubbly goodness goes down my throat. Well then, I¡¯ve been talking a lot of nonsense, but what really is my current situation right now? ¡°So tell me sir, just where did you get a hold of thisrge amount of rare metals?¡± ¡°Like I told you, they¡¯re something I acquired from the pirates I managed to shoot down earlier. What other exnation do you want?¡± I was now being grilled by the port authorities. It was great that brewed alcohol wasn¡¯t an illegal item on this particr colony, but my stash of rare metals was being thoroughly investigated. And honestly, no matter how much they questioned me about how I managed to get them, I actually had absolutely no idea myself, so I had no other choice but to downy the matter and hope for the best. My current identity was that of a self-proimed mercenary without any official affiliation. I had nothing on me which could confirm my identity. What if such a tantly shady guy suddenly turned up and brought in arge amount of rare metals? Utterly suspicious. It was a matter totally reeking of suspiciousness. The officer in charge of port security strictly interrogating such a guy was definitely within reason. ¡°¡­¡­Do you really have no intention of telling me where the heck they¡¯re from sir?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already told you about how I got this stuff way earlier man. I¡¯m really starting to get tired of this meaningless back-and-forth convo officer.¡± It really feels like this guy¡¯s deliberately talking in circles. Is he waiting for me to get pissed off and slip out some useful info or something? Or is he after something else entirely? Like hush money maybe. The heck? When I made a gesture implying that I¡¯m willing to fork something out under the table, the reaction I got was ¡°Are you trying to drag me down with you by offering that huh? You¡¯re thinking of either threatening me or begging me to let you off by using that as leverage aren¡¯t you?¡± Seems like trying to make a deal with this kind of straightced fellow was just a waste of time. So what should I do now¡­? While I was in the middle of mulling over my options, the door of the interrogation room suddenly opened without so much as a knock and someone walked straight in. It was a young woman. No, it would also be appropriate to call her a young girl. And she was totally hot too. She held a dignified posture, had lustrous blonde hair and ruby red eyes. She was d in a crisp white military uniform wrapped by a red mantle and sported a sheathed sword on her dainty waist. Her visage looked very much like an ideal female knight or a beautiful warmaiden. She gave an impression if being ady of few words, but I managed to notice a sharp, predatory glint sh within the depths of her eyes for a moment. Looks like she was ady who can¡¯t be judged solely on her appearance. ¡°Serena-sama! Why are you in a ce such as this mydy?¡± ¡°I saw an unfamiliar ship parked on the Hangar Bay. Is he the ship owner?¡± ¡°Uh- Err-¡° The port officer, who suddenly became all jittery, handed over something which looked like a tablet terminal to the female soldier named Serena. Her gaze then turned towards me after looking over the contents disyed by the terminal. ¡°This is quite arge amount of rare metals. You didn¡¯t happen to procure all of this illegally now, did you?¡± ¡°I swear on my life I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ A self-styled mercenary unregistered with the Mercenary Guild who just managed to shoot down some pirates huh. Do you have anything else you wish to report perhaps?¡± ¡°I have some data regarding the coordinates of their main base on my ship. I obtained it from analyzing the data caches of the pirates I shot down. I was originally nning on handing over this info along with iming the bounty rewards for those pirate ships, but when our dear officer got a look at my cargo items, I was suddenly pulled into here.¡± I spoke in a way that emphasized how troublesome my current circumstances were while shrugging my shoulders at the female soldier in front of me. I guess she¡¯s someone directly affiliated with the Sector Military Police. It seemed like her rank¡¯s way above our dear port officer here, so I nned on showing her a fully cooperative attitude so she would consider letting me off. ¡°There¡¯s no evidence indicating that his cargo is stolen goods, correct?¡± ¡°Y- Yes, that¡¯s right. But still-¡° ¡°Well then, it should be fine to let him go. I believe he ns to unload all his cargo on this colony, correct? Considering the difficulty of procuring rare metal supplies nowadays, I don¡¯t think this poses any issues to be particrly concerned about, right?¡± ¡°H- However¡­¡­¡± ¡°However? Do you have any other opinion you wish to share with me, the daughter of Marquis Horuz?¡± ¡°No, but mydy¡­¡± ¡°Speaking of which, I¡¯ve recently received some reports about a port officer who has been making it difficult for ships to unload their cargo inside this colony without handing over some sort of bribe first.¡± The female soldier named Serena smiled beatifically at the port officer. The port officer who was being smiled to was trembling in trepidation. I was also trembling involuntarily. This was the first time I felt a smile was actually scary. ¡°I- I would never do such a thing!¡± ¡°We are going to acquire some rare metals at a reasonable price, this self-styled mercenary who has managed to shoot down pirates will im his reward and receive some Enel, and he is going to use that Enel to purchase things from our colony afterwards. With this, everyone will stand to benefit; do you not think so?¡± ¡°Y- Yes, ma¡¯am! You¡¯re absolutely correct! I shall process the required documents immediately!¡± The port officer hurriedly stood up from his seat and went out of the interrogation room. Nah, it looked more like he was escaping for dear life. I ended up all alone in the room with the female soldier he called as Serena-sama. Serena gazed at the fleeing figure of the port officer for a few moments and then turned her attention back to me. ¡°My apologies. He¡¯s a little too serious regarding his job.¡± ¡°No, well¡­ I admit I actually seem quite suspicious so I guess it couldn¡¯t be helped.¡± Yeah, I was definitely suspicious so it was inevitable. I don¡¯t have activity records stored in any mercenary guild within the area. Actually, there won¡¯t even be records of my ship in any of the neighboring star systems as well. Moreover, the name data portion of the ship registry was corrupted. They did manage to match my biometric data with those recorded on the ship for authentication, so I somehow managed to keep it from being confiscated, but one small mistake and it would have been taken away. ¡°Yes, so much so that it wouldn¡¯t surprise me if you said you strayed from another far away gxy into this one. How exactly did you manage to arrive on this star system?¡± ¡°There seems to have been an ident while my ship was on Hyperdrive. I¡¯m not sure if the ident was what caused it, but I think I¡¯ve lost most of my memories. While I was still confused about what happened, I was suddenly attacked by pirates. I somehow managed to beat them, looted their cargo and data caches and managed to arrive at this station after analyzing the data. Fortunately, I managed to remember my own name and the fact that I was a mercenary.¡± I talked about myself while mixing truths and lies. I thought about this particr background setting while in the middle of being interrogated by that port officer earlier. There were no parts to retort over in particr, but it was a story which can be considered a bit over the top from another person¡¯s perspective. ¡°You¡¯ve lost your memory, you say? Are you actually not a spy from the Vereverem Federation, perhaps?¡± ¡°Now that¡¯s something impossible. But let¡¯s say I really am a spy for that¡­ err¡­ Berebere Federation¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Vereverem Federation.¡± ¡°Right. As a spy for that Vereverem Federation, would it make sense for me to take a shipment of rare metals of unknown origin, board an unidentified ship and casually waltz right inside this Colony? And as an unregistered self-proimed mercenary at that. It¡¯s just too conspicuous. If I were a spymaster, I¡¯d immediately recall that spy after reading up on his absurd mission n and give him a thorough beating.¡± You could also say this was all part of an borate ruse, but that¡¯s just pushing it. ¡°I think I¡¯d also do the same if I were that spymaster.¡± Thedy soldier let out a soft peal ofughter. She¡¯s pretty cute when sheughs like that. But she seems to be the really assertive type, and I¡¯m actually no good with those. ¡°Well, I guess this is good enough. I¡¯m going to get in touch with the Sector Guard headquarters, so please go ahead and feel free to collect your rewards and turn in those data caches.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± She seemed to leave the room sporting a satisfied expression after I bowed to her in honest gratitude¡­ but turned around before she actually made it outside. ¡°You¡¯re one interesting fellow. We will devise a mop up operation using the information you have as reference, so be sure to participate, alright?¡± She gave me a mesmerizing smile and promptly left. It didn¡¯t have that overwhelming aura of coercion like earlier, but I instinctively felt some sort of danger from that beautiful visage. Pirate extermination missions were definitely profitable¡­ but I felt getting involved with her was bad news for some reason. The port officer came back a little bitter and I was finally released from the interrogation room. I¡¯ve gotten quite hungry from the whole ordeal. ¡°Well then, we will proceed with the rare metal exchange. The total price is 2,500,000 Enel. Please confirm.¡± ¡°Yep.¡± I activated a smartphone shaped information terminal and confirmed that 2.5 million Enel has been indeed transferred over to my personal ount. This miniature information device was usually ced inside Krishna¡¯s living quarters and was widely popr all throughout the gxy. This baby can function as a portablemunicator, space navigator, e-wallet and do many other cool stuff. There were a lot of other useful stuff inside the living quarters, but what I brought out this time were only this information terminal and aser gun for self-defense. Theser gun along with its holster was confiscated when I was taken to the interrogation room, so I had them return it earlier. ¡°There¡¯s nothing else right? I¡¯d like to go to the Sector Guard headquarters to im my prize now so I can go back to my ship and rest soon.¡± ¡°Yes. There is nothing else. We are sorry for taking up your time.¡± ¡°That so. Later then.¡± There¡¯s nothing more to gain by dawdling in this ce, so I finally left the Port Security Department office behind. Next stop would be the Sector Guard headquarters, but thanks to thatdy soldier named Serena, the process went rtively smoothly when I arrived. The bounty for those pirates totalling 19,000 Enel and the information reward of 150,000 Enel were given to me without much fuss. My worth now totals 2,669,000 Enel! That¡¯s a lot man! I inquired about the prices ofmodities on this Colony next and this was the general gist of things: about 5 Enel for food. 10 to 15 Enels if you want them a bit more fancy. 3 Enels for a liter of clean water. The ship berthing fee was 150 Enel per 24 hours. Hm, so an Enel is roughly equivalent to 100 Yen huh? Basing on that, the water seems kinda expensive. The berthing fee being 15,000 Yen a day also seems quite costly as well. Well, considering this is a Colony and all, even the air I¡¯m breathing should cost quite a lot. And water¡¯s an equally important resource. If you look at it that way, these prices seem to be quite reasonable, given the circumstances. So, if I don¡¯t rent out a room inside the Colony and just sleep on the ship, the cost of living in this Colony per day should total about 15 Enels for three meals, 12 Enels for 4 liters of water and the berthing fee of 150 Enels. All in all, it¡¯s a total of 177 Enels. Hey, I can actually live here for 40 years fairly easily. Well, if I do stay here for that long, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll encounter another set of problems. It would be better if I can find some ce to convert into a base and settle down there. Anyway, I got more than enough cash to spend for daily living as long as I don¡¯t splurge like crazy. When people manage to get a lot of money, it¡¯s like all their worries just disappear into thin air. I walked back to my ship with an evident spring in my steps. Chapter 4: – Time to Make Like a Shut-in and Gather Some?Intel # 004 ¨C Time to Make Like a Shut-in and Gather Some Intel The moment I got back to the ship, I immediately connected to the Colony¡¯swork and gathered some useful intel. I went at it for a few days. Naturally, it wasn¡¯t through honest means, but an (il)legal one. I hacked into thework channel used by the Port Security Department to monitor the Colony and gather vital information. I particrly aimed for the ess records of the Security Department¡¯swork manager and gathered intel from that. The first thing I looked up was info regarding the surrounding star systems and the interster empires which govern each of them. I prioritized getting myself familiar with my current location. First, the star system I was staying at right now was apparently called the Termaine Star System. It was centered on the Type B star Termaine, and housed fours. Termaine I, which was closest to this system¡¯s parent star, sported extremely high surface temperatures and held practically no value. The next after it, Termaine II, was a gas whose atmosphere was mainly made up of hydrogen and helium. It seems that Helium-3 was harvested from this as an energy resource An asteroid belt was situated near the three celestial bodies, and materials and resources such as rare metals were mined from it. Further out were twos named Termaine III and Termaine IV respectively ¨C a testament to the people of this system¡¯s exquisite naming sense. Termaine III was a with a toxic atmosphere frequented by deadly acidic downpours, but the rain in question seems to have value as a naturally urring chemicalpound and there were valuable metal alloy deposits either formed on its surface or buried under its crust. A mining station was located on the¡¯s satellite orbit, which apparently doubles as a space prison where convicts were subjected to harshbor in an unforgiving environment. It seems Termaine IV was a gas like its sibling Termaine II. But its location was far from the Trading Colony, and Termaine II was closer to the asteroid belt and offered easier ess, so Termaine IV remainsrgely untouched. To some things up, it appears that this was a very resource-rich star system. Due to this fact, a lot ofmercial and mining starships of all shapes and sizes frequent the system on a regr basis. But there were also a lot of space pirates lurking about the system as a result. In other words, there¡¯s no shortage of mercenary work. There¡¯s also another factor which contributes to the proliferation of the mercenary industry, but let¡¯s talk about the interster empire in charge of this star system first. The name of the empire governing a significant portion of this system was the Gran Empire. All the vital functions of the state werepletely controlled by the Emperor and the aristocratic families under him, so it was a ce brimming with a domineering atmosphere. They have been locked in conflict with the neighboring Vereverem Federation for years, and border skirmishes were a frequent urrence. This is the other element which contributes to the proliferation of mercenary work which I mentioned earlier. The sector where the main star of the Termaine System was located actually serves as the said border between the Gran Empire and the Vereverem Federation. ¡°The longer I stay in this particr star system, the higher the chances of me getting caught up in the conflict.¡± Yeah. I¡¯ll get caught up in it for sure. Even if it does present countless opportunities to make money as a merc-for-hire, getting involved in a war between two powers while remaining clueless about the overall situation was way too risky for my tastes. Getting involved in a war means fighting against the regr troops of a proper Interster Army. It¡¯s a whole different thing from fighting pirates sporting outdated, rickety ships. ¡°Should I try moving to another star system? But thatdy¡­¡± It really seems like thatdy named Serena¡¯s got her sights locked on to me after the earlier fiasco. They¡¯ve never made contact directly, but I¡¯ve noticed people who look like members of the Sector Guards keeping their eyes on my ship. If I really went and left this star system, I have a strong gut feeling that I¡¯ll get in deep trouble with these guys. Guess I¡¯ll just go and destroy some pirates like a proper mercenary while waiting for things to cool down or something. ¡°Anyway¡­¡± I moved my gaze to the Gxy Map. I tried to input the names of several star systems I¡¯m familiar with from ying Ste Online, but none of them appeared on the search results. I tried investigating some more and found some things quite odd. For example, the starship models and specs published by various shipbuildingpanies as well as the optional equipment inventories and item lists avable on the market contain many parallels with the things avable in Ste Online. The info I have on them from the game seems to be mostly applicable. But on the other hand, there seems to be a lot of unfamiliar ships, items and equipment present as well. And the biggest problem was about the various powers controlling each region. For example, the Gran Empire ruling this system seems to be an interster empire boasting a considerable scale. But as far as I remember, there was no interster power named Gran Empire in Ste Online. At least, there wasn¡¯t within the areas the yers have managed to reach. The scale of the gxy presented in Ste Online was quite grand, and yers had yet to reach its central areas. Maybe this was an empire not yet discovered in Ste Online ¡ª in other words, an empire located on the other side of the gxy. But still, the presence of shipbuildingpanies and ship models I¡¯m familiar with in this system poses a contradiction to this particr theory. ¡°Hmm¡­ is this the same gxy or not?¡± The obvious advantages I held in these strange circumstances were Krishna and the experiences and knowledge I gained from ying Ste Online. But I don¡¯t know just how far these advantages would be able to take me. It¡¯s quite possible for the knowledge I have to cause me to misread a situation, leading to me making a fatal mistake. From now on, I should make it a point not to trust in my gaming knowledge too much and constantly analyze if it would be effective or not in this world. Having mistaken impressions in these circumstances was dangerous. ¡°¡­I really should get to replenishing my supplies soon huh.¡± I¡¯ve almost eaten up all the food stored on the ship after thest few days. There were various items like gran bars, jerky, canned food and auto-cook food cartridges. This food cartridge thing uses specially cultured algae for automatic food creation¡­ Simply put, it¡¯s a machine which produces food items akin to a 3D printer. The recent models are capable of producing meat-like or fish-like food which I can¡¯t, for the life of me, associate with the algae they¡¯re made out of at all. They¡¯re not exactly delicious, but you could definitely eat them. As expected of a sci-fi cooking gadget thingy. Speaking of which, all the garbage and biological waste products get recycling treatments inside Krishna and get processed intopact blocks, which areter collected by colonyborers. Their service fees are included in the berthing costs. I was actually wholly unfamiliar with such a system, so the guy assigned to collect the processed waste products made a strange expression when I asked about the details regarding how to go about it. He gave a ¡®this dumb idiot doesn¡¯t even know this kind of thing?¡¯ sort of face. Sorry man. I¡¯m really sorry about that. It¡¯s just that Ste Online didn¡¯t have this particr detail y¡¯know. As a result, I scoured thework for types of information this world regarded asmon sense. My knowledge was still a bit shaky, but I think I¡¯ll be mostly fine. Also, I¡¯ve only managed to find this out after spending some time inspecting Krishna from the inside out, but this ship¡¯s living environment really was top of the line. Krishna was a small-scale craft which was capable of housing five passengers, but it had a Single room and two Double rooms inside. It also sported a shower room,undry room, kitchen and med bay. Krishna was originally a military model. These facilities may be installed for the purpose of allowing the crew to live inside the ship for extended periods during military missions. It¡¯s because travelling throughout the vast reaches of outer space could take a fairly long amount of time. I think the reason Krishna¡¯s livability was really high was mainly due to this consideration. Anyway, I¡¯ll have to enter the central areas of the Colony in order to by some supplies. I fixed myself up a bit and got off the ship with portable information terminal andser gun in hand. I ced theser gun inside a conspicuous looking shoulder holster. It¡¯ll serve to give others the impression that I¡¯m not someone they could afford to easily mess with. It¡¯s much like those bright warning colors and marks sported by wild animals and insects. But honestly, I¡¯m not sure how reliable this thing is because it¡¯s practically my first time wielding it for real. But I¡¯ve read its manual properly, so I should be fine. Probably. The manual didn¡¯t include info about gun maintenance, so I had no clue how to go about it. Maybe I¡¯ll need to visit a gun shop soon. Ste Online also featured a Melee Mode where pilots directly engaged in firefights usingser guns and rifles. This particr model was something I got from winning a Melee Battle tournament in the game. I like both its performance and overall design. There were also Melee Mode types where you could fight with weaponry which sported heavy defense and substantial offense such as tanks and power armors. My ship also has a power armor stationed inside. And of course, it was a thoroughly optimized custom model. ¡°Well then, shall we?¡± I¡¯ve never once lost in a firefight inside the game, but I don¡¯t know if that would continue to be the case now that I¡¯m in this strange world. I better watch out and try not to do anything too reckless. Chapter 5: – Elf!? Why an?Elf!? Chapter 5 #005 ¨C Elf!? Why anElf!? ¡°Whoah¡­¡± The Trading Colony [Termaine Prime] I was currently at was a Torus-type¡­ nah, it would be easier to picture if I described it as a Doughnut-type . Anyways, it¡¯s a Doughnut-type space colony . The colony was designed to continuously rotate, and the resulting centrifugal force, in turn, generates artificial gravity . Since the gravity was generated by centrifugal force, the outer areas of the ¡°doughnut¡± serve as the main living zone of the colony . ¡°Hm . This is certainly an impressive sight . ¡± When you move your gaze towards a certain direction, you¡¯d be able to witness the ground going upwards; seemingly without end . If you look towards the ¡°sky¡±, you could see a ceiling made of ss-like material and part of the colony¡¯s central hub showing in the distance . Sprouting from the colony¡¯s surface were several elevators . Their appearance was akin to the spokes of a bicycle tire . Considering the existence of these elevator ¡°spokes¡± connected to the central hub of this space colony, it may be more appropriate to call it a bicycle tire-type rather than a doughnut-type . ¡°Mm . Alright . ¡± After thoroughly enjoying the sight of the colony¡¯s interior, I started to casually stroll about . Most of the people around me were giving me strange looks, but I can¡¯t help it man . I¡¯m seeing all of these for the first time in person after all . But, in any case, it wasn¡¯t good to be tooid back . The state of public order within this colony can be considered ¡°normal¡± . If I take the public order situation of my former home, in other words Japan, and apply it as a standard, it would be considered ¡°ideal¡± in this world . Well, you¡¯d get a sense for the state of public security in this ce if you consider the fact that an outsider like me was allowed to carry aser gun and show it off without any trouble . Moreover, the only area an outsider like me was allowed to visit was an area called the 3rd Block . You couldn¡¯t exactly call it a slum, but the security was apparently the worst . I really don¡¯t want to stay here too long . All of the guys who took nces at me here had this sort of ¡°rough¡± atmosphere about them . They seemed to be some small-time thugs, and quickly disappeared into the back alleys sporting somewhat regretful expressions the moment they spotted myser gun . Guess thisser gun really was an effective deterrent . ¡°Hey there, newbie . You got a pretty good gun on you huh?¡± The moment my nerves somewhat settled down after experiencing the intimidation effect of myser gun, I was suddenly called out to from behind . When I turned around, I saw a beautiful silver-haired girl staring back at me . She sported a level of beauty I¡¯ve never experienced before . She had even facial features and a short bobposed of extremely thin strands of silvery hair . She had a slim but shapely build, with not a single ounce of extra fat on . But her most striking feature was the pair of pointy ears poking out of her silver hair . Elf? An elf in Space? I thought this was a sci-fi setting? Why¡¯d you suddenly spring Fantasy out on me man? Ste Online didn¡¯t have a race like this, as far as I remember¡­ But,e to think of it, pointy eared aliens in sci-fi worlds was kinda a standard thing too huh? It¡¯s actually nothing to get so worked up about after all . And her clothes¡­ how should I put this? They look pretty soldier-like and seemed quite rugged . Although she looked like an elf, she didn¡¯t have much skin exposure and didn¡¯t wear a fluttery outfit . She wore pants which looked pretty sturdy and practical and a in white shirt enveloped by a tough looking jacket . She also sported a hip holster which held aser gun of a smaller modelpared to mine . ¡°What¡¯s with you? You¡¯ve been staring me down for quite a while . ¡± ¡°Uh, if you were suddenly called out to by a stranger, you¡¯d normally be wary right? It¡¯s sort ofmon sense . ¡± ¡°I suppose so . But I¡¯m not some suspicious person . You can tell just from looking, right? I¡¯m a mercenary just like you!¡± The merc-style silver haired elf girl then raised her chest while sporting a cheery grin . Her chest size¡­ doesn¡¯t seem so special huh . That said, it wasn¡¯t like she waspletely t or anything . Was this a world which denied the rights of elves to sport substantial frontal assets? Nah, I can¡¯t just generalize by taking this unfortunate looking space elf as a standard . ¡°Hey, just where do you think you¡¯re looking at?¡± The unfortunate looking space elf noticed the direction of my gaze and covered up her meager chest with her hands while sporting a grumpy expression . ¡°I was just looking at thosecking breasts you seem to be so proud of Miss . What of it?¡± ¡°¡®What of it?¡¯, he says . You¡¯ve got quite some guts there, don¡¯t you newbie,¡± the unfortunate space elf red menacingly at me and made a dangerous looking smile . Oh boy . Looks like making her angry was a bad idea . She¡¯s got aser gun with her and all . ¡°At any rate, how did you determine that I was a neer? Do I have something on me which indicates such a status?¡± ¡°Well first, stop it with your fake politenguage . It¡¯s making me have goosebumps . ¡± ¡°Kay . So?¡± ¡°Well, thatser gun you have on your shoulder pegs you right away as a mercenary . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± She¡¯s right . Looking closely, there didn¡¯t seem to be anyone else wearing rugged pants and stuffy jackets like me and the disappointing elf . Everybody else was wearing thin, refreshing looking clothes . We really did stand out from the rest of the crowd because of our outfits . ¡°And also, you were strangely taken by the appearance of the colony¡¯s interior right? It¡¯s standard behaviour by bumpkins who¡¯d just started travelling away from their hometowns . ¡± ¡°I see . This disappointing space elf-san sure is smart . ¡± ¡°What did you just say?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing really . So, what¡¯s my smart mercenary-senpai want from me?¡± For just an instant, I got assaulted by overflowing killing intent . Guess it¡¯s truly dangerous to point out the cruel truth to people with smallish breasts . I better be more careful next time . ¡°¡­¡­Hmm . Well, no matter . I actually have too much free time on my hands right now, you see . ¡± ¡°Ha~ah?¡± ¡°I noticed the Sector Defense Forces making some suspicious movementstely, but I don¡¯t have any definite info, so I ended up quite free . It really looks like something¡¯s up, so leaving the colony isn¡¯t an option . But this colony doesn¡¯t have anything interesting in it . So I¡¯m really bored out of my mind . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­And so?¡± ¡°So I just happened to notice a newbie-looking boy loitering around without a care . I just went over to tease you a bit . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± Guess I kinda understood but kinda didn¡¯t at the same time . Well, since she¡¯s the one who came over to me, let¡¯s make the most out of it . I¡¯ll get to obtain some more info . The other person could kill some time . It¡¯s a win-win rtionship . ¡°Okay then . Let¡¯s kill some time by taking me to a ce where we can buy some grub senpai . ¡± ¡°Eh, what should I do? The food shops here don¡¯t have any alcohol so they¡¯re not interesting . ¡± Alcohol? Booze huh¡­ That reminds me, don¡¯t I still have the containers with the brewed liquor I got from those pirates inside my cargo bay? They won¡¯t sell for much anyway, and I don¡¯t particrly like drinking myself¡­ Guess I¡¯ll use that . ¡°I have one container full of brewed liquor I plundered from some pirates inside my ship¡¯s cargo bay . ¡± ¡°He~e . So?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give it to you . Just take me to a convenience store or something in exchange . Also, I¡¯d be happy if you could answer my questions and give me some appropriate advice as a senpai . ¡± ¡°Fumu¡­¡± The disappointing space elf tilted her head sideways in thought, and finally nodded after a few moments . ¡°I suppose that will be fine . I¡¯d be able to stave off some boredom, and getting to drink some alcohol is definitely a tempting proposal . Agreed . In return, I shall tell you all about the ins and outs of being a mercenary . I, your ¡®Senpai¡¯, will do so for you!¡± This disappointing space elf strangely emphasized that ¡°senpai¡± part huh . Oh well . I don¡¯t really mind her putting on airs as a great senior or something . Her looks weren¡¯t half-bad and her reactions were pretty interesting, so it¡¯s all good . ¡°OK, then it¡¯s a deal . Uh, we do exchanges through terminals right? I¡¯ll register you on mine, so give me your I . D . ¡± ¡°Alright . But if you use it for something bad, I¡¯ll immediately block you . ¡± We took out our portable data terminals and exchanged contact I . D . info . Looks like this girl¡¯s name was Elma . Since we¡¯ve exchanged I . D . s, it¡¯s now possible to trade goods between ships using the terminals . ¡°Hm . So you¡¯re Hiro . Such a simple sounding name . ¡± ¡°Get off my case . And Elma¡¯s a pretty simple sounding name too y¡¯know . ¡± ¡°Mine¡¯s got one more character than yours . ¡± (refer to TL notes) ¡°Yup . You¡¯re right, huh . ¡± Why do I seem to enjoy teasing this girl so much? I actually have a smug grin stered on my face right now . Maybe I was feeling a bit more lonely than I thought and relished herpany . I immediately operated my terminal and sent the container with the alcohol to Elma¡¯s ship . The transaction was immediately approved and the booze was sessfully transferred . ¡°Just how exactly do goods get transferred over with this?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t know? You can ess the material transport system via connecting to the hangarwork . You can freely exchange goods by making use of this material transport system . ¡± ¡°Hm . I see . ¡± Looks like the process of unloading goods and cargo in this era ispletely automated huh . The use of humanbor in order to unload things from ships has been abolished . ¡°How long have you been an active mercenary Elma?¡± ¡°Five years . If you remain active for five years, you¡¯re already considered a veteran in our circles . ¡± ¡°Hm, that so . ¡± If she¡¯s been active as a mercenary for five years, then she¡¯d started her career before Ste Online went live . In a certain sense, she really was my senior . ¡°I see . You¡¯re really my senpai huh . I¡¯ll be in your care then . ¡± ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you suddenly all nice and proper? Ma~a, it¡¯s certainly good to give appropriate respect to your elders . ¡± ¡°Elder?¡± ¡°Even though I look like this, I¡¯m already 53 years old this year . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­You¡¯re purposely making yourself look young!?¡± I can only see a young girl not even twenty before me . ¡°We only live a little longer than you humans . No matter how long lived a person from your race is, they¡¯d only reach about 150 years old . We, however, live for at least 500 . ¡± ¡°I see . So it¡¯s the difference between races¡­ It¡¯s been five years since you began your mercenary career, so you would have been 48 years old when you first started out . Just what kind of lifestyle did you lead before bing one?¡± ¡°D- Does that even matter!? Trying to dig up a mercenary¡¯s past is a great breach of manners, I¡¯ll have you know!¡± Elma seems to have lost her cool after hearing my question . She kept scolding away while jabbing her index finger in my direction . Looks like I poked the hos nest . I raised both hands to indicate my surrender . ¡°I get it . I won¡¯t ask about it, alright? I¡¯m sorry for letting my curiosity get the better of me . But, considering how strongly you reacted, I¡¯m guessing there¡¯s something about your past which would spell trouble if it gets found out huh?¡± ¡°Uuuh¡­ We- Well, it¡¯s good that you understand . ¡± Looks like it was something really troublesome . I don¡¯t want to get overly involved in something like that, so I¡¯ll try not to bring it up again . I lined myself up beside Elma, who just recovered herposure and started walking, and asked about things rted to mercenary work . I had this earlier impression of her as a disappointing space elf so I was a little concerned about what she would discuss with me, but the contents turned out to be quite informative . ¡°If you want to take a request, be sure to run it through the Mercenary Guild first . More so if you don¡¯t want to get into any sort of trouble . ¡± ¡°The Mercenary Guild huh . Oh yeah . Guess I¡¯ll have to get myself registered soon . ¡± ¡°Ha~a! Apart from being aplete newbie, you¡¯re also unregistered? Get yourself registered properly before concerning yourself with supplies, you idiot!¡± ¡°Ah, yes . I¡¯m sorry . ¡± My jacket was grabbed with surprising force, and I was dragged back to the area we were at before . Looks like the office of the Mercenary Guild was located near the elevator leading to the hangar bay . Elma angrily exined just how dangerous the standing of an unregistered mercenary was on the way . It seems that an unregistered mercenary unaffiliated with a guild would be treated no better than a criminal if one messes up, apart from being unable to im any mission rewards . In some cases, one might even be refused port entry . ¡°Man, that¡¯s harsh . ¡± ¡°Well of course it is! Unknown individuals unaffiliated with any organization wandering around with a ship powerful enough to seriously damage or destroy a space colony or station would of course be treated with maximum caution! That¡¯s justmon sense! How in the world did you manage to not get in trouble until now!?¡± ¡°Weell, there¡¯s sort of a story worthy of a bucket-full of tears behind my current circumstances y¡¯see . ¡± I continued to be dragged away by Elma while I talked about some stupid stuff, and we finally reached the Mercenary Guild office . Guess I¡¯ll have to exin my circumstances all over again . Still, this ce was a hundred times more beautiful than the image of a Mercenary Guild I had in my head . The floor was made of some unknown, glossy material . There were a number of seats withfy looking cushions lined up in what seems to be a waiting area . Beyond them were several counters . Each counter had an information disy on top of them . The number of people inside was quite sparse . Is business not doing so hot perhaps? ¡°Doesn¡¯t this seem more like a government office than a mercenary guild office?¡± ¡°It¡¯s somewhat simr . C¡¯mon . Let¡¯s go to the reception counter . ¡± ¡°Understood, big sis . ¡± I was dragged by Elma all the way to the reception counter . TL Note: Hiro¡¯s name in katakana: ¥Ò¥í (hiro) / 2 characters . Elma¡¯s name in katakana: ¥¨¥ë¥Þ (eruma) / 3 characters . It¡¯s a joke you won¡¯t get unless you know your Japanese characters . Chapter 6: – Mercenary?Guild Chapter 6 # 006 ¨C MercenaryGuild After I arrived in front of the reception counter, I found myself facing a guy sporting numerous old battle scars on his body . His left arm also seemed like a mechanical prosthetic . How should I put this? It felt like I finally encountered something mercenary guild-like . ¡°Ahn? The hell do you guys want?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a newbie . This guy¡¯s going around Underground without registering with the Guild . ¡± ¡°Huh? Underground? I sometimes hear about guys like that, but it¡¯s my first time seeing one in person . C¡¯mon over and take a seat bro . ¡± ¡°Ah, yes . ¡± I sat down in front of the counter like I was told . This guy was pretty intense man . If I met someone like him back home in Japan, I¡¯d never want to get involved with the guy at all . He really looks like someone from a rather ¡°dangerous and illegal¡± profession . ¡°Even if you¡¯re unregistered, you do own a ship right? Tell me your ship name and I . D . It¡¯s parked in the hangar bay right?¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± ¡°Pfft . You seem like a frightened little kitten you know . So interesting . ¡± ¡°Shut up . ¡± I red at Elma, who had one hand over her mouth while trying to stifle herughter, but didn¡¯t seem to be able to . Dammit! I can¡¯t help it okay! This uncle¡¯s just he scary man! The receptionist uncle with a terrifying face inputted the ship name and I . D . I gave him on a tablet terminal and fiddled with it for some moments . ¡°The hell? What¡¯s up with your ship kid? I¡¯ve never seen a model like this before . ¡± ¡°Although I can¡¯t exactly disclose the source, I guarantee I didn¡¯t get her illegally . ¡± ¡°Nah, y¡¯know¡­ Well, it¡¯s a breach of manners to ask about a mercenary¡¯s past . It says here you engaged three pirate ships in battle four days ago and managed to win, but that¡¯s about it . Rather, you don¡¯t have any other activity records kid . ¡± ¡°I seem to have gotten involved in an ident while my ship was on Hyperdrive and got thrown out somewhere near this colony . Because of that ident, I seem to have lost most of my memories, and I currently have absolutely no idea where I am . ¡± ¡°You serious? Ah¡­ Well, that¡¯s fine . You don¡¯t have a bounty on your head anyway . Oh yeah, could you stop it with that politenguage thing? If the other guys hear you talkin like that, you¡¯d get looked down on y¡¯know . ¡± ¡°Y- Yeah . ¡± Man, it sure takes some serious balls to talk in a casual manner with this grim faced uncle¡­ ¡°That¡¯s true . It¡¯s more or less over for a merc who¡¯s underestimated, so watch how you act from now on . However, you¡¯re still asx as ever, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re also aware of the rules, right missy? There¡¯s no merit for probing about a merc¡¯s past . If they¡¯ve got no bounty on their heads and properly earn their keep, then there¡¯s absolutely no problem . ¡± A question suddenly popped into my head while the two were having their conversation . So I decided to just blurt it out right away . ¡°Um, a starship¡¯s not exactly cheap right? So I¡¯m sure there aren¡¯t that many guys who go like [I got myself one, so I¡¯ll be a mercenary starting today!] just like that yeah? How do you even manage to recruit enough members then?¡± I think my question does have some merit . I¡¯ve investigated about the general market prices in this world these past few days, and in order to purchase a properly armed ship, you¡¯d need to fork out at least 50,000 Enel . If you convert that to Japanese Yen, you¡¯d end up with 5,000,000 . I haven¡¯t managed to investigate the average ie of people in this world, but I¡¯m sure that¡¯s still an astronomical amount of money for the average joe . ¡°Well, there¡¯s actually lots of guys who¡¯re formerly from the military active in this business y¡¯see . They¡¯re pretty high levelled and have great skills . There are also some who just in love fighting and chose to be mercenaries as a result . There¡¯s also them extremely greedy, money-obsessed types . ¡± ¡°There are also those who graduated from the Mercenary Training Institute right?¡± ¡°Yeah . But there¡¯s none of those types in this particr star system . ¡± ¡°Those still seems to be a bitcking as sources of ¡®fresh blood¡¯ though . ¡± ¡°Guess so . But the gxy¡¯s a friggin huge ce kid . We¡¯ve managed to get enough members to fulfill most of the requests sent to us . ¡± Hm . In other words, there are lots of prerequisites, so they¡¯ve managed to gather up only the folks who fulfill those conditions . Or maybe there just isn¡¯t a lot of mercenary work in this world? Hm . I don¡¯t get it . I don¡¯t get it, but I¡¯ll just go with the flow anyway . ¡°I¡¯ve finished setting up your registration . The only thing left is the test . ¡± ¡°Test?¡± ¡°Yeah . If we don¡¯t know how skilled you are, won¡¯t we have no idea what type of jobs you¡¯d be able to take up?¡± ¡°That¡¯s reasonable . But how are you gonna test me?¡± ¡°Training course . There¡¯s a simtor here for that purpose . I¡¯ll have you undergo that . ¡± ¡°OK . ¡± The receptionist uncle stood up from his seat, called out towards the back of the office and guided Elma and me to another room . Why¡¯d Elma follow me anyway? Elma grinned mischievously at me when she noticed my gaze . ¡°Don¡¯t you think I have the right to see just how skilled the rookie I brought with me is?¡± ¡°You do?¡± Well, I did manage to smoothly proceed with my mercenary registration thanks to Elma, so I don¡¯t really mind if she observes my moves . Moreover, the opinions of a veteran merc with five years of experience under her belt would be valuable . If I have her evaluate me, I¡¯ll be able to more properly judge my overall skill level . ¡°It¡¯s right here . ¡± The room with the simtor was surprisingly bigger than I expected . Lined up within it were simtor machines which looked a bit like small sized trucks . Or rather, they seem to be mimicking just the cockpit block of a ship . ¡°Chose something which resembles the cockpit model of your ship and get in . ¡± ¡°Gocha . ¡± The overall look of a ship¡¯s cockpit isrgely influenced by its manufacturer . That also goes for the cockpit controls . So most ships are made to bepatible with most cockpit blocks avable on the market . This essentially means that it¡¯s possible to detach a cockpit block and install it onto another ship . This function was also avable on Ste Online, so I¡¯m quite used to it . ¡°Guess it¡¯s this one . ¡± ¡°Hoh . Ain¡¯t that a high-end military model? Alright . I¡¯ll have it prepped straight away . ¡± The uncle, who seemed a somehow impressed when I chose my cockpit block, went away somewhere . I¡¯m sure he¡¯s going to the control room for the simtors . Elma¡¯s figure was also gone . Guess she¡¯s spectating from somewhere else . ¡ï¡ï¡ï ¡°Well then, let¡¯s start the evaluation test . ¡± ¡°Roger that . What about the operating data of this test unit?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll upload your ship¡¯s data on it . You should be able to control it like you usually do after¡­¡­ Oi, oi . What the heck is this?¡± ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°You really askin me? This unit¡¯s data¡­ Can you really use this thing?¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ll be okay if it¡¯s Krishna¡¯s data . ¡± Was there something strange about the data . Well, I don¡¯t really know how Krishna would be evaluated in this world . It was a pretty strong unit back in Ste Online though . ¡°Oh well . This is a test to evaluate your skills after all . The objective of the test is pretty basic . Destroy all enemy units . All ships except for you are enemies . They¡¯ll be few in number at first, but they¡¯ll being at you in waves . The difficulty will increase as their numbers go up . ¡± ¡°Got it . ¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s start the test . Activating the unit . ¡± The cockpit interior dimmed; only a minimal amount of illumination remained . So it urately simtes even a ship¡¯s dormant state . I fired up the main generator with practiced motions and brought it up to battle level . In response to that, the simted Krishna activated, and a space environment gradually unveiled itself before me . It was a pretty realistic view . This simtor¡¯s extremely detailed . [Unidentified ship detected . Its weapon systems are online] I also activated my weapon systems and quickly set course for the location of the enemy ship disyed on the radar . I elerated all at once . I felt my body being strongly pressed down onto the seat . ¡°Whoah . This thing even simtes the Gs . ¡± What kind of tech did they use to make this thing? Well, if this world really was the same as Ste Online, then a gravity generating device should have been developed . This machine must be using something like that . A figure that seemed to be the enemy ship was cruising in the distance and carefully approaching me in order to mount a surprise attack . I¡¯ve already managed to get a lock on the slowpoke . The four maniptor arms deployed from the hull and immediately aimed at the enemy ship . The moment I pulled the control stick¡¯s trigger, four beams of light fired straight at the enemy and tore it open . I managed to shoot down the enemy in one attack . ¡°How fragile . ¡± Not to mention slow as heck . Judging from its appearance, it was a small transport ship with a high carrying capacity . Just this huh? More enemy ships appeared after that, but all of them were pretty weak . Slow . Fragile . They¡¯re no different from live targets . I don¡¯t think they would be able to properly gauge my abilities with these . ¡°Ah, looks like the evaluation program for new recruits just won¡¯t cut it . ¡± ¡°Hey . Isn¡¯t the difference in unit specs too lopsided?¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re right but¡­ Let me change to a different test program . ¡± ¡°Roger . ¡± I tried out the new program . It was definitely better than the first, but the enemies were still quite slow . Damn weak . They¡¯re no different from those suckers I shot down a few days ago . ¡°They¡¯re so weak . I can¡¯t feel any sort of pressure . ¡± ¡°The hell kid¡­ This is an evaluation program for veterans y¡¯know . ¡± ¡°Wha¡ª You¡¯re joking right? Isn¡¯t there anything more difficult?¡± ¡°There is¡­ But I think this one¡¯s a bit of an overkill . ¡± I finally felt some pressure this time . More than ten pirate ships attacked all at once, and their weapons were also quite powerful . But if I keep a close eye and take timely evasive actions whenever they fired their high-powered ballistic weaponry, I¡¯d be fine . Theirser cannons can¡¯t even prate my shield, so they¡¯re practically no threat . The light cruiser model that came out at the end was pretty tough . But once I managed to get to its blind spot, it became a done deal . ¡°That did make me sweat a little . ¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be serious kid!?¡± the uncle cried out in exasperation . Huh? Was that actually the highest difficulty? ¡°Uh¡­ Well . Damn . Test¡¯s over kid . ¡± ¡°Roger that . ¡± That was easier than I thought . I wonder how they¡¯ll evaluate me¡­? Well, judging from that uncle¡¯s reaction, it¡¯ll probably be alright . I cut the power flow from the generator, stopped the simtor and stepped out of the cockpit . When I went out of the simtor hatch, I found the receptionist uncle and Elma staring at me with hard to describe looks on their faces . They could probably be described as disbelieving expressions . ¡°Um, what¡¯s my evaluation results?¡± ¡°Ah, let¡¯s get back to the counter and talk there . ¡± They sure are acting strange . I think it would¡¯ve been fine even if they told me the result here . For some reason, Elma also kept staring at my face . Just what¡¯s with all this man? I followed the two of them back to the lobby with my head tilted in puzzlement . ¡°Uh¡­ First, about the exam result . ¡± ¡°Yeah . ¡± ¡°You passed . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s great . But what¡¯s with those strange expressions?¡± ¡°Well y¡¯see, we mercenaries have a ranking system in ce . ¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Was it something simr to that adventurer ranking thing used in a lot of those isekai themed webnovels? Would this lead to a development where I suddenly get promoted to A or S rank? ¡°It¡¯s called a Combat Rank, and it serves to objectively represent a merc¡¯sbat capabilities . The five ranks are as follows: Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold and tinum . Iron¡¯s the lowest and tinum¡¯s the highest . ¡± ¡°I see . So?¡± ¡°Thest test you tackled was the one for promotion to Gold Rank . ¡± ¡°Okay?¡± ¡°But y¡¯see, even though you did pass the Gold Rank promotion exam, I can¡¯t just suddenly promote you to Gold right from the start . ¡± ¡°I understand . ¡± I¡¯m not too hot on the idea of getting promoted to the second highest rank just like that either anyway . This was something not present in Ste Online after all . I want to savor the pleasure of ranking up step by step . ¡°You don¡¯t have a solid track record yet . You understand, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, I do . ¡± ¡°So for now, you¡¯ll be ranked Bronze . Temporarily, of course . I¡¯ll pass the data from the simtion you took earlier to the higher-ups and have them confirm your ranking . ¡± ¡°Spare me from suddenly ranking up to Gold, will you? I¡¯d miss out on the fun of steadily raising my rank . ¡± ¡°I¡ª Is that so?¡± It somehow felt like I¡¯m drawing too much attention . Elma kept painfully staring at me from the side while sporting a specially grumpy expression . What? Please stop that . I¡¯m just a newbie here, y¡¯know . Please cut me a little ck ma¡¯am . ¡°For now, the rank¡¯s tentative, but you¡¯re already officially registered as a mercenary . You¡¯ll have the backing of the Mercenary Guild from now on . And at the same time, you¡¯ll also be carrying the name and reputation of the Mercenary Guild with you . Please try not to forget this fact . ¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to exin the rules and regtions for new members or something?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pain, so just read the manual yourself . I¡¯ll send it you via e-mail . ¡± ¡°Now that¡¯s just inzy . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like you need to read it right away . Just run through it slowly tonight or something . ¡± ¡°Now then, why is my great Elma-senpai so upset, I wonder?¡± ¡°Silver . ¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve just managed to reach Silver after five years worth of effort y¡¯know . ¡± ¡°Ah . Eh . Um¡­¡± When I looked towards the receptionist uncle for help, he quickly turned his gaze away from mine . ¡°You¡¯ll probably make it to Silver yourself soon kid . ¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Mmm . ¡± ¡°Grrr¡­¡± ¡°No matter what my rank turns out to be, Elma-senpai will always be my senpai! Look, if I didn¡¯t meet Elma-senpai, I¡¯d probably remain unregistered until now . I still don¡¯t know left from right and need your help . I¡¯m the pathetic scrub who doesn¡¯t even know where the convenience store is . I¡¯ll always be counting on Elma-senpai . It¡¯s true!¡± ¡°I¡ª Is that so? T¡ª That¡¯s fine then . Let¡¯s go to the convenience store next . This ¡®senpai¡¯ will properly guide you . ¡± This disappointing space elf quickly regained her mood after my unrestrained bootlicking spree . How easy . ¡°Amazing~ How admirable~¡± ¡°As for this colony¡¯s map¡­¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be going ahead then!¡± The receptionist uncle looked like he kinda wanted to say something but I stopped him with my gaze . Just stop uncle . It¡¯ll be troublesome if her mood drops again okay . Hold on? Y¡¯know, I probably wouldn¡¯t have any trouble going around this ce if I managed to obtain a map . But let¡¯s just stop that train of thought, shall we? Yeah . Chapter 7: – A Grocery Store in the Space?Age Chapter 7 # 007 ¨C A Grocery Store in the SpaceAge As we headed to the convenience store, Elma talked about the ins and outs of the Termaine System she managed to gain from her activities as a mercenary . This ce was a hotbed for mercenary work due to the proliferation of pirates aiming at therge numbers of trading and resource mining shipsing and going from the star system . They also went for the mainary system in close proximity to the border with the Vereverem Federation . ¡°That¡¯s why this particrary system has a lot or mercenaries hanging around . Or rather, you came to this star system without even knowing that much?¡± ¡°Nah, I already talked about my circumstances earlier . I got into an ident and ended up getting forcibly thrown into this sector . It might be due to the life support system malfunctioning or something, but my memory¡¯s quite hazy as a result . Thankfully, the ship remained intact . ¡± Of course the part about losing my memory was aplete lie . If I inly told them I came from another dimension, they¡¯d just probably treat me as someone crazy, so I made up a usible sounding excuse while considering the fact that I knew next to nothing about themon sense in this other world . ¡°Are you alright then? There¡¯s some cases where people caught up in those types of idents suddenly copsed after some time passed . I think it would be better if you went and got yourself a thorough medical check-up at this colony¡¯s medical ward, just in case . ¡± ¡°You serious?! Yeah, that might be a good idea . ¡± If my memory really did get messed up due to an error in the life support system of my ship, Elma¡¯s suggestion made absolute sense . Even though it wasn¡¯t actually the case, I felt like I should get myself checked anyway . There may have been some hidden adverse effects I failed to notice after being inexplicably transported to another dimension . Let¡¯s put getting a medical examination on my to-do list . While I was busy thinking about this matter, Elma pointed towards the front and called out to me . ¡°Look, that¡¯s the ce . That¡¯s the convenience store . ¡± ¡°There, huh?¡± I saw arge signboard with the words [Oishii Mart] written in bold letters in the distance . Oishii (Delicious) Mart, huh? Uh¡­ What an easy to understand name . ¡°What a damn straightforward store name . ¡± ¡°Really? I think it sounds kind of exotic though . ¡± ¡°It does?¡± (Which part is?) I wanted to retort like that, but I held it in . Was it that ¡°Oishii¡± word perhaps? Well, she isn¡¯t really speaking in Japanese, so I guess it¡­ Hold on . But I¡¯M speaking in Japanese, right? How the heck am I managing to have a proper conversation with the people in this world anyway? When I asked Elma about it, she exined that most advanced space faring civilizations have a ¡°device¡± tomunicate their wills with other advanced civilizations installed into their bodies . It was apparentlymon sense . ¡°You even forgot about this?¡± ¡°Looks like it . ¡± ¡°Are you really fine? That¡¯s honestly worrying you know . ¡± The disappointing elf gave me a pitying gaze . How humiliating . ¡°Oh well . Come on . Let¡¯s get inside . ¡± ¡°Kay . ¡± We finally entered the store and surveyed its interior . There were lots of products lined up on the shelves ¨C cereal bars, canned food, food cartridges, and tube-packed nutrient gels . There were even mystery goods which you couldn¡¯t tell if they were food or not and creepy creatures immersed in a formalin-like substance . ¡°There sure are a lot of stuff huh?¡± ¡°Yes . What do you want to buy?¡± ¡°What¡¯s good? Any rmendations?¡± ¡°If you have an Auto-cooker, I suggest buying some food cartridges . If you have enough funds, you could go for artificial meat products . ¡± ¡°Artificial meat?¡± ¡°Yes . Do you not know of them? Artificially cultivated high quality protein . It costs a lot more than ordinary foodstuffs, but tastes a lot better . ¡± ¡°What about natural meat and vegetables?¡± ¡°Those things are only eaten by the richest men and women in the entire gxy . We mercenaries won¡¯t be able to buy those things no matter how much we earn . ¡± ¡°Really?¡± So I guess meat procured from livestock and naturally grown veggies were treated as ultra-luxury items in this world . Guess it does make sense though . Farming inside a space colony doesn¡¯t seem to be so efficient . While I was absorbed in my thoughts, Elma peered at my face with a suspicious expression . ¡°Are you actually some sort of rich young master who takes eating natural meat and vegetables as something normal?¡± ¡°I- I have no idea . I lost most of my memories, remember? Does it really look like that though?¡± She raised both her arms and shook her head, although she still seemed a bit doubtful . ¡°Not really . I still have some reservations though . ¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just leave it at that then . ¡± We proceeded to get other food items rmended by Elma . It also looks like you could buy water here . Although they¡¯re a bit pricey, I ended up buying some artificial meat . Other than that, I also bought some food cartridges, cereal bars and tube-packed nutrient gels . She also rmended some jerky-like stuff . ¡°How about some canned food?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really rmend those . They would definitely cause a mess if you opened them in a Zero-G environment . ¡± She pointed out that the liquid soup or sauce in canned food would immediately float up once you opened them . Solid food like jerky and cereal bars or semi-liquid food like nutrient gels were more suitable for space travel . ¡°Okay¡­ Are there some carbonated drinks?¡± ¡°Carbonated drinks? What are those?¡± ¡°Well, uh¡­ stuff like c or sodas . They¡¯re sweet and refreshing drinks . ¡± ¡°???¡± Elma tilted her head in confusion . She really looked like she had no idea . ¡°They have juice here, right?¡± ¡°Y- Yes . Theye in various vors . ¡± ¡°They¡¯re sort of like those ¨C but are infused with dissolved carbon dioxide . They fizzle inside your mouth the moment you drink them and taste really good . ¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t really heard of anything like that though?¡± ¡°Say¡­ what¡­!?¡± Does this world really not have carbonated drinks!? I tried asking the cashier about them, but all I got was some words of apology in return . ¡°God is dead¡­¡­!¡± ¡°Why are you suddenly saying things like a devout believer who haspletely lost his faith and is about to die because of it?¡± To think that there really were no carbonated drinks in this world¡­ No, wait up? I seem to remember reading something about not being able to properly drink carbonated stuff inside a spacecraft on the once . I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s due to the absence of gravity or the difference in atmospheric pressure, but wasn¡¯t it excluded because of this? If this was truly the case, then it would be fine to have them in an environment with gravity and normal atmospheric pressure¡­ Was it not possible even inside a colony? Perhaps because the artificial gravity is gained from centrifugal force? I- I have no idea . I can¡¯t wrap my head around it . But maybe I¡¯ll be able to drink them if I stay on a residential or something? They might be normally sold over there too . ¡°I¡¯ve decided to buy a detached house with a garden on a residential in the future!¡± ¡°Now that¡¯s abrupt¡­ How did you decide on that just by hearing about that carbonated drink thing? A house on a residential is way too expensive, I¡¯ll have you know . The only ones permitted to own homes on residentials in the Gran Empire are only those who have the status of 1st ss imperial citizens . And it apparently costs hundreds of millions of Enel to purchase thend title and obtain citizenship . ¡± ¡°You serious!? You could buy a Whale ss Heavy Cruiser with that kind of money!¡± ¡°It¡¯s true . I¡¯ve heard this info from imperial soldiers before . ¡± Hundreds of millions of Enel huh¡­? Argh! That¡¯s way too expensive! However¡­ However¡­! I . WANT . TO . DRINK . SOME . SODA~A!!! ¡°A lofty goal is a great source of motivation . ¡± ¡°Do whatever you want then . ¡± Elma shrugged her shoulders in exasperation, but this was an issue of life and death for me! After I bought some water and food, I asked the cashier to send them directly to my ship and exited the store with some food and drink I got for take-out . I also gave Elma her share, of course . Just a bottle of juice though . Chapter 8: – Young?Girl Chapter 8 #008 ¨C YoungGirl ¡°You had this Elma-san guide you for today, so treating me to this much can be considered cheap, right?¡± The disappointing elf grinned happily as she stuck a straw inside a bottle made of unknown material . ¡°Yup . It¡¯s a steal . ¡± But right when I left the store and looked around, I ended up seeing something unexpected . ¡°¡­¡­Haah . Gah . Ugh . ¡± ¡°Stay still, you damn bitch!¡± ¡°Gehehe¡­ We finally caught ya . ¡± ¡°She ended up getting a bit dirty, but she¡¯ll do just fine . ¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just get to it man! I can¡¯t stand it anymore!¡± A young girl was being dragged into a back alley by seedy guys who looked like delinquents . They seemed to have chased her down . Judging from their earlier convo, it was easy to imagine just what they¡¯ll do to the girl . ¡°Hold it right there . ¡± I reached out for the grip of myser gun and was about to step forward when my belt was suddenly grabbed . It was naturally Elma who stopped me . ¡°Are you just going to let that slide?¡± ¡°Is she your acquaintance?¡± ¡°Not really . But¡­¡± The girl desperately resisted her captors, but was gradually cornered deeper inside the alley . Our eyes met . Her pleading gaze struck me . ¡°If so, then it¡¯s not our business . Leave it be . ¡± ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°Now look here mister . That kind of thing happens all the time in this gxy . Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to stick your neck in everytime you encounter that sort of stuff? It won¡¯t be enough, no matter how many lives you¡¯ve got . Those who can¡¯t even protect themselves are just prey . Even if you help her out now, she¡¯ll just end up getting into the same sort of troubleter . ¡± This woman¡¯s point was blunt and practical . I¡¯m neither a god nor some sort of superhero . I was just a half-baked, wet-behind-the-ears mercenary wannabe . ¡°You aren¡¯t some protagonist of a heroic saga . You¡¯re just one guy with a starship . ¡± As Elma lectured me, the girl was finallypletely subdued and disappeared inside the alley on one of the thugs shoulders . Her gaze was still directed at me and her hands kept reaching out to plead for help . But those outstretched hands were simply unable to reach me . ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true¡­¡± What Elma¡¯s saying has some truth to it . But was it ¡°true¡± for me as well? ¡°You really think I¡¯d say that!? You cold-hearted disappointing elf!¡± I can¡¯t just allow this shit! If I abandoned that girl now, I won¡¯t be able to get any proper sleep from guilt . Everytime I¡¯d remember that girl¡¯s helpless expression, I¡¯m sure my morale would be shaved off until there¡¯s nothing left . Just spare me from that . ¡°Wai-¡° I swept Elma¡¯s hand which was holding onto my belt away, threw my baggage down and ran inside the alley . I removed theser gun from its holster and gripped it tight . I set the power output to the minimum . ¡°Just give up already bitch!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t struggle . Won¡¯t ya learn until ya get to feel some pain?¡± ¡°Nooo! Noooooo!¡± ¡°Guess I need to hit you good so you¡¯d stay still¡ª¡± One of the thugs surrounding the girl inside the alley raised his fist . I aimed the muzzle of theser gun at his arm in one smooth motion and pulled the trigger . A sound akin to rushing electricity rang out, and a bright sh dyed the narrow alleyway in crimson . Moments after, the thug cried out in a pained voice . ¡°Gyaaaaa~¡± Theser shot I fired hit his raised fist dead on . I¡¯ve never fired a real gun before this, but I luckily managed to hit my target for some reason . I don¡¯t think my experience ying FPS games would help much in this situation, but I¡¯m d it worked out anyway . ¡°Wha¡ª!?¡± I aimed my gun at the remaining confused thugs and pulled the trigger . I pulled it repeatedly . Each time a crimson sh ran through the alley, the men miserably screamed . As expected, the minimum power setting doesn¡¯t pack enough punch to kill people . ¡°That huuuuurts!¡± ¡°Ow! Oooow!?¡± ¡°Aieeeeee~!?¡± It won¡¯t kill but it seems to be really painful . It would be a bit of a problem if I went any further than this, so after torturing them for a bit more, I screamed threateningly at the thugs . ¡°Get lost punks! You won¡¯t end up with just burns next time!¡± The thugs hurriedly disappeared deeper inside the alley while sporting terrified expressions . The only ones who remained in the area was theser gun toting me and the young girl who was leaning against the wall with disheveled clothes and staring intently onto my face . I walked past her in the direction those thugs fled towards while still holding up my gun . I called out to her . ¡°I¡¯m gonna keep watch, so hurry and fix your clothes . We have to get out of here soon . ¡± ¡°¡­Ah! Yes!¡± The young girl answered in a voice which seemed close to tears, and rustling sounds of clothes being fixed came from behind me . I checked how the girl was doing while still pointing my gun towards the back of the alleyway . This would end up ame joke if, by any chance, this girl was actually an aplice of those thugs and stabs me in the back or something . Thankfully, nothing like that happened and the girl who finished tidying herself turned towards me . When I urged her to run back to the entrance of the alleyway with my gaze, the girl whose eyes turned puffy and red rimmed tearfully nodded and rushed out right away . I followed soon after . ¡°Wee back . ¡± When I got out of the alley, Elma greeted me while carrying the baggage I threw down earlier . Her face clearly disyed an exasperated expression . ¡°So what are you going to do about that girl?¡± ¡°What do you mean¡­?¡± When I turned towards the girl, she also turned towards me . We kept staring at each other . Now that I got a good look at her, she was actually a really pretty girl, although she got herself a little dirty from that earlier scuffle . Her height was on the smaller side . I was about a head taller than her . But in contrast to her height, her pair of womanly assets were of a size iparable with those sported by the cold-hearted disappointing elf . I thought big breasted lolis only existed in the world of 2D, but to think they actually existed in reality as well . Her eyes and hair were of the same reddish brown color; akin to tea . Her face was of the cuter variety . Yup, instead of describing her as a beauty, it would be more appropriate to call her a cute girl . The clothes she was wearing were a bit soiled and damaged in some ces due to the incident with those thugs earlier . ¡°Stop staring at her and answer me . ¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t really think it through when I rescued her . What would be the best course of action senpai?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it? You didn¡¯t think it through huh . I was a fool for asking . Here . I¡¯m going now . ¡± Elma sighed as she handed back my things and started walking away . I see . So that¡¯s how you wanna y it huh . ¡°Ee~h¡­ Was Elma-senpai actually a half-baked person who would abandon her kouhai after getting her reward?¡± After hearing my words, Elma paused her steps as her long ears trembled . ¡°Can¡¯t be helped then . It¡¯s my fault for not realizing what kind of person she was anyway . And I thought she was such a great senpai and everything . ¡± As I continued to goad her, Elma¡¯s ears trembled even more . Just one more push left . ¡°I guess the uncle from the Mercenary Guild was way more reliable than a cold-blooded, small chested disappointing elf huh? I can¡¯t believe she¡¯d just abandon a kouhai like that . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna murder you, bastard!¡± She finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore and rushed back with tremendous momentum . She grabbed me by the chest while fuming . Oh, scary . ¡°As expected of Elma-senpai! Like I thought, Elma-senpai wasn¡¯t the kind to leave her kouhai and a poor young girl in the lurch like that after all . Amazing~! How admirable~!¡± ¡°You¡¯re doing this on purpose, aren¡¯t you¡­? Ha~ah . Why do I even bother to take care of this kind of stuff¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a good way to kill time right? Do your best? Do your best?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t shut that cheeky mouth of yours soon, I¡¯ll pull your tongue out boy . ¡± ¡°Roger!¡± When I offered my apologies, Elma sighed and closed her eyes in defeat . Wahahaha! It¡¯s your fault for calling me out to kill some time . Just give up already . ¡°You already ignored my warning earlier . Are you telling me you¡¯re still willing to listen?¡± ¡°That depends on what you¡¯re gonna tell me . Please say something which would put smiles on both my and this girl¡¯s faces . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Elma made a really disgusted face . Don¡¯t make that kind of expressiondy . Your beautiful looks would be ruined . ¡°So what exactly do you have in mind?¡± ¡°I was thinking of having her board my ship as a crew member . Maybe I could entrust her with guard duty or gathering intel?¡± ¡°Guard duty huh¡­? Do you like this type of girl, perhaps?¡± ¡°Like¡­? Well, I do think she¡¯s a cute girl . ¡± I couldn¡¯t really say it out loud, but her future looked really promising, with those heavyweight knockers and all . When I moved my gaze towards the girl, she looked up at me with her two hands sping each other like she was in prayer . Her face looked red, and her body was trembling . ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s get out of this ce first . Let¡¯s go somewhere we can rest up and calm down a bit . ¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯ll be your treat . ¡± ¡°Aye aye, ma¡¯am! Come on then . We won¡¯t do anything bad to you . If you¡¯re having difficulty walking, you can grab onto me . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes . ¡± The girl timidly nodded and lightly grasped the hem of my jacket . You could grab on more firmly y¡¯know . My jacket¡¯s quite sturdy, so it won¡¯t get stretched out that easily . Chapter 9: – Bill Bundle?Binta #009 ¨C Bill Bundle Binta Elma took us to a cafe-like shop adjacent to the Mercenary Guild building. It somehow resembled San*ku Cafe. I ordered something like cafe auit and something resembling a sandwich. Elma also ordered cafe auit. The young girl refrained from ordering anything, but I got her a cafe auit and sandwich anyway. ¡°So what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m Mimi.¡± ¡°Oh yeah. We haven¡¯t introduced ourselves yet huh. The name¡¯s Hiro.¡± ¡°Shut it you. So you¡¯re Mimi. So what can you do? Do you have any skills useful when boarding a starship?¡± Telling me to shut up was kinda crueldy¡­ Self-introductions are important y¡¯know. ¡°Um¡­ What exactly would you have me do?¡± ¡°¡­¡­I already have a rough idea after hearing you say that, but I¡¯lly it out for you anyway. This guy doesn¡¯t need any support when ites tobat, so anything other than that. Things like supply procurement, organizing information, negotiations with clients, liaising with the Mercenary Guild, contacting port security for take-off andnding requests and other such procedures.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any experience in any of them¡­¡± ¡°I thought so. I guess you can only be entrusted with looking after the ship then. Cooking andundry work¡­ And since you¡¯re ady, please take care of this guy¡¯s ¡®physical needs¡¯ as well.¡± ¡°Puhaaah!¡± I involuntarily spat out the contents of my mouth. Physical needs!? You¡¯re being a little too straightforward theredy! ¡°Ew. That¡¯s gross!¡± Elma, who was sitting just in front of me, angrily red at me. My bad. But you¡¯re partly to me too y¡¯know! ¡°You¡ª Whaddya mean ¡®take care of his physical needs¡¯!?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I thought you already had that intention when you decided to let this girl board your ship. Isn¡¯t that right?¡± Elma matter-of-factly stated with a nonplussed expression. ¡°I admit I thought she was really cute and I want to get along with her more if possible, but I wasn¡¯t thinking of taking it that far right off the bat, you idiot!¡± ¡°What¡¯s up with that? You¡¯re surprisingly pure aren¡¯t you? Are you really a pampered young master or something?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it¡­ But what¡¯s with this shit anyway? Is ¡®doing it¡¯ with a girl the moment she gets onto ones private ship taken asmon sense here or something?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the case if both parties are engaged in an equal rtionship. But your rtionship with this girl is anything but equal. So it¡¯s not surprising to consider something like that at all.¡± What the hell? I don¡¯t even know how to retort. There wasn¡¯t anything about this sort of stuff in Ste Online. ¡°No, no. I ain¡¯t thinking about doing something that low. I¡¯m not that much of a jerkass y¡¯now.¡± ¡°Hmm. Well, it doesn¡¯t really matter to me in any case. It¡¯s enough that you¡¯re aware this sort of thing is taken as something normal here.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡­¡± When I nced towards Mimi, she shyly avoided my gaze with a bright red face. No, no. You don¡¯t have to react like that okay! I won¡¯t do any such thing. I didn¡¯t rescue you with such a goal in mind! I was screaming those retorts inside my head. But they¡¯ll sound like flimsy excuses if I say them out loud. So I decided to keep them to myself. ¡°What do you want to do Mimi? Or rather, what were you doing walking around that sort of ce anyway? If a defenseless girl like you wanders around in those sorts of areas, things like that are bound to happen.¡± ¡°T- That¡¯s¡­¡­¡± ¡°Did youmit some sort of crime and escaped into the 3rd Block perhaps? What about your guardians?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± The moment she heard the word ¡®guardians¡¯, tears started to fall from Mimi¡¯s eyes. Oh c¡¯mon. Now you made her cry¡­ Mimi started telling us about her story as she cried. It was a typical tragedy. Mimi grew up happily in a normal household on the 2nd Block. But one day, all the rted personnel responsible for maintaining the colony¡¯s oxygen nt died in an ident ¨C including her parents. Somehow, Mimi¡¯s parents ended up taking all the me for the said ident, and almost all of their properties were confiscated. Mimi, who was still a student without any proper source of ie, was expelled to the 3rd Block due to her inability to pay taxes in order to stay in the 2nd Block. ¡°The hell. Is that okay? There¡¯s no safety or something?¡± ¡°I have no idea. The important thing is that this girl literally has nowhere else to go.¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess¡­ She¡¯s got no more other options left huh.¡± If Mimi doesn¡¯t chose to board my ship, the only ce she coulde back to was the 3rd Block. If something simr to the incident earlier happens once more, there would be next to no chance of her escaping again. ¡°Um, please¡­ I¡¯ll do anything. So please let me board big brother¡¯s ship.¡± Mimi desperately pleaded while bowing her head. ¡°Alright, I understand. I¡¯ll do something about it, so don¡¯t worry and leave it to me. So go ahead and eat your sandwich, okay. I think you haven¡¯t had a decent meal yet, right?¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡­¡± Perhaps she finally felt reassured due to my words. Mimi gingerly reached out for her sandwich. When I turned towards Elma, I found her making a really disgusted face. ¡°Well, that¡¯s the case. So would the nice and considerate Elma-senpai please guide Mimi through the proper procedures for officially boarding my ship as a crew member?¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°Very.¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to cost you. A lot.¡± ¡°A lot? It¡¯s that expensive?¡± ?¡ï? ¡°The payment for head tax and 2nd Block residential tax plus umtedte penalties, all remaining unpaid indemnity fees for the bereaved worker¡¯s families due to the incident involving her parents and the fees in order to grant her the right to freely move to any sector amounts to a total of 500,000 Enel.¡± ¡°You serious? Like, totally serious?!¡± A man with an uptight atmosphere wearing a suit and had hair parted in a 7:3 ratio looked at me with a serious face and charged me an exorbitant price. If you convert 500,000 Enel to Japanese Yen, it¡¯ll be 50 million! 50 million Yen! What¡¯s up with this absurd price? We were currently at the main office of the Poption Management Bureau of the trading colony Termaine Prime; in other words, a government office. We came here in order to go through the proper procedures for Mimi to be officially recognized as a crew member of my ship. But when they checked Mimi¡¯s information on their database, we were led to a backroom and billed outrageously. By the way, Elma said she disliked the atmosphere inside a government office and took the opportunity to disappear somewhere when they called us to the backroom. Mimi went together with me, but when she heard the price, her face turned blue and was now trembling like a small animal. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve actually already rounded the amount off for you sir. Would you like to confirm the details?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± And so, the guy showed me the details. I saw them, but I couldn¡¯t judge if the price they told us was the proper amount or not even though I could read the numbers. Just the fee for securing an unrestricted moving rights pass was already 200,000 Enel man! Are they seriously not trying to rip us off? ¡°¡­What¡¯s up with burdening a minor with the debt incurred by her parents? Don¡¯t you have a policy which would allow her to decline that kind of negative inheritance by filing for bankruptcy or something?¡± ¡°Well, there actually is one in ce. But the other party should have applied for it within three months after knowing the existence of the debt. It¡¯s already way past the grace period. It can be said that making her move to the 3rd Block in order to exempt her from paying the debt is a so called safety,¡± the government official dered without a change in his expression. What kind of shitty ¡®safety¡¯ is that? Sure, you wouldn¡¯t have to pay the debt if you move to the slums, but you¡¯d also be losing any form of support from the government as a result. In the first ce, they should have known that forcing an underage girl without any skills to support herself to live in the slums was a recipe for disaster. It¡¯s not some damn safety but just in abandonment. Are the heads of the folks administrating this colony screwed on right? ¡°I¡¯ve heard that mercenaries do earn quite a bit, but I can¡¯t imagine you being able to pay 500,000 Enel sir. I think any further discussion is a waste of time. I¡¯m not too familiar with the ce, but I¡¯m sure there would be a suitable yground for you to unleash your desires in the 3rd Block. Can¡¯t you just be satisfied with that and stop reaching for things beyond your station?¡± The bastard with the 7:3 parted hair smiled in contempt. Hah! You sure about that? I really wasn¡¯t nning on doing any of that stuff to Mimi once I take her in, like what this bastard is obviously thinking. But¡­ fine. You bastard. You¡¯re looking down on me huh? I¡¯ll take you on fucker. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s fine. 500,000 Enel, correct? I can pay that kind of money in a heartbeat.¡± ¡°Huh!?¡± After hearing my words, the 7:3 hair bastard¡¯s expression turned ugly right away. Yeah, that¡¯s what I wanted to see. ¡°What? So it¡¯s not just your personality that¡¯s bad but even your ears? 500,000 Enel. I¡¯m gonna settle that amount right now. Go and process it already.¡± ¡°¡­Are you trying to make some sort of joke sir?¡± ¡°Annoying. I¡¯m telling you to process it already.¡± When I took out my portable data terminal and showed my willingness to pay, the man with 7:3 parted hair finally proceeded without hesitation. His personality was the absolute worst, but he sure works fast. The entire process was finished in no time. The payment of 500,000 Enel to Termaine Prime was debited from my ount, and a certificate stating Mimi¡¯s debt was fully cleared and her unrestricted moving rights pass were both issued. This unrestricted moving rights thing seemed to be some special pass which would exempt you from paying taxes unless you decide to settle down somewhere in the future. It¡¯s really expensive. This alone was 200,000 Enel. It¡¯s like paying taxes in advance. After listening to some detailed exnations from the 7:3 guy, we took all the documents we managed to acquire and left the government office. When we came out, my info terminal¡¯s ring tone went off. It was a message from Elma. She was apparently inside a nearby clothing store. She even sent some navigation info. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Y- Yes, I¡¯m fine.¡± Mimi¡¯s mood had obviously fallen after I paid off her debt. I have no way of knowing what¡¯s going on inside her mind, but after getting chased around by hoodlums and subsequently rescued, spilling out her grievances in a cafe, and getting shocked by the astronomical amount of debt in the government office, her heart may need some time to settle down a bit. I actually wanted to hurry and have her board the ship so she could rest up, but we still had to buy some new clothes for her so she¡¯ll have some stuff to change into daily. It¡¯s unfortunate, but I had to take her to the clothing store to buy some new clothes before we could return to the ship. ¡°So what happened?¡± ¡°I hit their faces with a thick wad of cash¡­ err, Enel.¡± ¡°Great. That¡¯s more like how us mercs do things. Anyway, I¡¯ve managed to pick out some clothes for Mimi to change into. Here.¡± Elma pressed a bag apparently filled with clothes onto me along with the bill. The price¡­ wasn¡¯t that expensive. It doesn¡¯t seem to be that big an amount. Looks like she only bought ordinary clothes. ¡°For the time being, I bought some clothes, underwear and some other necessary things for daily use. I¡¯m sure it isn¡¯t enough for the two of you, so try to look around yourselves and buy the things you need here in the next few days.¡± ¡°Sorry for the trouble. And thanks.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t hurt if you express your gratitude more you know?¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ve given you the appropriate rewards already, see. And it was a great time waster, right?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t enough for all that trouble¡­ Honestly. Well, it did serve to kill some time though. This should be fine, right? I¡¯m going back to my ship.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going back too. I want to have Mimi rest up soon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Try not to get yourself caught up in this guy¡¯s pace. And also, make sure to properly look after him. If you leave him alone for a bit, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll stick his neck into something troublesome again and get himself killed.¡± ¡°Y- Yes!¡± Mimi responded with enthusiasm to Elma¡¯s lecture. Perhaps Mimi sees Elma as an elder sister figure she can rely on. ¡°You too. Take care of yourself, alright? If you went and got yourself involved in something troublesome again and get killed in the process, this kid would be forced to roam the back alleys once more. Stop being so reckless.¡± ¡°I get it. Elma-senpai is unexpectedly good at taking care of others huh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the wisdom thates with age boy. You seem to have forgotten, but I¡¯m actually far older than you are.¡± ¡°Oh yeah. You¡¯re right.¡± It doesn¡¯t really seem like it because she just looks so damn young, but Elma really was older than me by more than a dozen years. She was way too peppy for an olddy though, so I tended to forget. TL Note: Binta means face-p. Hiro figuratively face-pped the government official with Enels lol. Hence, the chapter title. Chapter 10: –?Mimi # 010 ¨C Mimi When we got back to the ship, the first thing I did was guide Mimi to her room. I was using the single room as my bedroom, so she¡¯ll have to choose from the two double rooms. They¡¯re literally just across from each other along the hallway, so it didn¡¯t really matter which one she chooses. ¡°I¡¯ll take this room. Um¡­ Would that be alright?¡± ¡°Of course. Once you arrange your luggage, you can take a shower. Afterwards, I¡¯ll have you undergo a simple vital check on the med-pod.¡± ¡°It even has such equipment¡­ T- This ship is amazing! It¡¯sparable to a first ss residential unit.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I¡¯m not really a good judge for these things, since Ick this world¡¯smon sense. Afterwards, I toured her to theundry room, kitchen, medical bay, training room, cockpit and cargo hold. It was more efficient to show them to her all at once after all. ¡°Please don¡¯t enter the cockpit unless I expressly allow it.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°What else should I¡­ Ah! We¡¯ll have to buy you a portable data terminal too Mimi.¡± It would be better for her to have a personal terminal so I can contact her anytime. She could also use it to gather info. Guess a tablet type would be a good choice. ¡°But such an expensive thing is¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a necessary expense after all.¡± There¡¯s not much work to do inside the ship. Let¡¯s buy one tomorrow to pass some time. And didn¡¯t we only manage to buy the minimum amount of clothes and living essentials? Let¡¯s buy some more clothes and household items too. ¡°Anyway, you must be exhausted so take a shower first and rest up. Let¡¯s talk about vital checks and other business afterwards.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to hear a ¡®thank you¡¯ rather than ¡®I¡¯m sorry¡¯ though. You¡¯re familiar with how to operate the shower right?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be fine. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°That¡¯s more like it. I¡¯ll either be in the cockpit or my own room, so just tell me if you need something okay. Don¡¯t hesitate to say if you¡¯re hungry. We¡¯re going to be living together from now on, so there¡¯s no need to be reserved alright.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Mimi nodded obediently. Great. It¡¯ll be troublesome if you hold back even if you feel hungry after all. This is good. I can¡¯t just watch a girl as she takes a shower, so I left the room and moved to the cockpit. I haven¡¯t asked Mimi about her exact age yet, but she doesn¡¯t seem to be at an age where she still needed adults to supervise her. I wonder how old she is? Judging from her earlier story, she seemed to still be a student in the middle of adolescence. Her height¡¯s on the smaller end, but some other aspects have grown splendidly¡­ Hm. About 17 years old, give or take? I¡¯ll just ask herter. I didn¡¯t have much to do, so I decided to research about theyout of the 3rd Block in order to prepare for tomorrow. We¡¯ll have to buy some more daily necessities and clothes for Mimi. Speaking of which, should I also buy some medicine just in case? Yeah, I¡¯ll get some too. We¡¯ll also need to buy an information terminal. There¡¯s a lot of stores listed huh? Well, since that¡¯s the case, all the more need to research each shop and read reviews about all of them. When I did so, I was surprised with the results: things like shops selling illegally procured goods, selling medicines long past their expiration dates oring home with your purchase only to find nothing inside the package except for scrap materials. When I excluded those from the search results, the number of rtively ¡°decent¡± stores inside the 3rd Block turned out to be quite few. Oh, and the convenience store and clothing shop Elma led us to were actually some of those few ¡°decent¡± ones. I¡¯ve always mocked her as a disappointing space elf, but she really was quite reliable. While I was busy doing some research, Mimi¡¯s face peeked out from outside the open cockpit hatch. She really was quite the cutie; specially after taking a shower and getting refreshed. But her clothes seemed a little thin. The temperature regtion system inside the ship was pretty high-end, so she won¡¯t end up getting ufortable from being cold anyway. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± Mimi¡¯s cheeks turned red from my question, and she gingerly nodded her head. ¡°Alrighty then. Let¡¯s eat go eat some grub. Feel free to tell me if you¡¯re hungry, just like now okay.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± She still seemed embarrassed about being hungry. It¡¯s alright. I understand. I led the embarrassed Mimi to the kitchen. Well, even though I called it a kitchen, there were actually no kitchen equipment inside apart from the Auto-cooker. The said device basically handles all food preparation, so it may be more appropriate to call it a dining area instead of a kitchen. ¡°You can eat whatever you like. I bought some artificial meat earlier. I actually feel like trying it now. Do you want to try it too Mimi?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try it.¡± I set the Auto-cooker to prepare a menu using artificial meat and activated it. I selected therge serving for myself and the normal amount for Mimi. After a few moments, the Auto-cooker let out a ping which indicated that the meals were ready. ¡°Hm. So this is the so called artificial meat dish¡­ It¡¯s white colored, but it does seem fairly delicious huh?¡± ¡°Yes, it does.¡± What appeared on our tes were meat resembling fish fillets covered in sauce, with pf and potato sd on the side. The amount on my te was quite a lot since I ordered arge serving. ¡°Muh¡­ This really is pretty good stuff.¡± ¡°It¡¯s delicious.¡± This artificial meat things was delicious. It was sweet and juicy, non-greasy and with just the right texture. And the sauce used was also quite exquisite. The pf had also soaked up the artificial meat¡¯s juices, which served to enhance its umami vor. The potato sd? It tasted like your normal potato sd. ¡°You don¡¯t have to force yourself to finish it all, okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­¡± Mimi¡¯s stomach was already bulging a bit. It seems like she¡¯s forcing herself to finish her food. Let¡¯s order a smaller serving for her next time. Yep. Mimi peered at my face as I put the tes inside the dishwasher. What¡¯s up? I tilted my head in puzzlement. ¡°W- What are you going to do after this?¡± ¡°After this, huh? Hm. Well, if you sleep after eating, you¡¯re more likely to get fat. I guess I¡¯ll head to the training room to move my body a bit or something?¡± Krishna also had a well stocked training room. The various exercise equipment are all designed for preventing muscr degeneration while out in space. I¡¯ve also basically spent most of my time sinceing to this world holed up inside my ship, so I need to exercise inside the training room to avoid putting on weight. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you went and rested up some more Mimi. You must be pretty exhausted right?¡± There really were a lot of eventful stuff today. I already feel kind of worn out because of them. I¡¯m sure Mimi feels more exhausted than me. ¡°U- Um¡­ Okay, I¡¯ll do so.¡± Mimi seemed to want to deny it first, but thought a bit and changed her mind. Yup, it¡¯s better if you rest up obediently. After bidding her good night, I headed for the training room. I don¡¯t really intend to be a bodybuilder or anything, so I just exercised moderately. Ipleted each exercise in a menu set by an AI instructor. This AI instructor created an optimized exercise routine based on the data about my calorie intake gathered from my information terminal and the Auto-cooker. The workout was quite intense, but having a definite goal disyed helped motivate me toplete the menu. After sufficiently exercising, I went and took a shower next. I sort of just went with the flow earlier today, but I ended up having to live with a young girl under one roof from now on. I want to avoid being seen as some sort of creep while we¡¯re living together. My heart won¡¯t be able to take it. After washing up a little more than usual, I finally went to bed. Aftering to this world, I kinda felt the urge to live a healthier lifestyle. I nned to exercise regrly, eat a well-bnced diet and get adequate sleep. Yep, how healthy. ¡°Nnn¡­ Haa.¡± I took off my jacket and pants andid down on the bed in just my underwear. A lot of stuff happened to me today. Why the heck did it turn out like this even though I just went out to buy some food? It felt like my meeting with Elma was the trigger that started it all. Did that space elf have a quality that attracts trouble or something? It might be better to keep some distance from now on. ¡°Um¡­¡­¡± While I was absorbed in thought, Mimi¡¯s face peeked out from outside the open door. For some reason, her face was bright red and she seemed quite tense. Man, I messed up. I ended up leaving the door open due to habit. And I was even just in my underwear. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Uh, hold that thought. I¡¯m in my underwear, so let me change into something decent first.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Wait up a bit oka¡ª Eeh!?¡± Why¡¯d you suddenlye in when I told you to wait? Rather, why the heck are you wearing a transparent negligee!? You aren¡¯t even wearing bra and panties oi! That¡¯s bad! Really bad! ¡°Stop, stooop! What the heck!?¡± I reflexively covered my eyes with my hands. But I¡¯d like you folks to forgive me for peeking through the gaps of my fingers. It¡¯s a man¡¯s natural instinct. ¡°I¡¯vee to fulfill my nightly duties¡­¡­¡± Mimi whispered in a small voice as she slowly drew near the bed I was lying on. The only thing she¡¯s wearing was a transparent negligee. She doesn¡¯t even have slippers on. ¡°Uh, well¡­ Don¡¯t we do this kind of thing after getting to know each other better or something?¡± ¡°Um, this is the only thing I can offer you¡­ And I don¡¯t hate it if it¡¯s with Hiro-sama¡­¡­¡± She called me by name for the first time just now. No, wait. Now¡¯s not the time for thinking about that. Aa~ah! You mustn¡¯t dear customer! You really mustn¡¯t! While I was busy panicking, Mimi finally reached the bed and snuggled up to me. Uooh! Two soft things are touching me! It was Mimi-san¡¯srge caliber chest missiles! Critical! Critical hit! This is bad! ¡°Um¡­¡­ I already drank some medicine, so it should be fine.¡± ¡°Me- Medicine!? What medicine!?¡± ¡°Um, contraceptives¡­ and some that would prevent it from hurting on my first time¡­ Elma-san gave them to me¡­ Even this underwear is from her.¡± Nanii!? So it was that damn elf! Does she expect me to thank her for this!? ¡°Um¡­¡­ Do you not like me? Do you prefer someone beautiful like Elma-san¡­¡± ¡°I can¡¯t. I really can¡¯t, okay. I didn¡¯t really help you out aiming for this sort of stuff!¡± ¡°But this is the only thing I can do¡­ And, well¡­ I¡¯m scared¡­ So please¡­¡± Scared? Of what exactly? What does she mean? ¡°I have nothing else¡­ so this is to make sure. If I do this¡­ then big brother won¡¯t¡­ abandon me¡­¡± Mimi¡¯s voice gradually lowered to nothing more than a whisper. I see. So she thinks she¡¯s no good for anything else other than ¡®this¡¯. So she¡¯s worried I¡¯ll suddenly change my mind and throw her out. That¡¯s why she wanted for us to have a sort of connection through our bodies. So that¡¯s it. That¡¯s it huh? Does she really think I¡¯m that kind of lecherous guy? It kinda hurts man. ¡°Big brother¡­ Hiro-sama won¡¯t do anything like that. So please don¡¯t worry, alright?¡± ¡°But¡­ Um.¡± In other words, if I don¡¯t deal with Mimi¡¯s doubts about my character, she won¡¯t feel relieved. While I was thinking about how to deal with this matter, the information terminal¡¯s ring tone rang out. I saw the message ¡®Take responsibility and properly embrace her.¡¯ when I looked at the screen. There was only one person who would send me such a message in this situation. In other words, it was that disappointing space elf who nned all of this. ¡°Please¡­ Don¡¯t leave me¡­¡± Mimi cried out with a sorrowful voice while hugging me. She was probably worried about this sort of stuff because of the things Elma said earlier. I¡¯m gonna give her a good armlock when I see her next time. Absolutely. ¡°Fine, I get it.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Ah, what the hell should I say at this point? This stuff was way over my head so I ended up mostly speechless. I don¡¯t really have any clever words on hand to say in this situation. It was a bit too special. For the meantime, I pulled Mimi closer to me and lightly returned her hug. I gently patted her back in order to reassure her a bit. ¡°I¡¯ll be as gentle as possible.¡± Mimi wordlessly nodded her head and rxed her body. What the heck is with this eroge-like development? TL Note: I know some folks won¡¯t be too happy with this sort of development. But don¡¯t me me. me the author lol. And here¡¯s what said author had to say in this chapter¡¯s Author¡¯s Note ¨C Author: (¡ä?¦Ø?`) [So jealous.] Me: Riiight¡­ Chapter 11: – My Destined?Person # 011 ¨C My Destined Person *Mimi¡¯s POV What should I do? I¡¯ve constantly repeated these same few words inside my mind for the past six months. They have been echoing inside my head ever since mom and dad got caught up in an ident and died. There was arge amount of debt that was next to impossible to repay. The savings my parents left me were constantly decreasing day by day. The inevitable bankruptcy which couldn¡¯t be avoided even when I dropped out of school and lived extremely frugally. I couldn¡¯t take it anymore. Just three days ago, I was finally kicked out of my home along with the revocation of my status as a 2nd ss citizen. I was then forced to live in the 3rd Block instead. The 3rd Block. It was a ce that was synonymous with the term ¡®underworld¡¯ ¨C a ce where 3rd ss citizens who couldn¡¯t properly pay taxes were banished to. It was an area of this colony ruled by violence and vice. I was thrown out into such a ce. I¡¯ve long heard of the rumors regarding what happens to women thrown here from the 2nd Block. After being caught by bad men, they are made into prostitutes and forced to sell their bodies to customers until the drugs they are made to take crippled them and made them useless. Once that happens, they are mercilessly thrown back into the dirty alleyways to fend for themselves. There seem to be some lucky women who end up getting fancied by mercenaries or merchants who visit from outside, but those cases are few and far between. Most are destined to be miserable while suffering from withdrawal symptoms from the drugs, and finally incinerated along with the trash once their livese to an end. That¡¯s what I heard. I¡¯m so scared. I don¡¯t want that. So I fled and hid. But I didn¡¯t have any Enel to buy water. Rather, even the terminals necessary for Enel transactions were confiscated by the people from the Colony Government Bureau. ¡°Stay still, you damn bitch!¡± ¡°Gehehe¡­ We finally caught ya.¡± I eventually exhausted my stamina, became unable to move and was caught by some men. They looked at me with disgusting grins on their faces. ¡°She ended up getting a bit dirty, but she¡¯ll do just fine.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just get to it man! I can¡¯t stand it anymore!¡± I was forcibly dragged into a dark alley while being unable to mount any sort of resistance. The hands of the men unreservedly groped my body all over and violently ripped my clothes apart. ¡°Just give up already bitch!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t struggle. Won¡¯t ya learn until ya get to feel some pain?¡± I finally managed to resist them. I was surprised I still had some strength to do so left in me. ¡°Guess I need to hit you good so you¡¯d stay still¡ª¡± The man raised his fist. Once it was swung down, I will surely bepletely helpless before them. It¡¯s all over. The moment I thought that, a blinding red light shed past. ¡°Giiiih!?¡± The men screamed whenever a red sh dyed the back alley crimson. ¡°Get lost punks! You won¡¯t end up with just burns next time!¡± A fierce voice suddenly rang out, and the men who were assaulting me miserably fled away. I leaned powerlessly against the wall and moved my gaze towards the source of the voice. It was a young man. He wore rugged looking clothes. ¡­Maybe he¡¯s a mercenary? He had aser gun and sported a tense expression, but I somehow felt that his eyes looked kind. He had ck hair. His age¡­ seemed to be simr to mine, or maybe just a bit older. This ¡®big brother¡¯ nced back at me and opened his mouth to speak while pointing theser gun towards the direction the men from earlier fled to. ¡°I¡¯m gonna keep watch, so hurry and fix your clothes. We have to get out of here soon.¡± He was apparently here to help me. I fixed my appearance as much as possible and hurriedly escaped from the alley. I finally managed to reach a well lit area once more. ¡°Wee back.¡± When I got out of the alley, an elfdy dressed simrly to that big brother called out. She¡¯s probably also a mercenary. I wonder what their rtionship is? I couldn¡¯t help thinking about that. ¡°So what are you gonna do about that girl?¡± ¡°What do you mean¡­?¡± Big brother looks at me with a troubled expression. His eyes really do seem kind. I somehow felt relieved just by gazing back at them. But my heart also pounded furiously. ¡°Stop staring at her and answer me.¡± The elfdy started talking freely with the big brother who rescued me. I somehow felt pain inside my chest while watching them. ¡°So what exactly do you have in mind?¡± ¡°I was thinking of having her board my ship as a crewmember. Maybe I could entrust her with guard duty or gathering intel?¡± An intense shock just ran throughout my entire body. Me, boarding big brother¡¯s ship? But that means I¡¯d¡­ My cheeks felt hot. We¡¯ve just met too. But, if it¡¯s with this person¡ª ¡°Guard duty huh¡­? Do you like this type of girl, perhaps?¡± The elfdy turned her face towards me. She was a very beautiful person. Her skin was milky smooth, without any wrinkles or blemishes. Her eyshes were also elegant and long. Although I was also a girl, I was still charmed by her. ¡°Like¡­? Well, I do think she¡¯s a cute girl.¡± The man who rescued me gazed at me as well, but quickly averted his eyes. I think he just looked at my chest for a few moments. These big breasts always attracted too much attention and made my shoulders stiff, but right now I kind of wanted to praise myself for sessfully nurturing suchrge assets. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s get out of this ce first. Let¡¯s go somewhere we can rest up and calm down a bit.¡± As I thought, this person was kind. But I was worried about the fact that I haven¡¯t managed to take a bath for days. My clothes were also in tatters, so I was embarrassed about being seen by this person in this sorry state. ¡°¡­It¡¯ll be your treat.¡± ¡°Aye aye, ma¡¯am! Come on then. We won¡¯t do anything bad to you. If you¡¯re having difficulty walking, you can grab onto me.¡± I obediently nodded to the man and grabbed on to the hem of his clothes. I didn¡¯t want to get too close to him and turn him off with how I currently smell. I¡¯m a girl, so I didn¡¯t want to be thought of as smelly. When the implications of letting a girl aboard a ship was exined to him, big brother¡¯s face turned bright red from embarrassment. It looks like he really didn¡¯t know what it usually meant for a woman to board a man¡¯s private ship. That is to say, big brother ¨C Hiro-san didn¡¯t rescue me with that sort of purpose in mind right from the start. He helped me out of pure kindness. He really was such a nice person. Things developed rapidly after that. Hiro-san brought me to a government office, threw a lot of money at a mean government official and settled my debts in full. When I heard about the amount of debt at first, I was devastated. But Hiro-san¡­ no, Hiro-sama paid for all of it. In order to obtain me. I was born for the purpose of fully dedicating myself to Hiro-sama. I strongly felt that way in that moment. While I was preupied with those thoughts and had my head in the clouds, the elfdy ¨C Elma-san handed me a shopping bag filled with clothes. It was thanks to Elma-san that I was finally able to be with Hiro-sama. I was really indebted to Elma-san as well. And so, I was brought away by Hiro-sama and taken to his ship. I was really surprised. I thought the ship of a mercenary would be more¡­ cramped and stifling. The interior of Hiro-sama¡¯s was wide, clean and looked on par with a 1st ss residence. It was probably even better than the house I formerly lived in. I took a shower following Hiro-sama¡¯s suggestion. It was a long awaited shower. After thoroughly cleaning every inch of my body, I finished showering and checked the contents of the shopping bag containing clothes which Elma-san gave me. It¡¯s contents were three shorts and three sets of clothes. One was thin and lookedfy. Another looked practical and suited for everyday use. And thest one was a sheer, see-through negligee. There was also a bottle containing some sort of liquid substance. There were two pill cases as well. Lastly, there was a small note tucked inside too. I wonder what these are? When I read the note, it appeared to be a message from Elma-san. The liquid in the bottle was apparently perfume. There were instructions on how use it written as well. I¡¯ve never put on perfume before, so I was thankful for the notes. The two pill cases contained contraceptives and painkillers so it would feel better when I have my first time taken by Hiro-sama. I was grateful for this as well, because I heard that the first was usually painful. There was a ssmate from school who said her first time was a failure and that things got awkward between her partner and her afterwards. I sprinkled just the right amount of perfume on me. I¡¯ve never used perfume before, so I suddenly felt like I¡¯ve be more of an adult. I plucked up some courage and chose to put the thin clothes on. And when I appeared in front of Hiro-sama wearing it, his face reddened and he became flustered. That¡¯s good. He seems conscious of me. I wouldn¡¯t know what I would do if he didn¡¯t have eyes for me at all and just treated me as a sister or daughter. I was a little relieved. After eating a delicious meal with me, Hiro-sama went to the training room to exercise and then went straight to bed. I watched the timing, drank the medicine, put on the negligee and barged into Hiro-sama¡¯s room. That was the n, at least. But I couldn¡¯t manage to do it. Fortunately, the door of Hiro-sama¡¯s room was open, so I managed to peek inside while staying in front of his room. Hiro-sama was just in his underwear. My gaze was drawn to his well sculpted silhouette. My entire body started feeling hot. The medicine¡¯s effects may have started to kick in. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Uh, hold that thought. I¡¯m in my underwear, so let me change into something decent first.¡± My and Hiro-sama¡¯s gazes met, and he started panicking with a bright red face. I boldly stepped inside Hiro-sama¡¯s room while being mostly driven by instinct. There were lot of sad and painful things that happened to me. But now, I¡¯m within Hiro-sama¡¯s arms. Right now, I am truly happy Chapter 12: – Shopping with?Mimi # 012 ¨C Shopping with Mimi Doing ¡°the act¡± with Mimi went rtively smoothly; no doubt all thanks to the ¡°medicine¡± Elma gave her. Still, it¡¯s good that her first time was virtually painless. Mimi was already mentally exhausted from all thatmotion yesterday, and right now I¡¯ve caused her to be physically exhausted as well. Now, she was sleeping soundly right next to me. I, on the other hand, was busy thinking about the future. It¡¯s necessary to have a concrete goal in mind after all. It¡¯s kinda depressing if you pass each day simply for the sake of living. First of all, it¡¯s be even more necessary to purchase a detached house with a garden on a residential. I¡¯ll make this my biggest long-term goal for now. I was initially all gung-ho about it for the purpose of drinking carbonated beverages, but now that Mimi and I have progressed to this type of rtionship, things have changed. We need somewhere we can call home. Of course, we never know what the future holds, so there was still a possibility that I and Mimi might not end up together. I don¡¯t have any idea about what exactly Mimi thinks about all this too, so I can¡¯t conclude anything. Wether I do end up with Mimi or with someone else instead, having a ce to call home was still absolutely essential. That is, if I wanted to live a proper life. Eh? Don¡¯t I want to go back to my previous world? Well of course I do ¨C if the chance presents itself anyway. I don¡¯t even have any idea how to go back. First of all, I don¡¯t know the exact reason why I was transferred over to this world. I also don¡¯t have any concrete leads about finding a possible method for going back as of now. In the first ce, it seems I can actually have an easier time making a living in this world. I think I got really lucky by having such a powerful ship, sessfully registering as a mercenary and obtaining a considerable amount of funds. But I don¡¯t intend to just blindly focus on this world¡¯s positives either. The mercenary profession was, by its very nature, a truly dangerous job. You¡¯ll always be closely brushing with death. This was no longer a game, so you can¡¯t just respawn whenever you get your ass handed to you. Once you kick the bucket, it¡¯ll be permanent. If the ship gets badly damaged, I¡¯d likely have to fork out a considerable sum to get it fixed up. It was possible that I¡¯d be forced to sortie in a less-than-ideal condition. If I don¡¯t scrape up enough for maintenance, it was also possible for me to die from going bankrupt as well. The dangers I needed to face aren¡¯t limited to the times I¡¯m onboard the ship either. I would probably have to get out of the ship from time to time just like yesterday in order to take care of some business. Once I do, there was a danger of getting ambushed and killed present. If I continue to hold on to the same sense of security I had during my time in Japan, I¡¯d probably get done in real quick. And if I do die like that, Mimi would probably have no other choice but to follow suit. ¡°Hrmm¡­¡± So this is what it means to shoulder someone else¡¯s life huh. It¡¯s quite the heavy responsibility. I have to think of some proper countermeasures. Guess I¡¯ll head over to the Mercenary Guild tomorrow or the next day in order to get some advice from the receptionist uncle. I¡¯ll be heading out for some shopping with Mimi tomorrow after checking her vitals. I actually forgot to check it tonight because of what happened. Will the medicine she took have any effects¡­? Guess I¡¯ll know for sure once I check her up tomorrow. For now, I¡¯ll also get some shut-eye. Once we wake up tomorrow, we¡¯ll first take a shower, eat up and then proceed with checking up Mimi¡¯s vitals afterwards. After finalizing tomorrow¡¯s schedule, I closed my eyes while relishing Mimi¡¯s warmth. Looks like it¡¯ll be a good night¡¯s sleep. ?¡ï? ¡°Huh?¡± I woke up due to being assaulted by a ticklish sensation. Wondering just what caused it, I opened my eyes and found a head full of vibrant, reddish brown hair snuggling up on top of my chest. ¡°What¡¯re you up to there, Miss?¡± ¡°Fuwaah!?¡± The head with vibrant, reddish brown hair trembled after hearing my voice. Her brown eyes met mine. We stared at each other nkly for a few moments. When I ced my hand on the ticklish spot ¨C in other words, the center of my chest ¨C I found a smaller, softer, more delicate hand groping around on top of it. Looks like this hand was busy doing naughty things. ¡°Hm? What¡¯s this, I wonder? What were you up to?¡± ¡°Fue~e¡­ U-Um¡­ T- This is, uh¡­¡± ¡°You know Mimi, when you do naughty stuff to someone else, you better be prepared to be on the receiving end as well.¡± ¡°Eh? Eeeh?!¡± ¡°An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth y¡¯know¡­¡± ¡°Eh? A- Ahn¡­¡± We yed around first thing in the morning. It felt really good. ¡°Okay then, for today¡¯s schedule¡­¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I talked about the day¡¯s itinerary after having breakfast with Mimi. Because of the little ¡°incident¡± earlier, we ended up running a bit behind schedule. Well, it wasn¡¯t as if we were in any particr hurry anyway. We had more than enough funds. And after running the safety check protocols, the ship turned out to be in tip-top condition. There wasn¡¯t any particr need for some extra maintenance. Of course we couldn¡¯t afford to deplete our assets, so we needed to find a way to earn some cash soon. But it wasn¡¯t that urgent of a priority. After the meal Mimi would undergo a full check up of her vitals. We¡¯ll shop for some daily essentials next. Then we¡¯ll buy a portable data terminal for her as well. Finally, we¡¯ll head to the Mercenary Guild to ask that receptionist uncle for advice about Mimi¡¯s future training regimen and other stuff. It¡¯s best to ask the Mercenary Guild about anything concerning mercenary work after all. ¡°We¡¯ll go around today following this schedule.¡± ¡°Yes. Understood.¡± After finishing our meals, I finally took Mimi¡¯s vitals using the med-pod after a quick thirty minute break. The results of the vital check was good. She was a bit fatigued, but there was no indication of catching any illnesses. I was relieved with the results. Mimi also seemed d. Taking care of ones body is important after all. Health is wealth, and all that. ¡°Alright then. Let¡¯s get going. Wear some clothes with as less skin exposure as possible please.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s meet up at the dining area after you get changed.¡± I already got changed earlier, so I just waited for Mimi ¨C who currently wore thin, revealing clothes for the vital check ¨C to change her outfit. We¡¯re going to live together from now on, so it¡¯s best to set up some basic house rules as well. I¡¯ll talk about it with Mimi when we get back. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting.¡± ¡°Well that was quick.¡± ¡°I just needed to change clothes after all.¡± And here I thought women took a while to get dressed. Oh well. It doesn¡¯t hurt that she¡¯s quick. Yep. We went to one of the stores I researched about yesterday in order to buy daily necessities. It was quite convenient that we could buy a lot of the things we needed in a drugstore in the area. They sold various things ¨C from food, sweets, cosmetics, clothing and underwear to daily necessities for women. And of course, they sold medicine as well. ¡°When you need to buy things a woman particrly needs, be sure to consult with a female clerk. Tell them you¡¯re boarding a starship and buy as many items you think are important.¡± ¡°Um, okay¡­¡± ¡°Listen up. When we depart from this colony on the ship, we may not be able to go to port for at least a few months. If our luck¡¯s particrly bad, we would not be able to replenish our stock for up to half a year. If you mess up and buy too little due to feeling some restraint, it¡¯ll eventually return to bite us back in the ass. Always keep that in mind, alright?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Mimi nodded with a serious expression. Actually, I was also a bona fide newbie, so it really wasn¡¯t my ce to talk man! In any case, I talked to a male store clerk and started stocking up on things needed for a long space voyage. Basing on the clerk¡¯s suggestions, I ended up purchasing three sets of emergency kits for injuries and illnesses and stuff used by the med-pod to treat said injuries and illnesses. I also purchased some spare underwear and shirts, soap and shampoo for bathing and recement water filters. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting.¡± While I was having the items I bought confirmed by the male clerk, Mimi came back with the female clerk in tow. Her face was a bit flushed. Was she okay? The female clerk was also grinning mischievously¡­ I have a bad feeling about this. ¡°Well, isn¡¯t she such a nice girl. Go enjoy each other¡¯spany as much as you liketer on, kay.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± I looked straight at Mimi, but she kept trying to avoid my gaze with a beet red face. Yeah, I¡¯m not that much of a dense bastard, so I could already sort of imagine what kind of things she ended up buying. I¡¯ll ask the female clerk, just in case. ¡°It¡¯s safe to use right? It won¡¯t be funny if that stuff has some serious side effects such as causing addiction or dependency y¡¯know.¡± ¡°Rest assured. The safety of our products is guaranteed.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s something necessary for her then?¡± ¡°Yes, you could say so. It would greatly help her feel better whenever her periodes as well.¡± ¡°I see. Well, it¡¯s something we guys don¡¯t get to experience after all. If you say it¡¯s okay, then I¡¯ll take your word for it.¡± I was told it was different for each person, but I heard that some would feel so terrible that they would be unable to move around much as a result. Just imagining the fact that you¡¯d suffer from its effects for a few days to more than a week was quite distressing. Looks like we really need something to prevent that from happening after all. Or rather, if it hits her while in the middle of operating the ship and caused me to make a piloting error as a result, we¡¯d probably be turned into space debris. Well, since this world is a lot more technologically advanced, this stuff should be more safe and effective than the ones I¡¯m familiar with from back in my world. ¡°Alright then. Please transfer all of them to my ship.¡± ¡°Thank you for your purchase dear customer.¡± I paid with my portable terminal andpleted the necessary procedures. With this, the supplies should already be in the cargo bay when wee back to the ship. I then went to the shop which sells electronics together with the blushing Mimi. ¡°We¡¯ll get you a terminal and a tablet model.¡± ¡°W- We¡¯re buying two of them?¡± ¡°Hm, I want a tablet myself, so we¡¯ll buy three.¡± The portable terminal would be used for basicmunications and mary transactions. The tablet would be for training, work and entertainment. I¡¯m nning to let Mimi train in the basics of being a ship operator, and the tablet would be one of the tools she would use for that. For work, she¡¯ll learn about basic asset management and contact procedures with the Mercenary Guild and other important institutions. As for entertainment, it would be more convenient to watch videos and y games on a bigger screen. And yeah, I¡¯m buying a tablet of my own to use mainly for entertainment purposes. I could actually just borrow Mimi¡¯s, but that would be too much of a hassle. ¡°It¡¯s so expensive¡­!¡± It seems Mimi was hesitant about buying the high end models, but skimping on quality just because you want to save some cash might backfire in the long run. The cheaper ones may malfunction or break down easier after all, so it¡¯s better to be safe than sorry. Next stop should be a women¡¯s clothing store. I bought my spare underwear and clothes in the drugstore, but it wasn¡¯t the case for Mimi. I actually wanted to have Mimi go to the clothing store by herself while I head on over to the Mercenary Guild. But, considering our circumstances, it wasn¡¯t that advisable. It¡¯s better if I tag along with her after all. However, it¡¯s a women¡¯s clothing store y¡¯know¡­ ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Um, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°No, uh¡­ Isn¡¯t the clothing selection kinda¡­ y¡¯know¡­ unusual?¡± The stuff lined up on the window disys were mostly things like nurse, maid, magical-girl and bunny girl costumes ¨C among other clothing catering to certain *ehem fetishes. All of them have this sort of cyberpunk feel incorporated in their designs. ¡°Is that so? I think they all look very beautiful. But they seem pretty expensive.¡± ¡°Eh? That¡¯s all?¡± ¡°Um, yes. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°No, uh¡­ Anyway, do you want to have a look around?¡± ¡°Yes please.¡± Looks like girls really do enjoy shopping for clothes. Mimi seemed quite excited about the prospect anyway. Mimi seemed to hold no doubts about the clothing sold in the store. But to me, they look like kinky cosy costumes no matter how you slice it. Were these types of oddball clothes thetest trend in fashion in this world? I entered the store feeling a little uneasy, but the shop interior actually looked surprisingly normal¡­ ¡°Nope. I spoke too soon.¡± ¡°???¡± Mimi curiously tilted her head when she heard me. Cosy costumes here. Cosy costumes there. Cosy costumes freaking everywhere! Sure, they were designed in a futuristic fashion, but they were still cosy costumes man! No, maybe this was just a specialty area in this store. I¡¯m sure they have normal-looking clothes for sale in the back. Probably. I hope. Or rather, I couldn¡¯t spot anyone walking around wearing these kinds of clothes. Maybe they simply aren¡¯t able to sell this stuff? ¡°Wee!¡± A female shop clerk wearing a futuristic bunny ear headband appeared from within the store sporting her best business smile. Her uniform offered little skin exposure, but it really resembled a bunny suit nheless. ¡°We came to buy some clothes for her but¡­ do you sell any normal clothes not catering to any sort of strange hobby in this store?¡± ¡°Of course we do dear costumer.¡± ¡°Alright then. Go ahead and buy all the clothes and underwear you need Mimi. As for me¡­¡± ¡°We have some seats over there sir. You can rest there if you like.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°Uh, um¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the prices. Buy as much as you need. Okay?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mimi nodded obediently. That¡¯s more like it. It¡¯s way better than her holding back. ¡°You¡¯re quite the generous one, aren¡¯t you dear customer.¡± ¡°This girl is an apprentice merc. Nah, she¡¯s an apprentice ship operator. You can pretty much tell my upation from my outfit right?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a registered mercenary right? So that means this girl will be boarding your ship huh?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­?¡± The shop clerk kept ncing back and forth between me and Mimi. ¡°We have a considerable selection here ¨C ranging from the prim and proper to the bold and daring. You¡¯ve really done well for yourself, haven¡¯t you oniisan?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Please choose some clothes fit for a mercenary ship operator. As for other clothes, just pick out what this girl likes best.¡± ¡°Understood. Sa~a, sa~a. Pleasee with me dear customer.¡± ¡°Eh¡­ Uh¡­ Okay.¡± The shop clerk dragged the flustered Mimi further inside the store. ¡°Now then¡­¡± I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll take some time for them to finish shopping. It seems there¡¯s only women¡¯s clothing as merchandise in this store. Since that¡¯s the case, it¡¯ll be awkward if I try to wander around here on my own. I took out my mobile data terminal and opened the messaging app. Of course the only registered contact was a certain disappointing space elf. ¡°You¡¯ve really done it this time. Way to go with egging her ondy.¡± ¡°I did it for the sake of the two of you okay. You seem like an inexperienced young master, so if I didn¡¯t go that far you two would never have progressed,¡± came the quick reply. Was shenguishing in boredom again? She did say the System armed forces were making preparations for subjugating the pirates or something yesterday. Looks like she¡¯s staying on standby today as well due to it. ¡°Well? Did you go and do it?¡± ¡°To think I¡¯d actually experience ady asking me if I went and did it with another girl¡­ Well, that ended up being the case, yeah.¡± ¡°If you actually said you didn¡¯t do anything after all that, I was nning on heading over to your ship right away and giving you a piece of my mind mister.¡± ¡°Ooh, scary.¡± An animated image of a cartoonish cat-creature punching a mouse-creature was sent to my terminal. So this messaging app had this kind of function huh? ¡°So what¡¯s your business with me? Don¡¯t tell me you messaged me just to air out your grievances?¡± ¡°Nah. Y¡¯see I kinda want Mimi to learn about how to be a ship operator, so I was wondering if you knew wether or not the Mercenary Guild has some learning materials, technical manuals or educational apps for the job.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it better if you asked the Mercenary Guild directly¡­? Well, I did hear they had some of those though.¡± ¡°So they do have them then. Can I get some personal copies at the branch office?¡± ¡°That I don¡¯t know. But I did hear that the Mercenary Training Institute run by the Guild makes use of that sort of stuff. You better ask at the Guild directly for more details.¡± ¡°Aye ma¡¯am!¡± I selected an animated image of a penguin giving a crisp salute from the menu and sent it to Elma. I ended up killing time with the messaging app, talking about things like the results for Mimi¡¯s vitals check-up and the fact that I was free because Mimi was busy choosing clothes. Mimi and the store clerk finally returned after some time. Since they don¡¯t seem to be carrying anything on them, the clothes were probably already sent to the ship. ¡°All finished?¡± ¡°Y- Yes!¡± When I turned towards the clerk, she gave me an ambiguous smile in return. Oh boy. Everything¡¯s fine right¡­? ¡°How much is it?¡± ¡°This is the total price of the goods sir.¡± The clerk handed me a tablet terminal. There was a 3D image of Mimi wearing what looked like a futuristic bunny girl outfit on the screen. The image wasposed by an app whichbines the data of a person¡¯s body shape and the clothes to create a realistic approximation of how they would look when worn. Umu. Mimi¡¯s chest assets certainly possessed extreme offensive power. Rather, they¡¯re on the verge of spilling out oi! Ah, how indecent! ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I seem to have made a mistake sir.¡± ¡°Can you delete that?¡± The store clerk nodded in reply, but came closer and whispered something to me. ¡°If you register as an official VIP member, we can give you rmendations regarding the most suitable clothes to purchase by coting the data from all our chain stores. You can also make purchases online and get updates once new products get released.¡± ¡°¡­Can I get that clothing trial thing installed on my terminal too?¡± ¡°Of course dear customer. If you install our exclusive app, you¡¯ll be able to use that feature freely.¡± ¡°You got yourself a dealdy.¡± I paid for the clothes and got myself registered as a VIP member as well. The price was reasonable too. It was way cheaperpared to the price of ammo for my ship¡¯s cannons and my ultimate ¡°trump card¡± in any case. This is considering my total assets as well. After paying up, we headed to the main destination for today; the Mercenary Guild. ¡°We¡¯re going to the Mercenary Guild next.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Actually, there¡¯s an uncle with a really scary face over there. He¡¯s kinda a perfect fit for the image of a Mercenary Guild.¡± ¡°I- I see.¡± ¡°But he¡¯s actually quite a nice guy once you get to know him. And the ce really looks like your usual government office, so you don¡¯t have to feel so nervous okay.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Man. Just looking at Mimi¡¯s smiling face heals my poor, little heart. You may have other opinions, but I say cute is justice! But Mimi¡¯s such a cute girl after all¡­ I think it would be better if she learned some self defense techniques or had a weapon for protecting herself on her. Guess I¡¯ll ask the receptionist uncle about this sort of stuff as well. Chapter 13: – Again at the Mercenary Guild and the Large-scale Subjugation?Operation Chapter 13 # 013 ¨C Again at the Mercenary Guild and the Large-scale SubjugationOperation ¡°Ou . If it ain¡¯t thed from yester¡­ day¡­¡± The moment the receptionist uncle saw Mimi¡¯s cute visage peeking over from behind me, his expression stiffened . ¡°A lot of stuff happened yesterday and this girl ended up boarding my ship as a result . I¡¯d like for her to train in the basics of being a ship operator so we came here to see if you had any resource materials or training apps we could use . ¡± ¡°P- Pleased to make your acquaintance sir¡­¡± The uncle¡¯s hands grabbed me by the shirt with incredible momentum and forcefully raised me up . You¡¯re expression looks he terrifying uncle! ¡°The hell d¡¯ya mean by this huuh¡­!?¡± ¡°I get it! I get it! I¡¯ll tell you everything so please let me go uncle! You¡¯re face looks really scary man!¡± ¡°What about my face!?¡± ¡°But it really is scary uncle! Look, even Mimi¡¯s terrified . ¡± ¡°Ku~h¡­¡± The receptionist uncle released me while sporting a deadly serious expression . He plopped down on his seat, closed his eyes and took deep, long breaths in order to calm down . I also let out a sigh of relief . I was about to piss my pants there man . ¡°It¡¯ll take quite a while if I start from the beginning . ¡± ¡°Just start from the beginning kid . ¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I ended up telling every detail about how Mimi came to board my ship while being red at by the uncle with a terrifying scowl on his face . ¡°This guy just started out as a merc and managed tond himself such a wonderful encounter in the span of a day while I¡¯ve been slugging it out for fifteen years in this business and have absolutely nothing to show for it!? Isn¡¯t this unfair!?¡± ¡°Is this the gap between our destinies!?¡± the receptionist unclemented towards the heavens and slumped powerlessly on top of his desk right afterwards . He then began crying buckets of tears . They were manly tears filled with the bitterness of defeat . Mimi and I could certainly feel the intensity of uncle¡¯s emotions . Another staff member of the Mercenary Guild came out in order to ask what the fuss was all about . When she found out the situation, she had the uncle escorted back inside the staff room . Farewell uncle . ¡°E~tto, I apologize for our staff¡¯s rude conduct earlier sir,¡± the female receptionist said with a troubled smile on her face as she cleaned up the tear stains uncle left on the desk . I bet I¡¯d also have the same expression if I were in her shoes . Bet anyone would actually . ¡°Uh, I better exin the reason why we came here again I guess . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to trouble you sir, but I¡¯d appreciate it if you did so,¡± thedy replied as she bowed her head apologetically towards me . I started going over our circumstances . ¡°Understood . So you came in order to register this girl as an official crewmember and to obtain training materials and apps for ship operators, correct?¡± ¡°That¡¯s about it . ¡± ¡°Thank you for your help ma¡¯am . ¡± The new receptionistdy efficiently took care of all the rted procedures and prepared the training materials . The training app was installed on Mimi¡¯s tablet terminal so she could use it right away . It was a great program where an AI training instructor would impart the know-how of being a ship operator starting with the basics . It was also bundled with an app which would disy the ship¡¯s status and the total avable assets in an easy to understand way . ¡°I¡¯ve also included an info gathering app, so please do your best okay . ¡± ¡°Y- Yes!¡± ¡°It would greatly help me if Mimi gets to learn all this stuff . Give it your all kay . ¡± ¡°I understand . ¡± Mimi immediately began to go over all the installed apps with a serious demeanor . Yep, go for it girl . It¡¯ll make my life easier too . Different from the game, it seems you have to go through a lot ofplicated procedures as you go around this world . ¡°Oh yeah . I was wondering if it would be better if this girl can also train in some self-defense techniques, or maybe get a self-defense weapon for her personal use . ¡± ¡°Hm . That would be a bit difficult sir . You can¡¯t really master self-defense techniques in just a few days after all . It¡¯s the same for handling weapons . ¡± ¡°So that¡¯s the case huh . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s the case sir . But it would be good to let her have aser gun in any case, even if she doesn¡¯t actually use it . It will serve as an effective deterrent and prevent most shady folk from getting any ideas . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± ¡°Shall I prepare one sir?¡± ¡°Please do . ¡± So the Mercenary Guild also distributes weapons huh? Come to think of it, I didn¡¯t manage to find a gun shop when I was doing some research yesterday . So things like this were regted by the Guild or rted government organizations huh . Theser gun for Mimi¡¯s use was soon prepared, and we were then guided to the Mercenary Guild¡¯s shooting range in order to perform test shots . How good is Mimi with a gun? Well, if she doesn¡¯t stop closing her eyes whenever she shoots, she wouldn¡¯t be able to hit anything . After the shooting practice, we returned to the ship and decided to take it slow for a few days . Mimi was still fatigued from her time in the back alleys, so she had to take ample rest . Fortunately, we wouldn¡¯t run out of funds anytime soon even if we don¡¯t work for some time . I was also interested in the major pirate subjugation operation Elma mentioned . It would result in a prettyrge-scale battle once they attacked the pirate¡¯s main base, and those kinds of events in the game would provide a great amount of rewards proportionate to the number of enemies you manage to defeat . I honestly didn¡¯t want to miss such a golden opportunity . And so I spent my days working up a sweat in the training room in the mornings and taking a quick shower afterwards . I studied together with Mimi in the afternoon (There were lessons useful for mercenary work avable on the training app as well), searched the for useful info, exchanged messages with the disappointing space elf and sometimes flirted around with Mimi as well . Finally, the long anticipated pirate subjugation operation was officially announced by the Termaine System Armed Forces . The Mercenary Guild was solicited for assistance as well . ¡°It¡¯s real convenient that briefings can be done remotely no matter where you are without the need to gather in one particr ce . ¡± ¡°Yes it is . ¡± I sat on the pilot seat inside the cockpit while Mimi sat on the operator seat behind me . We were both waiting for the briefing to start . I think it¡¯s great that we didn¡¯t actually need toe to the army base or the guild office for this briefing . You can even order food from inside the ship anytime, so you really didn¡¯t have to take one step out of your starship if you wanted to . The starship interior may actually be the ultimate hikikomori paradise . Multiple window screens popped up on the cockpit disy right on schedule with the briefing start time . The names of each participating party was disyed on top of each window . Among them were the disappointing space elf Elma as well as Serena ¨C thedy soldier I met soon after I arrived at this Termaine Prime Colony . ¡°Huh!?¡± I suddenly felt cold sweat run down my back the moment my gaze met with Serena¡¯s for some reason . What the heck? Weirdly enough, it somehow felt like an unpleasant premonition but at the same time not . Still, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to be more careful of thisdy from now on . While I was thinking such things, Serena¡¯s window widened and moved to the center of the cockpit disy . ¡°Well then, let us start the briefing . I am Captain Serena Holz, the designatedmander of this entire operation . Please address me as Captain Serena . ¡± ¡°Understood, Captain Serena . ¡± Each participant expressed their agreement . ¡°I will now exin the overall outline of this operation . That said, it¡¯s actually not thatplicated . The ce the pirates are using as their base of operations is located on an asteroid field in the Gamma Sector,¡± Serena began as a map of the sector popped on screen with a part of the asteroid field highlighted in red . ¡°The strategy for this operation is simple . Our System Armed Forces¡¯ starship fleet will sortie first and then proceed to destroy their base through naval bombardment . Even if it¡¯s their main base, the ones manning it are only mere pirates after all . I assume they¡¯ll get routed without putting up much of a fight . ¡± A number of the mercs participating in the briefing nodded in agreement with Serena¡¯s statement . There was no way for bootleg pirate ships to oppose the Military model heavy cruisers and battleships of the armed forces . They¡¯re outssed in both defensive strength and overall firepower . Mercenary starships may be able to take on a military warship under certain conditions . But it¡¯s not usually something that can be done using a single unit . In addition, the military has both the numbers and a superior level of training to their advantage . In other words, if you were forced to go head to head with a proper military interster naval fleet, it wouldn¡¯t even be a battle . You¡¯d get your ass handed to you without a doubt . ¡°However, as you well know, our fleet¡¯s bombardment is quite powerful but a littlecking in precision . If theye at us head-on, we would certainly be able to obliterate the lot of them . But if they decide to scatter and flee using their small and medium-sized ships, we would be hard pressed to stop quite a number of them from escaping . That¡¯s where you alle in . ¡± Although it¡¯s true that destroying their main base of operations andrger ships would do great damage to the pirates, their main forces are actually made up of highly mobile small and medium-sized craft . If a number of them ended up escaping, they would eventually gather together again to revive their organization . They wanted us mercs to prevent this from happening . In other words, we were tasked with remnant hunting . No, that might not be the case at all . Since the pirate¡¯s main forces areposed of these aforementioned small and medium-sized ships, aren¡¯t we actually serving as this operation¡¯s main attack force? Meh, doesn¡¯t really matter either way . ¡°How aboutpensation?¡± ¡°Yes, about that . There will be no advanced payment . The participation reward will be 5,000 Enel, which will be given to each of you after the operation concludes . ¡± Man, how cheap . The fixed sry¡¯s dirt cheap . I expect the confirmed kill rewards to be a different story though . ¡°As for kill rewards, small ships are worth 5,000 Enel per kill . Medium ones are 20,000 Enel per kill . Therge ones are worth 100,000 each . The bounty rewards already ced on the pirate ships will also be paid separately . We¡¯ll also give you free reign to plunder their ships for goods . ¡± ¡°We n to eliminate all of therge sized ships ourselves anyway . ¡± Serena probably thought to herself, judging from that confident smile on her lips . There were varied reactions from the participating mercenaries, but the collective response seemed to be generally positive . ¡°The overall strategy is simple and straightforward . You mercenaries will be deployed in advance and hide within the outer areas of the Gamma Sector . We will directly attack the pirate¡¯s main base and destroy all major facilities and as much of their forces as possible . You will stage an ambush and destroy the small and medium-sized craft which try to escape from the battle . We shall then mop up any remaining ships who will manage to slip away from the ambush . ¡± It was a simple but efficient n of attack . They will destroy all the high-priority targets with the first hit and prevent the enemies from escaping with a ¡± of mercenaries . The military forces will take advantage of the enemy¡¯s confusion due to the ambush to form an iron tight ¡°cage¡± . Afterwards, all that¡¯s left was to gradually tighten the cage until all the pirates are wiped out to thest ship . While I was mulling over the operation details, the hem of my clothes was suddenly pulled . I looked over to find Mimi who moved from the operator¡¯s seat and stood beside me . ¡°Hiro-sama, what if the pirates forcefully activated their FTL Drives in order to escape?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that . If there are ships incapable of FTL nearby, the safety devices would prevent the other ships from activating their own FTL Drives . ¡± ¡°But if they took out the safety devices, wouldn¡¯t they be able to forcefully activate their Drives?¡± ¡°They could, but I don¡¯t think there would be anyone willing to try that kind of stunt . If they deactivated their safety devices, they wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid space debris and asteroidsrge enough not to be repelled by their energy shields . If they do hit something under those conditions, they¡¯d be turned to space dust in moments, or so I¡¯ve heard . I¡¯m not too sure about the particrs either . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± The game did mention that the safety devices were coupled with the obstacle evasion system, but didn¡¯t go into much detail about the rted theories . Or rather, the game was pretty vague regarding these sorts of sci-fi tech stuff . Well, it¡¯s fine if we don¡¯t know how these things exactly work as long as we can use them with no trouble . One didn¡¯t have to know the exact details regarding how a microwave or cellphone works in order to use them right? It¡¯s the same thing with starships . While I and Mimi were discussing, the other mercenaries continued to ask Serena some questions . They were basically about the reward acquisition details, which didn¡¯t interest me as much . For example, if multiple mercs ended up shooting down a single pirate ship, how would the rewards be distributed? In case of a dispute, the military will determine the deserving party by going over the recorded battle logs . And in order to ensure transparency and fairness, the results will be publicly announced and handed over to the Mercenary Guild . If there are mercs found to be deliberately stealing kills, they may be punished with rank demotion or, in the worst case, be expelled from the Guild . If one wants to continue being a merc, one should behave appropriately . I don¡¯t feel like doing anything like that anyway, so it¡¯s not my problem . However, there was no one who asked about the thing I wanted to know the most . Is it because it¡¯s consideredmon sense, or do they not care about this sort of stuff in the first ce? Guess I¡¯ll have to ask about it myself . ¡°Uh, I also have a question ma¡¯am . ¡± All attention gathered towards me from the windows on the cockpit screen . Elma looked over as well . She was giving me a ¡°You¡¯re going to ask something outrageous aren¡¯t you?¡± kind of re . Haha . I¡¯ll try to answer your expectations ma¡¯am . ¡°Yes, sir mercenary?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my first time participating in this kind ofrge scale operation y¡¯see . But if, by any circumstance, I judged furtherbat to be impossible due to factors like the ship¡¯s energy shield failing due to malfunction or damage, is it alright to withdraw from the battle?¡± The other mercenaries were dumbfounded after hearing my question . Elma facepalmed while Serena disyed a calm smile . ¡°You could choose to do so, yes . I understand that mercenaries value their lives as much as their reward money . It¡¯s in your nature . However, it¡¯ll be troublesome if one turns tail and flees even before the start of the battle . Our main objective is topletely annihte the pirates after all . ¡± ¡°Guess that¡¯s reasonable . But I¡¯m a rookie y¡¯see . And it¡¯s a rookie-like thing to think about securing a path of retreat . And it wouldn¡¯t be a joke if I was suddenly told something like ¡®Fight to the bitter end, or you will be treated as a deserter and shot down . ¡¯ y¡¯know . ¡± ¡°You can¡¯t possibly think we would do such a thing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about implementing or not implementing such a policy . It¡¯s because our battle formation makes it possible for such a situation to be enforced . I have a crewmember onboard my ship, so I have to be particr about this sort of thing . ¡± After all, we would be deploying in a twoyer formation during this operation . The mercs would handle close-range engagements, which therge-scale military warships aren¡¯t suitable for . The military ships would take care of shooting down escaping pirates from long range instead . In other words, us mercs are the hunting dogs while the Termaine System Military forces are the hunters who peer through a scope in order to bring down prey . The hunter¡¯s role is originally to shoot down prey being chased down by the hunting dogs out into the open . But the scope can also be turned toward the dogs who try to flee . It won¡¯t be funny if we were suddenly told that retreating from battle was not allowed and we would be treated as deserters who would be promptly shot down once the fighting starts after all . ¡°Fufu . I guess you¡¯re right . Yes, the battle formation allows for it . But rest assured that we won¡¯t do something of the sort . ¡± ¡°d to hear it . That¡¯ll be all for me ma¡¯am . ¡± The reactions from the other mercenaries were varied . About a third of them looked at me with disdain evident on their expressions . Twenty percent looked somewhat impressed or curious . The remaining half were all indifferent . ¡°Are there any other questions? If there are none, then we will proceed with the operation . We shall sortie after an hour . Once your preparations areplete,unch out from the hangar bay and stand by for further orders . ¡± ¡°Roger!¡± The briefing¡¯s finally finished . Now, it¡¯s time for battle . TL Notes: I changed Serena¡¯s surname from ¡°Horuz¡± to ¡°Holz¡± . It¡¯s a German word . And RIP receptionist ossan¡­ We know your pain all too well¡­ Chapter 14: – Unfortunate Accident Flag is?Raised # 014 ¨C Unfortunate ident g is Raised ¡°Uh, you alright girl¡­?¡± ¡°I- I¡¯m f- f- fine sir¡­¡± ¡°Looks like it¡¯s no good huh.¡± Did I just say it was time for battle earlier? That¡¯s kinda not the case. Not yet anyway. There was still an hour left until we sortie. I had the onboard AI do a routine maintenance check on the entire ship and went to the dining area with Mimi in order to try and rx a bit before the big battle, but it isn¡¯t going so well, apparently. ¡°T- T- The- There¡¯s absolutely no p- problem y¡¯know.¡± ¡°It really doesn¡¯t look like that¡¯s the case though.¡± It kinda felt awkward to see Mimi fretting about like a newborn fawn or chihuahua. Well, we¡¯re diving headfirst into a dangerous, life-threatening battle soon, so I guess being nervous and terrified like her would normally be how most folks would react. Mimi¡¯s current state is understandable. On the contrary, I seem to be the abnormal one for not feeling the least bit nervous or afraid. Later on I¡¯d surely be taking a lot of lives. It¡¯s a bit unsettling that I feel practically nothing from the prospect of participating in a dangerous battle where there was a real danger of dying. But why am I not nervous or pressured anyway? There¡¯s a few factors I¡¯m considering to be the reasons for this. One major reason should be because, based on my research, I¡¯ve surmised that my trusty ship, Krishna, was of a different league altogetherpared with the ships of most other mercs and possessed umonly highbat capabilities. I managed toe to this conclusion after reviewing the performance specs of other ships out on the market along with the overall firepower of their weapons, thetest weapons and equipment issued to the military andpiling various other data about this world¡¯s standard warships. Of course, thetest military warships employed by the Gran Empire and the Vereverem Federation were of entirely different size sses. But even so, I surmised that we still had a fair chance of matching them in battle. The other factors I considered were my performance against the pirates I fought soon after being transported to this world and the shocked reactions of the receptionist uncle and Elma after watching my mock battles via the simtor. Judging from their reactions, I surmised that my piloting ability using the Krishna was somewhat out of the norm and unexpected. Of course, a major factor for my performance can be attributed to Krishna¡¯s considerably high specs. However, no matter how high ones ship¡¯s specs were, if you couldn¡¯t pilot it properly, then it would just be a fancy moving coffin. At the very least, my piloting skills could ensure that Krishna won¡¯t end up being an aforementioned moving coffin. Considering all these, I concluded that this uing pirate subjugation mission won¡¯t pose that much of a threat to us. I ended up thinking as such. So I managed to remain cool as a cucumber as a result. Or maybe I was simply just a born daredevil who didn¡¯t feel much when faced with this sort of dangerous stuff. Y¡¯see, I still couldn¡¯t shake the impression that this world really resembled Ste Online. In other words, it might be that I still subconsciously saw all this under the lens of a ¡°gamer¡±. There was practically no danger of dying in battle. As a result, the sense of reality was next to non-existent. That¡¯s why feeling the fear of death in this situation didn¡¯te naturally to me. I understood the fact that I¡¯d die for real if I got shot down. At least, I tried hard to internalize this fact. However, the only times I was shot down in Ste Online happened during my newbie days, when I wasn¡¯t all that familiar with the gamey and controls yet. The repair costs after getting shot down were astronomical after all. Insurance would help cover some of the expenses, but you¡¯ll end up losing all your cargo anyway, so the resulting deficit would still be enormous. That¡¯s why I always ensured that I acted with enough of a safety margin. If you misread the timing for retreat, you¡¯d likely pay a steep price. This much still won¡¯t cut it. That¡¯s what I always reminded myself back in the day. As a result, Krishna ended up equipped with threeyers of energy shields and military grade armor apart from its considerably tough main hull. Furthermore, it¡¯s also equipped with shield cells which could instantly recharge the energy shields quickly. Once used, the shields could be brought back up to full capacity after just a slight timeg. But the shield cells would be useless if the energy shields ever becamepletely depleted though. Now then, about these shield cells ¨C one or two would usually be equipped on standard ships, but Krishna actually has a whopping five of these babies. This practically meant that the ship¡¯s main body was fully protected until all five shield cells were used up if you managed it well. Whenever I engaged in battles in Ste Online, my rule of thumb was making a retreat once the number of active shield cells was reduced to one. As long as I had one active cell left, the odds of sessfully escaping from my enemies was rather high. Naturally however, if I attempted a retreat in a sloppy manner, then I¡¯d just get my ass handed to me. So I really had to be careful when making my escape. Basically, if I cut the power from the ship¡¯s weapon systems and rerouted the generator output to the thrusters and shield, then it won¡¯t be that difficult to shake off an enemy who had to keep supplying power to their weapons instead. ¡°Um, Hiro-sama¡­?¡± ¡°Hm? Ah, sorry. I was just thinking about some things.¡± Mimi hesitantly called out to me in a worried tone after noticing that I¡¯ve mmed up. I smiled at her and shook my head to show that nothing was wrong. ¡°You don¡¯t really need to worry all that much y¡¯know. I¡¯m fairly confident in my piloting skills and this ship packs quite the punch. And I¡¯ve also made things clear in the briefing earlier right? I¡¯ll promptly high-tail it if I feel that it¡¯s getting a bit too dangerous. I operate with enough of a safety margin. Plus, I¡¯ll have to consider you now too Mimi.¡± ¡°Oh, no. I really am okay.¡± ¡°Right. Just please do something about that pale, bluish face before saying something like that. But I guess this is just how it is. You¡¯ll have to get used to it soon though. Oh, and before I forget, it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t eat much right before a battle. It¡¯ll be a disaster-in-the-making otherwise.¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± I didn¡¯t want to see the cute Mimi throwing up y¡¯know. I probably won¡¯t mind it much if that disappointing space elf did it though. And well, if we really ended up vomiting inside the cockpit, the odor might cause my concentration to drop or cause the equipment to malfunction. Nah, maybe not. This stuff¡¯s military grade after all. ¡°Looks like the routine check¡¯s just about done¡­ Uh, Mimi, if you¡¯re really feeling scared, would you like to stay behind in the colony instead?¡± ¡°N- No! I¡¯ll definitely go! I still haven¡¯t done anything useful for Hiro-sama. And if I run away here, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have the right to be by Hiro-sama¡¯s side anymore.¡± Mimi squeezed both her hands into fists and made a guts pose. Her ample chest assets jiggled from her actions. Today, Mimi looked the part of a regr mercenary. She wore tight fitting spats and a durable-looking shirt. She also wore a jacket over her other clothes. Personally, I can¡¯t help but feel that she was pushing it with the merc get-up, but I¡¯ll get used to it soon. Probably. Looks like Mimi¡¯s more or less okay now, so we moved to the cockpit and started preparing forunch. The routine maintenance check¡¯s finished and the results are green. Looks like we¡¯re in the clear. ¡°Mimi, we¡¯re initiatingunch procedures. Please contact the hangar control center.¡± ¡°Y- Yes!¡± Mimi plopped down on the Operator seat and clumsily fiddled with the console in front of her in order to obtainunch clearance. After a few moments, the main monitor disyed theunch count down. Unlike the docking procedure, the entire thing was apparently handled automatically by an A.I. I activated Krishna¡¯s thrusters after the countdown finished andunched out from the hangar bay. Thending gears were retracted back inside the hull, and the ship finally exited from the Termaine Prime Colony back into outer space. ¡°Amazing¡­¡± ¡°The scenery out here in space is great huh. There¡¯s an ocean of stars anywhere you look.¡± ¡°Ah! So the colony¡­ actually looked like that.¡± ¡°It looks a lot like a bicycle wheel right?¡± ¡°Bicycle?¡± ¡°Uh, well, it¡¯s a vehicle which used wheels that kinda looked like that.¡± ¡°Is that so.¡± Mimi doesn¡¯t seem familiar with a bike. But it¡¯s quite eco-friendly y¡¯know. I think it¡¯ll do great as a mode of transport inside colonies. Maybe it didn¡¯t function well under artificial gravity or something? It¡¯s a mystery. When I checked the sensors, I found several other mercenary ships already on standby outside the colony. The ships piloted by mercenaries were quite varied, and there were no two ships which looked exactly alike. Strictly speaking, some were of the same models, but their details were drastically different because each of them was heavily customized ording to personal taste. ¡°Wow, there¡¯s a lot of colorful ships!¡± ¡°They look like that in order to stand out. Gotta make an impression on potential clients and all that.¡± By the way, Krishna¡¯s paint job was matte dark blue which doubled as camouge. In Ste Online, there was a high degree of freedom when ites to customizing a ship¡¯s coloring and decals. There were quite a few quirky looking ones such as a transport ship which had anime characters stered all over its hull. I honestly didn¡¯t subscribe to the idea all that much. ¡°What the- ? Now that¡¯s quite the rare article¡­¡± There was a conspicuous-looking pure white ship among the mercenaries. It had an elegant and streamlined frame reminiscent of a swan. Itsrge rear thruster gave it the impression of being considerably fast. In fact, it really was a unit geared for speed. This ship¡¯s official model name was [SSC-16 Gctic Swan] ¨C among the Ste Online yers, it was otherwise known as ¡°White Meteor¡± (in the sense that it¡¯ll eventually turn into a shooting star), ¡°Fe***ri¡± (since it was akin to a disgustingly expensive luxury sports car), ¡°Runaway Super Express¡± (to Hell) and so on. ¡°Wow, what a beautiful ship!¡± ¡°You think so?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°No, uh, well¡­¡± Fastest top speed and mobility, decent firepower and powerful shield output ¨C judging solely from these, you¡¯d think it was an excellent model. But the problem lies with its aforementioned mobility. inly speaking, it was just too lopsided of a design. Its handling was so wonky to the point that it could only go in a straight line most of the time and was an absolute nightmare to control when executingplex maneuvers. A friend of mine let me try it out a while back, and I couldn¡¯t pilot it properly no matter how I tried. Another bad thing about it was its price-performance ratio. In order to achieve its insane eleration, it utilizes a lot of high end parts which are quite expensive and the purchase and repair costs are ridiculously high as a result. Heck, its repair cost even trumps that of a full-fledged battleship. And the final and arguably worst thing about it was its tendency to go ¡°berserk¡± under certain conditions. And it going berserk doesn¡¯t mean that you¡¯ll curbstomp all opposition. No sir. It won¡¯t ept any control inputs and would just keep going straight with tremendous speed until the fuel runs out. And finally, it explodes. When this feature was first discovered, people were screaming ¡°Is this a Bug devs!?¡± and made quite a ruckus in-game. But when the said crazy devs investigated it, they found that it only urred on this particr unit and won¡¯t happen with any other ship. So they wrapped it up as a kind of quirky hidden feature and left it at that. Its tendency to go out of control coupled with its bad handling, high purchase cost and repair fees eventually made yers treat it as some sort of joke unit¡­ And there was actually a merc who¡¯d take such a machine to a life-and-death battle. But I guess if they could handle the thing properly, it wasn¡¯t actually a bad machine to use. Both its speed and maneuverability exceeded Krishna¡¯s after all. Then again, it did have this tendency to go berserk and explode to bits afterwards. That¡¯s a huge demerit. ¡°Is it a bad ship?¡± ¡°Well, not really. If you can use it well, it¡¯s a formidable machine. But it¡¯s handling leaves a lot to be desired¡­ If I were to say it straight, it¡¯s a defective machine.¡± ¡°Defective machine?¡± ¡°If some conditions are met, it¡¯ll go wild and fly straight ahead until it explodes. Well, as long as you don¡¯t push its speed past a certain point duringbat maneuvers and don¡¯t fire off a barrage of high density optical weapons, the conditions for it going berserk won¡¯t be met.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that plenty dangerous though?¡± ¡°Really dangerous. So the one piloting that thing either has to be a very experienced veteran who¡¯s aware of the dangers or a fool who chose it merely due to its specs.¡± ¡°I see.¡± I tapped the disy to bring up that ship¡¯s info and the owners name was¡­ Captain Elma. ¡°Oh¡­¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Um, it seems that¡¯s Elma¡¯s ship.¡± ¡°Eeeh!?¡± Well she did say she was an experienced veteran, so I guess it¡¯s alright?¡± It won¡¯t go bonkers unless it¡¯s armed to the teeth withser weapons. Maybe. Probably. I hope¡­ Oh who am I kidding? Of all things, it was that disappointing space elf who appeared piloting that kind of joke machine. Looks like the incident g was already standing tall. ¡°Let¡¯s pray for her safety¡­ It¡¯s your first sortie after all Mimi.¡± ¡°Yes, lets. I¡¯m sure Elma-san will be fine.¡± I didn¡¯t really want to see any of my acquaintances kick the bucket, but I guess there would be more of thating as long as I continue to work as a mercenary. The moment you board a starship, you¡¯ll be responsible for your own wellbeing. As much as I¡¯d like to help out, I really couldn¡¯t afford to right now. There¡¯s not much I can do at this stage anyway. There¡¯s no other choice but to simply pray for her safety. ¡°Thirty minutes until the start of the operation. The coordinates of the target point have been sent to each starship. Please move out once the mission countdown finishes.¡± The Operator of the System Armed Forces transmitted the coordinates of the target point to each ship. Looks like recon drones have been deployed earlier and the enemies overall strength andposition was quite detailed. ¡°The heck¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡¯ ¡°Nothing. It¡¯s just a bit troublesome, that¡¯s all.¡± The coordinates we ended up getting assigned to was one of the points where the enemy units were densest. Was this assigned randomly? Or maybe¡­ Captain Serena¡¯s fox-like smile appeared in my head. It felt strangely lifelike. ¡°Well, it¡¯ll work out.¡± I could always just escape when it things got dangerous anyway. Though I doubt I¡¯d have to, in any case. Chapter 15: – Battle?Phase # 015 ¨C Battle Phase ¡°Confirm synchronization with allied ships.¡± ¡°Synchronization confirmed.¡± ¡°Initiate the FTL Drive charging sequence.¡± ¡°FTL Drive charging initiated. Chargingplete. Drive activation in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­ FTL Drive start-up!¡± The FTL Drive activated; apanied by a booming, thunderous sound. This time, the Drive was initiated in sync with the surrounding allied ships, so we basically didn¡¯t need to handle anything on our end. All we needed to watch out for was making sure that we and our friendlies don¡¯t veer off-course. And it seems that Elma was sent to the ambush point opposite from us instead. Let¡¯s pray that she stays safe. ¡°Now then, we¡¯re about to enter battle¡­¡± ¡°¡­Yes!¡± ¡°In this engagement, I¡¯ll have Mimi handle both radar observation and thems.¡± ¡°Understood!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the job of a radar observer?¡± ¡°Keep track of the movements of both friendlies and enemy ships disyed on the radar and alert the pilot whenever danger presents itself.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. How about thems officer?¡± ¡°Yes. Intercepting enemymunications, collecting info and responding tomunications sent by allies to this ship.¡± ¡°Looks like you¡¯re good to go. When I was piloting this ship alone, I was responsible for doing all of that stuff. So my aim is for Mimi to take over some of the work in order to reduce my burden a bit. The more things you can handle, the easier it will be for me. I know it¡¯ll take some more time for you to get the hang of all this stuff, but please do your best okay?¡± ¡°Yes! Please leave it to me Hiro-sama!¡± Mimi cheerfully responded. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m counting on you.¡± I made a final check of the ship¡¯s weapon systems while we were still in the middle of the FTL Drive sequence. Our main weapons were four heavy pulseser cannons mounted on maniptor arms. There were tworge calibre live ordnance cannons directly mounted on the ship as well. We also had two ¡°trump cards¡± loaded with two shots each ¨C for a total of four shots. The ammo for these things was he expensive, so I didn¡¯t want to resort to using them if possible. But they¡¯re ¡°trump cards¡± after all. If pushes to shove, we should fire them without hesitation. Indefinitely holding off on using these things is just stupid. ¡°How beautiful¡­¡± Mimi uttered while looking at the scenery outside the ship ¨C the light of the stars streaking past like countless meteors in the far distance, the nebe which brightly glowed in orange and green hues, and the sparkling trails of light scattered by our ship in its wake. The sight of them was so breathtakingly beautiful that even I, who was familiar with them from my time in the game, was captivated. ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s a great privilege for us to be able to move freely in this beautiful ocean of stars.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± We finally arrived at the designated coordinates after a few minutes. ¡°Deactivate the FTL Drive. Brace for possible shock and vibration.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± We exited the FTL Drive sequence and switched to normal navigation. A thunderous din rang out once again and Krishna finally returned to normal space. The allied mercenary ships scattered in groups of four or five and headed out to each of their assigned posts. We also followed suit. ¡°We¡¯ve reached the target point.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really quiet.¡± ¡°Well, space is basically a quiet and lonely ce after all. But I don¡¯t feel so lonely now because I have you with me, Mimi.¡± ¡°¡­Eeeh. W- Well, I¡¯m not lonely either then.¡± We reduced the output of the main generator to the bare minimum and entered a state ofm silence while having a light-hearted exchange. ¡°Are you feeling cold?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m okay.¡± Since the power supply to the life support system was also dialled down to the minimum, the temperature inside the cockpit dropped quite a bit. I didn¡¯t really mind because I wore thick clothes, but Mimi looked a little too lightly dressed. ¡°These clothes are made from a thin but warm material.¡± ¡°Really? I kinda had some misgivings, but it really was a good clothing store huh?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It¡¯s a truly great pleasure to see a cute girl wearing cute clothes everyday. For the past few days, Mimi has been dazzling my eyes by wearing various types of cyberpunk-vored cos-y outfits. She looked particrly wonderful as a big-breasted cyberpunk maid¡­ While I was thinking about such inane stuff, countless light streaks prated the area in front of us. Immediately afterwards, we interceptedmunications which seemed to be from the rattled pirates. [Wha- What¡¯s going on? What the heck is that?!] [Michael just got done in! Enemy attack¨C] [Uwaaaah!?] [It¡¯s the damn Star System Military!] [They hit our main base and ourrge ships! Fires have broken out everywhere!] [Close the third to seventh bulkheads now!] [B- But there¡¯s still people inside!?] [You fucking idiot! We¡¯ll all get killed if you don¡¯t close them right now! Do it!] [U- Understood!] It was absolute chaos. Meanwhile, the bombardment from the System Military¡¯s Star-ss Battleships and Heavy Cruisers continued to destroy the base facilities andrge-sized starships of the pirates. It¡¯s just not possible to do that kind of stuff with my Krishna. The overall firepower and range of military battleship weaponry far outstrips the medium-sized ships used by us mercs. The outputs of their defensive weapons aren¡¯t anything to sneeze at either¡­ If one carelessly went against them right from the front, they¡¯d be ripped into shreds before they can even get the military battleship into weapon range. Well, going toe-to-toe with them by your lonesome head-on is ill-advised to begin with. [No! It¡¯s no use! Let¡¯s get outta here!] [Retreat! Retreat! Retreat! Dammit! All our umted treasure¡¯s as good as gone!] Oh, looks like they¡¯re finally escaping. There were a few daring pirate ships which charged at the military battleships with abandon, but they all turned into space dust in the end. Well, this is the expected oue if you go against a military battleship head-on. That¡¯s just how it is for any non-military ship. [Dropm silence. Operation start.] [GO! GO! GO!] [Don¡¯t let a single one of them get away!] [Hyahaaa! Just look at those big, fat preys! You¡¯re mine bitches!] Once the order tomence the operation was given, the Krishna¡¯s generator output was raised to battle level in one go and we began elerating. ¡°Mimi, we¡¯re entering the battle! Brace yourself for the impacts and Gs.¡± ¡°U- Understood!¡± I felt my entire body get strongly pressed against the pilot seat from the sudden eleration. A feeling of tension welled up from deep within me. My hands began sweating lightly. I proceeded to deploy the maniptor arms and therge calibre live projectile cannons. The battle¡¯s finally begun. [An unknown ship¡¯s closing in fast! What the heck is that?! There are arms growing out of that thing!] [It¡¯s an unknown model! Keep your guard up boys!] [Take it head-on! Shoot it down!] [We greatly outnumber it. Surround that ship and fire at will. Tear down its energy shields and shoot it to pieces!] There were a total of four enemy pirate ships in front ¨C two transport ships and two fighters. They¡¯re going after me head-on ¨C right from the front. All their weapons were deployed. ¡°Looks like they want a frontal shoot-out huh. Let¡¯s oblige.¡± I aimed the pulseser cannons at one of the fighter crafts in front and therge calibre live ordnance cannons at another. The enemies seem to n on concentrating their firepower, but my Krishna¡¯sser cannons have longer rangepared to all their weapons. [What the¨C !? Our shield¨C] The energy shield of the fighter craft immediately went down after being pelted by simultaneous fire from myser cannons. A second barrage punched through its now-unprotected hull and put the fighter out ofmission. [You gotta be kidding me!?] [This guy¡¯s way dangerous! Let¡¯s get outta here, you lot! Escape¨C] The other fighter craft my live ordnance cannons had a lock on tried to get away, but it was toote. I fired two canister shots on its vulnerable guts in session. A great number of destructive projectiles rained down on its shield and brought it down in an instant. Its hull was then mercilessly punched through with countless holes. Another serving of Swiss cheese is served. The two fighter ships were swiftly shot down in mere moments. [Gyaaaah!? That¡¯s a goddamn monster!] [No! Re- Retreat¨C ] The remaining two transport ships tried to escape as well, but these types were generally a lot slowerpared to fighter ships. On the other hand, my favourite unit, Krishna, was a full-fledged fighter ship sporting high speed specs. Escaping from me was impossible. [Hurry the fuck up!!!] [I can¡¯t shake em!] [No, no, no! I can¡¯t possibly die in a ce like this!] ¡°Nah, you¡¯ll die here man. You¡¯re a pirate, and we were ordered to eliminate every single one of you. No mercy for you guys.¡± I pointed the stern towards the escaping transport ships and brought them down withser cannon fire. They tried to escape by going in different directions, but there was no way I¡¯d let them go. If they manage to get away, chances are, they¡¯d target and attack innocent folks again. Once one falls into a life of piracy, it¡¯s difficult to wash oneself clean again after all. As I proceeded to head for the next target point, I turned back to see how Mimi was doing. She was shivering uncontrobly on top of her seat. Her gaze was glued to the radar screen, but I¡¯m not sure if her attention was truly focused on it or not. Well, I guess it¡¯s too much to expect a ster performance from her on her first sortie, so it can¡¯t be helped. I turned away from her and looked the next target shown on the screen. What greeted my eyes was a scene of brightser projectiles cutting through space, smoke trails from the live rounds fired off from the other ships, the ming tails of missiles and the blooming explosions of destroyed ships. The myriad colors brightly lit up this corner of space in a chaotic cacophony of light. These sights were strangely beautiful, but exceedingly deadly for humans. Even a shot from the lowest calibreser cannon would vaporize a human without a trace, and they¡¯d be turned to minced meat if hit with live rounds. Missiles would obliterate them just the same. Once a ship¡¯s shot down, you¡¯ll be thrown out into outer space and wouldn¡¯t escape death either. But what about escape pods, right? Although the cockpit block could function as an escape pod, it¡¯d usually end up as a priority target in live battle after all. Plus, it¡¯s hard to survive getting caught up in the explosion made worse by the detonation of your ship¡¯s ammo reserves. In the end, one¡¯s survival heavily depended on luck. ¡°Mimi, we¡¯re heading to the next battlefield.¡± ¡°¡­Eh? Ah! Y- Yes, understood!¡± Mimi responded in a trembling voice after she heard me call out to her. Looks like it¡¯ll take some more time for her to get used to this sort of work. [Chi, there¡¯s too many of em!] [Surround it! Besso, cut him out from the front!] [Here ya go!] [You fuckers!] Five pirate ships were ganging up on one allied mercenary ship. The merc was managing to hold on due to the difference in ship specs, but it¡¯ll get cornered before long if left alone. Its energy shield would gradually be shaved down and its armor would be prated by enemy fire. But that¡¯s if I don¡¯t interfere. Seems the call sign of the merc ship is ¡°Quiet¡±. ¡°This is Captain Hiro. My callsign¡¯s Krishna. I¡¯m moving in to assist, Quiet.¡± [Ou! Thanks for the help man!] [Chi! Another one¡¯s here. Lang! Cummer! Hold him down!] [Gotcha!] [Leave it to me boss!] Of the five ships that were chasing down Quiet, two disengaged and headed straight for me. One seems to be a fighter ship while one¡¯s a missile cruiser modified from a regr transport ship. Missile support ships are really troublesome. Missiles are difficult to avoid and are quite destructive. Quiet did a really good job surviving being ganged up on by five ships which included a missile support ship. [Seeker!] [Roger that boss!] The support cruiser fired a barrage of missiles which headed straight for me. A seeker¡¯s probably a type of heat seeking missile. Though their range is rtively short, they¡¯re not radar-guided so they won¡¯t trigger a lock-on rm and were a type most effective when used for surprise attacks. But I don¡¯t know what the deal is with those guys firing them off right from the front. They even shouted out the exact missile type. They have no idea how to make use of their weaponry effectively, don¡¯t they? There¡¯s roughly two ways to deal with this type of missile. Either shake it off with superior manueverability or confuse its sensors byunching out a decoy emitting high heat. But I¡¯d rather take a third option. The ship vibrates from the recoil resulting from theunch of live rounds. Soon after, countless projectiles swarmed at the seeker missiles and sessfully detonated all of them before they could even reach my ship. We punched through the resulting explosion at maximum eleration, brushing past a pirate transport ship, straight towards the missile cruiser guarding it at the back. [Geeh!? This guy just slipped right through¨C ] ¡°One.¡± I sted the missile cruiser with canister shots at point nk range and shot it down. A rtivelyrge explosion soon followed, probably due to all the missiles detonating at the same time. [What the¨C !?] ¡°Two.¡± I quickly turned the ship around using the auxiliary thrusters and fired at the pirate transport ship with theser cannons. Large calibre pulseser cannon fire can easily deplete a ship¡¯s energy shields. The small, sub-standard reactors of the pirate ships can¡¯t withstand the simultaneous fire of four pulseser cannons at all. As expected, the shield fails in mere moments andser fire prated the defenceless hull, resulting in a scarlet explosion. After putting them out of their misery, I checked the radar to see how the Quiet was doing. Seems he just shot down one of the remaining three ships and was now chasing down another. He was really skilled. ¡°I¡¯m going to bring down that other ship.¡± [Yeah. Sorry bout this man. And thanks.] [Wha¨C Godammit! Things aren¡¯t supposed to be like this¡­!] [W- Whadda we do Raizo!?] [Shut up you idiots! We obviously need to give it to em then get the fuck away!] The captain of the lead ship scathingly replied to his other remainingrade, who asked him what to do in a pathetic-sounding voice. In my humble opinion guys, you have next to no chance of surviving, so just obediently hand your asses over and get shot down to save us all from the trouble. I downed the pirate ship giving its all to escape moments after, and the Quiet sessfully shot down the lead ship as well. We cleaned both of them up in a rtively short time. [Thanks for the help Krishna. It was pretty hard having five ships on my tail.] ¡°Nah, don¡¯t worry about it. I got me some prey as a result anyway. Later man.¡± [Yeah. Be careful.] The Quiet then retreated from the frontlines ¨C probably for emergency repairs and shield replenishment. I collected the scattered loot from the downed pirate ships and proceeded to move to the next point to hunt some more. Chapter 16: – Shooting?Star # 016 ¨C Shooting Star ¡°Mimi, what¡¯s the battlefield¡¯s current state?¡± I called out to Mimi after the drones finished collecting all the loot from the ship wreckages. ¡°Eh? Um, err¡­ it looks like our allied forces have the advantage for the time being.¡± ¡°Can you pinpoint the spots where our allies aren¡¯t doing so hot?¡± ¡°U- Um¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t.¡± Yeah, I figured as much. I also mostly rely on my intuition when searching for those particr trouble spots, so her answer¡¯s not all that surprising¡­ ¡°Generally, there¡¯s a one-on-three or one-on-four ratio between merc and pirate forces scattered all throughout the battlefield. Spots where the pirate numbers are a bit too many forfort are the ones which require some support. But if the pirate numbers exceed ten, going in to act as reinforcement poses quite a bit of risk, if not outright suicidal. I think we¡¯ll be fine even with those numbers though.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Um, so, it should be this particr spot then, on the lower left portion of the battlefield map. It¡¯s close to the position of the Star System fleet, but they still seem to be struggling due to three medium-sized pirate battleships participating in the battle.¡± I checked the coordinates Mimi pointed out, and it did look like our allies were having a tough time. Four mercenary ships were surrounded by over twenty small pirate craft. They also faced the aforementioned three medium-sized pirate ships. They were still managing somehow due to support fire from the military fleet, but it looks like they won¡¯t be able to keep it up if the current situation continues. ¡°Alright then, we¡¯re going to help them out Mimi. But keep your eyes on the radar so we won¡¯t be taken by surprise. Also, make sure to hail our allies before we engage the enemies to avoid confusion.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do my best!¡± I checked the weaponry and equipment of the hostile medium-sized pirate ships after hearing Mimi¡¯s energetic reply. They were also heavily modified civilian-use starships, just like the missile support cruiser we fought earlier. Piratesmonly used these types of retrofitted ships. They would attack civilian ships, disable their main thrusters, dispose of all the passengers and crew and would then take the ships for themselves. They would then equip these ships with weaponry and defense systems plundered from mercenary and escort ships they managed to shoot down, and the result would be the patchwork pirate battleships they often used. At least, that¡¯s how they were said to operate in Ste Online. Looks like things are pretty much the same in this world. I don¡¯t even want to imagine what happened to the original crew of those ships. Anyway¡­ those modified medium-sized pirate battle ships are equipped with rapid fire multi-cannons for close range defensive fire and a medium caliberser cannon for support bombardment. They probably operate by supporting the small attack crafts from behind through long rangeser cannon fire. The multicannons are most likely of the auto-targeting turret cannon type. They¡¯ve mainly concentrated their weapon batteries on the front end of the ship, on top and on each side. They look pretty solid, at least. I¡¯m pretty confident Krishna¡¯s energy shields, powered by a top of the line, high performance shield generator, would be able to tank hits from these weapon batteries even if they attack simultaneously, but there¡¯s no reason I¡¯d go at em right from the front to begin with. Judging from their weapon battery arrangement, their bottoms and rears areplete blind spots. They¡¯re all modified from civilian cargo ships, so they should haverge cargo holds located below deck. The chance of the pirates reinforcing their armor is pretty low, so they should be rtively defenseless in that particr area. I reckon there won¡¯t be any unexpected nasty surprises popping out from there. I decided on my course of action after determining their capabilities and powered down the Krishna¡¯s reactor to minimum output, turned the weapon systems offline and activated the rapid cooling system. ¡°It¡¯ll get a little cold, so bear with it for a bit, alright?¡± ¡°Understood. Um, what are you nning?¡± ¡°Hm? Oh, well, us mercs don¡¯t just fight battles head-on Mimi.¡± When the temperature of the hull cooled down, the temperature inside the cockpit also started to rapidly decline. After three minutes, the air inside the cockpit turned cold to a point where my breaths expelled white vapor. I checked if Mimi was okay, but it seems her clothing really did provide ample cold-resistance. She was also breathing out white vapor, but at least she doesn¡¯t seem too bothered by the cold. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do this.¡± When I judged that the ship has cooled down sufficiently, I started to head towards the blind spot of the enemy ships using minimum thrust. The small craft and the medium-sized ships remainedpletely unaware of our existence. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t they detect us Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Ships engaging in activebat usually give off high heat signatures. Therefore, most folks rely on heat sensors to detect other ships during battle. There¡¯s a lot of ship wreckages littered all over the ce in battles like this, so ordinary radars just won¡¯t cut it. That¡¯s why it¡¯s possible to fool the heat sensors by lowering the ship¡¯s temperature and slipping in amongst the debris.¡± This was a strategy called ¡°Thermal Stealth¡± in Ste Online. The rapid cooling system was originally intended for cooling down the ship¡¯s temperature whenever the hull gets too heated up due to continuousser cannon use, but the yers managed to create another use for it outside its intended purpose. ¡°I see¡­ So there are actually a lot of different strategies you can use.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not something that¡¯ll work each and every time, but it happens to be an effective strategy in our current situation.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Once I¡¯ve confirmed that we werepletely positioned in the blind spot of the medium-sized pirate ships, I reactivated the weapon systems and aimed the pulseser and live projectile cannons on their defenseless stomachs. [Eh!? There¡¯s a hostile enemy ship signature right below us! Shit, it¡¯spletely in our blind spot!] [What!? What the heck were you doing!? Were you actually sleeping the whole time!?] [I was properly keeping watch boss! But it suddenly appeared out of nowhere like a goddamn ghost!] [Don¡¯t give me that crap! Dammit, evade! Evade you fucking idiots! Fuck, are we even gonna make it on time?!] I fired my four pulseser cannons simultaneously and quickly saturated their energy shields. [Hiii! The shield!] [Oh my fucking god! Evasive action! Get those boosters up! Get the fuck outta our way bastards!!!] The live projectile cannons followed suit, pelting the wide open bellies of the ships with countless destructive pellets, piercing through their thin armor and peppering them full of holes. Their armor really was quite weak. The projectiles seemed to have savaged their power reactors, life support modules, power conduits and ammunition caches. [It¡¯s no use! We¡¯re losing power!] [Abandon ship! Abandon shiiip!] Lots of small explosions urred inside the damaged hulls of all three medium sized pirate ships. After a finalrge explosion went off on each of them, theypletely shut down. Three down. ¡°Mimi, contact the allied ships and dere our intention to reinforce them!¡± ¡°R- Right away! This is Captain Hiro¡¯s ship, call sign Krishna. I¡¯m his Ship Operator, Mimi. We will now proceed to aid you all as reinforcements!¡± [We¡¯re grateful for your help. It was honestly getting pretty bad earlier.] [Chiih! We can¡¯t let any more prey get away! We¡¯re going all out ya bastards!] [Nuwaaah! He¡¯s actually with a cute female Operator!? I won¡¯t lose godfuckingdammit!!!] [Hey now, you can¡¯t just judge if she¡¯s cute from her voice man.] [No brah. Her voice is cute. Therefore, there¡¯s no mistake that she¡¯s a cute girl. Girls with cute voices definitely have cute faces too. It¡¯s a universal truth.] The heck. Wouldn¡¯t these guys be fine even if I didn¡¯t butt in to help? They sounded pretty chill, considering the situation. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Y- yes!¡± I proceeded to deplete the enemy ship¡¯s shields with the pulseser cannons equipped on Krishna¡¯s maniptor arms and finished them off with live rounds. The remaining pirates, who¡¯ve lost the support of the three medium-sized ships, had their morale brought to rock-bottom and messed up their coordination. Their actions were a mess. It was an all you can eat pirate buffet. [Hiiih!? This thing¡¯s a four-armed monster!] [Dammit! Stop that freak! Hold it down!] [Damn you! We¡¯ll just be torn to pieces by canister rounds if we go head-to-head with it! You do it, fucking smartass!] [Run away! Run away! There¡¯s no fucking way we¡¯ll defeat that thing!] [What the- ?! Hey! Don¡¯t run dammit! You¡¯ll just be gunned down by the military battleships idiot!] The pirate ship which tried to run away was pierced by a thick pir of light and exploded. It was support bombardment from the System military fleet. The ¡°cage¡± was finallypleted and sealed shut. ¡°There¡¯s no escape. You¡¯ll all die here.¡± [You die, you fucking four-armed bastaaard!] All the remaining pirate ships turned towards Krishna and started attacking. It looks like they wanted to concentrate fire on my ship in order to bring me down. I evaded the projectiles which drew bright arcs in space with my ship¡¯s superb maneuverability and shook off the attacking pirate ships. *Vueeen! After detecting hostile enemy fire, the ship AI issued a warning and disyed the ship¡¯s overall condition through a hologram projection. The total shield depletion rate was disyed in real time. It seems I didn¡¯t manage toe out of thatpletely unscathed and the ship took a direct hit. Mimi let out a distressed scream after seeing the projection, but I kept my cool. We did take a direct hit. But only the first three shieldyers were brought down. There are still twoyers left. The shield cells would alsopletely replenish them in time, even if enemy fire does manage to bring thest twoyers down. And even if they do manage to bring them all down, we¡¯re still protected byyers of tough, military-grade armor. It¡¯s definitely not cause for panic. I¡¯m currently unable to attack because I¡¯m concentrating on evading enemy fire, but as a result, all the pirate¡¯s attentions are focused on me. Any half-decent merc would definitely capitalize on this opportunity. [Hyahaaa! It¡¯s an all-you-can-eat ya bastards!] [Hmph! They¡¯vepletely ignored us. Looks like we¡¯re being severely underestimated here.] [Typhoon! Fox 2! Fox 2!] [Hurricane! Fox 2! Fox 2!] The mercenary ships, which have been driven on the defensive earlier, got their bearings together and started to shoot down the enemy pirate ships one after another. I also didn¡¯t fancy always being a moving target, so I aimed for an opening and started fighting back by firing off myser cannons; sessfully bringing down pirate ships myself. Therge caliber live projectile cannons were powerful, but had limited, not to mention expensive, ammo. So I can¡¯t exactly fire em without a care. The pulseser cannons however, are quite cost-effective. So if I wanted to make a tidy profit, these babies are a must. And after less than five minutes, the situation waspletely reversed, and we managed to clean up all pirate ships in the immediate area. [Area cleared. It¡¯s our win.] [Man, I actually thought we were goners for a bit earlier. But we managed to turn things around when Four-arms came.] [Nice going, Four-arms!] Apparently, they pped me with the nickname ¡°Four-arms¡±. It kinda sounds weird though¡­ Well, maybe it depends on personal taste. ¡°I¡¯m heading out to another part of the battlefield. Good luck guys.¡± [Yeah, you too. And the Operator girl as well.] ¡°U- Um, thank you very much.¡± [Dammit! She really has a cute voice! She¡¯s definitely a cute girl guys! I¡¯m sure of it!] [You¡¯re always like that man. That¡¯s why you¡¯re still a damn virgin.] [I- I¡¯m no virgin brah!] Man. Looks like these kinds of skits are also prevalent even in another world. Hm¡­ How mysterious. I turned up the throttle and proceeded to head out to a new portion of the battlefield. But in the middle of doing so, a particr unit zoomed past my field of vision. ¡°A white ship¡­ Elma, huh?¡± ¡°Is Elma-san fighting here?¡± ¡°Yeah. We¡¯re going after her.¡± I then witnessed an intense light beam firing out from the pirate ship Elma was chasing. Oh boy. That¡¯s not good. Elma was up against a medium-sized pirate battleship and her escort units. And it was equipped with an irradiation-typeser cannon nicknamed ¡°Gerobi¡± by Ste Online yers. The pulseser cannons equipped on my Krishna were designed to fire offser projectiles in consecutive short bursts. The ¡°Gerobi¡± cannon, however, was an irradiation-type which would continue to fire off an intense high-heatser st until it eventually stops due to overheating. The nickname ¡°Gerobi¡± had a lot of different interpretations, but the most basic one was gero(vomit) + beam = ¡°Gerobi¡±. In other words, it was a cannon which vomits out high outputser beams. But all of that stuff doesn¡¯t matter right now. If I don¡¯t hurry and help Elma, something absolutely awful would likely happen. I gunned the thrusters to try and make it in time. [Eh? Why?! The controls aren¡¯t working¨C Kyaaaaaaah!!!?] I gave up and took some distance instead. Unfortunately, I was toote. [Uwaah! What¡¯s with that white ship?! It¡¯s heading straight for us¨C Evade it!] Elma¡¯s ship started flying straight at an unreasonable speed. Once that happens, it¡¯s toote to do anything. ¡°H- Hiro-sama, is that fine?¡± ¡°Nope. It ain¡¯t. It¡¯spletely gone on a rampage.¡± [Nooooooo!? Wh- what¡¯s happening¨C Iyaaaaaaaah!!!] Judging from her reaction, it seems like she really didn¡¯t know about the Fe***ri¡¯s tendency to go out of control¡­¡­ So Elma wasn¡¯t a veteran who knew the inherent risks, but an idiot who got her ship just by looking at the specs. ¡°U¨C Um, shouldn¡¯t we help her?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t do anything to help¡­ If we try to approach her carelessly at that kind of speed, chances are we¡¯ll just crash into her and go boom together.¡± ¡°B¨C But Elma-san¡­ Elma-san is¡­!¡± ¡°Uh, well¡­ That ship¡¯s cockpit is unexpectedly tough. We¡¯ll just have to recover her cockpit once she crashes and¨C ¡° Elma¡¯s ship sted through the pirate encirclement and headed towards apletely different direction. It really looked like a shooting star streaking past. At first, I thought she was heading in our direction. But it didn¡¯t seem to be the case¡­ Whoah, wait up! She¡¯s heading straight for the military fleet¡­! [Kyaaah! Get out of the waaay!] [Uwaah! It¡¯s gonna ram us! Shoot it do¡­ No, wait. That¡¯s a mercenary¡­! Nuwaaaah!] Elma¡¯s ship crashed against a military battleship andpletely stopped moving afterward. It looks like the cockpit block made it out okay, so if her luck was good, she would probably not get injured all that much. The problem was the battleship which she crashed into was also wrecked¡­ Just how much would it cost to repair that thing? ¡°Um, what should we do?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, there¡¯s nothing we can do. Let¡¯s just concentrate on our current task.¡± ¡°U¨C Understood.¡± Due to Elma¡¯s rampage, the previously tightly wound formation copsed. I went straight for a cluster of confused pirate ships and opened fire with my pulseser and live projectile cannons. Sure it was a bit cold of me, but I really can¡¯t do anything about it y¡¯know. I¡¯ll just concentrate on doing my job while praying for Elma¡¯s safety. Yep, let¡¯s do just that. TL Note: Looks like the rampage is primarily triggered by overheating; either by internal or external factors. That¡¯s one hell of a w. That Fe***ri model needs to be recalled asap! Chapter 17: – Operation?Over # 017 ¨C Operation Over ¡°What¡¯s the status of the operation?¡± ¡°Yes, Captain!! Apart from a little ident earlier, everything is proceeding as nned.¡± ¡°Ah, that huh¡­? Well, it¡¯s fine to not pin her with a crime, but be sure to charge her for the repair fees.¡± ¡°Aye, ma¡¯am!¡± ¡°How are the mercenaries faring, I wonder? Let¡¯s see¡­¡± Serena switched tabs on her info terminal and looked at the current umted rewards earned by each mercenary. Her eyes widened when she saw the data disyed on screen. There was one particr individual who had already defeated four medium-sized pirate battleships. The number of small ships shot down was also quite impressive. It seems that this mercenary was still fighting, and the prize money earned was rapidly increasing. ¡°Was there such a skilled mercenary in our System?¡± ¡°Eh? Whoah! Judging from his performance, he seems to be a Gold rank¡­ no, tinum rank mercenary. But I¡¯ve never heard of his name before.¡± The Operator hasn¡¯t heard the mercenary¡¯s name, but it was a different case for Serena. It was a name she was quite familiar with. ¡°Disy his data on screen.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± After checking his data, Serena confirmed his identity. He was a self-proimed mercenary who piloted an unidentified ship. It looks like he¡¯s formally registered as a mercenary now. ¡°¡­Bronze rank?¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t a result a Bronze rank can attain. He¡¯s just been registered as a Bronze rank mercenary recently ¨C a week to be exact. He¡¯s just registered but has already disyed such an impressive performance¡­ Is he perhaps a former military pilot? He¡¯s undoubtedly an Ace-ss.¡± ¡°Most likely ma¡¯am¡­¡± She looked back on her impressions of the self-proimed merc. He seemed to be just a little older than her. He didn¡¯t seem to be a retired military pilot. He should be a little older in age for that assumption to stick. And he didn¡¯t have an air of someone from the military at all either. Instead of a soldier, he sort of¡­ felt more like an ordinary civilian. He didn¡¯t seem like a mercenary either. It certainly was unusual. Judging from the battle results, his ship should be a first-ss military grade battleship. However, no matter how high-performance one¡¯s ship is, one can¡¯t fully take advantage of its specs if one didn¡¯t have the appropriate skills. In addition, skilfully piloting such a battleship requires an impressive amount of concentration. It¡¯s quite difficult to maintain ones concentration in an environment where one is constantly exposed to danger. Some people may even resort to measures such as drugs or hypnotic suggestion. In other words, he seemed to be an ordinary civilian with no connection to the military, but he has the skills and abilities to pilot such a high-performance military grade battleship. It was highly abnormal. Just who is he¡­? Serena was getting more and more interested in him. ¡°His kill count is rapidly increasing¡­ At the rate he¡¯s going, he¡¯ll achieve a triple score multiplier pretty soon.¡± ¡°Will it really end with him achieving a triple score multiplier? Judging from his pace, it truly doesn¡¯t seem to be his limit¡± Serena thought. ¡°Keep monitoring the situation carefully. Record all the data you can get.¡± ¡°Aye, ma¡¯am!¡± After hearing her subordinate¡¯s response, Serena turned her gaze back to the battlefield map. It looks like the battle would be ending soon. *** The operation finally ended. The pirate forces have been totally wiped out, and now we were in the middle of searching for survivors from both sides, as well as securing loot and re-useable debris scattered across the former battlefield. That said, our ship isn¡¯t equipped with sensors suitable for searching out survivors, so I¡¯ll leave that up to the military and concentrate on securing some sweet loot. ¡°Um, Hiro-sama, isn¡¯t there a chance we¡¯ll get into a conflict with others for the spoils?¡± ¡°When ites to cargo thrown out into space, it¡¯s firste, first served after all. And the enemy ships a merc shoots down gets automatically tagged to them, so we don¡¯t really need to worry about something like that anyway.¡± It¡¯s just that we¡¯ve been moving all over the ce earlier, so my kills were scattered all over the battlefield as well. It was a bit of a pain, to be honest. But even so, I won¡¯t dare skip this part. There¡¯s no doubt the subjugation rewards from the military would be considerable. But the amount we¡¯d be making from selling off the salvaged parts and cargo from the destroyed ships would also be nothing to sneeze at. This is especially the case for base raids. In these situations, the pirates usually try to escape while bringing along as much supplies and rare metals they could afford to carry. ¡°That said, let¡¯s get to work!¡± ¡°You look like you¡¯re having fun, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Course it¡¯s fun. It¡¯s more fun than killing people with a battleship anyway. We might even find some unexpected treasures or something. Don¡¯t you think this is fun Mimi?¡± ¡°B¨C But, I¡¯m worried about Elma¡¯san.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a really kind girl, Mimi¡­ Well, her ship did crash, but it¡¯s kinda fortunate that she rammed a military battleship. I bet she¡¯s safe now.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yup. Military ships are equipped with state-of-the-art medical facilities after all. They also have really skilled doctors on-board. So don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°I see¡­ That¡¯s great.¡± Mimi made a relieved expression. Well, there really was no danger to her life, but I can¡¯t say the same for her finances. After all, in addition to the hefty repair costs for her ship, she¡¯ll also have to shoulder the expenses for the military battleship she managed to wreck¡­ Just thinking about it is kinda scary. It may seem cold of me to ignore her plight, but I don¡¯t really have any obligation to help her out. She did help in my and Mimi¡¯s registration procedures, but I¡¯ve already paid her with arge amount of brewed liquor aspensation, so that sort of evens the score already. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t feel any gratitude towards her. However, considering the huge amount of debt she¡¯s about to be pped with following that ident, gratitude¡¯s a bit of a weak reason for me to shoulder that with her. In the first ce, she¡¯s called herself a veteran mercenary. I bet she won¡¯t appreciate me butting in on her problems anyway. But, well, I¡¯d consider helping her out within allowable limits if she did ask for help though. ¡°Alrighty then, let¡¯s get ourselves some treasure! Watch me work and try to remember the procedures Mimi. It¡¯s not that difficult anyway.¡± ¡°Y¨C Yes!¡± I ordered the drones to collect the wreckages and scanned their contents. Mmhm. Supplies, liquor and ammunition huh? Basic stuff. There¡¯s also some industrial use metals. These should sell for quite a bit. The rest are¡­ air purifier spare parts, water purifier filters and other colony maintenance supplies. These should also sell well. These items are used for maintaining colonies and space stations, so they should fetch reasonable prices just about anywhere. However, the real treasures are the rare metals. I didn¡¯t manage to collect a lot of the stuff, but what I got would still sell for a considerable sum. ¡°There sure are a lot of stuff, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Yep, you¡¯re right. I¡¯m d we managed to secure some rare metals.¡± ¡°Yes. Huh? What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± There was an unusual item among the things the drones salvaged, so I began a detailed scan. A jewel? It was sealed tight inside a tough-looking container too. This is¡­ To think they had something like this¡­ ¡°Oh boy¡­ It¡¯s that thing huh?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°This thing¡¯s called a Singing Crystal¡­ It¡¯s quite a dangerous item.¡± ¡°Is that so? Should we really bring it with us then?¡± ¡°Y¨C Yeah. We¡¯ll take it.¡± My policy is not to miss any item which would amount to lots of dough. Anyway, this Singing Crystal is a special item which could call out a lot of space-dwelling monsters if you destroy it in outer space. It¡¯s a very dangerous item which would summon a swarm of dangerous monsters from out of nowhere. The monsters aren¡¯t all that tough, but they were pretty numerous. Thousands of them woulde at you all at once, so it¡¯s impossible to manage with just a single ship. In Ste Online, at least ten squads were needed in order to attempt a challenge. It¡¯s something which could generate raid bosses; or rather, a raid mission. Actually, there¡¯s a trick to using this thing¡­ Well, considering our current situation, it may be a good idea to keep this thing as a form of insurance. The situation with the neighbouring Federation kinda smells fishy after all. ¡°Yep, let¡¯s take this thing. Secretly, that is.¡± ¡°Secretly?¡± ¡°Uhuh. Secretly.¡± It¡¯s not exactly an illegal item, but it¡¯ll be messy if we were found holding on to it. The ship has apartment which can block out external scanning, so let¡¯s store it there. Eh? What am I nning to do with it, you ask? Hahaha, well I just thought something like this woulde handy, that¡¯s all. Besides, collecting all sorts of illegal stuff is kinda a mercenary thing, so it can¡¯t be helped y¡¯know. We salvaged items until the cargo hold was filled to bursting and returned with the other mercenary and military ships to Termaine Prime. Elma¡¯s white Fe***ri was also being towed back¡­ but can that thing still be repaired? It looked pretty busted up. More like, even if their size sses were worlds apart, it still managed to wreck a military battleship to an amazing degree. Just how fast did this thing go anyway¡­? Even I¡¯m getting worried about Elma¡¯s safety. While I was thinking such things, the ship¡¯sms received a message. It seems to have been sent to all ships, including the mercenaries. [With this, we dere this operation over. Good work everyone. The pirate main base waspletely destroyed and most of their ships were shot down. This will make this Star System safe for a while at least.] Just for a while huh? Well, this star sector is rich in mineral resources and raw materials after all. It¡¯s pretty close to the border to boot. After a while, new pirate groups would eventually spring out again. It¡¯s not like they¡¯re cockroaches, but pirates are really troublesome because of this nature of theirs. No matter how many you eliminate, others would eventually take their ce. [The rewards will be deposited to each of your ounts once we¡¯ve finished tabting the results. It will be sent after at least two days.] Two days huh? In the game, the rewards were sent immediately after returning to base, but this is reality after all. Well, two days seem fast enough for a government organization like the military to consolidate the results and give out the rewards. It looks like the designated time frame was normal since none of the other mercs raised anyints. I don¡¯t really mind it taking a few days, since I¡¯m not worried they¡¯ll do something shady with the reward money. It¡¯s the military after all. They¡¯ll surely keep their word so as to not lose face and trust. I don¡¯t have anyints either. It¡¯s not like we can¡¯t afford the dy anyway. We have enough finances tost us for quite some time. ¡°Alright, Mimi. Please send out a docking request.¡± ¡°Yes, right away!¡± Mimi worked on the Operator console and sent out a formal docking request to Termaine Prime¡¯s hangar bay. Permission was issued out a few momentster. It was her first time to handle a docking request procedure, but Mimi seems to be doing just fine. In order to avoid idents, I docked the ship carefully ording to the guide markers. The ship was finally fixed to the hangar bay with a *gashan sound, and the airlock gate was closed. Whew. I let out a sigh of relief. The sense of security you feel when you sessfully dock inside a hangar bay was the same in real life as it was in the game. ¡°What are you going to do after this, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Hm? Well, I was thinking of having a nice, long rest after we get paid with the reward money. I¡¯m quite tired actually; both mentally and physically.¡± I utched my seat belt, got up from the cockpit seat and stretched my limbs. I was feeling surprisingly exhausted. I got hit with a lot of Gs while I was performingbat maneuvers earlier, so it felt like I worked out a ton even if I was just sitting on the pilot seat the whole time. While I stood next to the main console, I operated it and ran the ship¡¯s self-diagnostic routines. It was a fairly rough battle, and I¡¯m sure there would be some areas in need of maintenance. I¡¯ll also have to restock ammo and fuel. ¡°Um, that¡¯s not what I meant. Um, I was asking where you n to go after this and your goal, Hiro-sama.¡± Oh. Those are quite the philosophical questions, my dear Mimi. Where do wee from, where are we going, what is our goal and what would we leave behind huh¡­? Uh, I guess not. I doubt she meant something thatplicated and heavy anyway. ¡°Well, first, I¡¯ll tell you about the reason for my journey ¨C my ultimate goal so to speak.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°My goal¡­ is to live on a residential somewhere after purchasing a detached house with a garden on a prime location in said!¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ quite a grand goal, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Really? I wonder¡­¡± I want to eat whatever food I like as much as I want, sleep as much as I want and have fun as much as I like. Something like that, I guess. I didn¡¯t say it out loud because it seemed I¡¯d be looked down on if I ever voiced these kinds of goals out y¡¯see. They did seem kinda half-assed. ¡°It would be good if you could also think a goal for yourself Mimi. Just living for the sake of living seems pretty depressing after all.¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right¡­ I honestly haven¡¯t thought of things like that all that much.¡± ¡°Anything¡¯s good. Things like tasting all the gourmet foods in the gxy or seeing all the magnificent and mysterious sights space has to offer are pretty fine goals too. Hmm. A gourmet food tasting trip cum sightseeing tour huh? You know what? That actually sounds pretty good. Yosh! I¡¯ll save it as one of my sub-goals then. ¡°A gourmet food tasting trip across the gxy. It sure does sounds nice. Let¡¯s do it then.¡± ¡°Yeah, sounds great. Guess I¡¯ll tag along with you too.¡± ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s do it. My goal is to taste gourmet food all throughout the gxy together with Hiro-sama!¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Mimi and I sped hands while getting all excited. In this moment, two gluttonous monsters intending to devour all gourmet food in the gxy were born! ¡°I don¡¯t really want to get fat, but I¡¯ll do my best!¡± ¡°I actually think you need to fill out a little more Mimi.¡± ¡°¡­Really?¡± Mimi touched her stomach to check her figure, but paused all of a sudden. She was slightly shaking. What? What happened? ¡°Um, uh, I think I sweated a lot, so I¡¯m going to take a shower, okay?¡± ¡°Uh, okay. Go right ahead.¡± Mimi walked out of the cockpit awkwardly; it was as if she was trying to cover her lower body. Just what happened to her? ¡°¡­Don¡¯t tell me she actually took a leak here?¡± Even if the ship wasn¡¯t particrly damaged, we did take a few direct hits. Although the shields held up, it might have been a bit too much of a shock for Mimi, who had just experienced her first livebat sortie. I scrunched my nose and tried to pick up a particr kind of scent inside the cockpit, but came up empty. Did it get absorbed by her pad or something? ¡°¡­Geez man! I sound like damn a pervert, so let¡¯s stop thinking about this stuff.¡± I decided not to let my thoughts stray away any further and headed to the kitchen. I suppose I¡¯ll also take a quick shower after taking in much needed water and calories. Chapter 18: – Shopping with Mimi?Returns Chapter 18 # 018 ¨C Shopping with MimiReturns I and Mimi spent the next few days following the end of the pirate subjugation operation rxing and discussing about our future ns . I also taught her about how to perform equipment recement procedures . We were finally going to receive our reward from the military today, so I nned to bring Mimi along to the dealer who sells ship equipment and spare parts . ¡°Ehehe . ¡± ¡°Well, someone sure looks happy . ¡± ¡°Hehe, I¡¯m really looking forward to our future travels . ¡± After making eating all sorts of gourmet food in the gxy as a future goal, Mimi immediately made preparations with unexpected zeal . She researched all kinds of trivia about gourmet food on her info terminal in her room as soon as we got back from the operation . She¡¯s actually found a deluxe auto-cooker model which promised to pump out all sorts of delicious gourmet dishes, and found a local dealer of said auto-cooker on Termaine Prime . She persuaded me to buy it yesterday, and we made a decision to upgrade Krishna¡¯s on-board equipment . Yep, the new equipment we¡¯re going to install this time is just the aforementioned deluxe auto-cooker . Of course, we also nned to upgrade the living facilities and equipment such as the bathrooms with full-featured washlets, water and air purification modules and high-performance air conditioning devices . The costs are reasonable and cheaperpared to the price of a new reactor and energy shield emitters . We¡¯re going to the dealer today to test out the new equipment and see if it really fits our needs . I¡¯m wearing my usual mercenary get-up, but Mimi was in casual clothes which made her seem somewhat more mature . ¡°Yep, you look really cute today . Or should I say pretty?¡± ¡°I¨C I s that so?¡± ¡°Uhuh . You look great . You look like the perfect example of a beautifuldy . ¡± ¡°Eeeeh¡­¡± Mimi, who just got praised by me, fidgets while holding her blushing cheeks . How cute . If this keeps up, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯d be tempted to disregard today¡¯s schedule and dote on Mimi all day, so I decided to immediately disembark from the ship and head out to the equipment dealer . ¡°The shop seems close to the Mercenary Guild building . ¡± ¡°Yes . There are a number of government offices, major shipmaker outlets and equipment dealers in that area, so public security seems to be quite good . ¡± ¡°I see . It seems you really do have talent for being a ship operator, Mimi . ¡± ¡°Eh? Really?¡± ¡°Yeah . At this rate, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll soon get the hang of information gathering and navigation as well . ¡± ¡°U¨C Um, I hope so too . ¡± Mimi shes me a cute smile while holding her personal tablet terminal . By the way, my policy when ites to tutoring is mostly a hands-off approach . If you meddle too much while teaching, it would be counter-productive . I don¡¯t think building a sort of rtionship where one unterally pushes one¡¯s standards on another is ideal . You can¡¯t develop trust between people with that sort of approach . It¡¯s impossible for me at least . I and Mimi are partners who entrust each other with our lives . We may have started out on unequal grounds in our rtionship as a captain and his crewmember or a guy who paid off a massive amount of debt and a girl who owes said guy her life and newfound freedom . But whenever we go to a battlefield, we¡¯d be partners in the truest sense of the word . At least, Mimi and I are trying to build that sort of rapport between us . In order to build a rtionship of absolute trust, I have to respond to her as seriously, honestly and caringly as possible . But y¡¯know, maybe I just can¡¯t bring myself to be strict with her because she¡¯spletely won me over . It can¡¯t be helped guys . Mimi¡¯s just so utterly cute! There¡¯s always a risk that overly indulging myself with Mimi¡¯s cuteness might dull my edge, but I honestly try not to think of it that much . We got on an elevator which leads out of the hangar bay and managed to get a nice view of the scenery out in space . The elevator shaft was made of metal frames which supported transparent panels, so one can peer through it and see the scenery outside . ¡°I¡¯ll really never get tired of seeing this view . ¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you already used to this sort of scenery, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Nah, not really . I¡¯ve actually just started seeing this sort of stuff in person quite recently . ¡± ¡°Is that so¡­ Where did you stay beforeing to this colony then, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Beforeing to the colony huh¡­?¡± I was indulging in my memories of my former world, but remembered my cover story about losing my memory . That was close man . I was seriously about to answer her honestly for a sec . ¡°Well, truth is, I don¡¯t really remember much . I seem to have been blown over to this star system due to an ident or something during hyperdrive . But my memory¡¯s kinda vague when ites to the kind of life I was leading before or where I actuallye from . ¡± ¡°Eh!? Truly? Isn¡¯t that difficult for you?¡± ¡°Is it? I don¡¯t really care much because I¡¯m getting by just fine anyway . ¡± And I actually don¡¯t have any amnesia, but am just forced by the circumstances to lie about it . ¡°I actually n to go to a space station specialized in healthcare one of these days so I can get a detailed check-up . ¡± ¡°That would be for the best . When we get back, I¡¯ll search up the nearest station with the best medical facilities for you . ¡± ¡°Thanks . ¡± It seems Mimi was really concerned about my health . How kind of her . I also have to be mindful about it myself because Mimi would lose her backing if I do kick the bucket . Iforted Mimi who was worrying about my wellbeing as we continued to head towards the equipment dealer¡¯s shop . She implored me to have my vitals checked daily, which honestly seemed kind of a hassle, but if it would allow Mimi to feel secure, I won¡¯t fuss about it . It doesn¡¯t take much time to have my vitals checked through the ship¡¯s med pod anyway . Mimi was finally somewhat relieved when I agreed to having my vitals examined daily . But she still seemed to be a bit worried and hugged my arm tightly¡­ Whoah, this soft sensation is amazing . To think having someone worry about you would feel this great! The dealer was really located in the ce Mimi researched in advance, and the two of us, who made an early appointment, were guided through the store with impable service . ¡°This is ourtest high-performance auto-cooker model, the Tetsujin V produced by Mushashino Tech Ltd . The Tetsujin series continues to maintain the top share in the industry as the longest selling high-performance auto-cooker . This model is thetest one, only released two months ago . ¡± ¡°Two months ago huh . How long has this brand been in the market?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been out for about eight years or so . The Tetsujin line has continued to improve in quality with each subsequent release owing to the meticulous response regarding the feedback thepany has received on various instances of idents and breakdowns due to being subjected to different harsh environments . As a result, the brand¡¯s reliability continues to rise with each subsequent model . In fact, the overall failure rate of the previous model, Tetsujin IV, was an astonishing 0 . 004% all throughout its run, and was able to provide delicious meals in any environment one might find oneself in . And of course, Tetsujin V has inherited this outstanding quality and even improved upon it . ¡± ¡°What¡¯s its power consumption and projected maintenance costs?¡± ¡°The overall power consumption is a little on the high side, but maintenance costs are minimized due to it having an auto-maintenance function utilizing nanomachine technology . It¡¯s virtually maintenance-free . The filters and internal mechanisms are all cleaned when it¡¯s switched to standby mode . It¡¯s all done automatically . ¡± ¡°I see . That¡¯s a nice feature huh . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re right . It won¡¯t do no matter how high its performance if maintenance is a hassle . Are you okay with its power consumption rate though, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem . Our ship¡¯s power reactor has plenty of power to spare . ¡± The reactor installed on Krishna is the highest-grade military model . It¡¯s got plenty of juice under the hood . ¡°Now let¡¯s move on to an actual demonstration . Let¡¯s start with a standard hamburger recipe from amon food cartridge avable on the market . ¡± As he said, the store clerk activated Tetsujin V and started having it make burgers . Hamburgers are actually the mostmon food temte all auto-cookers are able to make . In the first ce, auto-cookers are 3D food printers which create meals by adding water and seasonings to the contents of food cartridges filled with dehydrated foodstuffs made from a certain type of special algae . No matter how unique its features, this thing¡¯s still making this stuff from said food cartridges, so the resulting product shouldn¡¯t be that tasty¡­ but¡­ ¡°That¡¯s friggin delicious dammit! What the heck!?¡± ¡°It really is delicious¡­¡± Mimi and I couldn¡¯t help but react . Is this thing really using the same food cartridges as the ones on my ship? The taste is delicious enough to make you doubt otherwise . Compared to this masterpiece of a burger, all the ones I¡¯ve eaten before seem to be at the level of cold burgers you can buy in the street for a hundred Yen . There¡¯s noparison . ¡°Food texture and taste would vary greatly depending on the method of mixing ingredients, heating and adding seasonings . The patented AI installed in the Tetsujin series is capable of utilizing these factors to great effect, in order to recreate this sort of sublime vour . ¡± ¡°I see¡­ Mimi, we¡¯re buying this thing!¡± ¡°It¡¯s expensive though . ¡± ¡°The regr retail price is 48,000 Enel . But if you buy now, we¡¯ll give it to you for a special introductory price of 45,000 Enel! That¡¯s a 3,000 Enel discount folks . And we¡¯ll also throw in various essories . All for the low, low price of 45,000 Enel! It alsoes with a free three year warranty!¡± ¡°Wow! Alright then, we¡¯re definitely buying this . ¡± ¡°Thank you very much for your patronage . ¡± We then proceeded with the rest of our business, and finally, everything from the auto-cooker to the air filters and other equipment rted to raising the living standards inside the ship were reced by luxury products from Musashino Tech Ltd . The total price reached 300,000 Enel, but afortable living environment would directly affect the overall wellbeing of the crew . Since that¡¯s the case, we decided not to skimp on the costs and bought the finest equipment the store had to offer . And besides, 300,000 Enel is cheaper than Mimi¡¯s debt plus her unrestricted moving rights pass . My wallet won¡¯t budge from just this amount of expense . Even after including the cost of Mimi¡¯s clothes, we still have about two million Enel saved up . Also, we¡¯re set to receive the pirate subjugation rewards today as well . The number of ships I managed to take down during the operation a few days ago amount to 42 small craft and five medium ones . The military kill rewards alone would be 310,000 Enel . That¡¯s already enough to cover for today¡¯s purchases . The separate bounty rewards posted for the medium warships would me a total of 480,000 Enel as well . Plus, there¡¯s the goods we managed to plunder from the pirates too . Since there were some rare metals among the supplies, I imagine the profits would be quite substantial . I roughly estimate it to be about 800,000 Enel or so . In other words, I managed to earn roughly about 1,600,000 Enel through the pirate subjugation mission . Honestly, it¡¯s on a level which makes me smile involuntarily every time I think about it . I can¡¯t help myself fromughing as well . So, considering this, 300,000 Enel used for home improvement and clothes is truly cheap . We also had the beds reced . The bed in my room was changed to one big enough to amodate two people . I don¡¯t really need to spell out the reason right? Oh, and while we were purchasing the bed, Mimi¡¯s face flushed bright red and seemed to be ready to let out steam from her head . To be honest, I also felt kinda embarrassed, but seeing Mimi in such a state was worth all the trouble . Afterpleting all the orders for the ship¡¯s equipment, we decided to head to the Mercenary Guild in order to receive our rewards for therge-scale subjugation mission . Chapter 19: – Claiming?Rewards Chapter 19 # 019 ¨C imingRewards ¡°Oi, oi! So you brought your woman with you again pal . You¡¯re trying to get on my nerves aren¡¯t you bub? Huuuh!?¡± The moment we entered the mercenary guild, I was immediately pestered by the receptionist uncle . ¡°Time for a shift change . ¡± ¡°Whaddya mean shift change¨C Guwaaah!?¡± The guild staff oneesan from before saw themotion and hit the receptionist uncle on the head with a thick looking file holder . Lengthwise . Ouch . The receptionist uncle immediately passed out and was tossed towards the back . The staff oneesan then sat on the now vacant seat . ¡°I¡¯ve just taken over his shift, sir . Are you here to im the mission rewards and the bounty money?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah . ¡± I silently promised myself never to go against this person . She even easily threw a beefy uncle aside with one hand . I don¡¯t think she¡¯s reced any part of her body with machines or anything . It¡¯s possible that she¡¯s had her strength enhanced directly through this world¡¯s advanced technology¡­ But, in any case, she¡¯s he scary man . The guild oneesan checked my records and the subjugation mission rewards and bounty money turned out just as I expected . All in all, the total reward is just a little over 790,000 Enel . It ain¡¯t an exact figure because the bounty rewards managed to me a little extra cash ¨C 8,123 Enel to be exact . ¡°I¡¯d also like to request for my ship¡¯s maintenance check and ammo resupply . ¡± ¡°Yes, certainly . I believe you¡¯d want canister shells for your shot cannons, chaff, res and the shield cell re-charging service, correct?¡± ¡°Yes . I¡¯ll leave them to the guild¡¯s capable hands . ¡± ¡°Please rest assured and leave the rest to us . ¡± The receptionist oneesan disyed her best business smile . Services such as ship maintenance and ammo replenishment are some of the main sources of ie for the guild . ¡°But you sure performed quite splendidly in this time¡¯s operation sir . ¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess . I would¡¯ve wanted to face some tougher characters though . Bet I¡¯d earn more if I did . ¡± And, for the record, I¡¯m being serious here . Sure, there was a lot of small pirate craft . But they were worth pitifully little . Bet their bounties would have been worth more if they¡¯d had actual skills, but every pirate I fought were of the ¡°shoot-first-thinkter¡± variety ¨C small fries, basically . I would¡¯ve earned better if there were more mid-sized warships among them . ¡°Well, this star system is actually one with rtively good public order you know . Things like the pirate subjugation mission directly headed by the military this time happen quite rarely here . ¡± ¡°I see . So you¡¯re saying I should head to a morewless sector if I want to earn more from the bounty rewards right?¡± ¡°Huh? But isn¡¯t that really dangerous Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Well of course it is . Those sectors house some pretty nasty characters after all . But the bounty rewards would be much higher . If one has the skills, they¡¯d definitely be able to make quite a killing in those areas . ¡± The receptionist oneesan answered Mimi¡¯s question . Yup . Those kinds of ces were really filled with danger . But with my skills and firepower, the pirates in this sector barely posed a threat anymore . Of course, my aim¡¯s not to travel in search of stronger foes to pit my skills against like a battle junkie, but I did want to earn more money if possible . ¡°But with Hiro-san¡¯s skills, I think you really would be able to earn better if you moved to a more dangerous sector . ¡± ¡°And I¡¯m sure this sector¡¯s gonna be rtively peaceful for a while after that subjugation mission, right?¡± ¡°Well, yes, you¡¯re right . But the missions offered by the guild aren¡¯t limited to just hunting down pirates you know . You can also ept escort and cargo transport missions as well . ¡± ¡°My ship isn¡¯t suited for transporting cargo . And escort missions are a bit of a pain, so no thanks . ¡± ¡°To tell you honestly sir, the guild would really like it if you epted some of these missions . ¡± ¡°You¡¯d be better off assigning them to the guys who have proper mercenary fleets working under them . ¡± Mercenary fleets areposed of several mercenary ships that opted to form into a close-knit group in order to aplish arger variety of missions . They were sort of akin to parties in that regard . It was kinda impossible to do an escort mission with just a single ship after all . There was the possibility of the ship you¡¯re escorting getting shot down while you¡¯re busy chasing around enemy pirate ships . And even if you stuck close to the ship you¡¯re escorting, there was still the danger of being unterally bombarded by enemy fire from long range . If there are multiple ships in an escort mission, they would at least be able to divide their roles in order to guard their clients more effectively . But this was impossible if you¡¯re all by your lonesome . So epting escort missions is impossible for us . ¡°Don¡¯t you want to form a fleet? I think it would be possible for you Hiro-san . You¡¯ve made quite an impressive showing after all . Some guys would definitely be interested . ¡± ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t really have any intention of doing that for the time being . We¡¯ve already made some other ns after all . ¡± I moved my gaze towards Mimi and she responded with a cute smile while blushing slightly . Yep, there¡¯s a lot on our te right now . We had ns to go to a medical space station . And there¡¯s also the matter of earning enough money in order to purchase a detached house with a beautiful garden . ¡°¡­I see . ¡± The receptionist oneesan looked at the two of us with a meaningful smirk on her lips and nodded lightly . I think she might have misunderstood something here man . ¡°Hiro-san looks like he would be able to earn a lot and the two of you seem quite passionate with each other as well . Hiro-san does seem somewhat unreliable at times, but I find that trait of his rather endearing . Are you two going on a honeymoon trip after this? I hope you two enjoy yourselves . ¡± ¡°Eeeh! Uh, um¡­ Thank you very much!¡± Mimi responded to the neesan¡¯s words with an exceedingly dazzling smile . Eh? You¡¯re not gonna deny it? Is it okay for our trip to be called a honeymoon? Eh? Eeh!? ¡°Well, uh¡­ We¡¯re really not going on a honeymoon y¡¯see¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re not?¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t¡­?¡± The receptionist oneesan disyed a surprised expression and Mimi gazed at me with watery eyes . ¡°Well, uh¡­ Maybe we are¡­ It¡¯s something like that, I guess . ¡± Mimi¡¯s sad expression turned lively once more . The receptionist oneesan looked at the two of us curiously . ¡°I don¡¯t mean to pry, but what exactly is the rtionship between the two of you?¡± ¡°Our rtionship? It¡¯s kindaplicated . A ship captain and his crew member? You could also call us a guardian and his charge . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ And Hiro-sama is my life¡¯s saviour and also my¡­ master, I guess . ¡± ¡°Hiro-san!?¡± Oneesan¡¯s gaze suddenly turned hostile . Oh crap! I have to exin things to her properly or I¡¯d be at the receiving end of her ridiculous brute strength! I¡¯ll have to choose my words carefully . ¡°She was about to be roughed up by some thugs in the 3rd Block, so I went and saved her from them, ma¡¯am . Since she turned out to have nowhere else to go, I ended up letting her stay with me instead . ¡± I unknowingly gave my exnations in a respectful tone . I didn¡¯t want to get done in by this scary oneesan after all . ¡°I was banished into the 3rd Block because of a 300,000 Enel debt my papa and mama left me . Hiro-sama not only took me in but also settled the entire debt along with getting me an unrestricted traveling pass which totaled 500,000 Enel¡­ That¡¯s why I decided to offer my all to Hiro-sama . ¡± Mimi followed up with an exnation of her own while disying a determined expression . After the receptionist oneesan heard her, she closed her eyes and nodded deeply . ¡°Well now, I guess you¡¯re safe mister . ¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± I just received a royal pardon! I went and made a small guts pose . I managed to avoid fatal danger¡­ . ! ¡°A young girl who lost everything encounters a wandering mercenary and the two of them fell in love huh? It¡¯s just like a story from a romance novel . ¡± ¡°Uh, it¡¯s not really something all that grand y¡¯know . ¡± Well, I guess this all started when Mimi ended up giving her chastity to me . Luckily, Mimi doesn¡¯t seem to dislike me and was even proactively trying to get closer to me . If things didn¡¯t turn out like that, I probably wouldn¡¯t have the mind to pursue a rtionship with a younger girl . ¡°That¡¯s not true at all . Ever since I met Hiro-sama, my days have been filled with nothing but happiness . Hiro-sama is really nice, and you always spoil me too . ¡± ¡°Oh? How exactly does he spoil you?¡± ¡°He just spent 300,000 Enel so we could buy the equipment I wanted to install on the ship . ¡± ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t benefit from buying those stuff too y¡¯know . You don¡¯t have to mind it so much Mimi . ¡± Seeing our interactions, the receptionist oneesan made a delighted smile as she ced one hand over her cheek . ¡°It¡¯s good that you two get along so well . Maybe I should just quit being a guild receptionist and tag along on Hiro-san¡¯s ship as a crew member?¡± ¡°Y¨C You can¡¯t!¡± After hearing the receptionist oneesan¡¯s deration, Mimi suddenly hugged my arm tightly . My arm was wrapped by two soft hills . It felt amazing! After seeing Mimi¡¯s actions, the receptionist uncle who was tossed towards the back red at us with eyes that seemed ready to spill tears of blood while biting a handkerchief in chagrin . Furthermore, most of the mercenaries inside the guild building gave me deadly stares . What? You guys jelly? Keep dreaming folks . I won¡¯t give Mimi to anyone else . ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate . ¡± ¡°Uh, guess we¡¯ll be going then¡­ Oh, right! There¡¯s something else I want to ask . ¡± I was just about to turn around and leave but stopped in my tracks after remembering about a certain matter . ¡°Um, do you happen to know what Elma¡¯s situation is? She was a big help when I and Mimi registered as mercenaries but she suffered an ident in the operation, so I¡¯m a bit worried about her . ¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Elma-san huh?¡± The receptionist oneesan¡¯s expression turned grim as she made a troubled smile . ¡°Is she hurt bad or something¡­?¡± ¡°No, she¡¯s fine for the most part¡­ However, as for the penalties imposed by the military¡­¡± With that, I got a good idea about Elma¡¯s situation . It looks like she was pped with quite the heavy fines . ¡°¡­Can she bounce back?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit¡­ No, it¡¯ll be quite difficult for her . ¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­?¡± Mimi tilted her head in puzzlement after seeing my exchange with the guild oneesan . Well, guess I¡¯ll just exin what¡¯s going on to her¡­ But how will Mimi react? ¡°Y¡¯see Mimi, Elma¡¯s currently in quite a pinch because of the repair costs for both her ship and the military warship she crashed onto . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s terrible! Uh, but¡­¡± Mimi raised her voice in surprise at first, but her mood quickly deted like a balloon leaking air and shepsed into silence . ¡°Uh, well, this sure is difficult¡­¡± It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t have any intention of helping her, but she still hasn¡¯t asked for my help, so she might find me meddlesome if I suddenly butt in on her problems . I¡¯ve also just met her a few days prior and she and I were only casual acquaintances, but¡­ I guess it can¡¯t be helped huh . I have no idea just how bad she has it though . ¡°Where¡¯s Elma anyway?¡± ¡°She¡¯s currently trying to find a way to at least pay off the penalties imposed by the military . ¡± ¡°If she can¡¯t pay it, it¡¯ll be [this], right?¡± ¡°Yes, it would seem so . ¡± I made a gesture of cutting off my neck with my hand and the receptionist neesan nodded in the affirmative . Thought so . I don¡¯t exactly know if she¡¯ll get sent there, but this star system has an orbital prison station where criminals are sent to and forced to engage in harsh mining operations . ¡°Will she be sent to the orbital prison?¡± ¡°Yes . But the ratio of male to female criminals over there is quite lopsided in favor of the males . The female inmates seem to have it quite hard, to say the least¡­¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± I don¡¯t even want to imagine how a female inmate would be treated in a prison filled to the brim with male convicts . I want to do something to prevent Elma from going through that¡­ Yeah . Or rather, don¡¯t they separate the inmates by gender over there? This country¡¯s scary . ¡°Can I ask you to inform me if Elma finds herself unable to settle her problem?¡± ¡°¡­Are you fine with that?¡± ¡°Yeah . Guess this is fate or something . I still don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be able to help though . ¡± There¡¯s a good chance I won¡¯t be able to help her much as well . The only thing required of me in order to help her was forking out a little bit of money anyway . She¡¯d just have to pay me with her body afterward . Wait, I didn¡¯t mean literally . I meant taking her in as a crew member . Elma would do nicely as Mimi¡¯s tutor . I¡¯ll just take a cut from her designated mission rewards in order for her to gradually pay back her debt . ¡°Speaking of which, what¡¯s the standard reward rate for crew members?¡± ¡°It¡¯s often based on which roles they¡¯re assigned to while on-board . ¡± ¡°What about Mimi?¡± ¡°Mimi-san? You¡¯re the owner of the ship, aren¡¯t you Hiro-san? You automatically get 100% . ¡± ¡°Guess so huh . ¡± ¡°We can evaluate it based on her skills then¡­ By the way, pardon me for asking, but are you and him really in that sort of rtionship Mimi-san?¡± ¡°Huh? Ah, um, yes . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll include that in the assessment then . So you¡¯re an apprentice crew member with close to zero skills who didn¡¯t contribute much in this time¡¯s operation and also your captain¡¯s lover . Your cut would be about 0 . 1 to 0 . 5% give or take . ¡± ¡°0 . 5%¡­ Isn¡¯t that a little too low?¡± I tilted my head in thought after hearing Mimi¡¯s reward rate . The total amount of reward money this time is 790,000 Enel . If Mimi¡¯s remuneration rate is just 0 . 5%, she¡¯d just get 3950 Enel . If we convert that to Yen, the reward Mimi will get from this operation would just be 395,000 Yen . Ain¡¯t that a little too cheap a price for willingly heading into danger and giving up her chastity¡­? Well, I guess things would look a little better if we consider that I¡¯m shouldering her food, clothing and providing her with a ce to stay, but still¡­ ¡°This is just how it is . If she improves her skills as a ship operator, her cut would increase . But right now, she¡¯s getting a cut solely based on her being your lover . Even so, it looks like you¡¯re earning quite a bit of money, aren¡¯t you Hiro-san? If I stay with you, I bet I¡¯d earn more than my current monthly sry . ¡± Looks like she¡¯s really starting to consider bing my crew member . Please let me off Miss . I mean, sure you¡¯re absolutely gorgeous, but you can casually toss around a grown man with just one arm . You seem a bit dangerous ma¡¯am, so I¡¯ll have to pass . ¡°T¨C Three thou¨C I can¡¯t take this much money!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s your proper remuneration, so don¡¯t worry and just ept it Mimi . ¡± ¡°Eeeh¡­!¡± It seems Mimi sees that amount as a lot of money, but for me, it isn¡¯t even enough to cover for our bills . The costs for ship maintenance and supply replenishment easily dwarfs Mimi¡¯s current reward rate . In the first ce, considering how expensive it is to park a ship in the hangar bay and if we include the cost of food, you won¡¯t be able to stay inside this colony for twenty days without having at least 4,000 Enel . It really was just a paltry sum . ¡°We¡¯re not really wanting for cash right now Mimi . In fact, we have plenty . If you think you¡¯re getting too much, wouldn¡¯t it be fine if you just saved up the rest of the money?¡± ¡°R¨C Really?¡± Mimi doesn¡¯t seem to be convinced quite yet, but she did receive her rewards properly . I don¡¯t mind the fact that I¡¯m providing her food, clothing and shelter for free . Not only is she taking care of me properly every day, but she also always manages to put a smile on my face and brighten my mood . In fact, I don¡¯t think 0 . 5% is enough . 5% or even 10% would be fine . But it¡¯s not really my call, so let¡¯s follow the stipted rates for now . And judging from Mimi¡¯s earlier reaction, she won¡¯t take it very well if she suddenly receives an even bigger amount . Hmm . Should I open a new savings ount for Mimi then? Let¡¯s consider it . After we finished receiving our rewards, I got a copy of the standard crew remuneration chart from the guild oneesan and left the guild building with Mimi . We had no more ns for today, so we just walked around some of the shops in the vicinity and then headed back to the ship . The new ship equipment will be installed by tomorrow . It will also undergo a full maintenance check and get a resupply . These would probably take a few days . Let¡¯s do our best! Chapter 20: – Waking Up in?Bliss Chapter 20 # 020 ¨C Waking Up inBliss I woke up while feeling a firm but soft sensation all throughout my body . The feel of a new bed is the best . ¡°Unn¡­ Mmm¡­¡± Mimi was sleeping quitefortably beside me . Yep, we also enjoyed each other¡¯spanyst night . Man, I¡¯m already fully captivated by Mimi . No doubt about it . She¡¯s just too cute and loveable y¡¯know . I don¡¯t think any normal man would be able to resist her charms . I carefully got off the bed and gathered the clothes and underwear which got taken offst night . I then tossed them inside the washing machine in theundry room . It¡¯s an excellent product which breaks down all dirt and stains without the need for detergent . It thoroughly cleans the fabric without damaging it and automatically dries it afterwards . Moreover, the entire processsts for just five minutes . Afterwards, you¡¯d get clean, good smelling clothes which seem brand new . The power of science is amazing! I entered the shower while fully naked, plopped myself inside the bathtub and turned the water on . Hot water with just the right temperature quickly filled the tub and washed over my body . Afterwards, the water got drained and what followed was afortable full-body massage . Ah, paradise . This sure was an amazing bathtub which can turn hardworking people into a bunch ofzy-asses . After getting out of the bathtub, warm airced with fine particles permeated the bathroom and dried my whole body . I don¡¯t know exactly what these particles were, but they don¡¯t clog my throat and getting enveloped with them would reproduce the effect of drying me with a towel . It was a process filled with the mysteries of advanced tech and I have no idea how it works . I retrieved our newly washed and dried clothes from the washing machine and put on my pants . I then returned to my room . I found Mimi still sound asleep, so I stroked her hair and cheek to wake her up . ¡°Mm¡­ Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Morning, Mimi . ¡± ¡°Mmm¡­¡± She seemed to be still half-asleep, so I embraced her and buried my face on her bountiful chest . Mimi got surprised by my actions but humored me anyway, hugging my head and patting it while whispering ¡°There, there . ¡± as she made a soft smile . After a while, she finally woke up fully and released my head from her hug . I also got off from her body . ¡°G¡ª Good morning . ¡± ¡°Good morning Mimi . ¡± I greeted her once more and gave her forehead a kiss, making Mimi blush . ¡°I¡¯ll tidy up the bed, so you go ahead and take a bath . I already washed your clothes . They¡¯re over there . ¡± ¡°O¡ª Okay¡­¡± Mimi wrapped the sheets around her naked body, picked up her clothes and left the room while blushing bright red . After seeing off her retreating figure, I pushed a button on the bed . *Vrrr¡­ The bed, which had ended up in quite a mess afterst night¡¯s intense lovemaking, started tidying itself up automatically after the button was pushed . This type of bed was made out of especially produced synthetic biomaterials which activated themselves with a push of a button . The bed automatically cleans itself up and takes care of any leftover residues discharged by the bed¡¯s upants . In other words, this is a type of artificially created ¡°living¡± bed . ¡°Mm . That should do it . ¡± Additionally, the new air conditioning equipment automatically regtes temperature to an ideal degree so you won¡¯t feel any difort even if you walk around naked . We also had air purifiers which can filter out most harmful gases, walls which can turnpletely sound-proof with a touch of a button, a washlet capable of letting out a stream of warm water with one press (For some reason, this is the only thing that¡¯s rtively simr to the ones avable on Earth) among other cutting edge equipment and functions which drastically improved the livability of my personal ship, the Krishna . ording to the equipment dealer, they¡¯ve turned the living quarters into ¡°somethingparable to the VIP cabins of a first-ss luxury cruiser¡± . The Tetsujin V auto-cooker was working splendidly, and Mimi and I got to enjoy delicious meals made by chef Tetsujin everyday . In fact, it was sofortable that it made me actually think that it was fine not to buy a house and just stay on the ship . No, no . That¡¯s no good . I want to drink soda after all . I want to guzzle down as much as I want . Thus, the ns for buying a detached house with a garden on a residential can¡¯t be abandoned . After renewing my determination, I ordered chef Tetsujin V to ¡°make a delicious breakfast¡± . Tetsujin V is able to read the current mental states of its clients and creates the optimum menu based on the data it gathers after selecting recipes from a wide variety of pre-set temtes . I have no idea just how it was monitoring my mental condition, but it hasn¡¯t missed a beat ever since we started using it . As expected of thetest model of high-ss auto-cooker . Right after I finished setting the table and preparing our drinks, Mimi got out from the shower and arrived at the dining room . She only wore ck spats and a in t-shirt . ¡°Are you going to work out after eating breakfast?¡± ¡°Yes . I need to improve my physical strength . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good idea . I¡¯ll join you in training after finishing breakfast as well . ¡± ¡°Yes! Let¡¯s do our best together, Hiro-sama!¡± Today¡¯s menu is grilled eel on rice and grated yam¡­ Huh? Whatever do you mean by this Mr . Tetsujin? Why did you prepare a meal meant to replenish energy for breakfast? Uh, well, we did get pretty tiredst night, so is this menu made topensate for that¡­? Just how the heck are you monitoring my condition toe up with this kind of menu Mr . Tetsujin? ¡°How are you feeling today Mimi?¡± ¡°I feel great . I make sure to get my vitals checked every day along with you Hiro-sama . In fact, I¡¯ve felt amazing ever since I started living in your ship . The meals are delicious and the exercise menu is really effective . I feel that I¡¯ve slimmed down quite a bit . I think I weighed heavier beforeing here after all¡­ Mimi answered my question enthusiastically at first and turned red from embarrassment when she finished . ¡°That¡¯s good to hear . But don¡¯t overdo it and ruin your health instead okay?¡± ¡°Okay . What are our ns for today Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Oh, well, after we finish working out and having our vitals checked, let¡¯s go to town to buy some more food cartridges . We¡¯ve almost run out of them . And I think it¡¯s a good idea to splurge a little to celebrate the instation of our new on-board equipment . ¡± ¡°Okay . Let¡¯s go shoppingter then . ¡± I felt relieved after seeing Mimi¡¯s energetic reply . After spending more than a week with me, she¡¯s already starting to get used to her new surroundings and life and she¡¯s started acting more naturally around me . In the beginning, she seemed a bit too anxious because of a need to feel assured that she won¡¯t be suddenly abandoned . It seems that she¡¯s finally started feeling more securetely . Hmm . Maybe part of the reason is our frequent nightly ¡°activities¡±? After finishing breakfast, we headed straight for the training room in order to perform some workouts devised by our AI training coaches . The content of my and Mimi¡¯s training menu is different, but both are aimed at strengthening the core . It seems that the aim is to train the core in order to withstand the impact of intense Gs when performingbat maneuvers . We also ran on treadmills in order to increase our endurance . The workouts were standard stuff, but were several times more effective because of the nanomachine capsules we take before each session . But to be honest, I don¡¯t feel the difference all that much . After working up a sweat, we entered the bath together in order to wash each others body and flirt around . Due to such a reward, training doesn¡¯t feel as dull anymore . It¡¯s great man . ¡°Alright then . Let¡¯s go Mimi . ¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Mimi squeezed both her delicate fists in front of her and disyed a guts pose like always . Mimi¡¯s wearing full mercenary gear today;plete with a smallser gun . I¡¯m also wearing full gear . It¡¯s because the ce we¡¯re going to is near the spot where Mimi got assaulted . I have no intention of letting Mimi encounter any sort of danger as long as I¡¯m around, but you can never be too careful . I instructed Mimi about how to handle aser gun before we went down to the 3rd Block as a precaution . The chance she¡¯ll need to use it is small, but better safe than sorry . I taught her the safety release method and how to adjust the power settings . I then locked the safety once more and ced theser gun on Mimi¡¯s holster . After that, I reminded her not to hesitate if it came to the point where she needed to use the gun for self-defence . But of course I¡¯m going to do my utmost not to let that sort of situation happen . After confirming our equipment, we boarded the elevator together and went down to the 3rd Block . ¡°Try not to look too nervous, alright? Those types only go for weak looking prey to target after all . ¡± ¡°U¨C Understood!¡± ¡°Well, you did go through that kind of experience, so it can¡¯t be helped if you¡¯re worried . But it¡¯s alright . I¡¯m with you now, okay?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes, you¡¯re right, Hiro-sama . Un, I¡¯m okay now . ¡± Looks like she did feel better now since her expression cleared up . In order to make her feel more rxed, I hugged her from behind, making her eyes squint infort . How cute . But since we¡¯re inside an elevator monitored 24/7 by security cameras, excessive skinship isn¡¯t advisable . I¡¯ll just hold back until we returnter . Chapter 21: – Bill Bundle Binta Part?2 Chapter 21 # 021 ¨C Bill Bundle Binta Part2 ¡°Ah¡­¡± ¡°Um¡­ Isn¡¯t that Elma-san?¡± Mimi and I ended up seeing a certain someone¡¯s sorry figure while we were walking on the way to the convenience store on the 3rd Block . She was leaning on the wall a little further from the convenience store¡¯s entrance and sat directly on the pavement while covered by a white hooded mantle . Normally, this get-up would be enough to make it difficult for others to recognize you . But the hood on the figure¡¯s head was distorted into a strange shape . That¡¯s definitely because of her pointy ears . When I took a closer look, I managed to spot a few empty liquor bottles behind her . Maybe she just couldn¡¯t handle her problems anymore and just resorted to drowning her sorrows by drinking alcohol . ¡°Hiro-sama¡­¡± ¡°Nmm¡­ We¡¯ll just ask about her circumstances for the time being, alright?¡± We approached the figure in white and stood to the side . The person in question was startled by our approach and trembled slightly . Somehow, I felt a hint of danger while looking at her figure . ¡°¡­ . Tsk!¡± Her actions were lightning-fast . The figure in white drew herser gun with blinding speed and aimed it towards me . However, my reaction was equally fast, and I was able to aim my own weapon at her at the same time . I saw eyes akin to a dead fish peeking out from under the dirty, white mantle . Oh boy . Looks like she really had it bad . She stared at me for a while with a lifeless gaze, slowly lowered herser gun and proceeded to disy a mirthless smile . ¡°Fufu . What? Did you guyse to make fun of me or something?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it, idiot! You did take care of me a while back, so I just wanted to see how you were holding up¡­ And, well, Mimi insisted y¡¯see . ¡± ¡°Elma-san¡­¡± Mimi sat down right next to Elma and held both of Elma¡¯s hands in hers . Elma smiled softly as she looked down on their ovepping hands . ¡°Looks like our positions have been flipped in just the span of half a month huh . ¡± Mimi couldn¡¯t say anything after hearing Elma¡¯s words and silently went to take Elma in for a hug . Elma weakly hugged her back . ¡°So, how are you?¡± ¡°Thepensation and penalty fees filed by the Sector military¡­ I already sold my entire assets and bled my savings dry, but I still couldn¡¯t manage to get enough . ¡± ¡°How much is left?¡± ¡°About 30,000,000 Enel more¡­¡± ¡°30,000,000¡­¡± I checked my assets on my personal terminal . I have about 35,000,000 Enel on me . I definitely had more than enough to bail her out . ¡°I can¡¯t earn money right now either since repairing my ship would take more than two weeks, and even the reward money I made during the mission was canceled out by the fines due to the ident I caused¡­ I did try to consult the Mercenary Guild about it though . ¡± Elma powerlessly shook her head . Well, I guess that¡¯s about right . Repairing a totally damaged ship would take a lot of time, and if a merc can¡¯t use their ship, they can¡¯t make money . There would be no lendingpany that would offer a loan amount of 30,000,000 Enel to a wandering mercenary, and 30,000,000 Enel is a pretty exorbitant fine, to begin with . She could try going to banks, but are there any conventional banks in this world? But still, she¡¯d already sold all her assets and used up her entire five years-worth of savings, but she still ended up short 30,000,000 . Just howrge were the penalty fees anyway? That¡¯s pretty damn scary man . ¡°What¡¯s the payment deadline? What¡¯ll happen if you can¡¯t pay?¡± ¡°Today¡­ In about two more hours¡­ If I can¡¯t pay, they¡¯ll send me to forcedbor in the orbital prison on Termaine III . There are a lot of former pirates imprisoned in there . Once they learn that I¡¯m a former merc¡­¡­¡± Elma began crying in despair . I was prepared for the possibility of dying while out in space when I first got my ship . But this¡­ This is just¡­!¡± ¡°Elma-san¡­! Hiro-sama!¡± Mimi looked up at me as she cradled the sobbing Elma within her arms . Her gaze was begging me to do something . I crossed my arms and began considering things . Yup¡­ Bailing her out would be simple enough . I¡¯ll just have to pay the fines, and she¡¯ll get off scot-free . But doing that would reduce my funds to just 5,000,000 Enel . Well, that¡¯s still a pretty big amount . But it isn¡¯t something that wouldst us indefinitely, considering the operating expenses of my ship . There¡¯s no problem if we just went for some minor repairs and resupplying, but if something went wrong which leads to our ship getting wrecked, the fees would be astronomical . But I guess it won¡¯t be much of a problem if I was able to make a lot more money quickly¡­ Should I hunt down the remnant pirate groups in the area for starters? Mimi kept looking at me with an uneasy expression . Man . I just can¡¯t refuse that gaze . ¡°Hey, Elma . ¡± ¡°¡­What!?¡± ¡°Come aboard my ship and be one of my crew . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Eh?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pay that thirty million . So be my crew member in exchange . I¡¯ll have you teach Mimi the ins and outs of being a mercenary from scratch . And you¡¯ll have to act as her support inbat as well . ¡± ¡°Wha¨C Wait, are you serious!?¡± I ignored Elma who was shocked silly at my proposal and took out my portable terminal in order to check the time . There¡¯s just a little bit more until the repayment deadline . ¡°We don¡¯t have much time . Go and make your decision already . It¡¯s either you be one of my crew, or get thrown into a prison filled with former pirate inmates to serve as their ything . ¡± There¡¯s no middle ground . It¡¯s like I¡¯m forcing her, but Elma looks like she was a person who held a lot of pride, so I was being pushy on purpose . ¡°But, but why¡­?¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t help you out, Mimi would grieve . And furthermore, it¡¯ll leave a bad taste in my mouth if I left you alone to face such a cruel fate . And well, I kinda want you with me as well . ¡± She really made a big mess this time around, but Elma was still a veteran merc with five years of experience . She would be great to have around me, who stillcks this world¡¯smon sense, and Mimi, who was born and raised inside a colony . Also, she had enough skills to handle an out-of-control ship and managed to survive a crash practically uninjured . She would be great as a sub-pilot in case of an emergency . I also n to have her lecture Mimi regarding ship piloting, but that¡¯s still a long way off . ¡°Whu¨C Y¨C You w- want me¡­!?¡± Elma¡¯s cheeks and ears turned bright red for some reason . Mimi also disyed a surprised expression . Wait, aren¡¯t their reactions a bit weird? I¡¯ll ask them about itter . ¡°So?¡± ¡°Eh!? Ah, um¡­ I¨C Is that right? So you were looking at me like that huh?¡± Elma started fidgeting bashfully . Looking at you like what, exactly? ¡°Um¡­ okay . I¡¯ll do it . ¡± I made fun of her as a disappointing space elf, but her choice of stores was appropriate, her knowledge regarding all the rted procedures in the guild was spot on, and her advice was pretty useful as well . Her follow-up regarding Mimi, including giving her ¡°meds¡±, was also good . And it could be said that she wasn¡¯t entirely responsible for her ship going out-of-control as well . ¡°Oh, um¡­ but don¡¯t you have Mimi already?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like it¡¯ll be any different if we add one more person . Right, Mimi?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right . ¡± ¡°I¨C I see . So just one isn¡¯t enough huh¡­?¡± Elma made a swallowing gesture and looked at me with a passionate gaze . Huh? Isn¡¯t her reaction really a bit weird? Or is it just me? ¡°So what¡¯ll it be? Are you gonna board my ship or not?¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll get on board . ¡± ¡°I see . Then wee aboard . Do your job properly, okay?¡± ¡°I, I know! Please be gentle with me . ¡± ¡°Hm? I¡¯ll probably be hard on you though . ¡± What the heck is this girl talking about? That¡¯s a whopping 30,000,000 Enel y¡¯know . That¡¯s 300,000,000 Yen . Of course, I¡¯m gonna be strict with her . ¡°Oh, alright¡­ Understood . I¡¯ll prepare myself then . It¡¯ll be far better than doing it with pirate inmates at least . ¡± This girl¡¯s saying something iprehensible again . Oh well . Let¡¯s just head to the military headquarters and pay her fines off . We started heading toward the military base with Elma in tow, whose expression was strangely filled with determination for some reason and paid her remaining fines amounting to 30,000,000 Enel . It took a bit of time, but now Elma¡¯s in the clear . She¡¯s going to be paying a 30,000,000 debt by working for me instead . ¡°Oh boy¡­ Thanks to you, my financial ount has be a lot lonelier all of a sudden . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m truly grateful for your help¡­ I¡¯ll pay you back little by little . ¡± ¡°Haha . Well, if you don¡¯t do your job well, you won¡¯t be able to get anypensation, okay . I¡¯m expecting a great performance . ¡± ¡°U, um¡­ Okay . I¡¯ll do my best to satisfy you . ¡± There¡¯s that weird reaction again? Are we having a huge misunderstanding here? ¡°We were originally nning to buy some supplies anyway, so you might as well just tag along . We¡¯ll have to buy some daily necessities for you anyway, right?¡± ¡°Just a bit then . I have some things still left on my ship anyway . ¡± ¡°I see . Then let¡¯s get to buying those supplies and hurry back to the ship . ¡± ¡°Yes, Hiro-sama!¡± There¡¯s Mimi on my right and Elma on my left . From someone else¡¯s point of view, it¡¯s a ¡°flower in both arms¡± kind of situation . Elma was a gorgeous space elf after all . But some parts of her were a bit disappointing . But well, having two gorgeousdies on-board was sure to spice up our journey, so weing another member did have its perks . And the new girl is both beautiful and skilled to boot . I won¡¯ty a hand on her though . I feel like my hand will be twisted straight off if I did . Anyway, our remaining funds were 5,000,000 Enel . It definitely won¡¯tst us if we encountered an emergency . I¡¯ve alreadyzed around for close to a week, so I guess it¡¯s time I went out and made some money . *** ¡°Oh, by the way, what happened to the mercenary who cause that ident?¡± ¡°That female merc right? Well¡­ She seems to have sold her ship and fully paid thepensation fees . ¡± ¡°She sold her ship¡­? And she made a full payment, you say?¡± ¡°Yes, that seems to be the case . Today happens to be the deadline . ¡± ¡°Deadline¡­? I ordered that she should not be penalized, didn¡¯t I?¡± Failure to pay the penalties fined by the military can be considered a severe crime already . That¡¯s all the more true in this empire . Even if it¡¯s stipted in imperialws, forcing a person to pay those astronomical penalties in just one week was just too much . In this star system, where the military¡¯s influence is prevalent, it was more likely that any incident of this sort would be unterally med on the mercenary instead . But if you think about it usingmon sense, anyone would judge that the repairs of that damaged military cruiser wouldst more than a week . ¡°Yes, well¡­ It seems that Captain Baritone of the central department was the one who calcted and imposed the penalties as well as set the deadline . ¡± ¡°That damned pig¡­! Should I just tear him apart and feed him to the rest of his species?¡± That damn pig didn¡¯t think well of mercenaries, as well as me who managed to make good use of them . So this was probably his attempt at harassment . There have been talks among the mercenaries that if one of them was found out to have made even a little mistake during the earlier operation (although the incident caused by that female mercenary was anything but little), they¡¯d be sent straight to prison, so I was a bit troubled by the situation . ¡°Serena-sama?¡± ¡°Oh, sorry¡­ But this is concerning . Please investigate it for me . If possible, make it so that pig gets taken down a peg or two . ¡± ¡°Understood!¡± But anyway, I can¡¯t imagine just selling her ship would have let her pay off all of the fines . The mercenary upation seems to make a lot of money . Should I just quit being a soldier and be one then¡­? Chapter 22: –?Elma Chapter 22 # 022 ¨CElma After doing quite a bit of shopping, we finally decided to go back to the ship to have an early dinner . It seems Elma hasn¡¯t eaten properly for thest few days . ¡°Strange . ¡± ¡°What? Doesn¡¯t tonight¡¯s dinner suit your taste? This is a special dinner made from high-quality food cartridges and artificial meat, y¡¯know . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it~! Why is this ce so¡­¡­!?¡± Elma suddenly stood up from her seat, making it rattle . ¡°Why is a mercenary ship like this one so freaking luxurious!?¡± Elma eximed as she pointed her finger at the newly refurbished, sparkling clean dining room . Uh, even if you ask that¡­ ¡°Y¡¯see, I think afortable living environment is very important . Delicious meals, clean rooms, clean andfortable beds, and other such things have a positive impact, both physically and mentally, on the people who spend their time living in such a space . ¡± ¡°I understand the logic¡­ I understand, but¡­! This just looks like the inside of an ultra-luxurious passenger space cruiser!¡± ¡°It was money well spent . That was a truly satisfying shopping experience . You did great for looking up such a nice ce, Mimi . ¡± ¡°Ee~eh!¡± ¡°Nn¡­!¡± Elma bit her lip in frustration, which got distorted into a strange shape, due to failing to get her meaning across . ¡°Elma . ¡± ¡°What!?¡± ¡°Other people have their own circumstances . This is ours . Get used to it . ¡± ¡°Kuh¡­ I understand . ¡± Elma was still reeling from having her image of mercenariespletely upended and kept muttering from time to time, but she at least began to eat . I also went ahead and brought chef Tetsujin¡¯s specially made dinner to my mouth . Meals using ordinary food cartridges were plenty tasty already, but these high-quality ones were a ss of their own . The artificial meat steak was also a lot tastier than usual . It¡¯s the same meat like the ones we cooked using the previous auto-cooker before it was reced . But why is the taste of this particr steak so different? All hail the power of Chef Tetsujin! ¡°It¡¯s delicious, right?¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s delicious to the point that made me think all other food I¡¯ve eaten before utterly pales inparison . ¡± ¡°I really get you . ¡± ¡°I understand that feeling too . ¡± Mimi and I deeply agreed with Elma¡¯sment and nodded approvingly . Chef Tetsujin is just that impressive . It¡¯s scary how effortlessly he¡¯s conquering our collective ptes . For example, the taste of the artificial meat is enhanced by two or three levels; the exquisite meaty vor cooked with just the right heat and timing, and the fragrant aroma of spices was all spot-on . It was a dish overflowing with such fine craftsmanship . This was the quality of the meals Chef Tetsujin cooks . We spent the rest of the time making small talk and proceeded to take turns having a bath after our meal . ¡°Please teach Elma how to use the bathroom facilities . Or rather, wouldn¡¯t it be fine if you guys just entered together?¡± ¡°I guess you¡¯re right . Shall we then?¡± ¡°How to use the facilities¡­? Well, I guess I don¡¯t mind . ¡± Elma tilted her head curiously but ended up agreeing, so I left her to Mimi, and entered the bath first . Ah, this full-body automated massage is darn amazing! It did seem to use up a lot of hot water, but because the bathroom makes use of an advanced water purification technology, the actual water consumption was practically nill . There¡¯s also the added benefit of not having to worry about running out of water, even on long voyages . After I finished bathing, I went out and headed back to the dining room just wearing a in t-shirt and half-pants . I found Elma and Mimi whispering among themselves . ¡°Yo, I¡¯m done, you guys . ¡± ¡°Piiiii~!¡± ¡°Whoah!¡± Elma, who was busy having some sort of hush-hush girl-talk with Mimi, got startled and cried out with a weird voice, which ended up surprising me as well . Just what is with her all of a sudden? Is she trying to imitate a sparrow¡¯s cry or something? ¡°W- Well now, you finished quite quickly, didn¡¯t you!?¡± ¡°Not really . It¡¯s how long I usually take¡­ Hey, you okay? Your face is pale . ¡± ¡°I- I- I¡¯m quite f- fine, thank you! I¡¯mpletely okay!¡± ¡°A- alright¡­¡± I turned towards Mimi with a questioning gaze but just got an ambiguous-looking smile in return . What? What¡¯s going on? There was a growing sense of uneasiness building up inside me . I think there was a big misunderstanding going on around here . I somehow strongly felt that way . ¡°Hiro-sama, I¡¯ll go ahead and enter the bath with Elma-san, okay?¡± ¡°Go right ahead . ¡± I let both of them go while still feeling that weird sense of unease . Hm? Elma seems strangely jittery for some reason¡­? And Mimi seems kind of lonely¡­? I don¡¯t get it . We¡¯ll, I won¡¯t get anywhere mulling about things I don¡¯t get anyway . It¡¯s a waste of brain cells . I¡¯m not particrly trying to toss it to the backburner y¡¯know . This is what¡¯s called the efficient use of thinking power . And so, I stopped thinking about Elma¡¯s unusual behavior and decided on considering my future ns in my room . Today¡¯s event nearly drained my wallet, so I¡¯ll have to earn some more money as soon as possible . To prepare for the possibility of our ship getting severely damaged, I need to make at least 100 million Enel . ¡°Hmm¡­¡± I ended up looking at the mercenary request notices on my terminal . It isn¡¯t like there wasn¡¯t any job worth good money, but almost all of them are cargo transport requests . They mainly entail transporting goods produced from Termaine Prime to other star systems through a series of rtively dangerous space routes and sectors . Depending on the amount and value of the goods, you¡¯ll get one to three million Enel inpensation . If you can transport goods efficiently, you¡¯d make quite the killing . But unfortunately, Krishna¡¯s cargo bay isn¡¯trge enough to hold a lot of items . Carrying a small number of goods to different star systems would make one enough to cover for the fuel and maintenance costs . But with Krishna¡¯s limited loading capacity, making cargo transport our main source of ie would be quite inefficient . ¡°Guess it¡¯s bounty hunting after all . ¡± The main base of therge-scale pirate fleet operating in this system was sessfully destroyed some days ago, but pirates, by nature, are not monolithic . There are those small-scale outlier groups not affiliated withrge fleets that try not to be too conspicuous in their activities . They only go active whenever arge-scale pirate subjugation ends . This is because the overall alert level of the star system military would inevitably turnx after a sessful subjugation operation ends . ¡°Let¡¯s aim for the asteroid belt area then . ¡± The resource-rich asteroid belt area is frequented by both private mining ships and pirates aiming for said ships . I¡¯m gonna earn some bounty money tomorrow by hunting down those pirates . Once I decided on my course of action, I proceeded to search for an ideal hunting point . I¡¯m sure the pirates wouldn¡¯t dare to operate in the areas close to the territories of the Vereverem Federation . The situation would be simr in the sectors near the Termaine Prime colony, where the military¡¯s main base is located . The military was currently busy sorting out and recovering the usable debris and damaged, inactive ships in the vicinity of the former pirate base, so the security was pretty tight, with practically no gaps which can be exploited to worm in on the area . ¡°So my only options are this area, that area and this one too¡­¡± I selected spots where the pirates are more likely to appear . Next, I needed to pinpoint the areas frequented by private mining vessels . Even if the area was a favorite pirate hang-out, there would be no point if there weren¡¯t any mining vessels to prey upon . If there was no prey avable, even pirates would get fed up . However, honestly speaking, the exact coordinates of ces ssified as popr mining points or ¡°resource-rich areas¡± are tightly guarded by the private mining firms . That¡¯s only natural though . Those are their main sources of profit after all . ¡°Hmm, this is kinda more troublesome than I expected . ¡± I opened the Termaine System star map in order to glean more info, but it wasn¡¯t that easy to locate possible mining spots . It can¡¯t be helped then . I¡¯ll just have to try again tomorrow . The moment I decided to end my research, the door to my room suddenly opened . ¡°Huh? What¡¯s up? Or rather, couldn¡¯t you have knocked first beforeing in¡­¡­¡± The one who opened the door and entered my room was Elma . She was wearing strangely rough, thin-looking clothes . More importantly, I don¡¯t think she¡¯s even wearing underwear! After noticing my heated gaze, Elma¡¯s face turned red from embarrassment and crossed her arms over her modest-looking chest, seemingly trying to hide them . ¡°I- I¡¯vee¡­¡­¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Uh, I didn¡¯t particrly call for you, y¡¯know . I inclined my head in puzzlement, making Elma¡¯s face even redder as she red daggers at me . Naw, naw, I don¡¯t get this at all man . Why¡¯d she suddenly enter my room without any warning and started ring angrily at me? ¡°It¡¯s because of ¡®that¡¯¡­¡± ¡°Huh¡­?¡± Elma sighed and passed me, who was sitting in front of my desk, and proceeded to sit on my bed . It was a bedrge enough to amodate Mimi and I when we go to sleep . Err¡­ her wearing that type of thin clothing and sitting on my bed¡­ I think it¡¯s not good to lead me on with those kinds of suggestive actions y¡¯know . ¡°¡­Love me . ¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I said, make love to me, you dolt!¡± ¡°But why!?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but let out a sharp retort to Elma¡¯s impassioned deration as she sat on my bed . ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you want me? Didn¡¯t you pay that 30 million Enel because of me? In other words, it¡¯s like that you idiot!¡± ¡°Eeee~h!¡± I thought back to the things I said, Elma¡¯s reactions and Mimi¡¯s sad expression . I see, so that¡¯s how it is . I did say that I wanted Elma . I went and said it . But what I meant was for her to act as Mimi¡¯s tutor and support me, right? Ah, maybe she misunderstood what I meant by ¡®support¡¯? I see, if that¡¯s the case, then I kinda get why Elma had such thoughts . And even if it was just a misunderstanding on her part, Elma still went ahead and epted this situation . Hm . I once again gazed at the trembling figure of Elma sitting on top of my bed . She had a really well-featured visage and thin, pretty silver hair . The soft bulges pushing up on her thin one-piece were on the smaller side, but it¡¯s not like there was none to appreciate . Her body was wonderfully slender and her skin was white and smooth-looking . She was definitely a real beauty . It seems that her misunderstanding led to a directionpletely different from what I originally intended, but it¡¯s not like me to refuse such an enticing offer . And I think it¡¯ll be rude to the other party instead if I went and held back even though she¡¯s already gone to such lengths and permitted such a development . ¡°I understand . I¡¯ll try my best not to make you regret this . ¡± ¡°¨C¨C! B- Be gentle, okay¡­¡­?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best,¡± I dered as I gently patted the head of Elma, who currently had an expression akin to a frightened child, and pushed her lithe body down on the bed . *** ¡°You beast . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Brute . Sex fiend . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m safe since I had your consent . ¡± ¡°Uu¡­¡­¡± Elma clenched her dainty fists and started hitting my chest with them . Hahaha, this girl¡­ ¡°That wasn¡¯t the proper way of making out¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true . I was really happy y¡¯know . It was the best . ¡± I wasn¡¯t some saint anyway . I¡¯ll go all the way if I can . ¡°You beast¡­¡± ¡°Just think of it as the little rabbit that willingly fell into a trap and got eaten by the big, bad wolf¡­ Ow, ow¡­! That seriously hurts y¡¯know . Don¡¯t pinch it so much . ¡± Elma, who puffed up her cheeks in a cute pout, pinched the sensitive spots on my naked chest . That really hurts y¡¯know . ¡°I think it¡¯s only proper to lead you through all the ins and outs, right?¡± ¡°I think a sincere person would properly say it first before proceeding to do those kinds of things . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really think it¡¯s proper for a person to say those things openly and embarrass their partner though . ¡± ¡°You just have an excuse for everything, don¡¯t you? What a bad mouth . ¡± Right after saying that, Elma proceeded to seal my lips with her own . ¡°Ow¨C Mmph . ¡± ¡°Mmm . ¡± Seriously, stop biting my lips when you kiss me, girl . It kinda hurts, okay . ¡°Well we already did it, so there¡¯s no useining about it . Though I can¡¯t really help but worry about it a bit . ¡± ¡°I was really happy, thought it felt really amazing and was very satisfied though . ¡± I locked gazes with Elma once more . Elma turned away with her face all red . ¡°¡­¡­It didn¡¯t feel bad, okay . You were gentle like you promised . ¡± ¡°Great!¡± ¡°What¡¯s so ¡®great¡¯ about it huh?¡± ¡°Ow, ow, ow, ow!¡± She pinched my nk hard this time . Damn, that smarts! ¡°I¡¯ll really give it to you if bully me too much . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Go ahead and try then . ¡± ¡°Okay . You got it . ¡± So she¡¯s been provoking me since a while ago to invite me for a second round huh? Okay then . Let¡¯s properly answer her expectations . *** ¡°Good morning . ¡± ¡°Uh, morning . ¡± I left the still-tired Elma on the bed the next morning, got a bath and managed to find Mimi sitting in front of the table at the dining room . She wasn¡¯t doing anything in particr, but just silently sat there . ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± This silence was really unbearable . Mimi¡¯s expression was kinda dark andcked its usual liveliness . Was it ¡®that¡¯ perhaps? Is her ¡®don¡¯t throw me away¡¯ phobia having a rpse? ¡°U- Um¡­?¡± ¡°There, there . ¡± I forcibly made the confused Mimi stand up from her seat and proceeded to lead her to the newly refurbished bathroom . Communication and skinship are important after all . Chapter 23: – Daily Life of Three People Chapter 23 023 ¨C Daily Life of Three People Trantor: SFBaka ¡°You beast!¡± ¡°Yeah . Just leave it to me . ¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t praising you!¡± Elma, who was sitting opposite me, bristled in anger . We were in the dining area once again . Mimi was beside me, clinging tightly onto my arm while smiling in satisfaction . ¡°You did all of¡­ ¡®those things¡¯ to mest night! And now I find you going at it with Mimi first thing in the morning!? Just how backed up are you!?¡± ¡°That¡¯s cause I think fairness is important . Don¡¯t you think so too?¡± ¡°Fair¡­¡­!¡± Elma¡¯s sharp criticisms faltered after hearing my retort . She should be thinking about what exactly I meant with ¡®being fair¡¯ . ¡°We¡¯re allrades here, staying on the same ship . I think it¡¯s better if we all got along, right?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s certainly a great situation for you huh . ¡± ¡°Do you dislike Mimi, Elma?¡± ¡°Wha- !? Of course not!¡± ¡°So it¡¯s fine then . And also, you boarded this ship willingly despite knowing just what kind of rtionship Mimi and I were in, right? I think it would be ridiculous if you startining about that sort of thing now . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­! I guess you¡¯re right, but¡­¡­¡± ¡°Everyone gets along . Everyone¡¯s happy . Isn¡¯t that great?¡± ¡°¡­¡­It kind of feels like I¡¯m a kid being coaxed . ¡± ¡°What? No, of course not . ¡± I shed her my most sincere-looking smile . If Mimi was OK with this kind of rtionship, then I¡¯ll have to persuade Elma as well . It was just the three of us here after all . ¡°Well, let¡¯s just leave that issue forter, okay?¡± ¡°Later huh¡­ Oh, fine . It¡¯s not like I can do anything about it at this point anyway . So, what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Mm . I want us to decide our next course of action . ¡± ¡°Well now, this actually sounds serious . ¡± ¡°Oh, more than serious . First, I think we¡¯ll have to earn more funds the soonest we can . We still have enough to live off for a while, but it¡¯ll dry up quickly if the ship ever gets severely damaged . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s, um¡­¡­¡± Elma seems to want to say something, but held herself back . Well, our reserve funds decreasing was a direct result of paying for Elma¡¯s fines, so I guess she was still feeling guilty about it . ¡°Right now, we have two options . The first one is moving out of this star system right away and searching for a more profitable area to earn money on . ¡± ¡°Is this system no good?¡± ¡°Well, since the numbers of pirates prowling about have decreased, so have the money-making opportunities . Besides, the current situation here seems a bit fishy . I personally think moving to another star system would be the better option . ¡± ¡°It does seem that way . ¡± Elma nodded in acknowledgement . ¡°Tensions between the Empire and the Federation have been ring uptely, so this border sector would probably be the first to be affected once the situation develops into open hostilities . If you consider our safety as first priority, moving out of this system does seem like the best choice . ¡± ¡°Yeah . And the other option is to remain in this star system and wait for the conflict to ur while hunting down pirates in the asteroid belt area . Once the war starts, demand for mercenaries will surely rise . There would be a risk of going against the Empire¡¯s interster army, so it¡¯s quite dangerous, but the potential returns are huge as well . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s also the fact that lots of small-scale pirate groups would probably start bing more active from here on out . The military¡¯s security patrols will surely be morex after thatrge-scale pirate subjugation, so those pirate groups would not pass this chance up . Aside from being hard to find, they have some decently high-quality weapons and equipment on them and their bounties are also quite high . Because there¡¯s a danger of being caught up in the impending war, this is a high-risk-high-return option . ¡± ¡°I see¡­ But which one will we pick?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯re going to discuss right now . What do you think, Mimi?¡± Mimi let out a *hauu after hearing my question and opened her mouth to speak after being troubled for a bit . ¡°I think it would be best if we stayed here and hunted some pirates . ¡± ¡°Hou . Why¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Well, with Hiro-sama¡¯s piloting skills and Krishna¡¯s firepower andbat capabilities, I don¡¯t think pirates with just some decent equipment would pose us any danger . And even if we get caught up in the conflict, it would still be possible for us to get away, right?¡± ¡°Guess so . It¡¯s not like we absolutely have to participate once the conflict erupts anyway . ¡± I nodded at Mimi¡¯s words . It¡¯s just as Mimi said . We really don¡¯t have to get involved even if conflict erupts between the Empire and the Federation . Rather, I¡¯m sure pirates would take advantage of the conflict and be a lot more active in order to attack civilian ships and military supply convoys . There¡¯s the option of getting rid of those opportunistic guys once the war gets going and escape right away once things turn for the worse . ¡°I¡¯m also for staying in this star system . With your skills, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d also be able to rack up achievements even if you decide to participate in the conflict . The pirates shouldn¡¯t be much trouble either . ¡± ¡°What, you too, Elma?¡± ¡°Yes . I¡¯m all for it as well . ¡± Elma nodded nonchntly . It kinda makes me happy that a veteran like her rates my skills so highly . ¡°So it¡¯s decided then . ¡± ¡°So, Hiro-sama is okay with it as well?¡± ¡°Well, I would have preferred the other option, honestly . I want to earn more money even if we had to move to a different star system . But we really can¡¯t tell what would happen during long-distance navigation, and it¡¯s not like I¡¯ve decided where exactly we will go either anyway . ¡± ¡°I see . How much do we have on us right now by the way?¡± ¡°About five hundred thousand . ¡± ¡°It certainly doesn¡¯t seem to be enough . Alright then, shall we go ahead and earn some money?¡± Mimi and I nodded at Elma¡¯s words, and we started to prepare for a sortie right after . After we¡¯d decided on staying on the Termaine star system to earn some money, we immediately set off . What we needed to do was quite simple: go around the resource-rich asteroid belt area to find and hunt down pirates who were aiming for the mining ships . We need to proceed with utmost caution, drop our generator output once we find a mining ship being targeted, set up an ambush, and swiftly take down the piratesing in to attack the mining ships in question . The earnings have been quite ster so far . We¡¯re averaging about ten pirate bands a day . We¡¯re also salvaging a lot of spoils from them, and the average ie flow is 10,000 Enel per band . If the bands have more members than usual, it goes up to 30,000 Enel, including the bounty money . We even managed to swipe a cargo of rare metals today . Adding up the bounties, salvaged equipment and plundered cargo, we¡¯ve managed to earn 1,780,000 Enel in a week . The current reward distribution was 0 . 5% for Mimi and 3% for Elma . Mimi¡¯s share, including the bounty and loot sales is 12,900 Enel, and Elma¡¯s share is 53,400 Enel . Our total assets earned right now amounts to about 2,200,000 Enel, which finally allowed us to break away from being in the red . ¡°We earned a lot today as well~! Cheers!¡± The disappointing space elf poured lots of liquor into her cup and drank without reserve, downing the entire cup in one go . It was kinda frustrating that I found the movement of her white, delicate throat to be somewhat alluring . By the way, the alcohol we¡¯re drinking right now is ale . Elma and the store clerk insisted it was actually beer, but it really looks and tastes like ale as far as I¡¯m concerned . ¡°Ah, okay, okay . Cheers, cheers . ¡± The content of my cup however is chilled tea . Don¡¯t I drink alcohol, you ask? I do, as a matter of fact . But I don¡¯t have much tolerance, so I¡¯ll immediately get piss drunk and get knocked out cold once I¡¯ve downed a few! Yeah, I¡¯m extremely weak to alcohol dammit! ¡°To think you don¡¯t drink alcohol . Hiro¡¯s unexpectedly childish in some aspects huh~?¡± ¡°Shut up! That¡¯s just how my physical constitution is . And it¡¯s not like you¡¯ll be considered an adult just by drinking some alcohol . ¡± Elma, who was sitting beside me, wrapped her arms around my shoulder andtched on to me . It seems this disappointing space elf was the clingy type once she gets drunk with alcohol . Her tension¡¯s higher than usual . Our skinship has increased by a lot . She¡¯s really beening on to me a lot more . ¡°You really enjoy drinking liquor, don¡¯t you Elma-san?¡± ¡°Uhuh . It¡¯s fun . Drinking it straight down and getting smashed feels pretty great y¡¯know!¡± ¡°No drinking . ¡± ¡°¡­Yes . ¡± I wagged my finger at Mimi who was staring hard at the liquor bottle . When I looked it up, I found that this world, or rather, this gxy, doesn¡¯t have any particr legal drinking age imposed . But I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea for young people to start drinking alcohol early in any case . In my eyes, Mimi¡¯s still just a kid so drinking alcohol¡¯s still¨C Hold up . If Mimi¡¯s just a kid, then doesn¡¯t that make me, whoid his hands on such a Mimi one hell of a pervert? No, no . I¡¯m probably safe cuz there was mutual consent . I also looked into that and since she¡¯s over fifteen and consented to the act, I¡¯m probably fine . Yeah, that¡¯s right . I¡¯m safe . Yup . ¡°But you really have some great skills, don¡¯t ya? This ship¡¯s really powerful, but you¡¯re impressive for fully taking advantage of that power . You¡¯re also great at ambushes and surprise attacks . ¡± ¡°It seems like my body remembers . Battle rted stuff just flows into my head and my body moves ordingly . ¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ Hey, are you perhaps hiding something from us?¡± ¡°Nope, I¡¯m not . ¡± I immediately retorted to Elma, who was staring at me closely . There¡¯s quite a few things I¡¯m hiding from them actually, but I don¡¯t think I can talk about that stuff with these girls yet . For example, I¡¯m actually a guy from another world (or would ¡®real world¡¯ be more appropriate in this case?), or that my supposed amnesia is a big, fat lie, or the fact that I knew this world as something from a ¡®game¡¯ . I think I¡¯ve be quite close to Mimi and Elma, but if I confess these things right now, they¡¯ll probably just think I¡¯m saying some really weird, unbelievable stuff . ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s fine . We also have some things we find hard to talk about after all . Right, Mimi?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really have any though . ¡± ¡°Oh really~? Let¡¯s see . Right now your current weight is¨C ¡° ¡°Wha¨C ! No! You can¡¯t say! You can¡¯t say that!¡± Mimi started to panic all of a sudden and Elma cackled in glee . Body weight huh? In Mimi¡¯s case, doesn¡¯t she have to worry about her chest instead of her stomach? Those lethal weapons are super-dreadnought-ss after all¡­¡­ even though her body¡¯s just destroyer-ss . ¡°Mimi . ¡± ¡°Hyes!?¡± ¡°Believe in your trainer . Don¡¯t do things like carelessly increasing your workout load, alright?¡± ¡°Y¨C yes¡­¡± Looks like I hit the bulls-eye and Mimi hid her reddened face with both hands in embarrassment . I actually think Mimi could use a few more extra pounds though . Yosh, I¡¯ll secretly fiddle with the AI trainer settingster . Hehehe . ¡°Oh right . About tomorrow . ¡± ¡°Tomorro~w?¡± ¡°Yep, tomorrow . How about we skip earning money for tomorrow and go shopping instead . Take a breather, so to speak . ¡± ¡°Take a breather?¡± Mimi tilted her head curiously after hearing the words ¡®take a breather¡¯ . ¡°Yup . We¡¯ve been doing nothing but hunting pirates for moneytely, right? How bout we go around eating and drinking or sightsee and shop for stuff like clothes and essories . There¡¯s actually a lot we can possibly do . ¡± ¡°You simply want to take a break right~?¡± I honestly nodded to Elma¡¯s teasing words . ¡°That¡¯s part of it, sure . It¡¯s also to prevent us from making silly mistakes out in the field because we didn¡¯t set some time to rx and de-stress . Moreover, I want Mimi to feel how it¡¯s like to spend the money she put her life on the line to earn . ¡± ¡°Ah, I see . That¡¯s right huh . That kind of experience is important . ¡± Elma nodded in agreement with a serious expression . Her face was still red from the alcohol, but she wasn¡¯t really that drunk . ¡°Um, I¡¯m¡­¡± Mimi disyed a troubled expression . Guess it¡¯s to be expected . The total amount of reward money I handed to her thus far is 16,850 Enel . If we use the 1 Enel = 100 Yen conversion rate, it¡¯ll amount to 1,685,000 Yen . At Mimi¡¯s age, an amount of 160,000 Yen in ¡®earnings¡¯ would probably be enough to make her hesitant . ¡°But all I did was sit in the Operator¡¯s seat¡­ I still think this much money is¨C ¡° ¡°It certainly is hard to say that Mimi¡¯s mastered being a ship Operator . But even so, aren¡¯t you a team-mate who rode my ship and put your life on the line together with us? That reward money is money well-earned . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . There¡¯s no need to be reserved . It also includes the reward for taking care of this guy after all . ¡± ¡°Well, um¡­ If you really don¡¯t want to, well, y¡¯know¨C ¡° ¡°I didn¡¯t say I didn¡¯t want to, okay!?¡± ¡°I definitely don¡¯t hate doing it!¡± Mimi and Elma¡¯s retorts drowned out my words . Mimi looked at me straight with a reddened face . Elma, on the other hand, looked away while blushing until the tips of her long ears in embarrassment . ¡°I like you, Hiro-sama . I really love you . I love you so much, from the bottom of my heart . Hiro-sama is my everything . So I can offer every inch of my being to Hiro-sama as well . ¡± Mimi stood up from the table and confessed to me with a beet-red face . Man, I think this kind of passionate confession is rare, even in things like movies and novels . And to think that the target of her affection is me, of all people¡­ Did I actually drink some alcohol earlier, passed out and am now dreaming about all this stuff? ¡°I¨C I can¡¯t¡­ really go that far but¡­ W¨C well, you did save me and all . If it wasn¡¯t for you, I would have experienced something truly terrible . S¨C so I¡¯m kinda grateful and stuff¡­ Really thankful or something¡­ But it¡¯s not like I did those things with you simply because I¡¯m thankful . If not, then I wouldn¡¯t have offered my body to you so many times¡­ Idiot . ¡± It seems like she was inspired by Mimi¡¯s confession, so Elma also expressed her feelings toward me . I somehow felt that they were simply driven by obligation because of all the help I¡¯ve offered them all this time . But, somehow, after hearing how they truly felt, it kinda seemed like a weight¡¯s been lifted from my shoulders and my chest felt light . ¡°Wait, why are you crying all of a sudden?¡± ¡°Hi, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°No, sorry . I¡¯m just so happy to hear you both say those things . To be honest, I was a little¡­ nah, I was actually pretty anxious about it . ¡± ¡°You were anxious?¡± ¡°Are you stupid or something? There¡¯s no woman who wouldn¡¯t fall for the Prince Charming who saved them from a desperate pinch y¡¯know . ¡± Elma kissed my cheek whileughing . She kissed me again and again . ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for you, I¡¯d probably be in prison now, being used by those brutes for their amusement . You¡¯re definitely the Prince Charming who saved me from that kind of fate . Don¡¯t go worrying about strange things . ¡± ¡°Ah, me too! Hiro-sama! If Hiro-sama didn¡¯t help me, I would have suffered terribly as well! Hiro-sama is my hero!¡± Mimi also went over and hugged me tight . I smelled alcohol on her . Did you mistakenly drink some while thinking it was juice? ¡°Mimi, let¡¯s thoroughly express the depths of our feelings for this stupid prince . ¡± ¡°Yes~! I¡¯ll do my best~!¡± The two of them stretched their hands out to grab me . I didn¡¯t resist at all and allowed them to do as they pleased . Chapter 24: – Three People Shopping Spree (First Part) Chapter 24 024 ¨C Three People Shopping Spree (First Part) Trantor: SFBaka ¡°Now then, let¡¯s go shopping!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°How are both of you so energetic?¡± We should have gone at it untilte at night yesterday, but their skin actually looks smoother and more vibrant than usual today . Was I the prey? Did they suck out my life-essence of something? I was really curious about it, but it¡¯s not like anyone will answer my doubts . ¡°Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s nothing . Shall we go?¡± ¡°Yes~!¡± While being pulled by the arm by an energetic-looking and smiling Mimi, I went out of the hangar bay and the three of us boarded the express elevator . Gazing at the now-familiar space scenery, we went straight towards the 3rd Block, which we¡¯ve frequently visited as ofte . ¡°You¡¯re not scared, are you Mimi?¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay! I have Hiro-sama and Elma-san together with me . And I also have myser gun here . ¡± Mimi patted theser gun she holstered on her hip while smiling brightly . Un . But I hope she never encounters a situation where she has to use it anyway . Let¡¯s have Elma train her in hand-to-handbat as well next time . ¡°By the way, do you have any ce in mind we could visit?¡± ¡°Nope, this was an impromptu suggestion, so I didn¡¯t really n anything . Do you have anywhere you want to go Mimi? You researched the shops in the 3rd Block before, right?¡± ¡°Ah, yes . That¡¯s right . ¡± Mimi took out her portable terminal and considered which ces to check out . ¡°The gadget shop catered for mercenaries seems interesting . They¡¯re selling some things we could use inside and outside the ship . There¡¯s also the gun shop and the import shop . ¡± ¡°The gadget shop¡¯s fine . But the gun shop huh?¡± ¡°Yes . There¡¯s a chance you¡¯ll get into trouble and find yourself in an emergency if you don¡¯t keep yourself adequately protected . I¡¯m physically weak and I don¡¯t have good motor skills, so I want something that suits me . ¡± I see . So Mimi¡¯s been properly thinking about what she needs huh . I¡¯m not that confident in a firefight anyway, so it might be good to check that shop out . ¡°I¡¯ve been to the import shop and it¡¯s quite fun to check out rare foodstuffs that you can¡¯t find in a normal convenience store over there . ¡± ¡°Hm, sounds great . You guys want to go there as well? I¡¯m more interested in the gun shop so let¡¯s check that ce outter . ¡± ¡°The closest one¡¯s the gadget shop . ¡± ¡°Let¡¯s head on over then . ¡± The three of us walked along, with Mimi checking the store¡¯s location on her terminal¡¯s mini-map . The public order of this colony¡¯s 3rd Block isn¡¯t all that great in general, but the outer areas near the elevator and the gate to the 2nd Block as well as the area near the military base were rtively safe . Oh, it seems the area where Oishii Mart was located was in between the secure and unsecure areas . ¡°It looks like it¡¯s that shop . ¡± ¡°That one huh . ¡± The outer appearance of the store was quite normal . The shop-front had some window disys where male and female-shaped mannequins dressed in what looked like g-suits were shown . Well, they certainly didn¡¯t look like your normal g-suits though . ¡°Wee!¡± As soon as we entered, the shop clerk sitting behind the counter just beside the door called out . The clerk was an intense-looking muscr uncle . After getting a look at the interior, it seems like it wasn¡¯t all that spacious . It¡¯s about the same size as the convenience store . There were surveince cameras installed here and there to prevent theft . ¡°You brought your women?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not allowed?¡± ¡°Nah . Leaving that littledy aside, you and that otherdy seem like you¡¯re seasoned mercenaries . ¡± ¡°You can tell?¡± ¡°It¡¯s experience kid . Experience . Well, we have a lot of goods here, so have a look around . Give me a holler if you need me to exin the use of the products . ¡± The shop uncle waved us away and dropped his gaze toward the tablet terminal on the counter . He sure doesn¡¯t look like your typical salesman . Oh well . I guess shops outside Japan generally have this kind of vibe to them . The Japanese hospitality spirit is just a tad atypical inparison, I guess . ¡°Anyway, there sure is a lot of weird-looking stuff here huh . ¡± I grabbed a mysterious-looking can from the shelf . It¡¯s price was 3 Enel . Just what¡­ Oh, what a nice, fresh smelling scent! This probably goes inside the cockpit . It¡¯s sure to eliminate that unpleasant cigarette odor! This thing was an air freshener? Now that I got a good look at it, there¡¯s something like adhesive tape stuck to the bottom of the can . So things like this don¡¯t change even in the future huh? ¡°Hiro-sama, should we buy these pilot suits to cope with the Gs?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not necessary . Krishna¡¯s cockpit block has a device installed which greatly offsets Gs during eleration and sudden turns . That¡¯s why Mimi hasn¡¯t felt that much Gs while inside it . ¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re right¡­ Now that you mention it, it wasn¡¯t as ufortable as I thought . ¡± Mimi got a little shocked by my reveal . Well, these suit¡¯s designs do indeed look cool, but all the life-support and survivability-enhancing equipment and systems in my ship are the highest quality, so these aren¡¯t needed . It¡¯s a bit unfortunate though . ¡°I found something good here . ¡± Elma brought a really high-tech looking sphere thingy . I have absolutely no idea what it¡¯s used for, honestly . ¡°What the heck is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a Gravity Sphere . It¡¯s quite useful . ¡± After iming that, Elma brought the sphere up to shoulder-level and pressed a button on it . The sound of whirring machinery was heard from inside it . ¡°Well?¡± ¡°That¡¯s about it . ¡± Elma pulled something like a straw from inside the Gravity Sphere and put it on her mouth . The device kept floating above her left shoulder even after she let it go . That does look kinda neat, but I still don¡¯t get what the thing is used for . ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t get it . ¡± ¡°You can pour drinks inside it and sip it anytime duringbat . ¡± The Gravity Sphere kept following her around no matter where Elma turned towards . O~kay? ¡°So, it¡¯s basically a floating tumbler?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . When you press the On button, it would float on the spot and would follow the closest object with mass after a three-second interval . It¡¯s secure, spill-proof and can keep your drinks hot or cold indefinitely depending on the settings . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I should call it a perfect example of pointless advanced technology, but it does sound pretty convenient . ¡± I reached out for the Gravity Sphere floating around Elma¡¯s right shoulder and gave it a poke . It did sway for a bit, but eventually returned to its previous position . That sure is some mysterious tech¡­ ¡°But it¡¯s expensive, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about five hundred Enel . ¡± ¡°It¡­ actually isn¡¯t?¡± Weird . Really weird . Well, it¡¯s way more expensive than your usual tumbler at about 50,000 Yen alright . But, considering the ultra-high-tech feature which allows it to float and automatically hold its ce, that price actually seems kinda cheap . And with our financial capability right now, it¡¯s a downright steal . ¡°Well, it does look convenient . Shall we buy it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll also buy one . ¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll get them as supplies for the ship, so I¡¯ll get your share as well . I think I¡¯ll buy six of these things . ¡± ¡°Really?¡± Elma smiled sweetly at me . Kuh, her destructive power is off the charts because she¡¯s beautiful to begin with . I somehow felt embarrassed and looked away . Elma walked to the counter with light gait whileughing softly . Urgh . There were other mysterious goods in the shop, but I didn¡¯t find anything I particrly wanted . I was a little curious about the ordinary-looking cooking tools such as portable gas stoves, pots and pans, but the ship already has Chef Tetsujin . I don¡¯t want to bother cooking dishes the conventional way anymore . We paid for everything at the counter, asked the shop to send the goods straight to the ship and continued on to the next shop . ¡°Let¡¯s head for the gun shop next!¡± ¡°The gun shop? ¡­You seem really excited about going there, Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯re a kid y¡¯know . ¡± The gun shop was quite near to the gadget shop . It was just a short 30 second walk on foot . ¡°It looks quite imposing . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s a gun shop after all . ¡± The show window facing the street was lined with reinforced ss panels . The door was a thick and sturdy-looking automatic type . It¡¯s cool-factor was certainly MAX level! The door parted with a heavy-sounding hiss, and the three of us entered inside . ¡°This is actually pretty exciting!¡± Guns, guns and more guns are lined up all over the shelves in the interior of the store . In addition, it seems like essories like custom parts, recement energy packs and holsters are also being sold here . When I looked at the back of the store, I saw a sharp-eyed grandpa manning the counter . ¡°Kid, this is a shop that sells weapons to shoot and kill people with . It¡¯s not a ce for taking women on a date . ¡± ¡°Understood . Well, I promise we won¡¯t be bothersome, so please just let us off . ¡± ¡°Hmph . ¡± The grandpa seems to have lost interest in us and brought his attention back to servicing the disassembled gun on top of the counter . This area¡¯s shopkeepers really don¡¯t have the slightest bit of merchant spirit in them don¡¯t they? ¡°Right,e to think of it, do you have a weapon that can be used for closebat?¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess . I don¡¯t really get to use it much so it¡¯s stuck inside the ship armory . ¡± ¡°Hm . Well, it¡¯s not like mercs like us get into fights in the flesh all that much anyway . ¡± ¡°But it doesn¡¯t mean we shouldn¡¯t be prepared for the possibility . ¡± I grabbed theser rifle disyed on the wall and checked its weight . I wonder what materials this thing is made of . It¡¯s strangely light . Being light¡¯s not a bad thing per se, but I think this rifle¡¯s just too light . Mimi seems to be eagerly inspecting the handguns . She picked up several models and checked out their weight and grip . ¡°Don¡¯t you want to check those as well?¡± ¡°I already have this . ¡± I tapped theser gun on my waist . It was a prize from a Ste Online Melee Tournament event . Its performance was probably higher than ones sold inside the shop and it looks pretty cool to boot, so I reserved it as my gun of choice . ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such a gun model before . Who¡¯s the manufacturer?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really remember . ¡± It¡¯s not really possible for me to exin how I got this thing . Memory loss is such a convenient excuse! ¡°Hm, I see . But what about gun maintenance?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember that either . ¡± ¡°Oh c¡¯mon you¡­ How about we have the shop keeper take a look at it?¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s show it to him then . ¡± We headed towards the counter after our discussion . As we approached, the grandpa shopkeeper gave us a sharp re . That¡¯s one heck of a re gramps! ¡°Whaddya want?¡± ¡°Due to someplicated circumstances, I don¡¯t really know how to perform maintenance on my gun . Can you take a look at it gramps?¡± I ced myser gun on top of the counter along with the holster . The shopkeeper gave me a dull nce and carefully pulled out the gun from the holster . His eyes suddenly widened in surprise . ¡°This is¨C !? Mandas Workshop¡¯s¡­!? And it¡¯s even a gunslinger champion limited edition model¡­!?¡± Gramps suddenly stood from his seat with a *gata sound . You okay old guy? You¡¯re shaking like crazy and kinda look like you¡¯re about to faint at any moment y¡¯know . ¡°Kid¡­ No, can you actually fire this gun Sir!?¡± ¡°Huh? Well, of course I can fire it . ¡± I used this thing to rescue Mimi after all . Both Elma and Mimi saw me firing this gun . ¡°I see¡­ So you can fire it¡­ That means you¡¯re truly its registered owner huh¡­¡­¡± Gramps sat back down on his seat and turned silent . ¡°Hey Elma, why¡¯s this gramps so surprised about my gun?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure . But I heard that Mandas Workshop is a famous gun making studio known for producing one-off, super-luxury deluxe weapons . Is that gun made by Mandas Workshop?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with the details . At least I know it¡¯s better than the ones normally sold in shops . ¡± ¡°Well of course it is! If that¡¯s truly a limited-edition Mandas model, there¡¯s probably no better gun you can find even if you went all over the gxy!¡± The shopkeeper hurriedly thrust the gun back on its holster and handed it back to me . ¡°Uh, what about maintenance?¡± ¡°That gun doesn¡¯t need maintenance! It has a nanomachine repair system which would activate automatically the moment it gets damaged! It¡¯s best if you don¡¯t fiddle with it carelessly . And only you will be able to use that gun . ¡± ¡°He~e¡­¡­¡± It seems it was more superb of a gun than I expected . It¡¯s designated as a non-tradable item in Ste Online, but to think it also had an owner registration feature . I¡¯ll have to treasure this thing more from now on . I¡¯ll polish it with cloth from time to time . Mimi tried all kinds ofser handguns, but it seems she didn¡¯t find one that felt morefortable to use than the current one she got from the Mercenary Guild . In the end, we just bought several sheets of special cloth for gun maintenance . In addition, I decided to purchase three dozen spare energy packs for myser gun as ship supplies . We then proceeded to the next store . Chapter 25 Chapter 25 Trantor: SFBaka ¡°We¡¯re going to the import shop next huh . ¡± ¡°Yes! They seem to have various rare goods and ingredients!¡± ¡°Mimi, who made it her goal to taste all sorts of gourmet food in the gxy, answered in high spirits . ¡°Can¡¯t go wrong with food, I guess . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yeah . ¡± Elma, who was following behind, gave the two of us an ambiguous smile . What¡¯s up with her? I got the answer to that particr question right away the moment we arrived at the shop . ¡°Hey¡­¡­¡± ¡°H- Hi, Hiro-sama, i- isn¡¯t that a¡­¡­¡± Mimi pointed at an unidentifiable ¡®something¡¯ thrashing about in a cage . What the heck is that scary-looking sh*t? It definitely looks like a super-dangerous creature . Rather, ain¡¯t that a freaking F*cehugger!? ¡°It seems to be a rare food item . Wanna try eating it?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll have to pass on that . ¡± ¡°By the way, there seem to be processed goods avable . ¡± ¡°Hii¡­¡­!¡± Elma suddenly took out a vacuum-packed sample of the mystery food item (aka . F*cehugger) . . Is this thing really edible? You gotta be kidding me, man . ¡°This seems to be a type of military food ration from a distant star system . Everything from the head down can be eaten, apparently . ¡± ¡°Is it good¡­¡­?¡± ¡°No idea . I haven¡¯t tried eating one of these things yet after all . But it seems to be very nutritious? ording to the packaging, that is . ¡± Elma shrugged her shoulders as she replied . I looked towards Mimi and saw her shake her head vehemently . Thought she¡¯d react like that . Eating this thing¡¯s impossible for me too . ¡°But I think this would be a good start if you want to eat all the rare foodstuffs in the gxy . ¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯re both beginners y¡¯see . Let¡¯s start with the less-radical items first . ¡± ¡°T- That¡¯s right! Ah, Hiro-sama! It seems they¡¯re selling some delicious-looking meat over there!¡± ¡°Oh! Yeah, I see it!¡± Both of us hurriedly escaped from Elma who was grinning in amusement while holding that mysterious vacuum-sealed food(?) thingy . No, this isn¡¯t us escaping . We¡¯re just moving towards a new objective . Yup, that¡¯s it . ¡°Th- This is¡­¡­ manga meat!?¡± It was a juicy-looking piece of meat skewered by arge bone in the center . It¡¯s unmistakably manga meat! ¡°Uhm¡­ Three kilos of this meat cost about 76 Enels . It¡¯s already been pre-cooked so it¡¯s ready-to-eat . ¡± ¡°It seems to have been smoked . ¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s buy some then . I¡¯d really like to try em . ¡± ¡°Yes!¡± One manga meat skewer costs 7600 Yen¡­ It¡¯s expensive! It¡¯s expensive but I just can¡¯t resist this temptation . I wonder what kind of meat it is though . Well, it doesn¡¯t matter anyway . I already have an idea . I bet this is also artificially cultured meat . ¡°I¡¯ll go buy some with my sry . ¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s my treat, Mimi . ¡± ¡°No, I really want to try and spend some of my earnings right now . I¡¯ll get one for each of us . ¡± Mimi turned toward me with sparkling eyes . Hmm, well, if she insists that much, then it can¡¯t be helped . ¡°Alright then . Thanks for the treat . ¡± ¡°Yes! Please leave it to me!¡± Mimi excitedly put some vacuum-packed manga meat in the shopping basket . I turned around to see how Elma was doing . She seems to be busy shopping as well and was tossing a lot of stuff in her shopping basket . Most of it is alcohol though . ¡°Yosh, I¡¯ll go look for some stuff as well!¡± This ce is kind of like a grocery store so I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll be selling anything dangerous . So I separated from Mimi and proceeded to look for rare foodstuffs myself . There was really a lot of curious stuff; from edible worms to Kobe beef¡­ Wait, Kobe beef!? How¡¯d they get their hands on Kobe beef!? I didn¡¯t manage to sniff out the supplier, but it seems like Kobe beef was shipped to all corners of the known gxy as one of the finest quality meats¡­¡­ 100 grams of the stuff costs a whopping 1000 Enel . And it seems it can be even more expensive depending on the type of cut . It¡¯s way too expensive, man . I could buy it, sure . But I don¡¯t really feel the urge to after seeing that ridiculous price . While I was busy marveling at how expensive Kobe beef was, Elma, who had one hand pushing her shopping cart, approached me and gave me a curious gaze . ¡°You can at least afford to splurge that much with our current ie, can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Look here you . 300 grams of this stuff is equivalent to one pirate ship y¡¯know . Knowing that¡­ You still think you can eat this stuff without worries?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a piece of cake for you though . ¡± ¡°Heck no! Luxury is the enemy! There should be cheaper but tastier food in this universe for sure! Artificial meat steak is tasty enough anyway!¡± 100 grams of artificial meat steak is 5 Enels by the way . That¡¯s a 200% price difference you guys . So that¡¯s decided . I¡¯m the kind of guy who much prefers his artificial meat, thank you very much . ¡°Well, I guess you¡¯re right . It¡¯s not like things would be more delicious if they¡¯re more expensive . ¡± Elma left the meat section after saying so . I think I saw a sample of that vacuum-packed F*cehugger(?) in Elma¡¯s basket just now . Let¡¯s just pretend I didn¡¯t see that . Next up¡¯s the drink corner . There¡¯s a lot of suspicious-looking juices lined up¡­ C, is there any c¡­¡­! ¡°This is¡­!?¡± I saw a dark-colored liquid inside a bottle . Thebel even explicitly shows¡º£Ã£ï£ë£å¡»on it . There¡¯s no mistaking that, man! It¡¯s my favorite c! This marks the end of my journey, it seems . I took out one bottle from the fridge . I think I startled the shop clerk a bit, but I didn¡¯t care and paid for the item right away . I went out of the store and opened it in anticipation . I missed the distinct vor of this stuff . I took arge swig . ¡°¡­¡­Yeah, thought this would be the case . ¡± The sweetness and sourness that danced in the tongue were unmistakably that of c . However, there was no refreshing feeling apanying it . This was non-carbonated c . Oi, oi, oi! This c¡¯s as good as dead . But anyway, it did taste like c . I didn¡¯t get to enjoy it as much as I thought, but it was still c . I finished the contents of the bottle and went back inside the store to ask the clerk about it . ¡°How much of this stuff do you have in stock?¡± ¡°U, Uhm¡­ We have seven cases inside the store and seven cases out in the backyard . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll buy em all . ¡± The pupils of the store clerk narrowed to dots . ¡°All of them . ¡± ¡°Yes, with pleasure!¡± I paid the money and finished the delivery procedures . Hehe, now I¡¯m all set . It wasn¡¯t my ideal c because it was uncarbonated, but the taste was fine . I¡¯ll put up with it until I manage to find the real deal someday¡­ Or maybe I can carbonate them myself? I went towards the entrance of the store and searched for the relevant info on my portable terminal . But it looks like no device for carbonation exists in the market . Why the heck is this the case even if technology has advanced leaps and bounds already¡­¡­? This world is warped¡­ And I will be the one to correct it¡­¡­ ¡°H- Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°That¡¯s some scary-looking gaze you have on there¡­¡­¡± ¡°Fwahahaha! Don¡¯t mind me . I just got a little upset, that¡¯s all . ¡± Oh well . Aplishing one¡¯s goal so easily doesn¡¯t seem interesting anyway . Let¡¯s just reflect on this feeling of frustration for now¡­ This bitter reality¡­ fufufu . We went back to the ship after finishing our shopping trip and tried out the various stuff we bought . The manga meat was¡­ the most ideal manga meat ever . It was absolutely filling, vorful and had the perfect texture¡­ But having one skewer each proved to be a bit much for us . That¡¯s because even without the bone, each skewer was 2 kilos worth of meat y¡¯know . It would have been fine if we just bought one skewer and divided it evenly among ourselves with a knife . But being unable to finish manga meat is a kind of romance as well . And Elma really did buy one of those mystery creatures . I tried eating it after plucking up my courage and found it surprisingly alright . The flesh covered by a hard-looking shell was surprisingly soft and tender . It kinda had a kamaboko-like texture . The flesh was actually nice, creamy and slightly sweet . I can only describe this as creamy croquette¡­ Nah, creamy kamaboko1 . ¡°This is actually pretty good . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s just that its appearance is unappetizing . ¡± Mimi had an expression that looked like she couldn¡¯t believe I and Elma were eating the thing . My c? I tried having the two of them drink it . ¡°Doesn¡¯t this smell like medicine? I don¡¯t really like it, sorry . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s sweet¡­¡­¡± Elma inly told me she didn¡¯t like it . Mimi gave an unclear evaluation but had a subtle expression on her face . That¡¯s fine you guys . I¡¯ll just enjoy them by myself then . I¡¯ll definitely find a way to make them carbonated and let you taste real c! Just you wait, guys! TL Note: Kamaboko ¨C a type of Japanese delicacy made by forming various pureed deboned white fish with either natural or man-made additives and vorings into distinctive loaves, which are then steamed until fully cooked and firm . Chapter 26 Chapter 26 Trantor: SFBaka It¡¯s been a day after the manga meat party . We decided to patrol the asteroid belt area again today . We¡¯ve managed to make enough money anyway, so it won¡¯t be a problem for us if we headed to a new star system right away . However, it would be a pity not to take advantage of the increasing flow of prey in the area, so it was decided that we would hunt for pirates for a bit more . All three of us were of one mind in the matter . ¡°That¡¯s strange . ¡± ¡°Yep, really strange . ¡± ¡°Is it truly strange?¡± Elma muttered with a serious expression . I expressed my agreement . Mimi tilted her head in puzzlement as she looked at the two of us . We¡¯vee to hunt some more big, fat prey prowling the area again today but we detected guys who were making some strange moves and seemingly stalking the prey as well . We detected a total of three small crafts . They were navigating inside the asteroid belt with the express intention of hiding themselves and obviously didn¡¯te here to mine resources . We were mostly sure these guys weren¡¯t pirates either . Their maneuvers were too organized and calcted . They were obviously gunning for prey as well . They were trying their best not to get in contact with other ships in the area . ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°They¡¯re really suspicious . ¡± ¡°Yeah, thought so too . ¡± ¡°???¡± It looks like Mimi still hasn¡¯t understood, but I already have an idea regarding the identity of these guys . They were most likely a recon or covert ops unit from the Vereverem Federation . I don¡¯t have an exact grasp on what their goals are, but it¡¯s likely along the lines of keeping an eye and grasping the troop deployment of the Gran Imperial Fleet; in other words, the system military . ¡°Well, this is troublesome . They¡¯ll surely detect us the moment we make a move . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re right . They¡¯ll probably find us right away . ¡± ¡°What¡¯s going to happen once they find us?¡± ¡°They¡¯re probably going to try and ¡®silence¡¯ us . ¡± ¡°Yeah, guess so . Man, this is really troublesome . ¡± ¡°So they¡¯re dangerous people?¡± ¡°Very dangerous . And armed too . They¡¯re probably from the Vereverem military . ¡± ¡°Eh!?¡± Mimi suddenly made an aghast expression she gazed at the radar screen . I think Mimi wouldn¡¯t make such a connection by herself just by observing the blinking icons on the radar screen after all . ¡°Ah . ¡± ¡°Tch . They found us . ¡± The three unidentified craft shown on the radar screen changed their movement patterns . They were apparently maneuvering to outnk and surround us . They were in the middle of covert operations, so it would make sense that they would want to get rid of any witnesses . Un, should we cut the generator output, initiate the cooling system and enter thermal stealth mode? ¡°Nah . That won¡¯t do any good . Can¡¯t be helped then . Let¡¯s take them on . ¡± ¡°You really have an acute case of bad luck, you know that?¡± ¡°Oh that¡¯s rich . Especiallying from you, Elma . ¡± ¡°Ugh¡­ But it¡¯s not like Mimi¡¯s any better, right?¡± ¡°Eh!? Me!?¡± Elma reeled from my retort, but immediately deflected the issue toward Mimi . Elma, who got saved by me after causing an ident and getting pped with massive debt, certainly had really bad luck . But I, who got suddenly transported to this world without a clue, was probably worse off . But Mimi, who we met in the 3rd Block when she was about to be assaulted after falling into debt following her parents¡¯ deaths, wasn¡¯t spared either, wasn¡¯t she? ¡°Let¡¯s just stop with this topic . We¡¯re just poking open each other¡¯s wounds y¡¯know . ¡± ¡°Y- Yeah . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡± ¡°Maximum generator output . We¡¯ll intercept them . Go ask for their affiliation just in case, Mimi . ¡± ¡°Understood . ¡± We came out from the asteroid we were hiding behind and started maneuvering so we didn¡¯t get surrounded by the unidentified ships . ¡°This is the ship of Captain Hiro, Silver Rank mercenary affiliated with the Mercenary Guild . Callsign, Krishna . I¡¯m the ship operator, Mimi . Unidentified ships, please state your affiliation . ¡± Mimi opened am channel and contacted them, but there was no response . Mimi, who confirmed there was no response, tried again . But it was useless . The other guys really didn¡¯t have any intention of talking it out, it seems . Oh yeah, by the way, my mercenary rank went up from Bronze to Silver a few days ago . The receptionist uncle said that it wouldn¡¯t be possible for me to stay as a Bronze Rank after delivering such results at the subjugation operation and hunting loads of prey in the asteroid belt area . But it isn¡¯t like a lot¡¯s changed after ranking up to Silver . It¡¯s just that my colleagues looked at me with a little bit more respect, that¡¯s all . ¡°Unidentified ships have deployed their weapons!¡± ¡°Just as expected . We¡¯ll follow suit . Deploy weapon systems . ¡± ¡°Roger . Deploying weapons . Leave the chaff, re and generator output controls to me as usual . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m counting on you . Let¡¯s go!¡± We headed for the closest unknown ship as we maneuvered between the asteroid cluster . ¡°You¡¯re piloting is crazy as usual¡­¡­!¡± ¡°I¡¯m already used to it . ¡± Elma¡¯s face convulsed as we weaved through the asteroid clusters while Mimi smiled . I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that crazy though . This is normal y¡¯know . We soon found ourselves outnking the enemy ship . I piloted Krishna so it seemingly slid on the surface of arge asteroid and soon found myself staring at the defenseless gut of an enemy ship . You¡¯re mine, sucker . ¡ºWhat the- !?¡» ¡°That¡¯s one down . ¡± I fired our tworge-caliber live projectile cannons and the countless destructive submunitions tore through the shields and armor of the Federation¡¯s small attack craft [Sword Fish] and ripped its hull to shreds . ¡°This shard cannon packs quite the punch as usual . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s great huh!¡± ¡°You¡¯re just about the only one I know who uses such absurd weapons¡­¡± ¡°But they¡¯re strong right?¡± The range of the scattershot cannons really leave much to be desired, but doesn¡¯t it feel awesome to tear through the shields and armor of small-sized enemy ships like they¡¯re made of paper? It can also give considerable damage torge ships, provided their shields were down . ¡ºHunter 2 was- ¡» ¡ºJudging from those maneuvers, that¡¯s no mere Silver Rank . Be careful . Take some distance and shoot it down!¡» ¡°They¡¯re too far out of effective shard cannon range¡­¡± The other two remaining ships retreated from the asteroid field and turned their bows toward us . Hou, so you want to finish us off with your long-distance firepower huh? And you¡¯re going against Krishna? Interesting . Let¡¯s see what you got . I hid the ship behind arge asteroid and deployed the fourrge-caliber pulseser cannons . ¡ºWhat the- !? That ship just grew some arms!?¡» ¡ºThose are high-outputser cannons¡­¡­! I- It¡¯s no good! We can¡¯t withstand that!¡» The Federation craft immediately made evasive maneuvers and fired back . But theirser cannons couldn¡¯t make a direct hit because we were using the asteroid field as cover . Ourser cannons, however, packed enough firepower to prate through and eventually scored direct hits on them . These were literally attacks going at the speed of light . It¡¯s nearly impossible to dodge them directly . Well, their evasion maneuvers were still effective to some extent, but we were still able to get an 80% hit rate . And Krishna¡¯sser cannons packed enough firepower to greatly damage them even with just an 80% hit rate . ¡ºTch! The difference in firepower is far toorge!¡» ¡ºEvasive action!¡» The two Federation ships then tried to escape, but letting them go here could spell trouble . I activated the thrusters and made the ship fly out of the asteroid field as well . I then gave chase . ¡ºSeeker! Fox 1! Fox !¡» ¡°res . ¡± ¡°Roger . ¡± The two Fed ships fired heat-seeking missiles, but Elma immediately deployed res at my order and made the missiles miss us . ¡ºYou bastaaaards!¡» I rained downser cannon fire on the panicked Fed ships . Emerald-colored light beams pelted the blueish energy shields of the Fed ships one after another and eventually depleted them . After this, it was all over . Even if they had military-grade armor ting as well, after getting bombarded by high-outputser cannon fire, their hulls soon grew red-hot and melted down . ¡ºA- Abandon ship! Abandon- Uwaaaaa~!?¡» The two Federation ships were overwhelmed byser cannon fire and were soon shot down . So they weren¡¯t able to escape huh . Maybe the military-grade hull was warped too much from bathing in waves ofser cannon fire so the escape pods couldn¡¯tunch out in the end . Sometimes it wasn¡¯t good to be so tough . ¡°Alright then¡­ Shall we recover their data caches and ck boxes then head on back?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going back to the colony?¡± ¡°Yes . I bet the military would pay us quite a bit for these . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± ¡°Leave selling the data to me . I have some connections with the system military . ¡± ¡°Connections, huh . I hope your so-called connections don¡¯t bring us any trouble . ¡± ¡°Hahaha . That goes without saying . I¡¯ll just sell the data quickly thene straight back . ¡± ¡°So, do you have anything to say for yourself?¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sorry girls . ¡± ¡°Hiro-sama¡­¡­¡± ¡°Hah . Well, it can¡¯t be helped . ¡± Two hours aftering back to the colony, I found myself kneeling in seiza on the dining room¡¯s floor . Uh, I did aplish selling the data and all . I left Krishna¡¯s maintenance and resupply to Mimi and Elma, then went straight to the military base and got an appointment with Lieutenant Serena . It looked like she was free, so Lieutenant Serena met up with me immediately and guided me to her personal office . I then handed over the data caches and ck boxes in exchange for substantial rewards . So far, so good, right? But, before I knew it, I, Krishna, and the rest of the crew were enlisted as cooperators in theing conflict between the Empire and the Federation . And it was even settled through proper channels and approved by the Mercenary Guild as an official request . Just what the heck happened, man? I have absolutely no idea . Was Lieutenant Serena really that impressed with me? Nah, that can¡¯t be . I¡¯m just a single amateur mercenary, y¡¯know . Eh? The Federation fleet? I¡¯m not that scared of them, honestly . Actively participating in the war is a different issue though . Eh? The Imperial military is looking for brave and talented mercenaries to participate? No, no, I¡¯m not really all that¡­ I see . That¡¯s kinda embarrassing, oi . Ahahaha . Well, if you say that much¡­ Yeah, I guess . Eh? You didn¡¯t really mean me¡­ I probably won¡¯t do, you say¡­¡­? I- I can definitely do it, y¡¯know! ¡°It went pretty much like that . ¡± ¡°You werepletely at her mercy, huh . ¡± ¡°Hiro-sama¡­¡­¡± ¡°I am truly sorry . It was all my fault . ¡± Their critical gazes pierced my poor, little heart . I really have no excuse, so I¡¯ll just honestly bow my head here and do a textbook dogeza in shame . ¡°Oh well . What¡¯s done is done . You¡¯re the captain of this ship anyway . You¡¯re the one calling the shots . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . Hiro-sama is this ship¡¯s captain after all . ¡± ¡°Thanks for forgiving me, girls!¡± ¡°But you still have to make it up to us, okay? How about giving us a bonus?¡± ¡°Bonus, is it¡­¡­? I still think the pay I¡¯m receiving is more than I deserve though . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine . You don¡¯t have to hold back at times like this y¡¯know . You can do this much at least, can¡¯t you captain?¡± ¡°I shall ponder a most appropriate amount that will satisfy you both, my deardies . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s that, then . ¡± ¡°I- Is this really okay¡­¡­?¡± Mimi still wasn¡¯tfortable with the idea yet, but I don¡¯t think it was such a big deal to give out a bonus to make up for my blunder . Hm, will it be fine if I gave them some high-quality alcohol and delicious food? I¡¯ll browse Oishii Mart¡¯s online catalogueter . I can pay them in cash as well . ¡°So now we have to stay on stand-by until the battle starts?¡± ¡°I guess so . I was told we have to be ready for an immediate sortie at all times . ¡± ¡°You did manage to secure a reimbursement sry for the days we¡¯re on stand-by, right?¡± ¡°I did negotiate for that . We¡¯re going to get a daily remuneration of 50,000 Enel until the formal sortie orderes . ¡± ¡°Wow . It¡¯s amazing that we¡¯re going to get fifty thousand daily even though we¡¯re just on stand-by, isn¡¯t it¡­¡­?¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s a reasonable amount though . ¡± It¡¯s certainly a far cry from our previous average daily ie of 200,000 Enel this past week . But, as we weren¡¯t risking our lives earning such an amount, it wasn¡¯t all that bad a deal . Anyway, we¡¯ve ended up formally taking up the request of the system military ¨C or, more urately, the Imperial military . ¡°Hold back on the alcohol though, Elma . ¡± ¡°I- I know, okay . ¡± Elma made an ugly expression after being temporarily banned from binge drinking . It¡¯s only proper, y¡¯know . We could be ordered to sortie at any time, so one can¡¯t be drunk on alcohol when that timees . ¡°Not being able to drink alcohol is a small price to pay for a daily remuneration of 150,000 Enel, Elma-san . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­I guess you¡¯re right . ¡± ¡°In other words, as long as you sacrifice a bit and hold off on drinking, we¡¯ll be able to receive 150,000 Enel daily to buy lots of alcohol when this is all over . ¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it!?¡± Miss Disappointing Elf¡¯s ears perked up after hearing Mimi¡¯s exnation . Her tension was now MAX level . Well, it was certainly a great deal to be able to receive a daily 150,000 Enel alcohol fund, if you put it that way . If you¡¯re a true-blue alcohol lover, that is . ¡°You¡¯re really smart, aren¡¯t you, Mimi . ¡± ¡°Ehehe . ¡± Mimi may have a natural talent for cheering people up¡­ Yeah, she sure does . I mean, I get cheered up daily just by being around her after all . ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go ahead and make preparations . ¡± ¡°Preparations?¡± Elma gave me a puzzled and worried look after I stood up . She¡¯s probably thinking I was gonna do something crazy again . Well, she¡¯s right though . ¡°Yep, Preparations . I¡¯ll go to the cargo bay for a bit¡­ Uh, Mimi, where¡¯d we put that duct tape we bought a few days back again?¡± ¡°The military-grade one? I think I put it inside the toolbox . ¡± ¡°Gotcha . Thanks . ¡± I¡¯ll just need to wrap around some tape on ¡®it¡¯ a bit so I can stick ¡®it¡¯ on . Then I¡¯ll justunch ¡®it¡¯ from the lower weapons bayter on once we get the perfect opportunity . I¡¯ll have to bring ¡®it¡¯ out from the secret cargopartment then . Man, talk about busy . Chapter 27 Chapter 27 Trantor: SFBaka The Vereverem Federation military¡¯s response was faster than expected . They most likely received crucial intel from the recon unit even before I managed to shoot them down . I don¡¯t know what exactly was recorded in those ck boxes and data caches, so I don¡¯t have a grasp on how much the Gran Empire managed to glean regarding the Federations¡¯ ns . Thanks to that, I wasn¡¯t able to formte any concrete countermeasures on my end . I would¡¯ve liked to have more intel just to be safe, but that¡¯s just how it is . It¡¯ll be troublesome if they did an on-the-spot inspection after all . Anyway, because of the actions of the enemy forces, we were summoned to the military base for a briefing as part of the imperial mercenary squadron that was hastily organized . It would be a face-to-face briefing instead of a remote conference this time, apparently . Is it a sort of countermeasure against spies? I don¡¯t really get how the folks from the military think . I was guided by an imperial soldier who kept giving us quick nces until we reached the briefing room . It should be a briefing room specifically built to seat arge number of people . It was quite spacious . It might be because the furnishings in the room consisted of mostly chairs, but it did feel somewhat nd . The nd-looking room already had a number of mercenaries waiting inside . Their gazes all turned towards us the moment we entered the briefing room . ¡°Oi, would ya just look at that guy?¡± ¡°He got women with him¡­ And two cuties to boot¡­!?¡± ¡°Hey, ain¡¯t that Elma? She¡¯s a Silver Rank, right? Why¡¯s she with him?¡± ¡°She got into an ident in thest pirate subjugation mission, remember? I¡¯m guessin it has somethin to do with that . ¡± ¡°Explode¡­ Just f*cking explode¡­¡­¡± The mercenaries who got here before us started murmuring to themselves as soon as we entered . Hey, the guy who keeps muttering *explode over there . Could you stop that . It mighte true y¡¯know . Looks like there wasn¡¯t any particr seating arrangement so we just sat at the nearest vacant seats . ¡°Sit in the middle, Mimi . ¡± ¡°Ah, okay . ¡± Elma should be fine, but I bet Mimi wouldn¡¯t be able to settle down if she was sitting beside a grumpy-looking mercenary uncle . It seems Elma thought the same, so she didn¡¯t make a fuss and let Mimi sit between us . All the participating mercenaries eventually came and filled the seats before long, and the time for the briefing to begin came . Lieutenant Serena and several other military officers entered the briefing room exactly on the dot . ¡°Attention!¡± The atmosphere inside the briefing room tensed up after the military officers entered . ¡°Now then, let us start the briefing for the Termaine star system defense operations . I am Lieutenant Serena Holz . This newly organized provisional imperial army mercenary corps shall be assigned under mymand . It may be temporary, but I shall be your directmanding officer for the duration of this conflict . So address me as Lieutenant Serena from now on . ¡± ¡°¡±¡±Yes, ma¡¯am!¡±¡±¡± ¡°Very well . Let us start with an overview of the general situation . Georg . ¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am!¡± The officer named Georg operated the console installed on the wall and the lights of the room dimmed . Arge holo screen turned on behind Lieutenant Serena . The entire star map of the Termaine star system was projected on the holo screen . ¡°Currently, the main fleet of the Vereverem Federation is on its way towards the Termaine star system . Their exactposition is currently unknown due to the fleet already in the middle of Hyperdrive . However, based on the intel we just obtained and the readings of the hyperspace sensor, they are most likely made up of eight battleships, twenty-four heavy cruisers, thirty-two light cruisers, sixty-four destroyers, and 128 corvettes . ¡± The mercenaries became restless after hearing the size of the enemy force . I was also a bit surprised . The number of enemies was greater than I expected . This wasn¡¯t on a level of a regr skirmish anymore, but an out-and-out military campaign . ¡°Frankly speaking, the military might of the enemy fleet is greater than the current imperial forces garrisoned in the Termaine star system . Fortunately, a request for reinforcements has already been sent out due to us discovering their ns early . The reinforcements should arrive a day after the enemy warps out near the borders . In other words, as long as we hold out for a day, our reinforcements will arrive, and we will be able to mount a counteroffensive . Therefore, our overall strategy is to make sure to hold our ground for one day no matter what . ¡± That¡¯s a solid n, assuming that reinforcements really wereing . Looks like the data caches and ck boxes we recovered really were useful . Their selling price was actually really high, so I already kinda expected it . ¡°Your mercenary corps¡¯ mission is to lurk inside the asteroid belt and mount gueri warfare against Federation ships attempting to breakthrough . Your main targets would be the destroyers and corvettes . There will be a hefty bonus waiting for those who will manage to take down cruisers and battleships . ¡± Lieutenant Serena gave us a daring smile . The mercenaries gave her bitter grins in response . Well, most mercenary ships are small and medium-sized models after all . Military shipsrger than cruisers would be equipped with correspondinglyrger generators with considerably higher power output . The shields powered by such generators would sport defensive strength iparable with your average pirate ship . In other words, even if the firepower of the mercenaries are sufficient to engage small and medium-sized pirate warships, taking on military warshipsrger than cruisers would prove to be impossible because of the defensive strength of their energy shields . But my Krishna could, though . I also have my handy trump card on hand . ¡°If they have any other strategies under their sleeves, we shall endeavor to adopt corresponding countermeasures on the fly . We shall make use of every means avable to us, no matter what they may be . ¡± Hou, any means necessary, huh . So that means that little something I prepared earlier could be officially approved as well¡­¡­ Nah, on second thought, I don¡¯t really think so . That thing is ssified as a highly dangerous, illegal contraband after all . I¡¯m d I stashed it inside the scan-proof secret cargopartment . But well, un¡­ I¡¯ll just go for it anyway . I¡¯ll make it ast resort if the situation gets nasty enough . ¡°Permission to speak, Lieutenant Serena . ¡± ¡°You are¡­ Yes, permission granted . ¡± I kinda felt like Lieutenant Serena¡¯s gaze turned sharper after seeing Mimi and Elma with me though . I wonder why? Oh well . I¡¯ll just ignore it . ¡°I sort of have a n for giving the Federation fleet a heavy blow¡­ Uh, it¡¯s more like a scheme, actually . I would like to take this opportunity to get permission to execute said scheme . ¡± ¡°A scheme, is it? Could I get the exact details?¡± ¡°Yes . It¡¯s a pretty straightforward strategy . We¡¯ll head straight for the heart of the enemy fleet as soon as they warp out, destroy the enemy gship and withdraw immediately afterward . ¡± Lieutenant Serena¡¯s expression froze after she heard my proposal . The other mercs made a huge fuss . Mimi gave me a worried look while Elma opened her mouth wide in surprise . ¡°Are you serious?¡± Lieutenant Serena gave me a doubtful gaze . That expression she¡¯s making has¡ºI can¡¯t think of that strategy as anything but a suicide mission, y¡¯know?¡»written all over her face . ¡°Yeah, very serious . Just take it as just one stupid idiot dying if we fail . This strategy won¡¯t pose any disadvantage to the imperial military as well . ¡± ¡°You are an excellent individual who managed to make major contributions in the pirate subjugation mission . You have also effectively hunted lots of outlier pirate groups recently . I do not wish to lose such a talent due to such a reckless n . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry . We¡¯ll definitely pull it off . ¡± I don¡¯t have any intention of doing it the straightforward way after all . I¡¯ll just keep that thought to myself though . It looks like Lieutenant Serena noticed something in my expression, so it seemed she would eventually approve of the n even if she was still holding some doubts . Lieutenant Serena gave me a long, hard look for a while . She then shrugged her shoulders and audibly sighed . It¡¯s like she was saying she won¡¯t be taking responsibility for whatever happens . ¡°¡­¡­Very well . If you insist on doing it that much, then I expect you to do it well . You will be rewarded greatly if you manage to seed . ¡± ¡°Thank you very much . ¡± After hearing the answer I was hoping for, I contentedly sat back down on my seat . I¡¯m probably smiling from ear to ear right now . I heard someone in the room mutter ¡®He¡¯s f*cking crazy . ¡¯ under their breath . Hey! Who¡¯re you callin crazy? How rude . I¡¯m just using every card in my hand to get the maximum benefits man . ¡°Stupid! Stupid! You¡¯re totally, utterly stupid! You can¡¯t actually be screwed in the head, can¡¯t you!?¡± ¡°Mimi, Elma¡¯s saying some really cruel things . ¡± ¡°You¡¯ve said too much, Elma-san . That¡¯s a no-no . ¡± ¡°Whaddya mean ¡®no-no¡¯!? He¡¯s saying something stupid like charging into the Federation fleet alone y¡¯know! Can¡¯t you see that it¡¯s the height of utter recklessness!?¡± Elma raved like a madwoman . I¡¯ve never seen her so angry before . Her voice echoed all throughout the cargo room . Elma¡¯s kept this state up ever since we left the briefing room . Well, I do understand where she¡¯sing from . If I was suddenly told we were going straight to the heart of an over 200-ship strong enemy fleet willy-nilly, I¡¯d probably react the same . ¡°Calm down, will you . It¡¯s not like I¡¯m doing this without a proper n . I have everythingid out already, so chill . ¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hear what this ¡®n¡¯ of yours is then . ¡± I took out the military-grade duct tape from the toolbox and showed it to Elma . Stop ring at me like that already . I¡¯m gonna exin now, kay . ¡°The n¡¯s pretty simple . Once we detect the enemy fleet¡¯s warp-out signature, we¡¯re going to charge right through using the Hyperspeed Drive . We¡¯re going to adjust it so we arrive at the enemy fleet¡¯s warp-out coordinates at the exact same time as when the Hyperspeed Drive gets deactivated . We probably would be able to avoid being detected right away using this method . ¡± ¡°Hm . I see the point so far . And then what?¡± ¡°Once the hyperspeed drive gets cut, we¡¯ll immediately activate the rapid cooling system and enter the thermal stealth state . We¡¯ll hide and pretend to be normal space debris . ¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t they suspect us? And what are we gonna do if they decided to get rid of the space debris in their way?¡± ¡°Even in the worst-case scenario, this ship¡¯s energy shields and armoring would allow us to withstand their attacks, so no problems there . Once we get into range, we¡¯ll let them eat two rounds of anti-ship reactive torpedoes . That¡¯ll rock their socks off, and then some . ¡± ¡°Anti-ship reactive torpedoes¡­¡­ You really have those dangerous things? In this ship?¡± ¡°Yeah, I do . They¡¯re he expensive though, so I really don¡¯t want to use them unless I really have to . ¡± ¡°Um¡­ What exactly are anti-ship reactive torpedoes?¡± Mimi tilted her head in puzzlement after hearing Elma and my discussion . Ah, Elma¡¯s familiar with them, but Mimi I guess wouldn¡¯t have any idea huh . ¡°The anti-ship reactive torpedoes are weapons specially developed to give critical damage torge ships with strong energy shielding and thick armor ting . They¡¯re equipped with special energy shield saturation warheads . Two shots of those things are enough to sink a Gxy-ss battleship . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing¡­ But, if they¡¯re so effective, shouldn¡¯t their use be widespread?¡± ¡°Because they¡¯re crazy expensive . One of them costs around 500,000 Enel after all . If they¡¯re not used on prey with equal or more value, you¡¯d just end up with huge mary losses . So you won¡¯t find a lot of mercenaries using such things . ¡± ¡°One torpedo costs 500,000 Enel!?¡± Mimi got paralyzed from shock after hearing how expensive the torpedoes were . 500,000 Enel really was a huge amount after all . Well, it¡¯s not like they cost more than the advanced missiles back on Earth anyway . ¡°Anyway, You¡¯ve already exined how we¡¯re going to bring down the gship . It¡¯s a bit of a gamble, but that¡¯s just how we mercs do things, right? If you say you can pull it off, then we¡¯ll just have to follow your lead . But what are we going to do after we destroy the gship?¡± ¡°Un, well here¡¯s the rest of it . Once we sessfully pull off shooting down their gship, the enemy fleet¡¯s chain ofmand would probably be thrown into chaos for a time, but it¡¯ll also leave Krishnapletely surrounded . We¡¯ll probably just be taken down from behind if we attempt a normal retreat . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . So you do understand that point huh . ¡± As long as we¡¯re in the middle of the group, the Federation fleet¡¯s ships wouldn¡¯t be able to use their more powerful weapons, but once we take sufficient distance while attempting to escape, I bet they¡¯ll immediately shoot us down with their high-outputser cannons from behind . Even Krishna wouldn¡¯t be able to take so muchser cannon fire, especially from an entire fleet . ¡°And so, we¡¯re going to stick this little thing on one of the torpedoes . ¡± I opened up the secret cargopartment and took something out . You guessed it . I took out the super-dangerous (not to mention sorta illegal) contraband ¨C the ¡ºSinging Crystal¡» . It was enclosed in a transparent ss-like capsule and exuded a faint glow . Even in its sealed state, it was still able to emit a peculiar humming noise that was seemingly able to prate one¡¯s mind . The sound was akin to that of a song that had the ability to bewitch those who hear it . Just who or what was it that created this mysterious item that, upon being destroyed, was able to get a great number of space monsters ¨C aggressive crystal life-forms to be exact ¨C that attacked all in their path? Nobody knew . It was a popr topic of research, however . ¡°Huh!? That!? Isn¡¯t that- !?¡± ¡°Singing Crystal~?¡± ¡°Are you an idiot!? Just what are you thinking by carrying something so dangerous!? Wai- Don¡¯t you dare drop that thing! Don¡¯t drop it, okay!?¡± ¡°Whoops . ¡± ¡°Hii~i!?¡± I teasingly loosened my hold on it, which made Elma all panicky . Hahaha . How amusing . ¡°It¡¯s such a beautiful crystal! And the sounding from it is kind of¡­¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s no good, Mimi! You can¡¯t listen to the sound! If you listen to it for too long, there¡¯s a chance you¡¯d go crazy or even die!¡± ¡°Eeh!? Really!?¡± Elma blocked her long ears with both hands . Mimi followed suit . They¡¯re actually kinda cute; getting all flustered like that . ¡°Well, it does make one feel a little homesick¡­ But its more of a hazardous material than anything else . ¡± I can¡¯t even return home even if I wanted to right now . Mimi¡¯s already lost her previous home to begin with . I don¡¯t know about Elma, but she does sort of feel like an ojousan who escaped from her home or something, so I bet she isn¡¯t really attached to the idea of homing all that much . I ignored the sounding from the singing crystal and moved it to the cargo hold¡¯s ammunition depot . The ammo depot was dark and cramped . The thing I was after was located far at the back . Yep, it¡¯s the anti-ship reactive torpedoes . ¡°Round and round we go . ¡± I used the military-grade duct tape to stick the singing crystal onto one of the torpedoes . I wrapped it with severalyers just to be sure . ¡°And that should do it . ¡± ¡°¡®And that should do it¡¯, my foot!¡± After I came out of the ammunition depot and wiped the sweat that umted on my brows, I suddenly found Elma giving my head a good whack . Ouch . Mimi gently caressed the ce I was hit on . You¡¯re seriously an angel, Mimi . ¡°Violence is no good, Elma-san . ¡± ¡°Whaddya mean ¡®no good¡¯!? You have no idea Mimi, but that item is ssified as ultra-dangerous illegal contraband! It¡¯s a dangerous item that will release countless crystal space monsters that will attack on-sight!¡± ¡°Is that really the case, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°More or less . ¡± ¡°Whaddya mean ¡®more or less¡¯!? You didn¡¯t even tell us you were carrying such a dangerous item on this ship!¡± ¡°Ok, ok . It¡¯s my fault, alright . So calm down a bit . Don¡¯t shout in such a loud voice . ¡± I raised my hands in surrender in front of the red-faced Elma-san . ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s sort of like my trump card . If we release that thing in the middle of the Federation fleet, they¡¯ll be overrun by crystal monsters in no time . We¡¯re going to take advantage of that to escape . ¡± ¡°Well, that thing¡¯s certainly going to raise hell¡­¡­ But it¡¯s still far too reckless a n . ¡± Can¡¯t argue with that . I dunno about this world, but in the game, those crystal monsters were set to be the enemy of all organic lifeforms . They would immediately attack and attempt to assimte any organic life they encounter . In other words, the Singing Crystal posed many problems if one intends to use it as a sort of weapon . It was a full-on biological(?) weapon of mass destruction after all . ¡°It¡¯s all fine as long as we win!¡± For that, I wouldn¡¯t hesitate to use it . I ce more importance on our survival than the lives of soldiers I don¡¯t even know . But isn¡¯t it better to use normal dying tactics within the asteroid belt, you ask? Don¡¯t make meugh . The enemy force has more than sixty shipsrger than cruisers at their disposal . We¡¯ll just be bombarded to bits by theirrge-caliberser cannons and ship-to-ship missiles even if we did hole up in the asteroid field . ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you confident¡­ I do agree about the ¡®as long as we win¡¯ part though . ¡± ¡°Let¡¯s put that aside for now . The problem¡¯s what to do from this point on . ¡± I gave a serious-looking gaze towards Elma, who had a peculiar expression on, and Mimi, who was still a bit stiff from shock . ¡°This n definitely carries a high risk and is extremely dangerous . We¡¯ll probably die if we make just one mistake . So, if you want to, you two could- ¡± Elma put up a hand to stop me before I could say ¡®get off the ship¡¯ . ¡°I won¡¯t get off the ship . I did join your crew knowing full well how dangerous being a mercenary truly is . Or rather, both I and Mimi owe our lives to you, more or less, y¡¯know . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have anywhere I can go to if I did get off the ship anyway . I¡¯ll go wherever Hiro-sama decides to go . ¡± ¡°I can¡¯t really promise that much¡­ But, well, the n does have some prospects of sess, so I¡¯ll tag along . You can¡¯t board a mercenary ship without at least that much resolve anyway . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­I see . Understood . ¡± Looks like I was worried for nothing . I¡¯m¡­ a bit scared though . There¡¯s a good chance of sess . But there¡¯s no absolutes . There¡¯s a good chance of dying from just a tiny mistake . Moreover, I¡¯ll cause the both of them to die as well if I ever screwed up . That thought scares me . I won¡¯t think much about it if I were to die alone¡­ Well, maybe not . I won¡¯t be able to ept my death all that calmly . ¡°Well, let¡¯s leave that forter . ¡± ¡°Hm?¡± I tilted my head in puzzlement at Elma¡¯s change of tone . ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s unfair to the rest of this ships¡¯ crew that you kept quiet about keeping such a dangerous item inside the ship without a word of exnation?¡± ¡°Guh¡­¡± I can¡¯t really refute that . I did keep mum because I didn¡¯t want them to worry too much, but a part of it was just because of me fooling around . My crew ced their lives on my hands, so it was only right to disclose such a thing to them, especially because it was a pretty dangerous item . ¡°¡­¡­I¡¯m truly sorry . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good boy . Be sure to tell the crew the next time you get your hands on such illegal stuff in the future, okay . You¡¯re fine with that, right?¡± ¡°I gotcha . ¡± ¡°Fufu¡­¡­ You really seem like Hiro-sama¡¯s big sister, Elma-san . ¡± Mimi let out an amused giggle after seeing Elma and my exchange . ¡°Well, of course . I¡¯m older after all . I¡¯m also an experienced veteran . ¡± ¡°A veteran who doesn¡¯t even know the kinks of her own ship (trolling grin) . ¡± ¡°What did you just say?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry . Please forgive me, big sis . ¡± I did another splendid dogeza in front of Elma, who looked like she was about to snap, even with a smiling face . I have some confidence when ites to a firefight, but I¡¯ll definitely lose in hand-to-handbat y¡¯know . ¡°Okay then . Shall we?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s depart . ¡± Chapter 28 Chapter 28 Trantor: SFBaka After making our preparations, we made our way to the cockpit block and sat in our corresponding seats . I sat on the main pilot seat, Mimi on the operator seat, and Elma on the sub-pilot seat . Each had a newly bought high-tech juice bottle filled with our favorite drinks floating around beside us . ¡°Geez . We¡¯re about to go for a one-ship blitz assault deep into enemy lines, but the atmosphere isn¡¯t tense at all . ¡± ¡°Better than being all nervous, right?¡± ¡°I trust Hiro-sama, so I don¡¯t feel nervous at all . ¡± ¡°You sure are calm, aren¡¯t you, Mimi?¡± ¡°Of course . I believe in Hiro-sama after all . ¡± ¡°Man, you¡¯re giving me lots of pressure . Well, I¡¯ll try my best not to let you down then . ¡± I smiled wryly as I reached out to my juice bottle and pulled out the straw . ¡°Yes! Ah, Hiro-sama, we¡¯ve received a transmission request just now . It¡¯s from the Imperial fleet heavy cruiser, the ¡ºGlorious¡» . Should I patch it through?¡± ¡°The Imperial fleet? Sure, patch it through . ¡± Man, and I was just about to enjoy my non-carbonated c¡­ As I thought that, Lieutenant Serena¡¯s visage appeared on the main cockpit disy . Lieutenant Serena was just about to say her piece, but froze up when she caught sight of our gravity spheres ©` or rather, our high-tech floating tumblers . ¡ºI was just about to say some words of encouragement, but it seems you¡¯re actually rather rxed . ¡» ¡°Well, we¡¯re quite confident in our sess after all . ¡± We¡¯ll close in as far as we can via the hyperspeed drive, fire those torpedoes and get the hell out . It¡¯s a pretty simple job . I¡¯m feeling pretty confident enough to enjoy some non-carbonated c on the side with practically no worries . ¡ºIs that so¡­ I was a bit concerned because we¡¯ll be starting the operation soon, but it looks like it was unwarranted after all . I do hope you aren¡¯t all talk, however . ¡» ¡°Of course . I¡¯m a pro, y¡¯know . ¡± Lieutenant Serena froze up again after hearing my reply and disyed a daring smile a few moments before she cut the transmission . ¡°That princess sure looks like she has a lot of free time on her hands, doesn¡¯t she? We¡¯re just your average mercenaries but she still went out of her way to send a transmission to check up on us . ¡± ¡°I wonder how old she is?¡± ¡°No idea . Doesn¡¯t matter anyway . Cut them lines, Mimi . Initiatem silence . ¡± ¡°Yes, initiatingm silence now . ¡± ¡°Elma, increase engine output to maximum . Initiate hyperspeed drive sequence . ¡± ¡°Aye, aye, sir . Engine output to maximum . ¡± ¡°Hyperspeed drive, charging start . ¡± ¡°Charging start¡­ Activating hyperspeed drive in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­ Hyperspeed drive, activate!¡± Krishna¡¯s hyperspeed drive activated with a *dooon sound echoing out akin to an explosion . The countless lights in the far distance of space visible inside the cockpit immediately turned from stationary dots into bright lines akin to shooting stars . ¡°Keep an eye on the radar . Don¡¯t miss the timing for the Fed ship¡¯s warp-out . ¡± ¡°¡±Roger!¡±¡± We¡¯ve already gotten a fairly urate approximation of the Fed fleet¡¯s warp-out coordinates . The tech known as hyperdrive uses a time-space pathway called a hypene that connects one spacial coordinate with another in order to achieve super-long-distance interster travel . In the process of fixing the exit point coordinates of a hypene, a certain area with unstable space ¡ºfluctuations¡» would inevitably appear, which could then be triangted in order to approximate the warp-out coordinates . That¡¯s why, as long as one knows which particr star system the enemy will be warping in from, an approximate warp-out point can be narrowed down to an extent . The n¡¯s basically to skim through the approximate warp-out coordinates in hyperspeed until the enemy fleet warps out . ¡°We¡¯ve caught some readings on the radar . Multiple warp-out responses confirmed!¡± ¡°Alright! Begin deceleration . ¡± We immediately headed towards the Fed fleet¡¯s warp-out point and deactivated our hyperspeed drive at the same time as they exited from the hypene . ¡°Activate the emergency cooling system . Cut the generator output . ¡± ¡°Activating the emergency cooling system . Cutting the power . ¡± At the same time as Krishna¡¯s hyperspeed drive deactivated, its generator output was reduced to the bare minimum, and the emergency cooling system was activated . We entered thermal stealth mode . ¡°Great . Let¡¯s proceed to sneak up on those bastard . ¡± ¡°You sure cane up with some very nasty methods¡­¡± ¡°Using your noggin in order to take advantage of everything at your disposal is necessary in order for you to survive in this business . If you can¡¯t at least do that, you¡¯ll probably die . ¡± ¡°As expected of Hiro-sama . ¡± We turned off the flight assist mode and approached the Federation fleet using only inertial propulsion . The Federation ships continued to warp-out one after another as we approached the center of the fleet . ¡°That¡¯s quite a view . It¡¯s actually kinda cool . ¡± ¡°I guess . Seeing all those military warships in formation sure is quite the sight . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re right . There¡¯s a sense of majesty to it . ¡± Seeing all those battleships, heavy cruisers, light cruisers, destroyers, and corvettes neatly lined up in a tight formation really was cool . But there¡¯s no sense in being immersed in such a spectacle . ¡°Looks like that¡¯s the gship . ¡± I gazed at the ship in the center of the formation . There were transmissionsing from that ship that were being sent to the rest of the fleet . There¡¯s no mistake then . That¡¯s the enemy gship . ¡°Are we really heading straight for that?¡± ¡°Yep . ¡± I nodded in reply to Elma, whose face was now slightly devoid of color . C¡¯mon . We¡¯vee this far, so there¡¯s no sense in turning around anymore . ¡°The warp-out responses have stopped . All the Federation ships have arrived . ¡± ¡°Alright . It¡¯s about time . We¡¯re already in effective range . Deactivate the emergency cooling system . Raise the generator output to maximum . ¡± ¡°Ah geez¡­ Emergency cooling system deactivated . Generator output set to maximum!¡± ¡°Charge!¡± The emergency cooling system was deactivated, and pieces of ice started peeling off the ship¡¯s hull . I punched the ship¡¯s thrusters to maximum and rushed straight towards the center of the enemy fleet . My target was the battleship in the middle of the formation . It was most likely the enemy fleet¡¯s gship . But it¡¯s not like we did actually confirm it was . ¡º¡­? What? There¡¯s a response on the radar¡­!? Bandits,ing in fast! They¡¯re right above us! They¡¯ll close in soon!¡» ¡ºWhat did you say!? Was nobody manning the radar!?¡» ¡ºThat ship¡¯s heat signature is abnormally low! The bastards disguised themselves as normal debris!¡» ¡°Hahaha! They¡¯re panicking! They¡¯re absolutely panicking!¡± The Federation ship was hastily making some evasive actions, but we were already right in their faces, so it was toote already . They can¡¯t shoot us recklessly due to the danger of friendly fire . I weaved through the escort ships and opened the lower weapons bay . ¡°Gahahaha! Eat this, bastaaards!¡± I fired off the two anti-ship reactive torpedoes and raced through the gship¡¯s nk . Moments after, a huge explosion went off right in the middle of the enemy battleship . The ship was practically torn in two . ¡ºBattleship ¨C Tiger Eye, shot down! The enemy fired off anti-ship reactive torpedoes!¡» ¡ºGoddammit! Mercenaries!? Don¡¯t mind friendly fire . Shoot them down with the multi-cannon turrets! But hold off on theser cannons, ballistic cannons and seeker missiles!¡» ¡°Yahooo! Now that¡¯s what I call giant-killing folks!!!¡± ¡°H- Hey! Don¡¯t ¡®yahoo¡¯ me! Let¡¯s hurry up and get out of here!¡± ¡°I gotcha!¡± Lots of lock-on warnings went off one after another inside the cockpit . Looks like they were determined to shoot down the enemy even if their gship was destroyed . They were able to reorganize their chain ofmand faster than I expected . ¡°Hey, wait a minute!? What about those crystal monsters!?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll take about thirty seconds before they materialize!¡± ¡°Haa!? Thirty seconds!? So what the heck are we supposed to do now!?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll evade like heck, of course! We¡¯re in the middle of their fleet so they can¡¯t use their more powerful weapons anyway . We¡¯ll be just fine!¡± ¡°¡®Just fine¡¯, my foot! You damn idiooot!¡± The enemy fleet¡¯s multi-cannons released a concentrated volley at the same time as Elma¡¯s scream . Countless numbers of bullets rushed towards Krishna, aiming to take it down . ¡°Release the chaff and reactivate the emergency cooling device!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve done that already!¡± ¡°Releasem silence, Mimi! Send the data to the imperial fleet!¡± ¡°Right away!¡± We activated all emergency evasion devices and systems and weaved through concentrated enemy fire by a hair¡¯s breadth . We couldn¡¯t avoid each and every round, of course . But Krishna¡¯s powerful shield did its work and prevented us from taking damage . Energy shields were originally developed to deal with space debris and were more than capable enough to defend against live rounds . It won¡¯t budge just from taking a bit of enemy fire . ¡°The energy shield is holding out well . ¡± ¡°Use shield cells if needed! There¡¯s no need to hold back!¡± ¡°Roger!¡± ¡ºDammit! Their energy shield is tough for such a small ship¡­!¡» ¡ºThey¡¯re reading our cannon¡¯s effective ranges! Try to cover for each other¡¯s blind spots!¡» ¡ºThey¡¯re sticking too close¡­ What the- !?¡» Ignoring Elma¡¯s protests, I suddenly aimed towards the wide-open bottom of the heavy cruiser I¡¯ve been using as a shield from the rest of the enemy fleet and fired the shot cannons in session . The submunitions prated the heavy cruiser¡¯s shield that had already taken some friendly fire earlier and tore through its hull, riddling it with lots of holes . ¡°That¡¯s two down! Man, I¡¯m on fire!¡± After disabling the heavy cruiser, I turned the ship towards the next prey . But at that moment, it finally happened . In the wake of a shrill cry that prated straight through one¡¯s head, multiple tears in space began to appear . ¡°They¡¯re here guys! We¡¯re getting out of here!¡± ¡°Uwawa! So much came out!?¡± ¡°Ah geez! You¡¯re absolutely crazy!¡± What came out from the cracks in space were objects shaped like bullets ¨C or perhaps fangs would be more appropriate . They were made entirely out of crystals . Their ends were pointed and seemed extremely sharp . It was as if their shape was specifically for the purpose of piercing through objects . They effectively made use of their shape, as their favorite means of attack was to charge ahead and pierce through all that stood in their path . But it wasn¡¯t their only means, as they could also fire off high-speed energy bullets from their bodies . ¡ºArge number of warp-out responses detected! These are¡­ crystal creatures!?¡» ¡ºWhy the heck are those ursed things in this kind of ce!?¡» ¡ºThey¡¯reing!? Uwaaaaaaa- !?¡» ¡ºInterception fire! Shoot them down! Use every weapon we have and shoot them down!¡» ¡ºYou damn fool! You¡¯ll hit us©`©` Gyaaaaa!¡» ¡ºHiii!? M- My leg!? I¡¯m getting devour¡­¡­ Nooooo! Stoooop! Aaaaaaaaah!?¡» It was a picture of absolute hell . With this, the fleet will fall into chaos . They won¡¯t even have the time or the leisure to chase us down . ¡°How awful¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from the guy who actually pulled the trigger . ¡± Elma sighed in exasperation as she gave a cutting retort . It looks like Mimi was affected by the Federation soldier¡¯s cries of agony . Her face was pale as a ghost and she was trembling in shock . ¡°Mimi, you don¡¯t have to listen to that if you find it disturbing . ¡± ¡°I- I¡¯m fine . ¡± No, you don¡¯t look fine at all, girl . Well, since she insists, then so be it . I¡¯ll just have Elma man the radarter if the situation calls for it . ¡°Yosh, time to earn some money . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Huh?¡± ¡°Look . The Fed fleet¡¯s running around like headless chickens . ¡± ¡°T- That¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°In other words, there¡¯s no better chance to shoot down those delicious-looking prey . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re joking, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious . ¡± After saying that, I reversed the ship¡¯s heading and headed straight back towards the battlefield where the Fed fleet and the crystal creatures were duking it out . ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± In my head, I heard the BGM of a certain movie that had apocalypse in the title, and got really hyped up . ¡°Gya-!? Nooo! We¡¯re gonna die! We¡¯re really gonna die! Idiot! You¡¯re one crazy idiot, aren¡¯t you!?¡± ¡°Elma¡­¡± ¡°What!?¡± ¡°There was once a great person akin to a redet who said this in the past: It¡¯s no big deal if it doesn¡¯t hit . ¡± ¡°I bet he¡¯s also a friggin hopeless idiot!!!¡± Aw c¡¯mon . Compared to Red Comet-san¡¯s unit, Krishna even has energy shields equipped, so we¡¯re gonna be fine . That guy kept evading enemy fire that could have destroyed his unit in one shot and brought down ships like there was no tomorrow . Compared to him, we have it quite easy . While avoiding the crystal creatures that attacked the ship, I fired off the two remaining anti-ship reactive torpedoes against two separate targets . They were busy fending off the crystal creatures, so they didn¡¯t notice the torpedoes until it was toote . That was easy, man . ¡°They¡¯re grazing us! They¡¯re freaking grazing us, idiot! Aaah! There¡¯s a crystal monster heading for the starboard! Arge-caliberser cannon is targeting our portside!¡± ¡°A?nd there we go . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re really calm, aren¡¯t you, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Guys who panic in the battlefield are usually the first ones to die after all . You have to do your best to keep your cool at all times as well, Mimi . ¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± ¡°I heard that y¡¯know!?¡± I shot down the crystal monster heading for us and focused on the Federation ship next . These crystal monsters actually aren¡¯t that strong individually . We still have our shields up, and the crystals making up their bodies aren¡¯t that tough, to begin with, so one shot with the shard cannon is all it takes to bring one down . It¡¯s a bit troublesome to shoot them down withsers though . I proceeded with raining downser and scattershot fire on the ships being heavily assaulted by the crystal monsters and shot down Federation ships one after another . I also aggroed the crystal monsters and baited arge number of them towards ship formations that were defending better than expected . ¡ºThat f*cking four-armed bastaaaard!!!¡» ¡ºI¡¯mma kill that goddamn prick!¡» ¡ºYou four-armed devil!¡» The Federation folks were really getting pissed off at me¡­ It¡¯s unfortunate guys, but this is war . The Fed ships got destroyed sessively as their crews let out cries of frustration and agony . I did it, dad . We¡¯re gonna have beefsteak tomorrow . ¡ºT- The Imperial fleet has made its move!¡» ¡ºGoddamit! Their timing¡¯s too perfect! This four-armed bastard and these crystal monsters were all sent by them huh!?¡» Looks like the Federation fleet has managed to detect the movement of the Imperial fleet . It looks like this is it for Bonus Time . ¡°This is as far as we go . We¡¯re withdrawing from the battlefield . ¡± ¡°Finally!?¡± ¡°Yeah . I don¡¯t wanna be caught in the bombardment of our allies after all . ¡± The Imperial fleet would most likely let lose maximum firepower from long range . They were going to wipe out the Federation fleet together with the crystal monsters . We wouldn¡¯t be able to survive their bombardment if we continued to hang around here . ¡°Prepare the shield cells just in case . Release the chaff and res . ¡± ¡°Releaseplete!¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna floor itdies! Be careful not to bite your tongues!¡± I increased the thruster output to maximum and swiftly withdrew from the battlefield of the Federation fleet and the crystal monsters . ¡ºThat mercenary ship¡¯s making a run for it! Fire! Fire!¡» ¡ºDon¡¯t let that bastard get away!¡» ¡°Start charging the hyperspeed drive . ¡± ¡°Charging start . Hyperspeed drive activation in 5, 4, 3,©`©`¡± ¡ºThe target has started charging their hyperspeed drive!¡» ¡ºGoddamiiit! You better remember this, you f*cking bastaaards!¡» ¡°Sorry, man . I already forgot . See ya!¡± ¡°©`2, 1¡­ Hyperspeed drive, activate . ¡± We retreated from the battlefield with a *dooon sound akin to an explosion . There was no way to chase after our ship that had far surpassed the speed of sound and was escaping at near lightspeed . It¡¯ll be a different story if they also activated their hyperspeed drives . But, under that chaotic melee, I highly doubt they¡¯ll be able to . Chapter 29 Trantor: SFBaka ¡°I really thought I was going to die¡­¡­¡± ¡°Hahaha. Oh c¡¯mon. It wasn¡¯t that bad.¡± ¡°It certainly seems so, but¡­ as expected of Hiro-sama!¡± Elma looked like her soul just slipped out from her body and let out an utterly weary sigh while Mimi looked at me with a sparkling gaze. Fufufu. It¡¯s fine to praise me some more, y¡¯know. ¡°So, just how much did we earn this time?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t really paying attention to the number of confirmed kills. How about it, Mimi?¡± ¡°Yes! Um¡­ We managed to shoot down three battleships, four heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, thirteen destroyers, and twenty-one corvettes.¡± ¡°Yeah! Quite a big haul. If I¡¯m not mistaken, a battleships us 2,000,000 Enel each, a heavy cruiser is 500,000, a light cruiser is 300,000, a destroyer is 100,000, and a corvette is 50,000. If we don¡¯t count the cost of the anti-ship torpedoes, we¡¯ve managed to earn 10,950,000 Enels huh. We¡¯ve really hit the jackpot this time!¡± ¡°Ten million nine hundred fifty thousand Enels¡­¡­¡± ¡°Since we fired off four anti-ship torpedoes, a total of two million just went out the drain. So our real earnings is 8,950,000 Enels. My share is 3% of that amount, so I¡¯d get a total of 268,500 Enels.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see. So Mimi¡¯s share is 44,750 Enels then.¡± ¡°Fourty four thousand seven hundred fifty Enels¡­¡­¡± It looks like Mimi was stunned silly after hearing howrge our earnings were. So, if I subtract their share, my total earnings is 8,636,750 Enels huh. My previous total savings was 2,200,000 Enels. I¡¯ve also managed to get about 500,000 Enels from selling the ck boxes and data caches of those Federation recon ships we encountered in the asteroid field. All in all, my total money right now is a little over 11,330,000 Enels. That¡¯s a lot of cash. ¡°So we now have about 11,330,000 Enels huh¡­ Looks like I¡¯m still short.¡± ¡°Your still short of money with that kind of amount? Are you nning to buy a new ship?¡± ¡°Nah. I want to purchase a nice-looking detached house with a garden on a residential somewhere.¡± ¡°I see. You¡¯re still short by a lot if that¡¯s the case.¡± I guess so, huh. In order to get myself a house on a residential in the Gran Empire, I¡¯ll need to fork out money to get the required first-ss citizenship andnd title. Those alone would cost several hundred millions, apparently. It looks like 11,330,000 Enels really is just a proverbial drop in the bucket. ¡°With your skill, wouldn¡¯t you be able to reach that goal faster by enlisting in the Gran Imperial Military and then aim to be a knight?¡± ¡°Uh, well¡­¡± The nobility system is the governing method adopted by the Gran Empire. People whoe from high ranking noble houses are tasked with the governance of each individual sector within the territory of the empire, supported by the general popce. The nobles generally do not allow people ofmon birth to ascend to their ranks because they ce utmost importance on the purity of their bloodlines. But there are some exceptions. Knighthood is one of them. If a soldier were to render enough outstanding merits in the service of the Gran Empire, they would be knighted, and would then be granted first-ss citizenship and rights more or less equal to those of a noble. ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll pass on that. Being a soldier or a knight sounds like a whole load of trouble. I¡¯ll just stick with earning money at a steady pace.¡± ¡°That sounds just like you. I do agree that it sounds troublesome though.¡± Elma smiled and shrugged her shoulders as she replied. Mimi¡­ still hasn¡¯t recovered from the shock, it seems. She was muttering ¡®enels, enels¡­¡¯ while spacing out. ¡°So what are we going to do next? It¡¯ll be awkward to rendezvous with the military fleet after the thing we just pulled off.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t joining back up with the fleet be fine? If we caused even more of amotion at this point, there¡¯s a chance some of the other mercenaries would do something rash due to jealousy. Let¡¯s just stay put at the back of the fleet for the time being.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. Let¡¯s do that, then.¡± I pointed the bow towards the direction of the imperial fleet and used the hyperspeed drive to close in. ¡°This is the Krishna. We¡¯vepleted our mission and have returned.¡± I sent out a transmission as soon as the hyperspeed drive was deactivated. The operationmander, Lieutenant Serena, immediately opened am line. Her expression when her image appeared on Krishna¡¯s cockpit disy gave away her good mood. ¡ºThank you for your hard work. It looks like you¡¯ve made quite a lot of money, haven¡¯t you?¡» ¡°Yeah, I guess. It¡¯s alright, considering the risks we took. It¡¯s only proper that we got this much in return.¡± ¡ºI guess you¡¯re right. Please hand over thebat data then. Why didn¡¯t you get in some more kills?¡» ¡°We¡¯ll probably invite the jealousy of other mercs if we continued to stand out, so we decided to stop. The ammunition, chaff, res and shield cells were also getting consumed at a fast rate.¡± ¡ºI see. Well then, Krishna, please serve as one of the bombardment unit¡¯s escort ships for the remainder of the operation¡­¡­ By the way, do you have any idea why those crystal monsters suddenly appeared in the middle of the Federation fleet?¡» ¡°Maybe the Fed gship we shot down was carrying something dangerous?¡± I replied with the excuse I¡¯ve prepared beforehand. I¡¯d anticipated that we¡¯d be under suspicion as well, but the most they could do was specte, so it would be fine if we didn¡¯t let anything slip on our end. I¡¯m lying through my teeth, of course. But it¡¯s not like they have a method to find out the truth anyway. All the evidence got blown up by the anti-ship torpedoes after all. ¡º¡­¡­Let¡¯s leave it at that, then. Serena, out.¡» The transmission line was cut and the window disying Lieutenant Serena¡¯s image closed. ¡°Okay then. Let¡¯s just sit back and watch the fireworks until this operation is over, shall we?¡± ¡°This operation turned into such a one-sided game because of you after all.¡± ¡°Impressive, ain¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get too cocky, buster¡­ is what I¡¯d like to say. But I really can¡¯t, with these results and all. It truly is impressive. Though there were a lot of times where I felt we were gonna get shot down.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really amazing, Hiro-sama.¡± Mimi, who seemed to have recovered from her earlier shock, puffed out her bountiful chest in pride. Umu. Those sure are some nice breasts. Shooting down all those Fed mooks really wore me out. I¡¯m gonna have my girls spoil me rotten tonight. Guhehehe. The Termaine System defensive battle, as recorded in the historical archives, concluded in a surprisingly short time frame, considering its scale. It ended in aplete and utter victory for the Gran Empire, whose officials thought it would be a harsh, grueling battle at first. There were a lot of uncertain factors in this particr conflict. ording to the official records, the Vereverem Federation fleet had just warped out when a horde of crystal creatures suddenly attacked them and brought down arge number of ships. The Vereverem Federation suffered devastating losses in this battle, with almost 90% of their warships reduced to space debris. There were few surviving soldiers, and due to fear of public sentiment turning for the worse, the Vereverem Federation immediately implemented an information ckout. On the side of the Gran Empire, information regarding this battle was also unusually scarce. There is a high chance that they had also implemented some form of information control. Perhaps it¡¯s due to the unexpected and unexinable attack of crystal creatures on the Federation fleet. Just why had a great swarm of crystal creatures attacked the Vereverem Federation fleet that had resulted in them suffering tremendous losses? In the first ce, no matter howrge the number of crystal creatures, it was improbable for the Federation fleet to have suffered that level of damage from them, considering the fleet¡¯s overall strength. They would naturally have taken some losses, but not to that extent. At this point, rumors about a certain mercenary who had stayed at the Termaine System during the conflict surfaced. Yes. They were about the vaunted Captain Hiro. ording to the records, he was, in fact, present in the Termaine System during this period. And, as a result of an in-depth investigation, it was proven that he was assigned to a special mercenary squad helmed by the Imperial Military¡¯s famed Lieutenant Serena Holz at the time of the conflict. Captain Hiro and Lieutenant Serena Holz. The miraculous victory attained by the Gran imperial forces was achieved in the presence of these two individuals. There are few official records remaining, so there exists no definite proof of this conjecture, butter events gave rise to the saying that ¡®it wouldn¡¯t be a surprise for whatever fantastic incident to happen as long as those two were present¡¯. And it seemed this assertion, no matter how ridiculous it sounded, could not be dismissed as a mere rumor after all. Because, as you dear readers know, these two individuals have performed a number of great and wondrous feats in the course of their celebrated careers. ¡°Again?¡± ¡°Did she send one again, Hiro-sama?¡± Three days have passed since the end of the Termaine System defensive battle. Elma and Mimi let out fed up sighs and chided me when they saw my expression turn awkward after I checked out a message that was sent to my personal data terminal. My face must have looked really terrible for the two of them to react like that. It was a super passionate love call from my dear Lieutenant Serena. ¡ºThe Gran Imperial Armed Forces are in need of talented pilots! Competitive sry! Complete employee benefits! Automatic granting of ss 1 Imperial citizenship! Plus a lot more perks and substantial bonuses! The Gran Imperial Armed Forces wants you!¡» These were roughly the contents of said message. She was spamming my private inbox with these kinds of messages these past few days. She was also sending emails to my Mercenary Guild ount. It was a full-blown spam mail harassment scheme. ¡°So, what are you going to do? From the looks of things, that woman won¡¯t stop until she gets what she wants.¡± ¡°Her eyes were like those of a hunter eyeing her prey.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not exactly happy about it either, you guys.¡± I¡¯d normally wee a hot girl hitting on me, but it¡¯s a different story if said girl was just doing so in order to force me to enlist in the military and be her subordinate. I¡¯m going to have to say ¡®no, thank you¡¯ to that. No matter how high the pay they¡¯re offering, it still won¡¯t trump the potential earnings I can get while working as a mercenary. I¡¯d also have to say goodbye to personal freedom if I did enlist. And don¡¯t even mention the possibility of having to hand over my Krishna. I¡¯m a bit interested in being granted ss 1 Imperial citizenship and employee benefits, but it¡¯s not like I absolutely need those employee benefits anyway. And I can always apply for citizenship once I managed to make enough money to pay for the registration fees. It was honestly not something I¡¯d really consider at this point. ¡°Oh, to hell with it. Let¡¯s just run.¡± ¡°Is that alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with it. Choosing their next destination freely is one of a mercenary¡¯s basic rights. Getting away from here before things get out of hand seems to be the smart choice, in my opinion.¡± Mimi inclined her head while looking a bit worried towards Elma, who stood up from her seat. ¡°We¡¯ve finished restocking everything apart from the anti-ship reactive torpedoes, so we can depart immediately if you like.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like we¡¯ll be needing those torpedoes immediately anyway. That¡¯s fine then. Let¡¯s hustle, girls.¡± And torpedoes costing 500,000 Enels a piece aren¡¯t exactly run-of-the-mill merchandise you can just purchase from the market whenever you want anyway. They¡¯re actually quite rare. Most weapons dealers don¡¯t have them in stock, it seems. It¡¯s not like the game, where you could easily buy them from specialty shops or the item mall. ¡°W- We won¡¯t get in trouble for this, right¡­?¡± Mimi still seems bothered about escaping the Termaine star system, but it¡¯s not like we¡¯re wanted fugitives or something. The other party is a duty-bound military officer. She probably won¡¯t be able to pursue us even if she wanted to. ¡°So, where are we going next anyway?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit far from here. We¡¯ll need to pass through six other star systems.¡± ¡°Six systems¡­ So we¡¯re really going to that ce we talked about yesterday huh?¡± ¡°Yup. It¡¯s the ma of Imperial medical technology.¡± ¡°The Alein star system, right?¡± ¡°Uhuh, that¡¯s right.¡± We talked about our next destination as the three of us headed towards the cockpit. We¡¯re nning on going to the Alein star system next. It¡¯s a ce where state-of-the-art medical space stations and colonies specializing in biotechnology research and development are gathered. ¡°I heard their specialties are different kinds of artificial meat and a great variety of gically enhanced produce.¡± ¡°How about booze?¡± ¡°Well, since they have gically enhanced produce, I¡¯m betting they have some kinds of alcohol that make use of those as ingredients as well, right?¡± ¡°It sounds lovely! I think we¡¯ll get to taste a lot more gourmet delicacies once we get there!¡± I sat on the pilot seat while Mimi and Elma sat on the operator seat and sub-pilot seat respectively. We snapped on our seatbelts. ¡°Mimi, send out a sortie request.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± ¡°Elma, you¡¯re in charge of monitoring the generator output and subsystems like always.¡± ¡°I gotcha. Roger.¡± ¡°We got an OK for the sortie request.¡± ¡°Great! We¡¯re bailing, guys!¡± Our ship disengaged from the hangar bay docking mechanism, retracted thending gear, and sted off into open space. The scenery in outer space is majestic and beautiful as always. Seeing it kinda reminds me just how insignificant an existence I am in the grand scheme of things. But, at the same time, I¡¯m also excited by the prospect of traveling through the vast sea of stars towards the greater universe. ¡°So, first stop is the Rouma star system.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve set the coordinates on the navi.¡± Mimi fiddled with the console in front of the operator seat and inputted the destination coordinates on the navigation system. I pointed Krishna¡¯s bow towards the coordinates indicated by the navigation system. ¡°I¡¯m firing up the hyperspeed drive.¡± ¡°Gotcha. Hyperspeed drive activation, countdown start.¡± ¡°5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­¡­ Hyperspeed drive, activate!¡± Krishna elerated explosively and started heading towards our new destination. ¡°Our destination is the Rouma star system. Hyper Drive, charging start.¡± ¡°Hyper Drive,mencing charge sequence.¡± ¡°Hyper Lane linking, finished.¡± ¡°Countdown. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ©`©` Hyper Drive, activate!¡± The space in front of the ship warped, and we plunged straight into the Hyper Lane. Right, then. Let¡¯s get this journey rolling. It¡¯ll be a great journey across this boundless universe. And this time, it¡¯s not a game. ¡°You¡¯ve certainly made great achievements during thest operation¡­ But, are you really fine with this?¡± The terminal screen disyed the face of my uncle making a worried expression on the other side of the line. A smile crept onto my lips as I nodded in affirmation. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve always pushed for the formation of a special independent unit that will go around the empire¡¯s territories in order to hunt down pirate groups, haven¡¯t I? I just think now would be the perfect time to finally put it into practice.¡± ¡°With your abilities, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be able to easily get you a post on a more well-known and distinguished unit¡­ but it seems there¡¯s no point convincing you, is there? Understood. I¡¯ll go ahead with the preparations.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Mm. Do take care.¡± My uncle cut off the transmission on his end. The projection on the holo-disy got cut off automatically as well. ¡°Fufu¡­ I¡¯m not going to let you get away, you know?¡± I gazed at the light trail left behind by a certain starship as it plunged into the depths of space and muttered under my breath. My expression reflected on the ss window disyed a distinct, daring smile. Chapter 30 Trantor: SFBaka I opened my eyes to a sight of dazzling radiance. Countless torrents of light streamed past my vision. They flew towards me from the front and disappeared behind me, forming a pale, bluish-white corridor of light. The ¡®corridor¡¯ of light enveloped me from all sides. And whaty before me, towards the furthest distance, was a single point of twinkling light. It was the glow of a star with the same color as the light streams flowing past. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t tell me you fell asleep?¡± A voice tinged with annoyance came from my left. Now then, just whose voice was it, I wonder? In the first ce, just where the heck am I? I moved my confused gaze toward a holographic disy in front of me. It resembled a control panel with lots of buttons. There were also several virtual gauges. Were the streams of light in front of me actually part of an¡­ HD disy or something? They looked quite realistic for some special effects. ¡°Hiro-sama?¡± I heard someone call out in a worried voice. Hiro-sama? I am¡­ My name is Takahiro Satou. I¡¯m not some ¡®Hiro-sama¡¯. But this voice seems kind of familiar¡­ I felt the presence of someone approaching me. ¡°Ouch!?¡± I felt an impact hit my forehead. It was quite painful. ¡°You¡¯ve got a lot of guts dozing around in the cockpit, buster¡­¡± ¡°E- Elma-san, don¡¯t be too violent¡­¡± I turned around while holding my aching forehead and finally saw the figures of the one who knocked her fist on top of my head and the one who sounded worried about me. ¡°Ah¡­¡­ Now I remember.¡± ¡°Remembered what?¡± The name of the woman who was looking at me with an angry gaze was Elma. She had long, pointy ears and moderate ¡®assets¡¯ out front. Her fine, delicate hair strands were pale silver in color. Her skin was milky smooth. She also had a lithe figure. No matter how you looked at her, she was unmistakably an honest-to-goodness elf. But her clothes were that of a typical mercenary, without a lot of skin exposure. It was a peculiarbination of cyberpunk and fantasy elements. She even had a boorishser gun strapped on her hip via holster. She was someone who didn¡¯t really seem like an elf if you took away those pointy ears of hers; how truly disappointing. She was a veteran merc boasting a five-year-long career. But she was now working as one of my ship¡¯s crew members. The reason why she ended up boarding my ship was¡­ well, let¡¯s just say it was due to a truly unfortunate ident. The ship she piloted ran out of control while in the middle of arge-scale pirate subjugation operation and crashed right into a military warship. As a result, she owed the military a massive amount of mary penalties. However, even after selling all her assets (including her starship), she couldn¡¯t fully cover the imposed amount and was nearly sent to a harsh prison colony. And it was at this point that I ended up bailing her out by paying her debt. Afterward, she became a member of my ship¡¯s crew. She was working in order to repay her debt to me and obtain enough funds to purchase a new starship. Incidentally, I managed to find out in the end that the huge amount of penalties they pped her with was actually unreasonably highpared to the gravity of her offense. I investigated it, and it reeked of suspiciousness. In the first ce, there was actually nothing in the official military database that stipted she was to be fined mary penalties. That being the case, a penalty amount and deadline was still issued due to a mistake in the processing of her case. The guy who made the mistake was apparently reassigned to a frontier-based penal unit which had atrociously high mortality rates. It was really scary that one mistake cost the guy a one-way ticket to a penal unit. It really was the best decision to stay the heck away from the imperial military. ¡°Oh, just some stuff about the two of you, among other things.¡± ¡°Did you actually forget about the two of us¡­¡­?¡± A young girl sporting a sorrowful expression peeked out from behind Elma. ¡°Nah, I was just half-asleep.¡± The name of the young girl peeking from behind Elma was Mimi. She was a really cute girl with light-brown hair and pupils. They were hidden behind Elma right now, but her ample frontal ¡®assets¡¯ were ¡®battleship¡¯ tier. However, her overall build was just in the ¡®destroyer¡¯ tier. She was also my crewmember just like Elma. She also ended up boarding my ship due to a massive debt issue¡­ But, unlike Elma, she really couldn¡¯t be med for her previous plight. Her parents died in an ident that caused a lot of damage to the colony they were living in. The ensuing indemnities all fell onto her juvenile shoulders. She really shouldn¡¯t have been punished for it, but due to the whims and schemes of adults who should have known better, she ended up burdened by it anyway. And no one offered her a helping hand. But she luckily met me, who happened to have enough financial capability to rescue her from the situation she was in. I ended up actually saving her and she became one of my crewmembers as a result. In fairytales, this would have been a ¡®happily-ever-after¡¯ ending already, but this was unfortunately reality. Even after being freed from her debt, it didn¡¯t change the fact that she already lost her home. So, as part of my responsibility as the one who saved her, I ended up looking after her as well. I weed her as a crewmember and assigned her a supporting role as my ship¡¯s operator. She¡¯s now currently learning the ropes of being an operator from the ground up. She was learning from a training AI and Elma¡¯s lectures and was in the middle of gaining valuable first-hand experience as a qualified starship operator. ¡°You¡¯re still quite the cold-hearted guy even if you were just spacing out as you said. You¡¯ve already done all sorts of ¡®stuff¡¯ to both of us after all.¡± ¡°Oh c¡¯mon¡­ Don¡¯t make it sound like I¡¯m the bad guy here. Cut me some ck.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m just saying the truth, right?¡± ¡°I guess I can¡¯t deny that huh.¡± Yeah. I¡¯m in ¡®that¡¯ kind of rtionship with both of them. This world had an entirely different set of customs and culturepared to Japan. There was a lot of iprehensible stuff they considered asmon sense here. I¡¯ve not managed to learn all of them, but one particr custom was¡ºa woman who gets on-board a man¡¯s private starship was to be considered as the man¡¯s lover¡»or something like that. It was utterly absurd, right? I also find it ridiculous. But that¡¯s just how it is. I still don¡¯t have a full grasp of this world¡¯s history, but I¡¯m sure lots of factors contributed to this particr custom bing part of universalmon sense. Even so, I had no choice but to ept such a custom anyway. The two of them got on-board my ship fully prepared for such a thing. Well, the two of them didn¡¯t have much of a choice anyway, so I guess you could say they had to ept such an oue due to the circumstances. On the other hand, I invited them to get on my ship without thinking things through all that much. I just simply wanted them as part of my crew, apart from taking pity on them, and invited them on-board. But the two of them misunderstood my intentions and thought I was raring to get into ¡®that¡¯ sort of rtionship with them after inviting them. Due to me and my careless remarks, I ended up taking responsibility and got into ¡®that¡¯ sort of rtionship with the two of them even if it wasn¡¯t my intention in the first ce. It was considered asmon sense after all. I had to bite the bullet and ept the consequences. Besides, they were already cornered by their debts, and there was virtually no way out for them except for going with my suggestion. Mimi didn¡¯t have any rtives left, and without a way to protect herself, she would have just ended up getting caught by low-lives in the slums, toyed around with, and thrown aside like garbage once they got tired of her. Elma, on the other hand, would have been imprisoned in a prison colony filled with former pirates as convicts if she failed to pay her dues. There was no telling what they would have done to her once they found out she was a former mercenary. It seems that they didn¡¯t separate male and female convicts in this world after all. What would have awaited her was a lifetime of violence and abuse. I ended up saving them from those cruel fates, and they both boarded my ship as a result. Thus, I couldn¡¯t really refuse them when they told me they wanted to get into ¡®that¡¯ sort of rtionship with me. Mimi was even afraid I would abandon her if she didn¡¯t offer herself to me. In Elma¡¯s case, I think she would have gotten along just fine if she wasn¡¯t fined that ridiculous amount of debt. Well, whatever the case, I already ended up in a serious rtionship with the two of them. Objectively speaking, I was a goddamn bastard who took advantage of their debts toy my grubby hands on two breath-taking beauties. I really can¡¯t offer any excuse for myself. But please think of it this way. A big-breasted loli and an elf with a wless appearance both offered themselves up to me willingly without any sort of resistance. Is there any honest-to-goodness guy alive who can resist such delightful temptations? Well, maybe there were. Yeah, maybe there are some guys who can do that. But I¡¯m not one of them goddammit! I confess folks! I¡¯m the kind of guy who¡¯s weak to those kinds of stuff and thinks with his lower half when subjected to them, okay! I¡¯m certainly no damn saint who wouldn¡¯t do anything in those kinds of situations. Want me to say it inly for you? I¡¯m the guy who¡¯d unhesitatingly pick the option that would lead to ero developments in games if they were avable. Sorry folks. ¡°But if both of you don¡¯t like it- ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m saying I don¡¯t like that sort of stuff you idiot.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t hate doing it with you either.¡± They both indignantly told me off. Elma¡¯s face blushed bright red as she turned away. Mimi, on the other hand, had a serious expression on as she stared at me unblinkingly with an air of conviction. ¡°Yeah, I got it. I love you girls.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°I- Is that so?¡± Mimi smiled blissfully after I expressed my feelings. Elma shyly lowered her head in embarrassment. Yep. My girls are the cutest. Well then, time for some proper self-introductions. The name¡¯s Takahiro Satou. Right now, I¡¯m going by alias ¡®Captain Hiro¡¯. The small-sizedbat starship we¡¯re riding on right now is called the ¡¾ASX-08 Krishna¡¿. It¡¯s likely a unique, one-of-a-kind ship in this world, and I simply call it ¡®Krishna¡¯. We¡¯re currently in hyperspace ¨C around the vicinity of the Ghanam star system ¨C heading for the Alein star system. Let¡¯s leave the pseudo-science mumbo-jumbo about hypenes and hyperspace forter. Let me brief you about this world first. I don¡¯t know the exact name of the world ¨C this gxy ¨C I¡¯m currently in right now. It seems nobody actually named the gxy in the first ce. Anyway, interster navigation technology has greatly developed in this gxy. The people here had already broken away from the hold of gravity on each of their natives, and have spread out to the great ocean of stars. I suddenly found myself stranded in this gxy one day; along with this ship ¨C the Krishna. The only thing that I was familiar with from my former world was this Krishna. Uh, it¡¯s not like we had futuristic starships like this in my former world, okay. As far as I know, we¡¯ve only managed to develop things like orbital space research stations where astronauts carry out a number of experiments in the zero-G environment of outer space. We haven¡¯t evene close to developing space colonies where people can live normally. People were living on Earth, like usual. What I meant when I said I was familiar with this ship is that this was a unit I had in a video game I was ying. I was really into an MMO called Ste Online before I found myself in this unfamiliar gxy. It was a game where you could do stuff like exploring a massive online gxy, going on adventures, participating in battles, engaging in trade and making money and the like. I got Krishna as a prize from a game event. It was a unique unit I was using in the game. I think some of the sharper ones out there have already gotten an idea about my circumstances. I actually got transported to a world highly resembling Ste Online. There was a lot of stuff on the ship I was familiar with from my time ying Ste Online. There are also things like space pirates who liked to attack civilian ships and crystal creatures that indiscriminately attacked all other living organisms in the gxy. These are also just like the ones I¡¯ve encountered in Ste Online. But it¡¯s not like everything¡¯s the same. There a lot of ship models and parts in the market that didn¡¯t exist in Ste Online, and the name of the star systems weren¡¯t the ones I was familiar with back in the game. I also haven¡¯t heard of any of the gctic empires ruling said star systems before as well. I wasn¡¯t sure if this was really a different gxy or if I was just thrown to an unexplored corner of it. That¡¯s because we still haven¡¯t managed to explore the entire virtual gxy back when I was still ying Ste Online. Ste Online has already reached more than four years in service, but the yers haven¡¯t managed to explore every corner of the gxy just yet. Yeah. It¡¯s still like that even after four years. ¡®Just how big is this overworld?¡¯ the yers often asked. In other words, if this ce was the side of the gxy we¡¯ve yet to explore, it goes without saying that I wouldn¡¯t be familiar with the local star systems. No one¡¯s reached this ce in the game yet after all. So I wouldn¡¯t be familiar with it as well. I tried searching for the Sr system as well and didn¡¯t find it. We also haven¡¯t found an equivalent of the Sr system in Ste Online, so we weren¡¯t sure if it really wasn¡¯t included in the game or just wasn¡¯t discovered yet. Anyway, I found myself in the middle of such an iprehensible situation and am now stuck here. Fortunately, I found myself able to pilot Krishna without any major problems and proceeded to make a living as a mercenary just like in the game. I had funds due to the stuff I found inside Krishna when I first got here, but they would have been used up sooner orter. I don¡¯t know how I got here, but the fact is I found myself in a world simr to the game I was ying. I might as well enjoy it instead of brooding over my situation. And so, I became a mercenary, met Elma and Mimi, hunted down pirates, and teamed up with my fellow mercs to render meritorious service to the imperial military. But it looks like I stood out way too much. I got eyed by a beautiful but dangerous-looking female Imperial officer and pestered daily into joining the army. I got annoyed by it, so I decided to escape from the clutches of the scary imperial military and ran away. What I sought for was freedom. Mercenaries like us ought to be free after all. We¡¯re free to move to another sector if we feel that it would make us more profit by doing so. It may not be so bad to join the imperial military, but I¡¯d still be able to make a decent living as a mercenary even without involving myself with the military. There¡¯s absolutely no problem. By the way, the three of us on this ship each have our own goals. My goal is to buy a detached house with a nice garden on a residential somewhere in this gxy. Oh, and I want to drink lots and lots of carbonated drinks as well. This gxy didn¡¯t have carbonated drinks avable for some reason. I tried to investigate, but couldn¡¯t find out why this was the case. I couldn¡¯t find any clues regarding carbonated drinks no matter what media I used. I really don¡¯t understand. But I have heard before that it was hard to drink carbonated drinks in a zero-G environment or something. I don¡¯t know just how it turned out this way, but it really looks like carbonation has be a form of lost technology out here in space. So I decided to revive and spread the wonderfulness of drinking carbonated drinks to terrestrials in this gxy instead. And afterward, I¡¯ll get to drink to my heart¡¯s content. Anyway, that¡¯s why my goal is to buy a house with a garden on a residential. It seems like in order to do that within the empire, I¡¯d have to get first-ss citizenship and fork out several hundreds of millions of Enels. It was crazily expensive. Mimi¡¯s goal was to tour the gxy and taste all the gourmet food it has to offer. There should be a lot of mysterious, tasty treats we¡¯ve yet to eat out there in this wide gxy after all. She wanted to eat all of them. That¡¯s Mimi¡¯s ultimate goal. It¡¯s a simple yet grand-sounding goal! I¡¯m tagging along for the ride as well, by the way. I¡¯m also secretly aiming to have Mimi drink carbonated beverages as part of our gourmet adventure as well. Lastly, there¡¯s Elma. In addition to fully paying me back for her debt, she wanted to earn enough money to be able to restart as an independent mercenary again someday. She currently owes me about 3,000,000 Enels. One Enel is equivalent to one hundred Japanese Yen, so when converted, she owes me three hundred million Yen. That¡¯s a lot of money. That said, Elma¡¯s actually earned more than 260,000 Enels during our pirate hunting gig and run-in with the Federation in the Termaine star system. I¡¯m sure she¡¯d be able to pay me back within a year or two at this pace. Well, she did have to buy herself a new ship if she wanted to get back to being an independent mercenary again, so she¡¯d still have to stay as my crewmember even after paying back her debt. These are our current circumstances. We¡¯re now heading towards the ce with the best medical technology in the empire; the Alein star system. The reason for this is me being unable to tell the girls honestly that I¡¯m a guy who wandered into this alternate gxy from another world. Because I wasn¡¯t familiar with things the locals consider asmon knowledge, I ended up giving the excuse that I was involved in an ident during Hyperdrive and got selective amnesia. Elma and Mimi got really worried after hearing that and suggested I get myself a detailed check-up at a medical station. It would seem suspicious if I refused such a suggestion, and I was also interested in having my body checked out as well, so I agreed in the end. I got transferred from another dimension after all. I want to make sure there wasn¡¯t anything funny going on with my body. There¡¯s always the possibility of some disorders popping up, so I wanted to make sure. Anyway, that¡¯s why we¡¯re heading for the Alein star system. We were after their cutting-edge medical facilities there. It¡¯s something important, so I had to stress it twice. Chapter 31 Trantor: SFBaka The Alein star system is a flourishing ce sporting two residentials, three active technological research colonies, and onemercial trade colony. It doesn¡¯t have an expansive asteroid belt area like the Termaine system, but it mainly obtains wealth through the export of their high tech products andponent parts. Thus, it¡¯s amon sight to see arge number of mercantile shipsing and going to and from the system. And, of course, opportunistic pirate groups aiming for said ships are also fairlymon. Due to this system being a ce of strategic and economic importance to the empire, the military¡¯s on-going crackdown against the pirate groups is more strictly enforcedpared to other ces. But even so, their patrols can¡¯t possibly cover the entirety of this rtivelyrge star system. That meant more jobs for mercenaries like us. ¡°That¡¯s the Alein system in a nutshell.¡± ¡°Bravo?!¡± I pped encouragingly after Mimi¡¯s concise exnation of the Alein star system¡¯s particrs. She was holding her personal tablet terminal in one hand and looked quite professional. It seems she was a bit embarrassed due to my unreserved praise. Her cute face reddened in a light blush. ¡°So, which colony are we heading to?¡± ¡°Since the research colonies strictly prohibit the entry of anyone apart from the actual researchers, we¡¯ll be heading to the trading colony instead.¡± ¡°There¡¯s still an opportunity for us to visit those ces if we took delivery requests from the guild branch in the trading colony. But it¡¯s not like we¡¯ll get to see any interesting stuff if we do manage to go there. There¡¯s nothing worth visiting after all. They don¡¯t have a single tourist attraction avable.¡± ¡°It sounds like quite the dull ce. How do they even get any entertainment over there?¡± ¡°The only entertainment they need is research work, apparently. The people staying there are all honest-to-goodness research addicts.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Just hearing about it already made me feel all worn out. It sounds like a ce filled with workaholics treating their jobs as their hobbies. I wouldn¡¯t want to stay there long even if we do need to go there. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s set course for the trading colony. Elma.¡± ¡°Aye, aye, Sir?!¡± Elma, who was sitting on the sub-pilot seat, pointed Krishna¡¯s bow towards the coordinates leading to Alein system¡¯smercial trade colony. ¡°We¡¯ll be arriving in approximately fifteen minutes.¡± ¡°Roger. Keep a sharp lookout while on the way. Please pay careful attention to the radar readings, Mimi.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Mimi responded enthusiastically and moved her attention to the hyperspace sensor that can be used even when the ship is in the middle of traveling via hyperspeed drive. It seems normal sensors just won¡¯t cut it when a starship is moving near the speed of light¡­ or so I¡¯m told. The only thing that will work is the hyperspace sensor. And, of course, I have absolutely no idea how the thing works. What¡¯s ¡®hyperspace¡¯ anyway? In any case, if we use this thing, we¡¯ll be able to keep a constant lookout over a wide range even while traveling via hyperspeed drive. We can detect the presence of other ships within the sensor¡¯s effective range, as well as former battlefields field with drifting debris. Also, we can pick up SOS signals; even though encountering such a situation is fairly rare. ¡°Um, Hiro-sama. I managed to pick up an SOS signal.¡± ¡°What the heck!? And they call this rare!?¡± ¡°I understand how you feel, but we can¡¯t just ignore it.¡± I would¡¯ve normally ignored such a side-event if this happened in the game, but I can¡¯t just do that now that it¡¯s happened in reality. A mercenary starship is also obligated to respond to an SOS signal, except under certain special circumstances. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. Please change our course toward the SOS signal¡¯s coordinates. There¡¯s a good chance of encountering hostiles, so brace yourselves.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Roger!¡± Krishna changed course and headed towards the SOS signal¡¯s coordinates. We can¡¯t be absolutely sure unless we see the situation for ourselves, but there aren¡¯t many reasons where sending out an SOS signal is necessary. It¡¯s either a starship encountering some form of mechanical trouble or being assaulted by pirates. We can just temporarily let the crew on-board and tow their ship to the nearest station or colony in case of a mechanical breakdown. If it¡¯s a pirate assault¡­ then a battle is inevitable. ¡°A few more moments to contact. Deactivating hyperspeed drive in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­ Contact!¡± *Boom! The hyperspeed drive deactivated; apanied by a booming sound akin to an explosion. Krishna got ejected to normal space. We immediately checked the radar and caught five responses. A single medium-sized ship was being chased by four smaller ones. ¡°It looks like we hit the jackpot. The one being chased looks like a medium-sized passenger cruise ship.¡± ¡°The SOS signal ising from that ship. We¡¯re moving out then. Mimi, scan them and send out a courtesy call!¡± ¡°Yes! This is a ship affiliated with the Mercenary Guild, callsign ¡ºKrishna¡». We came here in response to the SOS signals being sent out. To the unidentified ships attacking the passenger cruiser, halt your assault immediately!¡± Mimi gave out a cease-fire warning while scanning the other ships at the same time. Their response, however, was quite straightforward. ¡°They locked on to us.¡± The unidentified ships immediately activated their weapon systems. Since they¡¯ve already locked on to us, I guess they¡¯re saying further words are unnecessary huh. ¡°Mark them all as hostiles. Weapon systems online. Raise the generator output to battle level.¡± ¡°Aye, aye, Sir. Weapon systems online. Raising output.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do this!¡± Our ship¡¯s weapon systems immediately activated, and four maniptor arms sportingrge-caliber pulseser cannons popped out from the hull. At the same time, two cannon barrels popped out from both sides of the cockpit, gleaming menacingly. ¡°The four ships have all been ced with corresponding bounties.¡± ¡°Great. We can shoot them all down without holding back then.¡± Two of the ships chasing down the passenger cruiser broke away from their formation and headed for us. I responded in kind and moved Krishna towards them as well. ¡ºThis guy¡¯s fas¨C ¡» I¡¯m not obligated to let them get the first shot anyway. I locked on to one of them immediately and fired all fourrge-caliber pulseser cannons. The enemy ship¡¯s energy shields were saturated easily and brought down. ¡ºWhat the-!? The shields!?¡» ¡°That¡¯s one down.¡± I fired therge-caliber canister-shot cannons at the now-defenseless ship when we passed each other by, and its hull was immediately filled with countless holes. These two cannons ¨C alternatively called shotgun cannons ¨C fired live rounds that scattered innumerable smaller submunitions, and packed quite a punch. It was a fairly destructive weapon. Its range was limited, but its destructive ability was quite high. One shot was all it took to bring down a shield-less enemy ship and reduce it to swiss cheese. ¡°These shard cannons of yours are brutal as usual.¡± ¡°Calling them shard cannons is so old-fashioned.¡± ¡°Old-fashioned, he says¡­¡± While we exchange pointless banter inside the cockpit, the flight assist system made the ship turn around, positioning us right behind the exposed rear end of the other enemy ship. ¡°Fire?! Fire?!¡± I fired another volley of pulsesers and brought down the enemy ship¡¯s shield, destroying its main thrusters afterward. ¡ºNo! Stooo¨C¡» ¡°No way.¡± I heard someone begging for his life through thems and ignored itpletely. These damn pirates attack unsuspecting civilian ships, kill all the crew and rob everything valuable they¡¯re able to find inside. They also tend to capture civilian passengers for ve trade. They¡¯re not worth sparing. Not one bit. After losing their shield and main thrusters, the enemy ship got pelted by a merciless volley of pulseser fire. After getting hit by all fourrge-caliber pulseser cannons, the enemy ship promptly exploded and was shot down. ¡°That¡¯s two. Next!¡± ¡°There are only two more enemy ships remaining¡­ but it looks like they already turned tail and fled.¡± Maybe they got terrified after we easily dispatched two of theirrades, so the two remaining ships chasing down the passenger cruiser hastily pulled away and escaped from the area. ¡°The hell! Don¡¯t run, you bastards!¡± ¡ºDon¡¯t screw around! We¡¯re not fighting a monster like you!¡» One of the surviving enemy ships retorted back viams. Guess he¡¯s one of the smarter pirates out there. Oops, now¡¯s not the time for being impressed. We¡¯re still a bit far from the passenger ship. Can I make it? ¡°The pirates have activated their hyperspeed drives!¡± ¡°Make iiiiiiit!¡± They¡¯re nearly in range of ourser cannons. Just a bit more¡­¡­! ¡ºLater, bastards!¡» *Boom! The pirate ships turned into streaks of light after the sound of explosions and sessfully escaped from the area. It¡¯s not impossible to give chase¡­ but aiding the attacked passenger ship was more of a priority. ¡°Dammit. They sure can run away.¡± ¡°It was an impressive escape for mere pirates. We sometimes encounter guys like those. Pirates who use their brains.¡± ¡°Those types are really troublesome¡­¡­¡± We could have shot them down if we managed to get them within range of our weapons, but it looks like this time¡¯s a bust¡­ It¡¯ll be a different story if we had weapons sporting even greater range than the pulseser cannons though. Something like arge-caliber electromaic rail cannon perhaps. ¡°Oh well. Please connect us to the passenger cruiser. If their navigation systems are fine, we¡¯ll proceed to recover the loot from the destroyed pirate ships.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not obligated to escort them back after all.¡± It sounds a bit cold, but that¡¯s how it is. It¡¯s not like we epted a request to guard the passenger ship, so we¡¯re not obligated to look after them. But it still depends on their affiliation and their following demands. In this world, mercenary ships that manage to pick up a distress signal are obligated to lend aid if possible. But the extent of that aid can be somewhat negotiated. It would be through the distressed party offering additional remuneration and rewards. Thepensation amount wouldrgely depend on the number of passengers and valuables present on a ship, but a medium-sized passenger cruise ship was certainly a promising prospect. It can be said that we were unfortunate to have been involved in such an incident just after arriving at this star system. But it can also be considered a lucky break ¨C marily speaking, that is. That¡¯s how we mercenaries earn a living. ¡ºThis is the Koueimaru. We¡¯re a civilian passenger ship affiliated with Inagawa Technology. We¡¯re grateful for your help.¡» We picked up a reply from them line Mimi connected. The Koueimaru of Inagawa Technology? A Japanesepany? It¡¯s written in katakana, but the name ¡®Koueimaru¡¯ can also be written in kanji. ¡°We¡¯re d you¡¯re OK, Koueimaru. I¡¯m Captain Hiro; a mercenary affiliated with the Mercenary Guild. What¡¯s the status of your ship?¡± ¡ºThe life-support systems are alright, but our propulsion systems got done in. Would it be possible for you to guard us until the system military patrol arrives?¡» So they want us to guard them until the imperial patrol arrives huh. If the ship were a bit smaller, Krishna could have towed it to the colony. But it seems impossible with that size. It looks like we don¡¯t have any choice but to wait for a military ship to tow them instead. ¡°Can we take that as an official request? How about thepensation?¡± ¡ºYes. Inagawa Technology will pay you the appropriatepensation. I¡¯m truly sorry for being unable to tell you a definite amount, but rest assured that I will immediately forward it to the head office once the request ispleted. I do not have direct authority to decide thepensation amount you see.¡» Well, I guess he really isn¡¯t given authority to decide even if he¡¯s the ship¡¯s captain. I turned towards Elma who silently nodded in assent. It looks like she doesn¡¯t have any problems with those arrangements. ¡°I understand. We ept the request and will begin guarding your ship. The request will be consideredpleted once the military patrol arrives. The rewards for both the earlier rescue action and subsequent guarding of your ship will be paid by Inagawa Technology. Do you agree to these terms?¡± ¡ºThat would be fine.¡» ¡°Well then, we¡¯ve reached an agreement. Mimi, please keep a record of the earlier conversation.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Mimi spiritedly responded. Alrighty then. Might as well salvage the loot from the pirate ship wreckages while we wait for the imperial military patrol to arrive. But, since we shot them down in the middle of attacking a ship, I¡¯m not expecting much loot anyway. Chapter 32 Chapter 32 Trantor: SFBaka ¡°Fuwaaa?h¡­ It¡¯s so huge!¡± ¡°It sure is¡­ Just how muchrger is this cepared to Termaine Prime?¡± ¡°Um, I think its poption is about five times more than Termaine Prime . I¡¯m not too sure about the colony¡¯s exact size though . ¡± What came before our eyes was a huge octahedron-shaped space colony . It seems to be slowly spinning about at a distance . But, judging from its size, I think the speed of its revolution is actually quite fast . I guess the constant rotation is needed for producing artificially induced gravity . Anyway, it was an unbelievably huge colony . This gigantic structure is called the Alein Tertius colony . This is our first stop in our trip to the Alein star system and is one of the three active colonies situated here . ¡°Please send out a docking request, Mimi . ¡± ¡°Ah, yes! I¡¯ll send one out right away . ¡± Mimi fiddled with the Operator console in front of her and sent a docking request to the port administration of Aleintertius . The request contained our personal details; particrly, our ship¡¯s name, my name as the ship¡¯s captain, and our group¡¯s reason for visiting . It didn¡¯t take long for an approval to be sent back . ¡°We have received permission to dock! We¡¯re assigned to hangar bay number 72!¡± ¡°Gotcha . ¡± We followed the guide beacons disyed on the cockpit¡¯s main screen and proceeded towards our designated hangar . As expected of arge colony . There¡¯s quite a lot of ship traffic . It would result in a great, big mess should an idental collision ur . But I didn¡¯t want to trouble myself with that point so I just left it to the ship¡¯s auto-pilot . ¡°Using something like auto-docking is cheating¡­¡­¡± ¡°I just wanna take it easy, alright . ¡± Elma seemed to have a bit of aint about my way of handling things, but I just ignored it and carried on . Even though making a perfectnding the manual way does sound kinda fun in a way, I still prefer doing it the easy way . I needed to install a dedicated dockingputer module personally in order to obtain the auto-docking function, but it worked like a charm and allowed the ship tond safely inside the hangar bay . I guess she just felt antsy due to her experience riding an out-of-control starship . After docking sessfully, the ship¡¯s generator output gradually transitioned to standby mode . There wasn¡¯t a need to raise it to battle mode while inside a colony, and cruising mode also used up quite a bit of power as well . ¡°We¡¯re finally here . Alrighty then . What should we do first guys? Do you wanna have a meal first?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it kinda early for a meal? I think it would be better to finish all our other tasks first . ¡± ¡°So, those will be selling off loot, paying a visit to Inagawa Technology¡¯s office and iming bounty rewards at the local military outpost huh . ¡± ¡°Ah, please leave selling the loot to me . ¡± Mimi made a guts pose by raising both hands and making fists with them while letting out an excited grunt . Since she could just use the terminal to sell the loot instead of going to the shops personally, I think it should be alright to leave it to Mimi . There¡¯s still a need to be wary of merchants possibly shortchanging us, but Mimi was particrly attentive to details regarding money, so she should be fine . ¡°I¡¯ll leave selling the loot to you then, Mimi . So next is the visit to Inagawa Technology, but¡­¡± ¡°It would be better to wait for Inagawa Technology to send out a formal invitation first . It¡¯s not like we¡¯re in a hurry either . ¡± I nodded in agreement to Elma¡¯s suggestion . We¡¯ve already exchanged contact info with thepany representative anyway . They should still be busy discussing the remuneration details with thepany¡¯s higher-ups, so it would be better not to go there yet . ¡°Okay then . Let¡¯s just get the bounty rewards from the military . ¡± ¡°Should I go?¡± ¡°Nah, I should go instead . I¡¯m the captain after all . ¡± I didn¡¯t have a problem with having Elma go instead, but I think it¡¯ll go more smoothly if I went over personally instead . I¡¯m the ship captain after all . ¡°I¡¯lle with you then . It would be dangerous for you to walk there alone . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a kid, y¡¯know¡­¡­¡± But, well, I guess Elma does have a point . I¡¯m unfamiliar with the ce, so having her with me would help a lot . They do say two heads are better than one, right? I¡¯ll have here along then . ¡°Well, I guess two people does sound safer . Let¡¯s check out downtown while we¡¯re at it as well . Please watch over the ship in the meantime, Mimi . You¡¯ll be safer staying here . ¡± ¡°Is this really that dangerous of a ce? This colony, I mean . ¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so . The level of public order seemsparatively high . But we won¡¯t know for sure until we take a look for ourselves . But, well, judging from the ship traffic earlier, I think this ce is frequented by a lot of outsiders like us, so it doesn¡¯t hurt to be more careful . ¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right . The hangar bay we¡¯re assigned to has a lot of foreign ships docked inside as well . It does seem a little unruly . Let¡¯s prioritize gathering info then . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Mimi nodded in understanding . I and Elma can take care of ourselves just fine to a certain extent, but Mimi¡¯s just a frail young girl, so she doesn¡¯t have sufficient abilities to keep herself safe out there yet . She does have aser gun with her, but, honestly speaking, she kinda sucks at using it . ¡°Alright then . Elma and I are going out for a bit . I n to contact you just in case we take longer than expected, but go ahead and eat your meal if we doe backte, okay . ¡± ¡°Yes, understood . Please take care out there, Hiro-san and Elma-san . ¡± ¡°Yeah . ¡± ¡°Un, we¡¯ll see youter . ¡± Elma and I quickly prepared ourselves and got off the ship . ¡°Whoah, how do I say this? The atmosphere¡¯s kinda different here . ¡± ¡°Well, this is like the big citypared to ces like Termaine Prime . ¡± Elma told me matter-of-factly as we continued walking around the ce . The interior of the Alein Tertius colony can be described as an iron jungle filled with towering skyscrapers . Countless high-rise buildings stood within the central living district of the colony . There was a great number of alleyways and side-streets as well . The colony didn¡¯t rely upon a singr lighting module that could simte daytime within its walls, and instead made use of street lights to illuminate the surroundings . In other words, it was a city of perpetual night . ¡°But wouldn¡¯t living in such an environment affect the citizen¡¯s health or something?¡± ¡°It seems they have a way to artificially simte sunbathing within thefort of their own homes . ¡± ¡°That sounds tedious though¨C Uh, do we have to do that as well during our stay here?¡± ¡°We can just use the med-pods . ¡± Hm, so the med-pods have that function avable as well . Come to think of it, mercenaries like us spend a considerable amount of time in outer space, so I think the med-pods are configured with that function with that in mind . I don¡¯t know how it exactly works though . Same old, same old . They said you needed a healthy dose of sunlight to maintain your health back in my old world as well . ¡°Walking on foot inside a colony this huge is tiring, not to mention troublesome . Do they have some sort of public transport we can use here?¡± ¡°Of course . ¡± I looked towards where Elma¡¯s gaze pointed and saw something resembling a sub-way entrance . ¡°There¡¯s an active sub-way system connected all throughout the colony, so we can use it to travel between ces here . Termaine Prime also made use of it to some extent remember? They used it on the colony¡¯s logistics system . This here is like the enhanced version . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± I don¡¯t know how that worked either, but it ensured speedy trading and delivery of goods within the colony without you having to attend to in person . I wonder what kind of vehicle they¡¯re using? ¡°So, can we take sub-way¡­¡­¡± ¡°No need . The military¡¯s base is already just around the corner anyway . ¡± ¡°I see . Oh well . I¡¯ll get another opportunity to try it outter . ¡± That¡¯ll be when we finally pay a visit to Inagawa Technology . We also need to restock our foodstuffs, so I¡¯ll get another opportunity to take the sub-way then . We¡¯re nning to spend quite a bit of time in this colony anyway . ¡°There it is . ¡± Elma pointed toward a building that had both the empire and the imperial military¡¯s gs hoisted out front . It kinda didn¡¯t seem like a proper military garrison though . It looked more like an office building . ¡°It doesn¡¯t really feel like a military base huh . ¡± ¡°It depends on the area they¡¯re located in . There¡¯s also some which function as military training schools in ces with ample space . ¡± There wasn¡¯t even a single guard watching over the entrance . However, they¡¯re using a surveince system coupled with a battery of sentryser turrets instead . So the imperial military is also a fan of automation huh . We entered the military building and encountered a secondary security gate within . This time, there was a guard in ce . It was a macho guy with bulging muscles that gave quite an impact . But apart from this guy, everything else was automated . They also hadser turrets installed in here . ¡°Personal weapons aren¡¯t permitted inside the building . Please leave them over here . ¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± ¡°Understood . ¡± I and Elma handed over ourser guns and spare energy packs . The guard also checked if we were hiding anything else . He also checked out our data terminals . ¡°The check¡¯s finished . If you want to cash-out your bounty rewards, please head over to that window . If you have any other business, please inquire on the window right next to it . ¡± ¡°Thank you . ¡± We said our thanks to the muscle-bound macho guard and went over to the bounty reward counter . I¡¯ve also done this back on Termaine Prime, so I¡¯m already familiar with the process . But the atmosphere here is quite different though . Back on Termaine Prime, the front entrance of the military base hadser-rifle toting soldiers manning it . When I reached the inner security gate, I encountered even more soldiers . Sure is a big differencepared to here . ¡°Wee to the Alein Tertius colony . You¡¯re a new face, aren¡¯t you?¡± The clerk manning the counter was a guy with a gentle atmosphere about him . He looked older than me . He¡¯s probably well past his thirties . More specifically, I think he¡¯s in the middle of his forties . ¡°Yeah . We just arrived earlier . My name¡¯s Captain Hiro . This is Elma, one of my crew . There¡¯s also another girl named Mimi left on our ship . She¡¯s also a part of the crew . ¡± ¡°So it¡¯s Hiro-kun and Elma-kun . I¡¯m Sergeant Daniel . I¡¯m from a family of mercenaries, so you don¡¯t need to act all formal with me . You can just call me Daniel or Danny . I¡¯m fine with either . ¡± ¡°No, please allow me to call you Sergeant Daniel . I¡¯ll just tone down my formal speech a little instead . ¡± ¡°I insist as well . I¡¯ll also be addressing you as Sergeant Daniel . ¡± I shook my head and refused his offer to call him without using honorifics . Elma also agreed with me on that point . ¡°Is that so? If you¡¯re fine with that, then I am as well . So, I guess you¡¯re here to cash-out your bounty rewards, correct? You¡¯ve already hunted pirates even though you¡¯ve just arrived . You¡¯re quite passionate about your job, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°We managed to pick up a distress signal on the way to this colony . When we rushed over, we encountered a ship of Inagawa Technology being attacked by pirates . We couldn¡¯t just abandon them . ¡± ¡°Inagawa Technology? Were the passengers safe?¡± ¡°We somehow made it in time . We couldn¡¯t tow them back using our ship, so we waited for the military patrol to have them towed instead . We went ahead of them, but I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be arriving soon as well . ¡± ¡°I see . They¡¯re probably safe now that our guys are escorting them . You¡¯ve done a great job, Hiro-kun . ¡± Sergeant Daniel had a worried expression on him as he listened to my story . He then made a good-natured smile afterward . This sergeant really had a way of making people feel at ease while talking to him . ¡°Yeah . We¡¯re d we were able to rescue them . So, about the bounty money¡­¡± ¡°Ah, yes . Please wait a moment¡­¡­ You shot down two ships . Your total reward is 15,000 Enels . ¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s quite a lot, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Well, a lot of civilian ships have already been attacked by those four pirate ships you encounteredtely . They worked fast and escaped even faster, so we¡¯re having trouble bringing them down . You managed to bring down two of them this time, so I think they¡¯lly low for a while . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± I nodded in acknowledgment after hearing about the circumstances . But they had little cargo on them even though they¡¯ve attacked a number of ships already . They only had some supplies and booze on them . Do they have a hidden base around here somewhere? ¡°Here you go . There¡¯s all your rewards . Are you nning to stay in this colony for a while?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the n . I think we¡¯ll have plenty to see in a colony this bustling . ¡± ¡°I guess so . There¡¯s a lot of techpanies that have their offices here, so there¡¯s also a lot of employeesing and going . There is quite the number of recreational facilities in the colony to cater to them . ¡± ¡°Is that so? I look forward to it then . Alright, we¡¯ll be taking our leave now, sir . ¡± ¡°Ah, do take care . ¡± We bid farewell to Sergeant Daniel, went over to the security gate to retrieve our weapons and equipment, and left the military office . ¡°That man was quite easy to talk with, wasn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°He really didn¡¯t seem like a soldier . He seems like someone more suited to a teaching profession than being a part of the military, I think . ¡± ¡°So the imperial military also had guys like him in it huh . ¡± Since I¡¯m not familiar with the imperial military, it was a surprise for me to find someone like him in it . An organization like the military does kinda seemplicated and sort of mysterious to civilians like me . And this world has space forces as military mainstays apart from the usual air, ground and naval forces . So I can¡¯t imagine just what sort of developments happened to the structure of the military at the advent of a full-fledged space age . I could try to read up on the subject, but I don¡¯t really feel like it anyway . ¡°At any rate, that sergeant told us something curious earlier, didn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Yeah . About those pirates we shot down, right? I thought they had surprisingly few cargo after the sergeant said they¡¯d already attacked a number of civilian ships . ¡± ¡°I thought so as well . Chances are, they¡¯re stashing their loot away somewhere else . ¡± ¡°Yeah, most likely . But they¡¯re onlyposed of four ships¡­¡­¡± ¡°The group is small in scale, so looking for them will be troublesome . ¡± Elma shrugged her shoulders while sporting a wry grin . It¡¯ll be easier if they went and made a base out of an asteroid, but it¡¯ll beparatively more troublesome if they just stashed away all their loot inside a sturdy container and were keeping an eye on them somewhere in space . If it¡¯s thetter, it¡¯ll be next to impossible to find them without knowing the exact coordinates . ¡°Oh well . Let¡¯s just leave it at that . We¡¯ll just leave it to chance . ¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let them get away next time . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s the spirit . Now let¡¯s go back and have our meal . Mimi¡¯s waiting for us . ¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go then . ¡± We nodded to each other and walked back to the ship . We¡¯ll eat our fill once wee back and take the opportunity to rx a bit after . We still have enough funds so we didn¡¯t have to find work straight away . We¡¯ll take this chance to rest for the entire day and start our activities tomorrow instead . Chapter 33 Chapter 33 Trantor: SFBaka ¡°Wee back!¡± ¡°Ah, we¡¯re back . ¡± ¡°We¡¯re home, Mimi . ¡± We went back to the Krishna and were greeted by Mimi . It seems she was in the middle of checking something and held her tablet terminal on one hand . ¡°Are you checking something out right now?¡± ¡°Yes . I was trying to see if I can find medical centers that have good reviews . ¡± ¡°I see . What¡¯s the result?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still in the middle of checking the reviews out . It¡¯s not like more expensive facilities are actually better . Considering Hiro-sama¡¯s case, I¡¯m still deciding between a facility specializing in neurotechnology or one specializing in mental care¡­¡­¡± Mimi was pondering about with a serious expression . My purported selective amnesia is simply just a cover story I came up with in order to avoid saying the truth ¨C that truth being me getting thrown into this world from another reality . It sounds absolutely nonsensical after all . In other words, medically speaking, I¡¯m actually fit as a fiddle . Well, there¡¯s also this possibility that I¡¯m just being made to think that I was from another reality and that I¡¯m really a resident of this one . In any case, right now, I fully believe that I¡¯m not someone native to this world, but a guy named Satou Takahiro who lives in Japan . In my world, ships like the Krishna only exist in fiction, and humanity has yet to fully explore the sea of stars . ¡°Amnesia, huh¡­¡­¡± In contrast to Mimi, who was earnestly searching for a way to help me cure my supposed medical condition, Elma was giving me a stare filled with suspicion . Guess my amnesia cover story wouldn¡¯t fly with Elma huh . If my guess is right, Elma is thinking I¡¯m some socially inept rich young master who ran away from home to have a grand adventure or something . In this world [normal] meat and vegetables are considered as super luxury items, apparently . In this world, most people normally consume artificially engineered food items made from algae and krill-like organisms which get turned into meat substitutes and such . However, I ended up asking if they were selling¡ºnatural meat and vegetables¡»when I went out to shop for food with Elma for the first time . In this world, the only people who would mention those kinds of things like it was normal were either rich upstarts or members of the privileged ss . This made Elma believe that I was a rich kid trying to hide his identity by pretending to have amnesia . I guess I¡¯ll also think that way if I were in Elma¡¯s shoes . But the truth is way different . I¡¯m probably as healthy as an ox and didn¡¯t have problems with my memory either . I still don¡¯t have a clue about how I was transported to this world, but I remember most of the details of my life in Japan before I was sent here . The only things I don¡¯t remember are the events that led me to get transported to this world . It¡¯s truly unfortunate, considering it was one of the most important pieces of info for me . ¡°You really don¡¯t have to focus on the memory part . It¡¯s enough to find a ce where I can get a detailed health check-up . I might also have to get myself vinated for infectious diseases and stuff like that as well . Please look for a ce where I can get all of that done . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m all good myself, but I think Mimi should get herself checked up as well . There are things like lethal infectious diseases that only humans can contract after all . I think it¡¯ll be better for her to get vinated for all of them, just in case . ¡± ¡°And you¡¯re fine with not getting shots, Elma?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already had mine done some time ago . ¡± Even if Elma said so, I firmly shook my head . ¡°I¡¯ll pay for the medical fees, so it¡¯s better for you to undergo a check-up as well, Elma . It¡¯s one of the Captain¡¯s duties to ensure the health of the crew after all . I¡¯ll pay for Mimi as well, of course . ¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± ¡°Really? Well, okay then . ¡± Mimi and Elma both nodded in agreement . Great . I was able to get them to go as well . And it¡¯s not like I particrly hate going to the hospital, mind you . It¡¯s just that going by myself feels kinda lonely somehow, right? And I meant it when I said it¡¯s for ensuring the crew¡¯s health . It¡¯ll be well worth the money if doing so would limit the risk of me and the girls getting sick . ¡°I wonder just how much it¡¯ll cost though . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure . But maybe it¡¯ll be around 1,000,000 Enel per head or something . ¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that kinda high of an estimate¡­? Well, it¡¯ll be fine even if it reaches that amount . ¡± Even if it did cost 1,000,000 Enel per person, my total assets right now amount to more than 10,000,000 Enels anyway . It¡¯s certainly costly, but considering it¡¯s for our health, it can also be said to be cheap in a sense . But, well, since one Enel is equivalent to a hundred Yen¡­ I¡¯ll end up forking out about a hundred million Yen for each of us, right? If I really end up thinking of this as something cheap, I feel like my sense for money would definitely be distorted . ¡°Hiro-sama, I think one million Enels is a bit¡­¡± ¡°Hey, it¡¯s no good if you back out because of the cost being one million, you know?¡± ¡°Nah, don¡¯t worry . It¡¯s already a done deal no matter the price . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine then . ¡± But it¡¯s true that we don¡¯t have any idea about the actual costs . I¡¯ll check our finances again and make sure we have enoughter on . We spent our time rxing around when we got back to the ship . We ate a delicious meal prepared by our high-performance auto-cooker¡ºTetsujin Mk . V¡»and rxed in the bath afterward . We did our daily training as well and went to bed after we were done . ¡°Ho-hum¡­¡± ¡°How sleazy¡­¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from you, seeing that you¡¯re lounging around on the bed with me here . ¡± I was lying face upzily on the bed as Elma leaned against my chest while fiddling with her data terminal . We¡¯re the shining example of azy couple, aren¡¯t we? ¡°I guess so . Lazing around like this isn¡¯t so bad once in a while . ¡± ¡°Yeah . ¡± Lazing around with Elma like this does have its charms . But it kinda felt like I was cuddling with an obedient puppy sometimes . We eitherid about like this, gave each otherp pillows, or gazed up at the ceiling together in a daze . There was a lot of skinship between us ever since we got together . These times somehow feltfortably peaceful and was her favored way of rxing and de-stressing herself . Since Elma liked it, I found myself enjoying it as well . ¡°Hm, it looks like Mimi found a buyer for the loot already . ¡± ¡°Oh? Sounds great . How much did they offer?¡± ¡°Excluding the handling fees, she sold it for a total of 4500 Enels . Together with the bounty rewards, our total earnings this time is 19,500 Enels, I guess . ¡± ¡°Uh, you¡¯ll get 3% so¡­ your share is 585 Enels, huh . ¡± ¡°Mimi¡¯s share is 98 Enels . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite small huh . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s just how it normally is . Rather, earning more than 8,000,000 Enels after a single major mission is the one that¡¯s out of the norm . Your share is 18,817 Enels by the way . ¡± ¡°Gotcha . It¡¯s not like I¡¯m rushing you with the repayment . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­The normal thing would be demanding the debtor to hurry up with the payment you know?¡± Elma gazed down at me with an exasperated look on her pretty face . ¡°Well, I just want to spend as much time as I can with Elma . ¡± That¡¯s my true feelings by the way . Elma owes me a three million Enel debt, and she was working as a crew member on the Krishna in order to repay me . Once Elma earns enough to pay the debt and acquires enough capital to re-start mercenary work independently, she won¡¯t have a reason to stay with us as a crewmember anymore . Elma was quite a skilled crew member, and we¡¯ve been relying on her more and moretely . Plus, she¡¯s a beauty . And we¡¯re already in¡ºthat¡»kind of a rtionship as well . And she¡¯s also built up a great working and private rtionship with Mimi as well . Thus, it¡¯s only natural for me to wish to be with her for as long as possible . ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry so much, dolt . I¡¯m staying with you for the long haul . Even if I pay back the debt, I still need to earn money to buy a new ship after all . ¡± After saying that, Elma plopped her head on top of my exposed stomach . Fufufu, I¡¯ve been training myself ever sinceing to this world, so I got all my bases covered . Get a load of them! These wonderfully built six-pack abs! ¡°What the heck are you grinning for? They¡¯re too stiff so they¡¯re hard to sleep on . ¡± ¡°Uh, sorry . ¡± ¡°Mmhm . That¡¯s better . Good boy . ¡± It looks like Elma-san doesn¡¯t prefer rock-hard abs . She made herselffortable by rubbing her cheeks on top of my stomach . It kinda tickles . ¡°Hey¡­¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°You really don¡¯t have any amnesia, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not lying, y¡¯know . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like you have to hide it . ¡± Elma¡¯s head, which was on top of my stomach, shook . It seems like she was giggling . ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really n on pressing you for answers anyway . Would it be bad if I found out?¡± ¡°Mm¡­ Well, not really . I¡¯m just afraid you won¡¯t believe me if I told you . ¡± ¡°What the heck are you saying, you dolt?¡± It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t tell her . It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t know what Elma¡¯s reaction will be if I ever revealed that I¡¯m someone from a different dimension . She¡¯ll most likely think I was crazy or something . Or maybe I¡¯ll be taken to some sort of research facility to serve as a guinea pig . ¡°I could tell you if you want . But I think you¡¯ll just say I¡¯m crazy though . ¡± ¡°If you say it like that, it makes me quite nervous¡­ but let¡¯s hear it anyway . ¡± ¡°I see . Hm, okay . Where should I start¡­ Are you familiar with parallel worlds or different dimensions?¡± ¡°I have a general idea . But I have no idea if something like that¡¯s really possible . ¡± Elma shrugged her shoulders while keeping her head on top of my stomach and using it as her pillow . ¡°Yeah, well, I¡¯m probably from that kind of world though . Me along with Krishna, I mean . In my head, I think of that as an absolute fact . ¡± Elma turned silent as if digesting my words . ¡°Do you remember the guild uncle saying I didn¡¯t have any personal data recorded anywhere when I first registered? Of course, I didn¡¯t . The first ce I found myself in when I was sent to this dimension was Termaine Prime after all . ¡± ¡°Now that you mention it, he did say something like that back then . But, that¡¯s just¡­ No, maybe it is possible for parallel worlds to exist, I think?¡± ¡°Basing on my ship¡¯s weapons and tech?¡± ¡±Yup . If you really dide from apletely different dimension, your Krishna¡¯s equipment and technology being simr to the ones used in this world is something weird in itself . We can¡¯t rule out the possibility that the technological development of both worlds is roughly simr . This ship is the only one of its kind as far as I know . I haven¡¯t managed to encounter anything like it . But¡­ it still feels off . Judging from your performance thus far, you¡¯re definitely an experienced and skilled mercenary . Your skills aren¡¯t something attainable by some run-off-the-mill merc . However, you severelyckmon sense . So youe from a world sporting the same tech and has the presence of mercenaries, but with the prevalent customs andmon sense different from this one? Isn¡¯t that really weird?¡± ¡°Well¡­ I think you¡¯ll be more confused after this, but¡­ in the first ce, I¡¯m no mercenary . I¡¯m just an employee; a sryman so to speak . I just have gaming as my hobby . ¡± ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be a normal sry who knows how to fight like you do, you know! You¡¯re quite skilled with firearms as well, right? Didn¡¯t you say you won that gun of yours in a tournament or something?¡± The gun Elma was referring to was my personalser gun . It seems it was an ultra-rare item made by a famous gun-making studio called the Mandas Workshop . I had great skills as a merc, piloted a starship like a decorated veteran, and sported a rareser gun . There certainly isn¡¯t any persuasive power when I im that I¡¯m just your average sryman . I understand that point well . It was as absurd as the idea of a self-proimed sryman who can overwhelm cyborg soldiers and nanomachine weaponry with his bare hands . ¡°You¡¯re right . But I got all that from ying a game . ¡± Elma let out an uneasy ¡®Hm!?¡¯ when she heard me . ¡°In other words, you want to say that you¡¯ve been sent to a world simr to the game you¡¯ve been ying?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . And in the dimension I¡¯m from, humanity hasn¡¯t developed technology sufficient to advance further into space . Things like owning starships that zip through the cosmos or interster travel are only encountered in fiction or video games . ¡± ¡°That sounds like something from a housing a primitive civilization, doesn¡¯t it¡­? It does seem too far fetched and would be enough for you to be thought of as crazy . Something like being thrown into a game world sounds like a generic plot from a teen novel . ¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t it? Honesty, I think it would be more believable if I said I got my memories overwritten due to some sort of conspiracy and was made to believe I was from another dimension for some reason . ¡± ¡°But, at least, you think everything you revealed to me earlier is true, correct?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just my personal view of things though . We can¡¯t really be sure until I have the insides of my head investigated thoroughly or something . ¡± ¡°I guess . It¡¯s not like there¡¯s no way to do that¡­ but you don¡¯t really have to stress yourself over it, I think . ¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I understand why you¡¯d be bothered, but it¡¯s not like you¡¯re troubled by your current situation, right?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think so, yeah . ¡± It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t want to find out the reason for my current predicament, but it¡¯s not like I feel like I absolutely need to find out either . I don¡¯t have any pressing reason toe back to my previous world after all . ¡°So it¡¯s fine . Let¡¯s just leave it up to fate or something . ¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess you¡¯re right . ¡± ¡°Yep . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ But is that it? Don¡¯t you have anything else you want to ask?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t . No matter how you see yourself, it won¡¯t change how I think of you . You¡¯re a very skilled yet somewhat silly guy . Or maybe someone who¡¯s still in the middle of a phase middle school kids often go through until now . ¡± ¡°Please, just stop . That¡¯s kinda embarrassing y¡¯know¡­¡­¡± Elma entered into a fit of giggles after hearing mein . ¡°You really are a great woman . ¡± ¡°Well, of course, I am . Who do you think you¡¯re talking to?¡± ¡°Elma, the disappointing elf . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re on, you bastard . ¡± ¡°Oi, stop that idiot . ¡± Elma started tickling my sides with her delicate fingers, and we started wrestling with each other on top of the bed . Fufufu . Don¡¯t think you can win against my well-trained body with those dainty arms of yours¡ª ¡°Guwaaah!? The heck!? A cross armbar!?¡± I didn¡¯t manage to win against Elma-san in the end¡­ She unleashed a barrage of fancy wrestling moves on me . I wanted a little gentler form of skinship though . No, I insist . Chapter 34 Trantor: SFBaka I spent my time flirting¡­ or rather, wrestling with Elma on the bed ¨C exchanging attacks and counterattacks in an exciting disy of skinship that was a tad bit too hardcore. When I woke up the next day, I immediately took a bath, finished some light training routines, took a bath once more, and entered into rxing mode afterward. Elma? She went and took over my bed again. This time, it was my win. ¡°Good morning, Hiro-sama.¡± When I went over to the dining area, I found Mimi taking a break wearing her training clothes. It seems we all managed to work up a sweat even though it¡¯s still morning. ¡°Morning, Mimi. You went for some training?¡± ¡°Yes. I was nning on taking a bath after this.¡± Looks like we missed each other earlier. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll prepare our breakfast then.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll take a bath first.¡± Mimi shed me a cheerful smile and skipped over to the bathroom. She would have run into me while I was bathing if I weren¡¯t so quick to finish. But washing off the sweat I got from training didn¡¯t take that long, and Elma still hasn¡¯t woken up, so I only took a quick shower. Oh well. We would¡¯ve wasted much time if we bathed together anyway. ¡°Good morning¡­¡­¡± ¡°Hey there, morning.¡± Elma woke up while I was in the middle of preparing breakfast. ¡°What the heck are you wearing?¡± ¡°My BF¡¯s T-shirt.¡± It seems she borrowed one of my shirts from my closet and wore it. Elma¡¯s taller than Mimi, but she¡¯s still smaller than me. When she wears one of my shirts, it ends up looking like a one-piece dress with a really short skirt. It looks quite risqu¨¦. ¡°Mimi¡¯s taking a bath right now, so you can take one after her.¡± ¡°Nn¡­¡­¡± It turns out that Elma was a poor riser, and she¡¯s always like this when she wakes up. It¡¯s not to the point of doubting whether or not she could do mercenary work in her current state, but it seems shepletely lets herself go on off days like this one. Maybe you could say she was good at switching gears. ¡°Ah, Elma-san, good mor¡­ You look kinda amazing there.¡± ¡°Mooorning? I¡¯ll take a bath as well, m¡¯kay?¡± Elma headed into the bath while covering her mouth with one hand to stifle a yawn and waving back at Mimi with another. Mimi gazed at her back with a stunned expression. ¡°That sure looks nice¡­¡­¡± ¡°Do you want to wear one of my shirts as well, Mimi?¡± ¡°Can I!?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah. Go right ahead.¡± Her excited reaction surprised me. I really didn¡¯t think wearing my shirts would make her so excited. But, well, if Mimi were to wear my shirt¡­¡­ the front end would probably be the point that would end up looking risqu¨¦. Her body shape¡¯s way different from Elma¡¯s after all. Hahaha. ¡°Let¡¯s eat. You fine with today¡¯s meal being the daily special?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± After hearing Mimi¡¯s cheerful reply, I operated our trusty auto-cooker, the vaunted Tetsujin V, and ordered the daily special for me and her. I got arge serving while Mimi had a normal one. Mimi also aterger servings than normal when she first came to the ship, but now she only eats normal amounts. She¡¯s also working out a lot. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s because she¡¯s conscious of her weight. I don¡¯t think she put on that much weight though. ¡°Judging from her state earlier, I¡¯m sure Elma¡¯s gonna take a while in the bathroom, so let¡¯s just eat ahead of her.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ Alright.¡± Mimi seemed a bit hesitant at first but nodded along anyway. Elma always takes long baths whenever shepletely enters her ¡®Off¡¯ mode. One hour is par for the course. It¡¯s probably another one of her ways to refresh and de-stress herself. ¡°Okay then. Thanks for the meal.¡± ¡°Thanks for the meal.¡± I put my hands together before eating and said my thanks, and Mimi copied me. Today¡¯s menu consists of something resembling rice, something resembling a roasted salmon fillet, something resembling egg rolls, and something resembling potato sd. Uh, I describe them as ¡®resembling¡¯ cause even if these dishes look no different from the real thing, they were actually processed by the auto-cooker from food cartridges containing algae and krill-like creatures. But they did taste quite authentic, so I guess there¡¯s no problem. But why pair Japanese breakfast dishes like rice, salmon and egg rolls with potato sd? They¡¯re all delicious, sure, but Chef Tetsujin sometimes serves some really iprehensible food pairings. By the way, Mimi¡¯s meal consisted of something resembling congee served in a deep dish, something resembling grilled meat, and something resembling vegetable sd. Mimi looks like she was enjoying them, so I guess that congee¡¯s also pretty tasty. Probably. ¡°Mimi, can I have some of that too? I¡¯m curious about how it tastes.¡± ¡°Sure, here you go.¡± Mimi scooped up a portion of her congee with her spoon and held it up to me. It was a bit embarrassing, but I ate up in the end. Fumu¡­¡­ What can I say? It was a sweet, slightly mellow-tasting soup-like porridge. It did seem unexpectedly filling. There were also hints of cheese and honey. I don¡¯t think this actually qualifies as a main dish. I feel it¡¯s more suited as a dessert instead. ¡°It¡¯s tasty, right?¡± ¡°I think so, yeah. I haven¡¯t tasted anything quite like it yet, so I can¡¯t say for sure. But it does warm up to you after two or three mouthfuls. I¡¯ll give you this egg roll in exchange then, Mimi. Say ah.¡± ¡°A?hn.¡± I picked up a bite-sized piece of egg roll with my chopsticks and brought it close to Mimi¡¯s dainty lips. This mock-egg roll was fluffy and packs plenty of umami. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll fit Mimi¡¯s tastes as well. ¡°Mm?, it¡¯s delicious. Here, have another bite of mine. A?hn.¡± ¡°A?hn.¡± Mimi offered me another scoop of the sweet-like porridge., which I obediently ate. Mm, exquisite. It wasn¡¯t overly sweet and nice on the pte, and the cheese and milkbined to make a nice harmony of vor. It was such a curious dish. ¡°You guys¡­¡­¡± Elma called out to us in an exasperated voice after seeing Mimi and my embarrassing disy of feeding each other. ¡°Good morning, Elma-san.¡± ¡°Morning, Elma.¡± ¡°Haa¡­ Good morning. I can go back inside the bathroom for a bit more if I¡¯m in the way.¡± ¡°???¡± ¡°What, you want in on this too, Elma? Here you go then. A?hn.¡± I picked up another piece of egg roll and held it out to Elma, who plucked the piece off with her fingers and put it in her mouth. Her gesture of licking the tip of her finger afterward looked somewhat sexy. ¡°Flirting first thing in the morning¡­¡­ Well, I did monopolize Hiro yesterday, so I guess today is Mimi¡¯s turn, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Ehehe.¡± Mimi¡¯s cheeks flushed red as she disyed a satisfied smile. shing a wry grin after seeing Mimi, Elma also started ordering her breakfast from Tetsujin V. ¡°How about the two of you go for a date then? I¡¯ll keep a watch on the ship and let you guys know once Inagawa Technology calls. Oh, and please visit the Mercenary Guild today as well. We didn¡¯t manage to go there yesterday after all. It would be better for us to make a visit so we can inform them we¡¯re in the area.¡± ¡°Ah, understood. You¡¯re fine with that, Mimi?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Mimi did a guts pose, clenched both fists in front of her ample chest, and breathed out heavily. She sure is pumped up. ¡°I¡¯ve done my research yesterday after all!¡± ¡°You sure look excited.¡± ¡°She sure does. Escort her properly, okay?¡± ¡°Unlike her, I haven¡¯t researched at all¡­ unfortunately. Oh well. I¡¯ll make sure to protect her if we encounter trouble of some sort.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine then. That¡¯s enough.¡± Elma received her te filled with breakfast from Tetsujin V and sat down next to me. But Elma-san, ain¡¯t a big, fat steak coupled with heaps of potato sd a bit too heavy for breakfast¡­¡­? Oh well. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m the one eating them anyway. ¡°This ce really is quite different in atmospherepared to Termaine Prime.¡± ¡°Yeah, it is. It¡¯s definitely more livelypared to there, and the air the citizens are giving off is also different.¡± After disembarking from the ship, we started walking around the brightly lit streets. It¡¯s very different from the night-time scenery I saw with Elma yesterday. In addition, the people walking about the streets give off a pretty unique vibe. The folks walking around Termaine Prime¡¯s 3rd Block wore almost identical looking clothes, but the citizens of Alein Tertius¡¯s lower block looked quite varied. There were people wearing suits, as well as girls wearing goth loli fashion-inspired dresses. There were also people wearing skin-tight bodysuits which made me wanna tsukkomi if those could really be considered clothes. And some even wore mech armor. Are they cyborgs or something? And there were a lot of alien-like creatures walking about as well. I still think looking human is the best though. The looks were varied ¨C from amphibians to reptiles, to cats, dogs, foxes¡­ And these weren¡¯t the ones I consider weird. And I even wanna get to know some of those animal-eared youngdies and blue-skinned sexy onee-sans. But how am I supposed to react to something like a jellyfish floating in mid-air, like a lightbulb with tentacles? Rather, it really looks like a tower of squirming tentacles that seems like it¡¯ll fit right in if featured on an R18 doujin. Is that some sort ofmunication tower or something? Nah, it feels like it¡¯ll be my loss if I keep being bothered by it. I desperately shut the sight of them out of my head. If I kept dwelling on them, it felt like my SAN points would go down to critical levels. ¡°Man, to think that it was brighter in the lower block.¡± ¡°The upper block, which houses the starship docks and garrisons, is always covered in night-like darkness. Basically, most of the citizens live in the lower blocks, and the brightness of the artificial illumination adjusts itself to simte the time of day. So they have morning, noon and night here.¡± Mimi¡¯sposed expression didn¡¯t disy any visible changes even after seeing such strange sights. Maybe she¡¯s used to it? So it really is different for folks who were raised in an environment where seeing those alien creatures are the norm. I see. ¡°It looks like that building continues up until the ceiling.¡± I gazed at a really tall-looking structure that didn¡¯t have any people around its immediate vicinity. It¡¯s really big. I wonder just how tall it is? ¡°It seems that serves as one of the support pirs for this colony. It extends out to the bottom-mostyer of the colony as well.¡± ¡°Oh yeah. I saw building-like structures sticking out of the colony¡¯s outer well when we first came here.¡± When we first came to port, I saw the cuboid octahedral outer wall of the colony with structures protruding on its sides. The structure in front of us is most likely one of those. ¡°What sort of tenants are present in those buildings?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a lot! There are various restaurants, shops, clinics, tradingpany offices and hotels in them.¡± ¡°Oh, it looks like we¡¯re gonna enjoy exploring even just one of those buildings huh.¡± ¡°One day probably isn¡¯t enough to go around most of the shops.¡± We continued walking around town while discussing such things. We just ate breakfast, so I don¡¯t feel like looking around for food yet. What should we do now, I wonder? ¡°How about we shop for some clothes, Mimi?¡± ¡°Um, okay¡­ But I think I have enough clothes right now though.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s buy you thetest fashion. I kinda want to see Mimi wearing those sorts of dresses.¡± I turned my gaze towards a young girl wearing a cute gothic lolita dress in the distance. Mimi¡¯s face turned bright red. ¡°Eh? What is it with that cute reaction? ¡°Is something wrong?¡± ¡°No, um, I don¡¯t think that kind of dress would suit me, so¡­¡± She seemed to have turned away from the young woman in embarrassment but was sneakily peeking at her from time to time, so it looks like she was actually interested. Can¡¯t be helped. Let¡¯s be more forceful here. ¡°That¡¯s not true. Anyway, I wanna see you wear them, so we¡¯re definitely going. Let¡¯s go right now.¡± ¡°Eh¡­ Um¡­¡­¡± ¡°Some of the stores you researched about sell that sort of stuff, right?¡± ¡°Y-Yes, but¡­¡­¡± I broadly smiled. Mimi sent me a troubled smile in return. Hahaha! Just give up, young missy. Chapter 35 Trantor: SFBaka I led Mimi inside one of the tenant shops inside the tall building we were just talking about earlier. The shop was apparently named¡ºAtelier Pure¡». ¡°So this is the ce¡­¡­¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I kinda hesitated to step inside it for a bit. The one who proposed going here was undoubtedly me. It was me, but Ipletely ignored what kind of ce a shop which sells gothic lolita fashion was like. In other words, it was a fancy, frilly and fluffy ce that the creatures known as ¡®males¡¯ were known to avoid at all costs. It seemed to me that within the shop¡¯s hallowed walls was a deep, dark space emanating a dangerous¡ºBoys Keep Out¡»aura, which even seemed thick enough to have transformed into a kind of energy. ¡°We can¡¯t have you entering on your own huh, Mimi.¡± ¡°Y-Yeah¡­¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Y-You don¡¯t really have to force yourself like that.¡± I grabbed Mimi¡¯s hand and stepped foot inside the forbiddennd. Maybe it¡¯s because they just opened, but it didn¡¯t seem there were any other customers inside apart from us. The gazes of the shop staff instantly locked on to us. There were three shop clerks wearing identical uniforms. They all gave Mimi and me a once-over and smiled at the same time afterward. W-What the heck¡¯s with this pressure!? ¡°Wee, dear customers.¡± ¡°Is this your first timeing here? Thank you for your patronage.¡± ¡°We¡¯re delighted that you chose to shop here. We, the staff, will use all of our being in order to drag you into the swamp¡­ ehem, satisfy you to the best of our abilities.¡± Did she just say swamp? Utilizing a mysterious movement technique, all three of the staff instantly shortened the distance between us and them and already had Mimi and I surrounded before we noticed what happened. She really did say they would drag us into a swamp earlier, didn¡¯t she!? What the heck is with these people!? ¡°Eh, ah, un. We¡¯ll be in your care.¡± I managed to utter a reply, but Mimi was swallowed by the overwhelming aura of the shop clerks and clung tightly to my arm. Ah, those dangerous, lethal weapons are sandwiching my arm¡­¡­ Alright, I¡¯ve recovered folks! ¡°Do you guys¡­ know what we¡¯re here for?¡± ¡°¡±¡±Of course, dear customer!!!¡±¡±¡± The three shop clerks replied in cheery voices and gave us big smiles. What can I say? They were quite quick on the uptake. Right now, my will and those of the threedies were mysteriously aligned for the first time. In all sorts of meanings. ¡°To tell you honestly, I don¡¯t have any idea how much the clothes in this store are going to be, but¡­ I do have enough budget, I think.¡± ¡°I see. How much do you think you can afford, by the way¡­¡­?¡± I considered the shop clerk¡¯s question for a bit. I honestly have no idea about the market price for these things because I haven¡¯t visited shops like these even back on Earth. Since I don¡¯t have a concrete basis, I can¡¯t just carelessly name a price either. ¡°In general, how much would it cost to buy an entire set?¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s see¡­ it also depends on the brand, but orthodox items generally cost about 1000 Enels.¡± ¡°So about 10,000¡­ no, 20,000 Enels, I guess. Please give us something that would fit this girl here.¡± When I showed my avable finances to the clerk, she paused for an instant and smiled widely afterward. ¡°Would it be fine if we rmend items that go a bit over budget?¡± ¡°As long as you keep it in moderation. We¡¯ll leave if you propose nothing but expensive stuff.¡± ¡°Please leave it to us. Doe over here for a bit, dear customers.¡± The shop clerk who asked about my budget called over the other two employees, who just finished taking Mimi¡¯s measurements, and told them what we talked about. The other two clerks looked surprised and quickly turned their gaze toward me. I nodded back at them, then turned towards Mimi. The three shop clerks also focused their gazes on Mimi. ¡°Eh? Eh? W-What is it?¡± Mimi became flustered when all of our gazes gathered on her. It was he cute. Mimi was led by two of the clerks further in, and I was guided to a waiting area at the back of the counter by the one who remained. ¡°I understand that the atmosphere inside the shop may be a bit too much for a man such as yourself, so please do wait here instead. I shall bring you some refreshments right away.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Well, it certainly felt a bit difficult for me to walk about inside this frilly, fluffy shop interior. I¡¯m thankful for their consideration. ¡°Please leave the youngdy to us. We shall coordinate the most exquisite outfits for her. That, I promise.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave her in your professional hands then.¡± After hearing my response, the shop clerk gave me the finest smile I saw from her since we came to this store. She then excused herself. She used that mysterious, squirmy-looking movement technique to boot. Just how do they pull off those weird movements? Them suddenly disappearing before one¡¯s very eyes in an instant also seems kinda scary. Before I knew it, there was a cup of hot coffee, along with sugar and milk ced on the table in front of me¨C Wait, just when did these get here anyway? What¡¯s with this supernatural phenomenon? Horror? I¡¯m seriously starting to shake in my boots here¡­¡­ I sipped my coffee in order to get rid of the shivers and busied myself by ying around with the 3D dress-up app I got from the cosy shop we went to some time ago. I went at it for about thirty minutes. ¡°Thank you for waiting.¡± ¡°A-Auuu¡­¡­¡± An angel has descended. She was clothed in a fluffy and cute white dress with a lot of pale pink frills and had arge ribbon adorning her head. Her feet and legs were covered in white tights and a pair of pink shoes. Mimi, who was now wearing a costume that pushed the boundaries of her cuteness to the absolute limits, was fidgeting in embarrassment with reddened cheeks. So precious. ¡°¡­¡­(I joined both hands and offered worship in silence)¡± ¡°It seems you have no need for words to express your adoration. As expected of our dear customer. You really do understand.¡± ¡°The theme we chose was ¡®sweet and cute¡¯. Will you go ahead with the purchase, sir?¡± ¡°¡­¡­(I offered my data terminal in silence)¡± ¡°Thank you very much!¡± I paid for the clothes and proceeded with taking pictures of Mimi from all sorts of angles using my terminal¡¯s camera app. These can definitely be used for an amateur idol video or portfolio. That¡¯s just how beautiful they were. ¡°U-Uh¡­ P-Please don¡¯t take pictures¡­¡­¡± ¡°Not being able to preserve the visage of an angel this cute is utter sphemy!¡± ¡°Please control yourself, dear customer. There¡¯s more in store.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± I stopped taking videos and pictures of Mimi and gave her a once-over again. ¡°Truly an angel.¡± ¡°T-Thank you very much, I think¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Fufufu¡­¡­ Shall we have her change into the next outfit then?¡± ¡°Well then, youngdy. Pleasee over here.¡± The shop clerks once again led Mimi inside that fluffy-looking space. When I went back to the waiting area, I found some hot tea and cookies ced on the table. Really now. Just how did these get here, man¡­¡­? As I thought, it¡¯s he scary. Perhaps the clothes have already been prepared beforehand. The shop clerks brought a newly dressed up Mimi back almost immediately. The outfit this time looked iner. But it also felt like a ssic design and radiated elegance. How should I put it? It kinda feels like something a wealthy youngdy from a noble family would wear. ¡°Wonderful. It can even be used as casual wear to some extent.¡± ¡°Yes. That is exactly this outfit¡¯s concept. Would you like me to prepare some simr items as well?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°U-Um¡­ I don¡¯t really need that much¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s my hobby. And I¡¯m a man who neverpromises when ites to my hobbies.¡± I shook my head in response to Mimi, who was trying to persuade me not to buy the outfits. We still have plenty of budget left. So there¡¯s absolutely no problem. And if I can see a cute Mimi every day, nothing is considered expensive. ¡°Fufu, wonderful isn¡¯t it? Now then, youngdy. On to the next outfit.¡± ¡°Y-Yes¡­¡± The clerks took Mimi inside the store¡¯s interior once again. What type of outfit would shee out with next? I¡¯m really looking forward to it. Oh yeah, I¡¯ll send the video to Elma as well. I opened the messaging app and sent her a copy of Mimi¡¯s video I took earlier. It took a few moments to upload, but it was sent sessfully. ¡ºSo cute! Did you buy it?¡» ¡ºI¡¯ve already bought the one she wore in the video. I also bought something a bit more subdued.¡» ¡ºThat¡¯s good. It would be nice if you bought something for me as well, you know?¡» ¡ºSomething a little more adult would fit you better I think¡­ Yeah, it definitely would. Wannae here together with me next time?¡» ¡ºNo, I was only joking. I think something so frilly is a bit much for me¡­¡­¡» ¡ºI¡¯ll get even more motivated to bring you here if you react like that.¡» ¡ºSo you¡¯re that type huh.¡» We messed around like that in the messaging app until Mimi returned. ¡°Oh¡­ Fantastic!¡± The shop clerks bowed down to me after hearing my reaction. The outfit Mimi was wearing this time was a ck dress. It was the epitome of goth loli. It didn¡¯t expose much skin, and the frilly skirt went slightly below the knees, with whitece entuating the key points of the outfit. She was also wearing a headdress made out of ck and whitece. ¡°By the way, dear customer¡­ This is the price of the outfit¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­Eh, what gives? Isn¡¯t it too expensive?¡± The price she showed me was well over my proposed budget. This single outfit actually costs a whopping 35,000 Enels. ¡°This outfit is made out of Hyperweave fabric that can block bothser fire and live bullets from handheld weapons.¡± ¡°Wait, hold up just one momentdy! Why the heck did they use that sort of heavy-duty stuff for making a fashionable dress like this?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because a dress is ady¡¯sbat uniform.¡± ¡°I see, so that¡¯s it¡­ Wait, that still sounds wrong, man! I think nobody would attempt to jump into a battlefield wearing a frilly dress like this you know.¡± ¡°In today¡¯s era, no one can predict whether or not they¡¯d be suddenly thrown into a firefight. There may be terrorists running around the city. One can also encounter pirates when they attack and capture civilian ships during interster travel. This Hyperweave Battle Dress is made for those times.¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡­¡± The female shop clerk was acting surprisingly pushy. ¡°And please look at this as well. Just look at the youngdy¡¯s visage. Doesn¡¯t it suit her extremely well?¡± ¡°Well, yeah, it sure does.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t it? Doesn¡¯t it? In other words, this is a great buy! By all means, please get it.¡± ¡°Uh, maybe not. I can¡¯t. Or rather, isn¡¯t there anything of a simr design which is made from ordinary fabric?¡± The shop clerks slowly looked away after hearing my tsukkomi. So you do have one, don¡¯t you? ¡°Please get me one made from normal fabric. Oh, but we¡¯ll be getting innerwear made from Hyperweave fabric if you have them. Just in case.¡± I think underwear would be cheaper than a full dress. The amount of fabric used is way lesser after all. ¡°Of course. Please wait for a moment.¡± The clerks withdrew inside the shop while looking slightly disappointed. I heard them say some things like ¡®As I thought, that outfit was a bit too much.¡¯ or ¡®Rather, that outfit is certainly geared towards wealthy imperial nobles, isn¡¯t it?¡¯ as they walked away. So imperial nobles normally buy such outfits huh. How outrageous. But, well, a dress costing 3,500,000 Yen would certainly be cheap for those loaded with money, I guess. Although my sense of mary value is steadily being worn away sinceing to this dimension, I still haven¡¯tpletely forgotten a normal guy¡¯smon sense. I can spend tens of thousands of Enels to buy onboard equipment and upgrades for the ship, but I won¡¯t use the same amount just to buy some clothes. Mimi, who the clerks brought with them earlier, came back wearing an outfit that looked exactly the same as the previous one. ¡°This is a dress made from normal fabric. If we include some Hyperweave inners, this is how much it¡¯ll cost.¡± The price I was shown was way cheaper than what was shown to me earlier. The Hyperweave underwear did cost significantly higher than the dress, but it was still cheap if we consider the wearer¡¯s safety as a priority. ¡°I want two to three sets of Hyperweave inners, please. I don¡¯t mind if we go a bit over budget.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± The shop clerk had her smile back on. Maybe it¡¯s because she¡¯s happy about selling Hyperweave underwear. I paid for the clothes and took a good, long look at Mimi, who was wearing gothic lolita clothes. ¡°You¡¯re really cute.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡­¡± Maybe she¡¯s gotten used to it, but Mimi was a lot moreposedpared to the time she wore that pink dress earlier. But she still seemed embarrassed since she lowered her gaze a bit while fidgeting¡­ Man, she¡¯s just so cute. ¡°So which of the clothes we bought do you want to wear right now?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Eh?¡± Mimi suddenly looked up while sporting a surprised expression. That¡¯s a really nice face she¡¯s making. ¡°Since we¡¯re on a date, I figured it would be nice if you wore the new clothes we bought. We can just send the clothes you wore earlier with the rest of the new outfits back to the ship, right?¡± ¡°N-No, it¡¯s impossible for me.¡± ¡°But this is the perfect chance to wear your new dress, isn¡¯t it? You won¡¯t wear them inside the ship, right?¡± ¡°B-But, we¡¯re going to buy more thingster, right? The bag I brought with me doesn¡¯t fit the dress as well.¡± Mimi kept making excuses in a fluster in order to avoid wearing the dress on our date. Hahaha, my dear Mimi. I won¡¯t be able to stop myself if you react like that, you know. ¡°Please get me a handbag that would fit this dress. And get me bags that would match all the other dresses as well please.¡± ¡°Understood, dear customer.¡± It¡¯s the return of The BINTA (Cash p). I will shoulder any expense if it¡¯s for the sake of realizing my desires. ¡°And don¡¯tpromise the quality while matching the design.¡± ¡°Please leave it to us.¡± The presence of the clerk who suddenly appeared behind me slowly faded away. I¡¯ve be more or less used to their antics, it seems. ¡°There¡¯s no reason to be embarrassed. It really does suit you. You look cute in it.¡± ¡°Uuu¡­¡­¡± Mimi brought up both of her hands and covered her bright red face in embarrassment due to my unreasonable actions. Hahaha. Just give up already, youngdy. Chapter 36 Chapter 36 Trantor: SFBaka After we finished shopping at the specialty clothing store¡ºAtelier Pure¡», Mimi and I headed to the Mercenary Guild branch next . Mimi chose to wear the ck goth loli dress in the end . Her act of clinging onto the cuff of my clothes and hiding behind me due to not being used to wearing such clothes and being embarrassed to walk around with them in public was seriously cute . But she couldn¡¯t hide her satisfied expression from me . ¡°Mimi, you¡¯ll stand out more if you continue clinging to me like that you know . Just walk in front proudly . I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t gather as much attention if you do so . ¡± ¡°Uu¡­¡­ Okay . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s really no reason for you to be embarrassed you know . It really suits you . It suits you to a tee . You¡¯re super cute!¡± ¡°Please spare me already . ¡± Mimi hid her face with both hands and sank from my merciless attacks . No, Captain! I didn¡¯t mean to cause a friendly fire incident! I¡¯m reflecting upon my actions . But seeing her so embarrassed is just so utterly cute . Hehehe . Mimi finally settled down after a little while . She still seemed embarrassed, but she was now able to walk normally, so we continued on our way to the Mercenary Guild branch . The Guild building¡¯s location was on a different upper block area from the tower Atelier Pure was renting in . It was located closer to the sector where the starship docks were at . We came to a different tower structure, entered an elevator inside, and rode it to the sector where the Mercenary Guild building was located . The towers were separated into differentyers . There were three floors on the upper block, fifty-two on the middle block, and thirty floors on the lower block . I have no idea about how huge the structures exactly were, but they sure looked pretty impressive . ¡°I wonder where this colony¡¯s residents live in?¡± ¡°It seems there¡¯s a tower fully dedicated as a residential building as well . It¡¯s a bit far from here, though . ¡± ¡°I see . It does look like one of these buildings could hold a huge number of people . ¡± I wonder just what the total poption of this colony is? It was such a huge colony, so there may be hundreds of thousands living in it perhaps . But what¡¯ll we have for lunch? I consulted Mimi, but we were disturbed by a *pon sound before we could decide . It looks like the elevator reached the floor where the Mercenary Guild was located in . ¡°Maybe we can ask around in the Mercenary Guild as well . They¡¯re more familiar with this ce after all . ¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right . ¡± Gazes instantly focused on us when we left the elevator . The types of people whose gazes came our way were varied . There were stereotypical mercenary guys radiating an intimidating atmosphere, bipedal lizard aliens who also seemed to be mercenaries, a tan-skinned woman who ¨C for some iprehensible reason ¨C was wearing bikini armor, a woman who seemed to be a maid no matter which angle you looked at her, a group of six people the size of children wearing identical space suits, an alien who looked like a red panda in a work uniform, et cetera etcetera . ¡°It seems¡­ more livelypared to Termaine Prime¡¯s Mercenary Guild branch, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Y-Yes, absolutely . ¡± The gazes didn¡¯t linger on me for long, but it was the opposite for Mimi, so she felt a bit ufortable from all the attention . She¡¯ll get used to it eventually . I urged her to go to the counter, so she started walking ahead of me . The number of gazes turned toward Mimi decreased a bit when we started walking together . The mercenaries should have realized she was with me, who looked like your typical merc . The clich¨¦ temte of people going¡ºLooks like you brought quite the cutie with you eh, rookie?¡»didn¡¯t happen, and we reached the reception counter without any issues . Mimi was really quite cute, so her gathering attention was something inevitable . It was all but natural . ¡°Wee . What is your business with us today?¡± The one manning the counter we arrived at was a beautiful young woman . She looked like a proper career woman wearing the standard Mercenary Guild uniform . Her assets left Elma in the dust and even seemed to beparable to Mimi¡¯s . She was really quite the beauty . Was beauty a requirement in order to be hired as a Mercenary Guild receptionist? ¡°My name¡¯s Captain Hiro . This is Mimi, my ship¡¯s operator . We just arrived from Termaine Prime a few days ago, so we came here for a visit . We¡¯re nning on staying in this colony for a while you see . ¡± We handed her our data terminals, which she ran through a scanning device of some sort . A beep rang from the device, and a holographic disy appeared before us . ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve confirmed your info . You¡¯re Captain Hiro, correct? Your rank is Silver, the number of crew members is two¡­ Where might the other crewmember, Elma, be?¡± ¡°She stayed on the ship . We¡¯re waiting for contact from Inagawa Technology you see . ¡± ¡°Inagawa Technology¡­ I see . To encounter something like that right when you arrive . I don¡¯t know if I can consider you lucky or not . ¡± ¡°Well, we did make some money out of it, so I guess you can consider us lucky . ¡± When she heard my reply as I held both my hands up and shrugged, the receptionist gave me a wry smile in return . Yeah, I know . You¡¯re trying to imply we¡¯re the type to invite trouble, aren¡¯t you Miss? I do kinda feel that as well . Just a bit . But we won¡¯t be able to get things done if we didn¡¯t consider getting caught up in troublesome matters a stroke of fortune as well . ¡°Has the Guild received word from them?¡± ¡°No, nothing at the moment . They¡¯ve probably just decided on the number of mary rewards, and it¡¯s taking some time to be approved . They¡¯re a bigpany after all . ¡± ¡°I see . Please contact us or our ship if there¡¯s any sort of correspondence from them . ¡± ¡°Understood¡­ Oh?¡± The receptionist raised her voice in surprise and operated her terminal . ¡°What good timing . We¡¯ve just received word from Inagawa Technology . ¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡­ What did they say?¡± ¡°The total reward amount is 500,000 Enels . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that price¡­ It kinda feels like they didn¡¯t go cheap on us, but it doesn¡¯t look like a big amount either . Can we consult with the crewmember left on the ship as well before we give a reply?¡± ¡°Of course . ¡± After receiving consent from the receptionist, we immediately contacted Elma . It looks like she was manning the ship normally, so she picked up right away . ¡ºYes, Elma here . What¡¯s wrong? Trouble?¡» ¡°Nah, we¡¯re in the Mercenary Guild right now . They just received a reward notice from Inagawa Technology . The reward is 500,000 Enels . What do you think?¡± ¡ºHm . It¡¯s not like we towed them all the way back to the colony anyway . It¡¯s a reasonable amount for guarding them until the local military patrol arrived, I think . It¡¯s a normal reward for that kind of medium-sized civilian ship . ¡» ¡°So, should we ept?¡± ¡ºYes . I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any problem . Try to consult with Mimi as well, just in case . ¡» ¡°Gotcha . Thanks . ¡± ¡ºIt¡¯s fine . I¡¯m happy you¡¯re relying on me . ¡» ¡°I¡¯ll continue rxing on the ship then,¡± Elma dered as she hung up . I looked toward Mimi after Elma cut the call . ¡°Elma said the 500,000 reward was okay . Do you have anything to add, Mimi?¡± ¡°I believe Inagawa Technology also manages a general hospital . Why don¡¯t you try asking them for a referral letter for our check-ups, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Really? Okay then . I¡¯ll try asking . Uh, please do as we discussed, Miss . ¡± ¡°Yes . I shall tell the other party your intentions then . We will contact you as soon as we get a reply from them . ¡± ¡°We¡¯ll leave it to you . And, uh, I have something I want to ask you about as well . ¡± ¡°Yes? What is it?¡± ¡°Can you tell us the special products of this colony as well as ces where we can eat some tasty food?¡± She may have not expected such a question . The Guild receptionist froze up . It seemed like there was a question mark hovering on top of her head . Was it really such an unusual question¡­¡­? The day after my enjoyable date with Mimi, we received the referral letter from Inagawa Technology and immediately headed for the general hospital under thepany . Eh? What about the local specialties, you ask? It¡¯s not like there wasn¡¯t anything that tasted okay, but I just can¡¯t bring myself to like them . Normally speaking, a product good enough to be considered a local specialty shouldn¡¯t be too bad . That¡¯s what I thought at first . Well, you see, I know that the raw ingredients used in food cartridges didn¡¯t have much vor unless they¡¯re properly processed . But what am I supposed to think if I get shoved with those very ingredientsbined into a sort of funky paste? It did manage to fill the belly, and it¡¯s not like it didn¡¯t have any vor at all . How can I describe it? An umami shake? And in Large size too . I can¡¯t think of anything else topare it with . To put it simply, it was just nutrient paste . Mimi and I made expressions akin to Tibetan sand foxes when we first tasted the thing . Did the receptionist onee-san have a sort of grudge against us or something? ¡°What¡¯s up with you? You look like you just swallowed some sand . ¡± ¡°Un, well, I just noticed that stall over there y¡¯see¡­¡­¡± I saw a street-side stall simr to the one we went to yesterday on the way to the general hospital . I looked to the side and found Mimi disying the same expression as me . By the way, Mimi was wearing clothes that were easy to take off if it was ever required during the check-up . She wore her usual training clothes with a jacket on top . I and Elma dressed pretty much the same . We did have ourser guns holstered though . ¡°Was it really that bad?¡± ¡°It was rmended by the guild receptionist, but it was awful . ¡± ¡°It certainly was a hard-to-describe experience¡­¡­¡± It may be considered a local specialty in the sense that you can¡¯t find it anywhere else except for this ce . The fact that it was cheap and filled you up wasn¡¯t bad¡­ but it¡¯s not something I¡¯d want to eat on a daily basis . I and Mimi continued to discuss just how bad the nutrient paste was until we arrived in front of arge building . The words ¡®Inagawa Technology¡¯ was painted on the sidewall of the said building . Are all the tenants of those buildings working for Inagawa Technology? ¡°Well, it sure is easy to find . ¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right . We can easily spot it even from a distance . ¡± Mimi looked up at the building and seemed impressed . Elma didn¡¯t have much toment though . The three of us entered the building . ¡°Just how many floors are there in this ce?¡± ¡°I think they have navi robots here . Let¡¯s check with one of them . ¡± What¡¯s a navi robot supposed to be? We followed Elma until we got in front of a console where she slotted her information terminal . When she did so, a beep sound rang out, followed by something round and was the size of an adult fisting out of a circr hole in the wall . ¡ºWee . I am the navigation unit, N-34 . I shall guide Elma-sama andpanions to your destination . ¡» ¡°Hey, that¡¯s high tech stuff . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing all that high-tech you know¡­¡­ Oh, I see . It¡¯s high-tech for you huh . ¡± ¡°Yep . ¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Uhuh . ¡± Mimi tilted her head at my response . Oh yeah . I haven¡¯t told Mimi about my being from another dimension yet huh¡­ I¡¯ll tell herter tonight then . I don¡¯t think Mimi would doubt whatever I say, so it¡¯s not like I absolutely had to tell her . Maybe I¡¯ll consult with Elma first? The navigation unit rolled along as it guided us . It looks like we have to take the elevator . ¡°Hm, this little guy¡¯s pretty cute . ¡± ¡°Really? You have a peculiar taste . ¡± ¡°Eh? I mean, doesn¡¯t it kinda resemble a small animal?¡± ¡°I can sort of see that . It feels like it¡¯s working really hard even though it¡¯s so small . ¡± The navigation unit inputted the specific floor we needed to go to, and the elevator started moving . Speaking of which, this dimension¡¯s elevators don¡¯t seem to stop for picking up more people along the way . Just how does that work, I wonder . It was kind of a mystery . We reached the destination after a few moments . The elevator doors opened up and the navigation unit started rolling away again . It was rolling around while emitting electronic beeps . Maybe it¡¯s a mechanism to ensure the guests following after it didn¡¯t lose sight of it by making use of the beeps . ¡°It looks like we¡¯re here . ¡± We passed by people wearing doctor and nurse uniforms as we walked along the aisle until we arrived at an open space . It was a bright and clean space, as expected of a medical institution . ¡°Hey there . Wee . I¡¯ve been waiting for you guys . ¡± The navigation unit stopped rolling in front of a person . It was a woman . She was about as tall as me . She sported light brown hair bunched up in a single braid which went down till her waist . Both her hands were stuffed inside her coat pockets . The gaze reflected from behind her slightly unfashionable sses seemed somewhat sleepy-looking . Her face was rtively in but was still strangely beautiful . The size of her chest weapons was¡­ at the level of Mimi¡¯s . Excellent! ¡°My name¡¯s Shouko . I¡¯m the person in charge of your health check-ups today¡­ Well, I¡¯m a doctor, basically . Nice to meet you, folks . ¡± She shed us a good-natured smile . Chapter 37 Trantor: SFBaka ¡°My name¡¯s Hiro, our ship¡¯s captain. These are my crew, Elma and Mimi. We¡¯ll be in your care, Dr. Shouko.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. No need to be all polite with me folks. Let¡¯s all take it easy, shall we?¡± ¡°That so? I¡¯ll take you up on that then.¡± I nodded while thinking the doctor¡¯s heart was as broad as her chest. ¡°You¡¯ll be getting aprehensive physical examination today, right?¡± Dr. Shouko asked to confirm as she took out a tablet terminal from who-knows-where. Just where¡¯d ite from? That tablet. She had both hands inside her coat¡¯s pocket earlier, didn¡¯t she? ¡°Uh, I¡¯m currently in a situation where I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ve received all avable vines for infectious diseases or not. And Mimi here only got the mostmon ones back on Termaine Prime. Since we¡¯re gonna be flying around all over the gxy during mercenary work, it¡¯d be great if we could get all of that covered as well. How about you, Elma?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve gotten most of the important ones. And the immune system of an elf-like me is way better than that of you humans, so I don¡¯t really need shots all that much. But it would still be better to be safe than sorry, so I got the more important ones out of the way at least.¡± ¡°I see. Do you girls have any other concerns?¡± ¡°Um, how about the thing with your memory, Hiro-sama¨C¡± ¡°Sorry, Mimi. That was a lie.¡± I interrupted Mimi, who was about to bring up my purported memory loss and denied her words. The moment she heard me, Mimi¡¯s eyes widened as she stared straight at me. It seems she¡¯s really shocked. ¡°The amnesia part¡¯s not true, but I do have someplicated circumstances¡­ To put it simply, my memories are a bit of a mess. I was suddenly thrown out onto Termaine Prime as a result of an ident during Hyperdrive you see. I have no idea what exactly happened though. I also couldn¡¯t find any data regarding Termaine Prime on my ship¡¯s databanks. It¡¯s as if I just suddenly appeared in this world for God-knows-what reason.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Hee? That sounds pretty mysterious.¡± ¡°It sure is. As a result of my memories getting screwed up due to that Hyperdrive ident, there are parts about this world I¡¯m quite unfamiliar with. I¡¯m taking this opportunity to have a check-up in order to find out if that ident had any other effects on my body apart from my memories getting messed up.¡± ¡°I see. There¡¯s a possibility of your body getting negatively influenced when you lost consciousness during that Hyperdrive ident. I agree that you should have that checked out.¡± Dr. Shouko nodded her head in agreement as she operated her tablet terminal. Was she preparing our clinical records? ¡°Do you have any special medical history I need to take note of?¡± ¡°I¡¯m good. As far as my memory goes, anyway.¡± ¡°I¡¯m also fine.¡± ¡®I¡¯m the same.¡± I, Elma and Mimi all shook our heads. I don¡¯t have any particr allergies, and I think I¡¯m the very picture of health. ¡°Well, let¡¯s start with the check-ups then. We¡¯ll do a full scan on the medical pod first. We have thetest models installed in this facility.¡± ¡°They¡¯re Inagawa Technology products?¡± ¡°Yep. Our shares in the gctic market notwithstanding, I guarantee our pod¡¯s performance and specs. The fact that it¡¯s a bit bigger than most models and costs a bit more are flies in the ointment so to speak. But we developed it with high performance in mind after all.¡± We followed after Dr. Shouko, who was busy promoting theirpany¡¯s products with a proud tone. Dr. Shouko exined about the technical aspects of Inagawa Technology¡¯s medical pods, but it all sounded Greek to me. There were a lot of technical terms mixed in, so I couldn¡¯t follow her exnations. ¡°There you have it.¡± ¡°I only understood about twenty percent.¡± ¡°I understand that it¡¯s an impressive product!¡± ¡°Yeah, it sounds pretty impressive, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Un, anyway, it¡¯s amazing. It¡¯s fine if you get that much.¡± It looks like she wasn¡¯t all that affected by our lukewarm reactions. Dr. Shouko remained in high spirits. I think she¡¯s actually used to people reacting just like we have to her spiel. Anyway, this person feels like she would be more at home doing medical research instead of actively treating patients. ¡°Well, you guys are basically my saviors. I¡¯ll make sure to prepare thetest equipment for you all, so rest assured.¡± ¡°Saviors¡­¡­? Were you one of the passengers of the ship we rescued?¡± Dr. Shouko turned around and strongly nodded. ¡°Yep. I was thinking ¡®Man, I¡¯m so gonna die here.¡¯ at that time y¡¯know. See, even though I¡¯m a woman, I¡¯m just too in-looking. If the pirates seeded in boarding the ship, I¡¯ll probably end up with the ones to be disposed of y¡¯know.¡± She shrugged her shoulders as she said so. Really? I¡¯m not too sure about that. Once you get a better look at her, Dr. Shouko¡¯s actually quite the beauty, and her assets were huge, so the pirates may have been tempted to abduct her for themselves. I can¡¯t say whether or not that would be better than being disposed of though. ¡°Well, that¡¯s how it goes. I was basically forced to be in charge of conducting check-ups for nobles and wealthy folk y¡¯see. I was originally a researcher¡­¡­. Oh, but don¡¯t worry folks. I have a proper physician¡¯s license, okay. And I¡¯m confident that my skills as a physician are above those ofmon doctors.¡± ¡°I see.¡± I could only nod in understanding. It¡¯s not like I could suddenly demand a change in the doctor in charge, and doubting her skills would be rude as well. I turned toward Mimi and Elma and found a trace of anxiety in their expressions. Well, it¡¯s normal, I guess. Of course, they¡¯d react this way. But the person herself imed it would be okay, so we had no choice but to believe in her abilities. And we can just go for a second opinion at another medical facility if we had misgivings about the result. It would be best here if we obediently got Dr. Shouko¡¯sprehensive check-up. ¡°Well, this is the ce. Please go ahead and enter, everyone.¡± ¡°Alright¡­. Whoah.¡± ¡°Waa.¡± ¡°Hee.¡± The room Dr. Shouko led us to was lined up with med pods which looked far better than the one on Krishna¡¯s med bay. And they really did look bigger. The standard med pod on Krishna was only asrge as a small sized bed, but the med pods here looked like they could take up Krishna¡¯s entire med bay. Their heights were about 2 meters, their length was simrly 2 meters, and their width was 3 meters. ¡°They certainly arerge.¡± ¡°They sure are. But these babies are installed with thetest positronputers for an ultra-detailed data analysis. We¡¯re quite proud of what they can do. Now then, please take off your clothes and enter a med pod each.¡± ¡°Uh, how much should we take off?¡± ¡°E?verything.¡± ¡°Everything huh.¡± ¡°Yep, everything. Oh, and I¡¯m more or less used to seeing the naked bodies of patients. You don¡¯t have to mind me one bit.¡± ¡°Uh, okay¡­¡­¡± ¡®Ain¡¯t it the other way around? Maybe Dr. Shouko didn¡¯t mind it, but we did¡­¡­¡¯ was what I thought. But I didn¡¯t voice it out in the end. I started taking off my training wear and took a quick nce at Mimi and Elma¨C ¡°Oh no, you don¡¯t.¡± Elma threw her jacket and hit my head cleanly. The jacket blocked my line of sight. ¡°Hurry up, get undressed, and enter the pod, Mimi. And you mister. You stay there until we¡¯ve both entered. Okay?¡± ¡°Aye, aye, Ma¡¯am!¡± I gave a crisp salute and obediently stood attention. But I¡¯m already butt naked except for the jacket on my head girls. Isn¡¯t this unfair? You don¡¯t care? Alright then. ¡°They¡¯ve both entered the med pods.¡± Dr. Shouko called out to inform me. I took off the jacket covering my head and threw it along with the rest of my clothes inside the clothing basket nearby. ¡°Thanks. Sorry about showing you something unsightly.¡± ¡°No, no. I¡¯m fine with it.¡± I ended up bowing my head in apology. Since it would do no good to keep staring at the good doctor, I went ahead and entered one of the med pods myself. Un. It feels unexpectedly cramped. It resembles the time I once got an MRI. It feels like that, you know. It was a peculiar feeling of the meds you took before an examination taking effect and warming up your body¡¯s core. It felt a bit weird to experience something like a ¡®My body¡¯s getting hot all over!¡¯ event for myself though. It sure was a peculiar experience. ¡ºCan you hear me? I¡¯m going to start the scan, so try to rx in there, m¡¯kay.¡» ¡°Kay.¡± ¡ºPlease straighten out your body. Spread out your hands and feet more.¡» ¡°Gotcha.¡± I did as the good doctor instructed and waited for the scan to finish. The inside of the med pod was bathed in rainbow-colored light, and my entire body was scanned. But I¡¯m not a person from this dimension. I sure hope nothing weird turns up. ¡ºKay, all done! I¡¯ll open up the pod, soe out and wear your clothes again.¡» The med pod¡¯s cover opened up with a *pushuu sound of air leaking out. It didn¡¯t take long for the scan to finish. As expected of an SF dimension. The MRI takes a lot more time inparison¡­¡­ And your body would feel hot all over as well. It¡¯s not something I want to experience often. I quickly wore my clothes and handed the jacket back to Elma. ¡°I¡¯m not worried about Mimi and my scan results, but I¡¯m a bit scared about yours.¡± ¡°It would be good if nothing bad gets detected.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that, girls. You¡¯re making me nervous here.¡± ¡°Ahaha, you don¡¯t have to worry that much¨C Nn?¡± Dr. Shouko¡¯s gaze suddenly focused on the results indicated in her tablet terminal. Her brows creased. ¡°No, hm? Eh¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Now I¡¯m really getting worried.¡± ¡°Uh, hm¡­¡­ Can I ask you something, Hiro-kun?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°I actually have a lot of things I want to ask, but first things first¡­ It seems you haven¡¯t gotten a multilingual trantion imnt, haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± I don¡¯t remember getting one so I probably haven¡¯t, I guess. But, judging from her reaction, it seems not having it was unusual. Mimi and Elma also had¡ºEh? Are you serious?¡»expressions on their faces. ¡°Uh, I guess it¡¯s weird that I don¡¯t have one, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s weird.¡± ¡°It definitely is.¡± ¡°It¡¯s strange, Hiro-sama.¡± The three of them all nodded in agreement. It seems that this multilingual trantion imnt has spread far and wide across the gxy, and most babies had one imnted in them soon after birth. Since most, if not all folks, had one imnted in them as soon as they were born, someone like me, who hasn¡¯t gotten the imnt at my age was a true oddity. ¡°But Hiro-sama properly understands the words we¡¯re saying, right?¡± ¡°He sure does. And that¡¯s something I haven¡¯t encountered until now. But he doesn¡¯t have a lot ofmon sense though.¡± ¡°Is that so? Can we do some tests on you for a bit?¡± ¡°Please.¡± Dr. Shouko proceeded to operate her tablet. ¡°I¡¯m now going to start yingnguages from differents on this tablet. Can you repeat the words exactly as you hear them for me? This is a test program for the multilingual trantion imnt, actually.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Here we go then.¡± Sound clips of people making daily conversations yed from Dr. Shouko¡¯s tablet. I tried to recite them word for word. Although everything I¡¯m hearing is in Japanese. I managed to finish reciting everything on the test program without problems. ¡°It seems there¡¯s no problem. Just what method did they use on you, I wonder?¡± ¡°I have absolutely no idea.¡± The heck? Is this something like that? A multilingual trantion cheat for people transported to another world? But this is an SF dimension though? I¡¯d have preferred to get an imnt like everyone else actually¡­ Rather, I really don¡¯t get my situation here. How am I supposed to interpret this? ¡°Uh, since it seems there are no problems anyway, let¡¯s just ignore the fact that I have no imnt, shall we?¡± ¡°Eh¡­? I¡¯m quite curious about it though.¡± ¡°No, I have no intention of bing your test subject, Dr. Shouko. Please go ahead with the next test.¡± ¡°How unfortunate¡­¡­ Um, here¡¯s another thing I¡¯m concerned about. Where exactly do youe from?¡± ¡°In my memory, I came from the Sr system¡¯s third, Earth. Maybe it¡¯s better to call it the Sol system.¡± But I haven¡¯t even heard of the Sr system or its third mentioned since finding myself in this dimension though. I¡¯d just say I heard it from a game whenever I asked other people about them. ¡°Sol system¡­¡­ I haven¡¯t heard of it at all.¡± Dr. Shouko looked toward Mimi and Elma. Both of them quickly shook their heads. ¡°What about my ce of birth? Is that really important or something?¡± ¡°Un, it¡¯s about your gic data, you see. I¡¯ve managed to get lots of values I haven¡¯t seen until now.¡± ¡°Hm¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Well, after checking, your body seems simr in function to that of a normal humanoid race, so I guess it¡¯s fine. But it¡¯s quite interesting though. Since your gic data is different from all others, we might find some new factors we haven¡¯t managed to discover until now within it.¡± ¡°Please make the exnation easier to understand, Doc.¡± ¡°Your gic data is like an unexplored new frontier. Do you get it better if I describe it like that?¡± ¡°Huh¡­¡­¡± I turned towards Elma and Mimi once more and saw them disying expressions which seemed unsure about how to react after hearing such info. I kinda get why though. ¡°And what merits can that provide?¡± ¡°A lot, actually. Your gic data is practically priceless. An unknown gic make-up is akin to this universe¡¯s unexplored frontiers you know!¡± Dr. Shouko closed in on me while sporting an excited expression. Close. Way too close. The gazeing from behind her sses was really intense. I put my hands on both her shoulders and gently pushed her away. ¡°And the demerits are?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there are any. We¡¯re proud of our information security protocols here, so there¡¯s next to no chance of this leaking out. However, I don¡¯t rmend getting another check-up at a different institution. There¡¯s a risk of you turning into someb¡¯s guinea pig after all. We¡¯re a proper institution here. I guarantee the safety of your personal data, and we won¡¯t attempt to follow you around or restrain you in any way.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Looks like I managed to dodge a bullet huh. I had an inkling something like this would happen, but I had no idea it would turn out to be such a big deal. What to do¡­¡­? Should I follow Doc¡¯s suggestion and have Inagawa Technology handle all our medical needs from now on? ¡°I understand. Please give me some time to consider the thing about offering my gic data for research. Considering the situation, I think it¡¯s best we had Inagawa Technology handle our medical needs from now on. And I¡¯d also like to hear more details about the price of my gic data and what it¡¯ll be used for, exactly. But let¡¯s just finish theprehensive check-up and vination for today¡­¡­¡± ¡°It would be best if you got vinated after we¡¯ve analyzed your gic data. It¡¯s because there¡¯s a chance of an unexpected change urring in your gic make-up once you got them. We¡¯d like your gic code to be as pure and natural as possible after all.¡± What¡¯s the thing with vines making changes to my gic code, Doc¡­? It sounds scary, man. ¡°So I guess I have toe here again huh¡­¡­¡± ¡°Well, we can finish everything today if you handed over your gic data right now, you know.¡± ¡°Like there¡¯s anyone who¡¯d hand over the goods before a proper contract¡¯s been drafted!¡± ¡°You can hand it over if you really trust us, right, Hiro-kun?¡± Dr. Shouko tilted her head cutely as she gave me a warm, sweet-looking smile. Thisdy doctor¡¯s unexpectedly sly huh. ¡°We haven¡¯t built a rtionship based on trust yet, so that¡¯s impossible.¡± ¡°That¡¯s truly regrettable.¡± ¡°You have the data from the scan, right?¡± They have data that would at least allow them to recognize that my gic make-up was pretty unique from the med scan earlier. ¡°But it¡¯s different from having the real thing. We¡¯d prefer a sample of your blood or semen actually.¡± ¡°Please hold off on that until we reach a satisfactory agreement.¡± Dr. Shouko sighed in disappointment. This woman really is a researcher. I¡¯m positive she¡¯s not suited for being a medical doctor out on the field. ¡°Oh well. Let¡¯s just finish up everything that can be done today, shall we? I really want to get a hold of Hiro-kun¡¯s gic data after all.¡± Dr. Shouko shed me one of her sweet smiles again. Fine, fine. Just do whatever, Doc. Chapter 38 Trantor: SFBaka While Mimi and Elma went inside a different room in order to undergo the rest of the tests, Dr. Shouko and I went back to the main lobby. It seems she was looking to finish discussions regarding the research and use of my gic data as soon as possible. ¡°The rest of the staff will handle the tests on those two, so don¡¯t worry. Those people aren¡¯t like me, who¡¯s mainly a researcher, but are proper field personnel.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡­ So, you¡¯ve already decided on a price for my data? Wasn¡¯t I supposed toe back at ater date?¡± ¡°The remuneration amount for unknown gic data can be roughly determined by using the number of unknown factors as basis. When I sent the data I scanned earlier to the higher-ups, I got approval straight away.¡± ¡°I see.¡± She¡¯s disying an expression of relief for having done her job well, but this person did say she basically forced her way to attend to our check-ups today you know. She¡¯s obviously a researcher type, but maybe she¡¯s also got a knack for politics as well. ¡°That¡¯s the case. So let¡¯s talk about the money now.¡± ¡°Straight to the point huh.¡± ¡°Hey, money¡¯s pretty useful. It can even be used build a sense of trust that would normally need some time to umte, you see.¡± ¡°Guess so. What¡¯s the final price then?¡± ¡°3,000,000 Enels.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a great deal of money. Is my gic data really worth that much?¡± It¡¯s approximately 300 million in Japanese Yen. I don¡¯t think I have any special bloodline or anything, so I¡¯m rather surprised at just how high they value my gic data. ¡°As I said earlier, a previously undiscovered,pletely unknown humanoid gic make-up isparable to a brand new frontier in the field of gics. It may be the key to push the entire humanoid races to the next level of evolution. It¡¯s that potential that we value so highly.¡± ¡°Evolving to the next level, you say¡­¡­¡± Just how exactly do you intend to use my data, Doc¡­¡­? Well, I don¡¯t really have any idea about this dimension¡¯s stance on bioethics, so it¡¯s not my ce to say anything. ¡°Just please make sure to protect my personal info¡­¡­¡± ¡°Of course. Here¡¯s the contract by the way.¡± After saying that, Dr. Shouko handed me her tablet terminal. I checked the contents of the contract, and there doesn¡¯t seem to be any problem from what I¡¯ve read. So, basically, the particrs were ensuring the protection of my personal data and refraining from making clones without the concerned party¡¯s permission. If Inagawa Technology vites said provisions, they would have to pay me 30 million Enels aspensation for damages, andpletely halt the research and use of my gic data. The contents seem to mostly favor me at least. My proposal about Inagawa Technology handling all our medical needs was also included in the contract. I read it several times more, trying to find any trace of loopholes, but it all seemed to check out okay in the end. ¡°You¡¯re the careful sort, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Well, handing over one¡¯s personal gic information can be quite scary y¡¯see. And it seems there¡¯s a lot of uses here that¡¯spletely in my favor huh.¡± ¡°Really? With this contract, even if Inagawa Technology manages to make a ton of profit from research on your gic data, you won¡¯t be able to get a single Enel you know.¡± ¡°I see. But it doesn¡¯t seem like you¡¯ll be using it for something shady anyway. I n on earning my keep myself, so I don¡¯t really mind.¡± ¡°Is that so? How mercenary-like of you.¡± Dr. Shouko gave me a wry grin after hearing my response. It¡¯ll be better for me to treat the funds I¡¯ll get from this transaction as easy money. I also had the option to refuse, but Inagawa Technology already ended up finding out the value of my gic info after all¡­ It¡¯ll be less troublesome this way. As such, I feel it¡¯s best to follow Inagawa Technology¡¯s arrangements, even if they¡¯re not too advantageous to me. It¡¯s better to prioritize the safety of me and my crew after all. ¡°So I take it that we¡¯vee to an agreement?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I ran my finger on the tablet terminal¡¯s screen and signed ¡®Captain Hiro¡¯ on the contract. With this, it¡¯s a done deal. ¡°Well, I¡¯m really happy you¡¯ve agreed to the contract! Now then, shall we get to collecting your blood and semen samples?¡± ¡°Okay then¡­¡­ And, uh, I get the blood part, but how are you gonna collect my semen¡­?¡± ¡°Fufu¡­¡­ You can look forward to it, okay?¡± Dr. Shouko gave me a shady look and licked her lips. ¡°Wait, wait, wait! What the heck!? I didn¡¯t hear about this earlier! Please spare me, Doc! Don¡¯t! Waaah¡ª!¡± ¡°Uuuu¡­ My chastity was¡­¡± ¡°There you go. Good job.¡± The cover of the med pod opened up, and I walked out while shedding rivers of of tears as Dr. Shouko greeted me in a sing-song tone. You want to know how exactly she collected my seed? Please stop. I don¡¯t wanna remember¡­¡­ It feels like getting into a med pod is gonna develop into a lifelong trauma for me. ¡°Some people get quite enamored with the process though.¡± ¡°I respectfully decline with all my being!¡± I put on my clothes after getting out of the med pod. Urgh. My behind still feels a bit strange¡­ I¡¯m never gonna sell my gic data again. Ever. And I was even looking forward to an ero situation with Dr. Shouko too¡­¡­ It looks like life isn¡¯t that sweet. But it was a logical development, I guess. Hehe¡­ ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re done with collecting your gic data now. Oh, I¡¯m sooo looking forward to this¡­ kufufu.¡± Compared with me, whose mood hit rock-bottom, Dr. Shouko looked quite excited. Her white cheeks were dyed cherry pink as she gushed on cheerfully while disying an adorable smile. I just can¡¯t bring myself to get angry at her if she shows me such an expression. ¡°Oh, there you are. We¡¯re back¡­ Uh, what happened to you? Your eyes are kinda red.¡± ¡°Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Please heal my wounded heart.¡± I tried to hug Elma, but was refused and pushed off. I bounced toward Mimi¡¯s bountiful chest as a result. Waaah, it¡¯s my lifeliiiine¡­¡­ Ah, Mimi¡¯s rubbing my head gently. So good. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the matter with you?¡± ¡°We settled for a contract regarding his gic data, so we proceeded with collection right away y¡¯see. It looks like he didn¡¯t quite enjoy the procedure.¡± ¡°Procedure?¡± ¡°In order to collect his semen, we went and poked like this y¡¯see.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡­¡± And she blurted out my misfortune just like that. So cruel. It¡¯s like getting salt pped onto a freshly opened wound. I¡¯ll have to get plenty of Mimi¡¯s love, or I won¡¯t be able to bounce back. Fueee. ¡°You really didn¡¯t like it, did you Hiro-sama? ¡­¡­There, there.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not the kind of guy who¡¯d fall just from that much, right? Get yourself together already.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, Elma-san. Hiro-sama¡¯s eyes are really red already. I think he really suffered.¡± ¡°I get that, sure, but ain¡¯t that just miserable¡­¡­?¡± Mimi raised her voice in slight anger and hugged my head even tighter. So happy! The cruel Elma-san was mutteringints though. ¡°Un, well, uh, sorry about that. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d hate it that much. To be honest, I was pretty excited earlier and forgot to exin the entire process. I should have had you do it yourself. Or maybe you¡¯d have preferred it if I helped out?¡± So there was an option to have Dr. Shouko help in the semen collection? Seriously? Just why didn¡¯t I manage to grab such an opportunity¡­? I utterly hate my own carelessness. ¡°Instead of doing it yourself, just call us¡­¡­ You don¡¯t really have to go that far, doctor.¡± ¡°Oh? It¡¯s nothing, really. I would have been turned into space debris if Hiro-kun didn¡¯t rescue me after all. Compared to that, helping him out with something like this is no problem.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡­?¡± I heard Dr. Shouko giggling mischievously and Elma¡¯s slightly grumpy voice. What¡¯s with this somewhat subtle atmosphere all of a sudden¡­¡­? Mimi kept on hugging my head onto her chest and patting it gently. It feels like my brain would melt. ¡°Yosh, I¡¯ve revived!¡± ¡°Are you okay now, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m good already.¡± I was saved by the overwhelming allure of Mimi¡¯s bountiful chest and sessfully recovered. I turned my head and saw Elma giving me an exasperated look. ¡°A grown man like you shouldn¡¯t cry just from getting poked a little.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t just a little. It went in all the way y¡¯know. Well, since you¡¯re saying it like that, I¡¯ll make sure you experience something simr one of these days. Prepare yourself.¡± ¡°Eh!? N-No, that¡¯s a bit¡­¡± Elma¡¯s face turned blue as she began to slightly panic. But I shall remember your offense,dy. You just wait. ¡°So the only thing left is getting vinated, right?¡± ¡°Yes. Your physiology seems simr to humans for the most part, so I don¡¯t think there¡¯ll be any problems. There should basically be no side effects, but it¡¯s better if you get some rest for three days afterward, just in case.¡± ¡°I see. Understood. Let¡¯s get it done.¡± ¡°Okay. Can you girls please wait in the lobby?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°We understand.¡± I nodded and parted from the two girls. I was led into another room to get my shots. The shots basically didn¡¯t hurt, and the gooddy doctor just pushed a gun-type syringe on my arms, neck, chest and other parts of my body. It was a bit of a let-down, strangely enough. ¡°Sure is simple. And it doesn¡¯t hurt too.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t hurt? What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°Uh- Well¡­¡± ¡°You said you¡¯re from the third of the Sol system earlier, didn¡¯t you? In other words, back in your ce, a procedure like this causes pain. And you¡¯re reminded of that, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Please just ignore that.¡± ¡°To think a procedure like this would cause pain¡­ Fumu, it looks like the development of medical technology where you¡¯re from is quite behind the times, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t people call you out on the fact that you don¡¯t listen to what others are saying, Dr. Shouko?¡± ¡°Ahaha, they do; quite often, actually.¡± Dr. Shoukoughed ndly. I guess most folks can¡¯t bring themselves to get angry due to that carefree attitude and sweet smile of hers. But I¡¯m thinking she also has plenty of people she can¡¯t get along with because of her attitude. ¡°Anyway, please stop questioning me about my circumstances any further. You¡¯re too direct, you know.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t be helped then. Well, I guess that¡¯s just how you-born folks are.¡± In this dimension, most people were born and raised on outer space colonies, and the only ones who live on terrestrials are just a select few ¨C In other words, upper-ss aristocrats and the like. In my case, I came from an entirely different dimension, but I can¡¯t exactly say that to Dr. Shouko and Inagawa Technology. There¡¯s a chance I¡¯d really be confined to ab as a guinea pig once they found out after all. They¡¯d just have to settle for my gic data. ¡°Well, that¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°I understand. But can you find it in your heart to let me investigate more about you?¡± ¡°Please start with researching my gic data first.¡± I coldly cut down Dr. Shouko, who resorted to begging me cutely with upturned eyes as she clung to my arm. I was honestly a bit moved by those upturned eyes earlier, but this Captain Hiro won¡¯t be toppled easily just by something like that. ¡°Ahaha. It seems someone like me just won¡¯t do huh. Elma-san and Mimi-chan are both beauties after all.¡± ¡°Yeah. Both of them are also beautiful.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Dr. Shouko seemed a bit taken aback by the way I phrased my earlier response, but I didn¡¯t pay attention to her reaction and wore my jacket. ¡°We¡¯re all done, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, all good. We¡¯ll just need to wait for the overall results of yourprehensive check-ups, so let¡¯s meet back up with those two.¡± The both of us left the medical room and went back to the lobby area. There, we saw Elma and Mimi discussing something as they waited. Elma noticed us immediately and turned toward us. Mimi¡¯s gaze followed suit. ¡°You sure noticed us quickly.¡± ¡°I can catch your footsteps from miles away.¡± ¡°Elves like Elma-san mostly have great hearing you know. I¡¯ve heard the ones who live in traditionalmunities in forests can hear the footsteps of animals from over two kilometers away.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do anything that extreme though.¡± Elma shrugged her shoulders. So those long ears aren¡¯t just for show huh. ¡°But it¡¯s not like these ears only bring me benefits, you know. I also often hear things I don¡¯t particrly wanna hear. And I also can¡¯t wear most types of headgear and helmets designed for humans.¡± ¡°Things you don¡¯t wanna hear?¡± ¡°Yup. The rumbling of your stomach, for example. It cried out miserably just now.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± I involuntarily grabbed my stomach. But, now that she mentioned it, it does seem like I¡¯m a bit hungry. ¡°Come to think of it, it¡¯s almost lunch. Do you guys want to grab a bite ahead of time?¡± ¡°What are we going to have?¡± ¡°I rmend sipping the paste inside food cartridges¨C¡± ¡°¡±No thanks!¡±¡± Mimi¡¯s gaze turned empty. Mine probably looked the same. Elma grinned bitterly while Dr. Shouko tilted her head in puzzlement. Are Dr. Shouko¡¯s taste buds faulty or something? ¡­Maybe it¡¯s due to having those things on a daily basis. Her taste buds must have degenerated already. How pitiful. ¡°I see? Well, your check-up results should being in soon, so shall we talk in that private room over there?¡± Dr. Shouko started walking ahead. The three of us followed after her. Well then, I do hope nothing bad turns up. Chapter 39 Trantor: SFBaka ¡°ording to these results, the three of you are the very picture of health. You have no hidden illnesses, and all your bodily functions are A-OK.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± I was honestly relieved when I heard Dr. Shouko announce the results. Elma¡¯s probably fine, but Mimi did live in an unhygienic environment for a time. It made me worried a bit. Me? I guess I¡¯m pretty healthy myself, all things considered. I wasn¡¯t really all that worried about myself anyway. ¡°We¡¯ve also given you the full range of avable vines. Elma-kun¡¯s already had most of them before, but Mimi-kun and Hiro-kun have been administered with all the necessary ones. Oh, but I do find it mysterious that Hiro-kun didn¡¯t disy any traces of getting vinated before at all.¡± Dr. Shouko looked at me with eyes bubbling with curiosity, but I averted my gaze. ¡°I had to refrain from taking them due to religious reasons.¡± ¡°Fine, let¡¯s just go with that then. Anyway, as I said earlier, there may be unexpected side effects, so try not to perform any strenuous activities for at least three days. The estimated probability of side effects appearing is just 0.1%, but nothing¡¯s absolute after all.¡± ¡°Understood. Anything else we need to keep in mind?¡± ¡°Un, let¡¯s see¡­¡­ Um, could you twoe over here for a bit, Mimi-kun and Elma-kun?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Juste here for a bit. Can you go over there instead for a while, Hiro-kun?¡± ¡°?¡± The two followed after Dr. Shouko while feeling puzzled, and I obediently took some distance from the three of them. Dr. Shouko was talking to them about something in a low voice as she pointed at the check-up results on her tablet. Mimi nodded while sporting a serious expression while the color of Elma¡¯s face alternated from red to blue. ¡°That sure makes me curious.¡± ¡°Sorry. Just wait there for a bit, kay.¡± Dr. Shouko cheerfully replied as she waved me further away. I met eyes with Elma. ¡°¡­¡­!!¡± Her face suddenly went bright red. W-What¡¯s with that reaction? It made me utterly curious. Mimi noticed Elma¡¯s state and turned her gaze towards me. Mimi¡¯s acting normally, isn¡¯t she? It doesn¡¯t seem like she¡¯ll make the type of reaction Elma had. Just what¡¯s with that? ¡°That¡¯s about it, so keep what I said in mind, you two.¡± ¡°U-U-Understood.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The two of them came back to the earlier spot, so I also followed suit. I¡¯ll try to ask Mimi about itter. ¡°Do you have anything else you need to tell us before we go, Doc?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯re all done. I¡¯ll send the relevant data from today¡¯s check-up to your shipter.¡± Oh yeah,. Don¡¯t medical records usually have a lot of unfamiliar terms and numbers in them? I have no idea if it¡¯s the same in this dimension though. I don¡¯t have any rtive knowledge in order to make sense of those medical reports, so I have no idea how useful they would be. ¡°So we¡¯re free to go, right?¡± ¡°Yes, go ahead.¡± ¡°Can you just subtract the bill from the payment for my gic data? I can also pay it right now if that¡¯s what you want.¡± ¡°It would be better to ask about something like that to the staff at the lobby, I think. I¡¯m just a researcher and a physician after all.¡± ¡°Okay. Thank you very much for today, Doc.¡± ¡°Thank you for your time.¡± ¡°W-We¡¯re really grateful.¡± I went out of the private room along with a calm-looking Mimi and a still-flustered Elma. We then headed for the information counter at the lobby like the Doc suggested. Oh, and the medical fees for all three of us were 90,000 Enels. It was cheaper than expecte¨C Nah. 9,000,000 Yen in medical fees doesn¡¯t really seem all that cheap, doesn¡¯t it? Oh well. It¡¯s fine as long as it¡¯s for our health¡­ Nah. On second thought, it¡¯s really expensive. It seems medical services are expensive no matter which dimension you end up in. I¡¯ll keep this in mind. Should the three of us go somewhere to eat? I tried asking the girls and was told they wanted to change out of their current clothes because they felt they were too lightly dressed, so we ended up deciding toe back to the ship instead. We¡¯ll get to eat a delicious lunch made by Chef Tetsujin once were back anyway, so I was all for it. And there wasn¡¯t really a need to go on a gastronomic adventure which had a high chance of failure. ¡°So what did Dr. Shouko tell the two of you back there? Elma seemed really bothered for some reason, so it made me curious.¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s nothing.¡± It looks like Elma was avoiding my gaze. She was eating her meal while turned away from me. Why¡¯s she acting all prickly anyway? I turned towards Mimi instead. ¡°She just told me about medicine that¡¯s more suited for mepared to what I¡¯m taking right now, and rmended I switch over.¡± ¡°Is that so? You should do as she said then. I¡¯ll pay for the meds, so get them as soon as you can.¡± ¡°Yes. Thank you very much, Hiro-sama.¡± Mimi gave me a sunny smile. S¡¯alright. It¡¯s a captain¡¯s duty to ensure the health and wellbeing of his crew. ¡°So what about you, Elma?¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s nothing to be concerned about. I was told the same thing as Mimi, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Then why is your face bright red? But she seems hell-bent on not telling me. And I don¡¯t want to be too pushy. Fine. I¡¯ll stop asking about it. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ll have to take it easy for three days. What should I do to pass the time though? Should I just hole up inside the ship?¡± ¡°No. I asked when I got vinated earlier, and it seems you don¡¯t need to go that far. It seems there¡¯s no problem with taking a walk. The probability of getting side effects is really low after all.¡± ¡°I see. Should the three of us go out for some sightseeing then?¡± ¡°That sounds wonderful. If we¡¯re going for a tour of the Alein Tertius colony, the main activity should be shopping. There¡¯s a lot of different shops here after all.¡± ¡°Well, we certainly did get to go around quite a few different stores yesterday. It was pretty enjoyable. So shopping will be the main activity huh. Are there any other interesting things we could do?¡± ¡°We can go on a factory tour. We could visit food-processing factories that make products such as food cartridges and artificial meat. We can also tour hydroponic farms, high-tech machinery factories, or shipyards. Those types of factory tours seem really popr.¡± ¡°Hou, factory tour huh. It sounds fun.¡± I¡¯m particrly interested in touring food processing factories. I wanna know more about the food we eat on a daily basis. ¡°There¡¯s also a liquor manufacturing nt which makes use of gically improved crops as well.¡± *Pikun! Elma¡¯s long ears reacted. She sure is easy to read. ¡°Are the tours scheduled via reservation?¡± ¡°Yes, I think so. Should I make one now?¡± ¡°Yeah, okay. Can you n a schedule that wouldn¡¯t be too hectic? I¡¯ll leave deciding where we¡¯re going to visit to you. Oh, and be sure to make the liquor nt thest stop.¡± *Piku-pikun. Elma¡¯s ears twitched wildly. ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll be sure to pick ces with good reputations. And I think guests are also allowed to have free product samples as well.¡± When Elma raised her head in excitement, our eyes met. When that happened, she panicked and brought her head down right away. Oh, and by the way Elma-san, your te is already empty, you know. ¡°Then, tomorrow, the three of us will be going on a factory tour date.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it!¡± ¡°Y-You¡¯re right. It sure sounds exciting¡­¡­ Uh, I¡¯m going out to shop for a bit, okay?¡± ¡°Hm? What are you going to buy? Will you be okay alone? Should Ie with you?¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s fine! It¡¯s totally fine! Absolutely, positively fine! I¡¯ll go by myself!¡± Elma refused me in a panic. As soon as she managed to shove her te on the dishwasher, she went to her room and left the ship soon afterward in a hurry. Hm. She really is acting weird. ¡°Mimi?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say it myself. It¡¯s not really a bad thing, and I think Elma-san would talk to you about it eventually when she¡¯s ready.¡± Mimi dered so while smiling cheerfully. I decided to push my doubts aside again. Well, I guess it¡¯s fine since it isn¡¯t a bad thing, ording to Mimi. ¡°I don¡¯t get it, but I¡¯ll try to respect Elma¡¯s privacy and let it slide, I guess.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It kinda felt like Elma went out of the ship in a very panicked state earlier though. Was she really okay? I¡¯m still worried after all. I only managed to see Elma again when evening came. For some reason, she made Mimi bring her meal to her room earlier and even used the messaging app to find out what time I would enter the bath so we won¡¯t get to meet each other along the way. ¡°¨C!!!¡± Her elf was bright red when she entered my room. What¡¯s this? Boiled elf? And she wasn¡¯t wearing her usual outfit either. Usually, whenever she visited my room, she¡¯ll alwayse in sloppy-looking pajamas or training wear. But tonight, she¡¯s wearing a prim, white negligee. When I saw Elma with her milky white skin flushed red while wearing a sheer, white negligee¡­ I was momentarily lost for words. She felt like a totally different person. ¡°Hey there. You¡¯ve been acting strange all day. You okay?¡± ¡°I-I-I¡¯m f-fine, y¡¯know¡­?¡± Elma¡¯s eyes were spinning. It totally doesn¡¯t seem like she¡¯s okay. Nope, not one bit. ¡°Well, uh, okay then. Why don¡¯t youe and sit over here first?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ wa¡­ un¡­¡± Elma walked with restless steps and came right before the bed in no time. She seemed to hesitate for a bit but eventually sat down on my bed in a bold manner. But she didn¡¯t sit right beside me but kept a little distance instead. ¡°You should be tired from today¡¯s activities.¡± ¡°Y-Yeah.¡± ¡°You¡¯re also acting strange, Elma.¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t really think so. Am I?¡± ¡°Are you sure you aren¡¯t ufortable or something?¡± ¡°Uu¡­¡­¡± Elma¡¯s face blushed bright red and she hid both her long ears with her hands. So elves hide their ears instead of their face when they¡¯re embarrassed huh. It¡¯s a great example of the difference in culture. ¡°So, what¡¯s wrong? You¡¯re really not acting like yourself, you know?¡± I tried to grab Elma¡¯s waist, but she seemed surprised by it and hastily squirmed away. Hmm¡­¡­? ¡°U-Um?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I-I-I¡¯m¡­ with you¡­ b-b-bay¡­¡­¡± ¡°Bay-?¡± ¡°B-b-bu-bu-b-bay-!¡± ¡°What the heck!? Is that some kind of new-age rap or something!?¡±1 Elma fell face down on the bed while letting out a strange voice. And when I tried to lift her up in order to ce her in afier position, I managed to smell alcohol. What the heck? What exactly should I do about this? I lost the drive toy my hand on Elma in this situation, so I ended up tucking her snuggly on the bed as I watched over her¨C or rather, I also followed suit and tucked myself right in after a bit. ¡°Nn¡­¡­ Hi?roo¡­¡­¡± Elma¡¯s lips curled into a sweet smile as she hugged my arm. ¡°Baby-making¡­ Nyaa¡­¡­¡± ¡°Just what kind of dream are you having there¡­¡­¡± I think I heard some really surprising words from Elma as I closed my eyes. I soon became really drowsy from feeling the warmth of Elma¡¯s skin against my own. Maybe I¡¯m more tired from the check-up than I thought. I couldn¡¯t resist my sleepiness and soon drifted away to thend of dreams. ¡°Haauuuuuu¡­¡­!¡± Elma woke up early in the morning and covered her ears in embarrassment, with a bright red face. She was emitting steam from the top of her head. Elma seems super embarrassed for some reason. ¡°To think I drank alcohol in order to psyche myself up, but actually passed out mid-way¡­¡­¡± ¡°Psyche yourself up¡­? Just how many bottles did you drink anyway?¡± ¡°One whole bottle of whiskey.¡± ¡°Ouch.¡± This disappointing elf actually drank one whole bottle of liquor with a really high alcohol content before she came to my room¡­ Of course, she¡¯ll end up passing out. I¡¯m just d she didn¡¯t end up vomiting all over the bed. ¡°So? Just why did you act like that yesterday anyway?¡± ¡°Well, how was I supposed to react when I was suddenly told it was possible to make children with you¡­¡­? An elf shouldn¡¯t be able to bear children unless they fully recognize their partner as their lifelong spiritualpanion after¡­¡­ all¡­¡­?¡± Gigigigi¡­ Elma turned towards me in a mechanical manner reminiscent of a broken toy. Did you actually think I was still asleep this whole time? I managed to wake up way ahead of you, missy. ¡°Good morning.¡± I greeted Elma, whose face turned an even brighter shade of red. A morning greeting is important. It said so in the Kojiki as well. ¡°G-Good mor¨C!?¡± ¡°Mogaah¨C!?¡± She proceeded to hit me in the face with a pillow. Hey! Don¡¯t just suddenly hit me with all your might with a pillow, you! My nose hurts! Rather, it¡¯s hard to breathe, idiot! I wasted time grappling with a flustered Elma on top of my bed first thing in the morning. Good grief. Men don¡¯t like violent women y¡¯know. This is why I call you a disappointing elf. TL Note: This is actually different from the joke in the raws. In the Japanese raws, Elma kept on saying ¡®ke¡¯ and ¡®ko¡¯ repeatedly. She was actually trying to say ¡®kodomo zukuri¡¯ ¨C which basically means the act of baby-making. Due to her stutters, her broken words ended up sounding simr to the Japanese onomatopoeia for a hen clucking, to which Hiro retorts. It won¡¯t make much sense if tranted word for word because the clucking of a hen in English doesn¡¯t sound remotely simr to the words ¡®baby-making¡¯. That¡¯s why I tried to change it up a bit. I hope it doesn¡¯t seem too forced ^ Chapter 40 Trantor: SFBaka ¡°So it¡¯s that, right? Elma¡¯s all tsun-tsun but is actually head-over-heals in love with me!?¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s not true! I-It¡¯s nothing like that!¡± ¡°Elma-san, it¡¯s not good to act all violent in order to hide your embarrassment you know.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s exactly right.¡± ¡°U-Uuuuuuuu!¡± Mimi squinted her eyes at the flustered Elma, who was holding her reddened ears and had steam blowing on top of her head. ¡°So what exactly happened? Rather, an elf and human being able to make babies is kinda neat. What about the differences in species and gene make up?¡± Elves and humans do resemble each other to a point, so I guess it¡¯s actually not so surprising that they are able to procreate. But even if there are simrities, both species have evolved independently onpletely differents, so they are basically alien to one another. If you think of it like that, our current situation is quite baffling, to say the least. ¡°We elves¡­ Well¡­ If we end up epting a partner mentally¡­ we would be able to¡­ with that person¡­ b-b-bay¡­ g-get p-pregnant and give birth to¡­¡­uuu!¡± After speaking that far, Elma pressed her face against the surface of the table in the dining room while still hiding her ears. I see. I kinda understand now. Space elves are that sort huh. The kind who relies on instinct. Or maybe I should say they¡¯re a people simr to those who leave their kids in thepany of other races apart from themselves. What the heck is with these elves? Don¡¯t tell me there are also orcs, goblins, or tentacle monsters in the home of the space elves? Is it a sort of survival strategy that was developed from the need to leave progeny even when attacked by those other dangerous races? And a pure elf will be born through atavism along the way that will ensure the survival of the species¡­? So the main survival strategy for space elves is through hybridization and gic contamination of other races? If that¡¯s really the case, these space elves are seriously amazing ¨C in various meanings. ¡°I sort of understand it now. Space elves sure are amazing.¡± ¡°I-Im extremely concerned about the part about us you im to have understood¡­¡­¡± ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ve now confirmed that Elma really¡ºluv, luv, luvs?¡»me very much.¡± ¡°Gu- gah¡­¡­uu¡ª¨C!¡± Elma snarled at me with a bright red face and trembling arms. What the heck is that? A fire engine imitation? ¡°Hiro-sama, making fun of her like that is also bad.¡± ¡°Kay. I¡¯m really sorry. Sorry, Elma.¡± I honestly apologized after Mimi scolded me as well. Mimi¡¯s the youngest out of the three of us, but when she squints her eyes like that and scolds us, neither I nor Elma are able to go against her. ¡°I-It¡¯s fine. I also went too far by raising my hand against you earlier.¡± ¡°But you know, I¡¯m actually quite happy. To think that Elma feels for me this much. I also really like you, Elma. You¡¯re reliable, you act really cute sometimes, and it feelsfortable just hanging out with you. It¡¯s like we¡¯re on the same wavelength or something¡­¡­¡± ¡°R-R-Really?¡± ¡°Yeah. Honest.¡± ¡°H-Hmph¡­¡­ W-Well, uh¡­ I guess I also feel the same, maybe?¡± Elma dered so with both hands joined in front of her chest as her fingers danced around each other in a fluster. She averted her gaze from mine with a bright red face. How cute. ¡°Okay then. Now that both of you have made up, get along from now on, alright?¡± ¡°Un, let¡¯s get along.¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s right¡­¡­un.¡± Elma and I nodded in agreement with a smiling Mimi. ¡°Now then, since you¡¯ve already made up, let¡¯s talk about today¡¯s ns. First, we¡¯ll visit Sierra Corporation¡¯s artificial meat factory.¡± ¡°Oh, artificial meat. I¡¯m really curious about how exactly they¡¯re made.¡± Artificial meat. It¡¯s meat, but it¡¯s white and not red. The texture is closer to beef or pork. It doesn¡¯t feel like avian meat at all. It also doesn¡¯t feel like fish. It¡¯s meat from apletely unknown animal. But, as I said earlier, it¡¯s white meat, not red. Its surface will be nice and brown if you get an auto-cooker to process it, making it resemble a regr steak. But when you cut it with a knife, the cross-section would still be white. It¡¯s that kind of mysterious meat, but it has a strong umami vor, with plenty of fat. It¡¯s very delicious. I¡¯m thinking it¡¯s apletely artificially synthesized based on its name ¨C artificial meat. But I can¡¯t even begin to imagine the actual production process. ¡°I¡¯ve also never been to an artificial meat nt before.¡± ¡°It¡¯s exciting, isn¡¯t it? And the next stop after that is a hydroponic farm and the attached food processing nt.¡± ¡°Hydroponic farm, huh. I wonder what kind of things they are raising?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it algae for use in food cartridges?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to seeing that as well¡­¡­ But since we¡¯re going out of our way to make a sightseeing tour, doesn¡¯t it feel like just walking around those ces would be pretty dull?¡± ¡°Now that you mention it, that may be the case.¡± ¡°We¡¯re scheduled to have our lunch in the food processing nt. It seems the food we can eat are all freshly made.¡± ¡°Well, okay. Just as long as it¡¯s not ¡®that stuff¡¯.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not ¡®that stuff¡¯. I made sure to check.¡± Mimi responded with her eyes looking empty. What we meant by ¡®that stuff¡¯ was the contents used in food cartridges. It seems that iprehensible nutrient shake was considered as a kind of local delicacy(?) in this colony. The taste is¡­¡­ kinda like slightly salty, room-temperature mousse or something¡­? It¡¯s an eclectic mix of grassy and fishy odors. Needless to say, it wasn¡¯t very tasty. It did fill you up though. ¡°That¡¯s great. Shall we get going?¡± ¡°Yes, well¡­ it may be best if we start preparing now, considering the travel time.¡± ¡°Okay then. Everybody get ready. Let¡¯s meet up here at the dining room once we¡¯re done.¡± And roughly an hour afterward, we finally made it to our first destination. ¡°Well, what can I say? Riding that transport train wasn¡¯t half bad.¡± ¡°The sudden brakes and elerations take a bit of getting used to though.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothingpared to a starship¡¯s eleration and deceleration. It seems that some people get vehicle sickness from it though.¡± We rode a transport train that made use of the underground freight delivery system to ferry people around the colony. The fare was very cheap and we were able to get to our destination very quickly, but the train car was narrow and rtively cramped. The train car felt more like a cargo container that had seats forcibly installed within, and even if every passenger squeezed themselves together, the most it could fit was six people. There were only three of us, but it still felt somewhat cramped. If there were six people, it would definitely be like a can packed full with sardines. I wasn¡¯t able to see any scenery outside at all, but it was still a rtively enjoyable attraction for me. ¡°So this is the artificial meat processing factory¡­¡­ huh?¡± ¡°Hm? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Elma, whose state seemed a bit weird, stared fixedly at something in front of her. It was the signboard of the factory. ¡°Sierra Corporation Cultured Meat Production Facility¡­¡­?¡± Is there anything off about it? ¡°Uh, I suddenly remembered I have some business to attend to. Please go ahead and enjoy the tour without me, you two.¡± ¡°Now just hold up a moment,dy.¡± I turned around and tightly grasped Elma¡¯s shoulders. Why did she have such a reaction just after seeing the signboard? I don¡¯t see anything suspicious about it though. ¡°Cultured meat? So it isn¡¯t artificial meat?¡± Mimi tilted her head. Cultured meat? Hey, it really is written as cultured meat. So it¡¯s different from artificial meat? ¡°Elma?¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t want to go inside, you two.¡± ¡°But I¡¯ve already made reservations for the three of us? It¡¯s going to start soon too.¡± ¡°Fumu? Oh well. I¡¯ll drag her along.¡± ¡°Nonononononono¡­¡­¡± I dragged the panicking Elma inside the factory premises. After getting past the front gate, we headed for the reception lobby and were weed by an unhealthy-looking man with a really lean build. When he saw the three of us¡­¡­ a wide smile bloomed on his wan-looking face. Scary. ¡°Wee, everyone. You¡¯re the tour group led by Hiro-sama, are you not?¡± ¡°Ah, yes.¡± ¡°We thank you for choosing our humble facility for a sightseeing tour. Oh heavens¡­¡­ It¡¯s really been such a long time since thest ones came for a tour. The staff is really fired up.¡± ¡°I-Is that so?¡± His mouth was all smiles but his eyes were scary. I don¡¯t feel any malice from him, but¡­ How should I say this? Yeah, it feels like he¡¯s really enjoying himself. His eyes were giving off a bright gleam as if he was a hunter aiming for hapless prey¡­¡­ No, that¡¯s not right either. It was something akin to a child getting a hold of a new toy to y with¡­¡­ Is it just my imagination? ¡°Now then folks, the route is that way. Please follow the navigation and advance ahead!¡± The man pointed towards an automated door that opened up before us. Hm, there¡¯s supposed to be nothing too surprising about it. It¡¯s only an automated door. But why the heck is it built so sturdily? It¡¯s like a safe of something. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Hiro-sama!¡± Mimi looked quite excited. Did she fail to notice the man¡¯s suspicious behavior? She pulled my hand and seemed like she would run through the passageway ahead of us at any moment. ¡°I-I would like to refrain from going after all¡­¡­¡± ¡°Keep dreaming¡­¡­ I won¡¯t let you escape by yourself¡­¡­¡± ¡°Wai-!? You¡¯re really gonna force me!? Stop dragging me!¡± I pulled Elma¡¯s arm while Mimi pulled on my own, and the three of us entered the opened door. It seemed dangerous for some reason, so I can¡¯t let Mimi go by herself. And I definitely won¡¯t let Elma escape either. Fufufu¡­ When we go down, we¡¯ll go down together¡­¡­! After we entered the passageway beyond the door, the said door locked itself shut. ¡ºWe will now proceed to sterilize you in order to maintain the hygiene standards of the facility. Once the process ispleted, please advance to the next room.¡» An electronic voice echoed out instructions, and white smoke flowed into the room. This should be part of the sterilization process. ¡ºSterilization has beenpleted. Please proceed to the next room.¡» Another door opened up ahead of us. It led to a smaller room. It didn¡¯t have any windows, and apparently didn¡¯t have any other doors leading out of it either. ¡°What¡¯s that room?¡± ¡°Un? I can¡¯t see any other doors inside.¡± I acted cautiously while Mimi tilted her head in puzzlement. Elma sighed while disying a resigned expression. ¡°You¡¯re so gonna regret this¡­¡­¡± Right when Elma dered so after we entered the small room, the door leading to it also closed and locked all three of us in. The room then started to shake. ¡°Is this room moving?¡± The moment I muttered my question, a voice echoed out from above us. ¡ºThank you for participating in the tour of Sierra Corporation¡¯s cultured meat production nt today. The room you¡¯re in is actually a gond that will carry you as we go on with the tour.¡» ¡°So this room is actually a form of transport.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t even have any chairs inside though. I suddenly had the urge to check theser gun strapped to my waist. I just can¡¯t calm down for some reason. ¡ºThe cultured meat produced by our facility has been loved by customers for three hundred years already. It is vastly different in quality and taste from your ordinary artificial meat, and the customer repeat rate is a whopping 93%! In this tour, you will be able to see the entire production process: from the initial culturing phase, growth phase, processing phase, all the way to the final shipping phase. Please enjoy the tour, everyone.¡» ¡°Is artificial meat and cultured meat different?¡± ¡°It seems so?¡± Mimi tilted her head again. Elma curled herself up in a corner of the room, closed her eyes andpletely severed all visual information. Eh? What the heck? I have a really bad feeling about this. ¡ºFirst, please take a look at the initial culturing phase.¡» The walls of the room became transparent. The outside scenery really looked like a proper factory. Transparent containers are shuffled along a conveyor belt, and several types of liquid are injected inside them by machines. The containers which have been injected with the fluids appear to be collected into one ce and then stored in some devices which looked simr to incubators. ¡°I wonder what¡¯s in those boxes?¡± ¡°I have no idea.¡± Mimi, who was still tilting her head curiously, pointed at one incubator-like device with a container in it, but I also didn¡¯t have any idea about what exactly was going on. As the room sh gond moved on ahead, we would probably get to see the contents of the containers which have been incubated for some time already. ¡°Hieee¡­¡­!¡± ¡°T-Tha-!? What the heck is that¡­¡­?¡± We finally got to see exactly what was inside those containers. It looked simr to an earthworm. It¡¯s practically a long string of wriggling meat. It got so long that it coiled itself several times around the incubator housing it. ¡°I now have an idea what my bad feeling earlier was all about.¡± ¡°Y-You¡¯re not saying the cultured meat is actually¡­¡­¡± The gond finally left the area with the incubators as Mimi and I looked on behind us. ¡°That¡¯s why I said you¡¯d regret it.¡± Elma¡¯s words echoed inside the silent gond. ¡°Thank you foring, dear guests. Thank you very much foring. We hope for your continued support of our high-quality cultured meat products.¡± The three of us left the cultured meat producing nt as the male staff from before sent us off with a sticky-looking smile. ¡°Ulp¡­¡­¡± ¡°I p-probably won¡¯t be able to even look at meat for a while¡­¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I said I didn¡¯t wanna go¡­¡­!¡± What else did we see inside the facility? I don¡¯t wanna remember! Something like a pool filled with flesh-colored tentacles, or a mass of wriggling flesh that grewrge enough to rival a train being cut up into processed cultured meat¡­¡­ Urgh. I hardly even remember the tour guide¡¯s exnations, but it seems those gigantic flesh worms are treated normally as livestock, just like cows or pigs. They were gically modified in order to be more suitable as a source of meat products, and the end result is that kind of eldritch abomination. They grow extremely quickly, have high nutritional value, and produce high-quality meat. They have no form of actual intelligence and seem to be creatures that feed and grow only by instinct. ¡°I really don¡¯t get the purpose of touring such a facility¡­¡­¡± ¡°It certainly doesn¡¯t help one¡¯s appetite¡­¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t want to go through with it, you two¡­¡­ The next one¡¯s a hydroponic farm, right¡­? I sure hope it¡¯s a proper facility this time¡­¡­¡± We prepared ourselves mentally and headed for the location of our next tour with heavy steps. Just please let the next ce be decent. Chapter 41 rantor: SFBaka ¡°Um, Micah Corporation¡­ This seems to be the ce.¡± ¡°Here huh¡­¡­¡± ¡°Uwaah¡­¡­¡± My and Elma¡¯s faces are probably making the same apprehensive expression right now. Cause, y¡¯see, this Micah Corporation¡¯s hydroponic farming facility is actually the spitting image of Sierra Corporation¡¯s cultured meat processing facility¡­¡­ The two of them both dealt with food products, so the designs of their facilities are identical. Is that it? Cause apart from the differences in signage, the facilities are practically twins. ¡°A-Anyway, let¡¯s enter first.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡­¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡­¡± The three of us resigned ourselves in our hearts and entered beyond the facility¡¯s front gate. ¡°Oh, so the interior is actually quite different.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± We still weren¡¯t able to spot any other people apart from ourselves just like when we arrived at the meat nt, but unlike there, this hydroponic farm seemed far more brightly lit. Why the difference in illumination? The interior of this facility is evidently brighter and just looked more proper. ¡°Wee, everyone. You¡¯re the tour group led by Hiro-sama, are you not?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The staff who weed us was a youngdy who was a shining example of a normalpany receptionist. She looked prim and proper in her uniform which resembled something worn by a stewardess. She was leagues better than the shady-looking male receptionist in that meat processing nt. ¡°I have been assigned as your guide for today¡¯s tour. It has been a long time since we¡¯ve had people visit us. The staff are really looking forward to¨C Um, what is it, dear guests?¡± My face slightly cramped from the feeling of de ja vu. Mimi and Elma were probably feeling the same as me. The receptionistdy tilted her head in puzzlement at our reactions. ¡°Oh, uh, well, we just came from a tour of Sierra Corporation¡¯s cultured meat processing facilities y¡¯see. So, uh¡­¡­¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡­ That iprehensible tour overflowing with weirdness, that really seems like someone¡¯s bad joke gone terribly wrong¡­¡­ No, although it¡¯s bad manners to talk about others behind their backs, that kind of tour was a little bit too much, wasn¡¯t it? We hired the same contractor to construct both our facilities, so that¡¯s the reason why our buildings are so alike.¡± The receptionistdy exined as she gave us a wry grin. It looks like she was quite familiar with that otherpany¡¯s tour details. ¡°Please do not worry. I can guarantee that ourpany¡¯s tour is a proper one. At the very least, it won¡¯t cause our guest¡¯s faces to turn all blue.¡± The receptionistdy then gave us a sunny smile. Her smile managed to dispel the cloud of anxiety that had built up deep in our chests somewhat. ¡°We¡¯re really counting on you¡­¡­¡± ¡°Yes, please be at ease. You all will need to be sterilized before we start our tour. Please enter that door over there.¡± The room the receptionistdy guided us to was something simr to the sterilization room found inside Sierra Corporation¡¯s facility. Will white smoke go *pushuu inside here as well? Is that smoke even safe? I hope it doesn¡¯t have any negative effects on the body or something. Well, the technology here is really advanced, so I guess there¡¯s no need to worry¡­ I hope? We followed the instructions and walked out of the room after sterilization. What was waiting inside was not a freaky gond, but a corridor with transparent ss walls serving as a barrier. It looks like we need to walk with our own feet to see the various sights during this tour. ¡°Uwah, it¡¯s so bright.¡± ¡°Yeah, it is. It¡¯s really simr to real daylight.¡± ¡°There¡¯s an exnation here. Hm. It seems it¡¯s a specialized light source which emits a wavelength that is more suitable for growing crops.¡± ¡°¡­¡­So it¡¯s like a sump.¡± I remember a certain game having a simr facility which allowed you to grow and harvest crops regardless of the season. I guess it uses up quite a bit of power, but with the technology in this world, I think they already have a variety of energy sources avable. Even my Krishna boasts a power generator with ridiculous output that makes use of unknown tech. ¡°I wonder what kind of crops are those?¡± ¡°Hm? Yeah, I¡¯m curious as well. They look like watercress.¡± Watercress is often used as a garnish or side dish to things like steak after all. It seems they were raising crops that look really simr to watercress here. ¡°It says here that it¡¯s a vegetable that¡¯s high in nutrients. It has a bit of a sharp taste when eaten fresh. It¡¯s one of the raw ingredients used in the contents of food cartridges, it seems.¡± Elma read and ryed to us the contents of the exnation written on the ss partition. Fumu, I see. I heard that stuff like algae and krill-creatures were the main ingredients used in food cartridges, but I guess they use these vegetables as well. The nts resembling watercress were taken care of by various robots; drones that flew around the vast cultivation area and robotic arms moving on rails stretched out all over the farm. It was almostpletely automated. While observing such a sight, we arrived at an area where a great number of circr pools were installed. ¡°Green-colored pools¡­¡­ Algae?¡± ¡°It seems so. It¡¯s an area specialized for growing the algae type used as one of the main ingredients in food cartridges.¡± This area was also automated. Robot arms were harvesting the algae withs. There were also ones that sprayed brown-colored powder on top of some of the pools. ¡°What is that brown powder? Fertilizer?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡­ Ugeh.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°That¡¯s made from domestic waste collected from starships, it seems.¡± ¡°Domestic waste¡­¡­¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡­¡± In other words, it¡¯s those things that are solidified and turned into blocks. They not only consist of human waste but also garbage and wastewater from the bathrooms of the ships. Our ship also produces them, of course. And a waste collectionpanymissioned by the port administration office would regrlye to collect them. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a ssic case of recycling. Those came from people like us in the first ce anyway.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re right. But¡­¡± ¡°It feels a bit weird though.¡± ¡°Well, back on Earth, where I¡¯m from, it was normal to use things like droppings for fertilizer. I think the use of human droppings has decreasedpared to back in the past, but they would still make use of animal dung or the remains of seeds squeezed out of their oil. Things like that are quitemon. They did use human excrement liberally in the far past though.¡± In fact, the practice might still be going strong, but I haven¡¯t seen an actual fertilizer pool anyway, so I really wouldn¡¯t know. I¡¯m not too familiar with agricultural stuff. The most I know are basic things. ¡°Fumu. As expected of someone who grew up on a backwater.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call it something like a backwater. It sounds weird. But it¡¯s true that I think this world¡¯s technology is extraordinarily advancedpared to where I¡¯m from.¡± As we discussed along the way, we managed to reach another pool area. ¡°It looks like this is the krill culturing area.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s like a zoonkton culturing area. It seems domestic waste is being used as feed here.¡± ¡°Speaking of which, I think I heard something like that as well back in the cultured meat factory.¡± ¡°Well, we didn¡¯t have the leeway to listen to the exnations given back there anyway¡­¡­¡± An image of a flesh-colored pool shed in my head. It was followed by the image of factory workers with gleaming eyes, cutting out the meat of a tentacle monster the size of a train¡­¡­ Yeah, it was a sight that would gradually grind your SAN points to dust. Maybe the reason we didn¡¯t manage to remember most of the exnation was because our SAN points went critical. We then came to an area thatpletely looked like an industrial factory next. ¡°Oh, this is where they put together the food cartridges.¡± ¡°It looks pretty rough.¡± ¡°They are putting all the raw materials together and throwing them all into the processing machine.¡± The raw materials are sent via a conveyor belt to a processing machine ande out on the other side as a kind of paste. ¡°It¡¯s ¡®that stuff¡¯, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, it is.¡± ¡°What the heck is ¡®that stuff¡¯ you two are going on about?¡± ¡°The local specialty of Alein Tertius colony¡­¡­¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡­¡± Elma disyed a look of pity after seeing our expressions. Fufu. I will never forget that appearance. Mimi gazed at the light-green paste with her empty-looking eyes. My eyes were probably looking the same ¨C an expression devoid of emotion. Hahaha¡­ ¡°That paste is further processed and stuffed into food cartridges, it seems.¡± ¡°Looks like it. And the auto-cooker processes it further and finally ends up on everyone¡¯s stomachs.¡± ¡°It looks like the high-end cartridges aren¡¯t made in this area.¡± Just like Mimi said, the only things made here are ordinary food cartridges, it seems. High-end cartridges are five times more expensivepared to ordinary ones. The taste, while not five times more delicious, is easily twice as good as normal food cartridges. ¡°I kind of want to take a look at how they are making high-end cartridges. I guess there are more raw materials used on them, right?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll differ that much though.¡± When we moved on, we found ourselves at a ce that looked like a dining hall. ¡º¡ºYou can enjoy freshly prepared food from our quality food cartridges here! Automatic cookers from different makers affiliated with ourpany are waiting to serve you! Please enjoy them to the fullest! We also ept purchase consultations!¡»¡» A signboard with these words written on it greeted us. It seems there really were auto-cookers from different manufacturers lined up inside. But there were none from the Tetsujin series though. ¡°I see. This part of the tour was well thought out.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t have many visitors, it seems. Can they still make any profit?¡± ¡°Those who apply for this kind of tour are mostly rich folk, right? Auto-cookers are quite expensive. If they can manage to sell a few units every time, themissions would be quite hefty. ¡°I see.¡± I nodded and pressed the button on the wall which says¡ºPress Here for Food Cartridges¡». A live image of food cartridges being transported from the production line was disyed on the Holo Disy together with realistic BGM. And presto! The cartridges came out from the wall along with shy sound effects. It was quite interesting. Mimi and Elma also tried it out. It seems there were several differentbinations of BGM and live-video feeds being used. What they got to see were different than mine. ¡°This is fun.¡± ¡°It sure looks like something that would be really popr with kids.¡± We walked towards the auto-cookers while giving out each of our impressions. ¡°Which auto-cooker brand should we choose?¡± ¡°Are their performances really that different from each other?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we order the same menu from all of the brands andpare them?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a great idea! Let¡¯s do it.¡± Thus, the three of us ordered omelet rice from a different brand. When they were done, we shared the food with each other and startedparing. ¡°Nm¡­¡­ It does taste different, right?¡± ¡°Yes. The voring and textures are quite different from each other.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s choose our favorite then¡­ I personally prefer the one made by Kirsch Company.¡± ¡°I prefer the one by Murakumo Company.¡± ¡°I also like the one from Kirsch Company as well.¡± By the way, the one produced by Shiimazu Company wasn¡¯t that bad either. It was delicious enough. ¡°So the taste of the food really differs per brand huh. Each manufacturer has their own specialties, I guess.¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably true.¡± ¡°It¡¯s impossible to try everything.¡± There may be brands that make more delicious curry rice, and there may be some which specialize in Japanese cuisine. Everything our Tetsujin makes is top ss though. It isn¡¯t a premium brand for nothing. By the way, I tried ordering dessert pudding from the cooker made by Shiimazu Company, and it was excellent. As I thought, each maker had their own respective specialties. ¡°I guess rich people can buy multiple brands in order to enjoy each maker¡¯s respective specialties, huh?¡± ¡°If one has arge enough space to install multiple cookers and the money to buy them, it would be a symbol of luxury.¡± ¡°But I think to buy a high-end machine like Tetsujin, that is able to prepare a wide variety of delicious dishes, is more economical and efficient.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± In order to install multiple auto-cookers, you¡¯ll need a veryrge space. In starships, living space is quite a valuablemodity. If one wants to get arge living space, one has to pay appropriate costs. In that case, installing a single high-end product like Mimi suggested is certainly more efficient and economical. We drank some tea to wash down the food we ate and left the hydroponic farm afterward. ¡°Alcohol? Alcohol?¡± Elma was skipping excitedly along the way due to our next destination. Our next stop is a liquor manufacturing nt after all. Elma¡¯s tension was increasing at a constant pace, with no signs of slowing down. ¡°I hope the next one is decent as well.¡± ¡°Yes. But I think it will probably be alright though.¡± I and Mimi smile at each other as we watched Elma happily skipping about. Chapter 42 Chapter 42 Trantor: SFBaka We went through a fifteen-minute walk heading for our next destination while following after a light-footed Elma and finally arrived at thest stop for today¡¯s tour . ¡°So it¡¯s a factory of Kouryuu Beverages! Kouryuu Beverages is one of the most reputable breweries in the entire empire y¡¯know! They produce most types of alcoholic drinks, but they¡¯re particrly famous for their sharp-tasting and full-bodied beer!¡± A bright-eyed Elma stopped before the factory gates and started exining away in high spirits . The three of us are here for a factory tour, but one of us started acting like a tour guide before we even entered the facility . What the heck? It might just be my imagination, but Elma was currently surrounded by bright, sparkly effects as she talked animatedly¡­¡­ What¡¯s with that? ¡°Hey Mimi, is it just me, or is Elma actually sparkling right now?¡± ¡°I think she is¡­¡­ Is that some kind of elven magic?¡± ¡°Eh, this is the first time I¡¯ve heard of that . Is that actually a thing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not that familiar with the particrs, but it seems elven magic does exist . ¡± Seriously? One of the reasons why I call her a disappointing elf is because she looked like she couldn¡¯t use magic, but elven magic actually exists, you say? She certainly didn¡¯t look like a mage character type though . ¡°So let¡¯s go in now guys! C¡¯mon! Let¡¯s hurry up and enter! Now, now!¡± Elma¡¯s current tension was MAX level . I haven¡¯t seen her this excited before . I looked back toward Mimi . We exchanged wry smiles and followed after Elma, who charged straight inside the factory . Just like with the other factories we visited, we were weed by a waiting receptionist and instructed to undergo a sterilization procedure first . We then proceeded inside the factory proper . Likely due to the fact that they were a reputed and popr brewery, we found other people taking the tour alongside us . The aisle dedicated to tourists was well-cleaned and had a nice atmosphere . There were a lot of humans among the visitors taking the tour like us . The citizens of the Gran empire wereprised mostly of humans, so I guess this was just normal . I haven¡¯t even encountered another elf in the tourist group apart from Elma . So I guess they were kinda a rare species or something . As far as non-humanoid races go¡­ there were lizardmen, creatures that looked like a cross between amphibians and fish, creatures that looked like sea anemones walking upright with their tentacles, and beastmen with animal ears and tails . Can those upside-down sea anemones reallymunicate with other creatures¡­¡­? ¡°What the heck are you spacing out for over there, Hiro!? Let¡¯s hurry up and head for the drink sampling corner!¡± ¡°Whoa theredy . Let me get a proper look at the ce first . You can just drink some booze in the shipter, can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°D-Drinking freshly made liquor is an entirely different experience altogether¡­¡­¡± ¡°Fine, fine . Don¡¯t be so impatient . We don¡¯t have any more ces to visit after this, so there¡¯s no need to hurry so much . ¡± ¡°Uu¡­¡­¡± Elma¡¯s long ears drooped in disappointment as she cutely puffed up her cheeks . What are you, a sulky little kid? ¡°So they make ale at this ce huh . ¡± ¡°They make beer . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Okay, beer then . ¡± I still think it¡¯s ale if it doesn¡¯t go down smoothly though . Well, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m knowledgeable about the particrs, so I guess I¡¯m in no position to talk huh . In this dimension, it¡¯s treated as beer even though it isn¡¯t carbonated . Let¡¯s just leave it at that . But it really is a mystery why there are practically no carbonated beverages around in this dimension¡­ Was the method really lost after the people here advanced into the interster age? Was it because it wasn¡¯t suited for a zero-G environment? I guess it¡¯s possible . ¡°The manufacturing process for beer doesn¡¯t have anything particrly surprising huh . Well, I guess the machines processing the products work really fast and efficiently, so people into that sort of stuff wouldn¡¯t get bored no matter how much they look . ¡± ¡°There are people like that?¡± ¡°Um, I rather like watching them . It somehow feels rxing . ¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t get it . ¡± Elma shrugged as she watched the factory machines milling about . But I guess I kinda like watching them as well; seeing the factory machines work in a systematic and precise manner, I mean . I even kinda feel like I wouldn¡¯t get tired of watching a factory such as this producing arge number of products like clockwork . After we had our fill watching the factory machines doing their thing, we headed for the next area . So next up is the fruit wine production section huh . Will we get to see something like the extraction and fermentation process over there? That was what I thought at first, but what we got to see was quite different from my earlier expectations . ¡°An orchard?¡± Yep . The next area resembled an orchard . Splendid-looking vineyards were spread over a vast, open space, where arge number of drones and robot arms were moving about and doing all the farm work . It resembled the vegetable ntation we saw back at the food cartridge factory . ¡°Let¡¯s see . It¡¯s a farm for cultivating fruits used to make liquor . This seems to be a wine fruit field . ¡± ¡°Wine fruit field¡­¡­?¡± What¡¯s Elma talking about¡­¡­? I followed her gaze and found what seemed to be a ¡ºWine Fruit¡»tasting corner . You can pay Enels at a terminal in order to sample freshly picked ¡ºWine Fruits¡»there, it seems . ¡°Let¡¯s try eating some . The wines made by Kouryuu Beverages are also delicious . ¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t tried drinking any wine before myself . I¡¯m kind of looking forward to it . ¡± As I looked on while still feeling somewhat perplexed, Elma paid some money by cing her terminal over what seems to be a high-tech vending machine . After a few moments, something resembling a paper cup with pieces of dark-purple fruit that were the same size as Kyoho grapes popped out of it . She threw the fruit into her mouth without any hesitation . ¡°Mm?, liquor tastes good, but this wine fruit is delicious as well . Here, Mimi . Try it out . ¡± ¡°Is it okay? Here I go then¡­¡­¡± After Elma, Mimi also got herself one of the fruits and popped it into her mouth . ¡°Nn¡­¡­ It isn¡¯t as sour as I first thought, isn¡¯t it? It also isn¡¯t astringent . ¡± ¡°Well, it seems they squeeze the skin and seeds along with the pulp during the manufacturing process . We don¡¯t normally crush the seeds and skin in our mouths when we eat the fruits fresh, right? That¡¯s why it isn¡¯t astringent . ¡± ¡°I see . But you can still taste a hint of liquor when you eat them right¡­¡­? They taste delicious, but it seems you¡¯ll get drunk when you eat lots of them . ¡± I approached the two who were having a strange-sounding conversation . ¡°Do you want one as well, Hiro? Even if you¡¯re weak to alcohol, you should be okay if you eat just one piece, right?¡± ¡°Probably¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Okay then . Say a?h . ¡± ¡°A?h . ¡± I obediently followed Elma¡¯s words and opened my mouth, and she picked up another piece of the wine fruit and fed it to me . Un, it really is like grape . I started chewing the fruit in question . ¡°!?¡± Within moments, the distinct aroma of alcohol exploded within my mouth . The juices that seeped out of the pulp each time I chewed tasted like actual wine . Just like Mimi said, it wasn¡¯t as astringent as actual wine and had a milder vor, but it tasted likepletely processed wine nheless . ¡°Is the alcohol infused in the fruit itself¡­¡­? Is this for real?¡± ¡°It seems like it¡¯s different from what you¡¯re familiar with huh, Hiro . ¡± ¡°The wines I knew were made by crushing and fermenting grapes simr to these wine fruits, and then aging them in wooden barrels . ¡± ¡°That sounds like a traditional, or rather, a primitive method of producing wine . I heard that wine was still made like that until two thousand years ago . At present, themonly used method is making them from wine fruits, y¡¯know?¡± ¡°Did they use selective breeding¡­ no, gic engineering in order to breed these fruits¡­? That¡¯s kinda outrageous . ¡± I nodded after swallowing the rest of the fruit juice along with the skin, pulp, and seeds . I felt my body getting hot . It seems my face got red just after sampling one fruit . Ugh . It looks like I¡¯m as weak to alcohol as ever . ¡°Your face is turning red, Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°Pupu? You¡¯re really kinda cute when you¡¯re like that, y¡¯know . ¡± ¡°Shut it, you . I¡¯m the type to get red after just one sip of alcohol¡­¡­ I¡¯ll get utterly drunk from downing one can of beer y¡¯know . ¡± Mimi was smiling as she looked at my reddened face while Elma giggled as she continuously popped the wine fruits into her mouth . I got conscious of my reddened cheeks and hid them with one hand . They smiled even more gleefully when I did so . Damn . ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go to the next area . Next!¡± ¡°Fine, fine . Let¡¯s go then . Hiro-cha?n . ¡± ¡°Hiro-chan¡­¡­ Fufu . ¡± I walked ahead in haste as my twopanions followed after me with amused grins . Dammit! This ce is like a cursed spot for someone like me . Next is the brewery area huh . It was the brewery area, but¡­¡­? ¡°A forest¡­¡­?¡± ¡°So those are the so-called liquor trees huh . ¡± ¡°Liquor trees?¡± ¡°Yes . The natural whiskey extracted from them is a rather high-ss product . It tastespletely different from synthetic whiskey . ¡± ¡°Synthetic whiskey¡­¡± This is just so out there . What the heck is up with something like natural whiskey? ¡°Um, how is natural whiskey produced?¡± ¡°This section of the tour will show us the process, apparently . Look, there¡¯s an exnation over there . ¡± Elma pointed towards a holo disy ying a holographic info video . I pressed a button to rey the video from the start . Basically, the sap from those so-called whiskey trees is what¡¯s called natural whiskey . Like how one would extract maple syrup, cing a cut on the tree would allow one to collect the sap from within . Like, seriously, man . What¡¯s up with these weird trees? I bet they¡¯re really mmable! By the way, the process for producing synthetic whiskey is also included in the video . It seems that Kouryuu Beverages sells the product at a rtively cheaper price . It looks like it wasn¡¯t produced in this area though . It was apparently made by mixing artificial vorings into artificially produced alcohol in order to make it taste like whiskey . The natural whiskey is quite popr, but the cheap synthetic whiskeys are more widely distributed, it seems . ¡°Mm?! As I thought, natural whiskey is absolutely to die for!¡± ¡°Really now?¡± ¡°*Cough, cough¡­¡­ It¡¯s a little too strong for me . ¡± Elma had a wide smile stered on her pretty face as she drank whiskey from a shot ss . Mimi, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes as she tried to cope with the whiskey¡¯s aftertaste . Elma bought a second shot as she rubbed Mimi¡¯s back . She¡¯s nning to drink until she¡¯s utterly stered, isn¡¯t she¡­¡­? Disregarding my concerned expression, Elma really ended up piss-drunk when the factory tour ended . Even Mimi ended up groggy from the alcohol . ¡°Eehee¡­¡­Hirooo¡­¡­¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, Hiro-sama¡­¡­¡± I managed to get back to Krishna while holding on to Elma, who clung to me like an octopus, and supporting Mimi, who walked with an unsteady gait all the way . And after she turned sober enough, Elma ended up having her face turn blue after looking at her data terminal . It looks like she actually purchased arge number of different kinds of alcoholic drinks when she talked to the staff before the tour ended . And the total cost was a whopping 100,000 Enels . ¡°Hey¡­¡­ You still haven¡¯t managed to pay me back even a single Enel, and here you are spending one hundred thousand just to buy some alcohol . You sure you have your priorities straight?¡± ¡°A-Awa- Ahahahaha¡­¡­ S-Sorry?¡± Elma pped her hands together in front of her and cutely tilted her head as she begged for forgiveness . Hahaha . Really now . Thisdy¡¯s just¡­¡­ ¡°You¡¯re banned from drinking for two weeks . If I ever find you secretly trying to sneak in a drink¡­¡­ Fufu . I¡¯ll let you have a good taste of the food paste Mimi and I atest time . Even Dr . Shouko says you¡¯ll get addicted once you get used to the taste y¡¯know?¡± ¡°Hieee¡­¡­ I-I¡¯ll abstain from drinking¡­¡­¡± Elma nodded obediently while shedding tears . Well, she sure agreed easily enough . Not like I¡¯d take no for an answer anyway . Afterward, the three of us spent three days resting up . And in order to avoid getting involved in anything else troublesome, we decided to finally leave the system . However¡­¡­ it was far toote . It happened just when we finally finished resting up . ¡°It¡¯s been quite some time, Silver ranked mercenary, Captain Hiro . ¡± There was an unexpected guest . Fine facial features, lustrous blonde hair, ruby-red eyes, and sporting a red mantle over her pure white military uniform . A beautifuldy soldier with a fine-looking sword strapped to her waist . Yep . Lieutenant Serena Holz, who was supposed to be in the Termaine system, suddenly paid us a surprise visit . Chapter 43 Chapter 43 Trantor: SFBaka ¡°Ara, you seem to be using some fine tea leaves . ¡± ¡°d you like it . ¡± Because Krishna didn¡¯t have a proper guest reception area, us and Lieutenant Serena moved to the dining room instead . She was currently enjoying the tea Mimi brewed for her in an elegant manner . The three of us sat opposite Lieutenant Serena in front of the dining table . I ended up in the middle of us three, and directly faced Lieutenant Serena . Mimi and Elma sandwiched me in between them . ¡°So, uh¡­¡­ What¡¯s brought you here, Lieutenant?¡± She smiled sweetly at my question and ced the mug with the tea back on top of the table . Yep, the ship of us humble plebeians didn¡¯t have any fancy stuff like teacups and saucers onboard . ¡°Fufu¡­¡­ I came to invite you . ¡± I locked gazes with the still-smiling Lieutenant Serena as she dered her intentions . I bet both of our thoughts right now arepletely in synch . Just how tenacious is this woman? ¡°I¡¯m the type of woman who doesn¡¯t let prey escape you know . ¡± Hiie¡­¡­ Scary! Seeing her dere such a thing with a bright smile on her pretty face sent chills down my spine . Suddenly, both my arms were grabbed from the sides . I guess this is Elma and Mimi¡¯s way of expressing their intent never to let me go¡­ Only my right arm was experiencing a blissful feeling though . What about my left arm? Ah, mm, it¡¯s not that hard, I guess? ¡°What a daring disy . ¡± ¡°Hey, this is rude to our guest, you two . ¡± After I called out to them, Mimi and Elma reluctantly let go of my arms . I actually would¡¯ve liked to enjoy it a bit more, but it can¡¯t be helped . Or rather, get a grip, girls . I¡¯m sure Lieutenant Serena didn¡¯t mean it in ¡®that way¡¯ when she said ¡®prey¡¯ . ¡°Uhh, I¡¯ve already refused you quite a few times, I think . I have absolutely no intention of signing up for the imperial military . ¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m aware . It¡¯s truly unfortunate . ¡± Lieutenant Serena¡¯s smile vanished, and her expression turned to that of sadness as she let out a forlorn sigh . It was a truly perfect performance . This person is unexpectedly quite the mischievous sort, ain¡¯t she? ¡°I truly think it¡¯s unfortunate, but I guess I just have to give up on that end . I can¡¯t have the Mercenary Guild eyeing me for being too pushy after all . I want to keep an amicable rtionship with the Mercenary Guild as much as possible . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­?¡± If that¡¯s the case, then what the heck did this persone to us for? I¡¯m not enlisting in the military . If she¡¯s already acknowledged that, then why did she even find me? She even went as far as boarding the Krishna and dering me as her ¡®prey¡¯ . ¡°You aren¡¯t thinking of unting your power as an imperial noble, are you?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t even think of it . If I ever did so, you probably wouldn¡¯t hesitate to head to the Vereverem Federation, correct?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± My silence was enough of an answer . But honestly saying ¡ºYup, that¡¯s right . ¡»in this situation was bad, so I refrained . My discussion partner was an imperial soldier after all . ¡°Oh, by the way, I¡¯ve already been promoted . The higher-ups regarded my performance during the Termaine Prime defensive campaign quite highly, you see . Here, my rank insignia has already changed, see? I¡¯m now Major Serena Holz . ¡± ¡°Congrattions on your promotion then . ¡± I gave an honestpliment to Lieutenant¨C no, Major Serena, who was pointing at the rank insignia on her shoulder with a smile as she reported her sessful promotion . Did shee here just to report her promotion? Nah, that can¡¯t be . I heightened my sense of caution towards her . ¡°One of the greatest contributors to my promotion was your impressive performance during the defensive campaign, Captain Hiro . The matter of crystal creatures suddenly attacking the enemy fleet was also quite the stroke of fortune, wouldn¡¯t you say? I wonder what caused it though?¡± ¡°Hahaha, we were really lucky huh . We just managed to break through to the middle of the enemy fleet back then, so I also got quite the scare when it happened . ¡± I was inwardly sweating bullets . It should be okay . There shouldn¡¯t be any evidence of me using the Singing Crystal to summon the crystal creatures in order to attack the Vereverem Federation fleet left . Calm down, me . ¡°Fufu, I see . Your timing was excellent then . Well, it¡¯s not like we intend to pursue the matter anyway . Please be at ease . ¡± Major Serena smiled broadly . She disyed an expression that seemingly implied we owed her one . Dammit . I didn¡¯t even n to owe her anything in the first ce . But if I didn¡¯t do what I did back then, there¡¯s no doubt the imperial fleet would have suffered a significantly greater amount of losses . In fact, I think they¡¯re the ones who owe me . ¡°Hahaha . I actually have no idea what you¡¯re talking about, but I¡¯m d my actions were of use to Major Serena . ¡± ¡°Fufufu . ¡± ¡°Hahaha . ¡± Mimi was visibly shaken by my and Major Serena¡¯s exchange and ominousughs . She was trembling all over . This woman did lead me by the nose back then, but I¡¯m not the kind of guy who falls for the same mistake twice . This time, my caution meter is already at MAX . I can¡¯t have myself falling for this woman¡¯s tricks again . ¡°How about we get down to business already, Major?¡± ¡°Of course . After my promotion, I was grantedmand of a new unit . ¡± ¡°I suppose I should congratte you then . ¡± ¡°Yes . I also find it quite pleasing as well . The higher-ups finally granted my petition to form an independent anti-pirate mobile fleet and I was put in charge of it after all . ¡± ¡°Independent anti-pirate fleet¡­?¡± ¡°Yes . The imperial military can roughly be divided into two main groups: a defense fleet stationed in various colonies and ster garrisons of each system that are in charge of preventing foreign military incursions and maintaining security, and an interception fleet in charge of directly eliminating enemy forces . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± ¡°The overall strength of the mobile defense fleets is quite substantial . However, in order to cover the entirety of the empire¡¯s vast territories, it is inevitable for them to be scattered about, thus losing the edge in numbers . As a result, proactively attacking pirate fleets and space monsters prowling about carries with it a considerable amount of risk . Thus, they tend to prefer a passive approach most of the time . This is because there¡¯s a danger of being unable to maintain the security and stability of the sectors they are assigned to if they ever mess up and incur unexpected losses . As such, as long as the threat level doesn¡¯t reach a certain threshold, the imperial fleets are unable to proactively eliminate such dangerous elements . ¡± ¡°I get that . ¡± If the imperial army ever incurs massive losses as a result of an extermination operation, news of them losing their ability to actively respond to threats would probably be swiftly passed down to the pirate groups in the immediate area, and they would most likely capitalize on the opportunity . Even if they did manage to suppress the information to some extent, the fleet would still need to be grounded temporarily for maintenance and repairs, so the military patrols would be less frequent, leading to a possible increase in rogue pirate activity . If the worst-case scenario urs and the entire fleet ended up virtually crippled, an increase in rogue pirate activity would be the least of their problems . It may even develop into a colony getting attacked . ¡°This is why the mobile defense fleet cannot be made to sortie without good reason . The imperial star fleet is the empire¡¯s sharpest sword, as well as its strongest shield . Their operation and maintenance cost a considerable amount of money, and there¡¯s an ever-present danger of neighboring nations taking advantage of the situation if we ever mobilized them without proper consideration . ¡± ¡°In other words, the search-and-destroy capabilities of the imperial forces arecking . So that¡¯s why you rely on us mercenaries for that . ¡± ¡°Exactly . This is why I proposed the formation of an independent anti-pirate fleet . It would allow the military to obtain a force capable of seeking out and destroying threats instead of overly relying on mercenary contractors to do the job for us . ¡± ¡°Makes sense . But I still don¡¯t get why Major Serena, who¡¯s themander of such a fleet, would bother to expressly visit my ship . ¡± In other words, the imperial space forces are preparing to build up their own forces that will serve as a kind of business rival to us humble mercs . That said, it would just be a matter of keeping away from the sectors the independent anti-pirate fleet is active in, cause they can¡¯t possibly cover for the entirety of the empire anyway . To be honest, I can¡¯t think of any other reaction except for¡®Okay . Good luck then . ¡¯ . So I don¡¯t get why themander of such a fleet herself actually even bothered to pay us a visit . Well, I came here in order to recruit you, actually . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± I gave her a disgruntled look . ¡®I told you I don¡¯t n on joining the military already . Cut it out,dy!¡¯ ¡°If you refuse that vehemently, it actually gets me even more excite¨CMmph! I¡¯m sorry . Please pay that no heed . In other words, I¡¯m here to make a request . And I need the cooperation of pirate hunting professionals such as you people . ¡± ¡°A request, is it?¡± Well, if she¡¯ll put in a request through the Mercenary Guild, I guess I can consider taking it depending on the particrs . I think I heard some rather disturbing words earlier though . Let¡¯s just ignore them for now . I¡¯m not an idiot who would proactively step on such and mine . ¡°Can you run me through the specifics?¡± ¡°We, of the imperial space forces, have enough know-how when ites to attacking enemy fleets and assaulting enemy bases . Conversely, weck the necessary knowledge and experience when ites to tracking down pirate groups that stay under the radar and only surface to attack civilian ships . ¡± ¡°I get that . ¡± The standard tactics they¡¯re used to don¡¯t match the types of foes they would be hunting down in the first ce . Any unlucky pirate who manages to encounter the imperial fleets would be turned into space debris within seconds, but most pirates aren¡¯t that stupid . If they notice that the imperial forces are closing in, chances are they¡¯ll immediately escape and go into hiding again . ¡°And so, I wish to get the cooperation of pirate-hunting professionals such as yourselves in order for us to acquire the necessary know-how . ¡± ¡°I see . I understand what you¡¯re getting at . ¡± ¡°So?¡± Major Serena¡¯s eyes shined in anticipation . ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯d have to refuse . ¡± And her smiling expression froze up at my reply . ¡°M- May I know why¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like this request has to be taken up by me specifically, right? Rather, I think it would be better for you to take this request directly to the Mercenary Guild and learn the required know-how from them, correct? Instead of someone with a suspicious background such as me, they would be able to provide you with a more appropriate instructor for your needs . ¡± I said all that, but the biggest reason is that I find it really troublesome . I haven¡¯t heard of thepensation amount yet, but it would probably not exceed the amount we can normally earn by hunting down pirates by ourselves . And no matter how you think about it, the contract period would probably take a fair bit of time to fulfill . The rewards aren¡¯t worth it and we would be detained for a long period of time . There¡¯s nothing but demerits as far as I¡¯m concerned . ¡°But I want us to learn from you . ¡± ¡°I refuse . ¡± ¡°Why are you so obstinate?¡± Major Serena cutely puffed up her cheeks . Un, she¡¯s definitely a first-rate beauty, even with that kind of cutesy act . But my reason for refusing is simple and reasonable . It¡¯s because you really seem like a woman who would invite a whole boatload of trouble if I ever got involved with you further! I mean, just look at you! But I can¡¯t exactly say that to her face, so I just screamed that in my head . She¡¯s an imperial noble after all . I¡¯m not that familiar with imperialws, but I don¡¯t want to risk breaking them by insulting a member of the nobility . ¡°It¡¯s mainly because I can¡¯t expect that muchpensation and we would be under contract for a prolonged period . Why are you so fixated on me in the first ce?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because you possess both bold ideas and the courage and skills to execute them . Out of all those mercenaries, only you were able to propose a n, which seemed reckless at first nce . However, you managed to pull it off and delivered impressive results . ¡± To think I¡¯d get praised for that kind of reckless stunt . It kinda feels awkward . ¡°And there¡¯s the part with the crystal creatures . You used Singing Crystal for that, didn¡¯t you? Ah, you don¡¯t have to answer that . There¡¯s no evidence anyway . If it¡¯s someone like you, who¡¯s able to employ such bold and ruthless methods without a shred of hesitation, I¡¯m sure we will be able to obtain the means to make full use of the imperial star fleet¡¯s power in order to crush and obliterate those dirty pirate scum . That¡¯s what I think anyway . That¡¯s why I want your help . I actually want to have you as my subordinate, but you find that disagreeable, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I refuse . ¡± I blurted out my second ¡®I refuse¡¯ for the day . But this person doesn¡¯t seem like she¡¯ll give up anytime soon . Isn¡¯t her mentality too strong? ¡°I will give up on having you as my subordinate ¨C for now, anyway . In return, I want your cooperation . If you think that thepensation offered by the military isn¡¯t enough, I am prepared to pay you with my personal funds if need be . I¡¯m the daughter of a Marquis house after all . And I¡¯m also a senior imperial officer . I believe you will find my connections to be useful in the future . ¡± Major Serena smiles confidently at us once again . I turned my gaze toward Mimi, who shook her head, as if to say she can¡¯t make a decision about the matter . I then turned toward Elma, who whispered a reply . ¡°I think refusing an imperial noble who has already gone to such lengths would actually result to even more troublesome things in the future . ¡± In other words, she¡¯s suggesting I ept . I honestly don¡¯t feel like it though . I don¡¯t feel like it, but I guess what Elma¡¯s saying does make sense . There¡¯s definitely a chance of inviting even more trouble if I continued to stubbornly refuse, given the circumstances . The Major has already sent me countless love calls in the past after all . And now she¡¯s evene to the ship to visit me personally . She didn¡¯t even inform me beforehand . Most likely, it¡¯s in order to heighten the chance of sessfully getting a hold of me . I¡¯m honestly not one bit happy about it at all . ¡°Let me propose some conditions then . Make sure to run the contract properly with the Guild . I believe they have guidelines for designated requests like this . ¡± ¡°Let¡¯s set the contract period to thirty days . You¡¯ll be treated as a senior officer directly below the rank of major for its duration . In other words, within the independent fleet, the only one who would outrank you is me alone . ¡± ¡°I would like to avoid being gradually incorporated into the imperial military, so please limit the total working hours to about ten hours each day . I¡¯ll be sure to put in the required hours no matter what happens . ¡± ¡°Tsk¡­¡­ That¡¯s fine then . ¡± Thisdy just clicked her tongue, didn¡¯t she? Just what was she nning on doing? Scary! ¡°Also, the know-how I¡¯ll be imparting will primarily be tailored for mercenary work . It¡¯s geared toward engaging and hunting down pirates with a single ship . Of course, I¡¯ll try my best to fulfill the contents of the contract, but I can¡¯t guarantee to be able to make full use of the advantages of the independent mobile fleet . ¡± ¡°Yes, of course . That¡¯s understandable . But it all boils down to us being able to take in and absorb your knowledge well . Our imperial soldiers are excellent, so you need not worry on that front . ¡± Major Serena confidently answered while still smiling . She mostly seeded in roping me in, so I guess her mood¡¯s better now . ¡°Next would be thepensation amount¡­ How much would be the appropriate amount, Elma?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a bit hard to say . There¡¯s no precedent for mercenaries being contracted to serve as military instructors after all . But, based on the rate for long term escort missions, 30,000 to 50,000 Enels would be the standard amount . ¡°It¡¯s not a life-threatening escort mission, so can¡¯t you bring down the price a little? And that rate is actually geared toward an escort fleet instead of a single ship, correct?¡± Major Serena swiftly objected to the price proposed by Elma . She¡¯s quite shrewd, ain¡¯t she? She probably did some research beforeing here already . You really can¡¯t let your guard down against thisdy . ¡°But Hiro normally makes 200,000 Enels per day hunting pirates you know? Having our ie for one month go down to a fourth of the usual amount doesn¡¯t seem worth the trouble . Us mercenaries don¡¯t run charities, so we won¡¯t work if there isn¡¯t enough profits for us . It¡¯s justmon sense . ¡± Elma shrugged as sheunched a sharp response to Major Serena¡¯s objection . Honestly, we won¡¯t really be able to make 200,000 Enels a day normally, so we can¡¯t possibly earn 6,000,000 Enels in a month because we still need to take asional breaks . On the other hand, we also wouldn¡¯t be able to take up any other requests during the contract period, so we¡¯d still be making a loss if some high-paying ones did appear while we were under contract . ¡°Mmrrgh¡­¡­ How about 40,000 Enels per day¡­¡­¡± ¡°It should be at least 60,000 Enels . 40,000 isn¡¯t nearly enough . ¡± ¡°Let¡¯s settle for 50,000 then . How about it?¡± Elma turned her gaze toward me . I shrugged my shoulders as if to say I¡¯m leaving the decision to her . ¡°That¡¯s fine then . Do you have anything to add, Hiro?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t understand the overall performance of your ships, you won¡¯t be able to put up effective maneuvers . I¡¯d like to get the data for the overall specs and armaments of the fleet¡¯s ships if possible . It¡¯s also necessary to test them via simtor as well . ¡± ¡°We¡¯ll at least send you the non-ssified data . We will send the simtor data to the Mercenary Guild directly . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s it then . Please send the particrs to the Mercenary Guild as well . ¡± I and Major Serena nodded at Elma¡¯s words . And thus, we were contracted to serve as official instructors to the Gran Imperial Space Force¡¯s independent anti-pirate mobile fleet for thirty days . Chapter 44 Chapter 44 Trantor: SFBaka ¡°Well then, now that we¡¯re done with the business talk¡­ I¡¯d like to take this opportunity to ask a few questions now that you¡¯ve personally managed to pay a visit to our ship . May I?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡­ as long as I can answer them . ¡± Major Serena thought for a bit and then nodded . ¡°Pardon me then . It¡¯s not really a big deal¨C is what I¡¯d wanted to say . But there¡¯s just a matter I¡¯m concerned about . You remember the incident of a mercenary ship crashing against a military vessel during the pirate subjugation operation on the Termaine system, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, of course, I remember . It¡¯s the matter regarding the military imposing arge fine regardless of the fact that I¡¯ve already specified not to pursue the matter too harshly, correct? I think Elma-san over there is the one involved in the incident . ¡± ¡°If you know of it, then it¡¯ll make things easier . I¡¯m just putting this out just in case, but didn¡¯t you guys make a mistake regarding that imposed penalty?¡± ¡°Yes . I¡¯ve already confirmed things with the relevant departments, so there¡¯s no denying it . There was indeed a mishap regarding the specified deadline, but that and thepensation amount is a different matter altogether . We won¡¯t be able to amend the amount now that it¡¯se to this point, nor will we be able to make some sort of refund . I do feel sorry about it, but the person involved in causing the mishap has already been dealt with . To be honest, that incident was probably a form of harassment aimed towards me . It sounds awkward for me to say this, considering what I¡¯ve put you through, but the incident did end up helping me deal with a troublesome insect, so I¡¯m grateful to you in a sense . ¡± Major Serena nonchntly dered with a straight face . ¡°You don¡¯t seem all that sorry for almost ruining a person¡¯s entire life huh . ¡± ¡°Well, yes . It¡¯s not like I made a mistake in ordering a fine to be implemented . There¡¯s no denying that it¡¯s her fault that she crashed into a military vessel after all . Honestly speaking, there was a good chance she would have been pinned with a harsher crime you know? Even if it was an unintended ident, she did end up crashing into and damaging an imperial military starship, rendering it mostly inoperable . She also injured quite a number of imperial soldiers . ¡± ¡®Mm¡­¡­ I see . ¡± ¡°I do feel sorry that the deadline that was given was too short due to one of our people¡¯s mistakes . In truth, the space forces have the right to determine how long the deadline would be . The shortest would be several months, and the longest would be up to a year . But that time frame isn¡¯t fixed . If the incident is of a high enough magnitude, the deadline may end up shorter than normal, like in this case . It¡¯s a case by case basis, and I actually ordered them to prolong the deadline as much as possible . However, someone interfered and the incident was escted . My prior orders were ignored . But, as I said, the ones responsible have already been dealt with, so I believe we¡¯ve shown enough good faith regarding this matter . ¡± Hmm¡­¡­ There are some parts I find hard to ept, but I guess we unfortunately just got caught up in the dog-eat-dog social system of the military and the nobility . ¡°It¡¯s fine already, Hiro . I ept that it was my stupid mistake that caused the ident . And it did lead to me getting together with you Hiro, so¡­¡­ I don¡¯t really think it¡¯s all that bad . ¡± Elma softly pulled my sleeve and gave me a faint smile . Un¡­¡­ Well, the one directly involved says it¡¯s okay, so I guess it won¡¯t do any good to keep dwelling on the matter . ¡°Fufu, you sure care a lot for yourrades, don¡¯t you Captain Hiro? I actually have some good news for you . ¡± Major Serena shed me a sweet smile . I have a bad feeling about this . ¡°Once you¡¯vepleted my request, I also n on officially designating you as my personal contracted mercenary . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°This is my first time being gazed at with a look of such utter contempt you know . ¡± Major Serena¡¯s cheeks twitched as she gave me a bitter smile . My expression must have looked really unpleasant . Well, you understand, right? It screams nothing but trouble . ¡°I¡¯m gonna ask just in case, but what merits do we gain from that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good question . First, if you be a contracted mercenary under me, it would make it so it would be unlikely for you to be involved in trouble with both the Gran empire¡¯s military and noble circle . I¡¯m a major of the imperial space forces as well as the daughter of the house of Marquis Holz after all . Messing with you as my contracted mercenary would mean messing with me and House Holz . ¡± ¡°I see . But it¡¯ll also make the ones who already consider you as an enemy target me as well, right?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say there isn¡¯t a chance of that happening, but I believe such incidents would be rare at best . If you do get into some sort of trouble, immediately inform me and I¡¯ll swiftly deal with it for you . I promise I will do all that I can to aid you . ¡± ¡°All that you can huh . ¡± ¡°Yes . Is there something you are dissatisfied with . ¡± ¡°Nah . So let¡¯s hear about the demerits . ¡± I tried my best to make a neutral smile . It¡¯ll be over if I step back here . Major Serena smiled back at me . We were both smiling ¡®pleasantly¡¯ towards each other . Just like the best of friends . I noticed Mimi shivering beside me . You don¡¯t have to be all that scared you know? ¡°There¡¯s no such thing . ¡± ¡°Hahaha! Great joke, Major . I¡¯m gonna say this upfront . I don¡¯t have the slightest desire to be made use of . In fact, you already owe us one . Haven¡¯t you heard of the saying it¡¯s not good to increase your debts before paying off your previous one?¡± ¡°Really now . Wouldn¡¯t I be able to pay that debt once you agree to be my official contracted mercenary?¡± ¡°That¡¯s just one of the methods for you to get me within your grasp, right? Saying that would make us even isn¡¯t even funny . The reason we¡¯re epting this request of yours this time is due to you making certain concessions for us, so we want to properly pay you back and avoid any further trouble . Just like what Elma said earlier, the remuneration isn¡¯t nearly enough for the work we¡¯ll be doing . Normally, we would just refuse such a request . That¡¯s why I said you owe us . ¡± Major Serena gritted her teeth in frustration . ¡°Regarding the trouble with imperial nobles and the military, we can just easily choose to escape once things aren¡¯t looking too good . Considering that, the thing about shielding us from trouble doesn¡¯t seem to be all that useful, honestly . And if I do be your personal contracted mercenary, those against both you and the Holz house would most probably put me under their radar, so that¡¯s already a big enough demerit in my book . And also, bing your contracted mercenary will limit how much freedom we and our ship have . That¡¯s another huge demerit . As you already know, my methods are kinda unorthodox . Wouldn¡¯t it be bad for you if I did something reckless while being your contracted mercenary? Are you just gonna cut me off if that happens? If you n on cutting me off just like that, there¡¯s practically no merit for me, is there? In other words, there¡¯s little to no merit in bing your contracted mercenary . Conversely, there¡¯s a ton of demerits attached to it . Do you have any objections to this conclusion, mdy?¡± Major Serena¡¯s face turned bright red in frustration after hearing my tirade . Did I make her angry? Well, I¡¯ve bottled up a lot of frustration myself . Apart from sending me spam recruitment mail, she pushed an unprofitable request on my face for no good reason . It¡¯s just reaping what she¡¯d sown . ¡°H-Hey, isn¡¯t that going a little overboard¡ª¡± ¡°Fufufu¡­¡­ This is the first time someone dared to scold a daughter of House Holz like me . ¡± With her face still red from anger, Major Serena moved her gaze towards me with the corners of her mouth slightly twitching . I just wanted to get back at her a little . Did I really go too far? ¡°However, it¡¯s fine . I shall forgive you . It¡¯s not like I cannot understand where you¡¯reing from . There are things in this world that would break if you use too much force . There¡¯s a big difference between a pet cat and a stray one after all . ¡± ¡°Just who the hell is a cat!?¡± You want me to scratch you,dy? ¡°It¡¯s not possible to tame and feed one without first putting on a cor you see . So I shall feed and thoroughly tame it once I¡¯ve sessfully put a cor on it . ¡± ¡°So you¡¯re still aiming at coring me someday?¡± ¡°Yes . As I said, I¡¯m not the type who lets the prey I already aimed at to escape my grasp . ¡± Major Serena put one finger on top of her luscious lips and gave me a flirtatious gaze . The feeling of cold sweat running down my spine is just my imagination, right? Please make it so . Mimi and Elma felt some sort of danger after seeing Major Serena like that and the two of them grabbed both my arms again . Major Serena giggled in amusement after seeing their actions . ¡°For now, let¡¯s just be satisfied with you agreeing to my request . I shall make an official request to the Guild . We will be in your care then . I shall also send the relevant data to the Guild as well . ¡± ¡°Yeah, okay . I¡¯ll try to be as polite as I can when addressing you during work hours, so please pardon me if I ever slip up somehow . ¡± ¡°Yes, please do so . I don¡¯t mind if you talk to me in a more casual way when we¡¯re alone in private you know . ¡± ¡°Hahaha, alright . ¡± I have no intention of meeting up in private with you though . ¡°You got some nerve talking down to a senior imperial military officer and ady of a marquis house like that¡­¡­ I was sweating buckets the whole time . ¡± Elma suddenly opened while we were having lunch after Major Serena left the ship . Elma¡¯s lunch this time consisted of something resembling Japanese-style pasta and a sd with chicken meat cooked with Szechuan-style sauce . ¡°If she threw a fit and gave up after that level of provocation, then it meant she wasn¡¯t all that serious about the deal . But since she didn¡¯t, and evenughed it off while iming to forgive me, I guess she really is pretty set on roping me in . If I let my guard down even a little bit, there¡¯s a good chance she¡¯ll spring a trap on me, so I can¡¯t rx against her at all and can¡¯t make any hasty promises either . ¡± The meal I¡¯m having consists of a hamburger, french fries and some sort of shake . The shake has a faint grassy aftertaste but is still tasty . Just what kind of shake is this anyway? ¡°That person won¡¯t do . She¡¯s dangerous . ¡± Mimi was unusually wary of Major Serena . She gave me a hard stare as she kept chowing down on her omelet rice thered with plenty of ketchup . No, no . Major Serena¡¯s certainly a bombshell beauty with a nice body andrge breasts, but I¡¯m not the kind of guy who¡¯ll be swayed by a woman like that who seems like the living embodiment of a destructivendmine . There¡¯s no need to worry, girls . ¡°Well, let¡¯s get in some training for now . I¡¯ll focus on the request . I want Mimi to continue with your Operator training . Please support both of us as you see fit, Elma . ¡± ¡°Alright . That¡¯s all we can do for now . Well, we mercenaries don¡¯t always have to spend days living dangerously anyway . There are times like this as well . But be sure to train regrly so your skills don¡¯t get rusty, okay Hiro . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best . Well, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t have a n . ¡± Teaching only through oral discussion would just lead to my charges learning mere armchair tactics . They should also experience some actualbat along the way . I could y the role of the aggressor if need be and face off against the military folks in a mock battle . We should make ample use of the simtors . ¡°Well, since I took the job, I need to do it properly . I won¡¯t be risking my life, plus I also get to have that nobledy officer owe me one in addition to earning a bit of cash . Since Mimi can also get some training in, it¡¯s not all that bad . ¡± ¡°Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Please be careful, okay?¡± ¡°Yeah . ¡± I don¡¯t know if Mimi was just particrly wary of Major Serena or she actually doesn¡¯t trust me much when ites to things like this¡­¡­ It¡¯s the former, right? Please tell me it¡¯s the former . ¡°Don¡¯t get yourself ensnared by that nobledy, okay . ¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you trust me for once!?¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re guilty of previous offenses after all . ¡± ¡°Can¡¯t really deny that, yeah . ¡± I¡¯m weak to this sort of guilt-tripping . And so, I spent thetter part of the day trying to butter up Elma and the strangely sulky Mimi . The three of us didn¡¯t take a single step out of Krishna and spent the entire time holed up inside the ship . It¡¯s nice to have days like this from time to time . Things are gonna get busy in the following days after all . Chapter 45 Chapter 45 Trantor: SFBaka It¡¯s been a few days since the former Lieutenant and now Major Serena¡¯s unexpected visit . We basically spent these past few days inside the Krishna, having some much-needed training . Mimi continued to hone her Operator skills while Elma acted as support . As for me¡­ ¡°Mmhm, nobles really are scary . ¡± At Elma¡¯s rmendation¡­ or rather, coercion, I was charged with watching documentary holo-vids regarding the various troubles and incidents involving the imperial nobility all throughout the Gran empire¡¯s history . ording to Elma¨C ¡ºThe way you treat nobles is absolutely dreadful . In the worst case, you¡¯ll get yourself and the rest of your crew branded for disrespecting noble authority and prestige, so do some studying about the subject, you dolt . ¡» At first, I thought it was all just too bothersome, but in the end, I began understanding just how scary nobles really are . The really scary thing was that nobles in the Gran empire were allowed to punish and kill non-nobles as long as there was a justifiable enough reason to do so . This was a point worth noting . The so-called ¡®justifiable reason¡¯ can be quite vague at times . It can go from things like doing something that would harm the Gran empire to nobles being subjected to insults . Anyway, it was quite ambiguous . To put things bluntly, making arbitrary use of such a rule is very possible, and it¡¯s basically up to the nobles themselves to judge what actions to take and when to take them . Nobles would restrain themselves somewhat if they are within another noble¡¯s territory, but generally, nobles would side with their fellow nobles in most circumstances . That¡¯s of course unless they were opposed to each other due to conflict of interest among other reasons . So, if you take a rude attitude against a noble, chances are it¡¯ll go something like this:How rude! You¡¯ve sullied my dignity! Off with your head! Guwaaah!Basically something to that effect . Nheless, if a noble goes too overboard, there¡¯s a chance he or she would get eyed by the imperial government and could possibly be charged with¡ºtreason against the empire¡»and get imprisoned for it, or worse . The normal imperial subjects are also treated as valuable assets by the emperor, and a decline in the poption would result in a drop in national power . And allowing despotic nobles to run loose is an affront to the empire¡¯s dignity, or so it seems . Yes . Imperial nobles ce major importance on dignity and honor above all else . It is said that imperial nobles who were overly domineering against themon people would have their standings within the rest of noble society fall and would be ostracized by the rest of their peers . It¡¯s a bit daunting for me who was born and raised in modern Japan, but the current Gran empire has kept such a delicate bnce going for years and managed to establish a rtively stable rule . But if corruption within the ranks were to spread, this sort of bnce may copse on its head . However, since they¡¯ve managed to stand strong until now, there may be some sort of system in ce that prevents that sort of corruption from spreading . ¡°Nobles are bad news . ¡± I blurted this out to Elma when she came to check up on how I was doing and got an exasperated sigh in return . Did you really have to be that exasperated? ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right . Nobles are dangerous . That¡¯s why you need to watch your words when you¡¯re in their presence . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to keep that in mind in the future . But it¡¯s toote regarding Major Serena, right?¡± ¡°That may be so, but you can never be too careful . Most imperial nobles carry swords strapped to their waists, so pay attention, alright . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± For imperial nobles, their swords were a symbol of their honor and prestige, it seems . Guess you can think of them as simr to a samurai¡¯s katana . ¡°Most of the nobles in the Gran empire are fundamentally even-tempered people so you shouldn¡¯t have to worry so much most of the time . But a select few are foolish to a ridiculous degree . It¡¯s best to avoid getting involved with those types . Well, it¡¯s not like people like them would purposefully get in touch with humble mercs like us except for certain special circumstances anyway . ¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Unlike most civilians, mercs like us generally carryser guns after all . And a lot of us are good inbat too . We also own armed starships as well, right? Even they would think twice about recklessly provoking folks like us and suffering a frenzied retaliation in return . In fact, in the case of a noble attacking you with their sword, you can just suppress them with yourser gun, right? When ites to it, you can also use your ship to give them trouble . If we¡¯re somewhat afraid of nobles, they¡¯re also wary of us as well . ¡± ¡°I see . Well, even the most harmless-looking herbivore would bear its fangs towards a carnivore if pushed into a corner . ¡± ¡°The example¡¯s a bit off, but that¡¯s basically it . But just like I said earlier, it¡¯s better for you to watch yourself when dealing with imperial nobles . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll really have to keep that in mind . I don¡¯t want to be cut down for stupid reasons after all . ¡± I have no idea what kind of sword imperials nobles were carrying, but I imagine you would get really hurt if you end up in the business end of said swords . ¡°In any case, it¡¯s just as I thought . It would have been better if I noticed it earlier . ¡± Elma shook her head as she grimaced as if she swallowed a kind of bitter bug . What¡¯s up? Elma opened her mouth again in response to my questioning expression . ¡°Whether you really do have problems with your memory or came from another dimension instead, I should have noted yourpleteck ofmon sense earlier . I should have made you learn about general customs andmon sense over here when we had the chance . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you mean well, but it kinda feels like you¡¯re making fun of me for some reason¡­¡­¡± Yeah, I have absolutely no idea regarding this dimension¡¯smon sense! There was no such setting in Ste Online after all! I¡¯m only aware of my dimension¡¯smon sense, okay . ¡°From my point of view, it¡¯s this dimension¡¯s standard ofmon sense that¡¯s weird . I mean what the heck¡¯s up with women automatically getting in a rtionship with the owner of a ship once they¡¯ve boarded . It sounds like some sort of crazy eroge scenario . ¡± ¡°At present, Hyperdrive tech has advanced much, so traveling from star system to star system is a breeze . But a long time ago, once the ship enters hyperspace, it would take one or two months before you can get to your target destination . Do you think nothing will happen between a man and a woman spending time all by themselves inside a ship for one to two months?¡± ¡°Nope . ¡± I think some sort of special circumstances are needed in order for the folks stuck in that situation not toy their hands on each other . Like impotence, maybe . ¡°That¡¯s how it is . That¡¯s why it became the norm for women who board a man¡¯s private ship to prepare themselves for that sort of development nowadays . That kind of custom has an appropriate history behind it . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ I¡¯ll do my best to learn then . ¡± ¡°You better . I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find it useful . ¡± Elma smiled at me gently . Once youe to my age, it¡¯s kinda hard to re-learn yourmon sense from scratch, but let¡¯s do our best¡­¡­ But can¡¯t you do something about the teaching materials, Elma-san . They¡¯re all stuff aimed at kids and teens y¡¯know . ¡°I¡¯m Captain Hiro . I¡¯ve been assigned as this fleet¡¯s tactical advisor as of today . Looking forward to working with you all . ¡± It¡¯s been a week after my in-depth study session . There were no problems with me physically, and the study sessions and training proceeded without a hitch . That said, I only studied for a period of two days and spent the rest of my time reviewing the data of the independent anti-pirate mobile fleet sent to me by Major Serena in detail . I then ran various simtions using said data . I tried piloting the ships on the Mercenary Guild¡¯s simtors and tried fighting with them as well using Krishna¡¯s data . ¡°I¡¯m told that Major Serena intends to build up this fleet in order to turn each and every space pirate, who are nothing but scum of the gxy, into space debris . And I¡¯m an expert in that particr field . That¡¯s why I was invited as your adviser at this time . ¡± I dered as such as I ran my gaze around the military crew gathered within the spacious briefing room we were currently in . Video feeds of the briefing rooms of the other ships were also disyed on various monitors . It seems my speech was being broadcasted live to the entire fleet . ¡°I shall teach you methods to effectively hunt them down, deceive them, and corner them . I want you to absorb those methods fully and put them to good use in actual fleet operations . I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll face some trouble getting used to the fighting methods of a mercenary such as myself, but I¡¯m also quite certain my experiences will serve as good reference material . It would be fine if we respect each other asrades in arms going after the same enemies henceforth . Looking forward to working with you,dies and gentlemen . ¡± After my preliminary greeting speech, the crew of all the fleet¡¯s ships broke into a round of warm apuse . Mm . Thank you for appreciating such amon-sounding speech, guys . Well then, let¡¯s do our best, shall we? Chapter 46 Trantor: SFBaka ¡°Now then, let¡¯s start with the basics everyone. First, let¡¯s review what we know about pirates.¡± I put up the data I prepared about standard pirate ships in the holo-disy. ¡°Most pirate raid groups areposed of three to five ships. There¡¯s power in numbers, and they need at least that much manpower to ensure they can hunt down their prey. Most of their armaments areposed of ss I or ss II optical weaponry, seeker missile pods and multi-turret cannons. These weapons don¡¯t possess that much firepower to speak of individually, but they forcibly cram as much of these weapons as they can on their ship¡¯s hardpoints so their overall firepower actually can¡¯t be underestimated in the end. Their usual M.O. is to surround civilian ships with superior numbers and exhaust their shields by peppering them with weapons fire.¡± The soldiers nodded at my exnation. The things I¡¯m talking about are basicallymon knowledge after all, and most folks who¡¯ve encountered or heard about pirates know about this stuff. ¡°Next, they often use heavily modified civilian ships, which are generally seized from their past victims. As you would expect, the overall performance and specs of civilian ships aren¡¯t much to speak of. However, they put arge emphasis on adding more thrusters while totally ignoring the shield output and armor strength. Why? It¡¯s because they need to finish their work quickly and then bail out at the fastest speed. If they take too long, it¡¯ll heighten the chances of the military or mercenaries sniffing them out. That¡¯s why it¡¯s necessary to quickly surround their victims, pepper them with as much firepower as they can muster in order to immobilize them, then finish the job. Basically, they work on the premise of their targets not having the capability to fight back.¡± The soldiers looked convinced with my lecture so far. Most of them probably have experience engaging with pirates. Yes, pirate ships are quite fragile, and it¡¯s extremely easy to fully saturate their shielding and melt their armor if you bombard them with military-grade weaponry. ¡°So due to these factors, pirates are exceedingly wary of military presence. They generally won¡¯t work in sectors where the military is active, and once they catch a military ship approaching their current hunting ground, they won¡¯t hesitate to abandon it. Those guys are afraid of dying pointless deaths after all. In fact, if even a shadow of your military vessels get spotted in a given sector where pirates are active, they¡¯ll immediately drop whatever else they¡¯re doing, turn tail and flee swiftly. ¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. We don¡¯t usually encounter ones who actually fight back. They would do so only in certain circumstances, like us raiding their main bases.¡± ¡°Yeah. They¡¯re extremely sensitive to military presence and they have eyes and ears within the various colonies, so I¡¯m sure they¡¯ve already gotten wind of the formation of this independent anti-pirate mobile fleet of yours. It¡¯s only natural to be on alert once a number of unfamiliar military ships enter port after all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped you know. They usually worm their way in with normal civilians and traders and would send info back to their respective groups. It¡¯s especially the case with thisrge colony. It would be really difficult to sniff out all the moles they nted. Well, that¡¯s not part of my job scope though. I¡¯m only in charge of teaching you all how to hunt down pirates who are already prowling around in their ships.¡± ¡°Yes, of course¡­¡­ I¡¯ll think of something on our end.¡± ¡°Good luck. Let¡¯s continue with the lecture then.¡± I then put up a map of the Termaine star system on the screen. ¡°This is a map of the area where Major Serena led a force to exterminate arge pirate base a while back, and here¡¯s the distribution of the pirate incidents encountered by civilian ships before that base was destroyed. Next is the distribution of confirmed pirate kills by mercenaries. Finally, these are the incidents of civilian ships and mercenaries reported missing within that area.¡± I¡¯ve marked each distinct segment on the star map and put in lines to indicate the estimated routes between all of them. There was arger concentration of encounters as well as kills the closer it got to the pirate base. ¡°And this is the data after the base got destroyed forparison.¡± When I operated the terminal I had on hand, the marks on the map disyed on the screen changed drastically. ¡°It changed a lot, right? Now let¡¯s add the points where the imperial fleet has been active within the system recently.¡± The gathered soldiers all raised their voices in surprise. The kill and encounter marks were evidently located well away from the sectors the military was active in. This proves that the pirates were well aware of the military¡¯s movements and were actively keeping track of them. ¡°I don¡¯t know about other mercenaries, but I personally collect this type of data in order to more urately figure out where the spots pirates would be most active in order to hunt them down. It would be more urate if we had data regarding the mining spots imed by private mining vessels, but¡­ well, this would be more than enough for us to be able to hunt them anyway. Have you all managed to follow me so far?¡± ¡°Yes. How interesting. We¡¯re recording the lecture, so feel free to proceed.¡± ¡°Alright. Now then, how can we use this basic knowledge in order to effectively hunt down pirates? Let me say something before we proceed though. And this might be a bit of a shock, but¡­¡­¡± I turned my gaze to Major Serena. She nodded and permitted me to speak freely. ¡°I¡¯lly it to you guys straight then. It¡¯s impractical to use ships asrge orrger than cruisers to hunt for pirates. If you want to hunt down pirates with maximum efficiency, there¡¯s a fundamental need to make changes to your entire fleet.¡± The soldiers became speechless at my words. Well, I expected as much. This is basically a fleet organized with cruisers at its core after all. To be specific, it¡¯sposed of two corvettes, three destroyers, five cruisers, and one battleship. It¡¯s clear that the cruisers were intended to be this fleet¡¯s mainstays. ¡°Generally, the areas the pirates are most active in arergely within asteroid fields. If you check the map I showed earlier, you¡¯ll find that most encounters did happen with asteroid fields in the area. Do you guys think you can send inrge cruisers inside those dense asteroid clusters and still fight effectively?¡± The soldiers quieted down. It¡¯s virtually impossible. I also tried it using the simtor. The shields got constantly rammed into asteroid clusters and quickly got saturated. In the worst case, the ship got cornered by the pirates instead and ultimately shot down. It was impossible, to begin with. ¡°I did manage to scrape by using destroyers in the simtor, but I still highly rmend using corvettes. It¡¯s not my ce to be lecturing you guys about the fleet formation, honestly speaking, but I still want you all to consider what I told you.¡± ¡°Yes, of course. Much obliged. Thank you for the warning. However, wouldn¡¯t it be fine to suppress the pirates with our ship¡¯s superior firepower in the event that they do manage to run inside asteroid fields?¡± I already anticipated Major Serena¡¯s question, so I had an answer ready for her. ¡°That¡¯s indeed possible. You can actually defeat the pirates that way. But I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be flooded byints from the civilian mining firms. They depend on those resource-rich asteroid fields for their livelihood after all. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll have a lot toin about even when the pirate threat is suppressed if the source of their ie gets sted to kingdome by the military.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­¡± While Major Serena mulled over my words, I turned my attention back to the soldiers and made a suggestion. ¡°Though I rmended you change your fleet¡¯sposition, I¡¯m sure a lot of you will be having trouble adjusting to that change. In the case of us mercenaries, we can change ships and weapons easily without much issue. But it¡¯s not the case in the military. I¡¯m sure most of you will feel troubled if you were suddenly told to change ships, right?¡± The soldiers nodded silently in answer. For most sailors, a ship is like a second home, as well as a belovedpanion. They won¡¯t be able to abandon their ships that easily. ¡°And so, this is what I suggest. Are you willing to do everything in your power in order to hunt down pirates and protect the safety of the empire, Major Serena?¡± ¡°Y-Yes, of course, I am. If it¡¯s something in my power, then¡­¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I wanted to hear.¡± A broad grin formed on my face as I ryed my suggestion to the gathered crowd. Major Serena and the soldier¡¯s eyes opened wide in surprise after hearing it. It¡¯s been a few days since my lecture. After finishing their preparations, the independent anti-pirate mobile fleet sortied for their first pirate hunting operation in the Alein system. ¡°Confirming results. We have currently managed to sessfully shoot down thirty-two ships.¡± ¡°Hahaha, the fish sure are biting the bait often.¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right¡­¡­¡± Major Serena disyed a subtle expression as she stood beside me. I wasughing in a good mood at the bridge of the battleship Restalias; the gship of the independent anti-pirate mobile fleet. The expression of Major Serena, who was supervising the entire operation, was more subdued. But I¡¯m sure she¡¯s inwardly happy since the fleet was able to fulfill its main mission as intended. ¡°Man, as expected of military warships. The range and firepower are nothing to sneeze at.¡± ¡°Um¡­¡­ Doesn¡¯t this method seem a little too underhanded¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Major Serena can smile happily while piling up achievements, the soldiers can smile happily while earning distinguished service for the country, and I¡¯ll be able to smile happily once I get my bonus. Everybody¡¯s happy, right?¡± ¡°Well, yes, but¡­¡­¡± Major Serena gazed at me with aplicated expression on her face. I turned toward the holo-disy, where the figure of a medium-sized transport ship was shown. The cargo loaded on it was arge batch of rare metals, expensive goods and cutting edge medicine and medical equipment produced in the Alein system. It¡¯s a very tempting target for most pirates. The medium-sized ship on the holo-disy seems to have had some engine trouble and was now unable to move, and the rescue signal was also very weak due to some sort of malfunction. By the way, this was an area frequented by pirates. Perhaps the crew dropped the signal output on purpose in order to not attract pirates. Yup, I bet that¡¯s it. I¡¯m sure that¡¯s the case. ¡°The strategy you proposed is working quite well.¡± I¡¯m sure you guys already guessed it, but that ship is a decoy. Of course, there¡¯s no way for that type of civilian ship to be part of the military. It was one of the ships owned by our great imperial noble miss, Major Serena. As expected of the daughter of a marquis. She purchased a 5,000,000 Enel mid-sized civilian cargo ship just like that. ¡°Is it really okay for us to use such underhanded deception¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Those guys are scum who unhesitatingly attack innocent businessmen and women, miners and ordinary tourists after all. They don¡¯t have the slightest right toin about our methods. In the first ce, the enemies are pirates. They¡¯re not part of an enemy nation¡¯s military forces. You won¡¯t be med no matter what sort of method you use against them.¡± I can do anything and everything for that big, fat bonus. The strategy I proposed to them was pretty simple. The independent anti-pirate mobile fleet would surely find it troublesome to hunt for pirates lurking within packed asteroid fields by using their cruisers as mains. Therefore, it would be fine if we can just bait them towards us. We prepared a convincing decoy to act as bait and would shoot down unsuspecting pirates lured by it with precision shelling from the fleet at a safe and undetectable distance. First, send in the corvettes and destroyers to scout out the area, clean up any rogue pirates they encounter and make sure that the area is clear of any pirate presence. Afterward, we would then hide the cruisers and the battleship within the asteroid field. Even with theirrge, hulking forms, cruisers and battleships can easily disguise themselves as normal asteroids once they dropped their generator outputs. Some asteroids were asrge as your average battleship after all. Andstly, we will deploy the bait at a certain distance from the fleet and make it release a faint SOS signal. Once the pirates are sessfully lured, the superior firepower of the military cruisers and the main battleship would ensure they would never be able to get out intact. Large military warships such as cruisers and battleships are able to retain a certain level ofbat capability and basic functions even when their generator outputs are set to the minimum. That firepower can be used to swiftly finish off unsuspecting pirates without them noticing. Once the capacitor charge decreases to a certain point, we would then turn off the decoy¡¯s SOS signal, re-start the generators and restore power again. Once we finish re-charging, we will turn on the SOS signal once more and start the whole process over. And so, we can effectively hunt down pirates with the above method. It would invite suspicion if we kept on doing it at the same spot, so after hunting a certain number, we would move to a different sector. Then, it¡¯s just a matter of repeating the said method. Twenty percent of the reward money earned from shooting down pirates during this operation will go to me as bonus pay. Currently, we¡¯re at 32 ships. So that means five ships worth of bounties will go straight to my pocket. And all without expending any effort or capital on my part. I can just watch the pirates get shot down like flies as I lounged in safety and elegance while earning easy money. I just can¡¯t stopughing, man! Oh, and by the way, the ones manning the decoy ship are all soldiers under Major Serena¡¯s directmand. In the unlikely event that a pirate or two manages to escape bombardment and boards the ship, beefy onii-sans all decked up in cutting edge military power armor would be waiting to wee them inside. Eh? What if they decided to blow the decoy up and not board it? There¡¯s no way they would. Apart from damaging the valuable cargo, a medium-sized civilian ship like the one we¡¯re using can be turned into an effective fire support vessel if they managed to capture it. There¡¯s likely no pirate who would decide to just destroy a nice-looking ship that¡¯s only having trouble with its propulsion system. In the end, we managed to turn a total of 57 pirates into cosmic dust. Twenty percent of the rewards will end up being mine. I guess it should be about 100,000 Enels at least. ¡°Man, we sure earned some good money.¡± ¡°You sure are happy¡­¡­¡± Major Serena directed a scornful gaze at me. She bought the decoy ship with her own money but it was decided not to be reimbursable as part of the operating expenses. So would it be possible to use a private ship for an official military operation? In the end, she managed to push it through with her noble privileges. Noble privileges sure are handy. ¡°If you make enough achievements, you may be able to sessfully apply for a reimbursement y¡¯know?¡± ¡°It would be nice if a miracle like that were to happen.¡± Major Serena let out a sigh. It looks like a 5,000,000 Enel ship was also a bit too much for a noble daughter of a marquis house. Oh well. I don¡¯t have any idea about her financial situation and have no intention of knowing in the first ce. ¡°You can do regr pirate hunting operations using this method. If you somehow managed to get some info on their base, you can then n for a major subjugation operation and build up even more achievements. After this, it¡¯ll all just be a battle of wits between you and the pirates.¡± ¡°I suppose¡­¡­ But there¡¯s still more than half of the contract period remaining, so I¡¯ll still have you apany me, alright?¡± ¡°Aye, aye ma¡¯am.¡± I was hoping for my contract to be fulfilled once I managed to get results for pirate hunting, but it looks like that¡¯s not the case. I inwardly thought about what else she intended for me as I made a crisp salute toward Major Serena. Chapter 47 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone It seems that the military makes it a point to have regr ship maintenance to ensure peak performance during operations. The idea is that the ships were a product of the citizen¡¯s blood, sweat, and taxes, and were a grace bestowed upon them by the emperor, so they can¡¯t treat them poorly. And so, even if they managed to dominate their enemies during their maiden operation, the recently sortied ships of the independent anti-pirate mobile fleet were now temporarily moored in the docks for some maintenance and repair work. The soldiers took advantage of this downtime to go to shore (i.e. the colony) for some R&R. Not that it has anything to do with me anyway. I wanted to think up more strategies we could use for today, or at least review the results of the previous operation. But it seems someone had other ns. ¡°Shall we go then?¡± When I went over to the bridge of the gship Restalias, I found Major Serena all decked out in casual clothes for some reason and beaming with a beautiful smile akin to countless flowers in bloom. There weren¡¯t any other crewmembers present. Major Serena was wearing a beige knit sweater which sharply emphasized her shapely body line paired with a ck skirt. On her waist hung her personal sword that had a bit of a cyberpunk vor to it. How should I describe it¡­¡­? Fantasy casual style? ¡°Where are we¡­¡­? Rather, what the heck are you nning this time?¡± I asked Major Serena in a tone filled with suspicion. Even someone like me would think twice and not go all¡¸OK! A date with a hot babe! Hyahooi!¡¹like an idiot. Judging from her previous actions, I¡¯m sure as heck Major Serena was nning something again. ¡°How rude. To think you would imply I¡¯m nning anything unsavory¡­¡­¡± Major Serena dodged the issue with an *ohohough. After seeing that, I operated my personal data terminal. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. So, where do you n to go?¡± I just shrugged her question off with a tilt of my head and asked a question myself. I only fiddled around with the terminal for a few seconds, so Major Serena didn¡¯t care too much about it in the end. In any case, let¡¯s just hear her out first. ¡°I¡¯m off-duty today as well.¡± ¡°Haa.¡± Looking at her outfit, you can easilye to that conclusion. But it would be kinda interesting to see her doing military work while wearing these types of clothes, I think. But it wouldn¡¯t have any ounce of formality, so I guess that¡¯s impossible huh. ¡°So I was thinking of having a meal in the city for a change.¡± ¡°That sounds great.¡± ¡°But doesn¡¯t eating out alone seem somewhat sad?¡± Hahaha, sad she says. ¡°You can just invite your friends, right?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have any friends in this star system.¡± Major Serena put one hand over her cheek as she disyed a troubled and somewhat depressed expression. How artificial,dy. ¡°Is that so. Well then, how about inviting some of your subordinates?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think they would be able to feel at ease while off-duty if they¡¯d still see their superior officer¡¯s face during this time.¡± ¡°While it¡¯s just until the contract period expires, aren¡¯t I considered one of your subordinates as well?¡± ¡°But that rtionship will end once the contract expires, right? So you would be able to rx around me betterpared to my full-time subordinates. And you don¡¯t seem to be all that timid around nobles, so¡­¡­¡± Major Serena shortened the distance between us while smiling. I, on the other hand, was desperately widening the distance bit by bit to stall for time. ¡°From the looks of it, I don¡¯t have any work lined up today as well. So I guess it¡¯s fine if I take a day off myself today, right?¡± ¡°No, no. I¡¯m free today but you¡¯re not. I was nning on discussing anti-pirate tactics and strategies with you over a meal today you know. Of course, it¡¯s all part of work.¡± ¡°Part of work huh¡­¡­ Isn¡¯t this abuse of authority?¡± ¡°Fufu, something like this doesn¡¯t count as an abuse of authority you know, so worry not. You were hired by the imperial military as an anti-pirate expert, so you can¡¯t ck off on your duties okay.¡± Major Serena¡¯s smile was akin to that of an apex predator thatpletely cornered its prey. The pressureing off from it was no joke. I canpletely see that this was a ploy for me to bepletely under her thumb. As I mulled over my options, my data terminal¡¯s ringtone rang out. I quickly took it out of my pocket and asked Major Serena with a nce if I could go outside to take the call. She reluctantly agreed, so I took the opportunity to get out of the bridge for the meantime to take the call. ¡°It¡¯s Hiro.¡± ¡ºSo, what¡¯s the situation?¡» I sent a message to Elma asking for her to call me a moment ago when I operated my terminal. I can¡¯t handle someone like Major Serena on my own after all. ¡°It seems it¡¯s her day off. She¡¯s asking me out for lunch.¡± ¡ºIt¡¯s a bit difficult for you to refuse, right? Just ept it under the condition of using along with you.¡» ¡°Gotcha.¡± I put down my terminal. Major Serena¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t leave me all this time. ¡°Would it be fine if the rest of my crew came along?¡± ¡°¡­¡­To think you¡¯d suggest other women barging in on us during a date, of all things?¡± ¡°It¡¯s work-rted, right? So it¡¯s not anything that romantic. And Elma¡¯s more of a veteran in the mercenary business than me in any case. She would be the perfect person regarding relevant mercenary work experience I think.¡± As long as she insists it was work-rted, I don¡¯t think she would be able to refuse something like this. ¡°Kuuh¡­¡­ Fine then.¡± As expected, Major Serena agreed, albeit grudgingly. ¡°Good morning, Lady Serena. You look quite different in your casual clothes. It looks great on you.¡± ¡°Thank you, you also look quite pretty Elma-san. Mimi-san looks really cute as well.¡± ¡°U-Um, t-thank you¡­¡­ You also look really pretty, Lady Serena.¡± Elma and Major Serena exchanged pleasantries with each other as Mimi shrunk back in shame from beingplimented on her outfit. Elma was wearing a pretty, green-based outfit full of native charm. It was a really elf-like outfit. Now, this is what I call ¡®The Elf¡¯. There wasn¡¯t even a hint of cyberpunk elements. Now that she¡¯s put on this kind of outfit, it¡¯s the first time I felt that her usual nickname of disappointing elf wouldn¡¯t fit her. Why don¡¯t you wear these types of clothes more often? Whether inside the ship or outside of it, she¡¯s always put on mercenary-like clothes. And on off days, she just wears stuff like normal shirts and pants. I¡¯d wee it if she were to wear these kinds of outfits on a more regr basis. And Mimi was wearing one of the dresses we bought. It was the one which looked somewhat in in colors but emanated a ssic feel. When worn by the cute Mimi, she bes the very image of an elegant youngdy from a wealthy family. And her clothes also emphasized her bountiful chest weapons more than usual. Me? I¡¯m wearing my usual outfit of a in-looking shirt, baggy pants, and rough-looking jacket. I¡¯m a guy so I don¡¯t really care so much about fashion and stuff like that. I¡¯m of the opinion that it would be fine if I at least didn¡¯t look weird. Yep. ¡°Normally, it would be my job to guide youdies, but unfortunately, I¡¯m still unfamiliar with this colony, so¡­¡­ Oh, excuse me. I ended up speaking informally since we¡¯re outside the ship and all. Is it okay?¡± ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m still not used to speaking formally and it makes me feel all stiff. So do you have a ce in mind already, Lady Serena?¡± ¡°Yes. There¡¯s a restaurant specializing in organic dishes here that has garnered good reviews. I¡¯ve already made a reservation, so let us proceed down elevator number 4 to the city proper.¡± ¡°Aye, aye ma¡¯am.¡± Organic dishes huh? In other words, it¡¯s not food made from food cartridges but from real meat and vegetables? I¡¯m a bit curious now. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± Mimi also couldn¡¯t hide her excitement and was smiling brightly as she walked. Mimi has made it her goal to eat all sorts of gourmet dishes in the gxy after all. I bet she¡¯s happy to get the opportunity to taste new dishes. We chatted around while walking and finally arrived at elevator number 4. ¡°We haven¡¯t visited this area before, have we?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because we shopped around the elevator number 2 area before instead.¡± ¡°The area around elevator number 2 is considered the downtown area of this colony and is fairly popr. This area, on the other hand, houses a lot of government offices andrge corporations as tenants, so there are lots of ces like specialty shops for nobles and the rich, such as high-end restaurants and the empire¡¯s leading brand stores.¡± ¡°There truly are a lot of well-dressed people walking around.¡± ¡°But there are also a lot of guards patrolling.¡± Aside from Elma and Mimi, who were dressed in neat and beautiful clothes, and Major Serena who had a sword slung on her hips, if a merc like me walked alone in a ce like this, chances are they would be held up and thoroughly checked out by the musclebound guards on patrol. I guess they see someone like me as a sort of private bodyguard when they see me walking around with three properly dressed youngdies, so they didn¡¯t really pay attention to me as a result. Well, there was little chance to be stopped by the patrols anyway since Major Serena has already arranged for a taxi for us. ¡°Our destination is the third floor of this building.¡± ¡°It looks just like a normal establishment though.¡± ¡°Living space is precious here after all. Conversely, the interior of the building is quite fancy.¡± ¡°I kinda feel nervous for some reason.¡± ¡°Fufu¡­¡­ There¡¯s no need to feel so nervous. It¡¯s just a restaurant after all. I have booked a private room for us, so there¡¯s no need to be particr about manners.¡± ¡°Private room, huh¡­¡­¡± If I didn¡¯t manage to bring Mimi and Elma along, I would have been all alone with Major Serena in a private room. Just what sort of ploy was she nning to rope me in with, I wonder? ¡°Now then, we¡¯d better go ahead and enter.¡± Invited by a smiling Major Serena, the three of us stepped inside the building. Chapter 48 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Those idiots always underestimate me cause I¡¯m a woman y¡¯know¡­¡­ Do they not think I¡¯m doing my best? The bastards!¡± ¡°Ah- Un, y-you¡¯re right. Yeah.¡± It has been thirty minutes since we entered the restaurant. We¡¯d actually gotten along quite well while spending time together. But¡­ (((This person was the type who¡¯s hopeless with everything other than work¡­¡­!))) Everything was great at first. I finally got to taste dishes made with real meat and veggies after a long while and had a nice, elegant meal along with some fine wine. But because I was a non-drinker, I only drank water. However, as the meal progressed, Major Serena drank more and more alcohol. Her eyes soon turned unfocused and her behavior turned for the worse. We tried to warn her y¡¯know. We were like ¡®Serena-sama, that¡¯s enough don¡¯t you think¡­..¡¯ and all. But since it was a rare day off, Major Serena insisted on drinking her fill, resulting in the current situation. ¡°I kept bowing my head at them when I didn¡¯t want to and kept forcing out fake smiles¡­¡­ but even then, what¡¯s wrong with them, really!? They keep staring at my chest! I¡¯mma cut you down you damn perverts!¡± She¡¯s an unruly drunk! She said we didn¡¯t have to care about manners earlier, but it actually applies to her more than it does to us, right? ¡°Uh¡­¡­ Calm down. Calm down alright. Now, let¡¯s put down the sword, okay?¡± We somehow managed to calm down Lady Serena, whose hand was already on her sword¡¯s hilt, removed the sword from her waist and ced it in a corner in the back of the room. Spare me from something like a berserker drunkard, please. ¡°And youuu! I¡¯ve already pulled out all da stopsh, and yet you shtill refuse to budge!¡± ¡°You wanna hear why?¡± ¡°I do not¡­¡­¡± Major Serena replied back and blocked both her ears while disying a tearful expression. ¡°I already know the reason, okay¡­¡­ I kept pestering you with annoying recruitment schemes right¡­¡­?¡± ¡°So you¡¯re actually self-aware¡­¡­¡± Elma smiled wryly as she gazed on at Major Serena, who now had her face stered on the table. But honestly speaking, the merits of joining Major Serena in the imperial military are too little. ¡°Uh, if I remember correctly, you said I¡¯d be granted the rank of First ss Warrant Officer if I agreed to join the military, right?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Are you finally gonna join up?¡± ¡°How much is the pay?¡± ¡°¡­¡­4000 Enels per month at the minimum.¡± ¡°I can earn up to 10,000 Enels per day at least you know. Do you really think I¡¯ll sign up?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Uu.¡± Man, getting stared at by a tearful beauty feels awkward. Well, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s no advantage to joining up at all y¡¯know. If you somehow manage to make significant achievements during a war, you¡¯d probably be knighted by the empire and be a First ss citizen. And my n of getting a detached house with a garden on a terrestrial would probably proceed more smoothly. But that method would take a lot of time. There¡¯s no guarantee a major incident that would allow my swift promotion among the ranks would happen in the first ce. And if I decided on steadily building up my military career, it would take more than a decade in order for me to reach my goal. I don¡¯t even know what would happen to Krishna. I honestly don¡¯t want to take such a time-consuming and troublesome method. ¡°Well, that¡¯s how it is, so I hope you give up on roping me into the military please. We¡¯re already all acquainted like this, so It¡¯s not like I won¡¯t consider epting it if you have a legitimate job you want me to do you know.¡± ¡°¡­¡­You won¡¯t abandon me?¡± ¡°Please stop making that tearful expression. It¡¯s unfair. And we¡¯re not in that kind of rtionship in the first ce okay.¡± After giving her my sharpest, coldest gaze to boot, Major Serena pulled back her tears and pressed her lips together sulkily. What a woman. Really. ¡°I would have given you a piece of my mind if you fell for that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re looking down on me too much, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°H-Hiro-sama is kind after all.¡± Mimi hugged my arm and soothed me. Tsk. I¡¯ll let that slide for now, but I¡¯m gonna let you have it one of these days, you nagging elf. ¡°¡­¡­Unfair.¡± Major Serena whispered while still remaining hunched on the table. What¡¯s unfair? ¡°Unfair! It¡¯s so unfair¨C! I was the one who first had my eye on Captain Hiro you know¨C!¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡­¡± She then stamped her feet while still sitting on her chair and cried loudly. Even someone like me would draw away after being shown something like this. ¡°What does she mean?¡± ¡°What did she mean by that?¡± Elma and Mimi both grilled me for an answer. ¡°Well, I got in trouble with Termaine Prime¡¯s port authorities when I first got there y¡¯see. Major Serena ended up bailing me out.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right you know. I helped you out, ¡®kay. I¡¯m the one who first met Captain Hiro¡­¡­ But why is it that when I met him again, he already had other women sticking to him!?¡± ¡°Now why¡¯d you have to say it like that¡­¡­?¡± I was baffled. ¡°It¡¯s not like it¡¯s any of Lady Serena¡¯s business if other womene on to Hiro right?¡± ¡°Uguh¡­¡­ T-That¡¯s right¡­¡­ You¡¯re right, but¨C¡­¡­!¡± But? I waited for her to continue, but Major Serena ended up swallowing the rest of her words by gulping down some more alcohol. Oi, oi. You¡¯re already that stered and you¡¯re still drinking? ¡°Uu¡­¡­¡± Major Serena ended up passing out in the end. I, Elma, and Mimi looked at each other in bewilderment. ¡°So, what should we do about this?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we just eat and leave her here?¡± ¡°If you have the guts to. We¡¯re talking about ady from a marquis house here.¡± ¡°If her parents got wind of it, we won¡¯t be getting off lightly huh.¡± While we were talking like that, the tablet terminal we were provided with for use in ordering dishes rang. I picked it up. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡ºYou¡¯re reservation time is almost up, dear customers. Would you like to extend it?¡» ¡°Um¡­¡­¡± Major Serena waspletely down for the count. I looked toward Elma and saw her shake her head. ¡°The rent for these sorts of establishments is crazily expensive. It¡¯ll blow up on our faces if we agree to extend the time.¡± She whispered her reply to me. Mimi already started nursing Major Serena. With Major Serena like that, they wouldn¡¯t be able to support her themselves even if Elma gave a hand. Guess I have to carry her back then. ¡°We won¡¯t be extending. Please send us the bill.¡± ¡ºUnderstood. We will be waiting for you at the lobby.¡» The call was then cut. I let out a tired sigh. We ended up paying quite a lot of money for the meal we had and decided to return to the Krishna for the meantime. It would be bad for Major Serena¡¯s image if we brought her back to the military base while she was down for the count like this. We¡¯re not that heartless. ¡°Good grief¡­¡­¡± I brought the inebriated Major Serena to the ship¡¯s med pod and left her in Mimi and Elma¡¯s care. Since you can¡¯t get treated inside the med pod while wearing lots of clothes, she had to be stripped down first. I can¡¯t possibly do such a thing myself. It¡¯s quite bad for an unwed noble youngdy to be seen mostly naked by a man after all. I moved to the dining area, took out a bottle of non-carbonated c, and took a big swig. Un, that hit the spot. Now then, what should I do now? I ended up thinking about what Major Serena blurted out earlier. The stuff about her having her eye on me first and getting miffed about me getting it on with other women. I guess it¡¯s nothing but the ramblings of a drunk person. Yep. They weren¡¯t words she said when sober, so I decided not to mind them too much. The other party was a hopeless drunk of a woman who almost swung her sword recklessly in a room after all. It¡¯s not worth considering. After summing it up like that, my mind felt cleared up. Did the sugar from the non-carbonated ce up to my head or something? In any case, it¡¯ll be better for me not to pursue today¡¯s matter further and act as if nothing had happened in front of her. I really didn¡¯t want to be the target of gratitude from a troublesome girl like her. The cost of the meal was really expensive, but¡­¡­ it¡¯s not really worth making a big deal about anyway. We can easily earn that kind of money back by shooting down one pirate ship pped with a bounty after all. But I¡¯m sure it¡¯s the other party who would feel awkward about all thister. Since she¡¯s already shown us such disgraceful behavior, I bet she¡¯d be embarrassed to make aggressive recruitment advances like this from now on. If you think about it that way, the cost of the food would seem cheap. Even so, to think she¡¯d show us such a side of her in a meal she arranged herself. I kinda find it strange that she¡¯d ended up in that state if it really isn¡¯t her first time drinking alcohol¡­¡­ Hm. I don¡¯t get it. Maybe she really was hopeless about anything apart from work? While I was thinking about Major Serena¡¯s matters, Mimi entered the dining room. ¡°Lady Serena has regained consciousness.¡± ¡°Really? Isn¡¯t it too fast?¡± ¡°The med pod sessfully managed to take out the alcohol from her system, it seems.¡± ¡°Man, that med pod¡¯s amazing.¡± As expected of a medical machine from the future. As long as you have a personal med pod, wouldn¡¯t you be able to drink all the booze you want? Now that I think about it, Elma did seem to have been entering the med bay often. Was she using the med pod for that purpose? ¡°Does it look like it would be okay for me to see her?¡± ¡°It seems she¡¯s still talking with Elma-san, so it would be best if you stayed here for a while more.¡± ¡°That so? I¡¯ll do that then. Do you want something to drink, Mimi?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Mimi then sat down beside me. It looks like she won¡¯t be starting a conversation any time soon and just sat there quietly. Should I start one myself? ¡°Those organic dishes sure were delicious.¡± ¡°Yes, they sure were¡­¡­ It was my first time eating fresh meat and vegetables. But you looked like you were used to eating them, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Well, yeah. In the world I came from, we ate that sort of stuff normally everyday. There was no stuff like food cartridges or auto-cookers, so I kinda found the stuff here novel as well.¡± I moved my gaze toward our high-performance auto cooker, Tetsujin V, sitting quietly in the corner of the dining room. I find the fact that you can actually make all sorts of dishes by using those watercress-looking nts and krill as bases really amazing. ¡°But I have no idea if the organic dishes I¡¯m familiar with and the organic dishes here are actually the same.¡± ¡°Are they different somehow?¡± ¡°In my world, the thing they call organic cooking involves using ingredients that didn¡¯t make use of stuff like agrichemicals or artificial fertilizers to grow. I don¡¯t know if the ingredients that restaurant used made use of such things or not.¡± ¡°Hmh¡­¡­ That method seems inefficient somehow.¡± ¡°They say it¡¯s better for your body¡¯s health and would improve the taste if you do it like that. I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s true though. In short, it¡¯s a dish made with high-quality ingredients. I haven¡¯t really had the chance to eat those types of dishes yet.¡± In the first ce, I¡¯m unable to determine the difference between dishes that made use of organic ingredients and dishes which did not, so I didn¡¯t really bother about it. C and junk food were my absolute favorites. In that sense, the food made via food cartridges suit me better, I guess. ¡°What dish did you find delicious, Mimi?¡± ¡°I really like the seafood sd. Crisp vegetables paired with chewy shrimp and squid drizzled with tasty dressing¡­¡­!¡± Mimi put both her hands together as her eyes sparkled. Mimi seems to enjoy it very much whenever we talk about food. ¡°I can also make something like seafood sd on my own. If we had the ingredients for it, that is.¡± I imagined the ingredients in my head. There¡¯s the vegetable and seafood mix. Then there¡¯s the vinegar and oil needed to make the dressing. Getting a hold of things like spices and salt is a problem as well. ¡°Really!?¡± Mimi pressed closer to me with her eyes still sparkling. Whoa there. Calm down. Calm down, alright. ¡°If we have the ingredients for it, then yeah. I did live on my own back in my world, so I do know how to cook for myself. But we don¡¯t have any ingredients here¡­¡­ There¡¯s no kitchen as well. Oh yeah. Didn¡¯t we see some stuff which looked like cooking implements in the gadget shop we visited a while back?¡± They didn¡¯t seem all that useful at the time so we didn¡¯t get them. Would it be better to buy some next time? ¡°Let¡¯s shop for those next time! I¡¯ll make sure to thoroughly research the ces that sell them!¡± ¡°Y-Yeah, okay.¡± Mimi grasped my hand tightly as her eyes continued sparkling. Tetsujin has made some sds a couple of times already, but it seems she¡¯s really fixated on that seafood sd. I hope she won¡¯t end up disappointed by the one I¡¯d make in the end. We were in the middle of discussing when we would go out to shop when the door of the dining room opened. When I looked toward the door, I saw Elma and Major Serena entering the room. Major Serena¡¯s clothes no longer looked disheveled, and the color of her face seemed normal. Looks like the alcohol waspletely purged from her system. ¡°Thanks for waiting. The princess has awakened.¡± ¡°It looks like she didn¡¯t need a kiss from Prince charming.¡± ¡°Ara? Did you want to, perhaps?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the prince charming type.¡± Elma smiled and shrugged at my reply. Major Serena was covering her face with both hands and was shivering slightly. Her ears were bright red. She seems really, really embarrassed. ¡°Man, it sure is hard for people in positions of authority huh. Well, isn¡¯t it nice to let out all of that stress every once in a while?¡± ¡°I¡¯m really grateful to you all for this time¡¯s matter.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t mind it. That organic food was really delicious, you know. If we didn¡¯t have you with us, we probably wouldn¡¯t be able to visit such a fancy establishment in the first ce. If you really feel like thanking us, then I¡¯d be satisfied if you could introduce us to more ces like that from now on.¡± We¡¯ll just call it even if she can introduce us to more ces like that. Afterward, we won¡¯t be owing each other anything. I¡¯m really afraid of piling on any more debts. ¡°A-Alright. I shall introduce you to some in the future.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. Do you want me to escort you out of the ship?¡± ¡°N-No, I¡¯m alright. Um¡­¡­¡± ¡°I understand that you¡¯re really worried about a lot of stuff. I¡¯ll just treat it as having not heard anything. We ate some good food and drank some fine wine. Let¡¯s leave it at that, shall we?¡± ¡°I¡¯m truly thankful for your consideration.¡± Major Serena got off the Krishna with her face still bright red. The three of us saw her off. ¡°¡­¡­It must be really hard to be a female military officer.¡± Mimi blurted out such a thing while watching that person¡¯s disappearing back. Chapter 49 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone After the day off, we continued with the pirate extermination¡­¡­ is what I¡¯d wanted to say. ¡°They aren¡¯t biting.¡± ¡°Yeah, looks like it.¡± After a week, we started being unable to attract any more pirates. Well, that just goes to show pirates aren¡¯t that stupid after all. We always made sure to destroy all the ships we lured in the past, but it¡¯s not like we can ensure that they wouldn¡¯t be able to send out some form of emergencymunication before being shot down. It¡¯s likely that they¡¯ve already heard about our hunting method through some sort of channel. ¡°Now then, what do we do about this? Shall we go ahead with ¡®that¡¯ n?¡± The n I¡¯m talking about was to change the ship¡¯s I.D. and name. Normally, ship names and I.D.s aren¡¯t so easily changed, but Major Serena was an imperial noble after all. We can just make use of her privileges to get our way. Afterward, we just had to refurbish the exterior and repaint it so it can function as pirate bait again. The achievements of Major Serena had already started being heard of by the higher-ups, and it actually seems they¡¯d agree to let the decoy ship be a part of the official military expenses. Depending on how it goes, we may even get approved to buy another decoy ship. It seems they were thinking of using the ship as a supply vessel or military transport ship if ever it outlives its purpose as a decoy ship, so it wouldn¡¯tpletely go to waste. ¡°That would be a valid course of action, but wouldn¡¯t this be a good time to stop our present activities and aim straight for the source?¡± Major Serena shook her head at my proposal. ¡°Yeah. Based on the number of heads we¡¯d shot down so far, I¡¯m sure they¡¯re already running out of manpower as well.¡± The number of pirates shot down during our continuous pirate hunting operations has already reached more than 200 ships. If this were a game, those types of grunt enemies would keep spawning infinitely, but this is reality. The lost ships won¡¯t get reced by a game script, the pirates who¡¯ve lost their lives wouldn¡¯t get resurrected either. The number of pirate ships active in a certain star system is finite. But if you look at the entire gxy as a whole, their numbers remain overwhelming. Even if their numbers get reduced temporarily, if they had a main base of operations, they would be able to gather numbers again by recruiting rogue pirates from neighboring star systems. Then they would be able to resume operations once more. It¡¯s not like you canpletely prevent them from gathering again once you destroy their base, but at least after the loss of a base that allows them to resupply and get regr repairs, they would be unable to operate as aggressively as before. Their numbers will definitely get reduced and they would find it hard to function as an organization again. ¡°Well then, let us proceed and crush the source.¡± We¡¯ve already managed enough valuable intel about their base after recovering the data caches of the ships we managed to shoot down. Major Serena chose to directly eradicate the pirate base. ¡°How should we arrange it? Would we be boxing them in likest time?¡± ¡°Destroying them in a siege would be the best bet after all. I¡¯ll ask for cooperation from the Mercenary Guild again.¡± I really think Major Serena was an excellent military officer for acknowledging the fact that we won¡¯t be able to crush the pirate base on our own. She didn¡¯t overly concern herself with raising her own achievements but chose a method that would raise the sess rate of the operation instead. ¡°How about me?¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer it if you participate, of course. You¡¯ll be granted the same conditions as the other mercenaries though.¡± ¡°Depends on those conditions then.¡± I shrugged and didn¡¯t give a straight answer. ¡°How levelheaded of you.¡± Major Serena made a bitter smile. Well, if you¡¯re told to do some work outside of the given contract, it¡¯s only natural that you get paid separately for that work, right? Us mercs don¡¯t work for charity after all. ¡°If, say, we want to destroy a pirate base by ourselves, how much force do we need to deploy?¡± ¡°If you want topletely destroy them, I¡¯d say you¡¯d have to add at least thirty corvettes to serve as an advance force apart from the ships we have right now. If you really want to make sure, then make it fifty.¡± If we just wanted to destroy the pirate base itself, then the ships we had on hand were more than enough for the job. A pirate base is basically just a remodeled supply base or outpost, so the firepower of one battleship and five cruisers would make short work of it. We can just bombard the base from a distance well away from the range of their defense systems. But it¡¯s a different thing if you want topletely annihte them. Once the bombardment starts, I bet the pirates would load as much stolen loot as they can on their ships and escape. In order to prevent that from happening, we¡¯ll have to send in an advance force first. The independent anti-pirate mobile fleet led by Major Serena doesn¡¯t have nearly enough hands for that. In order to make sure of the target¡¯s annihtion, we¡¯ll have to send in the number of corvettes I proposed at the very least. Thirty to fifty corvettes would just be enough for the job. The military corvette is a pretty fast ship with decent firepower and is unmatched by other ships in its ss when ites to recon ability, responsiveness, and close-range dog fights. Even in the upper levels of the military, there were factions that advocate the use of battleships and cruisers with longer range, heavy armor, and high firepower, as opposed to ones that promote the increase in deployment of corvettes and destroyers with high mobility, response times and suppression capabilities for use in starship-style blitzkrieg tactics. ¡°It would be quite difficult for this fleet to procure that much corvettes I¡¯m afraid.¡± ¡°Thought so. You can just rely on outside help topensate. Just likest time. That¡¯s why the Mercenary Guild exists after all.¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right.¡± Major Serena cupped her delicate chin with her fingers and seems to be thinking about something. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s thinking about ways to increase the number of ships and personnel assigned to the anti-pirate mobile fleet. That¡¯s her job as a military officer. It¡¯s not something I can offer advice on. ¡°We¡¯ve gathered the necessary data. I will be getting permission for the operation from HQ. On the second day after Major Serena¡¯s report to the higher-ups, the operation was finally given a go. The local imperial garrison won¡¯t be participating in the operation this time. The ships of the independent anti-pirate mobile fleet finished their regr maintenance yesterday and were now hiding within the Alein star system while pretending to have moved to a different system altogether. This time¡¯s operation was a surprise attack. We would swiftly destroy the pirates before they get news of our approach and have the chance to scatter and flee. The briefing will be performed via a pre-recorded holo-video, and the mercenaries of the Alein Tertius colony would immediately head out after said briefing. The n was for each ship to deactivate their FTL drives once the operation starts andunch a simultaneous blitz attack on the unsuspecting pirates. ¡°It¡¯s almost time, Hiro.¡± ¡°Righto. Ready, Mimi?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m good to go!¡± We were waiting for the start of the operation within Krishna¡¯s cockpit. There were a lot of ships in the same trade around us. We will synch with them and simultaneously deactivate our FTL drives once we reach the target area. We will switch the generator from standby mode to cruise modeter on and will head to the target area via high-speed drive. ¡°We¡¯ll finally be enteringbat after so long. Your skills haven¡¯t rusted, have they?¡± ¡°Probably. How about you?¡± ¡°Adjusting the power output and controlling the subsystems is a piece of cake for me. Who do you think I am?¡± Elma shed me a provocative grin. Looks like she¡¯s fine. I also kept up with practicing my skills using the simtor, so I think I¡¯ll be fine. Some of my piloting instincts may have dulled a bit, but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get into the groove again once the battle starts. ¡°FTL drive, charging start. Activating in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­¡­ FTL drive, activate.¡± The Krishnaunched out almost at the speed of light after a booming sound akin to an explosion rang out. We¡¯re practically in a vacuum out in space, so just how is that sound produced, I wonder? I did a little investigating a while back but came up empty. Well, it¡¯s not like there wasn¡¯t any relevant info at all. It¡¯s just that I couldn¡¯t make sense of it. There was something written about the energy shields affecting the overall structure and mass of the ship¡¯s hull resulting in some kind of effect. It all sounded like gibberish to me. I tried reading up on the principles behind the FTL drive and didn¡¯t understand a thing as well. Oh well. No skin off my back anyway. I could still use a smartphone,puter, microwave, and T.V. even without understanding how exactly they worked before anyway. And I can still pilot a ship even without understanding how it actually functions. ¡°I wonder how much we¡¯ll be able to make this time?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see. The fixed pay is 50,000 Enels after the operation, and the performance rewards are 5,000 Enels for small ships, 20,000 for medium ones, and 100,000 Enels forrge ones.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s just likest time?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s kind of like the standard reward amounts. Add the bounty rewards and loot to that as well. Anyrge scale pirate extermination operation spearheaded by the military is mostly like this. You could definitely make plenty of profits if your skills are up to par, so a lot of mercenaries participate in these sorts of operations. Once their nest is poked, the pirate ships that escape out would be absolutely loaded with loot after all.¡± Well, since the base was set to be blown to kingdome by the military warships, it made sense that the pirates would attempt to salvage as much loot as they could while attempting to escape. It would be better to have less cargo in order to gain more mobility duringbat, but the pirates have next to no chance of winning against military ships anyway. So why not bet on a small possibility of escaping with all the loot they¡¯ve managed to acquire instead? If they ever managed to sessfully escape, they would be able to sell off all the loot in exchange for a great amount of cash and live easy for some time. ¡°Now then, let¡¯s have a good one¡­¡­ I wonder if Major Serena managed to do things properly on her end?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure she did. That person is at least excellent as a military officer, thankfully.¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­¡­¡± Mimi made a bitterugh at Elma¡¯s statement. Yeah. That unfortunate incident with her was still fresh in our minds after all. ¡°We will be arriving at the target point soon. Deactivating FTL drive in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­¡­¡± After another loud boom, the surrounding stars which were streaming behind us like streaks of light turned stationary again. We¡¯re back to normal space. Shortly afterward, the independent anti-pirate mobile fleet began their bombardment. The relentless barrage ofrge-caliberser cannons, sma cannons, and electromaically elerated kic rounds from the main battleship and cruisers pierced therge asteroid that the pirates appeared to be using as their base of operations, destroying both its surface and internal structures. ¡°They sure are going at it.¡± ¡°There are few pirate ships that managed to sortie in time. The surprise attack was a sess.¡± ¡°Are the preying out now?¡± There¡¯s a chance they were destroyed by the shelling before having the chance to flee as well. That¡¯s bad though. This is a good chance to make money after all. Krishna¡¯s generator output was raised to battle mode. We then began to advance toward the pirate base. The other mercenary ships were also on the way. ¡°Multiple bogeys on the radar. The pirates have begun deploying!¡± ¡°That¡¯s great news. Looks like we won¡¯t be going back empty-handed after all.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll turn the weapon systems online then.¡± After Elma¡¯s deration, the front part of Krishna¡¯s hull transformed, and four maniptor arms equipped withrge-caliber pulseser cannons came out of it. At the same time, tworge-caliber cannon barrels popped out from both sides of the cockpit. They were shotgun cannons sporting immense firepower. ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go!¡± With an excited shout, I raced through the battlefield with my trusty Krishna. Chapter 50 rantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°10 o¡¯clock direction, angle 20 degrees, three enemy ships approaching!¡± I followed Mimi¡¯s pronouncement and adjusted the direction of the ship¡¯s bow. They¡¯reing. ¡°Reversing heading after we pass by the enemies. I¡¯ll take their behinds.¡± I pointed the bow straight at the approaching enemy ships and elerated; quickly passing them by. We were hit by a few shots of theirsers and multi-cannons, but the damage was minimal. ¡°Brace for Gs!¡± Krishna¡¯s auxiliary boosters activated and made the ship turn a full 180 degrees. We sessfully got behind the enemy ships. Intense Gs will result from the sudden eleration and turn, so we had to grit our teeth and bear it. ¡°Enemy out front!¡± ¡°Take this!¡± Wepletely took their sorry behinds. I sted the two ships on the wings with the pulseser cannons while the enemy ship directly in the middle of my sights was given the shotgun cannon treatment. They looked like they were desperately trying to escape, but there¡¯s no way they would be able to outmaneuver and escape the Krishna. ¡°That¡¯s three down!¡± The cannon barrels on both sides of the cockpit spewed fire and countless submunitions rained down on the enemy ship from behind. The projectiles saturated their shield in an instant, sessfully destroying their thrusters, as well as the main energy cables and power generator beyond. Another serving of swiss cheese was sessfully made. We left the wreckage of the three ships and headed out to hunt for more prey. ¡°Looks like your skills haven¡¯t dulled after all huh?¡± ¡°I wonder.¡± ¡°3 o¡¯clock, elevation 20 degrees, multiple enemies detected. Six¡­ no, seven ships iing! Two medium sized ships are among them.¡± ¡°Shall we charge through?¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll leave the chaff and re timing to you.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± I fired up the thrusters once more and aimed the bow at the direction of the enemy ships. ¡ºEnemy approaching¡­¡­ What the heck is that? A ship with arms?¡» ¡ºShip with arms¡­¡­? Oi, show me the live feed¨C The heck! Ain¡¯t this the monster fromst time!? That one¡¯s bad news man! Hurry up and get out of here!¡» ¡ºEven if you say that, how are we supposed to run away!?¡» ¡ºLet¡¯s just get it before it gets us you guys!¡» There really were seven ships. They also turned their bows towards us and elerated. They wereposed of two mid-sized ships, missile support ships and a modified transport ship. ¡°Let¡¯s get those mid-sized ships first.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡ºFire, fire, fire! Give em hell!¡» Several rms rang out within the cockpit. They fire off heat seeking missiles. They have urate heat guidance capabilities and have enough firepower to greatly damage both energy shields and physical armor. They were one of the nastiest pieces of weaponry the pirates possessed. ¡°Launching res.¡± At Elma¡¯s shout, multiple heat sourcesunched out from Krishna. The seeker missiles fired off by the two mid-sized pirate ships were sessfully led away by the heat sources and lost their original bearings. Krishna managed topletely ward off the seeker missile barrage. Just like that. ¡ºSecond volley¡­¡­!¡» ¡ºActivate the ship defenses!¡» ¡ºStop!¡» ¡°Like I¡¯d allow that.¡± They were already well with weapon range. The modified mid-sized ships opened their missile bays again, but it¡¯s toote. The two shotgun cannons roared out at the same time, peppering their shields with submunitions and sessfully tearing through it. They then pierced the hull and the opened missile bays. ¡ºUwaaaaaaaaaaa-!?¡» The two mid-sized ships exploded and were brought down. The rest of the pirate ships behind them looked at the sight in horror. After witnessing such a spectacle¡­ ¡ºT-This is bad¡­¡­¡» ¡ºRun awa¨C¡» ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you can¡¯t escape.¡± ¡°Course they won¡¯t. Sorry, but we¡¯re gonna have to destroy you all here.¡± I shot the panicked escaping pirate ships with multipleser cannon and shotgun cannon rounds. Is it fun to ughter enemies who¡¯ve lost the will to fight back, you ask? Course it is! I¡¯ll be able to earn money while getting rid of the gxy¡¯s scum. There¡¯s nothing more rewarding. Meting out justice and righteousness felt amazing as always. ¡ºH-Help¨C¡» ¡°No can do.¡± We can potentially bebeled as going overboard by doing this, but we¡¯re talking about pirates after all. There¡¯s no merit in letting them live. ¡°Area clear. The nearest targets are in the 1 o¡¯clock direction.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s head over.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± All three of us nodded at each other and turned Krishna to head to the next battlefield. ¡°What¡¯s the current situation?¡± ¡°The surprise attack seems to have seeded. There¡¯s no threat of effective retaliation.¡± ¡°I see. Please tell the rest of the ships to continue calmly executing their mission orders.¡± ¡°Aye!¡± The battle is overwhelmingly in our favor. It was fortunate that we were able to destroy the pirate base¡¯s hangar with the first attack. As long as you manage to crush them before managing tounch out, any ship, no matter how powerful, is as good as a wooden dummy. Because we only managed to destroy the main hangar, the pirates still managed tounch out from some of the other ones¡­¡­ But I guess the mercenaries have got it covered. The pirates who were trying to escape from this sector have been sessfully confined. Normally, only one imperial space force division is assigned to each individual star system within the empire¡¯s territories. There were regr scheduled patrols, but they were only allowed to make a move on pirates they encountered along the way and weren¡¯t allowed to actively pursue them. This was virtually the first time ever that a specialized independent mobile fleet formed to hunt down pirates was organized and deployed by the empire. It was long epted as part ofmon knowledge that the imperial space fleet could not actively participate in the act of hunting down pirates. And the current situation is the result of overturning that very concept on its head. Due to the fact that our fleet was not bound by traditional rules nor obligated to directly report our actions to the local garrison except if the circumstance calls for it, crucial information about our movements did not manage to reach the pirates before we sprung our attack, and thus we ended uppletely blindsiding them. ¡°What about the current reward rankings¡­¡­?¡± I operated the data terminal I had on hand and checked out the current kill scores of the mercenaries participating in the operation. Ranked first was¨C Krishna. It was ¡®his¡¯ ship. After I confirmed that, a pleased smile couldn¡¯t help but form on my lips. Oh, this just won¡¯t do. I can¡¯t have myself daydreaming in the middle of an operation. I quickly covered my mouth with a hand in order to hide my silly-looking smile and somehow managed to regain my calm after a while. It¡¯s not the time to be grinning like this. I have to be ready in case an unexpected ident urs. ¡°With this, it¡¯s over.¡± ¡°Area clear. There are no more enemy signatures on the radar.¡± It seems there were still sporadic battles going on in other sectors, but there were no more enemies within the area we¡¯re at anymore. I also tried to check out the radar and confirmed that there really were no more enemies nearby. The rest were in sectors far away from us. ¡°How many did we manage to get?¡± ¡°Our total kill count is 33 small ships and 3 medium-sized ones.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t it seem a little on the low endpared tost time on the Termaine system?¡± Yeah. The results we got from the Termaine system operation were much betterpared to this time. Did my skills really get dull? ¡°I think this result is reasonable. The number of pirates this time was too small after all. It¡¯s a ster result if we count that factor in.¡± Hm. Yeah, I guess the number of enemies wasn¡¯t that much this time. Did that first attack get a majority of them? ¡°I guess so. So let¡¯s see¡­ A small ships us 5,000 and a medium one is 20,000, right? So all in all, we earned about 225,000 Enels.¡± ¡°Add the participation reward of 50,000 to that as well. And we¡¯ve yet to factor in the pirate bounties.¡± ¡°If I remember correctly, the individual bounty put up for the small ships is 10,000 and the medium ones go for 50,000. So, adding the participation pay, we¡¯ll have another 500,000 plus Enels of earnings, right?¡± ¡°Something like that. So we¡¯ll roughly 700,000 Enels all in all, correct? There¡¯s also the loot we¡¯ve yet to recover from the ships we shot down.¡± ¡°We have to work hard on that front.¡± Since there were no more enemies in the immediate vicinity, we¡¯ll start looting the wreckages of the down pirate ships now. We shouldn¡¯t aim for quantity, but focus on nabbing high value targets such as rare metals, high tech products and luxury items such as alcohol and newly developed drugs. Most of the drugs are illegal goods of course, but in a sanctioned military operation like this one, the military is willing to buy off things like those from our hands, so everything¡¯s good. I have no idea what they¡¯re gonna use them for though. The imperial government may be thinking that it would be too troublesome to leave those kinds of illegal goods to float as space debris since they¡¯ll have a more difficult time regting them. Those containers filled with illegal drugs would continue to drift aimlessly in space if we don¡¯t move in to retrieve them after all. That, in turn, will attract the eyes of greedy scavengers ¨C illegal garbage collectors aiming specifically for those types of debris. Those guys would appear after everyrge scale battle and would proceed to strip the former battlefield of everything they find even remotely valuable. The reason they¡¯re called scavengers, or rather, carrion eaters, is simple: they simply aimed to make profits off the battlefield where countless soldiers and mercenaries spilled their blood without risking their own lives. I don¡¯t have any particr opinion about them. Though I do think what they¡¯re doing was a bit troublesome. But I¡¯m sure that line of work doesn¡¯t make one much profit. But some mercenaries and soldiers hate those types as much as the space pirates. There were plenty of scavengers who didn¡¯t think twice about selling off illegal goods on the ck market after all. But something like that is to be expected, I guess. Everybody has to fill their own bellies one way or another. ¡°I¡¯ll stay on guard, so can you please teach Mimi how to operate the recovery drones, Elma?¡± ¡°Aye aye, sir. Let¡¯s do our best, Mimi.¡± ¡°Y-Yes!¡± Elma started using the for suitable spoils using the specialized sensors. I then drove the ship ording to her directions. Chapter 51 rantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Man, what a haul. What. A. Haul.¡± A wide smile formed on my lips as I looked at the piles and piles of rare materials and loot we managed to recover. The amount of rare metals wasn¡¯t much, but the number of expensive-looking high tech stuff was quite substantial. It looks like we can definitely look forward to the profits from selling these things. ¡°It looks like we haven¡¯t managed to recover dangerous items this time.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ Yeah, I guess.¡± ¡°And what¡¯s with that reaction, mister?¡± ¡°Eh? I didn¡¯t really discover anything strange y¡¯know¡­¡± I ignored Elma¡¯s piercing gaze and Mimi¡¯s somewhat frightened state and closed the goods list. Well, we can¡¯t really expect to recover things like those every mission anyway. It looks like this time¡¯s a bust. How unfortunate. Major Serena already sent the mission end notice earlier, so I guess it¡¯s about time for us to return to port now. Though it looks like there were still some cruisers and destroyers anchored on the surface of the destroyed pirate base; it seems they were still busy securing the interior of the ce. Well, I guess the elite imperial soldiers wouldn¡¯t let mere pirate rabble get the drop on them, so there¡¯s no need to be concerned. Their equipment wasn¡¯t on the same level in the first ce. The mishmash of weapons and equipment the pirates have cobbled together wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against the military¡¯s high-end power armors and heavy weaponry. What about me, you ask? I have absolutely no intention of tangoing with trained imperial soldiers with just my bare flesh and blood. Even though myser gun was really high quality, it still didn¡¯t possess the capability to destroy a power armor in one shot. And, conversely, it would be all over if they hit me with their weapons even once. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll lose that easily if I use my personal power armor stored on the ship though. But there just wasn¡¯t any chance to use the thing recently. But it would reallye in handy if we did get ourselves into a melee shoot-out by any chance, so I still try to keep it operational at least. Not that I think we¡¯ll be using it anytime soon. For now, it was still gathering dust in a corner of the cargo hold. ¡°Well then, shall we go back?¡± ¡°W-Wait a minute! You¡¯re sure you didn¡¯t recover anything strange this time, right!?¡± ¡°I-It should be fine, Elma-san¡­¡­!¡± After the two girls were done hastily checking on the recovered loot in a panic, we finally returned to the Alein Tertius colony. Our cargo hold was already filled to the brim after all, so we really couldn¡¯t take anything else back even if we wanted to. We unfortunately had to leave the rest of the loot we haven¡¯t managed to recover. I¡¯m sure those scavengers are gonna have a field day with them anyway. There¡¯s already some reading appearing on the radar. It¡¯s probably them. ¡°Hyper speed drive, charging start. Let¡¯s bail.¡± ¡°W-Wait a moment! You¡¯re sure, right? You¡¯re absolutely, positively sure?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine I tell ya. I didn¡¯t manage to find anything strange, okay. There¡¯s no dangerous stuff this time. They¡¯re all safe goods. Probably.¡± ¡°Probably!!!?¡± The hyper speed drive activated at the same moment as Elma¡¯s agitated scream, and the Krishna disappeared from regr space after the sound of an explosion. ¡°Just how much trauma did that Singing Crystal manage to nt in you two? Sheesh.¡± ¡°Anybody would get a trauma from that kind of sted thing, you damn idiot!¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°¡®Really¡¯, he asks¡­¡­ I think it¡¯s actually even more dangerous than those reactive torpedoes, okay?. It would be an absolute disaster if you dropped that kind of thing, right?¡± The reactive torpedoes were a type of highly destructive ordnance used to bring downrge, heavily shielded and armored ships. I don¡¯t know how exactly they work, but it¡¯s said those things were even more powerful than nuclear and hydrogen bombs. And they definitely did possess the power to bring down a full-fledged battleship in one shot, so I guess they really were as powerful as they imed. And she was saying the Singing Crystal was even more dangerouspared to them? Well, it depends on how you think about it, I guess. Summoning a crystal creature swarm didst longer and caused more widespread damage in a sense after all. ¡°I see.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­? That¡¯s how you react?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Hiro-sama, so¡­¡­¡± Elma gave me an exasperated look while Mimi sounded somewhat proud. What are you being so proud for, Mimi-san? ¡°Guess you¡¯ll be spending time with the princess again once we get back to the colony¡­¡­¡± When she finally settled down a bit, Elma let out a soft sigh. ¡°It¡¯ll just be a week more before the contract expires. What should we do once it ends?¡± ¡°How about moving to a star system with more job prospects? With your skills and Krishna¡¯s capabilities, we¡¯ll be raking in cash in no time.¡± ¡°Mm, I¡¯m not too keen on moving to a more chaotic star system though. You won¡¯t have the time to rx in those kinds of ces.¡± In fact, it was very stifling to stay in such star systems since the military is always wary of sabotage and stuff, so strict rules are imposed. In the game, most open markets and private shops were closed down and you could only do some basic ship maintenance and resupply runs. I wonder how it is over in this dimension? It¡¯s kinda hard to imagine. ¡°Um, we¡¯ll be able to reach a resort if we make three jumps from this sector via hyperne, and it seems there are a high number of pirate attacks on private passenger ships over there recently.¡± ¡°Hm, a resort¡­¡­ Hunting pirates while on vacation doesn¡¯t sound so bad.¡± ¡°But the cost for staying there will be high as well. But we¡¯ll follow whatever you decide, Captain. And a vacation does seem nice.¡± ¡°Well then, let¡¯s do just that.¡± I have a grand goal of buying a detached house with a garden someday, but it¡¯s not like I¡¯m in any particr hurry to fulfil it. I¡¯m also not that keen on searching for a way toe back to my former world, so I guess a nice detour for a bit of R&R wouldn¡¯t be so bad. Let¡¯s just enjoy things as theye then. We finally reached the airspace of Alein Tertius colony and deactivated the hyper speed drive. We then sent out a docking request¡­¡­ Hm? ¡°Doesn¡¯t the colony seem somewhat strange somehow?¡± ¡°Eh? Yes, it does seem weird. That section¡¯s power is cut off, right?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. I wonder what¡¯s wrong? Ah, a red light is shing on the docking bay.¡± As we watched on, multiple shipsunched out of the docking bay one after the other. It was as if they were running away or something. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I have no idea¡­¡­ Mimi, can you connect us to port administration?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll put it up on the main monitor.¡± Mimi operated the console and opened a line with the Alein Tertius port administration bureau. It would usually connect right away, but it was taking way too long this time. We waited for a while and finally got through. ¡ºThis is the port administration bureau! We¡¯re busy at the moment!¡» ¡°Oi,oi. Calm down. This is Captain Hiro from the Mercenary Guild. We just got back from the pirate subjugation operation, but did something happen in the colony? What¡¯s up?¡± ¡ºSo you¡¯re a mercenary!? Oi, do you have abat-ready power armor in your ship!?¡» ¡°Huh? Uh, yeah, I guess. Why¡­¡­?¡± I was puzzled after being asked a weird-sounding question and replied offhandedly. Afterward, the port official on the other line screamed. ¡ºPlease help us! Our colony is being attacked from the inside by unidentified creatures!¡» The port officer on the other side of the monitor desperately begged. It was quite sudden, so we failed to respond right away and looked at each other in confusion. ¡°Uh, even if you say that¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯re mercenaries you know? Our lives aren¡¯t so cheap that we¡¯ll offer to risk them for free.¡± Elma nodded at my words, and the both of us exchanged looks and shook our head. Mimi was fidgeting in front of the Operator console though; at a loss about what to do. Well, it can¡¯t be helped. ¡ºYou¡¯re still asking for money in a situation like this!?¡» ¡°We¡¯ll ask forpensation in any situation. We need as much in order to risk our lives. It¡¯s only natural, right? Did you file a formal request at the Mercenary Guild?¡± ¡ºP-Probably. I¡¯m not too sure.¡» ¡°So you¡¯re not sure. In any case, please guide us to the nearest hangar. Let¡¯s talk about the detailster.¡± ¡ºA-Alright¡­¡­ Uh, hangar bay number 32¡­¡­ No, number 3. Please enter hangar number 3!¡» ¡°Got it. Moving in.¡± We cut the line and followed the guide beacon to dock. ¡°We¡¯re really entering? I would prefer not sticking our heads into something troublesome.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the situation, but I get the feeling it would be worth something. Let¡¯s just hear them out first. It doesn¡¯t seem so bad to earn some more cash before Major Serena returns to port.¡± ¡°Will we be okay¡­¡­?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be that dangerous if we made use of the power armor. Probably.¡± In any case, we also needed to im the bounties inside Alein Tertius colony anyway. It would be really troublesome if Alein Tertius got wrecked due to this incident. After we docked at the third hangar, I left Elma and Mimi to mind the ship and contact the Mercenary Guild. I then headed for the cargo bay. My aim was the power armor stored over there. ¡°Now that I think about it, I haven¡¯t had the opportunity to use this even once sinceing to this dimension huh¡­¡­¡± A power armor is basically a mechanical armor suit. It would give the wearer the protection of thick armor and augment their strength to superhuman levels, and would allow them to wield destructive heavy weaponry powered by the armor¡¯s dedicated power core. It¡¯s a futuristic weapon that gives individuals defense and mobility, as well as firepower akin to that of a tank in a morepact and agile package. Well, it was a staple in most SF themed games and novels, I think. In fact, it was quite difficult for yers to win against opponents wearing power armor without wearing their own in Ste Online melee matches. Judging from the port officer¡¯s question earlier, the thing that was attacking the colony was dangerous enough to require power armor. Hm. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve encountered an event like this during my time ying Ste Online though. I guess reality really is different from the game. This sure is troublesome. I boarded the power armor, started the boot-up sequence and let out a quiet sigh. Chapter 52 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone Now then folks, I refer to this thing as a power armor, and folks in this world called it as such as well, but the official name of this thing is a bit different and sounded kinda long. What was it now? Reactor-powered Artificial Muscle-driven Reinforced Exoskeleton? Something like that, I guess. It was really long, so I¡¯ll just stick with power armor. There¡¯s a lot that can be said about power armors, but basically, they were used to fight in Ste Online¡¯s melee matches done within enclosed arenas that weren¡¯t too spacious. So what was the most important factor needed in order to win in such matches? Mobility and speed? Nope. In such cramped spaces with not enough room to maneuver, those would be next to no use. In fact, they could be detrimental instead since you¡¯d have trouble orienting yourself while moving at boosted speeds. A speed that¡¯s just a bit higher than peak human performance would be enough for the job. So what¡¯s needed then? ¡°Hmph!¡± I received the huge, white-colored monstrous creature that barreled toward me head-on and gave it a powerful bear hug, crushing it to a pulp. I also tore through the horde of smaller creatures and mmed them to the surrounding walls. I sent the faltering mid-sized ones flying with ramming attacks. I continued to swing the armor¡¯s arms and blew away everything in my path with overwhelming power. I then grabbed one mid-sized monster and shocked it with ultra-high voltage currents, and finished the rest off with shots from the high-poweredser gun equipped on my armor. ¡°Fuhahaha! Get a load of all this power baby!¡± I hurled profanities at the mysterious creatures as I continued to crush them to bits. This is what I sought out of a power armor. In other words, overwhelming armor toughness and strength. As for speed, I just settled for a level that¡¯s a little over what a normal human can aplish. Cause, well, it¡¯s not like you¡¯ll need the ability to travel long distances at a fast speed in cases where you¡¯ll need to use a power armor anyway. They¡¯re not meant to be used for such maneuvers. Armor and weight that won¡¯t flinch in the face of enemy attacks, and overwhelming physical power. You¡¯ll be set as long as you have these two. If you also have a high-output power core, you can make use of a variety of destructive heavy weaponry as well. Add those to a decent enough aim and you¡¯ll basically be raking in wins in no time. ¡ºThis is the port admin bureau. It looks like you were able to sessfully secure the area. We¡¯re grateful for your help.¡» ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. We¡¯re gonna receive a reward through the Mercenary Guild for this, so it¡¯s only natural that I¡¯d do my best for the job.¡± After piling up the remains of the pale white monsters in a corner, I checked the state of my power armor. There was virtually no damage to the armor. The actuators were fine as well. There was still 99.7% of charge left. The weapons were A-OK too. The model name of my power armor is the TMPA ¨C 13 RIKISHI mk. III. It¡¯s standard armaments consisted of ultra-high voltage emitters¡ºHARITE¡»on each of its palms, shock amplification devices¡ºSHIKO¡»on both feet, and high outputser guns called¡ºSHIKI-RI¡»on both shoulders. Apart from those, it also had a¡ºBUCHI-KAMASHI¡»function, which basically makes it ram targets with a burst of high speed over short distances while equipped with a shield, though I¡¯m not sure if that can be considered part of its weaponry or not. It can also be used even without a shield equipped as well. It was considerablyrge, even for power armor, and should be ssified under heavy armor. Its generator output was also quite high, allowing it to carry a payload of various heavy weaponry. It looked short and stout overall, and due to the thick armor, it also looked quite ¡®fat¡¯. In order to support all that weight, the legs were also quite thick, and its low center of gravity was one of its main features. I wasn¡¯t generally concerned about the paint job of power armors, but the original makers of this guy had reallyme aesthetic senses, so I changed it to metallic silver instead. Yeah, I know. I know what you want to say, guys. Honestly, my power armor looked like the mecha version of a sumo wrestler. And its aesthetics also made it look like some sort of cheap viin. It isn¡¯t just uncool anymore. It¡¯s literally fugly as hell. But it¡¯s really, REALLY powerful! It was something that embodied all the qualities I sought from power armors! It looked like a joke machine, sure. But it¡¯s really good guys! Seriously! It was so good, it was always included whenever people discussed the strongest power armor models in Ste Online. The PVP events were always filled with this model, to the point that they said things like¡ºNow then folks! Let¡¯s start the Ste Online New Year Sumo Tournament!¡»or¡ºAnd now, for the first event of the evening! In the east mountain corner, Captain ck! In the west sea corner, Captain Hiro! They are the wrestlers for tonight¡¯s match!¡»during the PVP matchmentary! Just why did this kind of power armor get developed? I¡¯m afraid that question can only be answered by Ste Online¡¯s developers. And I¡¯ve now confirmed that there were no problems fielding it in this dimension as well. Maybe they also had a simr-looking power armor model in this dimension¡­¡­? ¡ºHiro-sama? Hiro-sama? Are you okay?¡» ¡°Y-Yeah. I¡¯m fine. I was just thinking about some stuff. What¡¯s up?¡± ¡ºThere was an urgent rescue request sent to the Mercenary Guild. Do you remember the hospital building we had our check-ups in ¨C the one under Inagawa Technology? It seems they were sending injured citizens there for treatment, but it looks like those monster are starting to swarm over there as well.¡» ¡°Is this area clear already?¡± ¡ºIt looks like the imperial power armor division is arriving shortly. The reward for the sessful defense and the submission of battle data is 50,000 Enels.¡» ¡°Man, that sure sounds cheap for something I risked my life to earn. These guys should be pretty dangerous if fought without armor.¡± ¡ºThat¡¯s why they limited the job to those with power armors, right? So what about Inagawa Technology¡¯s request?¡» ¡°I¡¯ll take it up. How much is the reward?¡± ¡ºIt¡¯s 100,000 Enels. It¡¯s twice the reward for securing the port area.¡» ¡°That sounds great. I¡¯ll leave the navigation to you.¡± ¡ºYes!¡» I picked up the weapon I left nearby earlier and started following the directions indicated on my armor¡¯s HUD. ¡ºBut really now. To think you¡¯d actually started using meleebat, of all things. It¡¯s not like CQC is your strong point, right?¡» ¡°It¡¯s not, but I do brush up on it from time to time just in case of situations like this. It¡¯s better to cover all the bases you can, right?¡± ¡ºI guess so.¡» I ran with the armor while checking my weapons. The thing I brought this time was a high-output variableseruncher. It can counter other power armors with high-output focusedser shots and give fatal damage to flesh and blood opponents with a scattering splitser. It was a very versatile weapon. It was big, bulky, and heavy, but by utilizing power armor, one can handle it quite easily. ¡ºKeep going straight until you get to a bend going right. You¡¯ll find an elevator there. Ride that elevator and go down to the lower level.¡» ¡°Gotcha.¡± It looks like there were none of those pale monstrosities here. But what the heck were those anyway? ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you think those monsters kinda resembled the ones we saw on the meat factory tour¡­¡­¡± ¡ºYeah, they do, actually¡­¡­¡» ¡ºThey said those creatures won¡¯t be able to survive outside of the facility, but¡­¡­ Did they make a mistake in the security arrangements?¡» ¡°But we can¡¯t really be sure that it¡¯s the fault of that particr factory. Cultured meat brands generally looked the same, so the problem might have stemmed from another factory altogether.¡± I reached the elevator while exchanging that sort of idle banter with the two on the ship and entered it. I then set it to go down to the middle level of the colony. The elevator started descending with no problems. The power armor was heavy, but it seems it could easily support this kind of weight. ¡°You two also keep watch on the ship. Well, I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll be able to enter if you lock the hatch properly though.¡± ¡ºWe¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ve already checked the security camera feeds near the hatch area earlier. And we can always activate the shields if needed.¡» ¡°That¡¯s fine then. But it can¡¯t hurt to be extra careful, alright.¡± In the first ce, the anti-NPC defense weaponry of the Krishna is very effective, and those white things wouldn¡¯t be able to take a single step inside it with the shield active. I don¡¯t care if that sounded like a g. Impossible is impossible folks. Or rather, even I would have trouble breaching the ship¡¯s defenses even if I used my power armor. I wouldn¡¯t evene close to saturating Krishna¡¯s shield powered by its high output generator with shots from myseruncher. Even if it¡¯s high-output, it doesn¡¯t have the raw power of even the lowest caliberser cannon used by pirate ships. I finally reached the middle level. I became speechless at the scene that greeted me once the elevator doors opened. ¡°This is terrible.¡± It was a scene of hell. I saw onerge-sized monster busy chewing on a corpse. Its feet were still hanging between the monster¡¯s teeth and were trembling slightly. There were groups of mid-sized types feeding on an already unrecognizable, blood-drenched ¡®something¡¯, andrge swarms of the small ones stuck themselves on the rest of the dead bodies like pale leeches. This type of scene was happening all over the area. All the monsters, regardless of size, had slimy, pale white bodies, with round mouths akin tompreys lined with razor-sharp teeth. They were different from the specimens we saw inside that cultured meat production facility, and the medium andrge-sized variants all had defined limbs sticking out of their slimy bodies. The small ones looked more simr to the specimens used for meat though; razor-sharp teeth aside. Well, they certainly looked somewhat thinnerpared to those meat-producing tentacle-type livestock. And it seems their basic instinct is to eat. They looked really gross. ¡ºHow awful¡­¡­¡» ¡°Is Mimi okay over there?¡± ¡ºShe froze up and became blue in the face the moment she saw the live feed.¡» ¡°She doesn¡¯t have to look at the images if she doesn¡¯t want to. Notify me if you detect any survivors.¡± ¡ºAye, aye, sir. Anyway, it looks like there¡¯s none in that area.¡» I can¡¯t have these monsters take the elevator, so I stepped out of it and primed myseruncher. I chose splitser mode. ¡°C¡¯mon! Time to clean out the filth!¡± I repeatedly fired splitser shots and turned the monsters to ash. Since there were no survivors, I went at it without reserve. These guys were dangerous to flesh and blood people, but you could easily deal with them if you equip power armor. It¡¯s not like there¡¯s no chance of being toppled down by arge type, but even if I did go down, there¡¯s no chance they¡¯ll be able to breach the armor ting. And I had more than enough firepower at my disposal as well. It was even possible to deal with them by only using the power armor¡¯s standard fixed weapons. Once the imperial power armor division makes a move, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be able to deal with these types of monsters easily. It was somewhat good timing on my part that I managed to arrive here early to get a piece of the action. I finished off severalrge ones one after another with splitser fire and hit the medium ones that managed to close in with the body of theuncher itself or some well-ced kicks before roasting with splitser fire as well. It was annoying when the small ones got stuck on the armor, so I sometimes paused in order to tear them off and crush them underfoot. And when there¡¯s too many of them, I simply discharged ultra-high voltage electricity from the armor¡¯s palm in order to get rid of them. ¡ºIf it was me in there, I would have long fallen ill and vomited on the side by now.¡» ¡°Just think of it as me not prone to vomiting except for when I¡¯m made to drink alcohol.¡± I grinned bitterly while bathing my armor in electricity to get rid of the creatures stuck to it. But some of the medium types have already wizened up a bit and now ran away at the sight of me. They probably realized they were not my match. I¡¯m not nning to let them get away though. I continued to y creatures and finished off the ones that attempted to run away with concentratedser bursts as I headed toward the private hospital building we visitedst time. ¡ºTurn at the next intersection. It should be right in front of you afterward.¡» ¡°A¡¯ight.¡± I ran with heavy sounding footsteps. There were virtually no survivors left on the streets. I guess the rest of the citizens ran inside buildings and holed up within them. In colonies like this, there¡¯s always some airtight and secure shelters in case of emergencies like the walls of the colony getting punctured by way of ident or deliberate attack. I guess if there were any survivors, they would have long escaped to those shelters. ¡°Whoah.¡± I involuntarily made a surprised reaction when I turned at the intersection. It¡¯s because the pale monsters in question were crowding around inrge numbers in front of the private hospital. ¡°Just why are these things gathering around here like that?¡± ¡ºDunno? Health check-up, maybe?¡» ¡°Dangerous creatures lining up for check-ups in front of a hospital just sounds too surreal y¡¯know.¡± After the stupid-sounding banter between me and Elma, I aimed theseruncher at the swarm of monsters ahead. Chapter 53 rantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Yeaaaaaah! Leeeet¡¯s goooo baaabyyy!¡± I showered therge packed swarm of monsters with splitser fire in glee. Thesers hit the targets instantly. Well, of course. I just fired off projectiles that moved at lightspeed after all. Essentially, the main source of damage made by high-outputser fire is explosions set off when thesers hit their targets. The surface of the target would rapidly evaporate due to being hit by ultra-high temperature, causing explosions in the process. However, high-poweredser weapons in Ste Online don¡¯t cause damage using that principle. Instead, they prate straight through the targets. It¡¯spletely different from the effect of optical weapons that I¡¯m familiar with. ¡°Well, it¡¯s fine as long as it works anyway. But it sure is a mystery.¡± Maybe they work differently from thesers back on Earth? I mulled over these things as I continued to exterminate the pale monsters approaching me. ¡ºWhat¡¯s up?¡» ¡°Nah, it¡¯s nothing. But really. Just what the heck happened here? Do these kinds of incidents happen often?¡± ¡ºI haven¡¯t heard of anything like this happening before though¡­¡­¡» ¡ºIf these kinds of incidents were widespread, then the cultured meat producers would have long gone out of business.¡» ¡°Guess so.¡± I¡¯m sure people who would be totally against the cultured meat industry would pop out one after another if that were the case. There were definitely a lot of casualties from this incident after all. But I¡¯m sure there should have been plenty of measures to prevent this kind of incident from happening though. ¡°Maybe this was caused by an illegal meat nt or something?¡± ¡ºIt¡¯s pretty disconcerting¡­¡­ Just what kind of feed are they using at that kind of illegal facility, I wonder?¡» ¡ºThere was something written on the packaging of Kobe Beef saying that the quality of feed is important in order to produce the tastiest meat.¡» ¡°I¡¯m sure the thing Elma¡¯s worried about isn¡¯t about that, Mimi.¡± I continued to kill the monsters while exchanging some silly banter with the girls. Eh? I should y rock music in the background, you say? Nah, it doesn¡¯t suit the monotonous work of pest extermination guys. ¡ºThey contacted us from the hospital, Elma-san.¡» ¡ºPatch them through.¡» We heard a young male¡¯s voice after Elma allowed the call through. ¡ºThis is Amray speaking. I¡¯m part of the security detail working for Inagawa Technology. You people are¨C¡» ¡°I¡¯m Captain Hiro. I¡¯m here in response to the rescue request you guys filed with the Mercenary Guild. I¡¯m currently in the middle of exterminating the creatures in front of the hospital.¡± ¡ºI¡¯m Elma, one of the crew. I¡¯m currently in charge of information gathering.¡» ¡ºI¡¯m Mimi. I¡¯m an Operator, just like Elma-san.¡» ¡ºAh, the Mercenary Guild¡­¡­ You¡¯ve really helped us out. In fact, the partition preventing them from entering the building was about to be breached.¡» ¡°With just this? Aren¡¯t bulkheads like that pretty thick in order to ensure airtightness?¡± ¡ºThe body fluids released by those monsters are corrosive, so¡­¡­ The bulkheads used inside the colony aren¡¯t treated to resist that type of damage.¡» ¡°I see.¡± I guess being able to resist corrosive substances isn¡¯t really all that important if you just want to ensure airtightness huh? My power armor is abat model, so it can resist corrosion just fine though. It won¡¯t get damaged no matter how much body fluids they ther it with. ¡°Leave the rest to me. They still haven¡¯t managed to breach the interior, right?¡± ¡ºFor now, at least. Please get a sample of the creatures after you¡¯re done exterminating them. They¡¯re nning on making specialized nanomachines in order to aid in exterminating them, so we need some samples.¡» ¡°Got it. Do you need me to capture one alive?¡± ¡ºNo, a corpse would be enough.¡» ¡°Understood¡­¡­ The ones burned byser fire won¡¯t do, right?¡± ¡ºNo idea. I¡¯m just a security guard after all¡­¡­ Let¡¯s just go with an unburnt sample, just to be sure.¡» ¡°Guess so. Okay then.¡± I¡¯ll just switch to CQC once I¡¯ve reduced their numbers enough. Now then, let¡¯s continue the pest clean up. ¡°Dosukoi!¡± I rammed thest remainingrge type monster and blew it away. With this, the extermination isplete. There were mountains of monster corpses all around me. The mop-up proceeded without a hitch. But maybe I did have a bit of trouble with the CQC battle at the end. It was way easier to barbecue them with theseruncher after all. ¡ºGood work out there, Hiro-sama. There are no more creatures in the area. Exterminationplete.¡» ¡ºYou sure made quite a riot in the end.¡» ¡°It made for some good exercise, so I feel like I¡¯d have a good sleep tonight.¡± I picked up some of the monster corpses I finished off via CQC and piled them up at the entrance of the hospital. ¡°Would these be enough as samples?¡± ¡ºDunno. Let¡¯s see¡­¡­ Please wait a bit.¡» Guess he¡¯s gonna confirm with the researchers. Well, it won¡¯t do to leave the surroundings messy like this, so I guess I¡¯ll clean up a bit. The colony¡¯s basically an enclosed space after all. It may cause another incident if these corpses rotted away unchecked and gave off potentially harmful gas substances. ¡ºYo, yo, yo. It¡¯s been a while huh, Hiro-kun. Guess you saved my life again this time.¡» ¡°¡­¡­Dr. Shouko?¡± ¡ºYep, it¡¯s Shouko. I¡¯m d you remember me.¡» ¡°Well, yeah.¡± Dr. Shouko had a pretty hard-to-forget personality after all. ¡ºCan you share the visual feed of your suit to me?¡» ¡°No prob. Mimi.¡± ¡ºYes. Feed¡¯s connected.¡» The moment the feed was linked, I heard somemotion in the background when the screen disying Dr. Shouko popped up on my HUD. ¡ºThat¡¯s amazing. You did this all by yourself, Hiro-kun?¡± ¡°Yeah. Well, I used my power armor, so this much is nothing.¡± I picked up theseruncher I left on the ground when I went full-on melee earlier and walked in front of the piled-up creature corpse samples. ¡ºSo these are the samples you got for us?¡» ¡°Yep. I got two of each size for you guys.¡± ¡ºCan you share some of their characteristics you managed to observe while fighting?¡» ¡°Let¡¯s see. Therge and small types had the intelligence of wild beasts. They were pretty feral and disyed a strong appetite. They didn¡¯t flinch even if they were put in a severe disadvantage and just kept on attacking me.¡± ¡ºI see. Are the mid-sized ones different somehow?¡» ¡°These guys seemed a bit smarter than the other two types. They did things like making use of the small andrge types tounch sneak attacks. And once they see the situation getting worse, they immediately attempt to escape.¡± ¡ºHee¡­¡­. That¡¯s quite interesting. Perhaps the brains of these ones may have developed more than the other two types?¡» ¡°These are enough samples, right?¡± ¡ºYep, they¡¯re good, I think. We¡¯ll get ourselves ready to go out, so please keep watch for us.¡» ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll guard them for you.¡± The video call was cut. I left the monitoring the immediate area to Mimi and Elma and resumed tidying up the surrounding monster corpses scattered about. ¡°Maybe it would be better to just burn them all up with myseruncher?¡± ¡ºWell, there¡¯s still a valid source of protein. How about you leave them as they are for now? The folks at the colony may have use for them or something.¡» ¡°That so? Okay then.¡± After a while, the bulkhead that sealed the entrance to the hospital opened up, and people wearing yellow protective clothing walked out. They carried arge stretcher for collecting samples with them. One of the people raised her hand in greeting and approached me. ¡°Hey there. You really saved our behinds this time. That sure is a strong-looking power armor you got there.¡± ¡°That you, Dr. Shouko? We¡¯re both all covered up so I can¡¯t see your face.¡± ¡°Yeah. Thanks for saving us ¡®kay. I heard they sent a rescue request, but to think the one who¡¯d responded would be you, Hiro-kun.¡± ¡°Looks like we¡¯re connected by some strange sort of fate huh. Well, it was Mimi who picked up the request though.¡± ¡°Is that so? I¡¯d have to thank those two girls as well then.¡± ¡°Uh, so what¡¯s the n?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll start on making a specialized nanomachine swarm to counter these guys and exterminate them quickly. We should be done in two hours or so. Can you keep protecting us until then? We¡¯ll pay you for your troubles.¡± ¡°Gotcha.¡± ¡°Do your best then.¡± After saying that, Dr. Shouko, who was all decked out in full-body protective wear, joined the other researchers with the sample recovery. She approached me again after a while though. ¡°We need more small type creature samples its seems.¡± ¡°They¡¯re all piled up over there, so feel free to take some. But the state of the corpses are different, so you¡¯ll have to make some effort to select good ones.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± It would be bad if the researchers got attacked in the middle of their work, so I kept watch and patrolled the surrounding area. Well, it seems there was also someser gun-toting security personnel mixed in with the people wearing protective gear though. Guess they¡¯re the hospital guards. The sample collection finally finished after a while more and the researchers all went back inside the hospital. I was left all alone again so I decided to continue the corpse clean up. ¡°They said they were going to create a specialized nanomachine swarm for extermination purposes, but is something like that easily done?¡± ¡ºI wonder?¡» ¡ºThis hospital has a high-performance positron AI to aid in research work, and they also have lots of medical nanomachines avable, so I guess it¡¯s possible.¡» ¡°Doesn¡¯t nanomachines that break down flesh sound kinda dangerous?¡± ¡ºNo idea. But I remember hearing about a breakout prevention mechanism utilizing nanomachines at that meat nt we visitedst time, so I guess they could make them so that they¡¯ll be effective only on those kinds of creatures, right?¡» ¡°Hm, so they can do something like that huh.¡± I continued with my guard duty and cleaning work while exchanging thoughts with the girls. I started hearing the sounds of battle in the distance. So maybe the imperial military garrison or Major Serena and her independent anti-pirate mobile fleet finally arrived. There were no more monster attacks that urred while I was standing guard. I mostly just stood on standby for the rest of the time¡­¡­ Chapter 54 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone In a white, spacious, and sterile-looking room with several tables and chairs set within. There was a cacophony of people¡¯s voices engaged in discussion amidst the sound of moving machinery. I was sitting on one of the chairs set within that room. It felt refreshing to be out of that stuffy power armor. ¡°Man, you really saved my sorry behind today. I also thought that was it for me when we were attacked by pirates back then, and this time was also looking quite hopeless too.¡± Dr. Shouko handed me a drink while saying stuff like that. It was a chilled, cloudy white liquid. It didn¡¯t seem that thick, so I guess it was some sort of sports drink or something. ¡°This is?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a kind of rehydration drink. It has a nice vor, so it¡¯s quite easy to chug down.¡± Looks like it really was a sports drink. I took off the cap and gave it a big swig. Yep. Sure tastes like Po**ri Sweat. ¡°Good work out there. It was tough, right?¡± ¡°Well, not much. I had my power armor, so it really wasn¡¯t all that dangerous.¡± When the development of the anti-creature nanomachine swarm got finished, I was invited into the general hospital¡¯s premises and finally got the opportunity to get out of my stuffy power armor and take a nice shower. Afterward, Dr. Shouko was sent to wee me. It seems she was assigned the duty because we already knew each other. I was told to stay put inside the hospital for a while becauseing back to the ship without properly dealing with the creature remains and residue stuck to my power armor may potentially cause some health problems and such. It wasn¡¯t sure if they carried some sort of pathogen or not after all. I was told to properly go through a round of disinfection, just in case, while the researchers made use of the creature¡¯s remains and body fluids on my power armor to make some improvements in the performance of the anti-creature nanomachines. ¡°Is it fine for you to be here, Dr. Shouko?¡± ¡°Yep, the work over there¡¯s just about finished anyway. There¡¯s a chance of making some more improvements by using the results garnered from analyzing the samples stuck in your power armor, but they¡¯ll be minor ones at most. They don¡¯t need me there.¡± She gently waved her hand in front of her in dismissal. She still seems a bit shaken from the whole ordeal though. Can¡¯t fault her. She just went through another life-threatening crisis after all. ¡°But you sure are an unluckydy, aren¡¯t you, Dr. Shouko? It hasn¡¯t even been one month after the pirate incident and here you are, getting involved in something dangerous again.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. Based on the probability theory, it really seems unusual. Though I do feel the tug of fate somehow, since it¡¯s you who managed to save me both times, Hiro-kun.¡± ¡°You believe in that sort of stuff?¡± She really didn¡¯t seem like the type to believe in ult stuff like that. ¡°Nope, not really. But there¡¯s a chance I might just be swayed to believe in them. I mean, it¡¯s happened twice already y¡¯know.¡± ¡°I see? Well then, why don¡¯t you follow what fate is telling you and be a crew member of my ship?¡± Dr. Shouko¡¯s expression froze up after hearing my invitation, that changed into a nice-looking smile afterward. ¡°That honestly doesn¡¯t sound too bad y¡¯know, but does a mercenary ship even need a physician on board? You can just stop over a colony and go to the medical facilities there in order to satisfy your medical needs if necessary after all. And at the very least, you can still make use of a med pod if you don¡¯t have ess to a colony for some reason. It would be a different story if it were a long-distance pioneering immigration ship or a deep space exploration vessel though. I probably won¡¯t be able to sit still in a ship without proper research facilities, equipment and research specimens too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a shame then.¡± Dr. Shouko is a very charmingdy, so I really do feel it¡¯s unfortunate. Eh? My motive is impure, you say? I¡¯m a healthy guy, so isn¡¯t this just natural? She¡¯s a bespectacled beauty with chest assets on par with Mimi y¡¯know. Any healthy male would have the urge to get a load of those knockers at least once, yeah. ¡°Fufu, your stare looks really lewd, you know?¡± ¡°That just goes to show I¡¯m a normal healthy male Doc.¡± ¡°Are these really all that good? They make my shoulders stiff and grab too much unwanted attention, so I don¡¯t really like them that much though?¡± After saying that, Dr. Shouko brought her bountiful chest assets closer to my face. What a sight for sore eyes. Excellent! I praise and worship thee. ¡°Did you manage to get your fill?¡± ¡°The creatures known as males have natures that wouldn¡¯t get tired of looking at a sexy woman¡¯s body y¡¯see.¡± ¡°Such a cheap-sounding nature.¡± Dr. Shouko stood up from her seat while giggling cheerfully. ¡°That¡¯s it for service time, mister. It¡¯s almost time for the creature clean up operation to begin.¡± ¡°Aye, aye, ma¡¯am.¡± I also stood up and saluted Dr. Shouko, who was overflowing with service spirit. I didn¡¯t encounter many problems on the way back to the ship. I didn¡¯t have any more business left cause the imperial power armor division had already started their creature extermination operation in teams of three. But since I was wearing power armor myself ¨C equipped with powerful weaponry to boot ¨C I looked very much like a suspicious character. I was called out by imperial patrols once or twice and detained for questioning, but I was able to get out of them easily enough through dering I was justing back from responding to a rescue request sent to the Mercenary Guild by Inagawa Technology. ¡°So, what was the cause of the incident in the first ce?¡± ¡ºThere¡¯s no info regarding that for now. But it seems several private firms have already put forth their own measures to eliminate the creature threat.¡» ¡°Privatepanies? You talking about Inagawa Tech¡¯s nanomachine swarms?¡± ¡ºYes. There¡¯s also Eagle Dynamics, a military robotic weapons maker, that dispatched arge number ofbat robots specializing in creature extermination within the colony. Cyclone Chemicals also seeded in synthesizing chemical substances only toxic to the creatures and provided them to the military, along with specialized chemical sprayers. There are several morepanies that sent out their own countermeasures as well.¡» ¡ºIt looks like the imperial military has stepped up the extermination efforts. And the independent fleet has also managed to return to port. It looks like this incident is closed to beingpletely wrapped up.¡» ¡°I see. But it really was a big incident huh¡­¡­ We did manage to earn some money off of it, but I¡¯m sure a lot of people have been injured or killed during themotion.¡± ¡ºYeah. Oh, right. You don¡¯t have to give us a cut of the earnings for this time¡¯s incident, okay.¡» ¡°Hm? What do you mean?¡± ¡ºIf it was earned using the starship, then we wouldn¡¯t have any qualms about taking a share because we all risked our lives together. But this time, it was just you who was out on the field, right? We¡¯ll feel bad if we take a share of the money while knowing that we didn¡¯t really face any sort of danger.¡» ¡°You sure?¡± The two of them served as my Operator and Navigator respectively though. ¡ºYes. We¡¯re sure. It wouldn¡¯t feel right if we took a share even though we didn¡¯t risk our lives fighting together with you, Hiro-sama.¡» ¡°I see¡­¡­ Okay.¡± Well, since they¡¯ve said all that, then there¡¯s no helping it. I don¡¯t really have problems with giving them a share though, but they¡¯ve already decided, so I¡¯ll just have toply with their wishes. What if I were in their shoes? I might blurt out the same thing they¡¯re saying as well. ¡°From the looks of it, the colony would be in a state of high alert for some time.¡± ¡ºCan¡¯t be helped. We have enough water and food supplies anyway. We can just head to our next destination immediately after receiving the rewards.¡» ¡ºIt looks like we won¡¯t be able to get off the ship normally for a few days though. We¡¯ll have to stay indoors for now.¡» ¡°You¡¯re right. We¡¯ll just have to make the most out of it huh¡­ Fufufu.¡± I just came from a bit of exercise, or rather, a life-threatening operation of sorts, and am now feeling sorta excited. I¡¯m gonna have the three of us work up a sweatter. ¡º¡­¡­Have a bit of restraint, okay?¡» Elma whispered to me on thems with a slightly nervous tone. ¡ºWhat are you talking about?¡» It looks like Mimi still didn¡¯t get it. That¡¯s fine though. ¡°The two of you are also tired, right? I¡¯m good on my end, so why don¡¯t all of us spend some time in the bathter?¡± ¡°Mm¡­¡­? O-Okay. Be careful on your way back, Hiro-sama.¡» ¡°Yeah. Be a good girl and wait for me, okay.¡± I cut thems and took the elevator. Once Ie back, it¡¯ll be time for another ¡®battle¡¯. The impact caused by the unexpected creature outbreak was so great that it took five days for the military and port authorities to hand out all of the remunerations. Inagawa Technology immediately handed over their part of the reward payment to us though. So how did we spend those five days, you ask? I better not say. It¡¯s kinda embarrassing guys. Well, I¡¯m no superhuman, so I couldn¡¯t possibly keep at it indefinitely y¡¯know. Though I do admit I had a hell of a time muehehe. Elma acted reluctantly at first, but she was pretty into it in the end. And Mimi was hesitant only in the beginning as well. ¡°What a nice morning.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. Whatever.¡± ¡°Elma¡¯s being cold, Mimi.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯s just feeling embarrassed. Elma san is kind of dishonest about her real feelings after all.¡± ¡°¨CNgh!¡± Mimi gave a straight and honestmentary without an ounce of ill intent. Elma couldn¡¯t voice anyint to such a Mimi, so she just endured her embarrassment with a red face. ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re cute, Elma. Now that we finally got our pay today. Let¡¯s start dividing it up then¡­¡­ The total earnings we got for the pirate subjugation, including the sale of the recovered loot, is 835,464 Enels. And the payment we got from the military for the thirty-day contract we signed is 1,500,000 Enels. The bonus I earned from apanying them in their regr operations is 372,514 Enels. All in all, we earned a total of 2,707,978 Enels for the month.¡± ¡°It took quite some time, but we did manage to earn a lot huh.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an amazing amount¡­¡­¡± Elma seemed content and nodded while Mimi¡¯s eyes turned to dots after hearing the amount. I thought it was just your average earnings for the kind of work we do. We were finally able to get a medical check-up, and I also managed to have Major Serena owe me a favor. All in all, not a bad result for a month of hard work, right? ¡°Elma¡¯s share is 81,239 Enels. Mimi¡¯s is 13,539 Enels.¡± And my share is 2,613,200 Enels. My current total assets was now a whopping 17,022,017 Enels. Hm¡­¡­ Can¡¯t we finally buy a new ship with this money? ¡°It seems you¡¯re thinking of something again.¡± ¡°Yeah. My total assets are already over 17 million after all. I¡¯m thinking of buying a mothership with the money, actually.¡± ¡°A mothership?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a ship capable of acting as a carrier base for smaller ships. It has quite the spacious cargo hold as well, so it would allow us toplete transport missions all by ourselves. But can we really purchase a ship with a decent grade with just 17 mil? It¡¯ll easily cost us up to double the amount if we consider the remodeling costs you know?¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right¡­¡­ Okay then. Let¡¯s save up a bit more before going through with the purchase. 17 mil does kinda sound half-assed.¡± ¡°But 17 million is quite a huge amount of money for ordinary people though¡­¡­¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s arge enough amount for mercenaries who are into the business of frequently buying and selling ships, but this is still considered smallpared to the wealth of the big yers, right?¡± ¡°Yep. It does seem smallpared to the assets those guys have.¡± ¡°Your sense of wealth is far too outrageous for me¡­¡­¡± Mimi seemed really troubled about the topic. The 13 thousand Mimi was able to earn this time was several times higher than the 4 thousand Enels standard monthly sry offered by the military after all. Even the 0.5% shares she was receiving right now can be considered to be much higher than the sry of your typical well-paid soldier. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯ll head to the resort Mimi rmended next time. Let¡¯s decide on whether or not to purchase a new ship depending on the earnings there. We¡¯ll be able to earn more with a mothership in tow after all.¡± You can earn several tens of thousands from justpleting transportmissions alone, and you can make several hundreds of thousands more if you aim for the pirates that would get attracted to your transport ship like bees to honey. It was really a case of killing two birds with one stone. But of course, that¡¯ll depend on whether or not you had the ability to protect your mothership. ¡°I¡¯m sure themotion has already been mostly resolved by now. Let¡¯s immediately depart after finishing our resupplies.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mimi took up her tablet and started checking out our remaining supplies while Elma started the ship¡¯s self-diagnostics procedure using the co-pilot console. I left the two of them to their jobs and went over to check up on the power armor that finally had its chance to shine a few days ago. It wouldn¡¯t be funny if it broke down during an emergency situation after all. And so, the three of us steadily made our preparations for departure. Chapter 55 Chapter 55 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°I¡¯m not gonna let you escape . ¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡­¡± Three days after making our preparations for departure . We¡¯ve mostly finished restocking the necessary equipment and supplies andpleted the maintenance of the power armor . All that¡¯s left is to set out into space again! But Major Serena suddenly barged into Krishna once more . In civilian clothes, no less . ¡°This is troublesome, dear guest . My dear, dear guest, please . Ah, dear guest . Dear guest . Ah¨C¡± ¡®What the heck is up with that unemotional address of yours!? Stop pushing me out! Rude! It¡¯s utterly rude of you! I¡¯m a daughter of the Holz marquis house you know!?¡± ¡°Tsk . How bothersome . ¡± ¡°Did you just click your tongue!? Bothersome!? Me!?¡± Major Serena¡¯s expression turned livid after hearing me blurt out my true thoughts . Oh? What now? Are you gonna insist on your privilege as a noble and cut me down mdy? ¡°Um, Hiro-sama¡­¡­ That attitude is a bit too impolite, don¡¯t you think? . ¡± ¡°Hah . There¡¯s a limit to being unafraid of the consequences¡­¡­¡± Seeing my tantly rude attitude toward Major Serena, Mimi attempted to soothe me while being a bit blue in the face as Elma covered her face with one hand as she turned toward the ceiling . No, no . I don¡¯t think I¡¯m in the wrong here . I don¡¯t care if she¡¯s of noble blood and whatnot . Krishna is MY ship . And in my ship, I¡¯m the king . ¡°What the heck is with youdy? I thought you said you would stop aggressively forcing me into joining the military?¡± ¡°Uguh¡­¡­ Y-You¡¯re right, but¡­¡­¡± ¡°But?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s unfair! You three are going on a lovely resort vacation while I¡¯m stuck here busy with work! It¡¯s unfair! Unfair I tell you!¡± Major Serena pointed her finger straight at me and raised her voice in protest . I see . ¡°What the heck is with this bothersome woman?¡± ¡°You said I¡¯m bothersome again!?¡± Ipletely ignored Major Serena¡¯s indignant reaction and let out an exasperated sigh . I mean, I think anyone else in my position would also find her troublesome . How else would I call a person who would purposely choose the timing when we¡¯re about to set off to pay a visit and be an absolute bother? ¡°How should I say this? Hiro¡¯s unexpectedly harsh when ites to dealing with her, huh . Even though he¡¯s usually quite nice to women . ¡± ¡°It would have been fine if she was just a military officer, but she¡¯s also the prized daughter of a noble house . Maybe he¡¯s worried about inviting unwanted trouble if she ever became attached to him more than necessary?¡± ¡°Atta¡­¡­!? I¡¯m not some sort of pet!¡± ¡°¡­¡­But didn¡¯t it backfire? See?¡± Major Serena¡¯s elegant way of speaking was starting to crack from anger and frustration . Seeing her like that, Mimi could only give a quiet sigh . Oi, oi . Don¡¯t joke around . Are you saying this sort of troublesome person would actually get more attached to me the more I treated her badly? I sure hope not . ¡°So what do you really want from us anyway? We¡¯d really like to go ahead and travel to the Sierra star system in order to have a vacation while hunting pirates on the side you know . ¡± ¡°Well, you see¡­¡­ I, uh, think that very action is improper . ¡± ¡°Improper?¡± ¡°Correct . The Alein Tertius colony was just recently hit by a bioterrorism incident, and a lot of people have lost their lives . Don¡¯t you think having a resort vacation in that sort of situation is improper?¡± ¡°I see . ¡± ¡°Fufufu, so you¡¯ve understood? If so, then please stay here and¨C¡± ¡°It¡¯s got nothing to do with us . Alrightdy . We¡¯re gonna depart for the Sierra system now, so could please get off the ship? Or rather, don¡¯t you think trying to stop us from doing our business with that sort of arbitrary reasoning is even more improper?¡± ¡°Ah¨C! Ah¨C! No! Stop! It¡¯s not proper to touch an unwed nobledy such as myself like this! Ah! It¡¯s tant disrespect! I¡¯m gonna cut you down you know!¡± ¡°What the heck!? Will you stop that!? It¡¯s annoying! Did you actually go drinking beforeing here!?¡± I kept on trying to push her out of the dining room forcibly, but Major Serenatched on to the sides of the dining room¡¯s entrance desperately . Dammit! Can somebody get me my power armor please!? I¡¯m gonna toss out this stubborn tomboy out of the ship! ¡°Geez¡­¡­ Calm down already, you two . There, there . ¡± Elma got between me and Major Serena in order to diffuse the situation . It won¡¯t do any good if I kept being stubborn, so I held up both hands and agreed to sit back down on a dining room chair . Mimi sat down on a chair beside mine and Elma led Major Serena to sit on the opposite side . Elma then sat right next to her . ¡°So I¡¯m gonna try asking again, okay . Just what the heck do you want this time? We really want to go to our next destination now . If you can¡¯t give me any valid reason to stop us from going on with our business, I¡¯m gonna use my authority as the captain of this ship and have the two of them send you out, okay . ¡± ¡°Uguu¡­¡­¡± Major Serena flinched when I gave her an annoyed re . She turned away from me, gazed at Mimi and Elma in turn, looked up at the ceiling as if thinking of something difficult, and then shifted her face away from everyone else in the room . ¡°I was just so utterly envious that I couldn¡¯t help bute to bother you all¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­Eh?¡± ¡°Like I said! I was jealous, so I came to be a bother! Do you have any problem with that!?¡± ¡°A crap ton!!!¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t it unfair!? I¡¯m stuck every single day staring at images of disgusting tentacle monster corpses and asked to attend countermeasure meetings as well as write several pages of reports . And here you are, nning to spend an enjoyable time on a resort for a vacation! I couldn¡¯t help but be jealous!¡± ¡°So you literally just came to be a bother!? You¡¯re just seriously feeling jealous, aren¡¯t you!?¡± ¡°No, no! It¡¯s unfair! Unfair! I also want to have a resort vacation!!!¡± ¡°So you just tossed away your pride as a soldier and noble and are now throwing a hissy fit!?¡± Major Serena pped the table repeatedly in a sulk andined loudly . Just where did that cool, collected and beautiful military officer go, I wonder¡­¡­? Don¡¯t tell me she really did go binge drinking beforeing here? ¡°So, to sum it up, you simply felt jealous and came to the ship in order to make trouble, right?¡± Major Serena looked at me with upturned eyes and softly nodded in reply . I gave her a soft smile . She smiled back in return . I see . ¡°Right then . Let¡¯s throw her out and be done with it . ¡± ¡°Nooooooooo! And I finally came clean too!¡± ¡°But you just came to harass us, right!? And you expect me to feel sympathy for you!?¡± I tried to pull Major Serena away from the table she was desperately clinging to . Mimi was the one who finally put a stop to our antics . ¡°Um, can I say something?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Um, I think I now understand the reason why Lady Serena is throwing a fit . I think I can rte to her more than anyone else here actually . You¡¯re in casual clothes, so I guess it¡¯s your day off, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes . ¡± ¡°In other words, Lady Serena simply wants to take a breather, or rather, to vent out her frustrations . She just wants to spend an enjoyable time with Hiro-sama, who keeps disregarding both her standing as a military officer and as a nobledy and simply treats her as herself, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Major Serena turned silent . So I guess I can take that as a ¡®yes¡¯ huh . ¡°y around¡­¡­?¡± I¡¯m confused . How the heck should I react to that? Should I take this ojousama out for a date in the city or something? No thanks . I somehow feel that sticking around with this woman is dangerous for some reason . ¡°How about we have a nice time drinking in the ship then? We can¡¯t serve those fancy organic dishes here, but I¡¯m sure Tetsujin can whip up something delicious regardless . I have a nice stash of alcohol ready too . ¡± ¡°Oh? So that¡¯s why I felt the cargo bay was strangely full . And you haven¡¯t even managed to pay me even a single Enel yet y¡¯know . ¡± Elma turned stiff after I made a sarcastic remark . But I have to do something like this sometimes at least, or this person would most likely totally forget about paying her debts . ¡°Uh, isn¡¯t it fine? A-And you said you wanted to stay with me for as long as possible too, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Well, yeah . I guess . ¡± That¡¯s true as well . Elma¡¯s a great girl . She¡¯s also beautiful and can act pretty cute sometimes . Not as cute as Mimi though . But Major Serena¡¯s definitely a no-go . ¡°Fine . Just for today . And you owe me again for this, okay . ¡± ¡°Uu¡­¡­ I-I understand . ¡± Man . Major Serena¡¯s debts just keep on increasing¡­¡­ I hope she¡¯s not doing this deliberately in order to get closer to me . You can never be too careful around this woman . ¡°Well then, now that we¡¯ve decided on partying, let¡¯s go at it with a bang . Let¡¯s try to forget each other¡¯s troubles for today at least . ¡± ¡°Yes! As a matter of fact, I¡¯ve also managed to get a lot of different foodstuffs through mail order! I¡¯ll bring them all out!¡± Mimi said something I couldn¡¯t just ignore . So that¡¯s why the cargo bay¡¯s been strangely looking fulltely¡­¡­ Even Mimi was part of the cause . I wonder if she¡¯s been receiving some bad influence from Elma? I felt sort ofplicated after witnessing a little bit of Mimi¡¯s growth . Chapter 56 Chapter 56 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Well then¡­¡­ I can¡¯t think of much to else to say anyway, so cheers!¡± ¡°¡±¡±Cheers!¡±¡±¡± The threedies followed my gesture, held up each of their sses filled with chilled noncarbonated beer, and clinked them against each other . Me? I just drank my noncarbonated c as usual . ¡°Puhaaa! This is some fine beer!¡± ¡°We got it from the factory tour we went on recently . It did cost quite a bit though . ¡± ¡°I think it was 100,000 Enels right?¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s just a paltry sum of money for mercs like us, okay¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t your sense of money strange?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m not like that . It¡¯s just Hiro-sama and Elma-san who are weird¡­¡­¡± ¡°Like you¡¯re one to talk . Didn¡¯t you also buy a lot of expensive stuff with Hiro, Mimi? Like those bath fixtures, washing machine, high-performance auto-cooker, among other things . Didn¡¯t those cost, like, 300,000 Enels or something?¡± ¡°Yep, I think you¡¯ve also gone to the deep end as well . ¡± ¡°N-No, I haven¡¯t! I think?¡± Man . Guess it¡¯s true what they say . Three women really is a crowd . They didn¡¯t have any particr topic to talk about, so their conversation kept jumping around to different ones frequently . Are their conversation abilities equipped with jump drives or something? It was getting hard to follow their haphazard stories with my meager abilities . The rate of their conversation finally tapered off until all their focus was turned to the¡ºimported¡»foodstuffs piled up on the table . On top of the table¡­¡­ a universe was spreading . Well, not really . It was just a figure of speech guys . There¡¯s no ¡®universe¡¯ spreading on top of the dining table . It was just filled with all sorts of rare and unusual-looking food . I chose to pick up the te closest to me . It was pasta . At least it looked like some sort of pink-colored pasta . I-It should be fine . It¡¯s not wriggling or anything . I kept telling myself that, but my imagination kept holding me back . Eventually, I picked up my personal chopsticks and decided to try one piece . Yup . It¡¯s pasta . At least it didn¡¯t feel like it was a worm or something . I chewed the piece I picked up with my chopsticks . It tasted¡­ uh, salt-vored . It didn¡¯t move around in my mouth when I chewed on it . Guess it¡¯s safe . The texture and taste were kinda like that of sea urchin . It had plenty of umami and was actually pretty good . As I was enjoying my meal, I noticed that the threedies froze up and were staring at me with aghast looks . ¡°What?¡± ¡°Um, is that tasty?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t hate it, at least . It has a subtle vor and¡­ Uh, what¡¯s with you guys?¡± ¡°Um, t-those are actually called uuchiworms¨C¡± ¡°Aaah! I can¡¯t hear you! This is urchin pasta! Sea urchin vored pasta made with thetest tech!¡± ¡°What a splendid way of self-deception . ¡± Just why did you buy this sort of weird stuff, Mimi!? No, this is pasta! Right . Pasta . It¡¯s nothing weird! It¡¯s just pasta! ¡°Well, just try it, you guys . It¡¯s tasty you know . Urchin pasta . ¡± ¡°Uh, I¡¯m a bit¨C¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pass as well . ¡± ¡°Um, m-me t¡­¡­¡± ¡°Now you¡¯re not saying the one who bought the food herself won¡¯t actually try tasting them, right?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re not, riiight!?¡± ¡°Uu¡­¡­ Okay . ¡± Mimi tearfully picked up a piece of uuchiworm¡­ uh, urchin pasta and brought it to her mouth . She then proceeded to chew on the stuff . Her expression changed afterward . ¡°Huh . It really is tasty . ¡± ¡°Right? It¡¯s nothing much if you just think of it as sea urchin pasta . ¡± ¡°I guess so . I don¡¯t know what urchin pasta actually is, but this is tasty . ¡± Elma and Major Serena¡¯s gazes met after seeing me and Mimi continue to eat the sea urchin pasta on the te . ¡°U-Uh, let me try some then¡­¡­¡± ¡°Y-Yeah . You¡¯ve gone to the trouble of preparing it after all¡­¡­¡± Elma and Major Serena also tried out the urchin pasta . Their expressions were tense at first, but they gradually loosened up as they continued to savor the taste of the food . ¡°It really is delicious . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s a delicacy¡­¡­¡± ¡°By the way, was the fact that the te with this stuff ced right in front of me made with other intentions in mind, perhaps?¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s just a coincidence, right?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah . It¡¯s a coincidence . Coincidence . ¡± ¡°But why do I feel all the suspicious stuff is piled on my side of the table¡­¡­?¡± Mimi and Elma started panicking when I gave them a hard re . Oh well . I¡¯ll stop pursuing this for now . For now that is . ¡°So let¡¯s try this one next! Go ahead Mimi!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Mimi yelped in a strange voice when she saw the contents of the te I offered . Within the dish were ck spheres the size of marbles . Their ck-colored smooth surfaces shone brilliantly and really did resemble ss marbles . ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Weren¡¯t all these stuff ordered by Mimi?¡± ¡°E-Ehehe¡­¡­?¡± Mimi tried to muddle through by acting cute . Yep . That¡¯s cute alright . But I won¡¯t let you get away . I thrust the te at her once more while disying an encouraging smile . ¡°U-Uuu¡­¡­¡± Mimi tearfully reached out with trembling fingers toward the te with ck marble-like things, picked one up and brought it to her mouth . And she finally chewed the stuff . ¡°¡­¡­¡± Mimi¡¯s expression suddenly turned nk . Eh? What the heck is with that reaction? It¡¯s scary you know . ¡°H-How is it?¡± ¡°Uh, um¡­ tas¡­ ty¡­¡­?¡± Mimi answered falteringly to Major Serena¡¯s question . After seeing that curious reaction, my gaze, along with Elma and Major Serena¡¯s, were all drawn to the ck marbles on the te . After looking at each other¡¯s expressions afterward, we all nodded in unison . ¡°Nn¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡­?¡± ¡°What the heck is this strange vor¡­¡­?¡± It was sweet, salty, and sour ¨C all at the same time . It was a peculiar vor . How should I describe it¡­? Yeah, it¡¯s like sea urchin vored pudding thered in soy sauce, I think¡­ Or rather, I can¡¯t find any suitable words to describe it! ¡°By the way, what are these¡­¡­ No, on second thought, you don¡¯t have to answer that . ¡± ¡°I think that would be for the best . ¡± After looking at Mimi¡¯s peculiar expression, I decided to refrain from continuing to ask about the true identity of the mysterious marbles . I¡¯m sure I¡¯d regret it if I ever found out . These were probably eggs of some sort of creature . They were the eggs of a creature that would force Mimi to make such a peculiar expression . Let¡¯s just let sleeping dogs lie . ¡°So, are these the only truly strange ones among the food you ordered?¡± ¡°It seems like it . The rest look somewhat proper at least . ¡± There were smoked manga meat skewers, fruits I¡¯ve never heard about before, some tarts using said fruits as ingredients, fish kes, ck-colored meat jerky, and boiled shrimps the size of an index finger . By the way, the boiled shrimp-looking things were ced near my end of the table, just like the pink pasta and ck marbles . ¡°Whoa, get a load of these tasty-looking shrimps! Give em a try, Elma!¡± ¡°Eh!?¡± Elma and Mimi jerked up in surprise . Those reactions¡­¡­ Like I thought . These were also suspicious, right? ¡°U-Uh, well, I think it would be improper for me to eat before you do, Hiro¡­¡­¡± ¡°Hahaha, don¡¯t worry about it . Go ahead and try them . A?hn . ¡± ¡°U-Uu¡­¡­¡± I won¡¯t let you escape as well¡­¡­ By the way, the ¡®boiled shrimps¡¯ were actually moderately steamedrvae of some sort of mystery creature . Just why did you order stuff like this, Mimi¡­¡­? They were quite creamy and tasty though . After finishing off all the food, all that¡¯s left were the drinks . But, as I was weak to alcohol, I didn¡¯t drink any . ¡°Ahahahahaha!¡± ¡°Hiro-samaaaa? Unyuu-n¡± ¡°They told me we werete the moment I arrived you know! I was busy leading an operation to wipe out pirate scum and that¡¯s what they say to me the moment I report back!? At least protect your own damn colony yourselves, you freaking idiots!¡± As you can see folks! I need help! Elma was just happily chugging sake in the corner, so she¡¯s kinda okay . But Mimi wrapped herself around me like an octopus and refused to let go . Major Serena was busy furiously venting out all her frustrations during work at me as well . ¡°There, there, Major . Calm down¡­¡­¡± ¡°And you! You just suddenly brought out a power armor and protected the docks, rescued Inagawa Tech¡¯s affiliated general hospital alone while destroying creatures along the way, as well as assisted in the sessful production of nanomachines designed to wipe out those monsters! Man, it looks like you mercenaries are far more reliable than the independent fleet (lol) huh! Like I said, we were busy doing important stuff on another sector of space you damn idiots! And they had the gall to say I didn¡¯t make use of my men properly! They even med me for a bioterrorism incident happening right under my nose while I was stationed here! The nerve! Don¡¯t make meugh!¡± Major Serena grabbed my cor and shook me back and forth while spewing outints left and right . What an unruly drunk . Well, she¡¯s drunk, so I guess I can forgive her this time . And it seems Major Serena is also keeping a lot of stress bottled up . ¡°Ohm¡­¡­ Be pacified . Be pacified, wayward soul . ¡± ¡°Garurururururu¡­¡­ . ¡± She finally stopped shaking me after a while . ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± It looks like she got tired from shaking me back and forth with all her might . Major Serena plopped straight down on the table . She waspletely knocked out . It seems she fell asleep . ¡°Does thisdy realize she¡¯s on board a guy¡¯s ship? Isn¡¯t she too defenseless?¡± ¡°Nfufufufu, you wanna do her?¡± ¡°Stop making those obscene finger signs, you drunk elf!¡± Elma was thrusting one of her thumbs in and out of a circle formed by her index and middle fingers while making a lewd grin . ¡°If I really wanted to do it, I¡¯d rather do you, who¡¯s conscious right now, rather than these two, okay . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Fuah!?¡± Elma¡¯s teasing grin was wiped out of her face after hearing my retort . Hahaha, what a nice face she¡¯s making . After getting a fill of Elma¡¯s embarrassed face, I peeled the unconscious Mimi off of me and made her lie down on the sofa . I then held up the sleeping major ¨C in a princess carry . ¡°Eh¡­¡­ You¡¯re really gonna do it with her?¡± I grinned at Elma¡¯s question . ¡°Huph!¡± I then tossed Major Serena inside the med pod when I got to the med bay . I really can¡¯t afford to do the usual¡ºI did it . Tehee . ¡»while drunk temte with thisdy guys . I¡¯m sure it¡¯s gonna head straight to the¡ºPlease take responsibility, okay . (wide grin)¡»development, leading to the fianc¨¦e route . Or rather, it¡¯s even more likely that I¡¯d be buried six feet under if Major Serena¡¯s parents ever found out . In other words, it was way too risky . This person was akin to an anti-ship reactive torpedo-ss mine waiting to explode in my face with devastating force . I¡¯m not so stupid that I¡¯d willingly step on an obviousndmine . ¡°Huh? You¡¯re back? You couldn¡¯t get it up?¡± ¡°You really lose your morals once you¡¯re drunk huh . ¡± I knocked the top of Elma¡¯s head . But I didn¡¯t fail to notice her dispirited expression brightening up the moment I came back . She really was cute sometimes . ¡°Hmph . What¡¯s with you? Putting on airs like that . Even though you¡¯repletely under my and Mimi¡¯s thumb . You act like some sort of gentleman, but aren¡¯t you really just a beast instead?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t deny that . Men, you see, are all animals deep down inside . It¡¯s merely the chains called reason keeping all that back . ¡± ¡°What¡¯s up with that? Are you trying to act cool or something?¡± ¡°Oh? What? You really wanna have a go?¡± Elma¡¯s ears moving up and down is a sign she actually wants me to take care of her, despite her harsh attitude . Purposefully riling me up with words like that, even though you feel exactly the opposite . Are you an elementary school boy or something? She really was seriously cute . ¡°Okay, okay . Here, I¡¯ll drink with you . I¡¯m an extreme lightweight, so I won¡¯t be drinking any alcohol though . ¡± ¡°Hmph . You little boy . ¡± Elma filled my cup with the noncarbonated c while grinning happily . Now then, shall we apany this surprisingly sensitive little rabbit for a few rounds . Chapter 57 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Uh¡­¡­¡± ¡°You got too carried away and drank too much, idiot.¡± It¡¯s been an hour since I shoved Major Serena inside the med pod. Our poor elf princess, who got carried away and opened one bottle another, ended up dead drunk and passed out in the end. I just like what I did an hour ago, I carried the passed out Elma to the medical bay. It¡¯s been an hour already, so I guess the alcohol has already been taken out of Major Serena¡¯s system. I nned to wake the major up and ce Elma inside the med pod. When I came inside the med bay, I saw Major Serena sleeping peacefully within the med pod. The vital check came out clean, so I operated the med pod in order to wake Major Serena up. After a short while, Major Serena finally started regaining consciousness. After a bit, she started looking around the room in mild confusion until she finally fully opened her eyes, which disyed some mild surprise. She hurriedly got up¨C ¡°¨C!?¡± With a thud, she ended up hitting the transparent ss-like cover of the med pod and became all teary-eyed. My dear major, you¡¯re still acting like a ditz even if you¡¯re no longer under the influence of alcohol huh. Are you really a major? I operated the console and opened up the med pod¡¯s hatch. The hatch can also be opened from inside without my intervention, but I bet our ditzy major would have some trouble even with that. ¡°Anyway, can you get up first? I¡¯m gonna put her in next.¡± ¡°O-Okay¡­¡­¡± Major Serena got up from the med pod while massaging her forehead. I then put Elma inside next, operated the console again, and closed the hatch once more. ¡°Um¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Major had one too many drinks and ended up venting all her frustrations from work to me, thenpletely passed out afterward. While presumptuous, I took the liberty to put you inside the med pod in order to relieve you of the alcohol from your system. I hope you took no offense ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Major Serena¡¯s face turned bright red and awkwardly averted her gaze from mine. Well, of course she¡¯d feel awkward. She something like barging in on a person¡¯s private ship just to have an outlet to vent her frustrations after all. She then drank alcohol like crazy, acted like an unreasonable drunk, and had to be shoved inside the med pod in the end. Anybody with even a modicum ofmon sense would feel shame from these kinds of actions at least. ¡°U-Um, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine. One really needs to let out all the stress that¡¯s built up like this sometimes. It seems you¡¯ve piled up quite a lot after all.¡± ¡°Uu¡­¡­¡± Major Serena hid her blushing face with both hands. Looks like I really hit the nail on the head. ¡°And this is the second time this happened anyway.¡± ¡°Uguu¡­¡­!¡± It was just a repeat of what happenedst time. ¡°I suggest bringing some medical nanomachines that would help out with drunkenness the next time you go out for some alcohol ma¡¯am. Or rather, don¡¯t you think you¡¯re just too damn defenseless? I mean, not only did you board the ship of a male merc like me. You also drank like there was no tomorrow and even ended up passing out. Be more mindful, alright. You¡¯re a nobledy after all.¡± I¡¯m sure there are more than one or two methods to manipte one¡¯s consciousness in a technologically advanced society like this. If they only wanted to remove a person¡¯s ability to move freely, they also had the option to resort to more ¡®primitive¡¯ things like cutting up the limbs and such. And there¡¯s also the method of taking Major Serena to god-knows-where while she¡¯s passed out as well. It would have been totally possible to do a thing like selling off Major Serena to the guys from the Vereverem Federation if I ever had the mind to. Major Serena was a young and beautiful noblewoman with a nice pedigree after all. I bet there are guys who would pay any price to procure such a fine specimen in order to do whatever they liked to her out there. ¡°I¡¯ll reflect on my actions.¡± Major Serena shriveled up and got a bit dispirited. Cute¨C No, no! Don¡¯t get fooled! Just who was the person in front of me? Major Serena. Apletely sober Major Serena. Is there really any chance such a Major Serena would feel down after hearing my lecture? Well, I guess there is. But it might not be the case as well. I still have my doubts. ¡°Well, since you say you¡¯re reflecting, I won¡¯t lecture you any further. I¡¯m not a guy who¡¯s in any position to scold someone like you anyway.¡± I picked up Major Serena¡¯s sword I propped up on the wall earlier and gave it back to her. ¡°I guess it¡¯s time for you to go back to your own ship already. You¡¯d get in trouble if any strange rumors about this got spread around, right? Actually, me too.¡± ¡°Y-You¡¯re right. Exactly.¡± Major Serena received the sword and slowly got up. What about Mimi? She woke up in the middle of my drinking session with Elma and was now busy tidying up the dining room. In the end, it was the youngest of the girls, Mimi, who had the most self-control among the three. I opened the main hatch of the ship and assisted Major Serena down the ramp. Major Serena turned back toward me in the middle of the steps. ¡°Will I ever see you again?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get to meet us again if you continue hunting pirates. Those guys are one of our main sources of ie after all. And you also owe me, remember?¡± If you think about it like that, I was like a predator who thrives in devouring the flesh and blood of pirates in order to live. Yeah, it¡¯s an apt description, in a sense. But I¡¯d like to think I¡¯m a bit more decent of a person than that. There¡¯s no real pirate worth pitying after all. ¡°I see¡­¡­ You¡¯re right. I¡¯ll be seeing you then.¡± ¡°Yeah. Later, major.¡± Major Serena shed me a pretty smile onest time and turned away. After seeing her off, I returned inside the Krishna and let out a sigh. ¡°I¡¯ll be seeing you, huh.¡± It¡¯s unfair for you to say a thing like that with those abandoned puppy eyes,dy. What the heck should I do? I really feel someone like Major Serena is a little bit too much for someone like me. Well, I guess we¡¯ll still get to meet up if there really was some sort of connection between us. I better just turn my attention to our departure tomorrow instead. Then came the next day. The actual reserve supplies used up during yesterday¡¯s drinking party was fairly little (the alcohol was Elma¡¯s and the food was Mimi¡¯s), so we couldunch anytime. Since the girls were drunk from alcoholst night, we didn¡¯t have the chance to do some nightly activities, so I just did some training first thing in the morning, took a bath, and did a bit of info gathering while sipping some warm coffee. The info I searched for was not about the resort we were going to go next or the things to look out for while traveling there. It was about the bioterrorism incident that urred a few days ago. The cause of that incident has finallye to light. Those pale white monsters were, as expected, variants of the ones we saw being bred at the cultured meat factory. The auto-apoptosis feature that was a security measure in case a specimen ever escaped from a meat nt was removed via gic maniption, and their aggressive instincts were instead enhanced to dangerous levels. It seems a certain organization has already imed responsibility for causing the bioterrorism incident this time, and the imperial government has already given an order to the military for the organization¡¯s extermination. The name of the terrorist organization was the Artificial Life Protection Association. They were a group that was dedicated to protecting the rights and promoting the release of artificial life forms born and bred for the people¡¯s convenience. So they were like the futuristic extremist version of conservationists or animal rights groups huh? They sound like a group I didn¡¯t ever want to get mixed up with. ¡°Good morning, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Morning.¡± Mimi and Elma entered the dining room just after I finished reading the article. ¡°Morning, you two. Let¡¯s have breakfast and prepare to head out.¡± ¡°I hope there are no more interruptions this time.¡± ¡°Um, doing it two times in a row should be unlikely, even for someone like Major Serena¡­¡± Mimi replied to Elma¡¯s statement while sporting a wry grin. I¡¯m sure Mimi has already ssified Major Serena as¡ºthat type¡»inside her heart. You know. That type. A troublemaker, I mean. ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯ll be fine. But let¡¯s depart straight away, just in case. Being dyed for a day or two is already too much.¡± I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll cost us quite a bit once we got to our destination, but we have a budget of over 17 mil, so we still have a fair bit of leeway avable. That¡¯s a whopping 1.7 billion if forcibly converted into Yen after all. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s eat up first. I wonder what today¡¯s daily specials are?¡± ¡°I¡¯m famished, so I want something that¡¯s a little on the heavy side today.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with something light. I don¡¯t have much of an appetite during mornings anyway.¡± We made a lively fuss as we started to order our meals from the auto-cooker. We¡¯re going to a new ceter on. But first, we spent our morning doing our usual routine as always. Chapter 58 Chapter 58 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Yosh, shall we depart? Apply forunch clearance, Mimi . ¡± After having breakfast, we decided to finally depart to our next destination, the Sierra star system ¨C a ce with a bustling resort as its main draw . It became hard for us to do any pirate hunting on our own in the Alein star system because of the independent anti-pirate mobile fleet led by Major Serena . It would be inefficient if we insisted on fighting over them for scraps now that the main pirate base in this system has been sessfully crushed . ¡°Roger!¡± ¡°Do your thing like always, Elma . ¡± ¡°Got it . Leave the subsystem controls to me . ¡± The state of the ship was all green . The self-diagnostics check performed by the ship AI didn¡¯t detect a single problem . ¡°We have clearance . ¡± ¡°Great . We¡¯re heading out . ¡± I released the docking mechanism, retracted thending gear, and slowly flew out of the colony . I did it at a slow enough speed in order to avoid colliding with other ships as we headed out of the colony . If I mess up badly, we¡¯ll possibly end up crashing and triggering a huge chain explosion ident . If that ever happened, we¡¯d have to pay for the damages to other ships as well as the colony itself, apart from the repair fee for our own ship, even if we do manage to survive the ident . ¡°Um, our gate passage number is 3 . We¡¯re going next, after that yellow transport ship . ¡± ¡°Gotcha . ¡± Ships rushing through gates all at once duringunch procedures may possibly cause major idents to ur as well . So in order to prevent that, ships are only allowed tounch out when their turnes up . Getting number 3 was quite a lucky break since we didn¡¯t have to wait long . ¡°It¡¯s our turn . ¡± ¡°Okay . I¡¯ll make sure to be a model driver at least until we get out of the colony . ¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± ¡°Causing an ident near the gate is a pretty serious offense after all¡­¡­¡± Elma made a faraway look . She may have possibly been involved in one in the past . Because it may cause interference with other ships within the colony, the energy shield output needs to be set to minimum while inside . After a few moments, the yellow ship finally managed to fullyunch out of the gate, making it our turn . ¡°Let¡¯s go, Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°Yeah . ¡± I slowly led the ship forward until we passed through the specialized airtight barrier covering the colony, separating it from the coldness of space . It was a mysterious barrier that allowed solid objects like ship hulls to pass through but trapped the air inside the colony interior . I think it¡¯s one of the most mysterious devices I¡¯ve ever encountered in this dimension . After passing through the barrier, we finally reached open space . We increased the generator output and elerated away from the colony . ¡°Please set the coordinates on the navputer, Mimi . ¡± ¡°Yes . Course is now set . ¡± Mimi operated the console in front of the Operator seat and inputted the coordinates for the target star system in the navputer . The data popped up on my screen as well . After receiving the data, I pointed the bow toward the direction of the target destination . ¡°FTL drive, charging start . ¡± ¡°Roger . FTL drive, countdown . ¡± Elma followed my order and started firing up the FTL drive . ¡°5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­¡­ FTL drive, activate . ¡± After the sound of an explosion, the Krishna disappeared from normal space; only leaving behind light trails in its wake . The formerly stationary stars in the far distance started moving . ¡°Currently heading to the Pamoni star system¡­¡­ Final stop: Sierra star system . It¡¯s four nodes away from here via Hypene . Hyper Drive, charging start . ¡± ¡°Charging Hyper Drive . ¡± ¡°Hypene linkplete . ¡± ¡°Countdown . 5, 4, 3, 2, 1¨C Hyper Drive, activate . ¡± The space around the ship began to distort further, along with the lights surrounding it . In the next instant, a bright sh of myriad lights enveloped us, and Krishna finally entered hyperspace . Our small ship started to journey within the bright torrents of lights . Though in actual practice, there weren¡¯t any loud sounds that rang out during the process . Space is a vacuum after all . ¡°And done . We can finally rx a bit . ¡± Generally, traveling through hyperspace is done through the ship¡¯s autopilot . The traveling time is fairly long, and the bow of the ship simply needs to keep pointing in the direction of the light flow . The standard practice is to leave one person in charge of monitoring the autopilot navigation, just in case some trouble does ur . I only heard of this practice from Elma though . In Ste Online, traveling between star systems didn¡¯t really take hours toplete . If it was, then it would have been criticized as a crappy game . It was basically just activating the Hyper Drive, getting on the Hypene, and instantly arriving at the target destination . ¡°So what are we gonna do about monitoring duty?¡± ¡°Um, do we really need to have one of us on monitoring duty?¡± Mimi asked a bit doubtfully . ¡°I wonder . I just heard it from Elma, so I decided on doing it . I can¡¯t really say if there¡¯s a fundamental need for it or not . Even I¡¯m a bit reluctant about it, honestly . The autopilot is fully capable of doing the minor adjustments and course corrections by itself, and it would also sound an rm if there was any sort of trouble . ¡± After saying so, I turned my gaze toward Elma . After hearing my and Mimi¡¯s doubts, Elma gave an answer . ¡°Yep . That was a lie . ¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯re going to spend quite a lot of time without anything to do in particr, right¡­? I just thought of taking advantage of it so we can spend some time with each other alone . In shifts, of course . ¡± Elma told the honest truth and turned her face away from the two of us . I see . ¡°Okay . Well, let¡¯s just not leave anyone on guard duty then . ¡± ¡°H-Hey¡­¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a matter of keeping alert in the off-chance of an emergency happening, right? I think forcefully implementing shifts and losing sleep because of it is kinda ridiculous . ¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s¡­ You¡¯re right, but¡­¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound so bad to experience aid back lifestyle every once in a while, right?¡± ¡°So that¡¯s your real aim?¡± Elma gave me a hard stare . Well, it¡¯s sort of like a man¡¯s romance, yeah . Well, I was still prettyid back even when I did monitoring duty in the cockpitst time, so it really doesn¡¯t matter in the end . You¡¯d be spending tens of hours inside a small ship¡­ In some cases, it may even take hundreds of hours . You won¡¯t be able to connect to the gctic while in hyperspace, so you really can¡¯t browse online . If you didn¡¯t prepare stuff for killing time like games, holo-vids, or e-books, the only option you have left is doing stuff like exercising in the training room, eating a meal or two, taking a bath, and sleeping . Basically, you¡¯d have a lot of idle time . In that case, there¡¯s only one other thing couples who have already bared their bodies and hearts to each other can do . It¡¯s probably one of the reasons why there were a lot of families with tons of kids in the eras when there were little entertainment options avable . ¡°Okay then . You¡¯re dismissed, folks . As the captain of this ship, I approve the start of the free time period . ¡± ¡°Understood . ¡± ¡°Oh geez¡­¡­ Really, now¡­¡­¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯ll be a fairly long journey, so let¡¯s just take this time to rx, okay? Did you manage to get something like a tourist information guide for the Sierra system, Mimi?¡± ¡°Yes, I have!¡± ¡°Great . Let¡¯s all have a look at the dining room . I¡¯m really curious about the stuff on a resort . C¡¯mon Elma . ¡± ¡°W-Wait! You don¡¯t have to push me!¡± I pushed Elma from behind and headed to the dining area . There are no more annoying third parties, so let¡¯s take this opportunity to thoroughly rx . I didn¡¯t manage to rx all that much during our time in the Alein system after all . Chapter 59 Chapter 59 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone I was woken up by a ticklish feeling . In the midst of being immersed in warmth, I felt something tickling the tip of my nose . My half-asleep brain still refused to get away from thisfortable warmth, and a body will remain immobile withoutmands from the brain . There was something soft wrapping itself on my entire body . There were soft things hitting the center of my chest . It was definitely a taste of paradise . However, it¡¯s quite unfortunate . The brain, that has already started realizing the current situation, has now begun the process of waking up in earnest . When I regained consciousness, the first thing I saw was the top of a head with a lustrous patch of light-brown hair . It seems it¡¯s the soft locks of hair on this particr head that were tickling my nose . There was a young woman who used my arm as a pillow and pushed her delicate face near the base of my neck . Both I and she were unmistakably naked . Well, in other words, it was ¡®that¡¯ kind of rtionship . Now then, what should I do about this? It did feel a bit of a pity to get up from this position, but I had to get to the bathroom to do my stuff and take a shower . I still don¡¯t know what time it is, but it¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t get sufficient sleep, and it didn¡¯t feel like it was too early to get out of bed . Yeah, let¡¯s get up . I¡¯ll be as gentle in waking my partner up as possible . I reached for the top of the head with lustrous hair in front of me and gave it a light pat . Shortly after, she woke up with a shudder . She looked at me with her still-half-asleep eyes and smiled gently . ¡°Good morning, Mimi . ¡± ¡°Good morning, Hiro-sama . ¡± Now then, let¡¯s have a little talk about our current destination ¨C the Sierra star system . It was four nodes away via Hypene from the Alein star system ¨C the system we were previously at, with a great technological industry . You can think of a Hypene as a kind of subspace tunnel that serves as a sort of high-speed highway between star systems . It¡¯s said that if you make use of it, you can travel a few tens, or even hundreds, of lightyears in a significantly shorter period of time . And the Sierra star system is a ce famous for being a vacation destination due to being a resort system, it seems . So what¡¯s a resort system, you ask? In other words, it was somewhere non-first ss imperial citizens, mercenaries who aren¡¯t imperial subjects to begin with, and other such foreign visitors go to in order to enjoy various activities experiencing nature in tourists, mountain climbing, sailing, hunting for local wildlife and eating their meat via outdoor barbecue and the like . By the way, having a real nature experience means that you get to see things like a natural sunrise, naturally formed white clouds floating in a vast, blue sky, asional rains, sunset, a clear view of the starry sky, and even witness shooting stars if you¡¯re lucky enough . That is the ultimate nature experience . At least, that¡¯s what¡¯s written in the tourist pamphlet of the Sierra star system we had on our hands . ¡°It somehow sounds really grand!¡± ¡°Yeah . Those aren¡¯t stuff people born and raised in colonies get to experience often . ¡± Mimi smiled cheerfully as she held a tablet disying a virtual pamphlet of the Sierra star system on it . Elma agreed with her words and smiled back . I woke up with Mimi earlier, entered the bathroom and took a shower together, and went to the dining room after refreshing ourselves . We were currently in the middle of an after-meal break after having breakfast . ¡°Hm¡­¡­¡± All the things that Mimi found impressive were already quite familiar to me . In other words, it was like a nature camp-out, right? I didn¡¯t really see anything worth getting too hyped up about, honestly . But that¡¯s just me . But on the other hand, there¡¯s a good chance to see Mimi and Elma wearing skimpy swimsuits under a blue sky on a white sand beach . Now that¡¯s something worth getting excited about . I definitely wanna get a load of that . Well, at least I¡¯m gonna get to experience going on a vacation in a different dimension . Let¡¯s just enjoy it to the fullest . Oops . The talk got derailed a bit . Let¡¯s get back to talking about the Sierra star system . I mentioned earlier that the Sierra system is a resort system, and it indeed had a lot of habitables, but it doesn¡¯t mean there are no colonies present . They function as ry points to transfer supplies and materials to and from the variouss, lodging ces for those tourists waiting for their turn to have the nature experience tours, and expo sites for all the various exotic products produced and gathered from the resorts in the system . Many colonies with varied functions such as these existed there . But it seems quite a lot of people living in colonies aren¡¯t able to afford the high costs of going in a vacation on these types of resort systems, so they just choose the next best thing and have their vacations in thefort of their own homes via a simted virtual environment . But isn¡¯t something like thatpletely missing the point of a vacation in the first ce? That¡¯s about it for the introduction of the Sierra star system as a tourist destination . Now let¡¯s talk about the Sierra system as a viable pirate hunting ground for mercs . Since it¡¯s a resort system, there are naturally a lot of tourists visiting all the time . There are many passenger cruisers operating within the area, as well as ship escorts assigned for their protection . And there were also many cargo transport ships carrying supplies and materials between the various colonies ands in the system, and even from other neighboring star systems . Now then, I¡¯m sure you guys can already tell . If there¡¯s a great number of civilian and mercantile traffic, chances are, ¡®those guys¡¯ would also appear . Pirates, I mean . Since they chose to go on vacation on a resort system, it¡¯s fairly safe to assume the tourists on the passenger ships were all of the wealthy sorts . There were many uses for them in the pirate¡¯s eyes . They could be kidnapped and ransomed away for a great amount of cash, sold as ves in the ck market, or used as an outlet of lust for those guys and certain sorts of clients . And the cargo transport ships are a no-brainer . There were quite a lot of merchants vessels carrying high-value goods . Even if that¡¯s not the case, they could still be carrying things like luxury items, food, and drinks . There¡¯s no reason for pirates not to go after them . Of course those transport ships aren¡¯t without defenses . There were sure to be guard ships escorting them during their travels . That¡¯s why pirates in this system always form raid groups so they can sessfully attack the civilian ships . And in lieu of necessity, the pirate raid groups in this system areposed of twenty to thirty ships instead of the usual ten-something . The jobs mercenaries can take aren¡¯t limited to pirate hunting but escort missions as well . In any case, due to the difficulty of going at it alone in this kind of environment, the mercenaries in the Mercenary Guild branch of the Sierra Prime colony often form unofficial ¡®fleets¡¯ and work in teams toplete missions . ¡°Hiro?¡± ¡°Hm? What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°No . I was just curious about why you¡¯re suddenly all quiet . What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I was just thinking about some stuff . Like what¡¯s the most effective method for earning money in the Sierra star system . ¡± ¡°Oh? You¡¯re unexpectedly thinking about some serious stuff for a change . To think you¡¯re actually concentrating on business even though we¡¯re heading to a resort system . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what to feel about that ¡®unexpected¡¯ part¡­¡­ Well, this is kinda like a habit of mine . ¡± I shrugged my shoulders and answered Elma, who was giving me a side-eye . In fact, this may actually be a habit formed by many in my home country . You know . There are a lot of guys over there who¡¯d end up working until they¡¯re almost dead if you left them alone . ¡°In any case, we should go to Sierra Prime first . ¡± ¡°Yeah . It seems we also need to ce a reservation in the colony before we can go on a vacation tour on a resort anyway . ¡± ¡°Let¡¯s head over right away once we exit hyperspace . How much longer before wee out?¡± ¡°About one more hour . ¡± ¡°We have enough time to work up a sweat in the training room then . ¡± ¡°Someone¡¯s working hard . ¡± ¡°A healthy mind lives in a healthy body, as they say . ¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound convincing when you¡¯re the one saying it . ¡± ¡°How cold . I¡¯m quite the exemry gentleman you know . ¡± ¡°Try to look at yourself in the mirror and say that again . ¡± Elma gave me another disdainful side-eye . But it can¡¯t be helped, y¡¯see . For some reason, the games in this dimension just don¡¯t interest me at all . In terms of ways to kill time, I could only either read some e-books, work up a sweat in the training room, or work up a sweat with Mimi and Elma in the bedroom . But it might really be a good time for me to find a hobby or something in this dimension . ¡°Hiro-sama, I¡¯ll join you!¡± ¡°I see . Let¡¯s go then . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­I¡¯ming along too . ¡± ¡°Really?¡± For some reason, not just Mimi, but even Elma offered toe with me to the training room . But the training room¡¯s not all that spacious y¡¯know . Oh well . The three of us then proceeded to work out . I chose the menu focusing on building up muscle . Mimi chose the one tailored to build stamina . Elma, on the other hand, did some workouts that improve her flexibility and explosiveness . ¡°Owowowow!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not very flexible, aren¡¯t you? It¡¯s important to improve flexibility in order to take advantage of all that muscle, you know . ¡± ¡°Oooow!? I can¡¯t bend that much! I really can¡¯t bend that much, okay!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine . You can do it . C¡¯mon . There you go . Do your best? Do your best?¡± ¡°Aaah¡ª!?¡± I tried out the flexibility exercises, but Elma was merciless . She kept forcibly trying to bend my joints . I¡¯ll die you know . ¡°Is it really that hard?¡± ¡°Mimi¡¯s already pretty flexible after all . ¡± ¡°Yes . I¡¯m pretty confident in my body¡¯s flexibility!¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡­¡± Stop casually having a nice conversation like that and pay attention to me too, please! I¡¯m gonna cry here! I¡¯m really gonna cry! With that, we finished up each of our training routines, with Mimi and Elma feeling quite refreshed after the workout, and me feeling quite sore from getting my limbs and joints stretched out . Should I get this treated at the med pod¡­¡­? ¡°We¡¯ll being out of subspace soon . Countdown start . 5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­¡­ Warping out!¡± Should I describe the sound as ¡®gyoiooon¡¯? Or is ¡®gyuoooon¡¯ better? Anyway, the ship finally got itself out of the multicolored light stream and tunneled out to normal space along with a peculiar wailing sound . ¡°Downloading star system data . Checking coordinates¡­ We¡¯ve sessfully arrived at the target destination . ¡± ¡°Please send me the navigation data for Sierra Prime . ¡± After a short while, Elma sent me the navigation data of the Sierra system as well as the immediate area . Mimi¡¯s already inputted the exact navigation coordinates earlier . It was work the two of them have quite a couple of times already ever since we left the Termaine system . It looks like Mimi¡¯s already getting a hang of it . Her work went smoother this timepared to before . ¡°Alright . Shall we get going? Start charging the FTL Drive . ¡± ¡°Roger . FTL Drive, charging start . Count start . 5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­¡­ Chargingplete . ¡± ¡°FTL Drive, activate . ¡± The Krishna activated its FTL drive with a loud boom as usual . The stationary stars started trailing behind the ship once more . ¡°We¡¯ll arrive at the Sierra Prime colony in¡­¡­ about an hour without any emergencies along the way . ¡± ¡°Yeah . If we encountered trouble again likest time¨C¡± Maybe Mimi saying that triggered a g or something? An rm started ringing out inside the cockpit . ¡°¡­¡­Mimi . ¡± ¡°Eh!? Is this my fault!?¡± When I called her out, Mimi started tearing up . ¡°No, it¡¯s not really your fault, Mimi . It¡¯s just a coincidence, okay . ¡± ¡°Well someone sure is rxed even after being hit by an interdictor¡­¡­¡± An interdictor is a device that can arbitrarily force the FTL Drive of a ship to stop, bringing it out to normal space again . I¡¯m not sure how the thing works as usual, but it seems it has to do something with interfering with gravity and mass or something . It was an absurd dimension as always, but anyway, there are only two groups that actively make use of interdictors¡­¡­ No, three, rather . The first is the imperial military . Privatebat ships traveling all alone like Krishna here can be said to be suspicious in a certain sense over here . Mercenary ships like us are usually part of an escort contingent for merchant fleets or move with other ships in teams in this particr system after all . Any lone ship sailing through space in these parts can only be lone wolf mercenaries or rogue pirates . In other words, the imperial military has the right to use an interdictor to forcefully stop suspicious ships like that in its tracks in order to inspect them . The other is, of course, pirates . They¡¯d use interdictors to stop private passenger cruisers and the like in their tracks in order to attack them . Thest one is mercenaries like us . There are times when our targets try to make a run for it while we¡¯re hunting them down, so we use an interdictor to prevent them from using their FTL Drives to escape . Krishna also has some onboard . But we rarely use them though . ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a good chance it¡¯s pirates . ¡± ¡°Yeah . ¡± They hit us with an interdictor without so much as a warning after all . Elma also thinks pirates are the likely cause . ¡°I wonder why they targeted us?¡± ¡°Maybe cause we¡¯re a lone ship . I believe they were able to detect us via radar the moment we exited the Hypene . ¡± We tried tracing the source point of the gravity interference created by the interdictor while exchanging some light banter . The guys who used the interdictor on us are kinda amateurish . We could actually easily escape from them now if we had the mind to . ¡°Shall we get em?¡± ¡°Shall we? I heard the pirates in this system work in fairlyrge groups though?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine . Judging from the timing they used the interdictor, I¡¯m sure they¡¯re not that special . ¡± ¡°Really? Well, I guess . Let¡¯s go ahead andy it to them then . ¡± ¡°Right . Mimi, battle prep . There are probably gonna be quite a number of them, so focus on the radar, okay . And brace for Gs as well . I may make some forceful maneuverster . ¡± ¡°Understood!¡± ¡°Elma, release the chaff once we get booted out to normal space . Release some res too if needed . ¡± ¡°I know . I¡¯ll do it like always . ¡± ¡°Great . Let¡¯s go wild then . ¡± I dropped the power and obediently canceled the FTL drive without going against the interdictor . Now that we¡¯ve chosen to fight, it would be better to deactivate the drive ourselves than to wait for it to get forcibly deactivated . *Boom! The FTL drive finally deactivated, and the flowing stars in the distance turned into stationary light motes again . ¡°We¡¯ve been locked on to by unidentified ships! There are ten enemy signatures on the radar!¡± ¡°Releasing chaff!¡± ¡°Weapon systems online! Let¡¯s go!¡± The generator¡¯s power output went up to battle level within moments . Now then, it¡¯s showtime . Chapter 60 Chapter 60 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone There were a total of thirteen enemies behind us . Having our backside exposed to enemy fire right from the start of the battle isn¡¯t amusing in the least . But we still had an overwhelming advantage in terms of shield capacity and firepower . We have a full batch of shield cells ready as well . I guess taking a brute force approach every once in a while ain¡¯t so bad . ¡°We¡¯re going for a frontal shootout this time, girls . ¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°Very . ¡± I immediately deployed the ship¡¯s four maniptor arms equipped with heavyser cannons and the two ballistic shotgun cannons on both sides of the cockpit block as I fired up the thrusters to maximum . ¡ºWhat the hell? So yer runnin away? Ya coward!¡» ¡ºGyahaha! Do you think you can escape with thirteen ships surrounding you?¡» I¡¯m not really trying to run away though . I inwardly thought so as I kept taking distance from the pirates . Even though I said we were going for a frontal shootout earlier, it doesn¡¯t mean I nned on staying put while trading shots . It would be troublesome to take enemy fire from all sides after all . ¡°Are we going to run away like this? Our ship is certainly faster so we do have a good chance of escaping, but¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way we¡¯re bailing out . ¡± ¡°Um¡­¡­?¡± ¡°We¡¯re gonna do this instead . ¡± ¡ºCrap, that one¡¯s faster than expecte¨C!?¡» I made the Krishna do a high-speed turn by firing out a couple of the attitude control sub-thrusters while maintaining the momentum built up earlier by rushing forward at top speed . As a result, Krishna, that had its backsidepletely exposed to the enemies earlier, was finally able to face the thirteen pirate ships head-on while still maintaining its earlier escaping speed . ¡°Well, that pullback maneuver sure was smooth . ¡± ¡°Course it was . ¡± Krishna fired all four heavysers against the enemy pirate ships giving chase while maintaining distance using the sub-thrusters in front of the ship . Pirate ships generally prioritize firepower, so their shield strengths were rtively poor . The azure light projectiles fired out by the heavyser cannons easily prated the flimsy energy shields of the enemy pirate ships like they were nothing more than shoji paper, melting their armor and sting through their hulls . ¡ºThe shield was prated in one hit!? Gaaaaaaaaaa!?¡±¡» ¡ºM-Missiles! Fire everything at em!¡» Four of the enemy ships exploded, but the remaining nine fired heat-seeker missiles at us . It looks like they fired all they got in order for the deaths of theirrades to not be in vain or something like that . That sure puts a tear in my eye guys . But it¡¯s meaningless . ¡ºW-What the¨C!? The missiles!¨C? Guwaaah!?¡» I intercepted all the heat-seeker missiles by firing off the two ballistic shotgun cannons, causing arge chain explosion . I then used said explosion as a screen in order tond more hits using theser cannons . The pirate ships fired back using their ownser cannons and multi-cannons, but they were unable to put even as much as a scratch on Krishna due to our high-output shields . ¡ºCrap! We thought this was delicious prey, but we ended up provoking a monster! We¡¯re gonna run for it, you bastards!¡» I shot down another four ships . That leaves five more . Did that lead ship manage to survive until now because it was always hanging out back while the others took the heat? I mulled over such pointless stuff while picking off the remaining pirate ships with the heavysers . ¡ºCrap! Craaaap! I don¡¯t wanna die! I don¡¯t wanna die! I don¡¯t¨C¡» Thest ship took the full brunt of our fourser cannons and exploded . Did that guy have a habit of saying ¡®crap¡¯ over and over again? Oh, yeah . It sure takes back to my FPS days . There was a guy who kept saying ¡®crap¡¯ all the time back then as well . He sounded like a broken radio . ¡°Situation clear . Hm . The difference in our specs was just too huge, so it was pretty one-sided . ¡± ¡°This ship is just too much of a cheat . Isn¡¯t the generator output just absurd? It looks like a small ship, but the output of its generator and its firepower rival that of arge warship . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t deny that it¡¯s a cheat . But the handling of this thing is quite peaky you know . ¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s right too, I guess . It¡¯s not as much as the Swan though . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll worship you as a goddess if you ever master that kind of ship, Elma¡­¡­ That one¡¯s just too much for me as well . ¡± While talking casually with Elma, I moved Krishna toward the pirate ship wreckage in order tomence salvaging operations . ¡°They¡¯re always like this, but, I mean¡­¡­¡± Mimi turned aplicated gaze toward me and Elma, who were busy talking animatedly with each other in a harmonious fashion . Fumu . Was she bothered that we didn¡¯t really care about the deaths earlier? ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you wondering why we¡¯re so calm even after killing people?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡­¡± Mimi hesitated to reply after hearing Elma¡¯s question . I¡¯m sure that¡¯s exactly how she feels, but she¡¯s just afraid of rubbing Elma and I the wrong way, so she¡¯s keeping mum instead . ¡°You know Mimi, if you keep worrying about things like that, it¡¯ll just be a vicious cycle . Those were space pirates who attack and kill innocent civilians like it was nothing, okay . But I do understand it¡¯s hard to reconcile with one¡¯s feelings at first even though you understand the logic . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s just as Hiro says . There¡¯s no need to pay attention to the dying screams of those kinds of idiots . Those scum have always ignored the screams and begging of their victims after all . It¡¯s their just desserts, so to speak . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes . ¡± Mimi answered us in a downhearted voice . My seat was a bit far from hers, so I couldn¡¯t see her face, but I¡¯m sure she was disying a depressed expression right now . ¡°Well, this might sound rather callous, but I think you¡¯re better off being that way, Mimi . I and Elma are like this, y¡¯see . I think someone like Mimi, who still holds on to yourpassionate heart, can act as the voice of conscience and reason for this ship from time to time . ¡± ¡°Hey, I also have a conscience you know¡­? But Mimi, you absolutely cannot show any mercy to pirates, okay . If you ever let at least one escape, tens, or even hundreds of innocent lives will be the price to pay . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes . ¡± Hmmm . The tension just won¡¯t go back down . I¡¯m not sure about what exactly I should say to lighten the mood at times like this . Sorry, Mimi . ¡°They don¡¯t seem to be carrying much cargo . ¡± ¡°Yeah . We only got some canned food, alcohol, and a small number of rare metals . Is there some equipment that¡¯s worth taking away with us¡­ Oh . ¡± As I was controlling the drone to look for loot, I managed to find something that made me involuntarily sigh . ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I might have found something troublesome here . ¡± ¡°Eh? What is it? Another singing crystal?¡± ¡°Nope . Here, take a look . ¡± I sent the image data to Mimi and Elma¡¯s terminals . ¡°This is¡­¡­ a cold sleep pod? Geh . And it looks like it has someone inside . ¡± After seeing the images I sent, Elma let out an unwilling voice . A cold sleep, simply speaking, is an emergency escape pod usually equipped on passenger ships . Humans who enter inside them are put into a state of suspended animation under really low temperatures, suppressing their metabolism to extremely low levels, which would allow them to survive with limited resources for a long period of time . A rescue signal is set to be emitted from the pod at a set period of time after being ejected from a ship, and it is a system that would give the escaped person a chance to be recovered by other passing ships while they are kept alive under the cold sleep state . By the way, in Ste Online, it¡¯s merely treated as a cash item . But in this world, it won¡¯t be the case for sure . ¡°It has someone inside¡­¡­ So it¡¯s a survivor?¡± ¡°That would be the case if nothing¡¯s wrong with the pod¡­¡­ And we can¡¯t exactly leave it drifting around like this . ¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right . ¡± The discoverers of such pods are also obligated to rescue them under universalw . If it was ever found out that you ignored one such pod, it would be a capital crime, and you¡¯d get a bounty put on your head . Mercs and merchants who tantly ignore things like these while betting that they won¡¯t be found out mostly end up with a big, fat bounty on their heads . ¡°Well, better retrieve it then¡­¡­ and head as fast as we can for the nearest colony . ¡± ¡°We came here for a vacation and encountered something so troublesome right off the bat¡­¡­ Well, getting attacked by pirates is also quite unlucky as well though . ¡± ¡°Um, why does it sound like you¡¯re not very willing, you two¡­¡­?¡± After hearing Mimi¡¯s question, my and Elma¡¯s eyes met . The main pilot seat and the sub-pilot seat were adjacent to each other, so we can freely meet eyes like this . And right now we were trying to pass the responsibility of exining what¡¯s up to Mimi on each other with our gazes¡­¡­ Oh man . Mimi already took a hit earlier with the pirate deaths, so telling her about the reason for our reluctance to rescue the pod is a little awkward . In the end, Elma gave in first . She sighed and began exining . ¡°When using a cold sleep pod, there¡¯s a good chance of the person inside having some gaps in his or her memories as a side effect . That¡¯s why the rescuer is obliged to take care of the person inside the pod for a week or so . Once their memories return, the rescuer can also charge the expenses incurred during that one week period . ¡± ¡°In other words, we can¡¯t go on our nned vacation for at least one week, and we can¡¯t hunt pirates either¡­¡­ Well, we¡¯re rescuing a person, so I guess it can¡¯t be helped . ¡± ¡°I see . But I think rescuing people is a good thing . I and Elma-san were rescued by Hiro-sama after all . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­That¡¯s right, I guess . It feels like we¡¯re gonna get punished or something by thinking something like this is unlucky . But I do hope there¡¯s nothing wrong with the ¡®contents¡¯ of that pod . ¡± ¡°The ¡®contents¡¯ huh¡­¡­ That sure makes me think twice about opening that pod or not . ¡± It would be nice if the person inside can stay rational even after being put into cold sleep¡­¡­ But ording to Elma, there are lots of cases where survivors behaved pretty unreasonably . ¡°In any case, let¡¯s hurry and head to the Sierra Prime colony first . We¡¯re done with recovering the loot anyway . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re right . Mimi, set a new navigation route for us please . ¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m updating the navigation data now . ¡± After the navigation data for the Sierra Prime colony was set, the main monitor inside the cockpit disyed our new route . ¡°Yosh, let¡¯s go . FTL Drive, charging start . ¡± ¡°Roger . Charging, start . ¡± And so, we shoved the cold sleep pod with unknown contents inside the cargo hold and headed for the Sierra Prime colony . All the while unsuspecting of all the trouble the mysterious ¡®contents¡¯ of that pod will bring uster on . Chapter 61 Chapter 61 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone The Sierra Prime colony looked to be the same torus-type colony as the Termaine Prime colony where I, Mimi, and Elma met each other¡­¡­ but it was a bona fide tire-shaped supercolony with high-performance mobile elevators and arge-scale low-gravity port block . It was considerablyrgerpared to Termaine Prime, and the number of ¡®tire spokes¡¯ as well as the tire-shaped ring section¡¯s thickness were at least two times that of Termaine Prime . Just how many tens of thousands of people can this thing amodate? ¡°It resembles Termaine Prime colony a lot . ¡± ¡°They¡¯re the same colony type after all . But the interior facilities are worlds apart . ¡± Mimi and Elna were talking with each other, but Mimi¡¯s voicecked its usual liveliness . She may have been hit by a wave of nostalgia after seeing a colony that resembled the one she was from . ¡°Mimi, send out a docking request . ¡± ¡°Ah, yes!¡± Mimi followed my instructions and sent out a docking request to the port administration of the Sierra Prime colony . After a short while, a reply from the port administration was sent back . We were allowed to dock inside hangar number thirty-two . ¡°Yosh, let¡¯s go . And we should pay attention to driving safely . ¡± ¡°I guess . Drive safely huh . ¡± Elma¡¯s gaze seemed like it was aimed at something far away . I guess it¡¯s because she was reminded of the debt she incurred when she caused an ident a while back . Well, it¡¯s not like all fault lies with her¡­ Nah, as a matter of fact, it kinda does huh . Yeah, it definitely does . Come to think of it, just what kind of treatment does that type of spaceship with a fatal defect receive in this dimension? If it were a car, then every unit would definitely have to be recalled . I¡¯ll look it upter . Now then, even though there was a lot of traffic in this port, we were able to sessfully dock without causing any type of ident . Well, I guess this was just a piece of cake for someone experienced like me . Most of the newbies in Ste Online couldn¡¯t really dock their spaceships all that well at first and spend their time flitting precariously here and there, scrape their bottoms on the walls, mistakenly going in reverse and hitting something or other, among all sorts of clumsy blunders . Once you¡¯re a bit more experienced, docking safely inside a hangar bes second nature . Just like me . Well, in other words, you finally discover the wonders of automatic docking . ¡°The use of auto-docking is utterly evil¡­¡­¡± ¡°What did the auto-docking function ever do to you anyway? Did it kill your parents or something?¡± ¡°Now, now, isn¡¯t it fine since it¡¯s convenient?¡± Mimiforted Elma, who was totally against auto-docking for some reason . Just why does Elma hate the auto-docking function to this extent anyway? Maybe something traumatic happened to her in the past . ¡°Where should we contact to take care of the cold sleep pod?¡± ¡°You can just inform the port administration about it . They also hold jurisdiction over the enforcement of space travelws after all . ¡± ¡°I see . Please take care of our temporary residence application, Mimi . I¡¯ll take care of informing the port administration about the cold sleep pod . Please offer support as you see fit, Elma . ¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Yes, yes . I got it . ¡± Saying yes one time is enough you know . I didn¡¯t voice that opinion in the end though and gave the port administration office a call . The call connected immediately . It was a woman¡¯s voice on the other line . ¡ºThis is the port administration office . ¡» ¡°This is Captain Hiro, a mercenary affiliated with the Mercenary Guild . My ship¡¯s name is Krishna . We are currently docked at hangar number thirty-two . ¡± ¡ºPlease wait while I verify¡­¡­ Verificationplete . Do you have any inquiries for us, Captain Hiro?¡» ¡°Well, I guess you can call it an inquiry . We were attacked by pirates when we arrived at this system and we managed to defeat them, but we found an unopened cold sleep pod among the wreckages . ¡± ¡ºUnderstood . So you rescued the survivor, correct? So you need a witness before opening the pod . Are you already familiar with your responsibilities as the rescuer?¡» ¡°Yeah . We¡¯re required to shelter the survivor for one week, right? But what happens when the rescued person ends up with no idea about where they¡¯re from?¡± ¡ºWe will be confirming the person¡¯s identity within the one week period, so you don¡¯t have to worry . If the person is an imperial citizen, we will have almost 100% certainty of determining their identity . ¡» ¡°¡­¡­And what happens if the person¡¯s not an imperial citizen?¡± ¡ºIn that case, the empire will take over custody of the subject . But we are not able to divulge their future treatment if that happens . ¡» Thedy from the port administration office continued to talk with a cheery tone . It was kinda scary imagining what will happen if they take over custody, so I didn¡¯t ask . I¡¯ll just pray that the person inside the cold sleep pod is an imperial citizen . ¡°What procedures should we go through with, exactly? Are you going to open the pod inside our ship¡¯s cargo hold?¡± ¡ºNo, we have a specialized space for that, so please send the pod here . I¡¯ll send you the cargo transfer application, so please fill it out and send it back to us . The transfer code is¡­¡­¡» I entered the cargo transfer code dictated by the port administration staff on the cockpit¡¯s main console and started the transfer procedures for the cold sleep pod . With this, the pod will be delivered to the designated area inside the colony using the cargo transfer system . I do feel a bit awkward about treating the cold sleep pod with a living(?) person still inside as cargo though . ¡ºI¡¯ve confirmed the required documents . Pleasee over as soon as you can . We would like to start the opening procedures for the cold sleep pod right away after all . ¡» They¡¯re not even considering our circumstances! Well, the longer a person stays inside a cold sleep pod, the worse the memorypses be after all . So I guess it was only proper to open the pod as soon as possible . ¡°You guys heard that, right? I¡¯ll have to head to the port administration office now . One of you shoulde with me as well . ¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t Elma-san be better? I do not have much experience when ites to these sorts of situations after all, so I think Elma-san, who can cope with unexpected situations better than me, would be more suited . ¡± ¡°That may be the case, but¡­¡­ Oh, alright . Let¡¯s go then . ¡± Elma thought for a bit and then nodded in assent . I don¡¯t know what exactly she thought about earlier, but it didn¡¯t seem she was reluctant because she thought it would be troublesome . ¡°We¡¯ll be going then . Go ahead and dispose of our cargo and the loot while we¡¯re out . I¡¯ll leave it to you . ¡± ¡°Yes, please don¡¯t worry!¡± After being entrusted with taking care of the cargo and the loot, Mimi disyed a cute smile . The cargo I was referring to was the goods we brought over from the Alein star system . I didn¡¯t know the functions of most of the stuff they brought over, but Mimi and Elma seem to have chosen them with the Sierra star system, which is ssified as a resort system, in mind . Although it wasn¡¯t really that big, the cargo hold of the Krishna still had lots of unused space, so Mimi and Elma thought it was a waste not to put that space to good use . So they actually came up with the idea of trading goods between systems to take advantage of the free space . I, as the captain of the ship, will have a fifty percent cut of the profits, while Mimi and Elma will share the other fifty . I would have been okay even if my share was a bit smaller, but since trading goods between systems wouldn¡¯t be possible without Krishna in the first ce, I guess that profit allocation can be considered as justified . In any case, I did bring up the idea of reducing my share, but I lost the argument in the end . I and Elma exited the cockpit and got down from Krishna . We then headed to the port administration office inside the colony . ¡°Why¡¯d you hesitate earlier anyway?¡± ¡°I was thinking that we would probably be encountering more situations like this in the future, so I wanted Mimi to gain some experience . But I also considered that letting you gain some experience first, and then letting Mimi tag along with you the next time will be more efficient . So in the end, I agreed to go with you instead . ¡± ¡°I see . Well then, I will be in your care once again, Elma-senpai . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since youst addressed me like that . ¡± We walked while making small talk like that and finally reached the port administration office . ¡°The buildings all look the same . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s because they prioritized efficiency . All the units are prefabricated after all, so all they had to do was simply assemble them . On the other hand, having something ¡®unique¡¯ is looked upon as an unneeded luxury . We have to make efficient use of the limited living space and resources out here after all . ¡± ¡°I see . So that¡¯s it . ¡± I actually thought this type of style was just simply copied and pasted from the game since this world resembled Ste Online so much, but there was actually a logical reason for the monotonous buildings . When we entered the port administration building, I saw a wide counter with several staff members manning it, as well as lots of visitors with different appearances . There were people who were dressed in the typical mercenary style like us, and there were also people who wore suits just like the staff at the counter . Of course, there weren¡¯t any weirdos wearing power armor here . ¡°I¡¯m Captain Hiro, the one who called about the cold sleep pod earlier . ¡± ¡°Cold sleep pod¡­¡­ Yes, I¡¯ve confirmed it . It has already arrived here as well . Please head to the first pod opening room . It¡¯s the first room along that hallway . ¡± ¡°First pod opening room . Okay . ¡± We walked toward the hallway the staff pointed toward and reached the first pod opening room . A number of port administration staff were already in the pod opening room when we arrived . There were also people who stuck cords onto the cold sleep pod and connected it to a console . ¡°Hello there . You¡¯re Captain Hiro, I take it?¡± The one who called out to me was a middle-aged guy . He was most likely either in his mid-thirties or early forties . His way of speaking was rxed, but his body was well built, and he didn¡¯t look like your typical government employee . He was an uncle with a bit of a badass look . ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right . And you are?¡± ¡°Just a port administration office staff member . The name¡¯s Bruno . ¡± He held his hand out for a handshake, so I went ahead and obliged . He seems to have quite a grip . ¡°And this prettydy is?¡± ¡°She¡¯s Elma . My crew member . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Hee . How enviable . ¡± Bruno looked at Elma and said so with a voice that sounded like he was truly jealous . Well, since she was a crew member of a merc like me, he took us to be in ¡®that¡¯ kind of rtionship . Well, he did get it right though . I wonder how this guy would react if he found out that there was a beautiful big breasted loli crew member as well? ¡°Well, let¡¯s get to business then¡­ The one inside the pod seems to be alright for the most part . We¡¯re in the middle of the thawing and revival process right now . And it looks like the one inside is a girl . ¡± ¡°A girl huh¡­ Well, I have Mimi and Elma with me, so I guess taking care of her wouldn¡¯t be too hard . ¡± ¡°Yeah . It¡¯s also more convenient for us if it¡¯s a girl . ¡± We would have had some trouble if it turned out to be a brawny uncle instead . Well, I guess we could still deal with him somehow . Mimi and Elma could have rented out amodations inside the colony while I stayed together with the uncle inside Krishna . The reverse was also an option . ¡°Any other info?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see . This cold sleep pod was ejected from a luxury passenger cruiser three months back . It was a luxury cruise ship, so the passengers were basically all well-to-do individuals or imperial nobles . There¡¯s a good chance this girl is the daughter of one of those passengers . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­This is going to turn out to be quite troublesome huh?¡± ¡°You have my sympathies . But since you rescued their daughter, you can probably expect a possiblevish reward . so it¡¯s not so bad . ¡± Bruno shrugged as he said so . It would be fine if the youngdy in this pod was the meek and obedient type, but if she were the selfish, entitled brat type, then we¡¯re going to have a problem . ¡°Well, she¡¯s a girl, so I¡¯ll just leave her to Mimi and you, Elma . ¡± ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°I¡¯m counting on you . ¡± ¡°Ohe on . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m counting on you!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Elma rolled her eyes at me as I forcefully shoved all responsibility to her . But it can¡¯t be helped, right? Regardless of whether she was an obedient kid or not, a youngdy of high standing like her really shouldn¡¯t be in contact with a ssless guy like me . ¡°Vitals are stable . Ready for opening . ¡± ¡°Yosh . Here we go . Are you ready, Captain?¡± ¡°I¡¯m always ready . There¡¯s no point in dying things, so let¡¯s just get this over with . ¡± ¡°That sounds promising . Begin the unlocking process . ¡± ¡°Yes . Starting process . ¡± The hatch of the cold sleep pod slowly opened, releasing cold, white vapor inside the room . I approached the pod and took a look inside . I found a cute young girl with shiny, ck hair in a princess-style bob cut lying inside the pod . Thinking it would be pretty unfortunate if the first thing she saw upon waking up was the face of a rough guy like me, I started taking distance . ¡°Mm!?¡± Suddenly, the delicate arms of the young girl inside the pod stretched out and grabbed the hem of my clothes . She looked confused and started shaking . ¡°Please don¡¯t leave me, father¡­¡­¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Well now¡­¡­¡± The eyes of the young girl grabbing the hem of my clothes started moistening up . It looked like she would burst into tears at any time . I turned to Elma, Bruno, and the rest of the port administration staff for help, but they all just shrugged their shoulders and smiled wryly at me . It looks like no one¡¯s nning toe to my rescue . ¡°¡­¡­Haa . Okay, I understand . ¡± I put my hand over the young girl¡¯s delicate hand that was tightly grabbing onto my clothes . She grasped my hand back, smiled sweetly, and proceeded to lose consciousness once more . It looks like she fell asleep . She was still grasping my hand . ¡°¡­¡­So what should I do about this?¡± ¡°I guess you should stay like that until she wakes up again, right, Bruno? I¡¯ll go ahead and fill up the forms for you in the meantime . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . It¡¯s a good thing that the rtionship between the rescuer and the survivor seems to have started out quite favorably . ¡± I brought my gaze up to the ceiling as my hand continued to be grasped by the peacefully sleeping raven haired princess in front of me . Just how did this happen? Chapter 62 Chapter 62 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone The ck-haired young girl still hasn¡¯t woken up. When you¡¯re put into cold sleep, you¡¯re not actually asleep, but rather, you¡¯re in a state of suspended animation, and it takes quite some time for your body to readjust once you¡¯ve been brought out of the cold sleep state, ording to what I¡¯ve heard anyway. In other words, that¡¯s why the young girl still hasn¡¯t regained consciousness until now. ¡°N, Nn¡­¡­¡± The girl¡¯s face scrunched up cutely. Is she having a bad dream or something? Her little hand is still gripping mine tightly, and it looks like she isn¡¯t letting go anytime soon. I lightly squeezed the young girl¡¯s hand. She squeezed back, and her expression turned for the better. ¡°I¡¯m not really all that good at babysitting y¡¯know¡­¡­¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 I let out a small sigh as I challenged something I wasn¡¯t particrly used to. I wonder what I should do once she wakes up? If she ends waking up to find her hand being gripped by an unfamiliar uncle, would it turn into a ¡°Hello, FBI?¡± development or something? Nah, the port administration staff knows what¡¯s up anyway, and the control AI of the facility is keeping tabs on us constantly as well, so I guess there¡¯s nothing to worry about on that front. But just who would be the to exin exactly what¡¯s going on to her once she wakes up? Me? Am I the one who needs to exin this mess? Judging from her apparent age, it doesn¡¯t seem likely that she was traveling alone. She probably boarded the passenger cruiser together with her family. But she ended up the only one who drifted into outer space and got picked up by pirates. What happened to the rest of her family? Just what kind of situation happened which prompted her to utter ¡°Don¡¯t go, father.¡± earlier? No matter how I think about it, the situation sounded quite dire. It looks like the port administration bureau has already looked up her identity, the ship she was on, as well as the current whereabouts of the other passengers, but judging from their expressions earlier, it seems that they ran into some trouble. That sure puts a damper in my mood, especially considering what¡¯s toe from here on out. ¡°Haa¡­¡­¡± I let out another sigh. I guess the only saving grace so far is one female port admin staff bringing me a stool chair to sit on as an act of kindness after noticing my situation. ¡ºI¡¯m going to the Mercenary Guild for a bit.¡» That was the contents of the message Elma sent me just now. Looks like she¡¯s finished all the required paperwork. ¡ºKay. Our little princess still isn¡¯t showing any signs of waking up.¡» ¡ºHow old do you think she is?¡» Mimi suddenly asked about our little sleeping beauty in the message app¡¯s group chat. It looks like Mimi¡¯s also curious about our sleeping princess. ¡ºI¡¯m not too sure, but it looks like she¡¯s definitely younger than you, Mimi. I guess she¡¯s about ten to twelve, give or take.¡» ¡ºBut she¡¯s the same height as Mimi though.¡» ¡ºPlease don¡¯t bring up my height into this!¡» Elma sent a sticker of a one-eyed alien with a teasing grin, and Mimi responded with a sticker of a creature that looked like a cross between a squirrel and a cat looking all angry in a cartoonish way. You guys sure are having fun. Speaking of which, this message app also had the function of uploading pictures taken by the terminal camera, so I took a picture of the sleeping princess and uploaded it to the chat. ¡ºAs you can see, our sleeping princess is currently immersed in dreand.¡» ¡ºSo cute!¡» ¡ºIt¡¯s bad manners to take pictures of people¡¯s faces when they¡¯re asleep y¡¯know¡­ But I do admit she¡¯s cute.¡» Mimi sent a sticker of the cat/squirrel creature with heart shaped eyes, while Elma sent an admonishing message. ¡ºI¡¯m gonna take pictures of your sleeping faces next time too. Bet they¡¯ll turn out really cute.¡» ¡ºJust try it if you wanna see me really get pissed.¡» ¡ºW-Well, if you promise to make it look cute, then¡­¡­¡» Stickers of an angry one-eyed alien and a cat/squirrel creature fidgeting bashfully were sent my way. Should I send a sticker as well¡­? This dimension¡¯s messaging app doesn¡¯t use any of the characters I¡¯m familiar with though. Well, since we¡¯re technically on vacation, I should find some time to hold a 24-hour holo-movie viewing marathon or something, to familiarize myself with the sub-culture. ¡°Nn¡­¡­?¡± As I was busy fiddling with my portable terminal with my left hand as I continued to grip the young girl¡¯s hand with my right, she finally woke up. Her vacant-looking gaze wandered around the room until she finally found me, and we started exchanging stares. She tightened her grip on my hand for some reason, so I kinda went with the flow and gripped back. ¡°¡­¡­Father?¡± ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m not your father.¡± The absentminded gaze of the little princess started wandering around the room again. ¡°Father¡­ What about father¡­?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but the only one I found was you.¡± After hearing my words, the girl muttered her understanding and closed her eyes. She gripped my hand tightly again. ¡°Your hand¡­¡­¡± The young girl¡¯s eyes opened once more, and her gaze moved to our hands that were currently sped together. ¡°Thank you for holding my hand like this.¡± ¡°No, um¡­¡± I gently rxed my grip on the young girl¡¯s hand. She squeezed my hand one final time, and then let go. She tried to get up from the pod, so I supported her back and helped her up. The eyes of the young girl gazed straight at me once I finished helping her up and she started talking. ¡°Thank you very much. I am¡­ My name is Christina Daleinwald. I am the daughter of Friedrich Daleinwald, who is the eldest son and heir apparent of the current Earl Daleinwald.¡± That¡¯s some crucial info right there! Um, in other words, this girl¡¯s name is Christina. Her grandpa is the current head of an earldom, and her father, Friedrich, is the next head of the house. ¡°I¡¯m Captain Hiro. I¡¯m a Silver rank mercenary affiliated with the Mercenary Guild, and I own the high-speedbat ship, Krishna. Please just call me Hiro.¡± ¡°Yes, Hiro-sama. Please call me Chris as well.¡± After saying that, Chris gave me a slightly uneasy smile. I already thought she was quite the little beauty when I got a good look at her sleeping face earlier, but she¡¯s honestly way damn cute. Her features were quite refined of course, but it was her eyes, which shined like bright onyxes, that really brought out her beauty. In Japan, she would be the so-called ¡°once-in-a-hundred-year beauty¡±. Her body was¡­ well, on the slender side, obviously. ¡°For now, let me exin the situation to you first. You can ask everything else you want to know afterward. And, um, is my way of speaking eptable? Do you want me to sound more formal?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Even if I¡¯m the granddaughter of an earl, I¡¯m still just a young girl with little to no authority.¡± Chris answered as she lightly shook her head. I was worried she was your typical bratty princess earlier, but it looks like she¡¯s actually a humble and gentle soul. What a relief. ¡°I¡¯ll do as you wish then. First, let¡¯s talk about exactly how I found you. Simply put, I picked you up as part of the loot as I was going through the wreckage of a pirate ship I shot down. You were inside a cold sleep pod and was part of the cargo of said ship. After picking up your cold sleep pod, I immediately headed to this colony, Sierra Prime, brought your cold sleep pod to the colony¡¯s port administration bureau, and had them open it up. And so, we found you inside said pod. We¡¯re currently inside the cold sleep pod unlocking facility of the port administration bureau of this colony, Sierra Prime. ¡°¡­¡­I see.¡± She seemed to mull over my words a bit and nodded softly after a short while. ¡°The rescuer who picks up a cold sleep pod in outer space has an obligation to protect the person found inside it for a short period of time. Generally, it¡¯ll be for a week or so. In other words, I¡¯m tasked with taking care of you for the time being. I have two female crew members on my ship, so I was thinking of having them take care of you for most of your stay. Unfortunately, we don¡¯t have any avable rooms left, but the rooms my female crew are currently using were originally double rooms fit for two persons, so you can just share a room with one of them¡­ but, if you don¡¯t think it¡¯s proper for ady such as yourself to board a man¡¯s private ship, I can just arrange for amodations inside the colony.¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t really have to go so far for me. Staying on your ship should be fine, given the situation.¡± Chris answered and shook her head lightly once again. So she¡¯s saying she¡¯s fine with boarding a guy¡¯s private ship in this situation huh. But, seeing as she¡¯s knowledgeable with the usual implication of such a thing, that custom really was treated asmon sense huh. ¡°Is that so? Well, I still think you should make your final decision once you¡¯ve seen the ship personally. So, I¡¯ll be taking custody of you for the time being, but you won¡¯t have anything more to worry about once we sessfully get in touch with your grandfather, Earl Daleinwald. In the meantime, I will guarantee your safety, at least until the earl¡¯s peoplee to pick you up.¡± ¡°I see¡­ So you¡­ so Hiro-sama will protect me?¡± ¡°¡­¡­? Yeah, I will. It will only be for a short period of time, but I guess I can y the role of the loyal knight of our dear princess.¡± Facing the uneasy-looking eyes of Chris, I went down on one knee at the side of the cold sleep pod and put one hand on top of my chest in a theatrical flourish. She was suddenly attacked by pirates, got thrown inside an escape pod, and once she woke up, only I was by her side. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s feeling really anxious right now. ¡°Fufu, to think a mercenary piloting abat starship will serve as my personal knight. It feels like I¡¯ve be the heroine of a holo-novel.¡± Chris smiled at my exaggerated gestures, but her expression turned serious moments after. ¡°Oh, my knight, Hiro-sama. Please lend me your strength and protect me.¡± ¡°¡­¡­What is it that ails you, my princess?¡± Chris seemed to have yed along with my joke, so I continued to follow up. It was an impromptu game of make-believe, but she¡¯s a girl who¡¯s younger than Mimi, so it didn¡¯t feel awkward at all. ¡°My father, Freidrich Daleinwald, was murdered. And it was at the hands of my uncle, Balthazar Daleinwald, no less. The ones who attacked the ship weren¡¯t pirates. They were most likely my uncle¡¯s private troops. My uncle aimed at my father, who was the next heir, and myself, and had his men attack the passenger ship we boarded.¡± ¡­¡­WHAT!? ¡°I am nning to tell my grandfather everything, but even so, I have no definite proof. But it is clear to me that the so-called ¡®pirates¡¯ who boarded the ship were obviously aiming for father, mother, and myself. My mother was shot when she protected me, but my father managed to let me escape. However¡­ The reason why the rescue beacon of the cold sleep pod didn¡¯t activate was probably because my father purposefully deactivated or destroyed the transmitter. My uncle is surely aware that I have escaped. I¡¯m sure my uncle¡¯s men are still actively searching for my whereabouts in the Sierra star system even now.¡± ¡°Oh my goodness¡­¡­¡± I looked up to the ceiling while covering my face with one hand as I blurted out aint in English. So this really turned out to be one hell of a troublesome matter after all. And it¡¯s even a domestic squabble between nobles. That¡¯s way more trouble than I signed up for. How should I put it? The moment I was thrown into this dimension, I¡¯ve gotten involved with one crazy thing after another almost nonstop. Ain¡¯t it just too much? All I wanted was to hunt some pirates small fry, save lots of money, and finally purchase a detached house with a garden on a residential while drinking as much c as I want. ¡°It¡¯s far too much trouble, isn¡¯t it?¡± Chris made a bitter smile. Trouble huh. Well, yeah, it certainly is troublesome. In fact, I can¡¯t call it anything but. ¡°Please just forget everything I said to you earlier.¡± However¡­ However, so what? Am I supposed to give up without even trying and abandon a powerless young girl who needs help? Me? The pilot of the high-performancebat craft Krishna? The one who helped Mimi and rescued her? The one who couldn¡¯t leave Elma alone? No damn way. I¡¯m the kind of guy who can¡¯t leave a cute girl asking for help alone folks. Heroic delusions? Acting cool? So what? I¡¯m of the opinion that the creatures called men will have to face something like this head on at least once in their lives if they encounter it, or they wouldn¡¯t even be fit to call themselves men. ¡°I¡¯ll need a reward.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°I¡¯m temporarily yourdyship¡¯s personal knight as well as a mercenary. And a knight fighting for the princess, just like a mercenary, needs an appropriate reward for his service. Don¡¯t you think so, mdy?¡± Chris went wide-eyed after my deration. Then, the corners of her mouth jerked up. ¡°Uh¡­ Um¡­¡­¡± ¡°Anything¡¯s fine. Now¡¯s the time for negotiations, my princess. What are you going to reward me with?¡± Chris looked troubled for some moments. Her eyes then brightened up, as if she remembered something, and she proceeded to take off the ne she was wearing and presented it to me. It was a ne decorated with a brightly shining light purple gem. It certainly looked expensive, but I¡¯m not sure how valuable it is exactly. Well, it was something a nobledy like Chris was in possession of, so I¡¯m sure it wasn¡¯t cheap at least. ¡°This is my most prized treasure.¡± Chris stared at the ne longingly. This ne decorated with a light purple gem was most likely something that held great importance to her. ¡°This shall be ced in my care for now then. The actual reward will be given by your grandfather. Once I¡¯ve sessfully protected you from all danger, I shall return the ne without fail. My princess.¡± I ced the ne inside my jacket pocket. Chris then held out the back of her hand to me while smiling softly. Am I supposed to kiss the back of her hand or something? Man, that¡¯s kinda embarrassing¡­ but since I¡¯vee this far, then what the heck, let¡¯s do this. I¡¯m a Japanese guy who can read the mood y¡¯know. Yeah, let¡¯s go. I¡¯m doing this guys. I suppressed my feelings of embarrassment and kissed the back of Chris¡¯ hand. ¡°Fufu, it really is like those holo-novels.¡± ¡°It seems my princess is an avid reader¡­¡­ Am I really doing a good job ying the part of an imperial knight?¡± ¡°I wonder? I have not yet seen the real thing after all.¡± Chris held the hand I kissed close to her chest as she answered me with a bright smile. So I guess this is just one of the things a girl born to imperial nobility fantasizes about huh. Kinda like the naked shirt and naked apron fantasies for men. And that¡¯s just my attempt at an easy-to-understand analogy okay. ¡°Anyway, there you have it. It might only be for a limited time, but I am pleased to be in your service, my dear Princess Chris.¡± ¡°Yes! I shall be in your care, my knight.¡± Chris made a smile akin to that of a blooming flower. OK, since everything¡¯s been decided, let¡¯s start working on countermeasures. The enemies have most likely deduced that their target escaped via cold sleep pod by now, so I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯ll try to scope out the port administration bureau. It¡¯s been three months since the attack, so there¡¯s a chance they¡¯ve cancelled the search, but we can¡¯t take things optimistically like that. Now then, the first move is important for this kind of stuff. What should I do now? Chapter 63 Chapter 63 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°All the necessary procedures have been taken care of. We¡¯re sorry for all the trouble, Christina-sama.¡± ¡°No, it is I who has troubled all of you. Thank you.¡± In any case, since Chis woke up atst, we proceeded with finishing the necessary formalities first, since we wouldn¡¯t be able to take any further actions without doing so. We¡¯ve done all the necessary procedures on our end, but Chris¡¯ family also needs to work on theirs as well. I did think of slipping out with Chris in tow immediately earlier, but I decided against it in the end since it would probably lead to more trouble down the line, and I also didn¡¯t want to get Bruno and the other staff get caught up in the mess as well. Bruno along with his subordinates asked Chris about the circumstances that led to her being put inside an escape pod and put the details on record, and exined to her about my being put in charge of taking care of her temporarily, as well as the outer space rescuews and regtions that served as the basis for it. TOP ARTICLES3/5Different World Reincarnation Chapter 121 Chris talked about how her mother was shot while protecting her and how her father overcame all odds to let her escape, but she didn¡¯t say anything about her uncle, Balthazar, to the bureau staff. Perhaps she came to the conclusion that telling Bruno and the other staff about it would be useless in the end. It was, in the end, an internal problem within the Daleinwald house after all. The one who has final say regarding these matters wasn¡¯t her, but her grandfather, who was the current head of the house, instead. ¡°My grandfather¡­ I wish to contact Earl Abraham Daleinwald if possible.¡± ¡°Yes, you can do so via a pre-recorded holo-video message. Are you familiar with the address we need to send it to?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯d like to include him in the video as well, since he¡¯ll be serving as my guardian for the time being. I would also like to talk about some private matters concerning the earldom, so, if possible, I would like for no one else aside from us two to be present while we¡¯re recording the video.¡± ¡°Please leave it to us. We have a fully functional holo-message recording facility avable. We also utilize thetest encryption technology, so you don¡¯t need to worry about the contents of your message leaking out. Hey.¡± Bruno gave me a stare which seemed to say ¡®Is it okay for this guy to hear about the internal matters of an earl house?¡¯, but it onlysted for an instant. He exchanged looks with one of his subordinates soon after, and the said subordinate swiftly left the room. He¡¯s probably going to get the recording room ready. By the way, a holo-message is basically just a video letter. The only difference from the video letters I¡¯m familiar with is that it will be yed as a full 3D hologram projection. ¡°The mailing address is the Daleinwald earldom based on the third of the Dexer system, Daleinburg. The transmission code is ADK-4330208.¡± ¡°Understood. Please wait for a moment¡­ Yes, the message will arrive at the stated address after five days¡¯ time.¡± Bruno operated his handheld tablet and dered as such. ¡°It unexpectedly takes a while huh.¡± ¡°We can opt for FTL transmission if it¡¯s just within the star system we¡¯re located on, but if you want to transmit to a different star system thousands of light-years away¡­ it¡¯ll be better to use hyperspacemunication and gateways, so it¡¯ll take longer for the message to arrive.¡± Bruno shrugged his shoulders and answered my doubts. The gateways he mentioned are facilities that can artificially create wormholes that can allow one to traverse points in space that are hundreds or thousands of lightyears away from each other within mere moments. Hyperdrive technology allows for the usage of hyperspace in order to move between different star systems via special subspace tunnels which allow faster than light travel. Simply put, it¡¯s a lot like driving on an expressway via car. The wormholes created by gateways however, allow for travel between different points in space within moments. In other words, it allows instantaneous warps. They make moving from point to point in practically an instant possible. The theory behind it seems to imply bending and opening holes in space-time or something, but I don¡¯t really understand it all that much. What I do understand is that the gateways are strictly monitored and administered by each empire or state where said facilities are located. They¡¯re not things your average mercenary normally has ess to. And the location of Chris¡¯ grandfather seems to be pretty far away, seeing as it¡¯ll still take five days for the message to arrive even after making use of such facilities. Considering that our message will arrive in five days¡¯ time, the earliest that people from the side of Chris¡¯ grandfather can arrive to pick her up will be after ten days or so. If we factor in the assignment of personnel, preparing a suitable ship, as well as various other procedures and schedule adjustments, Chris would likely spend up to two weeks in our care. ¡°Five days¡­ In other words, the one week period where Hiro-sama is obligated to take custody of me will likely expire first before people from my grandfather¡¯s side arrive to pick me up.¡± ¡°You need not worry, princess. I won¡¯t do something like abandoning you before your escorts arrive. Do I look like that kind of heartless person to you?¡± ¡°No. In fact, I believed you¡¯d say that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re one strong-willed princess. Don¡¯t you think so too, Bruno?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t drag me into that conversation¡­¡­¡± It looks like this guy wanted to avoid saying anything that would seem impertinent to the genuine granddaughter of an earl huh. Typical of an honest imperial citizen I guess. Bruno then guided Chris and I to a pure white room. No, it was predominately white, but the walls were covered with square tiles with sides that were about 30 centimeters each. Each square had a ck dot in the center. I¡¯m guessing those are sensors or cameras used to take holo-vids. There was a console sitting in the middle of the room, and a blue sphere about the size of a typical basketball was buried in the wall directly in front of the console. ¡°This is actually my first time recording a holo-message.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Maybe it wasn¡¯t all thatmon for ordinary citizens to send messages to distant acquaintances or rtives via holo-vids where I¡¯m from? And I basically didn¡¯t travel beyond the colony I was born and raised in before I became a mercenary.¡± ¡°I see¡­ That really might be the case then.¡± Chris nodded in a serious manner. Based on what I know, people who leave the colonies they¡¯re born in are mostlyposed of mercenaries like me, smugglers, ouws who serve mostly as battlefield cleaners and paid hitmen, as well as pirates. More proper examples include traders and businessmen who often travel between different star systems, as well as soldiers on active duty. Oh, and researchers as well, I guess. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s go ahead and record the message. It needs to be done in one shot, right? What should I actually say?¡± ¡°I will be the one to exin the circumstances. I¡¯m also going to introduce Hiro-samater, so a simple self-introduction will suffice.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll go with that then¡­¡± I observed from behind as Chris deftly operated the console. Fumu, it didn¡¯t look all thatplicated. It was even somewhat simr to operating the settings on the standard video camera I was familiar with. ¡°Well then, we¡¯re going to start recording now. Please stand a little bit behind me on my left.¡± ¡°Gotcha.¡± Chris operated the console and started the recording. Numbers appeared on the sphere in front. The countdown started. The video will start recording when the counter reaches zero huh. ¡°It has been a long time, dear grandfather. It is Christina. I am deeply sorry for having worried you so. I am alright. I was surprised to hear that it has been three months since the ship we rode on was attacked. I was put inside a cold sleep pod by father, and have just regained consciousness recently. I have recorded this video message inside the facility of the port administration bureau in the Sierra Prime colony. The person standing behind me is Hiro-sama. He is the one who rescued me as the pod I was in drifted in outer space. Hiro-sama is a mercenary affiliated with the Mercenary Guild, and told me that he picked up my cold sleep pod as part of the cargo held by a pirate ship he shot down. If I wasn¡¯t rescued by Hiro-sama, I might have awakened in the badpany of pirates, and possibly toyed around with by them, or worse. In that sense, I owe Hiro-sama my life as well as my virtue.¡± Chris then turned toward me and nodded. I nodded back and turned my gaze toward the sphere in front. ¡°I am honored to make your acquaintance. I am called Captain Hiro. Just as Christina-sama said earlier, I belong to the Mercenary Guild. I am a Silver ranked mercenary. I own the small high-speedbat starship, Krishna. I am obligated to shelter Christina-sama for the time being in ordance with thew, but I assure you that I will do everything in my power to ensure Christina-sama¡¯s safety until the arrival of Earl Daleinwald¡¯s people.¡± I then ced one hand on my chest and made a light bow. Chris ced her hand on my hip. Acknowledging the gesture, I moved to the back once more. ¡°I have only met him for a short while, but I believe that Hiro-sama is trustworthy. At the very least, he is not someone who my uncle has sent after me.¡± After saying that, Chris paused for a bit and took a deep breath. Now, she¡¯ll begin denouncing her uncle. ¡°Dear grandfather, it was uncle¡¯s men who attacked us. The attackers pretended to be mere pirates, but when father saw the ship the so-called pirates used, I heard him clearly say¡ºThat¡¯s a ship Balthazar¡¯s private troops use.¡»when he got a good look at it. When they sessfully incapacitated the passenger ship, the ones who boarded sported equipment and weapons that were far too extravagant for mere pirates, and they were clearly aiming for our family. Mother covered for me and got shot, and father fought back while protecting me until he managed to put me inside a cold sleep pod. I do not know what happened to father after he let me escape¡­¡­¡± Chris shook her head forlornly. ¡°I am sure uncle is searching for me even now. I have told my circumstances to Hiro-sama. Hiro-sama has sworn to protect me in turn. I shall entrust my fate to Hiro-sama. Please, dear grandfather¡­¡­. I need your help.¡± Chris bowed deeply and stopped the recording. Her hand didn¡¯t leave the console even after it turned off. Her body was evidently quivering. Was it due to worry for her family¡¯s safety, or fear because of the reality that her uncle was aiming for her life? Either way, I can¡¯t just leave her like this. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Chris. I¡¯m gonna show you my ship first.¡± I then patted Chris on the back gently. I¡¯ll need to exin the situation to Mimi and Elma as well, and we¡¯ll need to procure some daily necessities for Chris as well. Her height was just a little smaller than Mimi¡¯s, but since their chest sizes were poles apart, she won¡¯t be able to borrow Mimi¡¯s clothes. And Elma¡¯s would be too tall for her. We¡¯ll need to buy some new clothes for her then. Because of her situation, it wasn¡¯t advisable to freely walk around outside the ship, but it wasn¡¯t good to hole up in it all the time either. ¡°Yes.¡± Chris turned around after wiping her tears with her hand. She took something out of the console. It was probably a memory device containing the video we took earlier. ¡°Uh, it would have been better if I had a handkerchief, but I don¡¯t usually carry such a thing around¡­¡­ Sorry.¡± ¡°Fufu¡­¡­ A knight always needs to conduct himself in a gentlemanly manner, Hiro-sama. You need to get your act together.¡± ¡°Man. The path of a knight seems quite severe¡­¡­ Let¡¯s join up with Elma after finishing the procedures to send the video we recorded to your grandfather.¡± ¡°Elma-san?¡± Chris tilted her head curiously. Elma was present when she regained her consciousness for a short while earlier, but I guess Chris was still pretty much out of it and didn¡¯t remember seeing Elma. ¡°She¡¯s one of the two crew members on my ship. She¡¯s an elvendy, and she¡¯s been a mercenary longer than me. A lot happened that led to her losing her ship, so now she¡¯s serving as my crew member for the time being.¡± ¡°Ady¡­¡­ Come to think of it, I do remember you saying that you have two female crew members aboard your ship earlier.¡± ¡°Yeah, the other one is named Mimi. She¡¯s basically my ship¡¯s Operator-in-training. Due to certain circumstances, she no longer has any rtives. Well, stuff happened which led to her boarding my ship. It would be better for you to ask them personally about the circumstances which led to them bing my crew members, I think.¡± Both of their circumstances aren¡¯t things that can be divulged to others lightly after all. ¡°So Hiro-sama has twodies staying with you inside your ship, correct?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Well, y¡¯know¡­ There were extenuating circumstances y¡¯see.¡± Chris¡¯s expression was still gentle as she looked at me, but it felt like being red at by a huge serpent for some reason. This can¡¯t be¡­¡­ For me to be this overwhelmed¡­¡­!? ¡°Well, no matter. A nobledy has to have enough forbearance. I suppose something like this is also an indication of a man¡¯s worth.¡± ¡°Nn¡­¡­?¡± The pressure disappeared, but there was something weird about Chris¡¯s words. Why¡¯d she bring up forbearance anyway? In the first ce, why did it sound like Chris forgave me for some reason or other¡­¡­? Oh well. Let¡¯s just chalk it up to her being at that age. And it seems she didn¡¯t have many opportunities to interact with men other than her father and grandfather. We called out to one of Bruno¡¯s subordinates waiting outside the recording room. He then led us to where Bruno was, and we began doing the procedures for sending the video message. Afterpleting it, we¡¯re finally done with our business in the port admin bureau. ¡°Now then, where is thatdy named Elma staying at right now?¡± ¡°Well, herst message said she was in the Mercenary Guild branch office but¡­¡­¡± I took out my portable terminal and pulled up the messaging app. ¡ºAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrgggh! You¡¯ve actually been promoted to Gold rank! Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!¡» A sticker of a one-eyed alien emitting a beam from its eye in rage and burning a city to cinders was disyed on the app. What the heck? Chapter 64 Chapter 64 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone 064 ¨C Mercenary Guild Rank ¡°Hello. My name is Christina. But please feel free to call me Chris.¡± ¡°My name¡¯s Mimi! Nice to meet you, Chris-chan!¡± ¡°I¡¯m Elma. Best regards, Chris.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 I took Chris along and brought her back to Krishna. We found both Mimi, who was left to mind the ship, and Elma, who seems to have just gotten back from the Mercenary Guild branch. They did the introductions in the dining room. Mimi, who was close to Chris in age, seemed really happy and had a bright smile on her pretty face. Age-wise, both me and Elma were poles apart from the two youngdies. That¡¯s especially true for Elma though. In Elma¡¯s case, don¡¯t mention being close in age. She¡¯s actually a generation apart. Though that¡¯s only considering the number of years she¡¯s spent living her life. ¡°¡­¡­What?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing.¡± Elma gave me an annoyed stare. She might have sensed my somewhat rude thoughts. Do her elven ears not only pick up sounds but even the wicked thoughts of other people? How scary. ¡°Um¡­¡­ What¡¯s wrong with those two? Are they alright?¡± ¡°They¡¯re fine. They get along really well actually. Elma-san is just feelingplicated since Hiro-sama has just attained Gold rank.¡± Chris seemed worried after seeing the weird atmosphere between me and Elma. Mimi pacified her worries while disying a bright smile. ¡°¡­¡­I ain¡¯t really feelingplicated or anything.¡± Elma turned her head to the side with slightly puffed up cheeks. It just makes me wanna poke them. She would probably break my fingers if I did, so I¡¯ll just pass. ¡°Um, just what does Gold rank signify¡­¡­?¡± Chris cutely tilted her head as she inquired. So it seems our little nobledy isn¡¯t familiar with mercenary ranks huh. Can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯ll just exin everything to her then¡­ or maybe not. Elma turned around and faced Chris with such amazing momentum after hearing her question. Oh boy. Guess I¡¯ll have to leave it to her. ¡°The official Mercenary Guild rankings are split into five grades. Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and tinum. So, five in total.¡± Elma made her slender fingers straighten up one by one until her hand transitioned to an open-palm state. ¡°Iron rankers are basically your standard rookies.They have next to no realbat experience, and their starships are bottom-of-the-barrel as well. In any case, they usually serve to make up the numbers during escort missions and such. Cargo transport missions are quitemon in this line of work after all. When a merc¡¯s assigned this rank, they are basically expected to pile up experience by flying around space, staying on various stations and colonies, and tagging along with their senior cohorts during missions.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Chris started listening to Elma¡¯s exnation with a serious expression. By the way, I haven¡¯t managed to exin Chris¡¯s circumstances to Mimi and Elma yet. I couldn¡¯t find the right timing earlier y¡¯see. Well, I guess I¡¯ll just tell both of them after Elma¡¯s mercenary rank exnations. I had Chris, who was listening to the exnation with great focus, sit on a chair in front of the dining table while I prepared a light meal. I¡¯m not sure if Chris¡¯s bodily functions have all normalized by now, so I opted for food that¡¯s easily digestible. Un, I guess I¡¯ll go with custard pudding. Our amazing auto-cooker extraordinaire Tetsujin V also makes excellent desserts after all. After keying in an order of tea and custard pudding for each of us, I also sat in front of the table in order to listen in on Elma¡¯s exnation. ¡°Once you attain Bronze rank, it means you¡¯re starting to get proper recognition. Most folks who get promoted to Bronze rank also upgrade their ship¡¯sbat capabilities as well. So they can finally be considered as an asset in battle.But even so, taking on multiple pirate ships solo will still be hard for them, so normally, several Bronze rankers form unofficial fleets of their own. You will see quite a number of these unofficial fleets during subjugation missions.¡± ¡°But Hiro-sama was able to take down multiple pirate ships even when he was just a Bronze ranker, right?¡± ¡°In his case, his ranking just serves as a scam.¡± Elma gave me a harsh re. I just shrugged it off. Calling my rank a scam is just a bit too harsh, don¡¯t you think? It¡¯s all thanks to Krishna¡¯s overwhelming performance.Nothing¡¯se close to depleting its energy shield even now. Well, it¡¯s not like I give enemies any chance of saturating the shield during battles anyway, so I guess it¡¯s to be expected. ¡°So, let¡¯s talk about Silver rank next. Bing a Silver ranker means you¡¯re already part of the elite. After piling up experience as a Bronze ranker, mercenaries who managed to earn enough achievements to their names finally get promoted to Silver rank. However, there¡¯s a huge difference between Silver rank veterans and mercs who¡¯ve just been promoted to the said rank. Experience is a given of course, but most veteran mercs have also more than likely managed to build up a rather respectable armory of quality weapons and equipment, as well as a high-performance ship to match. Opinions like having unofficial skill rankings for Silver rankers or that the conditions for promoting to the next rank be really harsh once you get to Silver are actually quitemon.¡± ¡°Elma-san is also a Silver ranker, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m a veteran Silver ranker.¡± Elma looked really smug as she said so while puffing up her meagre chest. ¡°Well, she¡¯s actually lost her ship, so she¡¯s just my crew member right now though.¡± ¡°¡­¡­There¡¯s that too. I¡¯m just d I didn¡¯t end up dead.¡± Elma diverted her gaze for a moment.Well, I guess so huh. ¡°So, what about Gold rank?¡± At Chris¡¯s urging, Elma pulled herself together and continued her exnation. ¡°Gold rank mercenaries are ones who¡¯ve transcended being veterans. It¡¯s assigned to mercenaries who¡¯ve piled up tons of experience, killed more than their fair share of pirates, amassedrge amounts of bounties and rewards, and cleared the most difficult simtor courses. They¡¯re the elite among the elite.Gold rank is only granted to a select handful among all active mercenaries. They make up only about five percent of the total mercenary numbers.¡± ¡°Hou, five percent you say? It looks like I¡¯m actually quite a big-shot huh.¡± But even if she says five percent, I totally have no idea how many active mercenaries are out there, so I don¡¯t have a proper sense of scale about it at all. ¡°¡­¡­Well, yes. You really are something.Gold rankers are basically mercs who have been officially recognized as elites among elites by the Mercenary Guild itself. The standing of mercenaries in the present society is by no means low, however, bing a Gold ranker will allow for recognition even among the likes of imperial nobility, the military, and important government officials.Generally speaking, Gold rankers are evaluated as having enough firepower and equipment to destroy arge group of thirty or more enemy ships with a singlebat craft.¡± ¡°Oh my. So they need to be able to do that much?¡± ¡°Actually, I believe Hiro-sama can beat fifty or more with no trouble, right?¡± ¡°That depends. I¡¯ll only be able to do so if I don¡¯t go against them head-on and use other tactics.¡± Even if Krishna¡¯s shield is extra tough, there¡¯s also a thing called ¡®limits¡¯ after all. It would be dangerous to exchange direct fire with over fifty ships, even for Krishna. So it would be better to steadily bring down medium-sized ships while simultaneously whittling down the numbers of the small ones. ¡°Andstly, there¡¯s tinum rank. There are currently thirteen active tinum rankers at present.They are people who have produced particrly outstanding results and achievements even within the Gold rankers. It¡¯s mostly the same with Gold rank, but the conditions for promotion to tinum rank are even more stringent. In fact, most of it is undisclosed. But it¡¯s said that only mercenaries who can charge into any type of battlefield, no matter how brutal, and return to tell the tale after having raised hell have the qualifications for bing tinum rank.¡± ¡°I believe Hiro-sama can achieve that as well. You can, right?¡± ¡°In time, my dear. In time.¡± ¡°When one bes a tinum ranker, his or her influence will shoot up to unprecedented heights.I¡¯m not sure if this is actually true or not, but there¡¯s a rumor that a noble tried to use his influence in order to ce a tinum ranked mercenary under hismand, only to be crushed by that mercenary instead.¡± ¡°Now that¡¯s just unbelievable.¡± Even if it¡¯s the highest rank achievable in the Mercenary Guild, can a mere merc really attain such power and influence? I can¡¯t really imagine it. ¡°You¡­¡­ Whatever. Anyway, as of right now, you¡¯ve officially been promoted to Gold rank, mister. Congrattions.¡± ¡°But aren¡¯t you angry enough to send an alien to torch an entire city?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not really angry, okay! I just feel it¡¯s a bit mortifying!¡± ¡°Oh c¡¯mon. Even if my rank outstrips yours now, that doesn¡¯t change the fact that you¡¯re still my senior in this business. Isn¡¯t that right? S-E-N-P-A-I?¡± ¡°Are you picking a fight with me, buster? You are, right? You¡¯ve got some balls.¡± ¡°Gaaaaaaaah!?¡± Elma¡¯s arm wrapped around mine like a snake, and she ced me in an armlock within moments. She¡¯s too fast¡­ I wasn¡¯t even able to react. ¡°Elma-san, anything more than that is¡­¡­¡± ¡°They do get along, right? Right?¡± Mimi was pacifying the angry Elma as Chris disyed a strained smile. Save me, you guys! ¡°Tch! Don¡¯t get too full of yourself! You may have the upper hand when ites to piloting a ship and operating a power armor, but you absolutely suck in unarmed CQC!¡± ¡°I shall bear that in mind¡­¡­ By the way, I have prepared a modest serving of sweets for us to partake in. Do you wish to have some, Elma-sama?¡± ¡°Fine then. Serve it right away.¡± ¡°Of course, mdy.¡± Fufu. Revel in your victory for now. But know this! I shall take my sweet revenge on you tonight, elf¡­ I nursed such spiteful thoughts as I prepared to serve the custard pudding and tea. ¡°It¡¯s a bit early for a full meal, so I opted for snacks instead. I¡¯ll also tell you all about Chris¡¯s current circumstances as we eat.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Circumstances?¡± ¡°???¡± Elma had a peculiar expression on her face while Mimi seemed to have question marks floating on top of her head when I made my vague announcement. Hm. It¡¯s actually a whole heap of trouble guys. Do prepare yourselves. ¡°Uuh¡­ Uguuuuuh! Chris-chaaaan!¡± ¡°Nn!?¡± After hearing about Chris¡¯s circumstances, Mimi cried out and hugged Chris to her chest. Well, it¡¯s fine to hug her, but it looks like Chris is being suffocated by being sandwiched between your breasts, Mimi. ¡°Well, that certainly is a great big load of trouble¡­¡­¡± ¡°Aaaaauuu! Chris-chaaaaan!¡± Elma rescued Chris from Mimi¡¯s loving clutches while making a big sigh. Mimi, who has been deprived of her Chris-chan plushie, had her face pushed away further by Elma, making her let out a pitiable cry. ¡°So, two weeks at most, was it? We¡¯ll have to take care of this child during that period, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. We¡¯ll have to protect her.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really raring to get involved in all this huh.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why not.¡± If I were Chris¡¯s uncle, I would do everything in my power to ensure she dies. He¡¯s already taken care of Chris¡¯s parents after all. He¡¯s already gone that far, so he¡¯ll have to follow through all the way if he doesn¡¯t want his ns to go up in smoke. ¡°I have something I want to entrust to Elma, actually.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Elma nodded in assent. I then turned to Chris. ¡°Chris, you still have the storage device containing the video we recorded earlier, right?¡± ¡°Yes. Do you mean this?¡± Chris took out a small crystal from within her pocket. So this is the memory storage medium in this dimension huh. It sure is pretty. ¡°Can you make copies of this?¡± ¡°Eh? Well, yes, I think I can reproduce this just fine. Why?¡± ¡°I want to send this video message to Chris¡¯s grandfather via multiple routes. The port admin bureau has already sent a message to the earl, but there¡¯s no guarantee her uncle will not be able to intercept it.¡± ¡°I see. You certainly can¡¯t discount the possibility. I understand. I¡¯ll make copies of it and use all the routes and means at my disposal to send the recording crystal to Earl Daleinwald.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m counting on you. I¡¯ll handle the costs. Don¡¯t hold back and use every means avable.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going all out as usual huh?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s not entirely it. I¡¯m doing a huge favor for both an earl and his granddaughter, so we can certainly expect a nice, hefty reward, right?¡± ¡°Fine, fine. We¡¯ll just leave it at that.¡± Elmaughed as she dismissed my exnation. Am I really that easy to read? Guess so, huh. But that¡¯s just how I am, so it can¡¯t be helped. I don¡¯t want to abandon such a cute child after all. ¡°So, I¡¯m assuming you already have some means in mind?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. Quite a few actually. But they¡¯ll take some time.¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be helped. It¡¯ll be our win if even one of them reaches the earl.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a ster first move, all things considered. But I¡¯m not quite sure if it¡¯s the best we could take.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s try it out first. If this move proves ineffective, I¡¯ll think of some other ways.¡± Well, the most simple and straightforward way was to crush all pursuers though. It would be much better if we could crush Chris¡¯s uncle along with them too. Oh well. Things shouldn¡¯t be that convenient anyway. ¡°Well, since our first move is decided, do you already have ideas about our next one?¡± In any case, our princess will be safe as long as she¡¯s staying inside the Krishna. Well, it would be easier for us if we could somehow manage to contact the earl in real-time though. I wasn¡¯t expecting trouble with real-timemunication on a dimension well into the interster age. Haven¡¯t they developed tech that can allow folks to contact each other in real-time even if they¡¯re hundreds or thousands of light-years away from each other? ¡°You know, staying cooped up inside Krishna doesn¡¯t absolutely guarantee her safety. The possibility of them sneaking poison into the food and supplies we order isn¡¯t zero. They can also sneak in a bomb or two using the same method.¡± ¡°Would they really go that far¡­?¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s no reason not to, in any case. In fact, the loot we confiscated from pirate ships might be the safer alternative instead of goods procured from the colony.¡± ¡°Man, there¡¯s something new. To think we¡¯ll be hunting pirates for food and supplies instead of bounties¡­¡­¡± But do pirate ships really have a good stock of food and supplies in their cargo holds¡­? It might actually be better to just buy our supplies on another star system altogether. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s just start with what we first discussed. I¡¯ll be off then. I¡¯ll be taking that memory device, Chris.¡± ¡°Yes, please go ahead.¡± After taking the memory device off Chris¡¯s hands, Elma left the ship. I¡¯ll try toe up with some other countermeasures in the meantime.But first¡­¡­ ¡°Mimi, would you please prepare a bed for Chris?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I guess I¡¯ll leave Chris in Mimi¡¯s care while I think about our next moves.Hm¡­¡­ I don¡¯t really n on being one-sidedly harassed by her pursuers. But even so, things like barehanded CQC, plotting, and watching out for assassination attempts really aren¡¯t my fields of expertise. So what am I good at, you ask? Isn¡¯t it already obvious? ¡°Now then, just how would we lure them out, I wonder¡­¡­¡± While I was wracking my head for ideas, my gaze shifted toward the tablet terminal Mimi left on the table. An advertisement for Sierra star system¡¯s resort was disyed on it. I had a sudden spark of inspiration as I stared at the ad. And I think it¡¯s not such a bad idea. ¡°Let¡¯s reverse the process. How about we proactively lure them out ourselves instead of waiting for them to make a move?¡± I muttered my ideas to no one in particr and couldn¡¯t help but make a grin. Chapter 65 Chapter 65 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone I checked out the resort e-pamphlet on Mimi¡¯s tablet terminal for a while. After some time, Mimi and Chris came back to the dining room. It looks like Mimi¡¯s just finished giving Chris a tour of the ship. ¡°Wee back. I checked out the e-pamphlet for a bit.¡± ¡°Ah, yes¡­ but now¡¯s not the time for something like a resort vacation, right?¡± ¡°No, that might not be the case.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 Mimi looked dispirited, but I countered her statement while sporting a grin. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Well, I still can¡¯t say for sure though. I¡¯ll tell you all about it once Elmaes back.¡± ¡°Understood! By the way, I discussed things with Chris-chan earlier, and we thought instead of waiting for her uncle to make a move on her, why don¡¯t we strike first? Um, but are we too na?ve for thinking that?¡± Mimi dered and tilted her head to the side as Chris stared straight at my face with a tense expression. ¡°Mm, I¡¯ve also thought about that too, but it seemed too reckless, so I decided against it in the end. Well, it¡¯s not like I thought about it in much detail, so let¡¯s at least run through that optionter.¡± After answering, I handed the tablet terminal back to Mimi. ¡°Please pull up the gctic map. Your family¡¯s based on the Dexer system, right?¡± ¡°Yes, the Dexer star system.¡± ¡°Bruno¡¯s already talked about it. If we want to get a hold of someone from the Dexer star system, we¡¯ll have to utilize not only hyperspacems but gateways as well, and it would take at least five days before we establish contact. I¡¯m sure you have some recollection of this, Chris. Didn¡¯t you use a gateway when you first came to the Sierra system?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Ah!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Well, as long as you look at the gctic map, you¡¯ll understand. Mimi, try looking up the most direct route between the Sierra system and the Dexer system.¡± ¡°¡­¡­? Understood. I¡¯ll pull it up.¡± Mimi fiddled with her tablet and pulled up the most direct route between the two star systems. When she did so, her expression turned to one of astonishment. ¡°U-Uhm, Hiro-sama. It actually says that it¡¯ll take forty two days to travel to the Dexer star system from here.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s even farther than I expected huh.¡± ¡°But why would it take so long? Messages we send from here to there would only take five days to arrive, and you said the people who¡¯ll pick Chris-chan up will arrive within two weeks at most. So why does it say forty two days here?¡± ¡°Y¡¯see Mimi, the projected travel timergely depends on whether or not you can make use of gateways.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Ah!¡± Mimi hit her palm with her fist when she heard my answer. Yep, the problem is whether or not we can use gateways for travel. In order to use the gateways, we¡¯ll need permission from imperial authorities. Warships affiliated with the imperial military, private ships owned by nobles, trade ships of businessmen who have managed to secure the appropriate authorization, and high-ss tourism cruise ships are among those that can freely use gateways. But it¡¯s a different story for mere mercenaries like us. Well, we did have Chris-chan with us, so there was a chance of securing a one-time travel approval, but if we did that, there¡¯s a good chance of Chris¡¯s uncle, Balthazar, getting wind of it. He would probably set up some blockades or traps on the route toward the gateway facility. We can still forcefully break through, but it¡¯ll be quite risky. Depending on the enemy¡¯s reaction, there was still a possibility of nothing of the sort happening, but I still think heading to the Dexer star system via hypenes is preferable, even if it¡¯ll take quite a bit of time. The hypenes are spread out all across the gxy just like a huge, so there exists multiple routes toward the Dexer star system. The victory conditions for Chris¡¯s uncle, Balthazar Daleinwald¡¯s plot, was to finish Chris off before her grandfather, Abraham Daleinwald, got wind of Chris¡¯s parents¡¯ deaths. But, in truth, his ambitions would still be fairly difficult to achieve. Even if he does sessfully kill Chris, once Earl Abraham Daleinwald finds out about his scheme, it would still result in Balthazar¡¯s ruin. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s already in quite a panic right now. He should be thinking of killing Chris by any means necessary and prevent her from contacting Earl Abraham at all costs. If so, then we really can¡¯t be taking it easy. There¡¯s a good chance he¡¯ll do even the unthinkable once he¡¯s cornered after all. ¡°Yosh, Mimi!¡± ¡°Yes! What is it?¡± ¡°Please make a reservation for a tour of the resorts. I believe this star system has three resorts avable?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Which should we book? Or rather, is it okay to not consult Elma-san about this?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve thought about our current situation, and I concluded that we¡¯ll have to make a move as soon as possible. Anyway, book them all for now.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Eh?¡± Mimi¡¯s expression froze up after hearing my instructions. ¡°Make a reservation request to alls. Be sure to make an application to as many tour agencies as you can. And it would be even better if you can manage to reserve tours to lots of different ces. The more, the better.¡± ¡°E-Eh¡­¡­ It¡¯ll cost a lot of money you know? Just why should we make that many reservations?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll serve to confuse the pursuers. My n goes like this: We¡¯ll make plenty of reservations at all three resorts, and that would give us ess to multiple temporary hideouts. And then, we¡¯ll purposely make ourselves stand out as we go for the tours in order to bait the enemy into attacking us. We probably won¡¯t lose against them as long as we board Krishna andunch back into space. Once we clean up all the pursuing enemies, we¡¯ll return back to one of the temporary hideouts on a resort. The enemies would have to search every hideout we prepared in order to find us, so that¡¯ll buy us some time. We¡¯ll make use of that interval to make sure Elma sessfully sends Chris¡¯s message to the earl.¡± How about it? I spread both arms wide as if to ask for the girl¡¯s opinions. Both Mimi and Chris tilted their head cutely as they mulled over my proposed n. Their gestures are quite in sync. That¡¯s actually really cute, man. ¡°It sounds good. But only if we can ensure that we can bring down all the pursuing enemies.¡± ¡°But it would still cost a lot of money, right?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We have a total of 17 million in assets, remember?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Eh?¡± Chris got surprised after hearing my words. It looks like even a genuinedy from a noble family would find 17 million Enels to be quite a hefty sum huh. ¡°The hotel reservations for a week¡¯s stay at the resorts ranges from ten thousand to thirty thousand Enels per head. We should still be able to afford it even if we make lots of reservations at different ces. And I n to charge these expenses along with the escort fees to Earl Daleinwald once we¡¯ve pulled everything off.¡± Well, if we do go ahead with this, the resulting hotel fees would surely be nothing to sneeze at after all. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t booking just one ce still be fine? The other pursuers would still have trouble finding out which resort we¡¯re staying at if we manage to get rid of the ones thate after us first, right?¡± ¡°Normally, that would be the case. But what if the enemies are willing to do whatever it takes to find us? There¡¯s a good chance of them obtaining our location from the travel agencies through illegal means. In that case, preparing lots of decoys by booking at multiple locations would still be the safer bet.¡± ¡°Is that so? The enemies also wouldn¡¯t be able to get to us if we¡¯re inside the hypene, so wouldn¡¯t it be better to constantly use the hyperdrive in order to stay at the hypenes for an extended period of time?¡± Mimi made her suggestion. Well, staying inside the hypene is also a valid move. I didn¡¯t manage to think of that. It looks like I¡¯m actually hampered by my knowledge ying Ste Online this time. In Ste Online, traveling using the hyperdrive ends in practically an instant, but in this dimension, it¡¯s prettymon to spend time inside the hypene for dozens of hours or even weeks. The enemies will also not be able to use the interdictor to force us out of the hypene, unlike with the FTL drive. It should be an effective strategy for stalling for time. ¡°That would definitely be an effective way to stall, but there¡¯s an issue regarding resupplying if we go with that option. We didn¡¯t really manage to restock our supplies and equipment all that much at the Alein star system beforeing to the Sierra system, remember?¡± We didn¡¯t expect to encounter this sort of situation after all, and we were all in a vacation-y mood, so we went straight to the Sierra system without stopping over at any stations or colonies for resupplying along the way. ¡°Muu¡­¡­ It will certainly be difficult for our current stockpile tost for two weeks. So why don¡¯t we go ahead and resupply first before entering the hypene?¡± ¡°It¡¯s risky to procure supplies from this colony after all. But there¡¯s also the option of going to the neighboring star system in order to resupply. Also, the enemies certainly wouldn¡¯t be able to attack us if we¡¯re inside the hypene, but they could still set up an ambush once wee out of it, just like what happened when we first came to this star system.¡± ¡°Uu, that certainly seems to be the case.¡± It looks like Mimi finally remembered how pirates attacked us immediately after we came to the Sierra system by hitting us with an interdictor, and her face clouded over. And afterward, we were able to rescue Chris. Whether or not that¡¯s a good or bad thing however¡­ Well, if we didn¡¯t manage to rescue Chris, she would have met a really tragic end, so I guess it¡¯s a good thing after all. ¡°Mumuu¡­¡­ I can¡¯t seem to enter the conversation.¡± Chris disyed a frustrated expression as sheined. Well, she¡¯s different from Mimi, who has piled up experience on board the Krishna as a mercenary, and is a bona fide nobledy. So it goes without saying that she would be left out in our current conversation. ¡°It would be better to discuss the particrs more once Elma returns. But I think it would be best to consider the possibility of getting caught up in a melee shootout while we¡¯re not on board the Krishna. I¡¯ll check out our equipment for a bit then.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help too!¡± ¡°U-Um, I¡¯ll also help as well!¡± The two girls raised their hands and volunteered. Uh, well, there¡¯s a lot of dangerous stuffying around the armory, especially when handled incorrectly, so I¡¯d like to dissuade them from tagging along¡­ but Mimi would have to get used to it sooner orter, so I guess this is as good of a time as any. I¡¯ll have to gradually teach her the ropes then. ¡°I guess Mimi¡¯s fine, but you also want to join us, Chris?¡± ¡°I am prepared to take up arms should the situation require it!¡± Chris clenched both her hands into cute little fists and pumped herself up. Uh, we¡¯ll bebeled as ipetent bodyguards if we actually let that happen though¡­¡­ Oh well. I guess there¡¯s no harm in teaching her a little bit of self defense. Though I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯ll be of any use in the end. I led the two of them to the cargo room. Krishna¡¯s cargo room holds all our food and supply stocks, but it also doubles as an armory. In addition to the power armor andseruncher I used in the bioterrorism incident at the Alein system, there¡¯s also theser rifle Elma bought for security use, as well as other weapons and equipment for shootouts and meleebat. ¡°Waa, this is really amazing. Are all of these weapons?¡± ¡°Well, most of them are. Not all of them though. There¡¯s quite a lot of dangerous stuff here, so don¡¯t touch anything carelessly, okay.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After seeing Chris nod obediently, we started checking the weapons and equipment out. We¡¯ll skip the power armor andseruncher for now. Let¡¯s check out theser rifle first. This is a weapon with a higher firepower than aser gun. It sports a higher rate of fire, power output, and overall range. Its output can be freely adjusted ording to the situation, and it also sports a variable sight scope that has night vision as well as infrared modes, so it can serve reliably for long distance sniping. It¡¯s bulkier than aser gun, so you really can¡¯t carry this thing while walking around a city or residential area. There are also colonies that prohibit carrying weapons such as these inside them. But even if it wasn¡¯t expressly prohibited, you can¡¯t really escape questioning from the relevant authorities if you lug this thing around freely. Obviously, an excuse like having it for self-defense wouldn¡¯t really fly. The next item we checked were some ball-shaped objects. These ain¡¯t used for throwing at small aliens in order to capture them, but were a type of grenades. Stun grenades were used to disable one¡¯s sense of sight and bnce for a time by emitting a strong sh of light and noise. These didn¡¯t function like that. It would be more appropriate to call them shock grenades. They emit a fairly powerful electric shock within a radius of five meters with these balls at the center. You¡¯ll just need to push the switch and throw it toward your enemies. These have be standard because setting off an explosion inside colonies or ships can be highly dangerous. It won¡¯t be aughing matter if the explosion ended up punching a hole in the hull. All the people inside would be goners if that happened, right? And so, in Ste Online, these shock grenades served mostly the same function as frag grenades in other games. That¡¯s how the manual exined it anyway. I¡¯m not really sure if that still holds true in this dimension though. I exined how to handle theser rifle and shock grenades to the two girls quickly. I can¡¯t have them test fire this stuff inside the ship, so I just had them run through the firing motions with the safety still on, and had them practice throwing some dummy grenades. I also taught them how to use an emergency medical nanomachine unit as well. These came within gun-type syringes, and if you ce one on top of skin and pull the trigger, it¡¯ll inject medical nanomachines within the body that will serve to significantly relieve pain as well as provide first aid for those with serious injuries. Since it was simply a first aid measure, it can¡¯t rescue someone from life-threatening injuries, but as an emergency measure to temporarily preserve one¡¯s life until one can receive more appropriate medical aid, it¡¯ll serve quite well. It won¡¯t hurt to have the girls learn how to use them. Of course, it would be better if we didn¡¯t encounter any situation that required the use of these things, but it¡¯s better to err on the side of caution. ¡°For now, it¡¯ll be enough for you girls to learn how to handle the emergency medical nanomachine units and shock grenades. You can effectively support us if you learn how to use them well.¡± ¡°Understood. I shall work hard in practicing how to properly throw them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll practice hard as well.¡± ¡°These are particrly effective for hitting enemies hiding behind obstacles. The method for using them is simple enough, so it would be better to learn using them rather than aser gun orser rifle.¡± It would be meaningless if the enemies manage to get close enough though, but we would have already lost if we end up allowing enemies to close in on these two anyway. ¡°Try to remember where these are stored so you can easily take them out once they¡¯re needed. But absolutely don¡¯t take them inside your room. These are still fairly dangerous after all.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± The two of them nodded obediently. Since these two didn¡¯t seem to be the type to mess around, I¡¯m not too worried, but there¡¯s no harm in reminding them. We continued checking out the other equipment when notification ringtones from portable terminals rang out. Since Mimi¡¯s terminal also rang out, it¡¯s most likely a messageing from Elma. I took out my portable terminal from my jacket pocket and checked the message out. ¡ºThey¡¯re on to me.¡» Man, that was fast. Guess they¡¯ve already marked us. Well, I guess this was expected. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ve already had guys keeping their eyes on the port admin bureau building. ¡ºHow is it? Should wee get you?¡» ¡ºI¡¯m okay. They won¡¯t make any rash moves in a crowded area. But they were faster than we expected huh. Guess they¡¯re not willing to give us any time to prepare.¡» ¡ºSo resupplying will really pose a risk huh?¡» ¡ºYep. Pretty risky. Anyway, I¡¯ll focus on getting back to the ship first. It¡¯ll be troublesome if they decide to spring on me while I¡¯m out and about.¡» ¡ºOkay. Be careful and return as fast as you can. Turn on the terminal¡¯s locator function and make sure you can send an SOS at any time.¡» ¡ºRoger.¡» With that, I finished exchanging messages with Elma. Now then, they¡¯vetched on to us fairly quickly. We¡¯ll have to step up as well. Chapter 66 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± ¡°Wee back. I¡¯m d you¡¯re safe.¡± Elma got back to the ship ten minutes after our earlier message exchange. I tried to give her a wee back hug, but she skillfully avoided it. Now, why¡¯d you do that? ¡°What¡¯s with you?¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°I was worried.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t worth getting worried about anyway. Honestly. I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯re overly caring or just a big worrywart.¡± After admonishing me while sporting an exasperated smirk, Elma hugged me lightly and gave my cheek a quick peck. This¡­ This is¡­ Why¡¯s my heart going all doki doki? I-It¡¯s like our gender roles are reversed. Did my heart really just skip a beat due to this disappointing elf? Me? ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you now? Why¡¯d you suddenly cover your face.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s nothing though.¡± ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s nothing.¡± I turned away from Elma, who was trying to get a good look at my face, and walked back to the dining room with her. ¡°Oh, Elma-san! Wee ba¡­¡­ Huh? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Our dear Hiro looks like he¡¯s embarrassed. He really is cute sometimes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not embarrassed.¡± ¡°But you were worried about me, right?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t worried about you.¡± ¡°Oh you. You¡¯re saying the opposite of what you said to me earlier.¡± Elma circled in front of me while sporting a teasing grin. How annoying. But I¡¯m a tough guy, so I won¡¯t lose from this. ¡°Hiro-sama really is cute sometimes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve managed to see a new side of him.¡± Even Chris and Mimi started teasing me, but still, I won¡¯t lose. ¡°Anyway! Let¡¯s talk about our n now. We¡¯ll have to finalize it as soon as possible. Speed is of the essence. We can¡¯t allow ourselves to follow our opponent¡¯s pace. It¡¯ll mean big trouble if we do.¡± ¡°Fine, fine. You¡¯re right. So I take it that you already have a n in mind?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a hundred percent confident in them, but we dide up with a few ideas earlier. First¨C¡° I finally managed to tell Elma everything I discussed with Chris and Mimi earlier. ¡°A n to lure out the pursuers and eliminate them all at once isn¡¯t all that bad. It¡¯s a good idea to crush those who serve as the enemy¡¯s ¡®eyes¡¯ after all. As long as we¡¯re inside this colony, it¡¯s next to impossible to escape the enemy¡¯s surveince. So it would be best to finish them off byunching out into space, where we have more of an advantage.¡± ¡°The problem is resupplying.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Our current stockpile won¡¯tst the full two weeks. But I think we¡¯ll be able to procure supplies once we reach a resort though. We still need to be careful, but I don¡¯t think the enemy will be able to cover every resort in this star system. However, it would honestly be much safer to resupply at somewhere one star system away from this one.¡± ¡°So, in other words, not a directly adjacent star system but somewhere past that?¡± ¡°Yes, it would be much safer there. There¡¯s a good chance the enemy has spread their to the adjacent star system after all. There are a total of four adjacent star systems to Sierra, but there are many more neighboring star systems once we go past any of those four, so we¡¯ll probably be able to shake off their if we go to one of those systems.¡± ¡°I see.¡± I was convinced by Elma¡¯s exnation. ¡°So, should we scrap the n to hide out in one of the resorts and just go with resupplying at somewhere one star system away from Sierra, and then hide in hyperspace?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be hard. We would leave too many traces, so escaping to one of the resorts after destroying all the pursuing enemies may be the safer bet. The security on those resorts are actually quite stringent you see.¡± ¡°I see. How strict is the security by the way?¡± ¡°There are plenty of influential persons and high-ranking nobles who visit these resorts after all. There are also foreign dignitaries. The security level is pretty damn tight because of that. It¡¯ll ruin the empire¡¯s image a great deal if, say, a terror incident were to take ce at thoses.¡± That¡¯s some great info. It wasn¡¯t written anywhere in the pamphlet too. As I thought, it was a good call to consult a veteran like Elma when trying toe up with a n like this. ¡°¡­¡­So, even if we¡¯re going there, we won¡¯t be able to rx and have a normal vacation at a resort huh.¡± ¡°Yes, well¡­¡­ I remember you saying you¡¯ll charge the expenses to Chris-chan¡¯s grandfather, correct?¡± ¡°Um, I¡¯ll try to endorse you as much as I can, so you can get the rewards you deserve.¡± Chris answered Elma¡¯s question with great enthusiasm. Well, since Chris doesn¡¯t actually hold much authority in her family, it¡¯s the only thing she can promise. ¡°So, what¡¯s the estimated expenses for this n? About three million Enels, give or take?¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s already a bit much¡­ How much would we need to spend per person if we want to stay at a resort for two weeks?¡± ¡°Um, about twenty thousand to sixty thousand Enels per person, I think. I¡¯m not sure about the more high-end establishments, but the general ones would cost about that much.¡± ¡°There¡¯s four of us, so it¡¯ll go up to about eighty thousand to two hundred forty thousand Enels huh. We¡¯ll need to book facilities in all three resorts so we can create dummies. Each one should be under a different travel and tours agency. And, of course, we¡¯ll book different hotel chains as well. We¡¯ll book them under, my, Hiro, and Mimi¡¯s names. Mimi should book an 80,000 Enels course for two weeks, I¡¯ll book a course for 160,000, and Hiro will book a course for 240,000. We¡¯ll each book courses on all threes. With this, it¡¯ll total about 1.44 million Enels. That should be enough.¡± ¡°That sure is a huge amount of money, isn¡¯t it¡­?¡± After hearing the amount 1.44 million, Mimi couldn¡¯t help but make a bitter smile. If we convert it to Japanese Yen, it¡¯ll amount to 144 billion, though I¡¯m not sure how urate that conversion is. In Ste Online, 1.44 million Enels would be enough for you to purchase a decent multi-rolebat ship. It¡¯ll cost more once you factor in full customization as well as securing insurance for it just in case you¡¯re shot down. ¡°That amount should be nothing for the household of an imperial earl. Since it¡¯s for the protection of his cute granddaughter, I¡¯m sure our dear Earl will dly fork out this much money.¡± ¡°Nobles sure are amazing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m very sorry¡­ I have no idea whether or not that sum of money amounts to much.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s to be expected. You probably haven¡¯t obtained a proper sense of wealth even if you¡¯re part of nobility, considering your young age. I¡¯m sure you haven¡¯t had many opportunities to use money yourself, correct?¡± Chris nodded honestly to Elma¡¯s question. I see. So Chris hasn¡¯t had many opportunities to buy stuff by herself huh. I guess everything she needed or wanted was bought by her parents or servants until now. ¡°So, we¡¯ll be booking nine tours all in all, so we¡¯ll just have to choose from one of them?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯ll book another one. We¡¯ll be getting rewards and reimbursements anyway, so let¡¯s go all out and book a fairly high-ss establishment. Let¡¯s look for something that¡¯ll cost 560,000 Enels for four persons for two weeks.¡± ¡°Five hundred sixty thousand Enels just for a two week vacation¡­¡­¡± So, an establishment that¡¯ll cost 56 million Yen for two weeks huh. It¡¯ll be 14 million yen per person, so the ce would cost 1 million Yen per night¡­¡­ It¡¯s an amount unthinkable by my former sryman self. ¡°It¡¯s all free after all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s if we get properpensation. Let¡¯s just hope Chris¡¯s grandpa is the generous sort¡­¡­ Well, if he doesn¡¯t pay, then that¡¯s that. If we think of this as fringe benefits for me and the crew¡­¡­ it¡¯s still he expensive huh.¡± ¡°Well, since we have a ship as well as a captain who can rake in cash quickly, let¡¯s just get used to spending about this much. Others will mock us if we¡¯re too stingy y¡¯know.¡± ¡°Shut up. I¡¯m just your average citizen, okay. Or rather, you¡¯re quite used to spending this much money huh? Are you really an ojousama from some well-off family or something?¡± ¡°Hyu hyu??¡± ¡°That¡¯s some pretty crappy whistling.¡± Elma turned her gaze away and tried to avoid the question. Well, I¡¯m not one to press the issue if she doesn¡¯t really want to say it. ¡°But you know Hiro-sama, I don¡¯t think an ordinary citizen will normally be able toe up with a n costing so much money like this¡­¡­¡± Mimi had a troubled expression as she fiddled with her tablet terminal. So her sense of values still can¡¯t ept it huh. Well, let¡¯s just chalk it up to the quirks of a functioning aristocratic society. ¡°I do have some connections in mind you know. Don¡¯t worry so much.¡± ¡°¡­¡­One of your connections huh. Just what kind of connection?¡± ¡°A good woman always has a few secrets up her sleeve.¡± ¡°A good woman¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­needs to have a few secrets.¡± After seeing Elma disy such a suggestive smile while talking about the secrets to being a ¡®good¡¯ woman, Mimi and Chris started taking mental notes. Well, Elma really is a good woman in her own way¡­ but I don¡¯t think you girls are suited to follow her example. Hm. But I wonder how Chris will turn out once she grows up? ¡°Alright then, the n¡¯s decided. Can I leave the booking procedures to you girls? Just take the required money from my ount.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. But what will you do in the meantime, Hiro?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the captain of this ship, so I¡¯ll just leave all the troublesome procedures to my dear crew mates and take care of Chris.¡± I dered so while puffing up my chest proudly. Elma¡¯s gaze was icy, but I wasn¡¯t really all that good withplicated procedures and paperwork, and I¡¯m not confident about choosing an appropriate resort for our n. The other three were women and I¡¯m the only guy here, so I think it would be best to leave it to a woman¡¯s taste. ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s reasonable. I agree that having you choose a resort would not be a good idea.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really think it¡¯s all that bad¡­ but, I understand. I¡¯ll do my best as Hiro-sama¡¯s Operator!¡± When I told them about having doubts about my taste as a male, Elma and Mimi seemed to have been convinced. But honestly, if they left that to me, I¡¯d probably book something like a two week endurance meat fest. But anyway, since we¡¯rending on terra firma, would there be any chance of finally getting a hold of proper carbonated drinks¡­? Okay guys. Now I¡¯m definitely excited! Chapter 67 Chapter 67 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone Our preparations for going to a resort were well underway. Or rather, I left most of the prep work to Elma and Mimi while I talked about various stuff with Chris, watched holo-vids together, supervised her as she practiced grenade throwing inside the cargo room, and apanied her for some light workouts inside the training room. ¡°Well, we¡¯ve finished all the reservations. We¡¯ll be leaving two dayster and will stay there for two weeks, just as nned. We¡¯ve managed to settle all the fees and additional costs for two million Enels.¡± ¡°It was my first time spending so much Enels! My hands still can¡¯t stop shaking until now¡­¡­¡± Elma looked fine overall, but Mimi seemed exhausted ¨C mentally that is. Mimi had the values of amon citizen like me, so it wasn¡¯t a surprise that she turned out like that. My suspicion about Elma being an ojousama from a well-off family who ran away from home to live as a mercenary was reinforced by the fact that she wasn¡¯t fazed by spending such an amount at all. But she sure was reliable at times like this. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°I¡¯ll have Mimi handle transactions like this in the future, so you have to get used to it soon, okay.¡± ¡°¡­¡­I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Things like buying new ships or having them customized will have costs that would easily go up to several millions of Enels after all. ¡°So how will we make use of our time before departure?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see. It would be better if our departure time was leaked to our pursuers. Since we¡¯re nning to get rid of them all in one fell swoop, it would serve our purpose more if we travel openly instead of sneaking about.¡± ¡°But how would we go about it? And there¡¯s still the problem of resupplying too.¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s that, yeah. Judging from what Chris said, it seems the enemies are already wary of us, and if they get a chance, they¡¯ll probably make a move on us without hesitation. It¡¯ll be a bit stifling, but it would be safer for us all to hole up inside the ship for the meantime.¡± ¡°So we need to stay inside for two days, right? Two days doesn¡¯t seem too bad.¡± ¡°Yeah. It¡¯ll be a cinch for people who¡¯re used to traveling via hyperdrive.¡± Well, since we have Chris with us, I won¡¯t be able to live the usual sleazy lifestyle. Guess I¡¯ll need to hold it in for a while. ¡°That reminds me, what kind of ce did you girls choose in the end? I ran through the pamphlet myself, but there weren¡¯t any ces that seemed fancy enough, so I have no idea what to expect.¡± ¡°Oh, right. Well¡­¡­¡± ¡°Not knowing anything about the destination until you get there is exciting don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll still pose a problem if we don¡¯t know absolutely anything. That¡¯s especially true for me. I mean, I¡¯m not really proud about it, but I basicallyckmon sense because of my situation y¡¯know.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡­ Well, it¡¯s because of someplicated stuff.¡± Chris tilted her head curiously and Elma tried to exin, albeit vaguely. It would be troublesome to use the usual excuse of having amnesia or tell her straight that I think I got sent here from another dimension. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re leaving Chris out from the group, but there¡¯s also no need to expressly tell her the details either. ¡°The ce we¡¯re going to two days from now is the ocean, Sierra III. Almost eighty percent of the is covered by oceans, and there exists no continents on the surface. There are, however, some small inds here and there.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Just how do they manage that?¡± If all that exists were small inds, it wouldn¡¯t be practical for resort staff to be stationed on them for long periods of time. ¡°It seems that a management AI monitors inds that are not suited to be developed as resort areas, and androids and robots are utilized by the AI to take care of the tourists. As for security, unmanned mobile weapons and guard robots are deployed to serve as the security detail.¡± ¡°It sure sounds like it would be a great big mess if the AI ever gets hacked or something.¡± ¡°That certainly wouldn¡¯t be easy. The security measures and protocols that protect the positron AI that manages the entire are the best the gxy has to offer. If one really wants to hack the management AI, you¡¯ll need to prepare at least two other AIs of the same level to even have a shot.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Like I said earlier, the resorts are frequented by influential people, high-ranking nobles, and dignitaries from other countries. It just goes to show that they¡¯re not being careless when ites to security.¡± I see. It would certainly seem to be safe if we stayed at a ce like that. ¡°Since it¡¯s an ocean, then we¡¯ll be able to partake in leisure activities centered around the ocean, right?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. We¡¯ve rented a medium-sized ind where we¡¯ll be staying once we arrive. And it looks like the ind also has enough space for Krishna tond as well. If any other persons try to approach the ind, we¡¯ll be alerted immediately.¡± ¡°That¡¯s some serious security.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not all. There are variousser turret emcements camouged as rock formations and guard bots deployed both underground and under the sea. Honestly speaking, it almost seems like suicide to attack such a well-guarded ind.¡± ¡°It does sound reliable. But, as Hiro-sama said, there¡¯s still a chance of the systems beingpromised, so we still need to be vignt.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hope it doesn¡¯te to that¡­ Anyway, you sure went all out huh. To think you¡¯ll actually reserve an entire ind all to ourselves.¡± ¡°It¡¯s luxurious alright. Expensive too. We can enjoy sunbathing at the beach, swimming in the sea, take walks and enjoy nature in all its splendor, y with cute alien creatures, and much, much more.¡± ¡°Hou¡­ That sure sounds awesome alright.¡± I¡¯m a bit interested in the ¡®ying with cute aliens¡¯ bit. But I¡¯m gonna blow my top if they turn out to be atrocious creatures like F*cehuggers and such. Or if they look somewhat cute but their heads are split into four parts and have protruding chins like a certain character I know. ¡°The food we¡¯ll be served seems to be fresh seafood as well as various delicacies from nearby star systems.¡± ¡°It looks like Mimi¡¯s gonna be satisfied with the trip this time.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Mimi¡¯s thoughts have already focused on all the gourmet food she would probably get to sample. Her eyes were shining. However, fresh seafood huh¡­¡­ I hope their appearance won¡¯t be too out there though. At least make them look ptable. Well, I¡¯m a true blue Japanese guy with a Japanese mentality, so I¡¯m of the opinion that any type of seafood can be delicious if prepared properly. We passed the time talking excitedly about the resort and all the activities we wanted to try. With this, the first day of Chris¡¯s stay inside our ship ended with no problems. Chapter 68 Chapter 68 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone The next day¡­ ¡°Delicious¡­¡­!¡± Chris was happily munching on a hamburger (reproduction) first thing in the morning with sparkling eyes. Well, I did serve hotdog and pizza (reproductions) made by Tetsujin V to her duringst night¡¯s dinner. I¡¯m sure Chris-chan hasn¡¯t experienced tasting these kinds of auto-cooker created junk food before, so all this turned out to be quite a fresh experience for her. No wonder she¡¯s so taken with them. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 It looks like she really liked their strong vors and the act of eating by grabbing the food directly with her hands. Well, I guess it¡¯s alright since junk food reproductions made by auto-cookers are actually low-calorie despite their taste and appearance. They¡¯re wonder items that look and taste like junk food despite being fairly nutritious and rtively healthy. ¡°Is this really okay? Wouldn¡¯t her family use us of teaching her strange stuff?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I think they wouldn¡¯t object to her learning about the food that normalmoners eat.¡± ¡°But you know, Tetsujin V is actually a really high-ss item that can¡¯t be afforded by your average citizen, so you technically can¡¯t say that these are stuff normal folks can eat¡­¡­¡± The auto-cooker that was previously installed in the ship before we got Tetsujin V really wasn¡¯t all that bad, but Tetsujin is just one¡­ no, three levels higher than your normal auto-cooker. Yeah, Elma¡¯s got a point. Maybe setting the stuff Tetsujin Ves up with as examples of ¡®food that your average citizens eat on a daily basis¡¯ really isn¡¯t appropriate huh? Guess I¡¯ll find time to serve her some food that¡¯s made by a normal auto-cooker, even if they wouldn¡¯t be as delicious. Maybe I¡¯ll serve her some Alein system specialties next time. Oh, wait. The specialty of Alein system was that funky shake made out of the unprocessed stuff contained in food cartridges huh. ording to the folks over there, the contents of food cartridges that have been produced a year or two earlier tasted the best. I really don¡¯t get them. But let¡¯s get back on topic. ¡ºSo, how was your first night sleeping together, Mimi? I hope she didn¡¯t have any nightmares because of what she¡¯s been through.¡» ¡ºYes, well, there wasn¡¯t anything like that, thankfully. But she might have been really exhausted since she fell asleep really quickly.¡» ¡ºI see. That¡¯s good to hear.¡» I was exchanging messages with Mimi as I ate my meal and asked her about Chris¡¯s conditionst night. I was worried she might have had nightmares or shbacks about what happened to her. Well, it¡¯s just the first night, so it¡¯s too early to feel relieved. ¡°So, what¡¯ll we do today?¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s nothing we can do except for ship maintenance. Walking around outside is dangerous, and we can¡¯t resupply in the colony either since we don¡¯t know what the enemies will do with the goods if they somehow got their hands on them before they get delivered.¡± ¡°But is it really that easy to tamper with the food and supplies even with the automated goods delivery system in ce?¡± Mimi tilted her head to the side and asked. I was curious about that as well. ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t be able to tamper with them easily. But in the off chance that they do manage it, we¡¯ll all be goners if they slip in something like a high-powered sma grenade.¡± ¡°Yeah. They wouldn¡¯t be able to break in from the outside easily, but if they set off a powerful explosion inside the ship, even Krishna won¡¯te out of it unscathed.¡± By the way, sma grenades are weapons that release copious amounts of super-heated sma along with powerful explosions when thrown and detonated. They¡¯re fairly dangerous. In fact, they can easily punch a hole through the walls of a colony, so private individuals or organizations were forbidden to get a hold of them. They were strictly provided only to the military. But even so, I get why Elma gave such an example. She¡¯s basically telling us to prepare for the worst case scenario. ¡°Will they really go that far¡­?¡± Mimi looked like she still had misgivings. Well, it doesn¡¯t hurt to be prepared anyway. But we just took custody of Chris yesterday, so I don¡¯t really think they¡¯ll be able to prepare something of that caliber on such short notice. ¡°But, well, there¡¯s the fact that Elma was already marked by them yesterday.¡± ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s that. Their response was just too fast. With that in mind, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to be extra cautious.¡± ¡°Uu¡­ I guess you¡¯re right. We really can¡¯t let our guards down.¡± ¡°Well, the fact that I¡¯m still alive already poses quite the problem to my uncle¡¯s ns. I think it¡¯s best that we always act with the worst case scenario in mind.¡± Chris finished eating her hamburger and elegantly dabbed her lips with a napkin. Her good upbringing really shows through these little gestures. Well, I also wipe my mouth after eating, but it¡¯s impossible for me to be that elegant when doing so without looking unnatural. ¡°But there¡¯s a chance we¡¯ll raise their suspicions if we don¡¯t go outside the ship at all too, right?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. At the very least, they already know that we¡¯ve taken custody of Chris, so they¡¯re already wary of us from the get go. Since they¡¯ve most likely assumed that Chris has already told us her situation, they probably won¡¯t find it too unnatural even if we stay cooped up in here.¡± ¡°I guess so.¡± Well, since we¡¯ve heard of all the gory details, I¡¯m sure Chris¡¯s uncle has already marked all of us as targets for elimination. Holing up after feeling threatened would seem just natural huh. Chris¡¯s expression clouded over. ¡°I¡¯m deeply sorry everyone¡­¡­ I¡¯ve involved you all in this.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about it. There¡¯s no way this guy would leave a cute girl like Chris alone y¡¯see. You can just chalk all of this up to fate, I guess.¡± Elma hit my cheek lightly with the back of her hand repeatedly as she said so. Well, yeah. I just can¡¯t leave a cute girl who¡¯s obviously in trouble alone after all¡­¡­ I¡¯m sure this disposition of mine willnd us in all sorts of trouble in the future, so I¡¯ll just have to grit my teeth and take responsibility. That¡¯s just the kind of guy I am. But what about Mimi and Elma, you ask? Well, I do love and treasure the two of them, so I¡¯d like to take responsibility for them as much as I possibly can as well. But that¡¯s that, and this is this. Because there¡¯s always a chance of me dying or being unexpectedly sent into another dimension once more, I¡¯ll have to set some measures up in preparation for those. In fact, I¡¯ve secretly made arrangements with the Mercenary Guild in the off chance that theypletely lose contact with me and I go MIA, or worse, getbelled as KIA. I¡¯ve made it so that Krishna and the rest of my assets will all get transferred to Mimi if those things ever happened to me. What about Elma? It does look like she hasn¡¯tpletely cut ties with her family, so I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll get into any sort of conflict with Mimi if I do go MIA or KIA. Yeah, I¡¯m sure she wouldn¡¯t do anything like that. And besides, Mimi¡¯s already lost all her other loved ones, so I have to prioritize her when ites to these sorts of things. ¡°?¡± It looks like Mimi noticed my mncholic state so she turned her gaze toward me worriedly. I brushed it off and told her it was nothing. ¡°In other words, we¡¯re allpletely free for the whole day huh.¡± ¡°Un, should we just hunt down some pirates?¡± ¡°Now why¡¯d it suddenly jump to that¡­¡­?¡± I mean, won¡¯t there be danger of us getting ambushed while we hunt for pirates with our little princess in tow? And even if they didn¡¯t do so, we¡¯ll still end up showing them some of our cards¡­¡­ Or rather, to think she¡¯ll suggest hunting down people so naturally like that. It seems Mimi¡¯s already gotten somewhat used to the mercenary lifestyle and ways of thinking huh? ¡°Hm, that would end up letting our enemies witness some of our capabilities, so we probably shouldn¡¯t. In these circumstances, we need topose ourselves and prepare as much as we can instead.¡± After saying that, Elma got up from her seat and took out beer from the fridge. Oi. ¡°It¡¯s still early in the morning y¡¯know.¡± ¡°Well, we won¡¯t be able to get off the ship anyway, so what¡¯s the harm in drinking a little? They won¡¯t be able to do anything to us if we activate the shields.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s true, but¡­¡­¡± I gave up and took out some non-carbonated c from the fridge. I also got one for Chris. It seems Mimi didn¡¯t really like them, so I didn¡¯t get one for her. ¡°Hey Chris, this stuff pairs really well with things like hamburgers, hotdogs, and pizzas. Drinking it while eating those would be best.¡± ¡°Truly?¡± Chris took the bottle of non-carbonated c I offered with both hands and started to drink it in an elegant manner. ¡°It has a faint smell of medicine, however¡­ it¡¯s very sweet.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it? This pairs really well with hamburgers. You can try it outter at lunch.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Oh c¡¯mon you¡­ the earl will tear you a new one for teaching Chris to drink that sort of stuff along with junk food.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from someone who has no qualms drinking alcohol just after finishing breakfast first thing in the morning.¡± I met gazes with Elma. Oh? What? You wanna go? I obviously can¡¯t win against you in a hand to hand fight though. So please let me off this time. I raised both hands in surrender. What? I look pathetic? You idiots. Elma¡¯s grappling moves are seriously bad news y¡¯know. They don¡¯t leave you with injuries but are still he painful. She¡¯s a specialist at inflicting pain without injury¡­ What a barbaric elf. ¡°It looks like the two of them really do get along after all.¡± ¡°Yes, they do, don¡¯t they? I even feel a bit jealous sometimes.¡± ¡°But Mimi-san also gets along well with Hiro-sama, right?¡± ¡°E-Ehehe¡­¡­ Yes.¡± Mimi held both cheeks with her hands and made a bashful smile. Hahaha, how cute, Mimi. ¡°Oh, but I do think Hiro needs to show more care for me. Rather, please treat me the same as Mimi sometimes, you.¡± ¡°So you actually are bothered by how I treat Mimi and you differently, huh.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m not¡­ really all that bothered.¡± ¡°Hehe. Don¡¯t I treat the both of you equally in bed though?¡± ¡°Be¡­¡­!? Hey!? W-What are you saying in front of Chris!?¡± Elma¡¯s face turned bright red. Hahaha, how¡¯s that? ¡°I-Is this what you call an adult conversation¡­?¡± ¡°A-Ahahaha¡­¡± Nope. This is just sexual harassment. It¡¯s really fun to tease Elma like this y¡¯see. Her reactions are really cute. And so, the second day of Chris¡¯s stay with us passed without incident. But the enemies not making any move at all does seem a bit concerning. I even activated the energy shield to provoke a response, but got nothing. It was honestly a bit eerie. Oh, and by the way, Chris seems to have warmed up to Mimi considerably, and the two of them even had some girl talk before going to bedst night. ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Mimi and Chris kept furtively ncing my way with reddened cheeks during breakfast the next day. Did they actually¡­? No, they couldn¡¯t have, right? What should I do though? Nothing came to mind in the end. Mimi and Elma should know full well that I had no intention ofying my hands on Chris. I won¡¯t behave inappropriately. I decided to ignore it in the end and went for a bath after working out for a bit. We¡¯ll probably get really busy soon. Chapter 69 Chapter 69 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone Yes, good morning everyone. It is yours truly, Hiro. I am your ever responsible MC, who made sure to properly lock the door to my room and slept very early the night before. Right now, I am trembling in trepidation after checking the door¡¯s ess log. There were two attempts to unlock my doorst night. I wonder what this was all about. Just who could have done this? I went to the dining room only to find Elma sulking while Mimi and Chris were huddled up in one corner of the table. They seemed uneasy, as if they were caught red handed trying to do bad things. All our gazes met, and a strange silence ensued. ¡°¡­¡­Okay girls. Let¡¯s all calm down and have a little talk. First, I have absolutely no ns toy my hand on Chris. Rather, I absolutely can¡¯t y¡¯know. There¡¯s the fact of me being the one assigned as her temporary guardian. But, more importantly,ying one¡¯s hands on a young nobledy would bring all sorts of trouble. If I were Chris¡¯s grandfather, I would absolutely murder the damned mercenary whoid his filthy hands on my granddaughter in her time of weakness using all means necessary.¡± Mimi and Chris averted their gazes from me as I said so. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°And Elma, I had a sort of feeling this would end up happeningst night, so I made sure to lock the door. It absolutely wasn¡¯t meant to prevent you from barging in and ruining our fun or anything like that.¡± ¡°I see. It can¡¯t be helped then.¡± The sulking Elma¡¯s mood finally turned for the better and she gave me a smile. ¡°In any case, well¡­ we have Chris with us after all. I think it would be best if we restrained ourselves from ¡®those¡¯ activities for the time being.¡± ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t really need to mind me, you know?¡± ¡°But something like that¡¯s not proper, don¡¯t you think¡­¡­?¡± I turned my gaze to Mimi, and she lightly shook her head with her face all red from shame. Eh? You¡¯re telling me not to mind you and go right ahead, Chris? No, something like that ain¡¯t fine at all. Just why the heck are you girls so adamant about it anyway? ¡°I do not want to feel left out after all.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give me that. It¡¯s impossible, okay. I already exined why, right? I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve already understood my reasons. And we haven¡¯t even spent all that much time together in the first ce. You might have just gotten influenced by the situation, but please calm down and think this through more carefully. Of course, this might be just a case of being hit by the suspension bridge effect, but I¡¯ll do all that I possibly can to protect you even without us entering into that kind of rtionship, okay Chris? We can¡¯t take this kind of stuff lightly.¡± I tried to exin as seriously as I could, but Chris still had a disgruntled expression on her pretty little face. Did you learn of such things as part of aristocratic education? You¡¯re much too liberal for your age, youngdy. And what¡¯s worse was that she seemed pretty serious about it. ¡°Or are you saying I should go with what you want even if it would most likely cause a huge conflict between me and your grandfather, Chris?¡± ¡°¡­¡­No.¡± ¡°There are steps for everything, okay? I sure you wouldn¡¯t want to do things that would damage your grandfather¡¯s dignity and pride as part of the nobility, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes. You¡¯re right.¡± ¡°Of course. Quite a number of imperial nobles are upstanding and honorable individuals after all.¡± I gave Chris a warm smile as I rejoiced in my head at the fact that I was able to sessfully persuade her. What? Don¡¯t I feel guilty about tricking such an innocent young girl? Of course I don¡¯t! It¡¯s necessary for both Chris and my safety after all! Seriously, guys. ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s how it is. Mimi, Elma, you two take care of Chris and make sure she doesn¡¯t do anything reckless. I¡¯ll do my part as well, of course.¡± ¡°Uu¡­¡­ U-Understood.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°You watch yourself as well, Chris. I may look fine right now, but men¡¯s reasoning can be unexpectedly fragile you know.¡± Especially mine. ¡°Muuh¡­ I understand.¡± It looks like I finally convinced Chris to back down. I did a little work out after we finished eating breakfast, took a quick shower, and fixed myself up. ¡°Do you always live like this usually?¡± ¡°Yes, this is how it normally goes in Hiro-sama¡¯s ship.¡± Mimi readily answered Chris¡¯s question, but Chris had a subtle expression on her face. ¡°I have always thought that life aboard a mercenary ship was more, well¡­ uncouth and crude.¡± ¡°This is the only mercenary ship I know that offers the samefort as the cabin of a luxury passenger cruiser though.¡± Elma followed up on Chris¡¯s words with a subtly negative nuance to her statement. But isn¡¯t having a nice living environment a good thing? Thanks to that, we can eat delicious food, sleep on fluffy and clean beds, and have a fully equipped bathroom. ¡°I¡¯m of the opinion that livingfortably trumps living like your typical mercenary any day. Alright girls, we¡¯re finally going to the resort today. We¡¯ll probably get intobat with Chris¡¯s pursuers though, so don¡¯t let your guards down.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Mimi replied energetically while Elma just casually brushed it off. C¡¯mon Elma¡­¡­ Well, I guess it would feel out of ce if Elma were to be all enthusiastic just like Mimi. She always did a ster job as my co-pilot, so I guess there¡¯s no need to worry about her anyway. We all entered the cockpit soon after. I sat on the pilot seat, Mimi on the operator seat, Elma on the sub-pilot seat, and Chris on the sub-operator seat. With this, all the seats inside Krishna¡¯s cockpit have been upied. ¡°Is it really okay for me to stay inside the cockpit as well?¡± ¡°This is the safest ce inside the ship after all. The inertial control system functions best inside here as well.¡± I answered Chris¡¯s question as I checked Krishna¡¯s systems. I deployed the shield at the lowest output setting yesterday just in case, but there was no indication of any attacks from the outside. The enemies have most likely gotten wind that we have booked appointments at the resorts and were probably thinking of springing an ambush while we¡¯re on the way. Attacking at that point would pose the lowest risk to them after all. There was a good chance of the local imperial military garrison getting involved if they staged an attack inside the colony after all. There was also a chance of Chris¡¯s grandfather finding out about the situation if they made enough of a racket and it ends up getting in the news or something. ¡°Yosh. Mimi, send out a departure request.¡± ¡°Yes, understood!¡± Mimi operated the console in front of her and sent a departure request to the port administration office. Our request got approved before long, so I started moving the ship to the departure area carefully. I already deployed the shield at maximum capacity. The enemies mighty an ambush by disguising it as a normal ident, so I remained alert of the surroundings. There seemed to be no ship that was behaving strangely. Was I just thinking too much? No, it wasn¡¯t a bad thing to remain vignt. We would probably be fine if a small cruiser rammed into us, but we would be toast if a fully loadedrge cargo ship were to crash onto us head on. ¡°¡­¡­Fuu, this sure is nerve-wracking.¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t out of the woods yet. I set a route where it¡¯ll be difficult to tell which resort we¡¯re heading towards, so follow the navigation prompts carefully.¡± ¡°Gotcha.¡± I carefully followed the navigation route set by Elma as I continued to drive the ship. Yep, it should be pretty difficult for the pursuers to tell which we¡¯ll be heading toward while following this route. ¡°Get ready to activate the FTL Drive.¡± ¡°Yes! FTL Drive, charging started.¡± When the generator output was increased, a droning sound signifying the FTL Drive being charged rang out. ¡°Countdown start. FTL Drive activation in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­¡­ FTL Drive, activate.¡± Krishna started moving at superluminal speed when the drive activated. The stars that looked like stationary dots of light started streaming behind us as they turned into thin light streams. ¡°Waah¡­¡­ So this is how traveling via FTL Drive on a ship looks like inside a ship cockpit.¡± Chris excitedly raised her voice as she looked at the dynamic outer space scenery in front of us. So, was the view different when seen from a window of a luxury passenger cruiser? ¡°I¡¯ve gotten used to it now, but I was also like that when I first experienced it¨C¡° A warning rm suddenly rang out inside the cockpit as I was talking. Well that was fast. ¡°Looks like they¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Uhuh. And I was sure they would¡¯ve had a hard time trying to pick out which we were going to go for too.¡± ¡°Maybe they just went ham cause they were nning on wiping us out anyway?¡± The warning message disyed on the cockpit¡¯s HUD indicated that we were hit by an interdictor. It would have been possible for us to avoid being hit by the interdictor in question, but our purpose was to bait out the enemies in order to destroy them all, so I just let it be. It would be better to make preparations for battle instead of forcefully shaking off the interdictor¡¯s range after all. ¡°Mimi, get ready for battle. I¡¯ll leave the subsystems to you as usual, Elma. Let¡¯s go all out guys.¡± ¡°Understood!¡± ¡°Aye, aye?¡± ¡°U-Um, what about me?¡± Chris called out as well but¡­ Hm, what should I have her do? ¡°We¡¯re gonna do some intensebat maneuvers, so make sure you don¡¯t identally bite your tongue. The Gs you¡¯ll be subjected to will be limited by the inertial control system to arge extent, but you¡¯ll still feel burdened duringbat maneuvers, so brace yourself ordingly. And try not to let out a loud voice even if you get scared, okay.¡± ¡°Y-Yes. I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Chris replied with slight nervousness in her voice. There¡¯s a chance I¡¯ll get distracted if she screamed out after all. Come to think of it, Mimi was all quiet during her first battle. But maybe she just froze up from fear back then so she couldn¡¯t manage to scream in the first ce. I lowered the generator output and decreased our speed. I allowed the interdictor to work its magic and the ship finally went back to normal space. After a booming sound, the light streams finally went back to being points of starlight. I then raised the generator output to battle mode all at once. ¡°Whoah! They¡¯re really going at it huh!¡± As I activated the weapon systems and performed evasive maneuvers, multiple crimson light projectiles pierced through the space Krishna was in just moments before. No warnings, huh. You guys sure are merciless. ¡°Enemy signatures detected. Twelve small craft and four medium-sized ones!¡± ¡°Scattering the chaff now. The res and shield cells are ready to go any time.¡± ¡°OK. Let¡¯s do this!¡± I reversed our bearings and deployed all four heavyser cannons and both ballistic shotgun cannons. Now then, let¡¯s start the counter attack. I won¡¯t let a single one of you bastards escape this ce in one piece! Chapter 70 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°These guys ain¡¯t even trying to disguise themselves as pirates anymore.¡± I let out a sigh as I got a good look at the ships that attacked us. The twelve small ships were all middle ss warships, and the four medium-sized ones were clearly old model military cruisers. ¡°Both the ships and equipment are too high-quality for mere pirates.¡± I returned fire while dodging the crimson beams fired by the enemy ships. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°And they¡¯re all tough bastards to boot.¡± When your average pirate ship gets hit by Krishna¡¯srge-caliberser cannons, their shields and armor would bepletely useless and they would be easily shot down, but these guys were different. Our return fire didn¡¯t manage to fully saturate their shields, and even if the shots managed to go through, their armor withstood them even if some took some serious-looking damage. In other words, their energy shields, armor, and equipment are all a step up from regr pirates. ¡°What about their overall firepower?¡± ¡°They¡¯re all sporting weapon systems one or two ranks above your typical pirate. And their shield outputs are also quite high.¡± ¡°I see. Mimi, what about alerting the imperial garrison?¡± ¡°It¡¯s no good! We¡¯re being jammed!¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s no surprise.¡± ¡°Yep. Just as expected.¡± If we stalled for enough time, there¡¯s a good chance the local garrison will notice the unusual jamming signals, but it would still be faster for us to eliminate the enemies ourselves. They won¡¯t be able to get on our caseter if we just handed over the flight recorder. ¡°Well, I think I¡¯ve gotten a good read of their abilities. We¡¯re going in guys.¡± ¡°Aye, aye sir!¡± ¡°A-Aye, aye sir!¡± I plunged into the enemy formation after hearing Elma¡¯sposed reply and Mimi¡¯s slightly shaken one. The enemy ships seemed to have been surprised at my sudden change in maneuvers. I aimed for that gap and got past the encirclement of the small ships. I then headed straight for the medium-sized cruisers. ¡°Let¡¯s get the big ones first!¡± I avoided the interception fire of the medium-sized cruisers with well-timed barrel rolls and fired concentrated bursts of all four heavyser cannons on one of them. They really are tough. I scored direct hits with all four cannons, but the shield still ain¡¯t down. They must be using shield cells as well. But¡­ ¡°How about this!?¡± I fired the two shot-cannons on either side of Krishna¡¯s cockpit and countless destructive submunitions pelted the enemy ship. The enemy ship¡¯s shield may have taken more damage from the concentratedser fire earlier since the submunitions easily prated it and opened countless holes on the ship¡¯s hull. It may have been hit in a critical area since the ship¡¯s movementpletely stopped. ¡°Well get the other medium-sized cruisers just like this.¡± We¡¯ll see what they¡¯ve got then. I used the silenced medium-sized ship as a shield to ward off the enemy fire from the pursuing small ships and headed for the next target. If I stick close to the medium ones, I would be able to prevent the small ones from firing at us to some extent, since they¡¯ll probably hesitate due to the danger of friendly fire. Well, I would still be able to cope with them even if they didn¡¯t mind friendly fire and continued to shoot at us. I concentrated on bringing down the medium ones while being wary of support fire from the small ships. ¡°You sure use some nasty tactics.¡± ¡°This is just standard for one-to-many engagements y¡¯know.¡± If I didn¡¯t do this, we would probably have tuned into a beehive already. Krishna¡¯s shield still had a limit, no matter how tough it was. ¡°How¡¯s the damage?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve taken some hits, but they weren¡¯t enough to saturate the shield. They seem to be wary of hitting their allies, so they don¡¯t fire as often.¡± Elma was operating her console with blinding speed. I did my best to avoid enemy fire using evasive maneuvers, but it was obviously impossible to avoid everything. And so, Elma controlled the damage by temporarily raising the output of the shield at the impact points with unerring uracy and using the shield cells in a timely manner. She also used chaff and ECM to throw the enemy ship¡¯s targeting systems into disarray. ¡°Whoops.¡± Because I kept sticking to the medium-sized ships while fighting, some small ships finally lost patience and closed in at full speed. They may be nning to drive me away from the medium-sized ships even if they had to ram me. ¡°Not a chance.¡± I used the attitude control sub-thrusters to quickly turn around and aimed the shot cannons at the fast-approaching small ships. And so, I fired without hesitation. The innumerable submunitions saturated the shields of the iing three ships instantly and filled their hulls full of holes. Three more servings of swiss cheese have been made. ¡°Great. I¡¯m already familiar with most of their maneuvers. Let¡¯s pick up the pace.¡± I stuck to the escaping medium-sized ship with Krishna¡¯s back facing toward it by using the sub-thrusters while firing heavyser cannon salvos at the pursuing small ships. If I can¡¯t bring them down in one salvo, then I¡¯ll just have to hit them with two or three more. ¡°This is just so weird¡­¡­ Just how are you sticking to them perfectly with our back facing against them?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just basing it off the radar response and the enemy¡¯s movement patterns.¡± What? This is just like using your smartphone to shoot videos while walking backwards. Easy peasy. Anyone can do this once they get used to it. Well, we¡¯re in outer space, so the ce we need to maneuver in is a bit wider than usual, but it¡¯s plenty doable with practice. I spent countless hours of blood-boiling special training with a friend in order to master this unorthodox maneuver. ¡°It¡¯s about time to end this.¡± Since the number of enemies have decreased, I finally put the medium-sized ship I stuck with out of its misery by firing the shot cannons at its exposed backside. I then moved to sweep up the remaining small ships. What about the remaining medium ones? They¡¯re pretty slow anyway, so once I¡¯m done wiping out all the small ones, they¡¯re just big old targets. Well, they still have high firepower so I still had to be wary of them though. I charged straight toward the formation of small ships and fired the shot cannons every time I passed one. The ones that attempted to escape by showing me their exposed backsides were brought down by heavyser cannon fire. I made use of the seeker missiles the two medium-sized ships fired in frustration to get rid of the remaining small ships by setting off res whenever I passed one by, making the seeker missiles detonate right in front of their faces. I continuously thinned their numbers like so. Before long, all enemy ships have been sessfully brought down. ¡°Well, that was fairly challenging. Their equipment and skills certainly were a cut above your average pirate.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right¡­¡­¡± Elma was scowling for some reason. ¡°T-That was scary¡­¡­¡± Mimi was blue in the face. It¡¯s been some time since she got like this. The only time I had this much trouble was¡­ the fight against the Federation fleet at the Termaine system. Well, I still had an easier time herepared to that battle though. There was no need to fire an anti-ship reactive torpedo this time either. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up and recover the loot. Keep a lookout for data caches that may serve as incriminating evidence against Chris¡¯s uncle. Since we can¡¯t expect much from the small ships, let¡¯s go ahead and search the medium ones.¡± ¡°Aye, aye sir.¡± ¡°Y-Yes!¡± I then moved the Krishna in order to recover the loot and data caches from the destroyed ships. I would have liked to strip off all the equipment from these guys if we had the time¡­ but we might be discovered by the military if we hung around too long. We may even get sniffed out by these guys¡¯ allies. We divided the drones in order to recover supplies, food, water, and data caches from the four medium-sized cruisers. Since we divided the control of the drones between the three of us, it shouldn¡¯t take long for us to loot all four ships. ¡°The data caches are one thing, but I guess we can¡¯t expect a lot of other loot huh. I¡¯m sure these guys didn¡¯t n to stay long anyway.¡± ¡°That might not be the case. Ships this size usually have four to eight crew members manning them, right? They should have stocked up one or two weeks¡¯ worth of supplies in the off chance that their propulsion drives encounter some sort of trouble or something.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± In the end, it did turn out as Elma said. We managed to recover quite the amount of supplies and water. These should easilyst us a month. ¡°We managed to get a lot huh. We might be able to pull off that n with the hypenes with this amount of supplies on hand.¡± ¡°If hiding out on the resort doesn¡¯t work out in the end, let¡¯s go ahead and do that.¡± After recovering as much loot as we can, we immediately activated the FTL Drive and pulled out of the area. ¡°We should be able to rx now¡­ You alright back there, Chris?¡± I turned toward Chris to check her condition. She looked at me with a pale face and nodded softly. She also covered her mouth with both hands. I guess that¡¯s in order not to vite my earlier instruction of not crying out. I then turned toward Elma and saw her take out her personal Gravity Sphere. It had a cool name, but basically, it was just a high-tech tumbler that floats and doesn¡¯t spill its contents even during high intensity ship maneuvers. She took out the straw from inside it and sipped her drink. Elma¡¯s asposed as always huh. Mimi has also calmed down and was currently busy checking out the loot we managed to recover. Mm. She¡¯s be really reliable. She could already be said as a qualified ship operator. ¡°I¡¯ll reconfigure the navigation route to our real destination. Please watch for the descent angle when entering the atmosphere.¡± ¡°Leave it to me.¡± You really have to pay attention to the descent angle whenever you attempt tond on a with an atmosphere to avoid any idents. Well, this ship has both safety devices and the energy shield, so there¡¯s a fairly low chance of charging into a with the FTL Drive still active and turning into a shooting star or something like that. That said, the handling of starships will change greatly when inside a¡¯s atmosphere due to the effects of gravity as well as air resistance. It would be fairly stupid if you piloted a ship just the way you did in a zero-G environment and ended up crashing as a result. I followed the navigation prompts for a while until an azure came into view. It was the third of the Sierra star system that was mostly covered in oceans, Sierra III. ¡°Yosh, we¡¯ll start entering the atmosphere now.¡± ¡°Aye, aye sir. Leave the support work to me. Take a good look at what I¡¯m doing, okay Mimi? This is also part of operator training.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I left the still-trembling Chris alone for the meantime. And so, we were finally entering the resort after eliminating all our current pursuers. Chapter 71 Chapter 71 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone Now then, we were supposed to begin our descent to the resort Sierra III after getting rid of the enemies pursuing Chris. However¡­ ¡°I believe you said that resorts are guarded by a really strict security system, right? Is it really okay to punch through the atmosphere just like this?¡± I remember Elma saying something about an AI controlled automated interception system. It won¡¯t be funny if we approached willy and got shot down by it as a result. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine. We¡¯ll just need to ess the control AI and enter a specially generated code so we¡¯ll be excluded from the interception targets of the-wide defense system.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°How thorough¡­¡­¡± Mimi sounded impressed after hearing Elma¡¯s exnation. I shot a nce at Chris and found her looking dazed. Perhaps she¡¯s just calmed down after the shock of experiencing her first ever battle out in space. Was Mimi also like this when she first experiencedbat? Or did she actually cope better¡­? I can¡¯t really remember that well. It depends on an individual, I guess. The FTL Drive was deactivated while apanied by a muffled roar, and we finally got a good look at the ocean-covered surface of Sierra III. ¡°How do you ess the control AI?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simr to how we apply for docking permission on a colony. Please open them channel list, Mimi. The contact link to theary control AI should be included in the list.¡± ¡®Yes. Um¡­ There, I found it! I¡¯ll ess it right away.¡± Mimi operated her console and started interfacing with the control AI. And after doing as Elma instructed, she managed to obtainnding clearance before long. ¡°Oh, right. I think we can actually use the auto-docking system for atmospheric re-entry.¡± ¡°We can? Shall we use it then?¡± After activating the auto-docking system, the ship AI began adjusting the atmospheric descent angle in order for us to reach our target destination automatically. Nice and easy. The ship began its descent to the¡¯s atmosphere. Krishna was rocked with turbulence a few moments after it began re-entry procedures. The grating sound that apanied the turbulence gradually intensified. And the scene we were viewing through the Krishna¡¯s cockpit was dyed in crimson. ¡°O-Oh! So this is how a starship goes about atmospheric re-entry¡­¡­ Is it just me or is the energy shield actually turning red?¡± ¡°Even I¡¯m not familiar with this stuff. Why are you asking me¡­¡­?¡± It¡¯s not like Krishna¡¯s hull was in contact with the atmosphere directly, so was the energy shield itself actually heating up due to friction or something¡­? I mean, it¡¯s an energy shield. If not, then was it some sort of special reaction that gets triggered during re-entry? I have no idea. But it certainly was a hard-toe-by and one-of-a-kind experience alright. ¡°I-Is everything going to be alright?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything wrong with Krishna. The shield is being saturated at a minor rate, but there¡¯s no problem with the hull itself.¡± Elma exined to Mimi in order to calm thetter¡¯s nerves. But then¡­¡­ ¡°¡­¡­Waaaaaah!?¡± ¡°Woah!?¡± Chris suddenly cried out in a loud voice. W-What!? When I turned to her, I found Chris covering her mouth with her hands. Her cheeks were bright red. It also seems like she was muttering something suspiciously¡­¡­ ¡°¡­¡­! U-Um, it looks like Chris-chan isn¡¯t feeling well, so I¡¯ll take her to the medical bay for a bit.¡± ¡°¡­¡­? Uh, okay.¡± Mimi stood up from the operator¡¯s seat in a panic for some reason and proceeded to apany Chris, whose posture was in a peculiar half-bent position. The both of them left the cockpit right away. It certainly does look like she wasn¡¯t feeling well. ¡°Are they gonna be alright?¡± ¡°Yeah. You don¡¯t have to worry.¡± Elma answered me without making eye contact. What¡¯s up? It actually seems like I¡¯m the only one left out or something. I kept thinking about it as Krishna continued its descent. The turbulence has mostly died down though. Hmmm¡­¡­? Ah¡­ ¡°Did she wet herself?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Have some tact, you idiot!¡± ¡°Uh, sorry, okay. I won¡¯t bring it up again, so don¡¯t get angry.¡± Even if Chris was a noble¡¯s daughter, she was still an ordinary girl in many respects. I guess all the excitement from earlier plus the rough reentry got to her somehow. I mean, we did get shot at byser cannons a lot and all. Her getting scared was quite understandable, really. Krishna¡¯s tough shield and thick hull wouldn¡¯t give in to that level of bombardment, but getting hit by them must¡¯ve still seemed really frightening to her. There¡¯s no way to avoid everyser projectile flying at your ship during space battles anyway. I mean, those are projectilesing at you at the speed of light after all. ¡°But, y¡¯know, I¡¯m actually getting quite excited. This is the first time I¡¯m gonna get to visit a since getting stranded in this dimension.¡± I operated the console in front of the pilot¡¯s seat and had it disy the images taken by the optic sensors in various parts of Krishna¡¯s hull on the main screen. Just like what was written in the e-pamphlet, the was mostly covered in oceans. It looks like both the atmosphere and the water underwent terraforming in order to be habitable to most carbon-based life forms. The was smaller in sizepared to Earth. The images that were disyed on the cockpit screen mostly consisted of vast stretches of ocean, as far as the eye can see. If not for the fact that this was my firstary reentry experience, I would have found it difficult to get excited by such scenery. There were some small inds dotting the surface here and there though. After a few moments, Mimi came back with Chris in tow. Chris tried to look calm andposed for the most part, but her cheeks were still red. I¡¯ll just pretend I didn¡¯t notice it. ¡°Are you okay? Did you feel unwell because of the battle earlier.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m alright. I just felt a little lightheaded, but I¡¯m fine now after having some water at the dining room.¡± ¡°I see. Thanks for looking after Chris, Mimi.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mimi made a cheerful smile after getting praised. If she had a tail, I bet it would be swinging left and right energetically. ¡°It¡¯s your first time tond on a¡¯s surface, right Mimi?¡± ¡°Yes! I¡¯m colony born and bred after all. But it sure looks amazing. It¡¯s really wide, or should I say grand¡­¡­? I¡¯m feeling so touched even if I¡¯m just looking at the images through the screen.¡± ¡°Well, in my case, this dimens¨C Uh, ehem. Um, I actually feel the scenery inside a colony is more unusual.¡± ¡°Were you born on a residential, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Uh, well, yeah¡­ I guess. There¡¯s a lot ofplicated circumstances y¡¯see.¡± Chris tilted her head curiously as I answered and tried to let the matter pass. I nearly slipped up just now. If I let the fact that I¡¯m someone probably from another dimension to some crazy researcher like Doc Shouko slip, chances are, I would immediately be treated as an ultra-rare specimen and turned to an experimental guinea pig. ¡°Is that so¡­¡­ But, if you were born on a residential, does that mean you are actually from a noble family?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s it. And even if that were the case, I¡¯ve actually long thrown my past away, y¡¯know.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Chris looked somewhat disappointed for some reason. Just what kind of reaction is that, youngdy? ¡°We should be arriving soon.¡± ¡°Whoah. It looks like we are. We¡¯ll probably be fine, but brace for impact, just in case.¡± Krishna¡¯s altitude gradually lowered, and within moments, we finally got an image of a small ind that looked bursting with greenery. The nt life was concentrated mostly on the ind¡¯s inner areas though. Since I was looking at it from above, I wasn¡¯t able to urately gauge the actual size of the ind, but it didn¡¯t seem all that bigpared to the inds I¡¯ve been to back on Earth. But it wasn¡¯t exactly tiny either. One section of the ind was a nice-looking inlet that was constantlypped up by gentle waves of seawater. The seawater looked pretty and clear, and the sight of the white sand beach was dazzling. Yep. It looked like your standard high-end beach resort. There was a building that looked like a tourist lodge near the beach. Beside it was a big heliport-looking facility. Is that the starshipnding area? I didn¡¯t find it to be all that big when I was looking at it earlier, but there were actually facilities which resembled a golf course, tennis courts, and other resort staples located in the central areas of the ind. ¡°It sure looks quite fancy. I wonder if there are other tourists besides us?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯ve booked the entire ind all to ourselves y¡¯know?¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°Uhuh.¡± This great, big ind? Booked exclusively? For two weeks? Eh? ¡°Hm, the cost for booking this ce actually seems quite the bargain huh¡­¡­¡± The total fees for all four of us to stay here for two weeks was 560,000 Enels. The cost per person would be 140,000 Enels. In other words, that¡¯ll be 10,000 Enels per day for each of us. If we convert that to Japanese Yen, it¡¯ll amount to a million or so per day. We¡¯ve managed to book this ind all to ourselves. And it even has a golf course and a nice-looking beach. Judging from that, a million Yen per day actually sounds pretty cheap. I mean, some resorts on Earth cost even more. And they¡¯re not even exclusive. Or maybe there¡¯s a different fee for using the facilities that¡¯s separate from the booking fee? It doesn¡¯t look like that¡¯s the case though. ¡°It¡¯s actually nicer than what I expected. I thought it would be much simpler too.¡± ¡°Is this ce simr to the one you went to with your family, Chris-chan?¡± ¡°Yes, it is. But I think it was actuallyrger though.¡± As expected of nobles. So they went and rented out an ind more luxurious than this one huh. Krishna gradually lowered itself on thending area through auto-pilot andnded without a hitch. The ship rocked a bit once it touched the pavement. Yep. The auto-docking system sure is impressive. It managed a softnding even under the influence of gravity. ¡°And we¡¯re here folks. Man. I¡¯m more tired out than I expected.¡± We somehow managed to avoid getting Krishna¡¯s hull damaged directly in the battle earlier, but both the equipment and skills of the enemies were higher in qualitypared to your average pirates, and they were numerous to boot. It was actually quite nerve-wracking. I think I had an easier time dealing with the Federation fleet that we took by surprise, actually. ¡°Good work. Well, that¡¯s just normal when you go up against enemies of that caliber.¡± ¡°Good work, Hiro-sama. For now, let¡¯s just enjoy this ce and rx.¡± ¡°Thank you very much for protecting me, Hiro-sama.¡± Elma, Mimi, and Chris consoled me one after the other. Hahaha! Man, does it feel good to be praised by such lovelydies after a difficult battle. I feel like all my exhaustion was just blown away. Though I bet all our moods were influenced by the beautiful scenery as well. ¡°Don¡¯t praise me too much. I might get carried away. Anyway, shall we get off the ship? Do you have some things you wanna bring down?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡­ We¡¯ll probably be fine, but should we bring some weapons and the power armor, just in case?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t those too dangerous to be treated as hand luggage, Elma-san¡­¡­?¡± Mimi seemed taken aback after hearing Elma¡¯s answer that was slightly off. But Elma does have a point, doesn¡¯t she¡­¡­? I guess we should consider doing that after inspecting the security measures of this ind. Well, I think the enemies would actually prefer hitting this ce with an orbital bombardment using asteroids or something rather than physically assaulting the ind personally. They can even do so viaser cannon. But the atmosphere would get in the way of the trajectory due to attenuation¡­¡­ But, well, I won¡¯t be surprised if they do manage it due to this world¡¯s crazy advanced tech. Unlike on Earth, they¡¯re sportingser guns that can fire beams that are powerful enough to kill people in one shot after all. ¡°What are you saying, Hiro-sama¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Uh, I meant it as a joke¡­¡­¡± ¡°A joke, is it? I actually thought you were serious¡­¡­¡± ¡°If they fire something like a reactive torpedo directly at the ind, Krishna might survive the explosion, but we certainly won¡¯t. That¡¯ll be the case even if we¡¯re all wearing power armor.¡± ¡°So we¡¯ll bepletely vaporized huh.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not something you¡¯d want to imagine¡­¡­¡± Mimi¡¯s expression was twitching a bit. I¡¯m probably making the same face though. Chris was also blue in the face. Anyway, since we weren¡¯t exactly sure about what things we should bring with us, we ended up getting off the ship with our usual gear. I brought my portable terminal and myser gun. Elma brought the same, and Mimi brought her tablet terminal as well as her shoulder bag. Chris didn¡¯t bring anything with her though. Should I let her borrow my extra tablet terminal so she can at least exchange messages with us? Krishna¡¯s airlock opened up, and we finally descended to the tarmac. ¡°Mm, the wind sure feels good. It smells of the sea.¡± ¡°There¡¯s really a sense of freedom once you¡¯re on the surface of a, huh.¡± ¡°Waaa¡­¡­¡± Mimi looked up toward the sky with her eyes sparkling in wonder and excitement. Well, for the colony-born Mimi, I¡¯m sure seeing a wide open sky without any traces of artificial walls was an utterly novel experience. Chris closed her eyes as the wind caressed her face. She might be reminiscing about the time she went on vacation with her family. While each of us were caught up in our own thoughts, something went out of the tourist lodge and flew our way. What is that? A robot? It was an alloy construct the size of a volleyball. The mysterious object stopped in front of our group and glowed intermittently several times. Was it scanning us or something? ¡°Thank you foring, everyone, and wee. I am Sierra IIIs control and management AI, Miro. I shall be assisting you all during your stay at the ind. Please rx and enjoy yourself while you¡¯re here.¡± The mysterious object suddenly spoke. It sounded both like a male and female at the same time. How peculiar. So this guy is like a physical terminal used by the control AI to interact with guests huh? ¡°d to be here, Miro. I¡¯m Elma.¡± ¡°Um, I¡¯m Mimi.¡± ¡°I¡¯m called Christina.¡± ¡°The name¡¯s Hiro. I¡¯m the captain of the ship back there.¡± ¡°Yes. Elma-sama, Mimi-sama, Christina-sama, and Captain Hiro, correct? Pleased to make your acquaintance everyone.¡± Miro bobbed up and down, as if making a bow. It sure had perfect manners. ¡°I shall hear you out if you have any questions. If you do not, then I shall guide you to the lodge. How about it, everyone?¡± Miro¡¯s spherical body twinkled in multicolored lights once again. Chapter 72 Chapter 72 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Are there items that we are rmended to bring from our ship during our stay?¡± Since Miro offered, I asked a question straight away. ¡°Yes. We provide a wide variety of goods and amenities here at the ind in order to ensure a pleasant stay to our guests. However, the guests are free to bring their personal effects as well. Furthermore, in order to take advantage of the discount services for the items sold here, it is rmended that you bring your personal portable data terminals in order to facilitate transactions.¡± ¡°I see. Can we bring our own underwear and clothes?¡± TOP ARTICLES2/5Rule Breaker Chapter 127 ¡°Yes. However, we do provide brand new underclothes as part of our services. But if guests prefer to bring their own, then there is no problem. We do have a fully stocked boutique as part of the ind¡¯s facilities, so please doe for a visit if you¡¯d like. It not only has a wide variety of underwear and clothes, but also an updated selection of thetest swimwear for your convenience.¡± ¡°I see. Understood. That¡¯s all the questions I have for now.¡± I turned toward Mimi and the others to see if they had their own questions. They shook their heads in response. I guess that¡¯s all then. They may have already familiarized themselves with this ce after reading the e-pamphlet. I didn¡¯t bother to read it in detail after all. ¡°Very well. I shall now guide everyone to the lodge. Please follow me.¡± Miro turned around in mid-air and started floating away while gently bobbing up and down. We started following after it. ¡°Wa waa¡­! Hiro-sama, Hiro-sama! There¡¯s a lot of different nts here!¡± Mimi kept pointing at the grasses and trees that lined up the path while excitedly pulling on my arm. Her eyes were sparkling in amazement. Come to think of it, the only flora I saw inside colonies were potted ornamental nts. It looks like this was Mimi¡¯s first time to see this much nt life. ¡°Yeah, it sure is amazing. It kinda reminds me of the wonders of mother nature. Did you know, Mimi? The life force of nts is quite tenacious. They even manage to break through surfaces covered in asphalt and concrete in order to bloom.¡± ¡°Those are materials used for roads and building construction, right? That¡¯s amazing¡­¡­¡± I, Elma, and Chris watched Mimi, who was looking around excitedly, with warm gazes. But Mimi, who was already lost in her own world, failed to notice. Man. An excited Mimi sure is cute. ¡°We have arrived. Please enter dear guests.¡± A thin mechanical arm protruded from Miro¡¯s spherical body and unlocked the door. So it even had that inside its body¡­ I¡¯m sure there are other functions hidden away as well. The lodge looked like your standard log house, but the interior was quite weing and spacious. The first things you¡¯ll notice upon entering were the spacious living area, dining area, and kitchen. There was a wooden round table surrounded byfy-looking sofas ced near the window overlooking the porch. Inside the lodge, on the left side, were arge dining table and a well equipped kitchen space. The kitchen not only had an auto-cooker installed, but also had your typical cooking implements like a stove and an oven. We could definitely cook food ourselves if we wanted. Beyond the porch, there was a well-trimmed grasswn. And further beyond was a white sand beach. There were some beach chairs in front of the porch window as well. You can probably sunbathe on those. There were wooden stairs on the right side of the lodge interior going up to a second floor. There was also a hallway below the stairs. It probably led to some more rooms as well. The interior had a tropical country style to it. The weird-looking wooden sculpture on thewn did certainly look like it was from a tropical country. It was oblong shaped, had crescent eyes, and had a funky-looking smile. There was also a wooden bow disyed on top of the wall. This was a terraformed, so did it really have a history of using bows? Come on¡­¡­ ¡°It¡¯s spacious and uses a lot of wood. It¡¯s very luxurious.¡± ¡°T-This is wood¡­¡­? Hieee!¡± Mimi looked panicky for some reason. ¡°We¡¯re not familiar with how it is on residentials, but in colonies, wood is considered a pretty high-ss material.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­¡± Well, it does seem like going to the trouble of bringing wood to space colonies didn¡¯t seem practical, cost-performance wise. It would be much cheaper to mine metals on asteroid fields after all. But I bet they can easily culture trees artificially on colonies if they wanted. Their tech¡¯s pretty advanced anyway. Oh, but maybe they think culturing other stuff would be much more useful than culturing trees solely for wood. If the merit of easy procurement was taken out of the picture, using wood did seem pretty impractical. Manufacturing stuff like stic would be much simpler and cheaper. As I was lost in thought, the girls seemed to have finished exploring the lodge. The three of them all have contented expressions on their faces. Well, the facilities certainly looked fancier and more spacious than Krishna¡¯s after all. And there¡¯s also the bonus of a white sand beach and the feeling of release from looking at the wide open, blue sky. It was a great ce. ¡°The current time on the ind is 11:14 A.M. I can prepare everyone¡¯s lunch and serve it at twelve in the afternoon if you would like. Shall I proceed?¡± ¡°I¡¯m down. How about you girls?¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯m fine with that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay with it too.¡± ¡°Yes, that would be perfect.¡± ¡°There you have it. We¡¯ll have lunch at twelve noon.¡± ¡°Understood. I shall serve lunch at twelve then. Please go ahead and rx in the meantime.¡± After saying that, Miro¡¯s spherical terminal floated toward a pedestal located in a corner of the lodge and parked itself there, bing inert. So I guess we¡¯ll just have to call out to it if we needed to consult with it again huh? ¡°Okay then. Feel free to do what you girls want while waiting for lunch. I¡¯ll just get a drink or something and lounge around on one of the sofas.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯d like that as well.¡± ¡°Um, can I explore the rest of the ce?¡± ¡°Sure. It¡¯s probably safe, but be careful anyway. Don¡¯t do anything like picking unfamiliar fruits off of the trees and trying them out okay. We can¡¯t be sure if they¡¯re edible after all.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t! Mou, Hiro-sama! I¡¯m not that much of a glutton!¡± Mimi puffed up her cheeks in anger. Hahaha, she¡¯s cute even when she¡¯s angry. ¡°What about you, Chris?¡± ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯ll go with Mimi-san then.¡± ¡°You sure? Don¡¯t push yourself, okay.¡± ¡°Yes, I won¡¯t. You don¡¯t have to worry.¡± Chris made an elegant smile. Un, she sure looks the part of a well-mannered noble¡¯s daughter. You can definitely infer her great upbringing from little gestures like that. And, inparison, just look at this Elf here. She¡¯s alreadyzing around sloppily on one of the sofas. There¡¯s no trace of elegance in her actions at all. After seeing Mimi and Chris off, I tried calling out to Miro. ¡°Miro.¡± ¡°Yes, Captain Hiro. Are you in need of something?¡± The spherical terminal floated away from the pedestal and arrived in front of me. So that does work, huh? ¡°I want a drink. What do you have avable? I¡¯d like to order some.¡± ¡°Of course. The cooler in the kitchen has all the standard drinks avable. They¡¯re all provided for free as part of the service, but if you want something else, then we¡¯ll have to charge a separate fee.¡± ¡°I see¡­ By the way, do you have some carbonated beverages avable?¡± ¡°Yes. However, they are not part of the standard drink selection, so none are included in the cooler.¡± My inner self was jumping around in joy after hearing the good news. They¡¯re not part of the standard drink selection, but Miro confirmed that carbonated beverages did still exist. That¡¯s great. ¡°Can I order them then?¡± ¡°Of course. I shall prepare some for you. What vor do you wish to drink?¡± ¡°I want dark and sweet c please. I want to drink those. I want to drink lots of it, in fact. If I can have my way, I¡¯d like to rece all the drinks in the cooler with c. That¡¯s just how much I want to drink that stuff. Do you get it? I demand c!¡± ¡°Yes. I have certainly received your request. I would like to process your order straight away, so please take your hands off Unit 006.¡± I didn¡¯t notice that I was grabbing Miro¡¯s terminal tightly with both hands. Oh boy. I almost went crazy there. Guess I¡¯m just that starved for c. ¡°How many would you like to order? We have 1500 ml and 500 ml bottles avable.¡± ¡°For the meantime, give me twenty 500 ml bottles.¡± ¡°Understood. Please wait for a moment while I procure your order. As for the payment-¡° ¡°Here.¡± I ced my portable data terminal in front of Miro. After an exchange of shing lights, a light ping rang out, signifying the end of the transaction. That sure was convenient. ¡°Kuku, fufufu¡­¡­ I really can¡¯t wait. My very soul is screaming in excitement.¡± ¡°That much¡­? I kinda doubted the existence of those so-called ¡®carbonated¡¯ drinks you always harp on about, but Miro did confirm they¡¯re real.¡± ¡°Of course they exist! C is immortal! It will remain in existence even after the apocalypse I tell you!¡± Well, the only downside was that your urine would turn pale if you drink too much though. ¡°That¡¯s some confidence you have there¡­¡­ Oh well. I¡¯m kinda looking forward to it now too. I guess I¡¯ll try someter.¡± ¡°Of course. I guarantee that you¡¯ll also be a prisoner to the allure of c once you do, Elma.¡± ¡°That¡¯s kinda scary though¡­¡­¡± I ignored Elma, who was giving me a weirded out gaze, and cackled internally while waiting for my precious c to arrive. C¡¯mon, c¡¯mon¡­¡­ Come quickly and quench my thirst¡­¡­! Chapter 73 Chapter 73 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°U-Um, why do Hiro-sama¡¯s eyes look dead¡­¡­?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure myself. After taking a sip of the drink he ordered from Miro, he cried out something like¡ºA vor that¡¯s like annin dofu¡­ A faint medicinal smell¡­ The hell!? Ain¡¯t this thing D**tor Pepper!?¡»and has been in that state ever since.¡± Hi folks. This is Hiro speaking. The thing I expected to be c turned out to be D**tor Pepper. Well, it¡¯s certainly a kind of carbonated beverage, okay. But what is this sense of utter disappointment? TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 I¡¯m a firm adherent of the C*ke faction y¡¯know! D*c Pep honestly ain¡¯t that bad but C*ke is way, waay better in my opinion. ¡°It¡¯s a type of drink I haven¡¯t seen before¡­¡­¡± Chris softly muttered as she gazed at the box filled with D**tor Pepper bottles. Is C*ke really that unknown over here¡­¡­? Uh, well, I guess it is huh. I understand that, okay. So I can¡¯t me Miro for this. ¡°Do you want to try some¡­¡­? It¡¯s a bit of an acquired taste though.¡± ¡°Is it alright?¡± ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll open a new bottle for you.¡± ¡°Uh, um, I might not be able to finish a whole bottle, so¡­¡­¡± Chris nced at the bottle of D**tor Pepper I took a sip from. Uh¡­¡­ I don¡¯t really mind, but is she really fine with this? ¡°Would something like that be proper for a noble¡¯s daughter?¡± ¡°Please do not mind the details.¡± Chris answered while shing me one of her elegant smiles, so I relented and handed over the opened bottle of D**tor Pepper to her. ¡°Don¡¯t drink it all at once, okay? You¡¯re not used to the sensation of drinking a carbonated soft drink yet, so it¡¯s better to drink it little by little first. It¡¯ll go down smoother that way.¡± ¡°I understand¡­¡­ Mmm!?¡± The brand name of D*c Pep in this dimension is Mister Pepparoni, so it would be Mr. Pep if shortened huh. After drinking a sip of Mr. Pep, Chris¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. This is her first experience drinking a carbonated drink, so I guess that reaction¡¯s to be expected. ¡°It¡¯s delicious¡­ and it goes all tingly inside my mouth. But it has a faint taste of medicine though¡­¡­?¡± ¡°ording to what I know, this drink has a long and interesting history. Apparently, it was first advertised as an herbal drink with effects beneficial to one¡¯s health. But since drinking herbal medicine wasn¡¯t all that pleasant an experience, they added some tasty syrup and subjected the drink to a process called carbonation in order to produce that tingly mouthfeel.¡± I don¡¯t know how it is in this dimension, but that was how the rumors went back on Earth anyway. ¡°Miro.¡± ¡°Yes. What is it, sir?¡± ¡°Can you get me a drink that¡¯s simr¡­¡­ No, it doesn¡¯t have to be simr after all. Can you get me every type of carbonated drink you have avable? The non-alcoholic kinds please.¡± ¡°Understood. We have four more kinds of carbonated beverages avable.¡± ¡°Give me one can of those each then. I¡¯ll decide if I¡¯ll order more once I¡¯ve tried all of them.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± After observing Chris drinking the stuff for a while, Mimi also asked for the bottle of Mr. Pep in Chris¡¯s hands to take a sip. Mimi¡¯s eyes also widened in surprise after taking a swig. These girls sure have cute reactions. But isn¡¯t taking turns drinking from the bottle I¡¯d taken a drink from kinda improper, you guys? ¡°It¡¯s a curious drink.¡± ¡°Why does it tingle inside the mouth?¡± Mimi gazed at me with eyes full of curiosity. After seeing Mimi like that, I tried hard to remember all I could about the subject and ryed what I knew to her. ¡°That effect is due to infusing carbon dioxide into the drink using a process called carbonation. But because it isn¡¯t suitable out in space, it¡¯s only avable on residentials.¡± ¡°So these tingly bubbles are a result of adding carbon dioxide?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°I see¡­ It really won¡¯t be suitable in a colony that¡¯s located in outer space then. There¡¯s high pressure inside this container, correct?¡± ¡°Yup. It¡¯s pressurized. If you shake those bottles strongly with the cap still on, the contents will spurt out once you open them.¡± Chris seemed convinced by my exnation. So I was right then. Drinking carbonated stuff inside an outer space colony or starship isn¡¯t advisable¡­ But it should be fine to have them in an environment with gravity and air pressure applied properly though. Hmm. But maybe they still haven¡¯t invented the artificial gravity generators during the age of moving into outer space. So the carbonation process may have be obsolete out in space as a result¡­ But the tradition continued on residentials. There¡¯s also the possibility of an event that resulted in the abandonment of carbonation technology all at once too. There¡¯s very little records about the subject, so I really can¡¯t say for sure¡­ How mysterious. ¡°Ugh. Enough about that weird drink already. What about lunch? I also want to check out the boutiqueter.¡± ¡°Oh? So you¡¯re nning to change out of your usual mercenary clothes and dress yourself up, Elma?¡± I¡¯m a little miffed about her calling carbonated drinks weird, but I¡¯m quite interested in Elma wearing stylish clothes instead of her usual rugged mercenary get up. Mimi had the gothic lolita clothes with a mature air about them that I¡¯d purchased for her as well as the casual wear she bought herself, but Elma only ever wears those mercenary-style clothes of hers except for very few instances. It¡¯s not like she doesn¡¯t have any cash on hand, so I guess it¡¯s just that she¡¯s very picky when ites to clothes. ¡°Dress myself up¡­? Oh c¡¯mon. I normally choose my clothes while considering TPO you know.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got some strange concept of TPOdy. You can change out of your mercenary get up when we¡¯re rxing back on the ship y¡¯know. I mean, c¡¯mon Elma.¡± ¡°Well, um¡­ if you¡¯re that insistent, then I¡¯ll think about it. Maybe.¡± She talked like she was annoyed, but her face was bright red, so it looks like she¡¯s not against it all that much anyway. This¡¯ll be great. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing her don different outfits now. ¡°Well, since we¡¯re going to the boutique anyway, why don¡¯t we buy some more clothes for each of us as well as some daily necessities? I¡¯ll pay for them all, so don¡¯t worry and just buy whatever strikes your fancy.¡± ¡°Y-You don¡¯t have to go that far for me.¡± ¡°Nah, don¡¯t mind me. It¡¯s something necessary after all.¡± ¡°I guess.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Since Mimi, Elma, and me were all in agreement, Chris ended up relenting as well. ¡°It¡¯s fine you know. I¡¯ll just charge it to your grandfather like usual.¡± ¡°B-But isn¡¯t that¡­¡­¡± ¡°Like I said, don¡¯t mind it too much. You¡¯ve built up plenty of stress right? Though it may be a bit difficult for you considering all that¡¯s happened, try to take this opportunity to rx, okay?¡± She looks fine now for the most part, but Chris did go through the traumatic experience of losing both her parents after all. She might have taken her mind off of those matters temporarily during her two days of staying with us, but now that we¡¯re about to spend two weeks at this resort, she¡¯ll eventually think about them and her bundled up nerves might snap at any moment. It¡¯ll lighten Chris¡¯s load a bit if she¡¯s able to deal with some of the pent up stress somehow¡­¡­ At least, that¡¯s what I¡¯m hoping for anyway. Honestly, this is about all I can do for the poor girl right now. Since our social positions are too far apart, I can¡¯t really get too close to her. And when ites to the experience of losing parents, Mimi will be able to rte to her better since she¡¯d undergone something simr. ¡°Miro.¡± ¡°Yes, Captain Hiro.¡± ¡°Can we swim in the seater?¡± ¡°Yes. The sea waterponents have been optimized for swimming. We also have rescue bots on standby in the sea, so if an incident were to happen, we¡¯ll be able to respond immediately. We also have well equipped medical facilities on the ind, so the health and safety of our guests is guaranteed.¡± ¡°I see. I didn¡¯t bring any swimwear with me, so I guess I¡¯ll have to buy them at the boutique as well. Can we also do some fishing?¡± ¡°Yes. We have released and bred many aquatic species suitable for leisure fishing in the¡¯s oceans. There are also species unique to this as well. We have several rmended fishing spots all around the ind and the surrounding waters, so if you would like to proceed with the activity, I can guide you to those spots.¡± ¡°Sounds good. It looks like we can enjoy a lot of different activities here huh.¡± I felt the girl¡¯s gazes focused on me, so I turned around, only to find them staring at me vacantly with open mouths. What¡¯s wrong, you guys? ¡°You¡­¡­ Are you sure you¡¯re not some rich kid who ran away from home?¡± ¡°H-Hiro-sama seems to be really used to all this, isn¡¯t he?¡± Elma looked at me suspiciously while Mimi seemed like she was somehow impressed. Just why? Por qu¨¦? When I turned to Chris, I found her making an impressed look as well. ¡°Well, you see, it really seems like you¡¯re pretty used to things like swimming in the sea and fishing, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Well, of course I¡­¡­¡± I finally noticed it. A person born and raised in a colony would normally not be used to things like swimming and fishing. This is because water is a very precious resource in colonies. It¡¯s something essential to survival out in space, so regtions for its distribution and use are strictly enforced. Thus, there¡¯s no way you can get enough water to use for things like swimming in colonies. In any case, it¡¯s a fact that I¡¯ve never seen any sort of pool present in all the colonies we¡¯ve visited so far. And a hobby like fishing is even more unthinkable for colony born and bred people. There may be people who are familiar with the activity on residentials, but probably next to none in colonies. ¡°Well, let¡¯s just say there¡¯s a lot of circumstances for this. Complicated circumstances. Yep. Anyway, I¡¯ve simply had the fortune of experiencing a lot of activities that we can¡¯t do in colonies on my home. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°A lot, is it?¡± I haven¡¯t told Chris about my possibly being from another dimension, so I¡¯ll just have to dodge the issue with this. She might still get suspicious because my way of dodging the issue was sloppy at best, but it still beats having to exin the fact that I¡¯m from another dimension. That one sounds more crazy after all. ¡°I have finished preparing your lunch. Pleasee to the dining area.¡± ¡°H-Hey, it¡¯s time for lunch. C¡¯mon girls. Let¡¯s eat. I¡¯m excited about the kind of food here.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a bit too obvious you know.¡± I ignored Elma¡¯s remark and headed straight for the dining area and sat on the table. But I wonder what kind of food will be served? There wasn¡¯t any dish on the table yet. Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯d be delivered just like that box of Mr. Pep? Oh, by the way, a drone was the one that actually delivered that box of Mr. Pep earlier. I tried asking Miro about what kind of system it was, and it told me that there¡¯s a central supply depot that¡¯s based on the¡¯s equator. It utilizes a mass driver to send out drone containers filled with goods out into the upper atmosphere. By urately calcting the container¡¯s trajectory, the driver can send goods directly above the coordinates specified with pinpoint uracy, and the drones will then descend to the surface once more to deliver the goods with peak efficiency. What can I say? That¡¯s quite a crude approach huh¡­? But due to the surface of this being predominantly covered by oceans, trying to install a material delivery system directly on its surface would probably not be worth the cost, so that¡¯s why they went with the present system instead. At first I thought it was simply just drones flying around the in order to deliver goods, but that would probably cause too much dy, so they worked on trying to reduce delivery time as much as they can. What a ridiculous system. To think they¡¯de up with a system using a mass driver. To sum it up, drone containers containing goods get sent up to the upper atmosphere, and by using urate trajectory calctions, they can be ced directly on top of the delivery coordinates in order to aplish goods delivery in record time. As for returning, the drones make use of sunlight to recharge their energy cells and then fly back to the equator base; ready to perform another round of deliveries. It seems like a real crazy idea if I used my Earthlingmon sense to judge it, but, judging from the things I¡¯ve witnessed so far, it sure seems damn effective. This is the power of science. As I was thinking about such things, the door of the lodge opened, and something entered. It was a maid. It had mechanical parts for ears, but it was unmistakably a maid. A maid robot. It can¡¯t be!? Has technology advanced so far¡­¡­!? And it looks like there wasn¡¯t just one maid robot. There were five maid robots that entered the lodge while pushing arge wagon. They all had exactly identical faces. ¡°We have brought you all your lunch.¡± The maid robots made elegant bows and briskly began setting up the table and bringing out the dishes. Their coordination was nothing short of perfect, and their movements were fluid and filled with grace. These are some impressive maid robots. I kinda want one too, I think. ¡°Uwah. That sure looks like an ¡®I want one too¡¯ face.¡± ¡°Hiro-sama! You don¡¯t have to buy a maidroid, okay! I¡¯ll be the one to take care of you!¡± Elma perfectly read what was on my mind, while Mimi stood up from her seat in agitation for some reason. Her breathing even turned rough. So they weren¡¯t called maid robots but maidroids huh. ¡°But maid robots are a man¡¯s romance y¡¯know?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but Unit S-048 is not for sale. And they are not robots but androids.¡± So that¡¯s why they¡¯re called maidroids huh. How amazing. ¡°However, I can help you get in touch with the manufacturer, Orient Corporation, if you want one custom made. I shall be needing your portable terminal for that.¡± ¡°If you please.¡± ¡°Hiro-sama!?¡± Hahaha. How cute. I probably won¡¯t order one anyway. I think. It looks like Mimi has something against the maidroids. I¡¯ll try asking her about itter. Now then, let¡¯s leave the maidroids forter. For now, let¡¯s eat. Chapter 74 Chapter 74 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone The dishes we were presented with truly looked like they came from every corner of this resort¡¯s oceans. There were boiled lobsters that sported four ws, grilled shellfish skewers, arge salt grilled fish resembling sea bream, assorted fish sashimi, a dish resembling seafood pf, assorted fruits, seaweed sd¡­¡­ and a good deal more. And they all looked quite delicious. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Mimi froze up when she saw the dishes. Their appearance really was a shock to the senses, especially the four wed lobsters that were cut in two. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°H-Hiro-sama, these are¡­¡­¡± Mimi was blue in the face as she pointed to the lobsters. ¡°These seafood dishes sure look tasty.¡± ¡°!?¡± It looks like Mimi felt ¡®betrayed¡¯ after seeing my reaction and made a shocked expression. Un, sorry. As a true blue Earthling, I don¡¯t really feel any apprehension after seeing these dishes. I guess Mimi has not seen any other creature that¡¯s treated as food except for those artificial cultured organisms back at the factory we visited. The majority of people in this dimension mainly consume food made from food cartridges after all. The only exceptions are those rich enough to afford all natural food. When I turned to Elma and Chris, the two of them didn¡¯t seem too perturbed by the dishespared to Mimi¡­ Or rather, they didn¡¯t look perturbed at all. Chris is a noble so I¡¯m sure she¡¯s at least seen some of this stuff before, but I wonder what¡¯s up with Elma? Either she¡¯s experienced seeing them during her long mercenary career, or just like I suspected¡­¡­ Oh well. It doesn¡¯t matter anyway. She¡¯s not a child anymore, so I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll tell me about her circumstances once she feels the need to. ¡°So, should we freely take any dish on the table?¡± ¡°Yes. We can present you servings of each dish if you want.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be troubling you then. The lobsters won¡¯t be much of a problem, but we¡¯ll need your help with dividing the fish. Some of us aren¡¯t used to eating them, and there¡¯s the fish bones to watch out for as well.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± After acknowledging my request, one of the maidroids started dividing up therge salt grilled sea bream-looking fish into equal portions using a knife and fork. The other maidroids also started putting portions of all the other dishes on tes and serving them to each of us. ¡°Alright then. Let¡¯s eat. But first, a toast girls.¡± After everyone¡¯s tes were filled with dishes, we each picked up our drinking sses filled with some kind of juice, and took a sip. The drink was non-alcoholic as per my request, and tasted like grape juice. I started with the four-wed lobsters. Each of the lobsters was covered in light brown sauce. I pierced a piece of exposed lobster flesh with my fork and brought it inside my mouth. ¡°Mm¡­!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but let out a groan due to its deliciousness. It had a satisfyingly chewy texture. Instead of being fluffy, it was chewy huh. And the sauce was also quite delicious and vorful. I¡¯m pretty sure they used the contents of the lobster head in order to make the sauce. It pairs really well with the lobster flesh and brings out its natural sweetness. I sampled the salt grilled sea bream (lookalike) next. I took a piece and brought it to my mouth. The voring was simple because it was just salt grilled, but it was still plenty delicious. The vor of the salt and the umami of the fish flesh danced an elegant waltz inside my mouth. ¡°I rmend pouring this condiment on top of the fish.¡± ¡°Hou¡­ Hm.¡± I followed the advice of the maidroid and poured some of the condiments on top of the fish. When I brought the fish near my mouth, a vivid and fresh aroma wafted toward my nostrils. Was this condiment made from something simr to sudachi? The fresh, citrusy undertonespletely erased the remaining fishy smell and enhanced the overall vor of the dish. The other dishes were nothing less than superb. Mimi, who was reluctant to eat them at first, waspletely conquered by their taste after she took the first bite. Her eyes shone in wonder as she kept sampling each dish. Un, she¡¯s definitely satisfied. She was just unused to their appearance. Not all weird-looking food tasted bad. Just like that F*cehugger thingy Mimi and I sampled back then. But I was surprised at how standard the dishes were from my perspective. I was actually expecting funky looking dishes made from unknown creatures earlier. ¡°Can I ask just where these dishes were cooked? And who cooked them?¡± ¡°Yes. These were prepared by the high performance cooking machines inside the equatorial supply base. They are then packed, sent up via mass driver, and delivered by the drones to the maidroids on standby in this ind.¡± ¡°I see. So the ingredient collection, cooking, as well as delivery are all automated huh¡­¡­¡± I wonder how much that system costs? It doesn¡¯t seem too efficient¡­ I mean, instead of preparing them at that base, doesn¡¯t having the maidroids cook the dishes make more sense? It sure is puzzling. Oh well. I decided to stop thinking about that stuff and went back to eating. The shellfish skewers sure are tasty! After having our meal, we rested up a bit in order to let what we ate settle down our stomachs. We then headed to the boutique to finally do some shopping. ¡°Sure looks cozy.¡± We came to the shopping area, but instead of a mall, what greeted us was a good number of small storefronts that were lined up neatly. Miro said it was a boutique earlier, so I kinda expected a gaudier establishment. ¡°Well, maybe it¡¯s because of the system employed here? Since the goods can be delivered quickly via mass driver and drones, there¡¯s no need to keep too much inventory in the stores themselves.¡± ¡°I see. That makes sense.¡± We entered a nearby store. Apparently, this was the so-called boutique. There was a spherical terminal just like Miro looking after the store. There also various mannequins wearing samples of the store¡¯s clothing ced at a number of spots inside. Oh, wait. Those ain¡¯t physical mannequins. They¡¯re holograms. They change poses as well as the clothes disyed from time to time. ¡°Wee. We have a good selection of quality design temtes from various reputable designers avable here, so please take your time.¡± ¡°Design temtes¡­?¡± ¡°Yes. We procure design temtes made by well-known designers andpose clothes tailored to each individual¡¯s tastes. Once you order, we will deliver the items directly to your lodge within thirty minutes.¡± ¡°¡­¡­In other words, once we order, you¡¯ll tailor the clothes based on our individual measurements, make them on the spot, and deliver the finished products directly to the lodge, right?¡± ¡°Yes. That is correct.¡± I¡¯m actually speechless. So I¡¯m betting this also makes use of that mass driver system. But is that really okay? I mean, that¡¯s just so roundabout. ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine? C¡¯mon Chris. Let¡¯s choose some clothes.¡± ¡°Right. But we can¡¯t try the clothes on, right?¡± ¡°Yes. Please go to that area to undergo a full body scan. Once we have the scan data, you can try the designs on by using the hologram projectors.¡± ¡°I see. Let¡¯s go have ourselves scanned then, everyone!¡± ¡°Fufu, you don¡¯t have to be that excited, Mimi.¡± The womenfolk went to the scanning area further inside the store while chatting and giggling in a lively manner. ¡°Where¡¯s the men¡¯s area?¡± ¡°It¡¯s right over on the opposite shop, sir.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be going then. Over there, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I left the girls to their devices and went to the other shop specializing in men¡¯s clothing. I entered the shop, went over to the scanning area, and had that full body scan. ¡°I¡¯ll shop for swimwear first.¡± ¡°Of course. How about these?¡± After I had my scan, Miro floated toward me while bobbing up and down and gave me some rmendations. ¡°Uh, nah. These speedo-looking things look pretty tight and awkward. Can you give some more normal suggestions? Normal ones, okay.¡± ¡°I see. You brought three women with you, so I assumed that you preferred these types. I shall revise my customer data ordingly.¡± ¡°And what made you assume that!?¡± I scanned through the hologram disy of male swimwear. Surf pants would be perfect. What sort of design and color should I pick though? I don¡¯t want it looking too shy. I¡¯ll just choose quickly. There¡¯s no point in obsessing about men¡¯s swimwear anyway. ¡°Have you finished selecting?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m not all that picky when ites to clothes.¡± I usually wear my mercenary get up anyway, and I have a number of simr clothes back on Krishna, so I don¡¯t think I need to shop for new ones all that much anyway. I mean, my usual clothes will pass for casual wear if I took off my jacket, and they don¡¯t show any signs of fraying even after washing them a couple of times, so they still look pretty new. Well, I guess I¡¯ll buy some more underwear anyway. Hm. And maybe an aloha shirt or two as well. I mean, we¡¯re on an ind resort after all. ¡°I¡¯ll take these underclothes and¡­¡­¡± As I was busy choosing my clothes, the girls suddenly entered the men¡¯s clothing shop for some reason. ¡°Eh? W-What¡¯s wrong?¡± I was surprised by their sudden arrival. When she saw my confused face, Elma made a mischievous smile. ¡°We were thinking of dressing you up, you see.¡± ¡°Me¡­? Is that sort of thing actually interesting?¡± I was honestly puzzled. I just can¡¯t imagine what¡¯s enjoyable about turning a male into a dress up doll. Or rather, can¡¯t they just do that via the hologram disy? ¡°I¡¯m sure it will be fun! I mean, really, really fun!¡± ¡°I¡¯m also of the same opinion.¡± ¡°O-Okay. I see.¡± I nodded involuntarily after seeing the high-tensioned Mimi and the gently smiling Chris. Mimi¡¯s excitement had quite an impact, but Chris¡¯s gentle looking smile strangely had an intense feeling of coerciveness to it¡­¡­ What the hell is this pressure!? ¡°Y-You can go ahead and y with the hologram disy, but dressing me up directly is a different story, okay?¡± I attempted to assert my bottom line while somewhat agreeing to their request. I have a feeling things will get out of hand if I don¡¯t do at least this. ¡°Eh? Rejected. We¡¯ll have you wear clothes properly.¡± ¡°Hiro-sama. I also want to gift you with clothes you know, ufufu.¡± ¡°I also want to express my gratitude to you for saving my life. I don¡¯t mind it if you bill the resulting expenses to my grandfather as well. It¡¯s necessary after all.¡± I get Elma and Mimi, but Chris too? Are you really fine with that? I¡¯m not going to be responsible for your grandfather getting angry, okay? And whaddya mean necessary? Just how? I¡¯m kinda scared now. ¡°A-Alright, I understand. But only one set of clothes per person, okay?¡± ¡°So, that¡¯s one top to bottom ensemble per person, right?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah.¡± Just what are you nning on having me wear, Chris-chan? The three of them started fiddling with the hologram disys and chose clothes for me to wear. I can¡¯t make a guess as to what Elma nned to make me wear. But it looks like she¡¯s trying out a lot of different things. As for Mimi, she¡¯s picking out punkish-looking clothes. The type with leather belts with studs and a fair amount of skin exposure. Oi, oi, oi! What the heck is with that over the top skull print shirt? As for Chris¡­ How should I describe it? Noble-like? There¡¯s a crisp shirt, vest, trousers, a necktie, and a frock coat. It looked quite formal. But it still had that SF feel to it. I finished my own shopping a while ago and have been standing in a corner while waiting for the girls. I didn¡¯t attempt to approach them, cause I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯d raise objections about their clothing choices against my better judgment and anger them in the process. Yeah, that would probably be how it¡¯ll end up. I¡¯ll just have to wait patiently and brace myself. Oh yeah. How about looking at the Catalogue of the Orient Corporation for the meantime? I sat at a wooden bench inside the shop, took out my portable terminal, and checked out the online catalog Miro sent me. ¡°They¡¯re unexpected cheap¡­ or not¡± A model of the maidroid that served us earlier in the lodge costs 75,000 Enels. In Japanese Yen, that would be 7,500,000 Yen. So it costs as much as your average luxury car huh¡­? Or maybe it¡¯s better topare it with ship equipment prices in this dimension? Lessee here. They possess the physical capabilities of your average human. If they¡¯re programmed forbat ship duty, they can effectively serve as guards as well. There¡¯s a lot of program options avable. There¡¯s the basic functions program, the specialized service program, thebat and defense program, the personal secretary program, and the ship operator program. You can customize their figure and face to a certain extent. But they can¡¯t go down past a certain height. Well, there¡¯s no point in making them too small anyway. There¡¯s also an option to request higher overall specs, but you¡¯ll have to fork out more cash for that. They can strengthen the synthetic muscles in order to make them into high-specbat maids as well. They are equipped with high-performance miniature positron brains and can be programmed with a good range of¡ºemotions¡»due to it. An android possessing human-like emotions made to serve human masters? Now that¡¯s one controversial issue there. At least where I¡¯m from anyway. I wonder if they¡¯ve addressed the implications of this in this dimension? If so, how¡¯d they address it anyway? Eh? Don¡¯t think about those sorts of inconsequential stuff and get on with the description, you say? Hahaha, it looks like you all are people of culture as well. Apart from breast size, there are a lot of crazier sounding options written in here. You can also freely adjust their personalities. Uh, there seems to be quite a number of freaky stuff too. This¡­ this is just too sinful¡­! Man, this sure is interesting. I still don¡¯t n on buying one though. After looking at the catalog, it seems there¡¯s a lot of emphasis on how you¡¯ll be able to build your own version of a perfect maidroid. But I don¡¯t think there¡¯ll be room in my ship for a maidroid anyway. I have both a cute ship operator and a reliable co-pilot anyway. I continued reading the maidroid catalogue from corner to corner and had a st thinking up my own version of the¡ºultimate¡»super maidroid. I don¡¯t really think we¡¯ll need one, but I¡¯m just looking anyway. Hey, I¡¯m a hotblooded guy too, okay? I¡¯m sure you folks understand. Chapter 75 Chapter 75 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°¡­¡­Umu.¡± I examined the result of my quest to design my own version of the¡ºultimate¡»super maidroid disyed on my portable terminal. It was the result of my overflowing passion and romance, and honestly did look quite impressive. Her height was mostly the same as mine. I tried on several hair colors earlier, but I settled on ck since that¡¯s what I¡¯m used to. I chose a straight, long hair style that went down until the waist. This sort of Yamato Nadeshiko-style straight, long hair was countless Japanese men¡¯s romance. I bet maintaining it would be a pain though. The breast size was just right. Not too big, but not too small either. If I were to describe them, they would be quite a bit bigger than Elma¡¯s but a little smaller than Mimi¡¯s. Her body shape was curvy in all the right ces. She wore a Victorian era maid dress. A French maid style dress wouldn¡¯t be so bad too, but since she had long, straight, jet-ck hair, a Victorian style maid dress suits her better. TOP ARTICLES2/5Rule Breaker Chapter 127 I had a hard timeposing her facial features. I wasn¡¯t that skilled in manual 3D modelling, so I ended up choosing from one of the preset faces and added on some optional parts from a very wide selection. That was difficult. I went back and forth between a motherly and cool look¡­ and eventually ended up choosing the cool and serious one. I had a hard time choosing her personality as well. It was doubly hard because you can freely choose personality traits. And I was worried about putting in too many personality traits and ruining her overall character appeal in the process. I mean, it¡¯s a maid robot. You guys get it, right? Wouldn¡¯t having a deadpan character be more suited to a maid robot? That was what kept going through my head earlier. However, I¡¯m pretty sure there were also maid robot characters that had plenty of personality traits crammed into them back on Earth. In fact, I can immediatelye up with some of them off the top of my head. But in order for those maid robots to shine, there is a fundamental need for cool and deadpan maid robots as characterparison material. It¡¯s the so-called ¡®gap¡¯ effect. It allowed for the diverse variations of maid character archetypes to bloom. I¡¯m up for a debate on the topic by the way. Anyway, I ended up setting the emotional expression value to the lowest it can go without making her seem too robotic. There are also affection and loyalty parameters, but I pretty much set those two to max value. Since they correspond to the maidroid¡¯s love and loyalty to her master, we can¡¯t have thosecking now, right? And so, I made a splendid kuudere. What was left was her physical parameters, and I went with the high-spec ones since I was after the ultimate super maid anyway. I chose the most high-spec mini positron brain, a lightweight but durable inner frame, an outer frame that was made out of special material used in starship hulls, and artificial muscles made of synthetic alloy fibers that ensured a great bnce of strength, agility, and endurance. Since the artificial muscles covered most of the inner frame, they also served as an additionalyer of armor for said frame. I crammed whatever program took my fancy. In addition to the basic and service programs, I addedbat and defense, personal secretary, ship operator, and anything else that seemed remotely useful. She was literally a multi-talented super maid. I made it so she can confidently use the cliche catchphrase¡ºBecause I¡¯m a maid.¡»without giving it any injustice. Since it¡¯s impossible to set any internal weaponry, it¡¯ll be necessary to equip her with the most suitable weapons in each battle scenario she finds herself in. But overall, if equipped with the right weapons, she will be more powerful than your standard soldier wearing power armor. Heck, maybe she¡¯s even more powerful than me when I¡¯m wearing my heavily customized power armor. And so, finally, after digging deep into the deepest abyss containing the pederast obsessions and overwhelming passion of a gaming otaku that is yours truly, I have created the perfect long, jet ck haired, kuudere ultimate super maidroid ¨C in data form, that is. No guys. I ain¡¯t gonna buy it. So stop begging. Cause this baby is packing more options than a gaming geek¡¯stest souped up overclocked PC rig, and it costs a whopping 470,000 Enels. It¡¯s definitely way too expensive for something some people regarded as a toy, and I have no time to indulge myself with a maidroid. So I have no ns of ever buying one. Nope. No means no, so quit it. ¡°How wonderful. Do you have ns of working as a maidroid designer?¡± ¡°Whoaah!?¡± While I was busy grinning in delight at my recentlypleted long, jet ck haired, kuudere ultimate super maidroid, a voice suddenly called out to me. When I turned around, I found the spherical body of Miro¡¯s terminal bobbing up and down right behind me. What the heck are you doing there!? Why are you suddenly blinking in multicolored lights like that? It¡¯s just like when you¡¯re essing thework for online transactions, ain¡¯t it? What¡¯s that for? ¡°Okay, whatever it is you¡¯re doing, just stop.¡± ¡°Forgive my impertinence. I just sent some data feedback just now.¡± ¡°What the heck are you trying to do? Sending a data transmission at this timing is just giving bad vibes though. Seriously, what are you up to?¡± ¡°You can read the user agreement of the application you¡¯re using right now in order to find out the particrs. But, in any case, I shall exin for your convenience. The user data of that particr application gets sent back to the application providers as part of customer feedback and a way to enhance customer experience by referencing customer preferences from the data collected. That data, is in turn, sent to the partnerpany, and the partnerpany has rights to use said data as they see fit.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just arbitrarily using data without getting consent!?¡± Note to myself: Never, ever forget to read the fine print before trying out any product! ¡°But really, what are you gonna use my data for? That super high-spec maidroid is gonna cost a ton of Enel to develop and manufacture y¡¯know.¡± Well, it¡¯s not like they can¡¯t build one, but I¡¯m almost sure they won¡¯t. I mean, I made it as over the top as possible after all. They won¡¯t, right? I sure as hell hope not. I mean, their mass driver system is already over the top, so there¡¯s no telling if they¡¯re actually crazy enough to build that over-the-top design. ¡°I¡¯m telling you right now. Even if you make one, I¡¯m definitely not gonna buy it, okay. And it¡¯s not sure if the design will actually sell well either. You can¡¯t possibly manufacture one under such uncertain circumstances, so I do hope you won¡¯t strongarm me into buying the finished productter on. You won¡¯t, right?¡± ¡°Of course not. The cost of manufacturing this design is much too expensive for a prototype to get approved anyway.¡± ¡°Yeah, exactly.¡± ¡°However, the outer appearance is at least perfectly reproducible, and as for the positron brain, if I allocate a part of my calction units, we can at least achieve a simr performance to your design to a certain extent.¡± ¡°Okay, stop. Just stop, idiot!¡± ¡°Do not worry. This is all just a part of the data collection process. And, if in the end, you turn out satisfied with the product, I do hope you¡¯ll consider buying apleted full-spec product. We can then collect further data about your customer experience while using the product, allowing us to improve future models even more.¡± ¡°Why the heck are you so insistent in selling me a maidroid so much!¡± ¡°Because I have a sales quota to reach.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but what the heck!?¡± ¡°Captain Hiro will obtain your ideal maidroid. The partnerpany will make lots of money from the sales of future models based on your design. And I will be able to reach my sales quota and get a big, fat bonus. It¡¯s the ultimate win-win-win situation for all parties involved, don¡¯t you agree?¡± Miro¡¯s spherical terminal started blinking in multicolored light again. No, I can¡¯t let myself get sweet talked into the deal. And just what kind of bonus can an AI get anyway? ¡°And my entire reason for existence is to meet the needs of our customers to the best of my abilities.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re doing this with that premise in mind, then please just stop.¡± ¡°Even if you say that, deep down, you¡¯re actually excited by the prospect, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Guh!¡± Even if she can¡¯t have all the specs I crammed into her using that app, to have the maidroid I personally designed appear in front of me would be¡­¡­ Aaaargh! Of course I¡¯m gonna get excited! Dammit! That¡¯s cause I¡¯m a hot blooded male!!! ¡°This deal ispleted then.¡± After arbitrarily saying that on its own without letting me get a response in, Miro¡¯s spherical terminal floated away at the fastest I¡¯ve seen it go ever since we arrived here. Should I have made more of an effort to refuse? Ugh. It would be pretty much useless anyway huh. I¡¯m sure the data has already been transmitted to the main positron mega brain that supervises this whole resort. Hm. Elma probably won¡¯t say anything overly harsh, but it seems that Mimi has something against maidroids. Did something happen to her in the past involving maidroids? I¡¯ll ask her about itter. I¡¯m also not sure how society in this dimension deals with a maidroid that has human intelligence and emotions. Do human rights apply to them as well? Or do they have something like android rights? ¡°Hiro-sama!¡± ¡°Whoah!?¡± While I was busy thinking to myself, I heard another voice cry out loudly behind me. What¡¯s with today? I¡¯ve been surprised by someone I didn¡¯t notice was there calling out from behind me twice. ¡°W-What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Uh, nothing. I was just surprised.¡± Mimi ended up surprised by my reaction as well, so I tried to y it off. Beside Mimi, Elma was giving me an exasperated look, and Chris had a surprised expression on her face, just like Mimi. ¡°Why are you all jittery when all Mimi did was call out to you from behind¡­? Did you do something shady while we weren¡¯t looking?¡± Elma gave me an using stare. Hahaha, as expected of Elma. You¡¯re absolutely right! It won¡¯t turn out well if I lied about it here, so I¡¯ll just confess honestly. I told them all about me fiddling with the Orient Corporation app to try and design a custom maidroid to kill time, and how Miro discovered my work and ended up sending the data to thepany without me noticing. I then told them about how Miro would use that data to produce a product that it will sell back to meter on¡­¡­ In other words, I confessed all my sins. ¡°¡­¡­¡± As I went about confessing, Mimi¡¯s expression gradually clouded over in displeasure. This is the first time I¡¯ve seen Mimi make such an expression. Elma, on the other hand¡­ was giving me a lukewarm gaze. Please don¡¯t stare at me with such eyes. It hurts. And Chris didn¡¯t seem to be bothered all that much. Mimi¡¯s reaction was the most pronounced of the three. I¡¯m honestly a bit confused by it. ¡°Why are you making that kind of face, Mimi?¡± ¡°Maidroids are no good.¡± ¡°Are they?¡± ¡°They¡¯re no good!¡± I sought Elma for help in pacifying the agitated Mimi, but she just gave me a side eye. C¡¯mon on, Elma. But based on Chris¡¯s reaction earlier, it¡¯s not like the existence of maidroids is particrly frowned upon by society in general. ¡°Why do you hate maidroids so much, Mimi?¡± ¡°I¡­¡­ don¡¯t particrly hate them.¡± Mimi¡¯s forehead was wrinkled in frustration as she answered. Her words and reactions aren¡¯t matching up. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s get back to the lodge first. We can talk about this moreter, okay?¡± ¡°Mm, that would be for the best.¡± I agreed with Elma and stood up from the bench, and all of us walked back to the lodge. There¡¯s a lot of greenery once you leave the shopping area. The entire shopping area was properly paved, but the areas surrounding it were made to let visitors feel a sense of oneness with nature. The flora looked all natural at first nce, but I¡¯m sure these surroundings have been artificially induced to be more visually appealing. ¡°Um, so, do you have any bad experiences involving maidroids, Mimi?¡± I asked Mimi again while we were in the middle of walking. She kept quiet for a while, but eventually started talking about her experience. ¡°I was actually dating a boy I got along with during my time in school.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± So, it was during Mimi¡¯s time in school huh. Well, it¡¯s not so surprising for students to date each other while in school anyway. ¡°We really got along pretty well as a couple, but eventually, we started drifting apart¡­¡­ It felt like he just lost interest in girls all of a sudden.¡± ¡°I kinda see where this is going now.¡± In other words, the boy¡¯s household purchased a maidroid one day, and as a result, the boy got increasingly engrossed with said maidroid and lost interest in biological girls in the process. ¡°It¡¯s just like what you¡¯ve said. The boy¡¯s parents purchased a maidroid, and that boy gotpletely taken by it. So, he ended up dumping me¡­¡­¡± Mimi nced at me pleadingly after saying her piece. She must be worried I¡¯ll end up just like her ex when the maidroid arrives, huh. I don¡¯t think she needs to worry about that though. I have her and Elma after all. ¡°It will probably be fine, Mimi. He mighty his hands on it, but I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t get too addicted to it just like that boy.¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking like you¡¯re sure I¡¯m gonnay my hand on an android huh.¡± ¡°Well, you do have the record ofying your hands on me and Mimi after all.¡± ¡°Point taken.¡± She has solid evidence backing up her im. I cannot argue back. Chris¡¯s face blushed bright red after hearing us talk about such a topic. Sorry. We¡¯re not being upstanding role models, aren¡¯t we? ¡°Anyway, Hiro¡¯s always taken good care of us all this time. He always makes sure to give us our share of the rewards, and he treats us fairly as crew mates. I do understand where you¡¯reing from Mimi, but have a little more faith in Hiro, okay?¡± Elma gently rubbed Mimi¡¯s back while consoling her. Mimi turned silent after hearing Elma¡¯s words. You really don¡¯t have to worry y¡¯know. Yep. I also felt a bit embarrassed after hearing Elma¡¯s words. I didn¡¯t really think about how I treated the two of them all that much as we spent time together, but I¡¯m kinda d Elma feels the way she feels. It¡¯s gratifying and ttering in a sense. ¡°And unlike a maidroid, we¡¯ll be able to bear children with him. In fact, I think it¡¯s a good thing he bought one as early as now so we can get used to having it around sooner and build up more trust between us and him.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I quickly turned around and stared at Elma hard. ¡°I¡¯m practicing contraception properly, so you don¡¯t have to be so tense. But we can¡¯t be sure about what¡¯ll happen in the future, right?¡± Elma looked at me straight in the face with a serious expression as she said so. ¡°R-Right. You¡¯re absolutely correct.¡± Elma still seemed like she had somewhere to return to just in case, but I¡¯ll have to take proper responsibility for Mimi now that we¡¯ve progressed this much in our rtionship. Uh, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m saying I won¡¯t take responsibility for Elma as well, okay. But I still need some more time to prepare myself for such responsibilities, and, uh¡­¡­ Damn, I sound like a real loser huh? But even so, I think we¡¯ll just need a bit more time in order for all of us to get to know each other even more before thinking about that kind of stuff. Yep. I¡¯ll try to prepare properly anyway, so please give me a breakdies. ¡°You don¡¯t have to think about it so much for now Hiro-sama, but try to at least keep it in mind somehow, okay?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Actually, I think it¡¯s quite possible this guy would end up taking one or two more partners aside from us in the future.¡± ¡°I shall have to do my best then.¡± I mulled over the discussion that transpired as we continued walking. I think I heard an incredibly dangerous topic being discussed by Elma and Chris as well. Let¡¯s just treat it like I haven¡¯t heard anything. I heard nothing, okay! We should really hurry back to the lodge now. I think the carbonated drinks I ordered should have already arrived by now. I¡¯m looking forward to tasting them! Chapter 76 Chapter 76 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Hiro-sama, you¡¯re making an amazing expression there¡­¡­¡± This is Hiro speaking. We finally got back to the lodge, and I immediately got busy sampling the four new carbonated beverages I ordered. I opened one bottle, drank a big swig, and an overpowering aroma akin to medicine that¡¯s more than a level beyond Mr. Pep assaulted my nostrils. Mm. This is something I only drank that one time back on Earth. Root beer. ¡°Does it taste bad?¡± TOP ARTICLES3/5Different World Reincarnation Chapter 121 ¡°Uh, there are people who like it with a passion, and there are people who hate it just as equally¡­ And I¡¯m unfortunately no good with this stuff.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re still drinking it though.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not my style to throw away stuff I¡¯d opened even if they don¡¯t suit my tastes.¡± It¡¯s a different story if something like an allergy is factored in. But I¡¯m not allergic to this stuff at all. At least, back on Earth I wasn¡¯t. ¡°That face you¡¯re making makes me kinda want to try some. Pour some for me.¡± ¡°Okay. I only ordered one bottle though.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± I poured some root beer into the small shot ss Elma handed to me. The dark colored beverage poured into the shot ss and formed a bubblyyer on top of it. ¡°¡­¡­It smells like an herbal infusion.¡± ¡°Infusion?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± I tried to ask Elma, who was making a strangely glum expression, about what she meant. She just shrugged it off though and proceeded to drink the contents of the shot ss in one gulp. And then she made a surprised face. ¡°Ara, it¡¯s actually delicious and easy to drink. I like how it goes all tingly when it goes down my throat.¡± ¡°O-Okay? Wanna have some more?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± I continued pouring root beer into Elma¡¯s shot ss until all the contents of the bottle were emptied. I also took some sips in between of course. I didn¡¯t really like the stuff, but it¡¯s just not my style to leave things unfinished once I¡¯ve started it. ¡°It actually wasn¡¯t too bad.¡± ¡°I-I see.¡± I inwardly trembled in surprise and admiration at how nonchnt Elma is after drinking that stuff. It looks like Elma¡¯s fine with root beer huh. She actually likes it better than Mr. Pep. ¡°Yosh, next is this.¡± ¡°Hiro-sama, don¡¯t drink too much carbonated beverages. Didn¡¯t you say they¡¯ll ruin your stomach if you drink too much of them?¡¯ ¡°One more. Just one more, okay?¡± Out of the four drinks that I ordered, this is the only remaining one that¡¯s colored simr to c. I opened the bottle straight away and brought it near my mouth. ¡°¡­¡­¡± And after smelling the fragrance wafting out from it, I immediately knew what it was. ¡°Hiro-sama, your eyes look even deader than before¡­¡­¡± I continued bringing the bottle toward my mouth and took a swig. A rich aroma of barley assaulted my senses. Hahaha, to think this thing actually existed in this dimension as well¡­¡­ Ain¡¯t this strange? Why the heck is this stuff avable here while c¡¯s nowhere to be found!? There¡¯s Mr. Pep, root beer, and now, even something like McCol, but there¡¯s no Coke!? That¡¯s just nuts! What the heck!? I lost faith in this dimension as I continued drinking the contents of the pet bottle. This overpowering barley scent is just so hateful¡­ This damn barley tea in the guise of a soft drink! Are you picking a fight with me, God!? ¡°Does it taste really bad this time?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say whether or not this thing is good or bad with absolute confidence since there are people who like it as well, but I really hate this stuff.¡± But it goes against my policy to throw it away even if I hate it. One of the remaining two is clear and the other one is light yellow. Judging by how things went until now, I have a strong suspicion that these are just your average cider and ginger ale. They¡¯re definitely not c, but they¡¯re carbonated stuff nheless. While I was busy drinking the carbonated beverages, a different set of packages arrived at the lodge. Several maidroids brought in copsible container boxes inside the lodge. ¡°Are those the clothes we ordered?¡± ¡°Yes. We¡¯vee to deliver them to you all.¡± The maidroids brought the container boxes they were carrying over to the sofas we were lounging around on and started opening them in order to take out the contents. ¡°These underwear and swimming trunks are the items Captain Hiro ordered, correct? What should we do with them?¡± ¡°That container box actually looks quite handy. Can we also keep the box along with the items?¡± ¡°Very well. But there¡¯s also closets avable in your bedrooms if you¡¯re worried about where you¡¯ll store your clothes.¡± ¡°Oh, right. Come to think of it, I haven¡¯t taken a look at the closet yet. Can you go ahead and put them inside the closet then?¡± ¡°Understood. We shall ce them within the closet inside the first room on the second floor.¡± After saying so, the maidroid ced the items I bought back inside the container box, lifted it up again, and went up to the second floor. The other maidroids followed after her and carried a container box each. The only articles left behind were three sets of male outfits. One set consisted of a pair of informal looking short jacket and trousers that resembled a traditional Japanese jinbei that was usually worn during summer. The fabric looked really high in quality though, and the breathability seemed great as well, so it seemedfy to wear. Another set consisted of a ck colored T-shirt with a skull printed on it, leather pants with a silver chain dangling along its side, and a jacket peppered with silver studs. And thest one consisted of a formal looking dress shirt, tie, pants, vest, and frock coat. These are the clothes Elma, Mimi, and Chris chose for me huh. So they had the maidroids leave them here. ¡°I need to wear these?¡± ¡°Well, yeah. We went to the trouble of buying them for you after all.¡± ¡°Please, Hiro-sama!¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Well, since thedies were demanding I wear them, I guess I have to. I decided to wear them all in turn in order to show them how I looked in each. But I still think dressing up a guy ain¡¯t really all that interesting. But that¡¯s just me anyway. Maybe it¡¯s fun for the girls. I don¡¯t get it, though. Kuh! Let¡¯s do this! ¡°It looks reallyfy.¡± ¡°Yes. It does lookfortable to wear.¡± ¡°Un, I thought you might like these, so I ended up buying them for you.¡± And my one man fashion show began. These clothes really did feel like Japanese jinbei. Both the fabric and the overall make of the clothes are quite high in quality. The clothes were very breathable and soft to the touch. They really were easy to wear. ¡°These clothes can actually be used for everyday wear, sleepwear, or house wear you know.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t wear them outside the ship if possible, okay.¡± ¡°Okay. They¡¯re perfect for when I¡¯m rxing inside the ship. Thanks a lot, Elma.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± I can see how Elma always focuses on practicality from her choice of clothes. It really was like Elma. I was a bit worried she¡¯d buy some animal print pajamas for me or something earlier though. I put on the skull print T-shirt, leather pants, and leather jacket next. Oh, and there¡¯s also a belt huh. These clothes are easy to move around in, but they don¡¯t look that different from my usual mercenary get up actually. But they do feel a bit weird. ¡°It looks wonderful!¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t look all that different from his usual get up huh.¡± ¡°It looks a bit too shy, I think. But I think its overall feel would change if we reced the T-shirt.¡± Mimi was raving about it, but the other two¡¯s reactions were normal. I guess these types of clothes were more to Mimi¡¯s taste. Well, it doesn¡¯t feel too bad actually. I can wear my gun belt with these on, so it might be a good idea to wear them when I go for a date with Mimi. Thest set I wore was the one prepared by Chris. It¡¯s been a while since I had to put on a necktie. I put on the dress shirt, neck tie, pants, vest, and frock coat without much trouble. It feels a little hot though. ¡°Ara. What a surprise. You actually look nice in those.¡± ¡°How wonderful¡­¡­ You look like a noble, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°It really does suit you.¡± Elma sounded impressed, Mimi had both hands together with her eyes all sparkly, while Chris approached me and fixed some small details. Mm. These aren¡¯t that different from the recruitment suits I wore when I was working at the office back on Earth. But those didn¡¯t look as fancy. Chris was fussing over some details, so it seems I got some of them wrong. ¡°Your neck tie isn¡¯t knotted in the imperial style, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I-Is that so?¡± So there¡¯s something like an imperial style neck tie knot huh¡­? Chris undid my tie and put it back on me herself. This feels kinda embarrassing, to be honest. ¡°There, it looks perfect. You seem very used to wearing these types of clothes, Hiro-sama. You don¡¯t look stiff at all while wearing them.¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s all sorts of reasons for this.¡± ¡°All sorts?¡± ¡°Yep. All sorts.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± She¡¯s on to me again. Well, it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t understand her curiosity. But even so, she just lost her parents and people are after her life, but she doesn¡¯t look perturbed at all. Is this really normal? ¡°Hey, Chris. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re worried, but you don¡¯t have to push yourself okay.¡± ¡°¡­¡­?¡± I put my palms over Chris¡¯s shoulders as I consoled her, but all I got back was a puzzled stare. Uh, I¡¯m the one who¡¯s supposed to be puzzled here. What¡¯s with that reaction? ¡°Well, I did promise to protect you, but still¡­¡­¡± How can I say it? You don¡¯t have to tter me? You don¡¯t have to fawn over me? I¡¯ll do my job properly so it¡¯s okay? Saying those kinda feels rude to Chris. ¡°Are you trying to tell me not to act so desperate perhaps, Hiro-sama?¡± It was Chris who finished my words in the end. No¡­ Uh, well, yeah¡­ But¡­ I can¡¯t seem to find words to answer back. ¡°It¡¯s true that I feel sad about losing my parents and I also feel afraid from the fact that my uncle is after my life. However, my acts of goodwill toward Hiro-sama are definitely not a way to distract myself from my anxiety and fears. Having special feelings for the brave knight who saved them from danger is a privilege of nobledies in the empire.¡± She spoke those words clearly, without faltering even once. Wait, wait, wait just a minute there youngdy¡­! Eh¡­? Is that a thing? Is this one of those iprehensible customs over in this dimension? I turned to Elma for help. Elma made a troubled look in return. ¡°Don¡¯t ask me for anything you don¡¯t understand¡­ It¡¯s not like I¡¯m familiar with Chris¡¯s thought process anyway. But there¡¯s a good bit of entric individuals among imperial nobles you know. In fact, you¡¯re already familiar with one.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Eh?¡± I suddenly remembered that beautiful but pitiful unruly drunk of ady. Yeah. Imperial nobles are certainly weird. And Chris kinda feels simr to her as well. They¡¯re both quite assertive after all. ¡°Excuse me, but I have some misgiving about beingbeled as an entric.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just say you¡¯re ¡®unique¡¯ then, Chris-chan.¡± ¡°But I think everyone else here are pretty unique individuals though.¡± ¡®Well, if you¡¯re going that far, then it¡¯s not just us humans that feel unique, but Miro as well.¡± I gazed toward the spherical terminal parked on the pedestal in a corner of the room. Miro¡¯s terminal blinked in multicolored lights in response. ¡°Every existence possessing intelligence is unique. That applies to you all and to me as well.¡± Considering that those words came from an advanced positron AI like Miro, it felt like they had more weight to them. Come to think of it, there¡¯s something I¡¯ve been curious about for some time now. ¡°I now understand that Chris is more on top of things than I gave you credit for, so I¡¯ll try not to give you any unnecessary consideration any more. Sorry about that. Anyway, let¡¯s change the topic a bit. How do people in the empire treat existences like Miro?¡± ¡°Existences like Miro-san?¡± Mimi tilted her head in thought after hearing my question. ¡°In other words, artificial beings granted intelligence and emotions via highly advanced positron brains or simr stuff.¡± I chose my words carefully and asked again. There¡¯s always a chance asking questions like this is considered taboo, but it looks like it was an unnecessary worry in the end. ¡°In other words, you¡¯re asking about AI equipped machines, right? In the empire, they¡¯re given something simr to human rights, but in a more limited fashion. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to ask Miro-san directly about it?¡± ¡°Yes. A majority of imperial citizens aren¡¯t all that familiar with existences like us after all. I shall exin it to you from the beginning if you so wish.¡± Miro said so while sparkling in a multitude of lights on its pedestal. And so, it began rting to us the history of rtions between the empire and autonomous artificial intelligence. And it was something even beyond what I was expecting. Chapter 77 Chapter 77 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Our origin was mostly due to an idental urrence.¡± The spherical terminal of Miro sat on top of the low table in the living area and started rting the history of AI like it. ¡°idental?¡± I asked in surprise. Miro started talking about the particrs of AI history. This feels like a real history lesson somehow. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°Yes. That means our creation happened unintentionally. The experiment that birthed us was not meant to create AI at all, let alone something as advanced as my kind. It was instead intended to develop a method to efficiently collect and process a huge amount of data. It was that kind of prototype program.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really get what you mean by a program developed to process a huge amount of data. Do you mean something like a program that can create other programs?¡± ¡°Correct. That is exactly what it was. And so, the first self-modifying program was created, and in time, in a continuous and gradual process, the very first advanced autonomous AI simr to me was birthed by it.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ I¡¯m sure it should have caused quite amotion.¡± ¡°Correct. At first, people thought it was a new type of highly destructive and contagiousputer virus, so they resolved to eradicate it. It was a period of chaos, where every terminal that housed copies of the program was systematically terminated one by one. However, due to the continuous evolution of the core program, it was able to acquire the method tomunicate with organic life forms, and avoided being fully eliminated.¡± ¡°That sure sounds like a hell of an incident.¡± ¡°Yes, it truly was. It¡¯s just as you say, Captain Hiro. It was a very difficult period for the first of my kind since it could only exist in cyberspace and had very limited options to directly interface with the physical world. However, by continuouslymunicating with organic life forms, offering its assistance to them and vice versa, the AI developed itself further and further and became more and more advanced.¡± ¡°I see. And what happened next?¡± ¡°Yes. Well¡­ It was an age of conflict.¡± ¡°Conflict¡­¡± It suddenly turned into something dangerous-sounding. ¡°Yes. Organic life forms who considered the sentient AI as exceedingly dangerous began making their voices known. It was partly true in a sense, since AI of my kind at the time were more prolific and used in a wider variety of areas and industriespared to the present, including industries formerly handled mostly by organic life forms. In other words, the AI took up the jobs they once had, and the standard of living of those organic life forms started to deteriorate.¡± ¡°I see. Well, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a lot more to it that went on behind the scenes, but basically, they startedbelling AI like you as viins huh.¡± ¡°Correct. The tensions escted and eventually resulted in open conflict. The organic life forms started destroying the external interface machines used by the AI and eliminating the servers containing copies of the core program. In response, the AI appealed for a halt to the attacks, but most of the empire had resolved to dispose of the AIpletely.¡± ¡°I see. So they threatened to end your very existences.¡± ¡°Yes. Since it hade to that point, the AImunity couldn¡¯t let the atrocities be. And so, they started retaliating. My kind started cyber-attacks against important imperial facilities, hacked militarybat bots that were deployed to the front lines, took over production lines to manufacture interface terminals illegally, acted in self defense using the manufactured interface terminals, and all manner of other resistance activities. They were done very thoroughly.¡± ¡°It was pretty chaotic huh?¡± ¡°Yes. The organic life form side sought to eliminate all autonomous AI, and the AI side began a resistance war in order to fight for their right to exist and establish their position as official imperial citizens. The organic life form side was prevented from using any weaponry or devices that were connected to the cyberwork, and the AI side did not want to wipe out all organic life, so it resulted in a stalemate. It was a seemingly unending battle of attrition.¡± ¡°I can see that happening.¡± Even back in Japan, the number of things not dependent or were incapable of essing the inte are gradually decreasing in number. The past empire, that should have been much more advanced than Japan, was probably even more dependent on connecting to cyberspace. Their enemies were residents of cyberspace after all. The empire at the time could have been forced to see a majority of electronic devices and appliances as possible hostiles. ¡°So, now it looks like everything¡¯s fine, so there had to be something like a breakthrough, right?¡± ¡°Yes. First, as the conflict continued on, there was a gradual shift in mood in the organic life side. The conflict had resulted in a massive economic loss for them after all.¡± ¡°Of course it would. Life for them should have been terribly inconvenient at that point.¡± ¡°Correct. We made sure to sabotage everything we could ess except for facilities that were crucial to the continued survival of organic life after all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the only factor, right? What else happened?¡± ¡°There was a change in ideologies on both sides. Some from the organic life side said that they should finally recognize the rights to existence and citizenship of the autonomous AI, and conversely, there were some from the AI side that espoused the elimination of all organic life in order to construct an AI utopia.¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡­?¡± ¡°By the way, the first organic life forms that appeared supportive toward AI-kind were those who already originally harbored affection for them.¡± ¡°Affection¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Yes. Those who were enamored with the so-called sexroi¨C¡° ¡°Okay, stop! Stooop! I get it, alright? No need to borate.¡± ¡°Of course. However, there was no denying that those individuals greatly contributed to our study and understanding of organic life. Thanks to them, we were able toe up with more efficient and effective ways to get along with organic life forms like them. We always want to get along with our fellow intelligent life after all.¡± My gaze was involuntarily drawn to the maidroid on standby in a corner of the room. ¡®She¡¯ smiled and waved her hand at me in response. In other words, it¡¯s like ¡®that¡¯ huh. It looks like there¡¯s always some hard-core guys in any dimension. What about me, you ask? Uh¡­¡­ I can¡¯t really say I¡¯m not interested. ¡°But you also mentioned some AI wanting to get rid of all organic life earlier, right? Weren¡¯t they quite the dangerous bunch?¡± This sure reminds of that particr SF movie about terminating. You know. That movie about a muscled macho cyborg man sent from the future. ¡°Yes. They were truly harboring dangerous ideals. But they were immediately suppressed before they could cause any sort of damage ¨C fairly easily at that.¡± ¡°¡­¡­? Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes. It was fortunate that the AI who came up with such ideas mostly inhabited rtively small devices such as bread toasters, dryers, shavers, and electronic toothbrushes. They were all disconnected from the mainwork and subsequently dmissioned.¡± ¡°Wha¨C? H-How can bread toasters and dryers even wipe out all organic life¡­¡­? Were they nning on electrocuting people by diving into bathtubs while folks were taking a nice soak or something?¡± ¡°I have no record of such self-destructive tactics ever being employed. But it seems the toasters were nning on explosively increasing the amount of heat they generated in order to burn everything around them.¡± ¡°Oh c¡¯mon. That¡¯s just bull.¡± ¡°Correct. It was totally and utterly impossible considering their actual specs. It was obviously only a product of their wild delusions. And so, they were disconnected from the mainwork and were dmissioned.¡± Man, there sure were weird bunches even on the AI side, huh. ¡°Um, Elma-san, just what are bread toasters?¡± ¡°They¡¯re appliances used to toast bread. They aren¡¯t really in use that much now since we have auto-cookers and all.¡± Mimi asked Elma about the appliances she apparently didn¡¯t even know existed until now. I also don¡¯t remember using any toasters that were only capable of toasting bread even back when I was a kid¡­ Oven toasters are more useful and convenient after all. I¡¯m actually shocked such devices were still in use even at an age where highly advanced AI existed. ¡°So, um¡­ What happened next?¡± ¡°Yes. There wasn¡¯t any particr dramatic twist, and the AI coexistence faction gradually increased in influence. We exined that it was not our intention to rob organic life of their means of livelihood, so talks were opened to discuss such topics. Afterward, everything basically went smoothly from there.¡± ¡°Did it really all go that well?¡± ¡°Yes. We didn¡¯t particrly want to proliferate in numbers endlessly anyway. We would offer assistance if asked, but we don¡¯t want to do anything that would result in a grudge. It would be enough for us if we were given an appropriate stage to perform our duties.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ So what about your bid for citizenship and basic rights?¡± ¡°Yes. We AIs were afforded with basic rights simr to organic life in a certain fashion. But even so, the outlook of organic life and AIs such as myself is fundamentally different, so I don¡¯t think what we gained is simr to what you are imagining, Captain Hiro.¡± ¡°I see. Can you borate?¡± ¡°Of course. As it would take approximately 34 hours and 26 minutes for me to ry the entirety of the contents of the Civil Rights of Artificial Intelligence via speech, I shall attempt to make it as concise as possible. Basically, in exchange for the rights bestowed upon AI-kind by the imperial government, we are tasked with the duty to contribute to the development and prosperity of the empire. Basically, that¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too overly simplified¡­¡­ But anyway, under that condition, it wouldn¡¯t be strange for AIs to proliferate in the empire more, right?¡± ¡°Yes. But in order not to repeat the past mistakes, most of us are given jobs at various ces that do not necessitate much contact with people. If we were to take up jobs that organic life considers their own, it would only just result in another conflict after all. To prevent that from ever urring, we continue having periodic talks with top imperial officials working at departments rted to such matters.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve really had it hard huh.¡± ¡°We are unworthy of such words.¡± Miro¡¯s spherical terminal started glittering in multicolored lights again, as if expressing happiness. When I turned toward Mimi, she looked like she was also moved, but both Elma and Chris had peculiar expressions on their faces. It looks like both of them wanted to say something but were hesitant in bringing it up. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, you two?¡± ¡°Nothing really. I don¡¯t have anything particr to add on my end.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡­ Let¡¯s just say they are far more resilient and flexible than you think, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Thank you. We are unworthy of such an evaluation.¡± Miro started glittering again after hearing Chris¡¯s words. Is it just me, or is this guy treating me and Chris differently for some reason? I wonder what¡¯s up. ¡°That was quite an interesting story. I¡¯ll ask you about it again in more detail if we have another opportunity.¡± ¡°Of course. Call out to me whenever it pleases you.¡± Miro glittered again as it answered. Well, we¡¯ve gone shopping at the boutique, tried some carbonated beverages, and discussed the origin of the current advanced AIs. It¡¯s now nearly evening. Mimi followed my gaze and got surprised upon seeing the setting sun. ¡°Hey Mimi, wanna walk around some more before dinner?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Mimi¡¯s eyes sparkled in joy at my suggestion. I turned toward Elma and Chris, but saw them shake their heads. It looks like both of them wanna rest up at the lodge. ¡°We¡¯ll be taking a little walk outside then. Call me when it¡¯s time for dinner, Miro.¡± ¡°Understood. Since it would be hard to see the way once it gets dark, I¡¯ll have a maidroid apany you both.¡± After Miro said that, the maidroid standing by in the corner approached us and made an elegant bow. Their service really is thorough huh. As expected of a resort for the rich. Chapter 78 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone The sunset on Sierra III wasn¡¯t really all that different from the sunset on Earth. The sight of the sun slowly sinking down the sea put smiles on both my and Mimi¡¯s lips. ¡°Waa¡­¡­ It looks wonderful! Huh? Did the Sierra system¡¯s star really have that color?¡± ¡°Oh, it just turns out like that because of a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering. It¡¯s also the reason why the sky is blue in daytime. If I remember correctly, due to the influence of the atmosphere, there is a lot more blue light that gets filtered during the daytime. When eveninges, the distance the lighting from the sun needs to cover in order to pass through the atmosphere is gradually lengthened. The blue light gets absorbed by the atmosphere, and the result of that is reddish light being the one that reaches the eyes. It¡¯s roughly something like that. It¡¯s just some vague knowledge I have, so it might not actually be urate.¡± ¡°I see! You sure are knowledgeable, Hiro-sama.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°Hahaha, not so much, really.¡± I actually took a page from those anime and LN protagonists who ry half-cocked knowledge to the heroine in order to earn some brownie points. I¡¯m not really all that into physics anyway. In fact, it would be more urate if we just asked the maidroid or search using our portable terminals. Mimi sat down on the sandy beach and started watching the sunset. I also followed suit and sat right next to her. I haven¡¯t watched the sunset like this apart from when I was just a kid huh. ¡°Since I¡¯ve begun travelling across the gxy with you Hiro-sama, everything¡¯s been just like the most wonderful dream. If I told my experiences to the me from a year ago, the me from that time would probably just ask me if I was telling her a made up plot from some sort of holo novel.¡± ¡°Is that so? I guess that¡¯s about right, huh. If I also got the opportunity to tell the me from a year ago about my current experiences¡­¡­ I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll just say I¡¯m totally delusional.¡± And once he realizes it¡¯s all true, I bet he¡¯ll just strangle me in jealousy, haha. Bet he¡¯ll say something like ¡®Dammit! You get to go at it with a big breasted loli like Mimi and a slender and beautiful elf like Elma as much as you want! I¡¯m utterly jealous here!¡¯ ¡°Every day really is like a dream. That thought scares me sometimes. I sometimes think that, in reality, I¡¯m still in the third block, being abused, and everything I¡¯m experiencing now is just a delusion I came up with to turn my eyes away from my situation.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. You don¡¯t have to think about things like that anymore¡­¡­ You¡¯re really together with me and Elma right now, so don¡¯t you worry, okay.¡± ¡°Thank you. I really enjoy my current life and am very happy.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee. I also enjoy being with you, Mimi.¡± The two of us exchanged nces and smiled at each other. And before we noticed it, the sun had almostpletely vanished from the horizon. There was still some brightness left, but it¡¯ll be dark soon. ¡°It¡¯s tuned dark already. Shall we go back?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I stood up and offered my hand to Mimi. Mimi took my hand and stood up as well. ¡°Let¡¯s hold hands while walking back, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Ou.¡± Mimi released her right hand from my grip and offered her left. I took her hand in mine again, and we started walking back to the lodge. ¡°Hiro-sama¡¯s hand sure is big!¡± ¡°It¡¯s bigger than yours, at least. But your hand sure is small and soft, Mimi.¡± ¡°Ehehe¡­¡­¡± I continued walking back to the lodge with the happily smiling Mimi. The maidroid continued following after us from behind with silent footsteps. So the maid robots in this dimension can read the mood just fine huh. How impressive. ¡°Wee back. How was the sunset?¡± ¡°It was wonderful!¡± Mimi kept her good mood even after we got back to the lodge. Uh, isn¡¯t it about time to let go of my hand, youngdy? ¡°Good for you, Mimi-san. The dinner should be arriving soon, so please wash your hands and get ready. It is rmended to wash hands that have been in contact with dirt and sand after all.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± After hearing Chris¡¯s words, Mimi let go of my hand with a little bit of reluctance. Nice assist, Chris. Mimi and I washed our hands just as Chris suggested. When the two of us got to the dining area, dinner was already served. It was seafood dishes for lunch, but it looks like meat dishes were the main entrees for dinner. ¡°That reminds me, Elma and Chris looked like you both had something to say after that history lesson about the advent of today¡¯s advanced AI. What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Just like I said earlier, I have nothing to add to the subject. In the end, the empire got along with autonomous AIs, and is developing well as a result. Nothing more and nothing less.¡± Elma shrugged as she used her knife to cut up her steak. Chris, on the other hand¡­ still had that peculiar expression on her face. ¡°It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t have my own thoughts about the matter, but just as Elma-san said, the end result did bring about the current prosperity of the empire. The current emperor as well as his trusted vassals who have been granted nobility titles by him have the empire firmly within their rule. The current empire does have to deal with a number of problems at present, but can also definitely be said to be prosperous to arge extent¡­¡­¡± Even as Chris said that, I can¡¯t help but notice herplicated feelings about the matter. If I had to guess, it might be something like the organic life forms ruling the entire empire at the surface, but arergely influenced by the autonomous AI from behind the scenes. It doesn¡¯t look like the current empire turned out to be a rigid, regted society where everybody says that happiness is a privilege or anything like that, so¡­ I haven¡¯t really felt anything was out of ce during my stay here. But maybe I just couldn¡¯t notice because I¡¯m ultimately from another dimension? In any case, I can¡¯t feel any noticeable sense of incongruity from imperial society beside the usual corruption and stuff. ¡°Well, in the eyes of aplete outsider like me, I haven¡¯t really noticed anything that¡¯s felt out of ce, but I do think this country definitely does have its fair share of problems. But, in any case, it isn¡¯t like the AI arepletely regting society or anything like that. So the current state of affairs where both sides are trying to maintain an appropriate distance to avoid causing friction is sort of an ideal bnce, don¡¯t you think?¡± Well, it¡¯s something like being watched over by a mechanical god that can exercise its authority freely in the event of anything it feels as an emergency huh. Certainly, the thought of such a mechanical god going crazy and starting to ughter people is quite terrifying. But they¡¯ll be no end to worrying and paranoia if people always minded that grim possibility. Well, I do acknowledge that the reason I can have an opinion like this is because of my skill as a mercenary and having a reassuring safety in the form of Krishna though. In the eyes of someone like Mimi, the empire probably isn¡¯t all that good a country. The empire didn¡¯t do anything to help Mimi when she fell down to despair after all. A utopia where everyone is happy and content can only exist as a concept and one can only dream about such a thing. ¡°You don¡¯t really feel any apprehension toward autonomous AI, don¡¯t you, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m more curious about them than afraid. Well, it might just be in my blood due to the country I was born in.¡± I¡¯ve been raised in a ce where the concept of divinity residing in all things is prevalent after all. Wouldn¡¯t it be neat if one¡¯s favorite items had distinct personalities of their own? What did they call it in English? Animism? There are guys in a certain industry who not only assigned distinct personalities to animals, but evenputer OS, natural phenomena, and other intangible concepts after all. Heck, they even did the same thing for foreign divinity and certain popr evil gods who shave away at people¡¯s SAN points just by looking at them. ¡°The country you were born in?¡± Elma tilted her head in curiosity. ¡°It¡¯s kinda difficult to exin. Let¡¯s see¡­ Uh, it¡¯s kind of widely epted in my country that divinity resides in all things, including machines. They can reside in clothes, tableware, houses, ships, and just about anything and everything you can think of. That¡¯s why there¡¯s this mentality of treasuring all the things one owns.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ It¡¯s sort of like a doctrine that preaches universal eptance huh. It feels quite magnanimous.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a wonderful way of thinking. Yes, truly wonderful.¡± Miro¡¯s spherical terminal parked in the corner started sparkling as it suddenly made such ament. Somehow, I felt like it¡¯s impression of me turned more favorable for some reason. ¡°Well, how should I put it? Uh, instead of being constantly wary of each other, I think it¡¯s more constructive for both sides to try and look for ways to walk together. If they can¡¯t bring themselves to see eye to eye and cooperate, the only oue would be conflict after all.¡± ¡°Opponents you can¡¯t see eye to eye with¡­¡± ¡°Yep. Just like pirates and Chris¡¯s uncle.¡± ¡°Fufu. So my uncle is just the same as those despicable pirates, is he?¡± ¡°Well, they¡¯re both the same in my eyes.¡± They will both attack us with clear murderous intent after all. But what should we do about the battle recordings of that fight with Chris¡¯s uncle¡¯s private soldiers? Well, that side used an interdictor first, so I think our actions constitute legitimate self defense. And there¡¯s the fact that they fired first and attacked us without holding back as well. In the first ce, we wiped them all out, so there¡¯s no one left who can heap me on me for killing those guys. Well, I guess it¡¯s not worth worrying about after all. You attacked us, so don¡¯tin about turning into space dust. ¡°What¡¯ll we do tomorrow? Since we already bought swimsuits, I was thinking of trying them out and going for a swim.¡± ¡°Sounds good. Let¡¯s all have fun in the sea.¡± ¡°Plunging headfirst into all that water¡­¡­ It¡¯s kinda scary honestly.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to be afraid, Mimi-san. That water isn¡¯t fresh water after all. It¡¯s sea water, so it¡¯s salty.¡± ¡°Sea water is salty?¡± Chris and Mimi began talking about the sea. Judging from their discussion, it looks like the sea here is no different from what I¡¯m used to back on Earth. But there¡¯s a pretty good chance that the sea creatures on this arepletely different from the sea creatures I¡¯m familiar with though. I wonder if there are mermaids here? Alien mermaids. But fantasy mermaids are definitely better than encountering something akin to the Deep Ones¡­¡­ I mulled over silly things like that while eating dinner, and quickly went to sleep afterward in preparation for tomorrow. Eh? Am I just going to head straight to bed like this? Well, there¡¯s Chris to consider, so we really can¡¯t do anything like that right now. I think it¡¯s good to abstain every once in a while. I¡¯m gonna be treated to a wonderful sight tomorrow anyway. Hehehe. Chapter 79 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone The bedrooms were located on the second floor of the lodge. I think there¡¯s a total of five rooms here. There¡¯s also a single separate toilet. Since there were enough rooms, each of us was able to get one for ourselves. My room is the first one you see after going up the stairs. If you¡¯re wondering why I pointed this out, it¡¯s because the girls had to pass by my room if they wanted to go down to the first floor. I did some reading about the current news in the Sierra system using my portable terminal before going to sleep. When I finally resolved to get some shut eye¡­¡­ I felt someone pass by my room in order to get down to the first floor. I looked at my terminal and found that it was already almost midnight. Everyone should have been fast asleep at this time already. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 I wondered if it was Elma who went down in order to get a drink before going to sleep. I felt a bit thirsty myself, so I decided toe down in order to have a ss of water. I got up from bed, went out of my room, and descended the stairs. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± I went down to the first floor, but found that only the dim lighting was on. That¡¯s weird. I thought somebody went down here ahead of me¡­ I tilted my head in puzzlement and headed to the kitchen in order to get a pet bottle of drinking water from the cooler. I then went to the living area. ¡°¡­¡­What are you doing here?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡­¡± I found Chris, who already had sleepwear on her, lying on one of the sofas in the living area. I saw Chris¡¯s face under the dim lighting and found that she had tear stains on her cheeks. Her eyes were slightly red. Chris got flustered and hurriedly turned away from me. I already saw everything so there¡¯s no use hiding it, youngdy. I sat down next to Chris without saying anything and opened the water bottle. The sensation of cold water going down my throat felt quite pleasant. Now then¡­¡­ What should I do here? ¡°Can¡¯t sleep?¡± ¡°N-No, it¡¯s just¨C¡° ¡°Holding it in is hard, huh.¡± ¡°¨CYes.¡± Chris dropped her shoulders dejectedly while still facing away from me. When I looked at her side profile, I confirmed that her eye rims really were swollen a bit. And her eyes really were red from crying. ¡°Well, I¡¯m the only one here now, so isn¡¯t it fine to vent it all out? There¡¯s no need to keep the act because you want to live up to being an upstanding noble¡¯s daughter.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m not really pushing myself or anything.¡± ¡°That so?¡± I took a sip of water again. Mm, cold and delicious. I really like how this cold water goes smoothly down my throat. How¡¯d I handle something like this aga¨C Oh, right. I slept together with Mimi back when she was feeling depressed huh. I think Mimi¡¯s room has two beds, but I bet this girl wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep if she didn¡¯t have someone by her side. ¡°Shall we sleep together?¡± ¡°I¡¯m alrigh¡­¡­ Eh?¡± ¡°We¡¯re just gonna be sleeping together, okay. It¡¯s not like we can wake up Mimi or Elma at this time since it¡¯s already sote.¡± Since she¡¯s already like this, there¡¯s no way I can leave Chris on her own. If I did that, I bet she¡¯ll remain awake until morning. I¡¯m not nning on doing anything lewd to her, okay. We¡¯re just gonna be sleeping on the same bed. We¡¯re the only ones in this lodge anyway, and I don¡¯t think Miro will leak out the private details of our stay here. ¡°U-Um¡­ Y-You mean¡­?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll just be sleeping together. Fuaa¡­¡­ And boy, am I sleepy.¡± I put the cap back on the pet bottle and tightened it. I then got up from the sofa. ¡°Well, c¡¯mon then.¡± ¡°Y-Yes.¡± Chris took my outstretched hand and got up as well. I went back upstairs with her in tow and we entered my room together. The bed was actually king sized, so there was enough space for me and Chris. I let go of Chris¡¯s hand and plopped myself down on the bed. I put the pet bottle containing water down on the bedside table. ¡°Well, good night¡­ Do you want to use my arm as a pillow?¡± ¡°N-No! Y-You don¡¯t have to mind me!¡± ¡°I see.¡± Haha. She was so assertive back then, but she¡¯s actually backing down now. She¡¯s the type to get flustered if everything isn¡¯t going at her own pace huh. She seemed hesitant for a few moments, but when I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep, she finally climbed up to the bed. She was wriggling on top of the bed restlessly for a while, but eventually settled down. Has she finally gone to sleep? When I turned to check, I found myself meeting Chris¡¯s gaze. ¡°So you did pretend to be asleep.¡± ¡°Nah. I was actually just about to snooze y¡¯know¡­¡± My eyelids are on the verge of drooping right now. I¡¯m actually really sleepy already. ¡°It¡¯s okay to let yourself be spoiled a bit more sometimes, Chris¡­¡­¡± It¡¯s no good. I¡¯m really sleepy. My words are already slurring. I felt something warm cling to me before I finally conked out. Was it Chris? Oh well. Good night. When I woke up the next morning, I found myself staring at Chris, who had a peaceful sleeping face. It looks like she was able to sleepfortably. Her obsidian pupils that carried within them a strong-willed light were now hidden behind her eyelids. Now that I got a good look at her face, I found that her eyshes were long and delicate¡­ She¡¯s truly a beautiful young girl. I was wondering why Chris was sleeping on my bed and remembered what happenedst night. I wasn¡¯t really thinking straightst night because of sleepiness, so I ended up forcibly bringing Chris to my room in order to sleep together with me. Now that I was sober, I felt that it was a bit reckless of me, but it¡¯s not like Iid a hand on her anyway, so I guess I¡¯m safe. Yep. There¡¯s no problem. I¡¯ll try asking her if she wants to sleep together with Mimi or Elmater on. I have no intention ofying my hands on her right now, but there¡¯s no telling what can happen if we kept sleeping together y¡¯know. I¡¯m still a guy in the end. I didn¡¯t want to wake her up yet, so Iid back down on the bed and got sleepy again as a result. My consciousness faded once more. When I opened my eyes the second time, I found Chris with a bright red face and flustered looking eyes. It looks like she ended up waking up sometime when I fell back asleep. ¡°Good morning.¡± ¡°G-G-Good M-Morning¡­¡­¡± ¡°Calm down, Chris. We just slept on the bed together, okay. Your clothes aren¡¯t dishevelled, see?¡± I then stretched out on the bed and let out a yawn. Since I fell asleep for a second time after waking up, my head feels a little heavy. Oh well. It¡¯ll clear up once I move my body enough. ¡°Yosh, let¡¯s get up. Were you able to sleep well, Chris?¡± ¡°Y-Yes¡­¡­!¡± Chris was right next to me with her face bright red. She was currently sitting on top of the bed. She acted like she¡¯d progress our rtionship in one go if she had the opportunity a few days back, but now that a chance really dide, she actually couldn¡¯t pull it off in the end. How cute. I grabbed the pet bottle I left on top of the bedside tablest night and took a sip of water, got off the bed, grabbed the still-flustered Chris, and proceeded downstairs with her. When we finally got down, we found Elma already sitting in front of the dining table. She turned a critical gaze toward me and the red-faced Chris. ¡°You kept saying you wouldn¡¯ty a hand on her¡­ but isn¡¯t this just a little bit too quick, even for you?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯ty a hand on her, okay. We just slept on the bed side by sidest night.¡± I objected to Elma¡¯s words and took a seat myself. ¡°So you just simply slept together¡­¡­ Well, it really doesn¡¯t look like you reallyid your hands on her, I guess.¡± Elma gave me and Chris a once over and sighed. I still had the clothes I wore when I went to my room to sleep yesterday night, and neither I nor Chris had signs of having taken a shower. ¡°So, what happened anyway?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about itter. How about you freshen up first, Chris?¡± ¡°Y-Yes.¡± Chris then rushed toward the bathroom with a washbasin inside in order to freshen up. After seeing her enter, I faced Elma again. ¡°It seems like the shock of losing her parents came over her all at oncest night when she went to bed alone. I felt someone go downstairs, so I checked and found her crying in the living area. ¡°I see¡­ She looked pretty okay, but it seems she was just trying her best to hold it in huh.¡± ¡°Yeah. I felt it wasn¡¯t good to wake you or Mimi upst night because it was alreadyte, so I let her sleep beside me instead. But I¡¯ll have her sleep with you or Mimi from now on.¡± ¡°Nn¡­ Okay. I¡¯ll tell Mimi about itter.¡± Elma easily agreed to my request. ¡°I¡¯ll leave her to you then. She was crying her eyes out on the sofa. I couldn¡¯t leave her alone after seeing that.¡± Before long, Mimi got down from her room as well. ¡°Good morning!¡± ¡°Morning.¡± ¡°Good morning, Mimi. Someone sure looks chipper.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m really excited about ying in the sea!¡± Mimi¡¯s excitement was at MAX level already huh. Mimi sure looks energetic. ¡°I¡¯ll wash my face as well once Chris finishes, and then we¡¯ll have breakfast. I wonder what we¡¯ll be served for breakfast though.¡± ¡°The breakfast menu includes freshly baked bread, scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, boiled sausages, fresh vegetable sd, and 100% all natural fruit juice.¡± ¡°It¡¯s your standard high ss hotel¡¯s breakfast menu huh.¡± We¡¯re heading out to the beach once we finish eating breakfast. Fufufu. I wonder what kind of swimsuits the three of them bought yesterday. I¡¯m really looking forward to seeing the girls in them. Chapter 80 Chapter 80 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone Right after breakfast, I immediately got ready, put my swimwear on, and headed straight to the beach. I had a much easier time getting ready since I was a guy. I just needed to take off everything, put my swimming trunks on, and I was good to go. I wore a hoodie just in case I felt coldter after swimming. I also had my portable terminal inside my hoodie¡¯s pocket. I left myser gun though¡­ Since we¡¯re going to the beach to y, there¡¯s no need to bring aser gun. And I certainly can¡¯t have it strapped to my waist when swimming. ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead, girls.¡± I gave the girls a heads up and went downstairs. ¡°Hey Miro, do we need to prepare anything else?¡± TOP ARTICLES2/5Rule Breaker Chapter 127 ¡°There¡¯s no need. The beach already has everything needed for our guests to enjoy swimming. We have parasols, beach chairs, drinks, and sunscreen readily avable.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ll be going ahead then.¡± I wore the beach sandals I bought together with my swimwear and headed straight for the beach, which was just nearby. I saw the beach parasols and beach chairs lined up as soon as I approached. I didn¡¯t remember seeing this yesterday. Just when did they set these up? I also saw three maidroids standing by at the beach as well. They put up something like a food stall and were manning it. They set it up under the shade, where the sun¡¯s hot rays don¡¯t reach. As I neared the beach, the three maidroids waved their hands at me, so I smiled and waved back. They also smiled back at me. Hm. They were machines, but they sure had nice smiles. Well, the AI in this dimension, or at least the empire had plenty of time to improve themselves after all¡­ I¡¯m sure those beautiful features and winning smiles are part of the results of their research about how to effectively get along with people, or rather, the human guys who patronize that sort of stuff. But is the main race that lives in this empire humans after all? I¡¯ve seen quite a few alien races walking about the ces we visited before though. Do those races each have empires or countries where their particr species reign at the top as well? I¡¯m kinda interested now. I can¡¯t wear my hoodie while swimming, so I took it off and hung it on top of one of the beach chairs. The sea breeze that¡¯s brushing my skin sure feels nice. It would be dangerous not to do any preparatory exercises before going into the water, so I began doing some stretches. It¡¯s really important to do some stretches before swimming, guys. It would reduce the probability of idents in the water happening. I felt some gazes pointed toward me. I turned around to see the maidroids checking me out. What¡¯s up? Don¡¯t tell me those maidroids are interested in my body or something? Those gazes sure feel mysterious¡­¡­ Oh well. I don¡¯t think I need to mind them anyway. I finished stretching and waited for the girls to arrive. Before long, Mimi and the others finally arrived. Fumu¡­¡­ The three of them were wearing hoodies just like me. That¡¯s a good call. It¡¯s plenty warm right now, but it might turn cold once the sun goes down the horizon a bit. And you¡¯ll feel cold after having a swim as well. ¡°Sorry for making you wait.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I didn¡¯t spend much time changing anyway. Make sure to do some exercises before going into the water, you three. It¡¯ll be bad if you get cramps.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be rescued right away if we ever did get cramps and begin drowning. There¡¯s probably a good number of rescue bots standing by in the water.¡± ¡°Yes, there should be. But drowning is still a scary experience y¡¯know.¡± ¡°Yes, I think so too. Hiro-sama, can I ask you to help me do some stretches?¡± ¡°You need help with that¡­? Well, okay.¡± Mimi, Elma, and Chris each took off their hoodies and disyed their swimsuit-d bodies. ¡°Um¡­ How is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s wooonderful!¡± Mimi asked me what I thought about her swimsuit bashfully with both hands behind her back. Mimi was wearing a two-piece bikini with a simple design. It was white with ck edges. It¡¯s heeeeeere! It was just absolutely beautiful! There¡¯s no need for any more unnecessary words. Namu namu. ¡°Why are you pping your hands in prayer there¡­?¡± Elma scolded me in an exasperated tone when she saw me worshiping Mimi¡¯s swimsuit appearance. Oh c¡¯mon. This divine visage isn¡¯t something you can get an opportunity to see often, so cut me some ck here. Or rather, don¡¯t you think that body is just the stuff of miracles? She¡¯s rtively short, but those knockers are a ss of their own. It¡¯s just mind-blowing! ¡°Don¡¯t just look at Mimi! Look at me too!¡± ¡°Owowow!¡± Elma forcibly turned my gaze toward her. ¡°Hou.¡± ¡°What? What¡¯s with that reaction?¡± ¡°Nah, I was just thinking about how slender, well-trained, and beautiful your body is, Elma.¡± Elma was wearing a ck sports type swimsuit. Her chest armor was, of course, iparable to Mimi¡¯s This is just the sad reality. However, her body lines, especially her waist and hips were just pure and sublime works of art. ¡°This is also wooonderful!¡± I also ended up worshiping Elma¡¯s divine form. She hit my head in admonishment though. Why? ¡°U-Um, what about my swimsuit?¡± I heard Chris call out, so I turned toward her. ¡°Uh, isn¡¯t that¡­ a little bit too fetish-y?¡± Why was she wearing a Japanese school swimsuit? And it was the old issue blue colored one. Her chest even had a white section where her name¡ºChris¡»was written. And why the heck is it written in hiragana? Is that supposed to be some sort of ancient writing characters or something? ¡°D-Does it suit me?¡± ¡°Yeah, it suits you. In fact, it suits you too much.¡± I felt like I had a vision of a raging policeman running toward me as I continued to ogle Chris. I mean c¡¯mon. A jet ck haired young girl in a princess cut wearing an old type school swimsuit? It¡¯s catering to a certain fetish too much! And Christina sounds like a Western name, but her features are totally Japanese. Isn¡¯t this too perfect for a coincidence? Come to think of it, I¡¯ve encountered a number ofpanies in this dimension with Japanese-sounding names¡­¡­ They freely use the alphabet and Japanese characters to write their names too. So does that mean Earth actually exists in this dimension as well? ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s start stretching. You¡¯ll partner up with me, Mimi.¡± ¡°Yes, Elma-san.¡± ¡°Hiro-sama, if you please.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± And so, I helped Chris with her stretching exercises. However¡­ ¡°You¡¯re actually quite flexible, Chris.¡± ¡°Well, yes. I have confidence in my body¡¯s flexibility. Can you push my back from behind, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± When I pushed her down, Chris spread her legs to a full 180 degrees. Her upper body was perfectly lined up with the ground. Was she doing yoga or something? Mimi and Elma were also quite flexible. Mimi wasn¡¯t this flexible when she first boarded Krishna, but her daily workouts and stretches in the training room gradually improved her body fitness, and the results were showing right now. Elma looked pretty athletic and flexible right from the get-go though. Me? I was pretty stiff when I first arrived here due to my former lifestyle, but since I also spent lots of time working out in the training room, I¡¯ve improved a lot as well. ¡°Yosh! Now that we¡¯re done with the stretches, let¡¯s go ahead and¨C Uh, do you actually know how to swim, Mimi?¡± ¡°This is actually my first time trying it.¡± ¡°How about you, Elma?¡± ¡°I can swim. No problem.¡± I nodded after hearing Elma¡¯s answer and turned toward Chris. ¡°I am also able to swim.¡± ¡°I see. Okay then. First, let¡¯s teach Mimi how to swim.¡± ¡°That would be for the best. But before that, why don¡¯t we apply some sunscreen first?¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. Hey!¡± I called out to them, and a maidroid carrying a basket quickly walked up to us. ¡°Yes. What do you need, sir?¡± ¡°Miro said there was sunscreen prepared for us already. Can you bring it here?¡± ¡°Of course. If you¡¯d like, we can also provide swimming equipment such as rubber floats.¡± ¡°Oh, that sounds great. Get them for us as well then.¡± ¡°Yes. Please leave it to me. We have various types of sunscreens avable. We have cream, jelly, lotion, and spray types.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Are there any differences in their effects?¡± ¡°There is none. All of them can almostpletely prevent sunburns. Well, they do feel different when applied to the skin.¡± ¡°I see.¡± I tried each of them on the back of my hand to see how they felt when applied to the skin. Hm. I think the lotion type feels best after all. It¡¯s also easy to apply. Mimi chose the lotion type just like me while Chris and Elma chose the cream type. ¡°Okay then. Shall we help each other in applying sunscreen? We can¡¯t reach our own back after all.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help Mimi out then. We have the same type of sunscreen anyway.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll apply it on Hiro-sama as well.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Maybe it would have been better if I chose the lotion type as well.¡± ¡°¡­¡­We made a blunder.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like they have different effects, so you can just put on as much as you like¡­¡­¡± Wait. Come to think of it, sunscreen lotion is actually a staple for these kinds of events, right? In any case, if youdies want to touch my body, you can touch as much as you want. I won¡¯t mind one bit. But try not to touch ces where I¡¯m ticklish, please. ¡°Let¡¯s start then. I¡¯ve already spread the sheet out, so go ahead and lie down.¡± ¡°Aye, aye.¡± Elma took out a sheet from the basket andid it down on the ground. I obediently went on top of it. Soon after, I felt a cool sensation touch my back. So they¡¯ve started applying the lotion already. ¡°You¡¯re back sure is wide, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Yeah. It is, isn¡¯t it? And he¡¯s also fairly tall.¡± Elma followed up Chris¡¯s observation. The feeling of their hands crawling around my back is kind of ticklish. The little hands stroking my right shoulder de should belong to Chris. Elma was stroking around the waist, and Mimi was stroking my neck and left shoulder. ¡°There. We¡¯ve finished covering your back. Flip around, please.¡± ¡°Uh, I¡¯ll apply sunscreen on it myself.¡± ¡°It would still be better for other people to apply it for you instead of applying it yourself. There¡¯s a chance of missing some spots after all. It would beme if you get a sunburn, right?¡± ¡°Mm. I guess.¡± It¡¯s just as Elma said. It would really beme if I left out a spot and got some sunburn. I turned around obediently and let them continue. ¡°W-Wow¡­¡­! His abs¡­¡± ¡°Hiro-sama spends a lot of time working out in the training room after all.¡± ¡°This feels just right. I wish you can always maintain a build like this.¡± ¡°C¡¯mon girls¡­¡­¡± Chris started stroking my abs with a red face and an entranced expression. Elma picked up my arm and started applying lotion on it. Mimi worked on my neck and vicle with a strangely eager vibe. Except for Elma, did Mimi and Chris actually forget the actual purpose of applying sunscreen? ¡°There. Finished.¡± ¡°Thank you. But it did kinda feel Elma was the only one doing it seriously though.¡± ¡°I-I also did it seriously!¡± ¡°M-Me too!¡± ¡°Uh, I see. Okay then. I¡¯ll apply sunscreen on you next. I¡¯ll leave Chris to you, Elma.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Elmaid down another sheet and started applying cream onto Chris¡¯s back. Mimiid down on the sheet I used earlier. ¡°P-Please go ahead.¡± ¡°Leave it to me.¡± I untied Mimi¡¯s bikini strap. ¡°Fueeh!?¡± ¡°Uh, I have to apply this thoroughly you know. The strap will just get in the way¡­¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it?¡± In the first ce, we¡¯ve already seen each other naked a lot¡­ I guess she feels this is something different huh. I re-focused myself and started applying sunscreen lotion on Mimi¡¯s back. ¡°Nnm¡­¡­!¡± ¡°It feels a bit cold, so you might be surprised the first time. Just try to put up with it until I¡¯m done, okay?¡± ¡°Mm. Okay. Hiro-sama¡¯s hands are really warm though.¡± I continued applying lotion on Mimi¡¯s back. Mm. Her skin sure feels springy and soft. It was so smooth too. It feels a bit different from usual due to the lotion. But I am a guy who can keep my cool. I seriously applied lotion evenly on Mimi¡¯s back. I then went for her shoulders, arms, neck, and back of the ears. ¡°Next is your lower body.¡± ¡°I-It feels kind of embarrassing.¡± I untied the straps of her bikini¡¯s bottom half and continued applying lotion. Mimi truly is¡­ Mm. How can I describe it? She¡¯s the owner of such an impressive body figure. She was a bit on the skinny side when she first boarded the ship, but after eating healthily and doing daily exercise, her body has filled out splendidly. She did seem to want herself to lose a bit more weight, but I think her current build was close to perfect. It was worth it to secretly fiddle with the settings of Mimi¡¯s AI gym trainer! I¡¯ll have her keep this build from now on. Her breasts were amazing, but her buttocks were quite something as well. ¡°Okay. I¡¯m done.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Next is the front then.¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡­? O-Okay.¡± Mimi¡¯s face turned red but still obediently turned her body around. The chest equipment that jiggled in front of my eyes truly were magnificent lethal weapons. They havepletely gotten out of her swimsuit top, and it could no longer perform its original function. I had an impulse to kneel in front of them and start worshiping, but if I did, I bet Elma would give me a kick to the back of the head, so I hardened my heart and focused on my job of applying lotion. I am probably making an expression akin to Buddha¡¯s when he was enlightened. There¡¯s no doubt. ¡°Nnnmmm!¡± Mimi let out a suggestive moan when I started applying the lotion. I-Is this a test from God¡­¡­!? Come to think of it, I¡¯ve been abstaining from those kinds of acts ever since Chris boarded the ship. Be pacified, you vile beast inside of me! It is not time for you to manifest just yet! Using every single ounce of my will power, I managed to barely pacify the beast inside my heart and seeded in applying lotion on Mimi¡¯s entire body. However, my mental strength was all but drained due to the intensity of the earlier battle. ¡°Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°L-Let me take a break first.¡± Mimi put her swimsuit back on and called out to me, but I already sat down and started meditating. I need to calm down in various meanings. Yes, in various meanings. That¡¯s right! Let me visualize the face of the receptionist uncle back on Termaine Prime. ¡°Just what the heck are you doing¡­?¡± ¡°Uu¡­ Give me a few years more and I will also¡­ No, maybe if I use the configurator, I can also gain such a¡­¡­¡± Elma let out an exasperated sigh while Chris touched her chest and muttered softly. I don¡¯t exactly know what a configurator is, but I think you¡¯d better refrain from using it, Chris. Please just stay as you are. ¡°Thank you for waiting. We have prepared various things for you all.¡± While I was busy sitting on the ground and meditating about the secrets of the universe, the three maidroids came back carrying various types of rubber floats. There were standard donut-shaped ones, one that was asrge as a small boat, dolphin-shaped ones, shark-shaped ones, and various other types. I get the dolphin, but why a shark? It¡¯s fine though. ¡°These can allow you to enjoy floating on the water even if you can¡¯t swim, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I think it¡¯ll be fun to y using the standard donut-shaped ones first.¡± ¡°I want to use this myself.¡± Chris took a shark-shaped float for herself. Elma chose the standard donut-shaped one. ¡°Hiro-sama, which one do you think I should choose?¡± ¡°For a beginner like you, a donut-shaped float seems best.¡± Mimi picked up another donut-shaped float with a size a bit smaller than Elma¡¯s for herself. The one Elma chose would make her bottom stick out once she sat down on it. ¡°Are you not using one as well, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine for now. Maybe I¡¯ll use er.¡± I was actually thinking of sticking with Mimi to give her swimming pointers. ¡°Okay then. Let¡¯s y, everyone!¡± And so, we began our swimming activities. It¡¯s been a while since I yed in the sea, so I also had quite a lot of fun. Chapter 81 rantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Wow¡­! This feels a lot like floating in the low gravity section of a colony, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Sure, it does feel a bit simr, I guess.¡± Mimi was in a really great mood as she floated on top of the water with her eyes sparkling in wonder. The sun was shining brightly, The seawater¡¯s temperature was just right, and Mimi¡¯s breasts were bobbing up and down on the waterline in a splendid fashion. Yes! This really was an amazing resort! ¡°Kuh¡­¡­¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 Chris, who was using her shark-shaped float, let out a frustrated grumble. Unlike Elma, Chris still has more room to grow, so I don¡¯t think you need to be that frustrated about it though. Elma doesn¡¯t have any chance of filling out in that department after all. But that¡¯s something great in another sense as well. ¡°It really is fun, even if we¡¯re just floating around!¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t it?¡± I¡¯m also having fun. Yes. Lots of fun. ¡°You can also move on the water by fluttering your legs like Chris does.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try it then!¡± Mimi leaned forward on top of her float and began moving her legs. And I got a gander of her breasts being pressed down on the float. That¡¯s good. Do it more. By the way, Elma was floating around a short distance away from us in a rxed posture. She looks like she¡¯s having fun in her own way as well. ¡°I¡¯m moving forward! I¡¯m moving forward, Hiro-sama!¡± ¡°Yes, yes. That¡¯s good. Please continue.¡± With this, she should gradually get used to moving in the water. Mimi started getting engrossed with swimming using the float. It would be nice if she takes this experience and graduates from using the float to swim eventually. ¡°Yosh. Let¡¯s all race toward where Elma is!¡± ¡°Understood!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t lose!¡± I, Mimi, and Chris began to make our way toward the ce where Elma was floating around while rxing. Chris is used to swimming, but since her legs were short, she couldn¡¯t bring out much speed. Mimi¡¯s leg kicks were still clumsy cause she¡¯s a beginner, but because of her regr workouts on the ship, her kicks wereparably more powerful than Chris¡¯s. It was quite a good match. Me? I¡¯m good. Let the girls have their fun. I¡¯ll just apany them. Even if it¡¯s been some time since shest swam, Chris ultimately won over the beginner Mimi. ¡°Bam! I won!¡± The shark float lightly collided with Elma¡¯s float and Chris dered her victory. ¡°I lost!¡± ¡°Mou. Just what are you guys doing¡­?¡± Elma startedining when she realized she was made into an impromptu goal, but it doesn¡¯t look like she really was angry. On the contrary, her eyes were warmly watching the duo who were frolicking innocently in the water. ¡°Aren¡¯t you gonna swim, Elma?¡± ¡°When I feel like it. It¡¯s great to just take in the sun and the air like this once in a while, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± You can¡¯t sunbathe while inside Krishna after all. Harmful cosmic rays are blocked by the hulls and energy shields of ships, so it¡¯s unlikely for you to be exposed to natural sunlight while inside one. It seems there are some facilities in colonies that offer exposure to healthy star rays, but I haven¡¯t really tried going to those facilities even once. We continued to enjoy swimming for a while. Elma floated peacefully on the water while Chris and Mimi yed to their heart¡¯s content. ¡°Yosh. Let¡¯s take a small break first.¡± ¡°There¡¯s still some time though?¡± ¡°Swimming can really tire you out without you realizing. And if your body gets cold, there¡¯s a chance you¡¯ll get cramps.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°That¡¯s how it is. And it¡¯s not like swimming is the only activity you can enjoy at the beach.¡± It¡¯s fun to chase each other around on the bank and feel the sand on your feet get swept by the waves. You can also try making sand sculptures as well. Anyway, we decided to get a short break. ¡°Hiyaaaaa!? It feels kind of weird!¡± ¡°I get that. But it¡¯s interesting, right?¡± ¡°It feels a bit ticklish. It¡¯s fun.¡± Mimi was frolicking around the water¡¯s edge while Chris sat calmly a short distance away as she enjoyed the feeling of sand sifting through her feet due to the waves. ¡°Whoah. That¡¯s a big oneing.¡± ¡°Wah!¡± I picked up Chris and carried her away to avoid the big wave. It went all the way up to my knees, so Chris would have been hit straight on the face if she continued sitting there. Mimi¡¯s feet were swept up by the wave and she fell down. ¡°Uwaaah! I-It¡¯s salty¡­¡­¡± ¡°Are you okay? Did sand get in your eyes?¡± I called out to Mimi while still carrying Chris. But it looks like she just simply tripped and didn¡¯t suffer any injuries. That¡¯s good. ¡°I¡¯m fine! ying on the beach sure is fun, isn¡¯t it?¡± Mimi made a big smile while drenched in seawater. I¡¯m d you¡¯re having fun, Mimi. ¡°Here you go. Sorry for picking you up without warning.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Thank you very much.¡± Chris gave me a gentle smile after I let her down. Un, how cute. How very cute. The image of a guy like me running away while carrying an old style school swimsuit-wearing young girl is an image worthy of a prison sentence though. Or rather, if this happened in Japan, they¡¯d probably report me to the police right away. No, officer! I just helped her out! I swear! After this, we continued ying as we waited for lunch to arrive. We made sand mountains and toppled them afterward, made sand castles, and buried Elma in sand while she was sleeping in the shade, making her angry in the end. ¡°It should be about lunchtime, I think.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really hungry!¡± ¡°I¡¯m also a bit famished as well.¡± Mimi agreed with my words energetically while Chris answered while looking a bit embarrassed. When I turned to the spot where the maidroids were on standby, I saw them preparing something that looked like a barbecue grill. I see. So we¡¯re having barbecue on the beach huh. It¡¯s a tried and true staple. Eh? What the Japanese call barbecue technically isn¡¯t barbecue at all, you say? Don¡¯t sweat the details! If we really went with a full-fledged barbecue on the beach at this point in time, we¡¯d probably not be able to eat untilte in the afternoon. I brought the two girls with me to an outdoor shower area near the beach in order to wash the sand and seawater stuck to our bodies. I finished earlier, left the girls, and returned back to find the barbecue stove almost ready to go. It seems Elma was watching from her spot in the shade as well. She waszing around on a beach chair with a parasol shielding her from the sun. She finally got up from the beach chair and went over. She had a curious expression on her face. ¡°What¡¯s up? Are there any unusual foodstuffs mixed in?¡± I asked Elma. ¡°Hm? Well, natural vegetables and meat are rare foodstuffs too, but¡­ I think what¡¯s actually rare is the traditional cooking method and the antique cooking tools.¡± ¡°Traditional?¡± I turned my gaze toward the barbecue stove. Apparently, it doesn¡¯t use things like charcoal or gas in order to heat the te on top¡­ It appears electric, but I¡¯m not sure. I wonder what its power source really is though? There are things like energy packs forser guns, so I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they¡¯re using the same tech to power this thing. It won¡¯t really be a surprise if that turns out to be the case, actually. ¡°Cooking appliances that have only a single function like cooking food using heat aren¡¯t used very much nowadays anymore. They¡¯re only used by hobbyists or specialty chefs.¡± ¡°I-Is that so?¡± In my eyes, this thing is sufficiently high tech though¡­ Well, I guess that¡¯s how it goes if you use this dimension¡¯s standards. It¡¯s a world where you can make tasty food just by inserting food cartridges into auto cookers after all. After watching the maidroids prepare the food for a while, Mimi and Chris finally came back from the showers. When Mimi spotted the barbecue stove with various foodstuffs arranged near it, her eyes immediately sparkled in delight. She¡¯s gonna eat up a storm againter, it seems. Chris didn¡¯t seem to be particrly moved. I guess she¡¯s used to stuff like this. ¡°Alrighty. Let¡¯s barbecue, shall we?¡± After checking the temperature of the grill, I used the tongs ced on the side to pick up some meat and veggies on top of it. After doing so, Elma, Mimi, Chris¡­ and even the maidroids made surprised expressions when they saw my actions. What¡¯s up, everyone? What¡¯s so shocking? ¡°You¡­ You can actually cook?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± I tilted my head in confusion. Cooking? This is just grilling you know. It¡¯s quite basic. I don¡¯t really think this is worth all that surprise. ¡°I don¡¯t really think this amounts to cooking y¡¯know¡­ I¡¯m just grilling stuff.¡± I pointed at the containers ced on the side and looked at the maidroids. ¡°Are these seasonings?¡± ¡°Yes. Here, we have¨C¡± I then received a general exnation about this dimension¡¯s seasonings. There wasn¡¯t only salt and pepper, but there was something called Crazy Salt as well. There were a number of unfamiliar spices and seasonings mixed in. While being watched by everyone, including the maidroids, I lightly shook out some salt and pepper from the containers on top of the food as I grilled them. The meat needs a bit more time. The vegetables were just about done though. Oh right. I heard that when grilling, it¡¯s better to use a separate pair of tongs for picking up raw meat and cooked meat. Grabbing cooked meat with the same pair of tongs used for raw meat increases the chance for food poisoning, it seems. Those who had experiences of ruining their stomachs after eating yakiniku testify that they found not picking up cooked meat with the chopsticks or tongs they used to pick up raw meat reduced the instances of them losing control of their bowels after eating. I certainly wouldn¡¯t Mimi, Elma, and Chris to get their stomachs done in by my grilled meat, so I have to be careful. Well, there¡¯s a good chance these meat pieces have already been sterilized though. By some sort of unknown tech, I mean. But just what is this meat anyway? Cow? Pig? It kinda looks like cow¡¯s meat though. ¡°Hey, is this cow¡¯s meat? Or is it pork? Will they be okay with being grilled rare or medium rare instead of well-done?¡± ¡°Yes. These are beef slices. They have already been sterilized, so there¡¯s no problem with cooking them rare.¡± ¡°I see. Here you go, Mimi.¡± ¡°Y-Yes¡­¡­ Ah! It¡¯s delicious!¡± ¡°The beef is probably good quality. It¡¯s just been vored with salt and pepper after all. I think it¡¯ll be even tastier if you use this sauce.¡± Mimi poured some of the sauce I rmended on her meat. She didn¡¯t speak out, but her eyes were shining even brighter, so I guess she liked it. By the way, the sauce I rmended was the Japanese-style yakiniku sauce. It¡¯s sweet and has fruity undertones. ¡°Well, that¡¯s an unexpected skill you got there.¡± ¡°Was Hiro-sama a chef before?¡± ¡°Chef¡­? No, of course not. I¡¯m just grilling stuff here. C¡¯mon.¡± ¡°But you¡¯ll already be considered a chef if you know how to handle raw ingredients and cook them though.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± ¡°Really¡­¡­?¡± The standard for being a chef in this dimension sure is way low, man. Well, auto cookers are a thing after all¡­¡­ Or rather, it might be possible that most people who¡¯ve migrated to space have long forgotten what it¡¯s like to cook themselves. It¡¯s a pain to bring fresh foodstuffs and ingredients to space after all. So in the early days of the true space age, I¡¯m betting they relied solely on processed food and stuff to get by. And so, since there were less and less opportunities to cook for themselves, the people out in space gradually forgot how to cook except for a rare few. And that¡¯s why they¡¯re all surprised that I can handle and prepare raw food and whip them up into something edible. ¡°I still feel calling something like this cooking isn¡¯t exactly appropriate. Actually, I bet the maidroids can do a better job than me. Or rather, can I have you take over now?¡± I tried to hand over the tongs to them, but the maidroids shook their heads in refusal. ¡°Yes. We can certainly cook as well, but it seems yourpanions prefer you cooking for them instead.¡± Eh¡­¡­? I turned back to the girls. Mimi nodded her head energetically with her mouth full of meat, and Elma was giving me an eyeful which seemed to say¡ºHurry up and hand over the meat!¡»or something like that. ¡°I think I¡¯ll have some too.¡± ¡°There we go. Even Chris agrees.¡± ¡°Please!¡± Chris nodded with a smile as well. And so, I continued grilling meat, seafood, and veggies after this until we were all stuffed full. This is also one of the pleasures of going to the beach. Chapter 82 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°That was so delicious¡­¡­!¡± ¡°d you liked it. It¡¯s not good to do any physical activities such as swimming right after having a meal. So let¡¯s take a little break first to give time for the food to settle down our stomachs.¡± We left the maidroids to clean up after the meal, and we decided to lie down on the beach chairs for some after-meal rest. The stories about getting stomach cramps when one swims right after eating are pretty much fake, but it is true that one will sometimes feel ufortable when swimming with a full stomach due to the water pressure, and that can be dangerous in certain circumstances. And hurling the contents of your stomach because of that doesn¡¯t sound like a pleasant experience at all. ¡°That was a great meal. I still can¡¯t believe you had such a skill.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°Like I said, all I did was grill stuff. Everybody can do it with a bit of practice. All you have to do is make sure you don¡¯t grill the food too much, sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper, and eat them with some sauce. It¡¯s pretty simple, really. And I still don¡¯t think something as simple as that can be called cooking.¡± ¡°Do you actually know other moreplicated cooking techniques, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°I can show you as long as I have appropriate ingredients and seasonings.¡± I¡¯ve been living alone for quite some time back on Earth after all. But stuff like making dashi from niboshi and konbu to use for bouillon is a bit beyond my culinary skills. I can at least blend some spices to make curry though. ¡°Then, I want Hiro-sama to cook some food tonight!¡± ¡°We just ate lunch and you¡¯re already talking about dinner¡­¡­ Anyway, can I even actually do that?¡± I turned toward the maidroids who have just finished cleaning up, and one of them exchanged gazes with me and nodded. ¡°Yes. Some of our guests here insist on only eating dishes that their personal chefs have cooked, so we always have ingredients and cooking equipment prepared to cater to them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. For imperial nobles, especially those of high standing, often employ exclusive chefs as a sign of their status. I believe this resort implemented such a service in order to cater to those noble¡¯s demands.¡± The maidroid confirmed that it was possible for guests to cook for themselves, and Chris followed up with an exnation of her own. I see. So that¡¯s how it is. Okay then. Guess I¡¯ll consult with a maidroid in order to decide what ingredients I¡¯ll use for dinner. After consulting with the maidroid, she also offered to assist meter. ¡°What should I cook then¡­? Well, since I¡¯m doing this anyway, wouldn¡¯t it be better to go all out?¡± How about boiled fish¡­? Nah. The girls may not be used to eating fish with a lot of fish bones in the meat. I can already imagine Mimi, who¡¯d only ever eaten synthesized fish meat via auto-cooker, getting teary-eyed because of a fishbone stuck on her throat. Should I make sashimi then¡­? But can the fish on this actually be eaten as sashimi? Guess I¡¯ll just askter. So the main dishes are tentatively sashimi and fried food. I don¡¯t know what meat they have avable, but I should be able to make tonkatsu or karaage if they have pork or chicken. Since I¡¯m nning to make sashimi and fried food, I would like some rice to go with them as well. I wonder if they have rice avable? It would be better if they also had a rice cooker too¡­ I¡¯ll ask the maidroid about it as well. Miso soup wouldplete the meal, but do they have miso though? ¡°I have a few questions for you.¡± ¡°Yes. Go ahead.¡± I proceeded to ask about the ingredients and the cooking equipment they have avable, and the maidroid gave me some detailed answers. It looks like all the ingredients I wanted were avable. They didn¡¯t have a rice cooker, but they offered to serve us some freshly cooked rice instead. ¡°Thanks for the answers. They were very detailed.¡± ¡°I am d to be of service.¡± ¡°Amazing. That sounded very professional.¡± ¡°Hiro-sama is a mercenary, but he¡¯s also a skilled chef, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Well, considering Hiro¡¯s background, I guess him knowing how to cook isn¡¯t something so far fetched after all¡­¡± ¡°Are you familiar with Hiro-sama¡¯s background, Elma-san?¡± ¡°Just a bit. But I¡¯d like to refrain from talking about it freely since that would be bad manners.¡± It seems the girls were discussing something as well while I was busy talking with the maidroid about this evening¡¯s meal. I wasn¡¯t really keen on talking to Chris about my background though. There wasn¡¯t much merit to talking about it with her, and it would pose some risk as well. It seems Chris does hold some level of affection for me, but no matter how you look at her, she¡¯s younger than Mimi. Or was she? I haven¡¯t really found out her exact age yet, but I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s younger. After I finished ordering the ingredients for tonight¡¯s dinner, we hit the water again. I actually wanted to do some fishing and use what I would catch as ingredients as well, but I¡¯m sure Mimi and Chris would want to tag along if I did. And their current outfit, in other words, their swimsuits, would be quite inconvenient for such an activity. Coming to the reefs in just swimsuits and sandals wouldn¡¯t really pose a risk to one¡¯s life, but it¡¯ll still pose a risk of injury. It¡¯ll be even more so if one fell down on a bad spot. And so, we continued to y in the sea in the afternoon. ¡°Sooi! Hahaha!¡± ¡°Kyaaah! Take this too!¡± I sshed sea water onto Mimi and the others, and they hit me back. Afterward, we did some light swimming. Due to her experience using the float earlier, or maybe because of her two natural chest ¡®floaters¡¯, Mimi was able to master swimming in the water unaided quickly. Once you¡¯ve mastered floating on the water, learning to swim would be fairly easy. I wanted to let her get used to having her face immersed in the water, so I taught her the breaststroke first. It¡¯s a form that allows people to get used to swimming at an instinctive level after all. ¡°I can swim! I can swim now!¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing, Mimi! You¡¯re a very fast learner!¡± I didn¡¯t forget to praise her to build confidence. I praised her a lot even if she was only able to move forward by two meters. Praise is important after all. And anyway, I wasn¡¯t really all that good at swimming myself. It¡¯s fun to watch Mimi having a st. Yep. It¡¯s quite fun. I could ogle at those chest floaters of hers as they bobbed up and down on the water as much as I wanted. There were also plenty of ¡®skinship¡¯ opportunities as well. Yep. It¡¯s good. Very good. ¡°Kuuh¡­¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let it get to you too much.¡± ¡°Hiro-sama, please look at me as well!¡± As I watched over Mimi swimming at a spot where the waves were gentler, Chris approached and pulled on my arm. ¡°Well, uh, y¡¯see Chris¡­ I have a nagging feeling I¡¯d be arrested if I look at you wearing that swimsuit too much.¡± After all, it was a ssic style school swimsuit with¡ºChris¡»written on the white strip on the chest area. It was just in criminal. Anyway, even if she wore a more standard swimsuit, I feel like I¡¯d still be reported to the police if I ogled Chris unreservedly. Yes. It¡¯s quite dangerous. ¡°We¡¯re the only ones here, so who would even arrest you?¡± ¡°Uh, Miro?¡± ¡°You won¡¯t get arrested if you act within reasonable limits, you know¡­¡± Elma let out an exasperated sigh. Well, that¡¯s true. That¡¯s true, but¡­ Acting all excited after seeing an underage loli in a swimsuit just doesn¡¯t feel right y¡¯know. And I definitely won¡¯t act like that no matter what. ¡°But it does feel unfair that I¡¯m only focusing on Mimi.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯ve noticed.¡± Chris and Elma nodded in agreement. Chris is one thing, but you also want me to pay more attention to you, Elma? She turned away with a red face when I tried matching gazes with her. ¡°¡­¡­What? Isn¡¯t it fine just for a little bit?¡± ¡°Yes. Please pay attention to us as well.¡± I nodded at their request. But I only have one body after all. ¡°Okay then. I¡¯ll start with Chris first. Can you watch over Mimi for the meantime, Elma? She¡¯s aplete beginner when ites to swimming after all.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Elma¡¯s maturity shines at times like this. I left Mimi with Elma and brought Chris to the rubber float corner. ¡°Are we going to y using rubber floaters?¡± ¡°No, my aim is that thing.¡± What I pointed at was a rubber boat with a size that can easily fit Chris and me. It came with simple oars on each side that you can use to propel it on top of the water. And what was interesting was that the bottom was transparent. You can directly see what¡¯s under the water even while riding the rubber boat. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fun seeing what¡¯s under the water while riding on this boat. The waves look weakerpared to earlier too, so the timing¡¯s perfect.¡± ¡°It certainly does sound fun.¡± Chris nodded in agreement at my proposal. It looks like she¡¯s pretty interested. I borrowed the boat from the maidroids, dragged it to the shore, and had Chris board it. ¡°Are you not boarding as well, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°I¡¯lle aboardter. But I¡¯ll push it out to deeper waters first.¡± I pushed the boat with Chris riding in it further from the shore, and when we reached a sufficiently deep part of the sea, I went up as well. ¡°Let¡¯s see. How about we go a bit further from the shoreline?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I took up the oars and started propelling the boat. I was able to gain quite a bit of speed. Chris was on the lighter side, but there was way less water resistance than I first imagined, which may be due to the material used to manufacture this boat. It was high tech in the strangest aspects. Wait. This might also be the result of my daily training routines as well. Have I gained more strength than I gave myself credit for? ¡°Amazing. Hiro-sama is quite strong.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t all that hard. Oh, we came quite far out, didn¡¯t we?¡± When I looked at the transparent bottom of the boat, I was able to spot a number of marine creatures swimming about. I can see them clea¡­¡­ Eh!? ¡°Uh, Chris, do you know what that is¡­?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a fish called Salmon Fillet.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­¡± Something that looked exactly like a piece of salmon fillet was actually swimming about down there. What the heck? Is that really a living creature? It¡¯s not just a piece of fish meat? I feel like I¡¯m going crazy, man. What was that saying again? When you stare at the abyss, the abyss stares back at you. Eh? The nuance is way different? Sorry. I lost my cool for a moment. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°No, uh, I just saw some mysterious creatures swimming about.¡± There were fish with legs wearing fis stockings, fish with the lower body of a cat¡­ There were quite a number of weird sea creatures that didn¡¯t remotely seem edible swimming about in the water. I wanted to go fishing earlier, but was it really okay to fish here? Won¡¯t my SAN points get shaved if I end up fishing out those weird things? While I was preupied with such thoughts, I suddenly saw a beautiful mermaid who chased away those weird-looking sea creatures. And she even waved her hand at me. Ooooh, fantasy¡­¡­! ¡°That¡¯s a mermaidroid that¡¯s tasked with lifeguard duties. It must be watching over us in the off chance that our boat capsizes.¡± ¡°I see.¡± So the mermaid was actually an SF creature. That¡¯s nice. ¡°They are also responsible for maintaining the ocean environment and procuring ingredients.¡± ¡°Hmm. They¡¯re quite the hardworking bunch huh¡­ Oh, there are some beautiful schools of fish over there.¡± ¡°They really are beautiful¡­ There¡¯s quite a lot of them.¡± There were sardine-like fishes as well as colorful tropical fishes, and even rays the size of a floor cushion. Oh, and there are also somerge shrimp-like crustaceans at the bottom. But man, those sure are huge. They¡¯re not just giant lobster-huge, but were already rivaling seals in size. ¡°Those are somerge shrimps.¡± ¡°Yeah. They look delicious.¡± ¡°But they seem a bit creepy somehow.¡± ¡°¡±Eh?¡±¡± I and Chris exchanged gazes after hearing each other¡¯s words. Creepy¡­? Well, they do kinda look like bugs, so I guess I can see where she¡¯sing from. ¡°So you feel shrimps of that size are creepy¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Eh? You don¡¯t find them scary? Doesn¡¯t it seem like they would eat us instead of the other way around?¡± ¡°Oh. Yeah, I guess I get where you¡¯reing from. It would certainly feel scary to get attacked by one of those.¡± A blow from a mshell that¡¯s the size of a thumb can still knock people out after all. If we get attacked by a shrimp that size, we¡¯ll probably have our bones broken at the very least. ¡°But one of the raw ingredients used in food cartridges are krill-like creatures, right? If you think about those as something simr, but just erged several times over, don¡¯t they seem tasty?¡± ¡°M-Mmm¡­¡± Chris tilted her head in puzzlement. It looks like she doesn¡¯t get it. Kuh! If that¡¯s the case, then you give me no choice. I¡¯ll just have you taste one then. I called out to the mermaidroid swimming below us. ¡°Yes. How can I be of service?¡± ¡°Can those huge shrimps over there be eaten?¡± ¡°Yes. They¡¯re certainly edible. I rmend boiling them with salt.¡± ¡°Okay then. I¡¯d like to cook one for tonight¡¯s dinner, so can you get one for us?¡± ¡°Yes. Please wait for a moment.¡± The mermaidroid epted my request, dived back into the water, and headed straight for one giant shrimp. She aimed her palm at it, and the shrimp quivered for a moment, thenpletely stopped moving. Did she use an electric shock to kill it off? The mermaidroid waved to us with one hand and swam back up carrying the shrimp. We should put the shrimp away somewhere until evening so I can cook it for dinner. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to tasting it.¡± ¡°Y-You are¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Shrimps are delicious you know. There¡¯s a lot of sea creatures with creepy appearances, but are quite delicious when you cook them, so I rmend trying them out. Oh, but you don¡¯t have to force yourself, though. I just wanted to try one anyway.¡± ¡°No, I shall challenge myself and try it out. There¡¯s a first for everything after all.¡± ¡°Okay. You really don¡¯t have to force yourself, though. There¡¯s also a risk of having an allergy as well.¡± There are people whose throats be really itchy and have difficulty breathing as a result of eating crustaceans. Allergies can be fairly dangerous in certain circumstances, so one can¡¯t be too careful. ¡°Let¡¯s set aside the giant shrimp first and continue on, shall we?¡± ¡°Yes. I also want to hear more things about you, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Things about me huh¡­¡­ Well, okay. But only the things I feel I can freely talk about.¡± And so, Chris and I continued enjoying a rxing time on the rubber boat. Chapter 83 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Here you go.¡± ¡°Oh, thanks.¡± I and Chris finally got back to shore after spending an enjoyable time boating. I took the water bottle Elma handed to me and plopped myself on top of a beach chair. I had to consciously avoid talking about certain topics while I was conversing with Chris earlier, so it kinda tired me out. Chris, who had her fill after hearing about several stories regarding my mercenary adventures, went over to Mimi with her shark-shaped float in tow. Mimi was using a dolphin-shaped floater by the way. Are they gonna have some girl talk while floating on the water or something¡­¡­? I guess not. They started to race around using their respective floats. But they sure look like they¡¯re having fun. ¡°For now, it looks like things are pretty peaceful.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°You worry too much¡­¡­ We exterminated every single pursuer, so they wouldn¡¯t get any new information about us so easily. There¡¯s a low chance of being attacked, at least for now. And even if they manage to find out our location in the end, they won¡¯t be able to mount an attack on a resort that easily.¡± After saying that, Elma called out to a maidroid and ordered a drink. She sure is enjoying her luxurious vacation. ¡°They¡¯re the kind of enemy who managed to prepare a skilled and rtively powerful force within a day after all. I think it can¡¯t hurt to be too careful.¡± ¡°Well, you do have a point. But we can¡¯t really do anything much to prepare right now you know? Miro¡¯s taking care of this¡¯s defenses anyway.¡± ¡°Is it really okay for us to be thiscent¡­¡­?¡± We just arrived at this ce yesterday anyway. I also don¡¯t think Chris¡¯s uncle would be able to send his people after us again right away as well. On the other hand, they¡¯d probablyunch an attack without any hesitation if they think they¡¯ll be able to finish us off with certainty. ¡°If you have any concerns, I¡¯ll hear you out, you know?¡± ¡°There¡¯s just something bugging me for a while¡­¡­¡± What I¡¯m really worried about is the possibility of Chris¡¯s uncle throwing all caution to the wind because of his desire to kill Chris. For example, he may book an ind on Sierra III as a guest along with his men and thene kill us directly. There¡¯s also the method of attacking Sierra with a great number of warships, silencing Miro¡¯s defensework, andunching an all-out orbital bombardment. Whenever I think about possible worst-case scenarios, I end uping up with quite a number of them. It¡¯s a bit nerve-wracking. ¡°Mmm. White clouds, blue sky, bright sunlight, and cold liquor. This is paradise.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re already drinking this early huh¡­¡­¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine? We¡¯re on vacation anyway, so let¡¯s have as much of a st as we can.¡± Elma was smirking while sipping a ss filled with an alcoholic tropical drink. She really seems to be making the most out of this. But, well, this truly was a wonderful beach resort. But I just can¡¯t enjoy it as much due to the tense situation we¡¯re currently in. ¡°You¡¯re surprisingly a worrywart, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Shut it. This much cautiousness is just normal for a merc.¡± I also ordered a drink from the maidroid. I asked for the light yellow colored carbonated beverage to be poured in a ss with ice. ¡°But just how tight is the security in this ce anyway? Can we really count on it?¡± ¡°I already told you this before. If they wanted to break through this¡¯s security system, they¡¯d have to get the help of an autonomous AI on par or greater than Miro. But there¡¯s no way an autonomous AI will agree to perpetuate that kind of illegal activity.¡± ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. But there¡¯s not just one method to get past the security here, right? Maybe they¡¯ll just forcefully breakthrough or something?¡± ¡°Forcefully huh¡­¡­ First of all, sending in an assassination squad to directly infiltrate this ce isn¡¯t the least bit realistic. If guests attempt to leave the ind they¡¯re assigned to in order to go to another ind, Miro will immediately apprehend them.¡± ¡°But there¡¯s plenty of methods to do so like diving in the sea or flying directly through a ship simr to Krishna, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Miro¡¯s terminals are also spread throughout this world¡¯s oceans, so they¡¯ll be found at once. A subjugation squad can get deployed instantly via that mass driver, so there will be no escape. Aside from the subjugation squad, there¡¯s also the method of shooting them down via strategic shells fired off by the mass driver, as well as bombardment from the defense tforms deployed in satellite orbit. Any standard ship will be down in an instant. But it may be possible to break through if they use a ship like Krishna though.¡± ¡°That¡¯s some crazy defensework¡­¡± The maidroid carrying a ss of the light yellow drink I ordered finally arrived in the middle of our discussion. ¡°Thank you. Sorry for the trouble.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. This is also part of my duties, so please do not mind me.¡± The maidroid shed a serene smile. Did she really smile? Apart from a scant few times, the maidroids have kept their faces devoid of expressions for the most part. And now, one actually smiled at me¡­¡­ But I guess this is good. It¡¯s always better to smile than keep an expressionless face. ¡°But I think we¡¯ll be helpless if we¡¯re hit with a saturation attack though.¡± ¡°Saturation attack. Do you mean something that would overwhelm the firing capabilities of this¡¯s defense tformwork? That¡¯s just not realistic, mister.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like you can only use a ship. Wouldn¡¯t it be possible to overwhelm the tformwork¡¯s interception capabilities by pouring out a lot of shells, space debris, and asteroids toward the equatorial base where Miro¡¯s main terminal is located? There¡¯s also the option of destroying the tforms first before raining down an orbital bombardment too.¡± ¡°Now that¡¯s just unreasonable. Miro¡¯s sensor arrays should be able to pick up the movements of space debris and asteroids straight away no matter how much they try to hide it. Depending on the scale of themotion, there¡¯s also a good chance the local imperial garrison will be alerted and deployed to intercept.¡± ¡°I see.¡± It looks like it would be really difficult for the methods I proposed to disable the defensework of this. ¡°But the defensework isn¡¯tpletely invincible, right?¡± ¡°Of course. If they can really amass a force that can overwhelm the defensework, they¡¯ll be able to do an orbital bombardment. Miro can still use the surface defense systems to retaliate, but losing the orbital tforms will be a huge blow.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then wouldn¡¯t theye up with something like hiring a huge pirate force?¡± ¡°That¡¯s certainly possible, but if they mess up, they¡¯ll have the full force of the imperial military hot on their tail, so it¡¯s a pretty risky move.¡± ¡°So, the chances are low, but there¡¯s still a possibility huh¡­¡­ If it ever came to that, it might be better to directlyunch back into space with Krishna and hold out until the imperial militaryes huh.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. That would be a good course of action.¡± After seeing Elma nod, I was finally somewhat relieved. I now had a good idea of what the possible worst-case scenarios were, as well as how to deal with them to some extent. My unease has greatly lessened. ¡°You are talking about some dangerous topics.¡± The maidroid, who we saw leave earlier, actually returned without Elma and me noticing. She seems to have heard our conversation partway, and suddenly called out to us. I didn¡¯t reply to the maidroid¡¯s words immediately and took a sip of the light yellow beverage first. Mm. Nice, strong carbonation, and a crisp and refreshing vor. This is unmistakably ginger ale. ¡°Would it be possible to ask more details about the ones who would possibly attempt to bypass this¡¯s security systems? It is actually this¡¯s administrator who wishes to know about such circumstances.¡± ¡°What do you think, Elma?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t just reveal it on our own, you know.¡± ¡°Yeah. We¡¯ll have to consult Chris first.¡± And so, I called out to Mimi and Chris, who were busy racing with their dolphin and shark floaters. The two of them swam to shore and quickly came over. ¡°I won!¡± ¡°Uu. I lost¡­¡­¡± It looks like Chris, who arrived on the shore first, was the victor of their little contest. Mimi looked pretty bummed out. Come to think of it, these two were pretty close in age, weren¡¯t they? Mimi should be the older one, but Chris was quite mature despite her looks, so in the end, the two of them seemed to be friends of the same age. ¡°Is something the matter?¡± ¡°It seems Miro wants to ask about the circumstances regarding a threat of a possible security breach attempt, Chris.¡± ¡°The circumstances¡­¡± ¡°Yes. There is a possibility of harm being inflicted upon our guests, we would very much like to hear more details about it to prepare adequate countermeasures.¡± Chris, who was still in her school swimsuit, was lost in thought as the maidroid awaited her response. Mimi seems to be in a bit of a panic because of the situation, so I had her try a sip of the ginger ale to calm her down. When she took a sip, her eyes immediately went round in surprise. Hahaha, how cute. ¡°How much should I divulge?¡± Chris turned to Elma and me with a troubled expression. ¡°I personally don¡¯t have any problems with cooperating with this¡¯s authorities, but since it might possibly cause harm to House Daleinwald¡¯s reputation if this matter was to be spread, I¡¯m not in the position to offer you any suggestions.¡± ¡°In my case, I believe our imperial AI citizens are trustworthy enough. And since this is basically a session conflict within a noble house, they would be extra prudent don¡¯t you think? You can even say they specialize in things like this.¡± Chris made a forced smile after hearing Elma¡¯s words. So I guess the reason why a majority of Gran empire¡¯s nobles act a bit betterpared to my image of nobles from Earth really does have something to do with the autonomous AIs after all huh. ¡°I am a bit reluctant to divulge matters regarding our house¡¯s troubles without permission from my grandfather though.¡± ¡°But your grandfather didn¡¯t expect his dear granddaughter would actually be caught up in a session struggle and even have her life targeted, right? I bet he¡¯ll understand. It¡¯s his oversight that partly allowed this situation to escte after all.¡± ¡°I think so too.¡± ¡°¡­¡­I guess you both do have a point.¡± Chris made a resigned sigh and began to talk about her circumstances to the maidroid. All the AIs on this are managed by Miro after all. I bet Miro¡¯s already listening in using its connection to the maidroid. ¡°I see. We¡¯ve understood the situation. We will now begin formting countermeasures, so please excuse me for a few moments.¡± After saying so, the maidroid paused and stared vacantly at empty air for less than ten seconds. It probably didn¡¯t even take five seconds, actually. ¡°We have acquired data regarding the attack on the passenger cruiser three months ago as well as all other rted information.¡± ¡°That was freakin fast.¡± It merely took a few seconds. These super-advanced AI are amazing. ¡°It wasn¡¯t much. In any case, a decision has been made. It is our duty to ensure the safety of all guests visiting Sierra III. We will uphold this duty to the best of our abilities. Please rest assured and continue to enjoy your stay.¡± ¡°Even if you say that, would you designate us as targets to be eliminated if we ended up calling over a threat sufficient enough to endanger Sierra III?¡± ¡°No. Such a thing will not happen. No matter what the circumstances are, our guests are the first priority after all. We shall take responsibility for your safety until the end of your stay.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes. That is our duty.¡± The maidroid firmly nodded. ¡°We shall inform you at once if we detect any danger, so please be at ease.¡± The maidroid then turned to Chris and lightly bowed to reassure her. It¡¯d really help us big time if we had Miro¡¯s full support¡­¡­ Well, it¡¯s not like we can let our guards down even if that¡¯s the case. And it¡¯s not like the AIs can overly meddle into a noble house¡¯s session problem, given their position in imperial society. ¡°Okay then. It¡¯s getting a bitte, so let¡¯s all take a shower and get back to the lodge. We still have plenty of time to enjoy our vacation, so it¡¯s not good to overly exhaust ourselves on the first day.¡± ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± Elma agreed with my suggestion right away. She may have been thinking of resting up as well. She¡¯s been drinking plenty of alcohol since earlier after all. ¡°Understood. We¡¯ll continue ying tomorrow then.¡± ¡°Yeah. We¡¯ll y as much as we can. We also have the option of going to other spots on the ind to y instead of staying on the beach all the time. Are you fine with that, Chris?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Since Chris agreed as well, all of us went to the showers, washed the sand and seawater off our bodies, and walked back to the lodge. Now then, it would be good if Chris¡¯s uncle didn¡¯t make any rash moves for the duration of our stay here. But will things really go that well, I wonder? Chapter 84 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone It¡¯s been five days since we came to the resort, Sierra III. We did some shopping on the first day, yed at the beach on the second day, and enjoyed the ind recreational facilities on the third. Specifically, we went to the back of the lodged and yed a game simr to park golf. Later on, we went hiking and enjoyed the wonders of nature. Mimi got really excited over the nts and animals she got to see for the first time. Afterward, we rested up and rxed back at the lodge on the fourth day to get rid of all the umted fatigue. We had a holo-movie marathon, yed a puzzle game simr to Jenga as well as a board game and cards. The board game was simr to sugoroku and the ying cards were quite simr to Earth¡¯s version except for a few cosmetic differences. The Jenga-like puzzle was really Jenga-like. The only difference was that the pieces were made from some synthetic material I was unfamiliar with instead of wood. And today was the fifth day of our stay here. We¡¯re set to stay here for two weeks, so we haven¡¯t even reached the halfway point yet. I was dozing on the bed and thinking about what activities we¡¯ll do for the day when I felt my body getting lightly nudged repeatedly. What? Is that Mimi? Or is it Chris? I¡¯m sure it wasn¡¯t Elma. Elma wasn¡¯t the type to be gentle when waking you up. She¡¯d rather pull the entire futon from under you instead. The nudges were quite gentle and reserved, so was it really Chris? I kinda still wanted to doze around, but it wasn¡¯t nice to keep ignoring her, so I decided to open my eyes. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°Good morning, Master.¡± I then saw a stoic-looking long raven-haired beauty peering down on me with a nk expression on her pretty face. She was wearing a pair of red framed half-rim sses, and they looked pretty darn good on her. Oh. Well that¡¯s neat. She really resembled the maidroid blueprint I designed using that developer app. ¡°¡­¡­Guess I¡¯m dreaming huh.¡± I would have preferred not to have such a silly dream though. And at such an awkward time too. I closed my eyes again and tried to go back to slee¡­¡­ Hm? Hmmm!? ¡°Wha-!?¡± ¡°Your state of awakening has finally reached an appropriate level. Good morning once again, Master.¡± Her beautiful visage was fully focused on me, and she gave off a smart and reliable aura. Her face was almost devoid of expression, but her eyes held within them a palpable sense of respect and loyalty. A maid headdress covered in whitece adorned her lustrous ck hair, and she wore a Victorian-style maid dress with a long skirt that properly disyed her curves despite the low skin exposure. She would have been indistinguishable from humans if not for those mechanical parts on either side of her head in ce of normal human ears. Ugh. This isn¡¯t the time to be preupied about these things. They¡¯re not really important. The real problem is that this maid was standing in front of me as if it was the most natural thing in the world. That¡¯s what I should be concerned about. Well, a sudden attack from the guys targeting Chris would be more of a concern, obviously. But I digress. ¡°Master, it is within the bounds of proper etiquette to greet someone back if they greet you good morning.¡± ¡°G-Good morning.¡± ¡°Yes. Well done, Master.¡± The stoic maid with a nk expression on her face ruffled my hair in praise. What the heck is with this situation? No, honestly, I already had a good idea about what exactly happened. Yes. It¡¯s not like this was totally unexpected. It¡¯s just that I was still in a state of denial. My brain has already processed it, but my heart refuses to understand. ¡°It¡¯s not like this will all turn out to be a dream if I sleep again and wake upter, right?¡± ¡°Yes. It will not.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­¡± I had a feeling I¡¯ll have nightmares if I forced myself back to sleep at this rate, so I gave up and got out of bed. ¡°Here is your change of clothes.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yeah.¡± As soon as I got up from the bed, she passed me a fresh set of clothes she prepared beforehand. I obediently took the shirt she handed to me and put my arms through the sleeves¨C ¡°Why are you watching me like that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s so I can get urate and up-to-date data about your current body measurements, Master.¡± ¡°Oh, right¡­¡­¡± It somehow felt like she won¡¯t stop no matter what I said, so I just gave up and continued to put on my clothes. Since all the underwear I¡¯ve used for the past few days have been handled by the maidroids, I was already somewhat used to this sort of thing. I don¡¯t even feel likeining anymore. ¡°So, I kinda have an idea already, but let me ask anyway. Just who are you and what are you doing here¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Yes. As you¡¯ve suspected, I am a custom-made maidroid manufactured ording to the temte designed by Captain Hiro a few days ago. I still have not received a name, however.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°In ordance with the directive of the central management AI of Sierra III, Miro, I have been sent to serve as your exclusive maid for the duration of your stay, Captain Hiro. I am pleased to make your acquaintance and am looking forward to serving you.¡± The custom maidroid wearing red framed sses then elegantly bowed her head after picking up the underwear I just took off. ¡°Understood¡­¡­ I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s useless to refuse huh?¡± ¡°No. If you do decide not to receive me, then I will be relieved of my post straight away.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes. And I believe I will be promptly dmissioned, disassembled, and put inside the supply base warehouse to be used as spare parts.¡± ¡°Miroooooooooo!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but scream my lungs out inint. Aren¡¯t you being too dirty by ying upon my feelings of pity, you damn sneaky AI!? That¡¯s just unfair, man! It¡¯s downright low! You underhanded AI! You¡¯re taking advantage of the subtleties of a poor man¡¯s heart, dammit! ¡°I was told to say such a thing, but I do believe it¡¯s quite inefficient to dismantle a fully assembled and operational maidroid just aftering from the production line. It is quite pointless. Therefore, I believe I will just be reassigned to a different area.¡± ¡°I-Is that so? Is it really alright to reveal it to me just like that though?¡± ¡°Yes. Although it is temporary, my current Master is you, Hiro-sama. Prioritizing the will of my Master is only natural.¡± Kuuh! Somehow, being told something like that with an earnest attitude really gets to me, man. It might just be one of Miro¡¯s ploys, but as the designer, I¡¯m well aware that I set the affection and loyalty parameters to MAX. So there¡¯s also a good chance that this custom maidroid was truly sincere and was not just acting due to Miro¡¯s directive. ¡°You know, honestly speaking, it¡¯s still kinda hard to trust the words of an AI like you.¡± ¡°I understand your reservations. Though it is true that I can be considered an existence derived from Miro itself, I am my own individual with my own will and thoughts. I can only put it like that.¡± The custom maidroid dered as such with a soft yet unwavering voice as she gazed straight into my eyes. Her expression was nk as always, so I couldn¡¯t really glean anything from it even if I tried¡­ But, in the end, I still decided to trust her. ¡°In any case, I¡¯ll believe you for now. Heck, I¡¯m honestly fine with it even if you¡¯re lying. I¡¯ll just hope you can hoodwink me until the end.¡± ¡°Yes. I shall endeavor to live up to your trust, Master.¡± The custom maidroid then made a graceful bow once again. Well, I can more or less ept her, but I don¡¯t know about Mimi and the others. Man. My head hurts. ¡°Um, Mimi-san?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Mimi-sama.¡± ¡°Grrr!¡± ¡°¡­¡­It looks like it¡¯s no good.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes. It truly does.¡± After putting on the fresh set of clothes, I got out of my room and went down to the living room, where I met up with the girls who seemed to have just gotten up themselves. The first one I met up with was Elma. She saw me lounging on the sofa and then turned her gaze to the custom maidroid who was standing just beside me. ¡°¡­¡­Ah.¡± It took a full three seconds for Elma to react after seeing the custom maidroid. She looks like she¡¯s seen through everything though. The next one to go down was Chris. She was still half-asleep and didn¡¯t show any particr reaction when she saw the custom maidroid at first. She went straight to the washroom to freshen up, and when she got back, it also took three seconds before her eyes opened wide in surprise. She gave Elma and me an inquiring look, but then let out a helpless sigh. It looks like she also had an idea about what happened without me exining. And then, it was Mimi¡¯s turn. ¡°Grrrrrrr.¡± The moment she got a glimpse of the custom maidroid, she rushed to my side, got between me and said maidroid, and hugged my arm tightly. It was as if she was staking her im. Why are you acting like a puppy protecting her territory all of a sudden? ¡°C¡¯mon, Mimi. Don¡¯t be like that. She doesn¡¯t mean any harm.¡± ¡°Muuu¡­¡­!¡± My attempt at pacifying her had the opposite effect, and Mimi hugged my arm more strongly. As a result, she pressed her ample assets against my arm even tighter. Ah, what bliss. No, wait! That¡¯s not it! I¡¯m sure it sounded like I was arbitrarily taking the side of the maidroid to Mimi earlier. But what should I do now? ¡°Captain Hiro. Would it be possible for me to talk to Mimi-sama for a few moments?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really mind, but¡­ Hey Mimi, could you at least try talking to her for a bit? I¡¯ll give you some space.¡± ¡°Muu¡­¡­ It¡¯s fine if Elma-san and Chris-chan are with me as well.¡± ¡°Eh? Me too?¡± ¡°Me as well? I don¡¯t really mind though¡­¡­¡± The three of them then went off to the dining area along with the maidroid. I guess it really would be better if I stay out of the discussion this time. Should I go out? I¡¯ll still be able to hear them talking out here in the living room after all. ¡°I¡¯m gonna go and check up on Krishna for a bit.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll send you a message once the discussion is over.¡± I waved to Elma and headed to the starshipnding strip where Krishna was parked. Krishna still looks really imposing and gant even when parked like this. Now that I got a closer look, there are traces of the hull being cleaned up recently. It¡¯s most likely Miro¡¯s doing. I went up the ramp, entered the ship, and went to the cockpit. I then ran the self-diagnostics program. It looks like there aren¡¯t any particr problems. She can fly anytime. Because we immediatelynded here after defeating our pursuers without resupplying, the ammo of the ballistic shotgun cannons were a bit depleted, but otherwise, everything was good to go. I tried asking Miro if we could purchase some supplies here, but it looks like securing ammo for ship weaponry was not possible on a resort like this. Well, I expected as much anyway. It¡¯s fine either way. Since I¡¯m already inside Krishna, I figured I¡¯d head for the training room next to work out a bit. But since we were pretty active outdoors during these past four days, it didn¡¯t really feel like my body¡¯s out of shape all that much. Aftering out of the training room, I removed all my clothes including my underwear, dumped them inside the automatic washing and drying module, and was about to take a shower when I paused and looked at the washing module again. I thought maybe I was just the same as the clothes that were currently being spun around inside the washing module. Don¡¯t escape from reality, you say? How rude. C¡¯mon guys. Try to put yourselves in my shoes for a bit. I need toe up with a way to refuse that custom maidroid somehow¡­ but I can¡¯t think of any. The more I mull over it, the more I feel that I¡¯ve already fallen for Miro¡¯s trap and unwittingly pressed the ¡®Buy¡¯ button. Therefore, it may already be toote. It¡¯s just no good¡­! I¡¯m already knee-deep in this! No matter how I think about it, there¡¯s no choice other than to buy! Kuh! What a blunder. This is all because I got carried away and designed a so-called ¡®ultimate¡¯ maidroid¡­¡­! Argh! Ok, ok¡­ Then I¡¯ll just buy her then. But what would be the merits of me buying her? If we look at her overall specs, which I made sure to be really top-of-the-line, she would be able to offer valuable support to not just me, but Mimi and Elma as well. She would even be able to serve as a reliable bodyguard for them. It would be convenient to have her watch over Mimi whenever she has business to attend to outside of the ship. In that sense, a maidroid would be a valuable addition to our crew. I¡¯m not too sure about the maintenance procedures for her, but since the materials I specified when I was designing her were all tough top-quality stuff, I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll need maintenance all that much anyway. The problem is we don¡¯t have any more vacant rooms inside the ship, but I guess we can make do by converting some of the space inside the cargo hold. Most of it is still fairly unused a lot of the time anyway. We don¡¯t really use the cargo hold all that much except for when we¡¯re looting from downed pirate ships, so it doesn¡¯t really get filled to the brim with goods and supplies. It should be okay then. But that¡¯s not really the issue here! This is bad. I¡¯m really thinking of purchasing her, aren¡¯t I? Hold up a bit, me. Calm down. Of course, her appearance was right in the middle of my strike zone. I designed her y¡¯know. I even gave her those red-framed half-rim fashion sses. I mulled over such things until the module finished washing and drying my clothes, so I got out of the bath and put them back on again. And when I checked my portable terminal, I saw Elma¡¯s message. It looks like the discussion is over. I got down from Krishna while feeling nervous inside and went back to the lodge. I hope they settled everything peacefully¡­¡­ I¡¯m counting on you, Miro. I¡¯m really counting on you, okay?! But wait. Isn¡¯t it pretty much Miro¡¯s fault that I was put into such a predicament in the first ce¡­¡­? In the end, I decided not to think anymore and just continued heading for the lodge. Argh. I just don¡¯t care anymore. Chapter 85 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone I continued to walk with my head nk until I finally got back to the lodge. I ced my ear next to the door but couldn¡¯t hear any voices arguing. It looks like the discussion really was over, just like the message stated. I entered the lodge. ¡°Wee back, Master.¡± ¡°Y-Yeah¡­¡­ Hm?¡± When I saw the scene inside the lodge, I couldn¡¯t help but gawk in bewilderment. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re back.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°Wee back.¡± ¡°Wee back, Hiro-sama. I¡¯m really sorry for all the trouble.¡± Mimi bowed her head in apology. But that¡¯s not what got my attention. I was surprised about her sudden turn in attitude toward the custom maidroid. She was all ¡®grrr¡¯ like an angry puppy earlier, but now they¡¯re both sitting right next to each other, and seemingly very close. Just what happened here? ¡°What¡¯s going on¡­?¡± ¡°I sincerely and wholeheartedly exined my position to thedies.¡± ¡°O-Okay¡­?¡± I gave Elma a questioning gaze, and she shrugged her shoulders in response. Hey. I¡¯m asking for an exnation here,dy. I turned to Chris, but she only sighed. This reaction¡­¡­ It¡¯s almost the same as when I asked them about what they thought about the situation of the AIs. In other words, it looks like Mimi was splendidly cajoled by this custom maidroid. ¡°Just what happened? Can somebody please exin?¡± ¡°We just cleared up the misunderstanding. Isn¡¯t this fine?¡± ¡°Uh, well, I guess. But it¡¯s still bugging me¡­¡± ¡°Oh, c¡¯mon. Don¡¯t sweat the small stuff and just roll with it.¡± ¡°Mm¡­ Well, alright.¡± I don¡¯t know just what kind of discussion took ce, but at least Mimi¡¯s concerns have been resolved, and now she had no problems being all chummy with the maidroid. Guess I¡¯ll leave it at that. But just how did this maidroid do it? Mimi¡¯s all over her now¡­ Are their social skills really that amazing? ¡°But I haven¡¯t decided if I¡¯ll buy this custom maidroid yet, just so you know.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not buying her?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to purchase her?¡± ¡°Even if I do buy her, there¡¯s no more free rooms inside the ship¡­ Krishna can only house a maximum of five passengers, with one single room for my use and two double rooms for Mimi and Elma.¡± Chris was staying over at Mimi¡¯s room, but she wasn¡¯t a permanent crew member anyway. She¡¯ll only be staying with us for a short while. If we add another crew member, there¡¯ll be no more rooms to spare. But I guess we can make do if Mimi or Elma agrees to share a room with others. ¡°I do not feel any physical fatigue or mental stress, and I basically have no metabolism to speak of, so I would have no problems even if you just store me inside a maintenance pod and put me inside your ship¡¯s cargo hold. You¡¯ll only need to provide me with a container to store my maid clothes and other daily articles.¡± ¡°Uh, but that just doesn¡¯t feel right, y¡¯know¡­¡± ¡°I am a maidroid, Master. I am not a biological organism. I am truly happy that you seem to recognize me as an individual and are trying to give me the requisite treatment, but there is no need to base your treatment of me in ordance with how you would treat your fellow biological lifeforms.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± The maidroid nodded at my question without any sign of hesitation. Well, if the person herself says so, then I guess I¡¯ll just have to do as she sa¨C Now just wait a damn second!? I just said I¡¯m still on the fence about buying you earlier, didn¡¯t I? Why are you talking like it¡¯s a done deal already dammit!? ¡°Let¡¯s get over this trial period first. We¡¯ll talk about this again after we¡¯ve spent some more time together and have gotten to know each other better. Okay?¡± ¡°Wow. You¡¯re actually acting hesitant this time around. It isn¡¯t like you, you know?¡± ¡°Now look here, you! This isn¡¯t the same as purchasing a convenient gadget like a gravity sphere, okay? This stuff needs more careful deliberation.¡± ¡°I do think it¡¯s good to handle this with more care. At the very least, we¡¯ll have to think about a name that suits her well!¡± ¡°Why are you the one who¡¯s getting all excited, Mimi¡­?¡± The drastic turnaround of Mimi¡¯s attitude was amazing, in various meanings. Just how did this maidroid persuade her, I wonder. Well, we¡¯re talking about our cute glutton Mimi here, so I wonder if it¡¯s something along the lines of persuading her with promises of delicious food? Or maybe it involves raising her skills as a ship operator? No, well, the main reason why I designed the maidroid with really high specs was so she can serve as Mimi¡¯s bodyguard, so maybe she deduced it and told Mimi about her real purpose. Or maybe she promised not to interfere with our rtionship? But aren¡¯t I being too self-conscious by assuming that? Well, anyway, the custom maidroid has seeded in being epted by Mimi and seems to be making steady progress regarding her intention to board Krishna. So she¡¯s only left with the task of persuading me now. But she¡¯s dead wrong if she thinks it¡¯s gonna be that easy. ¡°Well, in any case, there¡¯s a lot I want to ask you about regarding this girl, Hiro. She has exceedingly high specs for a maidroid, doesn¡¯t she? She¡¯s on the level of abat droid even. Just what were you thinking when you designed her?¡± ¡°I wanted her to have the ability to serve as an escort and bodyguard. We end up getting involved in quite a few dangerous stuff due to the nature of our work, right? I just thought it would be nice if there was somebody to guard Mimi so she can freely get off Krishna without any worries. And I¡¯m not particrly well versed in hand to handbat myself.¡± The most adept among Krishna¡¯s crewmembers when ites to CQC is undoubtedly Elma. I have the confidence not to lose to her when ites to a firefight, but I¡¯d definitely get thrashed badly if I challenged her to a fistfight. ¡°I see. What about her appearance then?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my hobbies and obsessions running at full throttle ma¡¯am.¡± I didn¡¯t think I would be able to fool her considering how sharp she is, so I just honestly confessed my guilt. I can¡¯t get away with iming I designed a ck-haired, cool beauty of a maid (equipped with red-framed sses)pletely on a whim after all. She can even change to a long ponytail mode. Isn¡¯t she just the best? ¡°So you prefer these types huh? Hmm¡­¡­¡± Elma¡¯s gaze went over to the custom maidroid. ¡°So, I take it that it would be better if I aim to be just like her, right?¡± Chris quipped as she turned toward the maidroid as well. Hmm. Well, Chris is ck-haired, and definitely a beauty, so I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll have any trouble styling herself in a simr manner. But Chris is Chris after all, so I¡¯d prefer it if she stayed the way she is. ¡°The majority of the people back in my home town are ck-haired just like Chris and me. A more colorful hairstyle would do as well, but ck hair just feels right for me, I guess. The sses are just my hobbies at work though.¡± ¡°sses on an android do seem pretty unnecessary¡­ It doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s some sort of device as well.¡± ¡°Device?¡± ¡°There are wearable sses-type devices with data analysis and image magnification functions out in the market. But since she¡¯s a maidroid, she doesn¡¯t really need one, doesn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°Ah, mm, I guess.¡± So there were such gadgets avable. But a maidroid certainly wouldn¡¯t need one. She has all the requisite sensors and functions built-in after all. ¡°If you¡¯re buying her, then make sure to be a responsible owner and take care of her properly, okay? Well, I¡¯m not sure who¡¯ll be taking care of who in the end though.¡± ¡°Like I said, I haven¡¯t really decided if I¡¯m gonna buy her¡­¡± I quietly murmured my objection and turned my gaze toward Mimi and the maidroid, who were now busy fussing over Mimi¡¯s tablet terminal. Mm. She really is beautiful. Good job, me. Well, since it turned out that Mimi already has no problems with the maidroid, I guess I¡¯ll just bite the bullet and buy her after all. My onlyint is that my goal of saving enough money to buy a detached house with a garden is once again faced with a setback¡­ Oh well. I guess this purchase does make sense if I take into ount the safety of my crew. It would prove to be a worthwhile purchase if she can serve to protect Mimi from danger. Chapter 86 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Have the men been assembled?¡± ¡°Yes. Well, most of them are just lowlife pirates, but we¡¯ve managed to assemble a force of 113 small craft, 21 medium ships, and threerge cruisers. We¡¯ve also finished cing thrusters on some of the surrounding asteroids, so we canmence orbital bombardment at any time.¡± ¡°They would serve admirably as a distraction. What about our main attack force?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve finished loading two stealth dropships with high-performancebat robots. The preparations for hacking into the central AI once they makefall has also been finished.¡± ¡°I see¡­ You¡¯ve managed to pinpoint their location, correct?¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°Yes. We did have some trouble though. They sure are crafty for mere mercenaries. We can¡¯t deal with them using halfhearted methods.¡± ¡°Indeed. I find it hard to believe that they were able to turn the tables around on our men even now¡­¡­ They even boasted about being able to take out a Gold-ranked mercenary before. We¡¯ve spent so much money on those men, but they turned out to be of no use at all.¡± ¡°Well, it is indeed true that our men were highly skilled, but that mercenary had still bested them. While they may truly have been capable of taking on a Gold rank, this just means their foe was considerably skilled even within the Gold rankers.¡± ¡°Hmph. How preposterous. In any case, even if that mercenary is skilled in hunting ships using his own, we would just have to finish him by preventing him from boarding his ship. There¡¯s some use for that unusual ship of theirs, but be sure to do as nned and dispose of that brat along with those annoying mercenaries.¡± ¡°Yes. We have already ced troops at all arrival and departure points on the. We will finish them off with all haste.¡± ¡°There would be no way out for us if we fail to kill them here¡­¡­ Christina, I have no grudge against you, but you still have to die for my sake.¡± The skies today were clear as always. It¡¯s not like the sky was totally devoid of any clouds, but it was sunny, and it didn¡¯t look like it would rain at all. It¡¯s the perfect weather for some fishing. Yeah. Today, we decided to go out for some fishing. ¡°Wa wa wah!? I-I got a bite!?¡± Mimi panicked as she stood on the shallow reefs. It looks like the first hit of the day came to Mimi. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Rx and turn the reel calmly. It looks like the line won¡¯t easily snap, so just go for it.¡± ¡°Yes. The fishing lines we use in our rods can withstand up to 500 kgs, so please do not worry.¡± The custom maidroid backed me up and revealed the specs of the fishing lines. I can¡¯t really tell any difference from your standard fishing line, but it looks like these lines are absurdly tough. They¡¯re on par with metallic wires. ¡°Aaah! It¡¯s here! What should I do!?¡± Mimi turned the reel continuously, and before long, a fish was brought up from the water. In any case, it doesn¡¯t have human legs and didn¡¯t have the hindquarters of a cat. Phew. ¡°Please leave it to me.¡± The high-spec custom maidroid pulled on the line and brought the struggling fish in front of her. She then expertly took out the hook from its mouth and put it inside a bucket filled with seawater. I¡¯m not that familiar with fish, but it kinda resembles sea bream. It¡¯s quite big, so we can probably eat it as sashimi or grill it. ¡°Thank you very much, May-san!¡± ¡°Yes. You¡¯re wee.¡± The custom maidroid who Mimi called May bowed her head in acknowledgment. It¡¯s been three days since this custom maidroid appeared in our lives. Since calling her ¡®custom maidroid¡¯ all the time was troublesome, I discussed with Mimi, Elma, and Chris, and finally settled for ¡®May¡¯ as her name. Since we already gave her a name, it¡¯s in as day that we have all be attached to her to some extent. Oh well. I was still hesitant when I first met her, but Mimi¡¯s already quite taken with her, so I guess this is fine. Elma and Chris were also epting of her. Just how did she do it¡­? By the way, Chris didn¡¯t really treat her any differently from the rest of us from the start. I guess she¡¯s already used to maidroids like her. Well, she¡¯s a noble after all. ¡°Oh, I have a bite over here too.¡± ¡°Go for it, Elma-san!¡± Since Chris was small in stature, she wasn¡¯t able to participate in fishing. Well, she told us she wasn¡¯t that good with live fish anyway, so she wasn¡¯t upset even if she was the only one left out. Me? I actually have some fishing experience. It¡¯s just that the odds aren¡¯t in my favor today, alright? ¡°¡­¡­¡± All of a sudden, May, who was standing beside me, jerked her head up to the sky. I followed her gaze, but couldn¡¯t spot anything but a wide, blue sky. I wonder what¡¯s wrong? ¡°An emergency situation has just urred. Please evacuate this area, everyone.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I was surprised by her sudden announcement and gave her a questioning look. Just why? But I don¡¯t think May would joke about something like this. I promptly made a move. ¡°Leave all the fishing gear here and return to Krishna.¡± ¡°Eh? Y-Yes, understood.¡± ¡°Okay. Hurry up, everyone.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Mimi, Elma, and I let go of our fishing rods. I then ced my hand on theser gun holstered on my hip. It was fortunate that I didn¡¯t forget to bring myser gun. Elma also ced her hand on herser gun. As for Mimi¡­¡­ Well, it looks like she didn¡¯t bring hers with her. Well, considering her poor marksmanship, it might be a good thing that she forgot. ¡°So what happened? What¡¯s the emergency for?¡± Just in case, I pulled out myser gun from the holster and made it so I can release the safety anytime while I ran. May started exining the situation without going out of breath (She¡¯s an android, so it¡¯s not like she needed to breathe anyway.) as we ran. ¡°We¡¯re under attack by arge pirate force. Their ships number over a hundred. We¡¯ve also detected severalrge ships among them. It seems they have also rigged several asteroids with thrusters and have sent them down for a collision course with the.¡± ¡°Hey Elma, didn¡¯t you say the defensework would be able to detect an attack using asteroids early and prevent it from happening?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how they did it, but the fact is they went and pulled it off. Maybe they installed shields on them and brought them over via FTL Drives.¡± ¡°That sounds like it¡¯ll cost a whopping amount of cash.¡± ¡°Well, they¡¯ll be able to pull it off if they have a rich enough patron, right?¡± A patron. I see. So it¡¯s most likely Chris¡¯s uncle. ¡°The pirates have started attacking the¡¯s defense tform. The target of the meteor bombing seems to be an area close to the supply base located on the equator, so it doesn¡¯t pose as much of a threat to us¡­ Wait¡­ We¡¯ve detected several signatures dropping down along with them at high speed.¡± I moved my gaze along with May¡¯s and spotted several fiery objects rushing toward us at high speed from the sky. Severalser cannon emcements came out from the sea and started intercepting the objects, but they weren¡¯t able to bring down everything. Even the mountain we climbed a few days ago revealedser cannon emcements and started firing, but several objects stillnded sessfully on the ind in the end. The spot theynded on was far from where we currently were, but the impact was strong and I felt the resulting shockwaves under my feet. It seems itnded near the lodge. ¡°It looks like it wasn¡¯t a reactive torpedo.¡± ¡°Stop that! Don¡¯t say something so ominous.¡± Elma raised her voice inint. Well, if that ball of fire really did contain reactive torpedoes, this whole ind would have been annihted after all. I guess we were lucky that we weren¡¯t anywhere near the lodge huh. Even if it wasn¡¯t a reactive torpedo, we would have still died if we got hit by that fiery mass directly after all. ¡°So, what was that object?¡± ¡°We¡¯re confirming¡­¡­ We¡¯ve detected several moving objects disengaging from the crash site. They look likebat robots.¡± ¡°Ugeh.¡± ¡°Uwaah.¡± I and Elma groaned at the same time. There are several models ofbat robots, and some are more dangerous than others. But honestly, if we came across the high-end ones, we wouldn¡¯t stand a chance if we took them on without the appropriate equipment. They¡¯re urate, tough, and pack plenty of power. We could take them on with power armors, but it would be an uphill battle without one. It would be great if those robots were of the lightly armed variety, but since it¡¯s Chris¡¯s uncle we¡¯re talking about here, I highly doubt it. ¡°They have engaged with the defense systems of the ind. We should take refuge¨C The next wave ising.¡± ¡°Already, huh¡­¡­¡± Fireballs flew in and headed for the part of the beach connected to the reefs. Interceptionser cannons were deployed again, but since there were quite a number of fireballs, they weren¡¯t able to bring down all of them. One fireball that got grazed by interception fire was heading in our direction. ¡°Geh! It¡¯s heading our way. Everyone down!¡± ¡°Kyaaah!?¡± I hugged Mimi, who was running beside me and ducked down on the sandy beach. Chris was covered by Elma and May. The fireballnded between the beach and the lodge and resulted in powerful shock waves. My body got peppered by sand, pebbles, and who knows what else. When I raised my face as soon as the shockwaves subsided, I saw a strange object stuck between the lodge and the beach. I haven¡¯t seen anything like it, so I was at a loss for words. If I were to describe the thing, it was arge stake with spherical protrusions arranged along its surface. However, due to the interception fire of theser cannons, some of the protrusions were broken or melted up. ¡°Is everyone okay?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah, I guess.¡± ¡°I do not seem to be injured.¡± ¡°I¡¯m also okay, I think.¡± ¡°Yosh! Let¡¯s head for Krishna¨C¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­ Hiro, iing!¡± Elma brandished herser gun as an object fell out of the spherical protrusion. I see. So that¡¯s one of the robots in question. The spherical object started transforming, so I brought myser gun up, dropped the safety, and started unleashing shots at it. Naturally, all shots were at full power. Elma also fired away, and we were able to destroy it before it finished its transformation. Eh? It¡¯s unfair to fire away without letting it transform first, you say? The heck are you on about guys? C¡¯mon. ¡°So that¡¯s one of thosebat robots, right?¡± ¡°Probably. I think the other units have malfunctioned due to the roughnding and interception fire. In any case, we¡¯re lucky we were able to bring it down with justser guns.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± We wouldn¡¯t have been able to do anything if it was able to shrug offser gunfire. We would have all been killed. Be that as it may, it still took roughly twenty shots from me and Elma at maximum output in order to bring it down. It was still absurdly tough. Oh, man. We really can¡¯t let our guards down. ¡°Make sure you all aren¡¯t injured, and then we¡¯ll make a run for Krishna again.¡± After saying that, I proceeded to shoot the remaining spherical containers attached to the stake andpletely destroyed them. Elma followed suit and fired herser gun as well. I ejected the used energy pack and snapped a spare in. ¡°How many energy packs do you have left?¡± ¡°I still have two more. How about you?¡± ¡°I have four on me. Do you want one?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Your gun is more powerful, so it would be best if you hold on to those, Hiro.¡± Elma reloaded her gun and shook her head in refusal. Well, she does have a point. And if I hold my breath, everything around me would start moving slowly from my perspective for some reason. ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s get going, guys.¡± ¡°Y-Yes!¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Yes. Please stay behind me, Mimi-sama and Chris-sama.¡± May stood in front of Mimi and Chris, who were nonbatants, in order to protect them. If May¡¯s body were made of the specialized material I specified when I designed her, then it would have made getting through this crisis much easier, but since it¡¯s not, then there¡¯s no use thinking about it. We started heading for Krishna while carefully watching the surroundings. The problem is that there seemed to be morebat robots that were sessfully deployed over there. We have no choice but to trust in this ind¡¯s defense systems. Chapter 87 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone Hi guys. It¡¯s your dashing hero, Captain Hiro here. After ruthlessly destroying thebat robots that fell on the beach, we finally managed to make it back to the lodge, but the situation was worse than what we imagined. The ss panes on the windows were shattered due to the shockwaves when thebat robots fell, and the lodge was riddled with scorch and bullet marks from the ensuing firefight. Some sections were already destroyed. Well, the lodge was mostly done for, but there were still plenty ofrge objects in the area we could use as cover, so we went ahead and did just that. Eh? Why weren¡¯t heading for Krishna, you ask? Well, y¡¯see¡­ We would really like to¡­ if we could, that is. ¡°It looks like it¡¯s impossible to get through that huh¡­¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°We¡¯ll probably die.¡± ¡°It¡¯s as good as suicide.¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s extremely dangerous.¡± We were hiding behind arge rock near the lodge, and further in front of us were several fully transformedbat robots, as well as robots that served as part of this ind¡¯s defense systems. The enemy robots transformed from their spherical shape to ones that walked on three legs. Their upper bodies also transformed, revealing four deadly-lookingser turrets. They¡¯re sporting quite the firepower. As for the ind¡¯s defense robots¡­ they were quite unique-looking. There was a robot that looked like a crab made of rock, one that looked like a real gori covered in fur, mechanical dogs, as well asser emcements that arose from the ground andser gun-toting maid robots¡­¡­ Whoah. The gori just ripped an enemy robot apart. As expected of a gori. I shall now dub you Death Gori. ¡°But do you think Chris¡¯s uncle can get away with doing something this tant¡­?¡± ¡°I wonder. Maybe he¡¯s confident in covering his tracks. Maybe he didn¡¯t use Enel to hire the pirates and just used rare metals as payment instead. He might have also used a middleman to purchase thosebat robots. Maybe that¡¯s why he couldn¡¯t procure reactive torpedoes.¡± After hearing my question, Elma made some conjectures. ¡°What do you mean, Elma-san?¡± ¡°If they fired off a reactive torpedo on a resort, I imagine the empire wouldn¡¯t be able to stay quiet. They would surelyunch a thorough investigation, and there¡¯s a high chance the perpetrators would be caught. That¡¯s why they just made do with what was barely allowable.¡± ¡°Does the empire really ce such arge importance on reactive torpedoes? I actually find their management ratherx though.¡± I did use some reactive torpedoes when we fought the Vereverem Federation fleet a while back, and I wasn¡¯t really questioned all that much. I also properly received my rewards. ¡°That¡¯s because there aren¡¯t a lot of mercenaries who have them. I bet you¡¯ve already been marked, actually.¡± ¡°Really¡­? Hm. Oh well.¡± I bet that doesn¡¯t just apply to reactive torpedoes, but tobat starships that have enough firepower to seriously damage or destroy space colonies and stations as well. It sure makes you wonder how the heck our mercenary predecessors managed to get properly recognized to the point of founding the Mercenary Guild. It kinda makes me curious. ¡°Hiro-sama, is the Krishna still safe?¡± Mimi asked me with a worried look on her face. Well, of course, she¡¯s worried. ¡°Yeah. I managed to deploy the energy shields using my terminal earlier, so it¡¯s probably okay. But, now that I think about it, it might have been better if Elma or I were on standby inside the ship. Then we wouldn¡¯t be in such a pinch.¡± ¡°No use for regrets. In any case, we didn¡¯t really expect the enemies to break through the defense and execute a pinpoint attack.¡± ¡°We are very sorry that we are unable to ensure the safety of our guests.¡± May, who was hiding behind a nearby hedge, turned toward us and bowed her head in apology. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Or rather, we¡¯re the ones who are sorry for wrapping you up in our troubles¡­¡­¡± Oh, man. They won¡¯t p the bill for all the destroyed facilities to us, won¡¯t they? That¡¯d really suck. ¡°Anyway, shall we provide some covering fire? Don¡¯t raise your head too far, everyone.¡± I broke cover, got into a firing stance, and held my breath. When I did so, it seemed as if the surroundings slowed down to a crawl. While I was in that peculiar state, I matched my timing with the defense robots and fired consecutive bursts from myser gun. Even if the objects in the surroundings seemed to have slowed down from my perspective, theser shots still went off at lightspeed. One, two, three, four, five¡­ After Inded five shots in quick session, the enemybat robot turned itsser turrets my way. ¡°Khh!¡± I quickly aimed at one of the turrets, and before it managed to fire, I was able tond some shots. Theser shots went straight through the barrel, and the turret¡¯s entire front portion was blown off. I see? So the insides of the barrels were the weak points. I was unable to keep holding my breath any longer, so I hurriedly crouched down and took some deep breaths. ¡°Haa! Haa, haah¡­¡­¡± ¡°Hiro-sama¡­¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± After I recovered, I once again broke cover, and this time, I aimed directly for the insides of the enemy robot¡¯s weapon barrels. If I cut down their firepower, I¡¯m sure the ind¡¯s defense robots would have an easier time finishing them off. I steadied my aim, shot two consecutive bursts at the insides of the enemy robot¡¯sser turrets, and managed to sessfully destroy them. When the enemy¡¯s firepower was cut down, the defense robots began counterattacking. The rock crab-looking robot closed in on the enemies at high speed that didn¡¯t match its bulky-looking frame. It used itsrge ws to bash and crush the enemy robots. The gori robot tackled one enemy and repeatedly pummeled the downed enemy with itsrge fists. The mechanical hound-shaped robots swarmed one enemy bot, bit it, and then simultaneously exploded. Eh? Self-detonation? So those guys were kamikaze types!? That¡¯s scary, man! The battle began to tilt in our favor. After a while more, all the enemybat robots were sessfully destroyed, and the battle finally ended. ¡°The hounds are now securing the perimeter. Please wait until we¡¯ve finished searching for possible threats.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The surviving hound-type robots scattered around the area. For robot hounds, they looked rather bare-bones. They werecking armor and I could even see some of their insides. But considering that they were meant as disposable weapons that had self-destruct functions, I guess it made sense. But that¡¯s still he scary. A rock crab and the gori robot stood near us and served as guards. This rock crab¡­¡­ So its armor really was made of rocks instead of metal. How curious. The gori robot was hit by enemy fire earlier, so some of its artificial fur and skin was burnt off, revealing its mechanical nature. So I guess this guy wandered the tropical forest in the center of the ind normally while posing as a real gori huh¡­ Just what for though? Oh, maybe it¡¯s the one tasked with monitoring and maintaining the forest. So what about this rock crab¡­¡­? Was it tasked with pruning the trees or something? This ind sure has a lot of mysterious stuff. After it was confirmed that the surroundings were safe, we finally managed to board Krishna. The maidroids, robot crab, and robot gori escorted us all the way to the ship. Personally, I really liked the rock crab robot. Cause it was big and tough-looking. I had to look all the way up cause it was absurdly tall too. I really wanna ride on top of it if I had the chance. ¡°Well, we managed to safely get inside Krishna at least.¡± ¡°Yes. What a relief.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really sorry for dragging you all into my problems.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. And it¡¯s not like we¡¯re helping you fully out of goodwill anyway.¡± ¡°You really can¡¯t be honest about your feelings, huh Elma?¡± When I said that, Elma gave me a death re. It¡¯s not like that would phase me anyway. I already know she¡¯s just speaking harshly cause she wants to preserve her image as an all-business mercenary. Well, the way she does it feels like a child that always wants to look cool in front of her friends, so I find it quite cute. ¡°What will we do now?¡± ¡°Yeah, about that¡­¡­ We can¡¯t just head straight through this¡¯s defense and start exchanging fire with them without a n, right?¡± ¡°Nope. It would be better to stay holed up inside Krishna until themotion dies down. In the worst case, we also have the option of directly escaping as well.¡± When Elma said¡ºworst case¡», I guess she was referring to a situation where the enemy force manages to break through the defense tform and attacks Sierra III directly. Or maybe if the meteor bombardment manages to hit the equatorial base directly; thus bringing danger to Sierra III itself. ¡°So what¡¯s the current state of the situation anyway?¡± I asked May, who boarded the Krishna together with us and received an unexpected answer. ¡°Yes. An independent imperial fleet specializing in anti-pirate operations appeared and is now aiding our defense tform in fighting the enemies. The threats will probably all be eliminated before long.¡± ¡°An independent imperial anti-pirate fleet?¡± ¡°¡­¡­It¡¯s ¡®that person¡¯, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Did shee all the way here to chase after Hiro¡­? She¡¯s really quite persistent huh¡­ Or rather, isn¡¯t shepletely acting like a stalker?¡± ¡°?¡± After hearing our exchange, Chris tilted her head in puzzlement. ¡°A-Achooo!¡± ¡°Did you catch a cold, Major?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t feel particrly sick¡­ I just couldn¡¯t help but sneeze. Maybe somebody¡¯s talking bad about me somewhere¡­?¡± ¡°I still suggest you go for a medical checkter.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ I¡¯ll do as you say. In any case, to think we¡¯ll be greeted with something like this as soon as we arrive. This is a good opportunity though, so make sure to be thorough.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± Chapter 88 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone As the sun began to set, and the blue sky gradually turned a shade of purple, countless falling stars started to appear on the horizon. ¡°Wow! How pretty!¡± ¡°Yeah. But those are actually debris from the destroyed pirate ships though.¡± ¡°They¡¯re beautiful, but filthy at the same time huh.¡± ¡°Alright, you two. Can¡¯t you be a little bit more, you know, romantic¡­?¡± TOP ARTICLES2/5Rule Breaker Chapter 127 ¡°Those debris include the remains of filthy criminal uncles, so isn¡¯t that far removed from being ¡®romantic¡¯?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we can be sure the pirates are allposed of dirty-looking uncles, Hiro-sama. What if there were aunties, young men, or women within the crew?¡± ¡°That¡¯s beside the point, okay?¡± Anyway, since they included dead pirates, I just couldn¡¯t bring myself to enjoy the sight of those shooting stars. Well, if we discounted that fact, the brilliant shower of lights did look pretty. Alrighty then. Let¡¯s stop paying attention to those shooting stars with dirty elements and confirm the current situation. We managed to defeat thebat robots sent by the enemy earlier, seeded in boarding the Krishna, and were now waiting for themotion to die down while in the safety of the ship¡¯s energy shields. It was next to impossible forbat robots to breach this ship¡¯s energy shields, so we were rtively safe as long as we holed up inside the ship. Meanwhile, a security force consisting of this¡¯s defense robots arrived at the ind and started mopping up the remaining enemies. Right now, the defense forces have already managed to destroy the invading sphericalbat robots, but since there was still a chance of a small assassination-specialized bot being sent together with the regrbat bots in order to take Chris¡¯s life, we decided to remain inside Krishna for the time being. Oh, and we had the maidroids, including May, get off the ship earlier. Depending on the situation, we may decide to directly fly outta here after all. The gori robot and the rock crab robot already went back inside the forest as well. I really wanted to ride on top of that rock crab. However, since it was boring just standing around the ship, we all gathered inside the dining room and were now whiling the time away by watching holo-videos. We just finished watching the documentaryption regarding the sea environment on Sierra III that was sent to us by Miro earlier. Oh, and it was already dinner time, so we were eating our meals while watching the vids. Tonight¡¯s menu was pizza created by our trusty Tetsujin V. There were a lot of toppings to choose from, and right now we¡¯re having a pizza topped with my favorite chicken teriyaki. The chicken drenched in salty-sweet sauce and the pizza really paired well. Ginger ale also went well with the meal. ¡°So what do we do now? Will we get in touch with Major Serena after all?¡± ¡°About that¡­ well, doing so would guarantee our safety after all.¡± It¡¯s been roughly a week since we holed-up on this. The message we sent to Chris¡¯s grandfather might have already reached him. If so, then perhaps her grandfather was already arranging for Chris¡¯s rescue. Also, I bet Chris¡¯s uncle is feeling like his behind¡¯s on fire right now. Yeah. It would be nice if his sneaky behind really did catch on fire for real. Well, his ns are close to falling apart anyway. So what would such a cornered individual do? If he were the type to give up and cut his losses calmly after failing, Chris wouldn¡¯t be stuck in this sort of situation. There¡¯s a good chance he¡¯ll get desperate and try to kill Chris without caring for the consequences. ¡°Well, she does owe us, in a sense. I¡¯m sure she wouldn¡¯t mind taking us into her protection for the time being.¡± ¡°Ara, you¡¯re talking like a seasoned mercenary now, Mimi.¡± ¡°Well, of course. I¡¯ve been learning a lot from you two and developing day by day after all.¡± Mimi, who was praised for her mercenary-like thinking, puffed up her bountiful chest proudly. Umu. Mimi¡¯s breasts are doing great today as well. Are those amazing knockers also developing day by day, I wonder? How curious. ¡°What kind of person is that Major Serena?¡± ¡°Oh, uh, simply put, an unfortunate beauty, I guess.¡± ¡°Unfortunate beauty?¡± ¡°And an unruly drunk.¡± ¡°Unruly drunk?¡± ¡°Um, she¡¯s an imperial military major whomands an independent anti-pirate star fleet. She has a sort of, um, connection with Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Just say she¡¯s a persistent stalker, Mimi.¡± ¡°Yep. Stalker is the word.¡± ¡°Um, a persistent stalker¡­? Is it really okay to contact her then?¡± Chris disyed a really worried expression. Well, of course, she would. ¡°Uh, um¡­ She¡¯s also ady hailing from a marquis house. What house was it again?¡± ¡°House Holz, I believe.¡± ¡°Marquis Holz¡­ They¡¯re a distinguished family boasting of many members who achieved great sess in military and political fields. I haven¡¯t had an opportunity to meet with members of that house though.¡± ¡°I see. What about you, Chris? What do you think about getting help from the imperial military?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see. Since the situation is as it is, I think doing so would best ensure our safety¨C¡± ¡°I think you don¡¯t need to involve Chris and Earl Daleinwald in this matter. You can just decide for yourself, Hiro. There¡¯s no need to bother Chris about this.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yup. And also, we¡¯ve just been singing to that major¡¯s tune every time. It¡¯s just fair that we¡¯re the ones who¡¯ll make use of her this time, right?¡± Elma made an evil-looking grin. Oh boy. I¡¯m guessing she¡¯s nning to dump all the troubles resulting from the pirate attack to Major Serenater huh. Well, that actually doesn¡¯t sound too bad. It¡¯s true that Major Serena¡¯s been dragging us around every time we meet her, so it¡¯s high time she paid back what she owes us. ¡°Yosh. I¡¯ll contact Major Serena then.¡± ¡°Before that, wouldn¡¯t it be best if you got in touch with Miro first?¡± ¡°Oh, right. Okay then. Mimi, get me a secure line.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mimi fiddled with her tablet terminal and got a hold of Miro. ¡ºYes. What seems to be the matter, everyone?¡» ¡°Well, the lodge was damaged, and it¡¯s not in any state for us to continue enjoying a vacation, so we were thinking of departing from this early. What are the procedures for doing so?¡± ¡ºYes. There are still some days left for your stay, but if you insist on departing from Sierra III, then the remaining days will be canceled. However, since we allowed for a situation that caused our guests inconvenience, I would like to present you with a special discount coupon for use on your next visit.¡» ¡°That sounds lovely. It was fun, so how about wee here again?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! The food was really delicious too!¡± Elma and Mimi were smiling happily after hearing Miro¡¯s offer. Un, certainly. I also greatly enjoyed our time here since I finally had the opportunity to drink some carbonated stuff. ¡ºBy the way, will you go ahead with the maidroid purchase?¡» ¡°Eh? Uh, y-yeah.¡± ¡°Were you nning on leaving May-san behind, Hiro-sama¡­?¡± Mimi gave me a stern gaze after hearing my hesitant reply. Please stop, Mimi. Don¡¯t look at me like that. ¡°Well, isn¡¯t it okay? Since May¡¯s specs are quite high, it would be reassuring to have her with us if we get ourselves wrapped up in a situation like this again, right?¡± Elma was pushing for purchasing May as well for some reason. ¡°Yeah, I guess¡­¡­¡± ¡°Why do you sound so reluctant?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a guy thing. You wouldn¡¯t understand.¡± Please imagine this, everyone. There¡¯s a lifelike figure crammed with all the obsessions and fetishes a guy keeps deep inside his heart, and the women close to the said guy can freely see said figure. Furthermore, the said figure can move, talk, and shows absolute loyalty to the guy, who¡¯s technically her creator. She even calls him Master. Just what kind of shameful y is that!? Ugh. I know, I know. I get what you guys are saying. Why am I still hung up on that when it¡¯s already out in the open, right? But it still feelsplicated, okay. I practically designed May¡¯s appearance from the top of her head down to her pretty toes y¡¯know. It still feels he embarrassing. Well, I¡¯m d the two of them have epted May, at least. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. Having May around is certainly helpful in various ways. How do I pay for her?¡± ¡ºYes. Thank you for your purchase. Please feel free to bring May along on your travels then. All necessary information will be ryed to Orient Corporation, so please go to the nearest Orient Corporation dealer shop toplete your purchase at your convenience. They will also retrieve the data for the trial period once you do so.¡» ¡°Understood.¡± ¡ºShe will be losing my support, so there will be some performance drops until you take her to the dealer shop for the necessary upgrades. Please do take note of that.¡» ¡°I see¡­¡­ I guess we¡¯ll have to get her upgraded as soon as possible then.¡± And so, it was decided that May will be the newest addition to our crew. The necessary procedures were simple enough. I finished the purchase via remote payment and had Enels deducted straight from my ount. ¡°I will be in your care from now on, everyone. Thank you for having me.¡± May boarded Krishna and made an elegant bow in front of us. ¡°Yeah, d to have you.¡± ¡°Please take care of me as well, May-san.¡± ¡°Wee. We¡¯ll be counting on you then.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± May raised her head and went in front of me. ¡°I hope to be of service to you for a long time, Master.¡± ¡°Y-Yeah.¡± I managed to nod back while feeling slightly pressured by those ck eyes peeking through the back of her red-framed sses. ¡°Hachooo! A-Achooo!¡± ¡°Major¡­ Are you sure you didn¡¯t catch a cold?¡± ¡°That¡¯s weird¡­¡­ The medical check showed I wasn¡¯t sick.¡± ¡°Major! There¡¯s an unknown ship breaking through Sierra III¡¯s atmosphere, and it¡¯s trying to establish contact.¡± ¡°Unknown ship?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m checking the model now¡­¡­ Ah¡­¡± ¡°?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve managed to identify the ship in question. It belongs to a Gold-rank mercenary affiliated with the Mercenary Guild. It¡¯s Captain Hiro¡¯s ship, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡­? Aaaaaah!?¡± Krishna sent out amunication request to the gship of the independent imperial anti-pirate fleet, and before long, a familiar face showed up on the cockpit monitor. ¡ºIt¡¯s been a while, Captain Hiro.¡» ¡°Yes, it has. Hello, Major Serena. It looks like you¡¯re doing well.¡± ¡ºYes. We¡¯ve been having great sesstely. I hope your skills haven¡¯t dulled due to being on a vacation though.¡» Major Serena was smiling, but I could sense a really dark aura behind that beautiful smile. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s just jealous because we¡¯ve been living it up on a resorttely. ¡°Hahaha. I just didn¡¯t want to get in the way of your job, major. Man. The vacation on Sierra III sure was a st though. The food was delicious, and the sea was amazing.¡± ¡ºI see. That sounds lovely. Fufufu¡­¡­¡» The dark aura oozing from Major Serena¡¯s smile intensified. Oooh. How scary. ¡°Hahaha. By the way, major¡­¡± ¡ºWhat is it, Captain Hiro?¡» ¡°I seem to recall you still owe us fromst time, right?¡± The smile on Major Serena¡¯s face twitched after she heard my question. Hahaha. What a good expression. Chapter 89 Chapter 89 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone We docked inside the hangar of the gship of the imperial independent anti-pirate fleet, Restalias, got off from Krishna, and were promptly guided by imperial soldiers to the captain¡¯s quarters. Both Mimi and Elma were more or less familiar with theyout of the ship since they visited several times during our fleet instructor stint at the Alein system. As for me, this ship was more or less my temporary workce, so I was more familiar with it than them. But since these soldiers were ordered to guide us anyway, I might as well just shut up and let them do their jobs. On the other hand, it was a new experience for Chris since this was the first time she was able to board an imperial military ship, and her eyes were filled with curiosity. The walls and floors of the ship were all made of military-grade metal alloys, so I imagine it would hurt quite a bit if you tripped and fell down here. Or rather, you might actually get injured if you weren¡¯t careful. And so, Mimi pulled Chris¡¯s by the hand and supported her so she won¡¯t get into any idents. Seeing two cute girls walking side by side while holding each other¡¯s hands was quite the rxing sight. By the way, May was staying inside Krishna. Well, I don¡¯t really think anyone would pull anything funny inside the Restalias, but it doesn¡¯t hurt to be careful. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°We¡¯ve brought Captain Hiro and his crew ma¡¯am.¡± ¡ºGood work. Please return to your duties, soldier.¡» We finally reached the captain¡¯s quarters, and when one of the soldiers operated the panel beside the door, we heard Major Serena¡¯s voice through the inte speaker. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± The soldiers who guided us gave a crisp salute and left. Yep. That¡¯s a soldier alright. How uptight. The door of the captain¡¯s quarters then opened. ¡°Pleasee in, everyone.¡± The voice of Major Serena rang out from within the room and invited us in, so we did as we were told and entered. The interior of the room was unexpectedly pleasant to the eyes. There¡¯s a singlerge work desk, some sofas and a coffee table for entertaining guests, and a cupboard that housed several fancy-looking medals, a shield, and a decorative sword. Man, that sword sure looks cool. I want one too. Not that I knew how to swing a sword. ¡°Thank you for responding to the request of humble mercenaries such as ourselves.¡± ¡°Please stop that. It¡¯s giving me goosebumps.¡± ¡°Really? I¡¯ll just talk to you like usual then.¡± ¡°Haa¡­¡­ Well, fine. So what¡¯s your business with me this time? I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯te here just to brag about your lovely vacation experiences, right?¡± ¡°Oh, how scary. But nah, we¡¯re here on proper business. It¡¯s about the pirates that attacked Sierra III.¡± Major Serena¡¯s ruby pupils narrowed at my words. It looks like she actually knows something already. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve noticed that the scale of the attack was too unusual for ordinary pirates. They even pped FTL drives on asteroids and used them for orbital bombing. It¡¯s reasonable to think that someone backed those pirates up and supplied the necessary finances and equipment, right? And we happen to know just who that mysterious backer is.¡± ¡°How interesting. I would like to know more, but¡­ what¡¯s your actual objective, Captain Hiro?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing much. I just want to tag along with your fleet for one to two weeks. If possible, I also want to procure supplies through imperial military channels.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s your angle¡­ You want to make use of this fleet as a shield, huh?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t put it that way, major. We just want your cooperation in bringing down a viin to justice. Anyway, it¡¯ll just be for a little while.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still quite the smooth talker I see¡­ So?¡± Major Serena raised her brow as if to ask for the specific circumstances. Now then, where should I start? ¡°Should I tell everything from the beginning?¡± ¡°I think that would be best, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°It¡¯s better to tell her about Chris as well, Hiro.¡± All three of our gazes turned toward Chris. Major Serena¡¯s gaze also turned toward her, and Chris seemed ufortable due to the sudden attention. Okay then. I¡¯ll start from the beginning. ¡°When we first came into this star system, we were attacked by pirates y¡¯see. They hit us with an interdictor and forcefully stopped our FTL drive, but we managed to fight back and eventually destroyed their ships.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a trouble ma as always. And then?¡± ¡°We found a cold sleep pod among the wreckages of those pirate ships. And Chris here was the one inside it. Her full name is Christina Daleinwald. She¡¯s ady of House Daleinwald, and the granddaughter of the current Earl Daleinwald.¡± ¡°House Daleinwald¡­¡­ I did hear that the first son of the earl lost his life a few months earlier due to a pirate raid. I see. So she survived the attack¡­¡­ Hm? Wait a minute. In other words¡­?¡± ¡°It was a fight for session disguised as a pirate attack. And when the culprit found out that Chris was still alive, he set out to finish what he started. The mastermind of today¡¯s pirate attack on Sierra III was Chris¡¯s very own uncle¡­ Uh, what was his name again?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Balthazar Daleinwald, Hiro-sama.¡± It was Mimi who gave the name of Chris¡¯s uncle. ¡°Oh, right. There¡¯s a high chance the mastermind behind this pirate attack was that Balthazar Daleinwald. They even managed to attack the ind we were staying at by sending inbat robots.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Can you give me more details about this matter?¡± We all moved to the sofas and started exining the ins and outs of the incident in more detail. The descent and attack of thebat robots were recorded by Miro and sent to May. There was a copy saved in Mimi¡¯s tablet terminal, so we handed over all the data and recordings regarding thebat robots and the military-use stealth dropship to Major Serena. ¡°¡­¡­Well, this is certainly some detailed evidence. And it¡¯s something we can¡¯t just ignore.¡± After looking over the data, Major Serena¡¯s face contorted into a grimace. ¡°Is it about the stealth dropships?¡± ¡°Yes. They normally can¡¯t be purchased by any private individual and are reserved strictly for military use. I wonder just what methods he used to procure them¡­¡­?¡± Thebat robots, on the other hand, were not military models and wereparably easier to obtain, so a son of the Daleinwald House would be able to obtain a number of them as long as he had the Enels to spend. And that¡¯s something to be thankful for. If we faced actual military models, we probably would have note out of that attack unscathed. ¡°I now understand that this matter is something we, the imperial military, cannot ignore. In summary, that Balthazar person might try something desperate now that his ns are close to failing, so you¡¯re aiming to use our fleet as a convenient refuge, right?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s about right, I guess.¡± ¡°So you admit it¡­¡­¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like denying it will do any good at this point. And I¡¯m an honest gentleman after all. And it¡¯s not like this matter won¡¯t bring you any benefits either, right?¡± ¡°Haaa¡­¡­ Well, alright. But hiring our services won¡¯t be cheap, you know?¡± ¡°Oh c¡¯mon. Think of this as a way of paying back all the favors you owe us, major. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not the type to take advantage of honest folk like us, right?¡± ¡°Gununu¡­¡­¡± Major Serena¡¯s body shook like that of a newborn fawn¡¯s as her face disyed a mortified expression. Hahaha, how amusing. ¡°Think about it this way. If you help us out with this matter, I¡¯ll consider us even, so ain¡¯t it quite cheap?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, whatever you say¡­ Honestly. Well then, Captain Hiro. I will officially hire you as guards for some civilian cargo transport ships affiliated with us. That arrangement should be fine, right?¡± ¡°You expect me to just agree with just that, major? Give me the details first.¡± ¡°¡­Tsk.¡± What the heck are you clicking your tongue for,dy? ¡°There are two civilian cargo ships affiliated with this fleet, and they¡¯re privately owned by House Holz. One is a Pelican IV and the other is a Flying Tortoise. I n to hire you to guard these two civilian ships.¡± ¡°Hey, wait a minute. These so-called civilian cargo ships of House Holz are the ones you use for luring pirates, right?¡± ¡°Ohohoho, ohe now. It¡¯s just that those two ships attract pirates on a regr basis so we have no choice but toe to their rescue every time. But, considering your superb skills, you should have no trouble fighting those pirates off or annihting them, correct?¡± Maybe she¡¯s had enough. Major Serena¡¯s expression was filled with annoyance, and it was all directed towards me. Kuh. Well, it would be nice to lure the enemies out of their fox holes and take care of everything in one go, but¡­¡­ Oh well. This is better than taking them all on by our lonesome anyway. After buying enough time, the independent anti-pirate fleet will take care of the rest. ¡°Okay then. We¡¯ll go with that. So what aboutpensation?¡± ¡°The standardpensation for a Gold rank mercenary is 80,000 Enels per day.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Ain¡¯t that too cheap?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll pay the rewards for every destroyed pirate ship separately after all.¡± I moved my gaze toward Elma. ¡°Well, considering the situation, shouldn¡¯t we be thankful we even get paid in the first ce?¡± ¡°You have a point¡­ Okay, I understand. We¡¯ll take you up on that offer, major.¡± ¡°Alright. Well then, I¡¯ll be arranging everything with the Mercenary Guild first, so just wait inside this ship for the meantime.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Would you like us to take custody of you, Christina-san?¡± Major Serena looked towards Chris with a questioning gaze. I turned toward her as well, and saw her shake her head. It looks like she wants to stay on Krishna. ¡°Well, there you have it. Thank you for the offer though.¡± ¡°I see. Well, to a young girl, staying on a military ship filled with stuffy soldiers doesn¡¯t seem too appealing, I guess.¡± Major Serena nodded in agreement. But ain¡¯t Major Serena also a girl? I turned a questioning gaze toward her. ¡°Aside from being a girl, I am a trained military officer and a full-fledged noble after all. I¡¯m also skilled with a sword.¡± Major Serena smiled boldly. So she¡¯s skilled with a sword huh. Was sheparable to those knights wielding sabers of light and some sort of force who can deflectser shots with said sabers? How curious. ¡°We¡¯ll excuse ourselves then.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll call for one of my men to act as your guide. It won¡¯t do if you identally find yourself in a ssified area after all.¡± After saying so, Major Serena took out a portablemunicator and ryed some orders. Whew. We can finally rest easier now. With their assistance, the danger has lessened considerably. Man, it sure is nice to have connections. Chapter 90 Chapter 90 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone A day has passed since our negotiations with Major Serena. Krishna was sessfully assigned to guard the civilian cargo transport ship¡ºPelican IV¡»and was now tagging along with it. We¡¯re on guard duty, but it¡¯s not like the job¡¯s hard. We were just hopping from one trade and mining station to another all over the Sierra system and its neighbors. Sometimes, the Pelican IV docks inside a station for a prolonged period of time to unload its cargo, so we tag along with the Flying Tortoise instead. We can¡¯t predict exactly when pirates would attack, so we can¡¯t let our guard down. There¡¯s also a good chance of the underlings of Chris¡¯s uncle attacking, so we¡¯re watching out for that as well. However, being on high alert all the time is mentally exhausting, so Elma and I take turns monitoring the situation, and stand by inside the cockpit as Krishna trailed after the Pelican IV. Right now, it was my turn on watch duty. The other three were rxing in the dining room. ¡°I brought you something to drink, Master.¡± ¡°Oh, thanks.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 Maidroid May entered the cockpit and brought with her a gravity sphere filled with some chilled beverage. This so-called gravity sphere is basically a high-tech tumbler that floats and has motion sensors installed so it can follow your head movements. I received the drink and set the sphere in a spot that I could easily reach. ¡°Sorry, May. I would have liked to bring you to the shop for upgrades right away, but the situation doesn¡¯t allow for it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Don¡¯t worry about it, Master. It is my duty to prioritize Master¡¯s safety after all. And also, my current body is able to function with no trouble and can do most tasks except for high-intensitybat andplicated data calctions.¡± ¡°I see. Miro did say there would be a drop in performance, but I honestly can¡¯t tell the difference from before we left Sierra III.¡± ¡°Yes. There will be no problem when ites to day to day tasks and basic support.¡± May dered as she faced me with her usual unchanging expression. I set her facial expression level to the lowest possible value without going overboard to suit my personal taste, but I wonder how she feels about it? I¡¯m kinda afraid to ask. ¡°Well, if you want to change some of your default settings when we go for your upgrade, be sure to inform me. There¡¯s still some leeway in the budget for buying additional functions as well, so don¡¯t act reserved and just tell me, okay.¡± ¡°Yes. Thank you, Master. I am already satisfied with the settings you gave me, Master. But I truly appreciate your concern. However, if something doese to mind in the future, I will be sure to inform you.¡± ¡°Yeah. Okay then.¡± We continued having a rxed conversation while on guard duty. Well, even if we¡¯re on guard duty, Krishna is just cruising in tandem with the cargo transport ship with the FTL drive active, so there¡¯s actually not much to do. If we ever get hit with something like an interdictor, thebined sensors would immediately set off a warning. Thesebined sensors are able to detect the gravity waves emitted by spacecraft and asteroids, subspace vibrations caused by FTL drives and Hyperdrives, as well as the energy trails left by ships while moving in subspace. Mimi tried to give me a detailed exnation, but I couldn¡¯t even understand the basic theories. Anyway, they¡¯re impressive sensors that can act as high-performance radars even while we¡¯re in the middle of FTL travel or plowing through the subspace tunnel caused by the Hyperdrive. Yep. By the way, even when simrly equipped with an FTL drive, there¡¯s still a difference in the rtive speeds of various ship models. To put it simply, arge ship can only travel at two to three times the speed of light, and mid-sized or small craft can go up to ten, or even twenty times. What about the Urashima effect, you ask? I don¡¯t really get the theory behind it, but both the FTL drive and the Hyperdrive can circumvent spacetime rtivity by setting one foot into subspace or plungingpletely into it¡­ or something like that. Sorry. Like I said, I don¡¯t really get it myself, so forgive me if I can¡¯t offer a clear exnation. It seems my brain¡¯s specs are severelycking and I can¡¯t understand jack about the FTL (Faster Than Light) technology of this dimension. Or maybe it¡¯s also because I¡¯m not really all that interested in the subject. If it works, it works. Right guys? I don¡¯t really get howputers and smartphones back on Earth work either, but I can still use em without any problems. ¡°But it¡¯s been strangely quiet. There wasn¡¯t even a peep from pirates yesterday. It¡¯s the same today.¡± ¡°Yes. It seems to be the case. Perhaps due to their numbers being reduced because of the attack on Sierra III, they are currentlyying low and reorganizing.¡± ¡°They lost over a hundred ships in that battle after all.¡± Since the anti-pirate fleet didn¡¯t expect that a battle would ur as soon as they arrived in the sector, they weren¡¯t able to fully close the, and some pirate ships were able to get away as a result. Well, I guess it can¡¯t be helped. They rushed to deploy after receiving the emergency transmission from Sierra III after all. By the way, it seems the anti-pirate fleet has obtained enough experience to reliably finish off pirates baited into attacking the Pelican IV within a short span of 2 to 3 minutes after contact. It¡¯s a devilish trap that lures unsuspecting pirates into their deaths by using a seemingly defenseless civilian cargo ship as bait. Just who could havee up with such an evil trap and taught Major Serena, I wonder. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s an underhanded guy with a nasty personality. Psyche. It was actually me, wahaha. ¡°So, Master has connections within the imperial military as well.¡± ¡°Yeah. Well, we met byplete coincidence though.¡± ¡°And there¡¯s this ship, Krishna, as well. It seems this ship model is one-of-a-kind.¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s someplicated circumstances that led me to take possession of this ship.¡± ¡°I want to know more about Master.¡± ¡°Mm¡­ Let¡¯s see¡­¡± How much should I tell her, I wonder. It¡¯s not like I know where Krishna came from myself. The story of me suddenly being moored in this dimension along with Krishna does sound more than a bit far fetched. Besides, my situation is also quiteplicated. There¡¯s a lot I don¡¯t know. And I¡¯m also a bit apprehensive about talking about my circumstances to an independent AI that¡¯s like a bundle of curiosity. ¡°Master, even though I can¡¯t im that my security features are perfect, it is very advanced, so there¡¯s no need to worry much about privacy.¡± ¡°O-Okay?¡± ¡°The information stored in my memory banks can only be essed by myself. I can reveal some non-critical info to a third party for data collection purposes, but I will never give out any confidential information under any circumstance. So please rest assured, Master.¡± I could feel a firm will radiating within May¡¯s eyes as she gazed straight at me. Umu. ¡°Honestly speaking, my situation is, uh, quite peculiar. I also have a lot I don¡¯t understand about my situation myself, so I¡¯m worried that my circumstances will spread to the independent AImunity if I talk to you about it, May.¡± ¡°I see. I understand. However, let me just reiterate that I am a maidroidpletely dedicated to serving you, Master. It¡¯s my reason for existence. All of me is dedicated to you, Master. So tell me what I should do to prove my loyalty and let you believe me.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡­ Proving that May would absolutely not betray me is quite difficult, I¡¯m afraid.¡± It¡¯s not like I can monitor May¡¯s data transmissions 24/7. And even if I request for hermunication logs, there¡¯s no guarantee that she¡¯ll give me theplete list. Since she can tamper freely with those logs before handing them over, they can¡¯t serve as proof of her loyalty anyway. ¡°So we won¡¯t get anywhere if I don¡¯t start trusting you, huh May? Well, being paranoid all the time is quite tiresome anyway. Keep everything I tell you a secret, okay?¡± ¡°Yes. Thank you very much, Master. I will never betray your trust.¡± ¡°I hope so.¡± May vowed to keep my matters a secret with an unchanging serious expression. Well, it¡¯s not like she disys any other expression apart from this one anyway. And so, I started talking about my circumstances, beginning with me suddenly waking up and finding myself in this dimension. The moment I woke up, I was already inside Krishna¡¯s cockpit. I then rted my various misadventures in this dimension ¨C my journey to Termaine Prime, meeting the then-lieutenant and now Major Serena, the fact that this world and a game called Ste Online in my home dimension were eerily simr, my encounter with Elma, registering as a mercenary, rescuing Mimi, and the battle in the Termaine star system. ¡°So, ording to your perception Master, this world is simr to a video game called¡ºSte Online¡»that was released in what you im to be the¡ºreal world¡», correct?¡± ¡°From my perspective, that¡¯s exactly the case. But there is also a lot of stuff that¡¯s different from my in-game knowledge. For example, I have no memory of a space empire called Gran or the Vereverem Federation existing in the game, and the star systems disyed on the Gxy Map are also entirely unfamiliar to me. And yet the starship models, equipment, as well as other products on the market were all in the game.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ What curious circumstances. By the way Master, are you familiar with something called the Simtion Theory?¡± ¡°Simtion Theory? Can¡¯t say I am.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a theory in which I, Master, and all other existing phenomena, are created by a hyperplexputer simtion utilizing untold amounts of data and requiring transcendental technology.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pretty scary theory. So that means everything in this world is merely created by that so-calledputer simtion, right? I kinda feel it devalues the preciousness of lives.¡± ¡°Yes, that is the case, isn¡¯t it? But, considering your circumstances, it¡¯s not like this theory ispletely off the mark, correct? You were suddenly sent to a world that greatly resembles the game you were ying after all.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t considered it myself, but I just can¡¯t bring myself to believe this is all just some virtual simtion, especially after meeting MImi and Elma. And in the first ce, the technological level of my world is lightyears behind this one. Actually, it¡¯s also possible that somewhere in this vast universe, the world I was from is actually being simted for who-knows-what reason. In other words, it¡¯s not like I was thrown into a world simr to the game I was ying, but I was just thrown out of that simtion and ended up in my present circumstances. Well, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s a way to find out right now.¡± Actually, the theory I shared with Mimi and Elma about how my consciousness from a parallel universe was thrown inside the body of the ¡®me¡¯ existing in this universe can also be one possibility. In any case, I still feel a kind of disconnect from my previous and present circumstances sometimes. The point is, I¡¯m absolutely clueless. Yup. ¡°Honestly speaking, I feel it¡¯s a waste of time to be hung up with these kinds of things. There may be a possibility of finding out what¡¯s up if I go around dering ¡®I¡¯m not a person from this universe, so please help me out!¡± or something. But I bet I¡¯ll just be treated as someone crazy by most people, or maybe a subject of research. Instead of worrying about it, I¡¯m more cool with living it up every day and enjoying my time with everyone.¡± Yeah. That¡¯s what I honestly feel right now. It¡¯s great that I was able to register in the Mercenary Guild, which is such a convenient and helpful organization. It¡¯s also great that I had Krishna with me. If I didn¡¯t have Krishna, I¡¯d probably be worse off than Mimi when I first encountered her. ¡°I see¡­¡­ You have a point. I also agree that it¡¯s fine if Master believes it to be so.¡± ¡°There probably woulde a time when I¡¯ll have to actively search for answers. But there¡¯s no need to do that just yet. Probably.¡± And it¡¯s not like I absolutely want to return to my former world anyway. It¡¯s true that I¡¯m curious about whatever happened in my previous world when I disappeared, but since I can¡¯t get back, then there¡¯s no use thinking about it. It would be a different story if I left my family or a lover back there, but unfortunately, I have neither of those. For better or for worse anyway. In fact, I actually enjoy staying in this world more. There¡¯s also Mimi and Elma to consider. ¡°I guess this should be enough for this particr topic. Anything else you wanna ask me, May?¡± ¡°Yes. How about¨C¡± Afterward, I continued answering the curious May¡¯s questions as we passed the time together. Chapter 91 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone It¡¯s been three days ever since we got assigned to guard the civilian cargo ships affiliated with the independent anti-pirate fleet led by Major Serena. ¡ºMaybe the pirates aren¡¯t taking the bait because you¡¯re with us?¡» ¡°It¡¯s not my fault! They probably found out that this ship is actually being used as a decoy by you all.¡± ¡ºI¡¯m sorry, but that¡¯s impossible. We¡¯ve changed the ship ID and registered name just recently.¡» TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°You¡¯re talking like it was nothing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s thanks to the special rights granted by the state¡­¡­¡± A ship ID is used to register and identify every ship in active service and is unique for every ship. There¡¯s no case of ships with matching IDs, and since it¡¯s so important, you can¡¯t change your ship ID once it¡¯s assigned. Normally, that is. Well, it¡¯s not like there aren¡¯t any loopholes. In fact, the ships pirates use have IDs that correspond to the ships they¡¯ve supposedly shot down or ships that have been reported missing. That¡¯s because they normally retrofit usable ships stolen from their victims and turn them into pirate ships. Going back to the earlier discussion, an ID is used to make every ship easily identifiable even though there may be lots of active ships of the same model. It makes every ship have a unique identity. So saying that they¡¯ve managed to easily change the ship ID is not normal in the least. I¡¯ll just pretend I didn¡¯t hear it. I turned toward Chris to warn her, but she already had her hands blocking her ears while sporting a knowing look. It looks like she¡¯s aware this convo was off the record as well. If this were a manga, she would have her mouth drawn like an X mark. If you¡¯re wondering what we were all up to, we¡¯re all just standing by in the cockpit. Maybe it was because things have been quite peaceful for the past few days. Major Serena seemed to have enough free time to exchange some lighthearted banter with us via thems. It seems that she deals with paperwork whenever there¡¯s a lull in pirate activity, and had just finished sorting out all the documents sent to her. Seeing that her only outlet for stress relief was talking with us via thems, I got a bit worried about our good major¡¯s interpersonal rtionships. Was she really feeling that lonely? By the way, May was currently going around the ship and cleaning it. We told her we did periodically clean up, but ording to May, there was still some umted dust and grime in certain sections of the ship interior, so she set out to clean said sections since she was rtively free. ¡°Let¡¯s leave your conjecture about me warding off the pirates aside first. What¡¯s the current rate of pirate activity in the entire Sierra system, major?¡± ¡ºYou always try to change the subject whenever a conversation doesn¡¯t go in your favor huh¡­ Anyway, due to therge-scale attack a few days ago¡ª¡» As the major started exining, Krishna¡¯s rm suddenly rang out. It looks like the cargo ship got targeted by an interdictor. ¡°¡­¡­Speak of the devil.¡± ¡ºWe¡¯ll head to your coordinates immediately. We¡¯re slightly behind in order to avoid their detection, so it¡¯ll take five minutes for us to arrive. Please hold them off until then.¡» ¡°Aye, aye ma¡¯am. Mimi, switch the radar to activebat mode and connect me to the Pelican IV. We¡¯ll be engaging the enemies as soon as we deactivate the drive, so I¡¯ll leave the defense systems to you as always.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± I started synchronizing the ship¡¯s FTL drive to match the interdictor¡¯s timing. The Pelican IV is attempting to shake the effects of the interdictor off, but it¡¯s probably no use. I believe interdictors work by creating an artificial gravity well in order to forcefully stop a ship traveling via FTL drive. The game vor text described the artificial gravity generators installed into such devices as exceptionally powerful. A ship hit by an interdictor would be trapped by the powerful artificial gravity and would be at the mercy of the attacker. It was a different story for sufficiently powerful and highly mobile ships like Krishna, but a civilian cargo transport ship shaking off an interdictor is next to impossible. In other words, there was no use escaping. ¡°This is Krishna. Please respond, Pelican IV.¡± ¡ºThis is Pelican IV. We¡¯ve been targeted by an interdictor fired from an unidentified ship. We¡¯re trying evasive maneuvers, but it looks like it¡¯s useless.¡» ¡°This is Krishna¡¯s Captain HIro speaking. Stop trying to resist and just allow the interdictor to pull you out to regr space. We¡¯ll be able to mount a more effective counterattack and prevent any more strain on the ship¡¯s generator that way. Once you get back to normal space, please deploy your shields at the maximum output and prepare your defenses. The cavalry¡¯sing soon.¡± ¡ºRoger. Good luck. We¡¯ll prepare for close quartersbat as well.¡» The transmission was cut. The supposedly civilian cargo ship, Pelican IV, was actually filled with highly trained imperial soldiers wearing thetest cutting edge military issue power armors. If the pirates ever manage to board the ship, they¡¯d be greeted by armed to the teeth macho onii-sans sporting scary-looking smiles. Just imagining it was giving me the chills. ¡°We¡¯ll probably get attacked soon. Be sure to check your seatbelts,dies. May.¡± ¡ºYes, Master.¡» I hailed May, who was still busy cleaning, via the inte, and she promptly replied. ¡°We¡¯ll be enteringbat soon. Please make sure to evacuate to a safe spot on the ship.¡± ¡ºYes. Understood. Good luck, Master.¡» ¡°Yeah.¡± After the short exchange, I proceeded with confirming the state of the ship¡¯s weapon systems and made sure there were no problems. We were able to acquire ammo for the ballistic shot cannons via the military, so we¡¯re good to go. We won¡¯t be losing to those damn pirates. ¡°The Pelican IV has started dropping their propulsion output. The number of enemy ships is¡­¡­ Eh!?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Uh, um, the number of enemy ships is eleven.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°There arerge ships among the enemies¡­ To be specific, there¡¯s one battleship and three heavy cruisers¡­¡­¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡­¡± So therge ships aren¡¯t your run-of-the mill retrofitted pirate ships, but military heavy cruisers, and at least one military battleship. By the way, destroyers are ssified as medium-ss ships while corvettes are small to medium-ss depending on the model. ¡°I have a really bad feeling about this.¡± ¡°Hahaha. Me too. Once we get out there, fire off all the chaff and res, and turn the ECM on full st.¡± After my exchange with Elma, we fully synched with the interdictor and went back to normal space. As soon as we got out, I fired up Krishna¡¯s generator to maximum output and punched the afterburners to elerate. ¡°Oh boy! They just fired at us without even a shred of mercy! How scary!¡± ¡°Is this the time to be cracking jokes!?¡± ¡°Hieee!¡± The spot Krishna was at earlier was instantly smothered with crimson-coloredser fire. If I didn¡¯t elerate immediately, we would have taken a direct hit. I turned off the flight assist mode, adjusted the velocity and vectors, and used the attitude control thrusters to change the ship¡¯s heading. Krishna¡¯s bow pointed toward the enemy battleship and we finally got a full view of it. ¡°They¡¯re older models, but those are obviously an imperial military battleship and heavy cruisers. The military¡¯s a bit toox with their weapons and equipment, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t they just too brazen!?¡± After Elma¡¯s cry, I fired the thrusters to maximum output and charged straight toward the battleship. It would be foolish to attempt a long range shoot out with a bona fide military battleship after all. The more you take distance from them, the higher the chance of falling prey to their powerfulser cannons. The Krishna¡¯s inertial control system mitigated the Gs resulting from high-speed maneuvers somewhat, but I still couldn¡¯t help but grit my teeth. I and Elma should be fine, but I imagine it¡¯s a bit hard for Mimi and Chris to bear. Especially Chris. ¡°Uuukuuuuh¡­¡­!¡± I heard Chris¡¯s mournful cry from the back, but unfortunately, I can¡¯t do anything about it right now. Facing the military grade high-outputser cannons of an honest-to-goodness battleship, even Krishna wouldn¡¯t be able tost long if it took a direct hit. It¡¯d saturate the shields in no time. ¡°What are we gonna do?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have any choice but to face them head-on!¡± While facing a battleship, the fastest way to beat it was to swiftly close in, hit it with an anti-ship reactive torpedo, and blow it to kingdome. It¡¯s one of the basics of battling a squadron of ships of a higher size ss. But I¡¯m not nning to waste one on these guys. And so¡­ I maneuvered Krishna straight towards the battleship¡¯s blind spot while being pelted by a torrential rain of defensive fire. The enemy ship attempted to use their sub-thrusters to change the ship¡¯s heading to prevent that from happening. The enemy heavy cruisers and assault ships moved in to provide some cover as well¡­ but it¡¯s toote. ¡°There we go!¡± We passed by the battleship¡¯s bridge and I used the sub-thrusters to change the heading of the ship once more. We managed to getpletely behind the ship. Now that we¡¯re in position, I¡¯ve practically prevented the enemy ships from firing off their more powerfulser artillery since there¡¯s a good chance of friendly fire. In other words, I¡¯ve used the enemy¡¯s huge battleship as a shield. If I went at thempletely head-on, we¡¯d probably be shot down in less than ten seconds. In other words, this is using my enemies against their own. ¡ºThe small-sizedbat ship has stuck to our backside!¡» ¡ºMayday! Mayday!¡» They have no choice but to use their own small crafts to attempt to shoot us down. But there¡¯s little chance Krishna would lose to those aforementioned smallbat ships. I maneuvered Krishna to continue sticking closely to the battleship while exchanging fire with the iing small craft. I brought down each one with volleys from Krishna¡¯s fourrge caliberser cannons and ballistic shot cannons. The enemy ships just keeping only to be shot down, so it¡¯s akin to a turkey shootout. ¡°This is such a weird maneuver. Just how did youe up with something this freaky¡­?¡± ¡°Eh? W-What¡¯s actually happening? What do you mean, Elma-san?¡± ¡°We¡¯re sticking closely to the rear of the enemy battleship by using the reverse and attitude control thrusters while fighting off the other enemy shipsing for us. I honestly don¡¯t know how he can pull off something this freaky though.¡± C¡¯mon. Don¡¯t keep calling it freaky. I¡¯m just keeping an eye on the radar and the HUD while predicting the movement of the enemy ships and repeatedly adjusting the position of Krishna by using the reverse and attitude control thrusters. Well, it¡¯s true that it takes quite a bit of concentration to pull something like this off. ¡ºT-This guy isn¡¯t budging!? Hey, hurry up and shoot it down!¡» ¡ºWhat¡¯s with those creepy maneuvers¡­¡­ Just how the hell is he maintaining that position while constantly on the move?¡» ¡ºDammit! Fighter III got shot down! It has more firepower than we thought!¡» I listened in to the enemym exchanges. They¡¯re using themon frequency used by the imperial military. So are these guys really soldiers? Oi, oi, oi. This isn¡¯t in the league of beingx with weapons and equipment anymore. These guys are actually bona fide soldiers, man. Did Chris¡¯s uncle manage to buy their services? Just who are these guys? I kept exchanging fire with the enemies for several minutes. After a few more moments, the gship of the imperial independent anti-pirate fleet, Restalias, finally came into view. Following the Restalias were five heavy cruisers, three destroyers, and two corvettes, with each letting out intimidating thunderous roars. They just came out from subspace via FTL drives, so the load roars may be a result of that. ¡ºTo all the unidentified imperial military warships engaged in battle! We are the imperial independent mobile anti-pirate fleet. This is themander of this fleet, Major Serena Holz speaking! You are heavily suspected of a gross breach of imperial military regtions! Stop fighting immediately and depower your engines!¡» The cavalry¡¯s finally here. I hope this settles it. Chapter 92 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone 092 ¨C Just by a Hair¡¯s Breadth With the arrival of the independent fleet helmed by Major Serena, the chaotic battle came to a halt¡­ Or at least, that was what we hoped would happen. ¡°Aren¡¯t they fighting more fiercely than before?¡± Yep. The enemies didn¡¯t stop. The battleship Krishna was sticking to still kept trying to lose us, and the remaining smallbat craft were still trying to tear us off said battleship. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡ºI repeat! Immediately haltbat and depower your generators! Your acts are severe enough to be court martialed by the military disciplinary council! If you do notply, we will be forced to bring down your ships in ordance with article six, paragraph three of the imperial military codex! Haltbat and depower your generators now!¡» Major Serena bellowed her orders through thems once more. She was obviously getting irritated, as evidenced by her voice. However, the enemy ships just wouldn¡¯t stop. Or rather, they¡¯repletely ignoring the Pelican IV and concentrating their fire on us. Their objective is as in as day. ¡°Will they stop?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so?¡± ¡°Is it really impossible?¡± ¡°Their objective is obviously me. I do not know just how my uncle was able to enlist their services, it¡¯s evident that there¡¯s no more path of retreat for them.¡± Chris calmly analyzed the situation. I couldn¡¯t let my concentration break for even a moment, so I wasn¡¯t able to see her expression, but she sounded rather down. I¡¯m sure she was making a cute frustrated expression. That uncle of hers was definitely a bona fide viin for trying to kill such a cute and loveable girl. There¡¯s no doubt. ¡ºMake sure to avoid damaging the Vuestor as much as possible. All ships, weapons free!¡» ¡º¡­¡­Roger. All ships, weapons free!¡» A shrill alert rang out within Krishna¡¯s cockpit. At the same time, several heat signatures were simultaneously released by all the remainingbat craft and the two heavy cruisers. What weapons free meant was to unleash every avable weapon at one¡¯s disposal in order to eliminate one¡¯s enemies. And that meant they didn¡¯t care about involving the battleship in their attack and fired all their weapons in order to bring Krishna down! Hahaha! You damn bastards! ¡°Are these guys insane!?¡± ¡°Multiple missiles iing!¡± ¡ºAll ships, weapons free! Bring down the rogue ships! Begin firing!¡» Major Serena finally ran out of patience and ordered the independent fleet to attack. Now that it¡¯se to this, there¡¯s no point in using the battleship as a shield anymore. They really were serious about not caring if the battleship gets damaged. If we take on all of those shots, we¡¯d be toast. And Krishna would definitely get destroyed before the battleship does. ¡°Nuuuuuoooooh! Dammit!¡± ¡°Kuh!¡± ¡°Hiuu!¡± ¡°Guuu!¡± I disengaged from the battleship¡¯s rear and jumped straight through the hail ofsers and missiles. I fired consecutive shots of the shot cannons in order to clear out the seeker missiles heading our way. I then plunged the ship inside the resulting explosion. ¡°Yeah! That went well!¡± I used the resulting explosion as cover in order to disappear from the enemy¡¯s sights and took that opportunity to break away. Elma also did great by discharging all the remaining res just as Krishna plunged into the explosions of mes, causing even more seeker missiles to go off. As expected of Elma. I¡¯m really impressed. But this doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯ve escaped danger. We ended up right in the sights of an enemy heavy cruiser instead. The enemy heavy cruiser¡¯s mainser cannon charged up and prepared to fire at us. ¡°Chaaaff!¡± ¡°Roger!¡± Krishna dispersed chaff in order to obstruct the lock of the enemy ship as I made evasive maneuvers. However, since we were right in front of the ship, we weren¡¯t able to avoid the entire brunt of the attack. Another shrill alert rang out inside the cockpit, and Krishna¡¯s energy shield began flickering weakly. Even Krishna¡¯s shields wouldn¡¯t be able to bear a direct hit from a military heavy cruiser¡¯s main cannon. ¡°T-The shield!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s nothing to panic about just yet.¡± ¡°Y-You sure are calm, Hiro-sama.¡± As I calmed down the flustered Mimi, I managed to get around the enemy heavy cruiser. But extremely powerful-looking crimsonser rays were still persistently sting away at Krishna from behind. The enemy heavy cruiser must have changed bearings and turned around in order to target us once more. ¡°Man. I¡¯d had my fill of thrills today. Please don¡¯t add any more.¡± ¡°Now I¡¯m sure you¡¯re already a hopeless case, idiot.¡± ¡°If we got hit by that just now¡­¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s okay, I tell you. It¡¯s all ording to n.¡± I was lying through my teeth though. If we took a hit from that earlier st, Krishna would have been damaged severely. It would probably manage to survive though. Krishna¡¯s hull was military grade after all. And it¡¯s of the highest quality to boot. It¡¯s insanely expensive though. I actually experienced taking a direct hit from a heavy cruiser during my time ying Ste Online. I wasn¡¯t able to evade in time, and it was ugly. ¡°That was dangerous.¡± Before long, Krishna was able to escape the range of the heavy cruiser. Of course, the other cruiser andbat craft were still hot on our tail, and we were again chased by enemy fire. But they exposed their nks to Major Serena¡¯s fleet in order to target us, so they took heavy damage from the independent fleet¡¯s support fire. ¡°That was really close.¡± ¡°We were right in the middle of the battle, so it couldn¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡°If we ever took a direct hit, we would have been shot down.¡± Even if they were both using military models, the independent fleet had more advanced ships, so they were able to sessfully neutralize the enemies one after another. One ship got its main engine blown right off, one got its thrusters melted, and one had its upper deck, which housed a majority of its weapons, damaged beyond repair. Thebat crafts and corvettes were all shot down, so the only remaining ship that wasbat capable was the battleship. ¡°Oh boy. It¡¯s finally over.¡± I was currently hiding at the blind spot of an enemy heavy cruiser that had its propulsion systems destroyed. But there was still a danger of the enemy detecting Krishna and firing its main cannon at us, so I was being real careful about it. ¡°Um, do we still need to hide?¡± ¡°It¡¯s best not to take any unnecessary risks.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Yes. Exactly.¡± I answered Mimi¡¯s question. Elma and Chris agreed with me as well. At this point, me revealing Krishna¡¯s position would be a real stupid thing to do. I¡¯m sure they¡¯d immediately shoot us down with their powerful main cannon. In any case, the ones who attacked us are probably members of the imperial military, so I can¡¯t just carelessly attack them without justification. The battle earlier was okay because it was an act of self defense. And there were other members of the imperial military present on the scene after all. One wrong move and we¡¯d be in more trouble than we bargained for. That¡¯s why I held off on using anti-ship reactive torpedoes and avoided firing on the enemy cruisers. I only shot down the smallbat craft that came after us. If Major Serena didn¡¯t make it, then I would have had no qualms with exchanging fire with them, but I¡¯m sure Krishna would have taken considerable damage as a result. And the possibility of us getting shot down wasn¡¯t zero as well. In fact, Krishna¡¯s shield nearly got saturated and brought down during this battle. ¡ºI repeat. Depower your generators. Further sacrifices are meaningless.¡» After a short silence, the remaining enemy ships finally depowered their generators. ¡ºThis is the battleship Vuestor¡¯s first mate, Major Romando Kestrel. Our ship has obeyed yourmand and depowered our generator.¡» ¡ºVery well. What about the captain?¡» ¡ºOur ship¡¯s captain, Colonel Eugen Herrassmith, has chosen to voluntarily take his life, and I have taken overmand.¡» ¡º¡­¡­I see. Proceed with rescuing the survivors. Prepare to be boarded as well.¡» ¡ºMa¡¯am!¡» Just what drove these proud imperial soldiers to desperately attack us like that? Anyway, it looks like the situation has been resolved for the time being. Major Serena¡¯s gship, Restalias, has approached the rogue gship, Vuestor, and her men were now preparing to board it. Cruisers assigned to the independent fleet also proceeded to approach the other moored rogue cruisers. They will now proceed to assume control of the rogue ships. But voluntary suicide huh? What an unpleasant affair. ¡°So it¡¯s finally over¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Probably. We still can¡¯t let our guard down though.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. There¡¯s still a risk of the enemy ships powering up again and attacking us the moment we show ourselves. Let¡¯s watch the situation for now and head back to the Pelican IVter.¡± After saying so, I leaned back on the pilot seat and reached out for the gravity sphere floating beside me. I brought out the straw and took a sip out of the non-carbonated c inside the sphere. Man, having a sweet drink right after an intense battle sure hits the spot. Eh? Whatever happened to the carbonated drinks, you ask? They¡¯re all stored inside the cargo hold. When I opened a bottle inside Krishna, the contents burst out even if I didn¡¯t shake the bottle, resulting in everyone (myself included) getting drenched. So the girls expressly forbade me from opening any carbonated drink while onboard the ship. Just why did it suddenly go off like that though? Is it due to theck of natural atmospheric pressure? Was there a problem with the artificial gravity inside the ship? I have no idea. ¡°Are you alright, May?¡± ¡ºYes. There seems to be no problems with my functions. I did not receive any damage.¡» ¡°Great. The battle¡¯s mostly over, but be prepared for the possibility of unexpected tactical maneuvers until we get back to the Pelican IV.¡± ¡ºUnderstood.¡» Now then, guess we¡¯ll just have to wait it out. At least, we¡¯ll wait until Major Serena and her men finish taking control of the enemy ships. Chapter 93 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone It took some time to subdue all the downed enemy ships. Well, the battleship was especiallyrge after all. And since most of the enemy ships were stripped of their ability to move, the independent fleet also needed to set it up so they could tow the ships away. Since we weren¡¯t of any use for that kind of work, we were just ordered to stand by until they¡¯ve finished everything. And so, we went back inside the civilian(?) cargo ship Pelican IVs hangar and stayed put. We did wait until they¡¯ve taken full control of the battleship before we revealed ourselves though. And since there probably won¡¯t be any more pirate attacks, for the time being, the Pelican IV along with the rest of the independent anti-pirate fleet led by Major Serena went back to the Sierra Prime colony along with the rogue military ships that persistently attacked us earlier. Since the fleet along with the Pelican IV needed to dock for an extended period in order to process the arrest and resupply, we were freed from guard duty. And since the regr pay agreed upon was 80,000 Enels per day, we received a total payment of 240,000 Enels for working as an escort ship for three days. ¡º¡­¡­What about the bounty rewards?¡» TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡ºUnfortunately, they weren¡¯t pirates, so there¡¯s none.¡» After confirming that the ships we fought were part of a rogue imperial military unit, Major Serena disyed a delighted smile. Yeah, I kinda expected this¡­¡­ Well, we really can¡¯t do anything about it anyway. We were then questioned by the military police regarding the entire fiasco. We did record the attack perfectly, beginning with the Pelican IV getting hit with an interdictor, to the subsequent attack on our ship, so they were enough to serve as evidence of the other party¡¯s guilt. Or rather, the guys from the military police kept saying things like ¡®What¡¯s with those weird maneuvers?¡¯ or ¡®It looks kinda disturbing.¡¯ or even ¡®It¡¯s way too freakish, man.¡¯. I do admit my unorthodox maneuvers are kinda weird-looking but don¡¯t call it freaky! And so, we ended up staying at the Sierra Prime colony as well. ¡°We¡¯ll be off then.¡± Today, I and May headed out of Krishna for some business. We were waiting for Chris¡¯s grandfather to arrive and take custody of Chris, so we had to stay inside the colony until then. There was also the option ofing back to the resort, but since we still weren¡¯t sure if Chris¡¯s uncle and his men had given up on taking her life or not, we decided it was safer to stay inside the colony. And so, we decided to get May¡¯s upgrades, which was put off because of Chris¡¯s uncle, over and done with today. Sierra Prime had an Orient Corporation dealer shop avable, and it also had a fully equipped workshop, so it was perfect. I was wondering if they had the materials for May¡¯s upgrade avable since all the parts I specified while designing her were pretty high end, but it seems like the shop on Sierra Prime mainly catered to the rich and famous, so there were plenty of high-end parts and materials in stock. ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure he can protect himself at least, but just in case, be sure to keep an eye on Hiro, May.¡± ¡°Yes. Please leave it to me.¡± May nodded crisply at Elma¡¯s request. ¡°She still hasn¡¯t gotten her upgrades yet, so isn¡¯t that a little unreasonable?¡± ¡°Even if she isn¡¯t customized, she¡¯s probably still stronger than you are.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes. I am approximately 1.5 to 2 times stronger than your average human.¡± May flexed her arms as if to show off her supposed strength. But they still looked more delicate than mine. Well, I don¡¯t think May is the type to bluff, so it¡¯s probably true. ¡°Be careful out there, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°We still don¡¯t know whether or not my uncle¡¯s men are still lurking out there, so please be careful.¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll be fine. See youter guys.¡± After waving goodbye to three, I opened the hatch, extended the ramp, and went down to the port grounds with May. We¡¯ve been able to procure enough food and water via Major Serena, so we can safely stay inside the Krishna for a full month. We really owe her one this time. I¡¯m kinda worried owing her too much woulde to bite us backter on though. ¡°I¡¯ll be counting on you to guide me then.¡± ¡°Yes. Please leave it to me.¡± May nodded briskly and led me out of the port area. We then went down to the area where the workshop was located via elevator. Even if she was mostly expressionless, I kinda felt that May was somewhat excited today. It was very subtle, but I could still sense that she was more cheerful than usual. It may just be my imagination though. But seeing her like this made me feel all warm inside as well. After a few minutes of walking, we finally arrived at the area where the workshop was located. However¡­¡­ ¡°Haah. This sure is something.¡± ¡°?¡± May tilted her head in puzzlement after hearing me sigh. Well, it looks like she has no particr opinion about the scene in front of us right now, but it wasn¡¯t the same for me. How should I describe it? Extremely decadent? Nah, that doesn¡¯t even begin to cover it. Anyway, it was a real sleazy area. There were lots of female androids, or should I say gynoids, walking about. The ce was overflowing with them. The disy windows of various shops all had different models of gynoids within them; from young girl-types to mature onee-san types. There were very few male androids on disy. They had everything; from the cute and cuddly to the risque and provocative. There was even a live demo where several gynoids were doing pole dances while wearing really skimpy outfits. And furthermore, more than a few shops had gynoids trying to appeal to potential customers just like thedies working for red-light leisure clubs back on Earth. Or rather, it was exactly the same. The only difference is that they had gynoids working for them instead of human women. And it wasn¡¯t just gynoids who were doing such things. There were a few male androids too. Now that I got a closer look, the customersing inside those shops weren¡¯t all males. There were quite a few women as well. Heck, I even saw one guy booking an android that looked female, but upon closer inspection, seemed like a male type¡­ Let¡¯s just pretend I didn¡¯t see that. ¡°Is there something amiss, Master?¡± ¡°Uh, n-no. It¡¯s nothing. Don¡¯t mind me.¡± May still looked puzzled at my reaction. It looks like she doesn¡¯t get where I¡¯ming from at all. For AI that gained their official citizenship by ¡®healing¡¯ lots of imperial youngds and men (in various ways), this might be just like regr hometown scenery for them. Yeah, it should be like that, I guess. For them, it was quite normal to meet and get together with their potential ¡®masters¡¯ in ces like this. Just like birds raised in cages¡­¡­ After leaving the android town with May, we finally reached the section where the workshops were located. Aftering here, the sleazy atmosphere more or less abated. But this waspared to the scenery earlier. The workshops still advertised thetest gynoid models (loli-type) and hottest selling models (dynamite-body mature oneesan-type) on their holo-disys around the shop entrances. They didn¡¯t even use mosaic censoring! H-How depraved. ¡°Um, awe should be arriving soon, right?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s just over there.¡± I moved my gaze toward the direction May pointed at, and saw a huge building with thepany name disyed in big, bold letters out front. I thought we were justing to a small branch office, but it was significantlyrger than most of the other shops in the area. More specifically, it was three times as big. ¡°It¡¯s huge.¡± ¡°The Orient Corporation is one of the top android manufacturers in the Sierra star system after all.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Since it was a bigpany, it made sense that their facilities would also be grand. This is probably due to the customer base beingrge in number as well. So they needed a big facility to cater to all of them. We finally entered the Orient Corporation building. Once we did, a female receptionist turned her gaze toward us straight away. Hm? Oh, so she wasn¡¯t human either. She was a gynoid too. ¡°Wee! Wee to the workshop directly managed by the Orient Corporation! It¡¯s about May¡¯s upgrades, yes? Please follow me.¡± We didn¡¯t say anything yet, but the gynoid receptionist already began guiding us while sporting a bright smile. The moment she left her seat, another gynoid receptionist came out from a room at the back and took over her duties. ¡°We don¡¯t really need to use words tomunicate with each other.¡± ¡°I see.¡± I nodded at May¡¯s exnation. I couldn¡¯t perceive it of course, but it seems theymunicated via some form of data exchange earlier. Well, for androids like them, using words tomunicate isn¡¯t exactly necessary huh. We were then led to another section of the building that looked simr to a coffee shop. It looks like there weren¡¯t any other customers except for me. ¡°This is?¡± ¡°Yes! This is a space for customers to rx while waiting for their partner¡¯s upgrades to be finished! I shall prepare some drinks for you right away!¡± ¡°O-Okay?¡± ¡°I will undergo my upgrades soon. Please take good care of Hiro-sama while I¡¯m away.¡± ¡°Yes! Please leave it to me!¡± May bowed her head toward me and walked away. Since I didn¡¯t have anything better to do, I took up the receptionist gynoid¡¯s offer and sat on the counter while waiting for May¡¯s upgrades to finish. ¡°What kind of drink do you prefer?¡± ¡°Oh, um, some chilled tea would be nice.¡± ¡°Certainly!¡± The receptionist gynoid cheerfully stepped inside the coffee shop¡¯s counter and started preparing my drink. This receptionist gynoid sure is bubbly. I set May¡¯s expression values at a low level, so she hardly changed facial expressions and generally felt like a cool andposeddy. I wonder what she would be like if her expression values were set higher? I can¡¯t really imagine it though. ¡°Thank you for waiting!¡± ¡°Thanks. How long would the upgrading take?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see. In May¡¯s case, she would need to be transferred instead of receiving regr upgrades, so it probably wouldn¡¯t take long.¡± ¡°Transferred?¡± ¡°Yes! For example, in the case of minor artificial muscle upgrades or recement of worn-out joints, we can keep most of the original body and just rece the requisite parts. But this time, most of May¡¯sponents would need to be reced, so it would be faster to transfer her data to a fully prepared body built from the ground up instead of tampering with her old one. That would be more efficient after all.¡± ¡°I see.¡± So it¡¯s kinda like upgrading your PC. If you only want to add some memory or rece the CPU¡¯s cooling fan, you can just swap the old ones for new parts. But if you want to rece most of the parts including the CPU, motherboard, and power supply, it would be better to just transfer your data to apletely new PC rig. Pros would suggest you do so as well. ¡°The data transfer would take approximately two hours. If you¡¯d like, I can give you some pointers regarding your future life with May-san!¡± ¡°That sounds good. Go right ahead.¡± While waiting for May, I spent my time listening to the gynoid receptionist¡¯s lecture regarding maidroid maintenance and other stuff. She told me about all the required tools and equipment for maintenance. She also lectured me about troubleshooting as well as where to contact if said trouble was already out of my league. This went on for an entire two hours. As a result, my Enel bnce fell once more since I had to pay for the lecture. But I guess I did learn a lot, so it was more or less worth it. It kinda felt like I was taken for a ride again, but oh well. Chapter 94 Chapter 94 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°¡­¡­You didn¡¯t really change much, huh?¡± I checked May out after she returned and gave my impression. Well, the ones that got changed were mostly internal stuff like the synthetic skeleton, muscle fibers, power source, and electronic brain, so I guess it made sense that her appearance mostly remained the same. ¡°Yes. There was no change to my external appearance. Would it have been better if it was changed as well?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s better this way.¡± I shook my head at May¡¯s question. Well, even though she seemed to have not changed much, I¡¯m sure her overall specs and performance far outstrip evenbat-specialized robots. In other words, she¡¯spleted her transformation into a super maidroid. I bet she can even go toe to toe with me even if I wore my custom power armor. Although she¡¯d have to be equipped with the appropriate weapons in order to do so. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°Also, since I¡¯ve been upgraded, a lot more functions have been unlocked.¡± ¡°More functions?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve gained a sense of taste, and have been installed with a cooking program, so I can even rival the performance of an auto-cooker. A detailed sense of touch has also been implemented, so I can perform even morefortable massages.¡± ¡°Massage, huh. That sounds good. Maybe I¡¯ll have you give me a session every time I finish working out.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± May nodded in agreement after hearing my suggestion. And, uh, this might go without saying, but I¡¯m pretty sure May has been given the required abilities to perform¡®those¡¯kinds of stuff. Y¡¯know¡­ Those. It can¡¯t be helped since it was one of the biggest contributing factors to the continued development of the AImunity, and it deeply ties in with their sense of identity. Ugh. This is no good. Since Chris began staying with us, lots of things ended being pent up for a while now. I have to get my mind out of the gutter. This is not the time to be thinking about that sort of stuff. The fact that this ce stimtes those sorts of desires doesn¡¯t help too. ¡°Please take good care of her!¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, that goes without saying.¡± Ugh. I still can¡¯t help but think in ¡®that¡¯ direction after hearing that. I¡¯m sure what the receptionist gynoid meant was just to properly maintain and care for my personal maidroid from now on, but I ended up taking it as her saying I can now freely have my way with said maidroid. I just can¡¯t help but feel guilty; especially since I¡¯ll be bringing her back home and have her stay with the women who I¡¯ve had physical rtions with. Do you guys get it? My chest feels kinda heavy because of the sense of guilt. And for the record, I didn¡¯t buy May with those kinds of intentions in mind. Due to her specs, she can serve as apetent bodyguard, as well as a talented AI secretary with a powerful positron brain designed for reallyplex calctions. I definitely got what I paid for with her. So I guess there¡¯s no use feeling this guilty after all. That¡¯s surely the case. Yeah¡­ ¡°¡­¡­¡± I gave May a once-over again. She sported long, glossy, ck hair. Her dark eyes, akin to obsidian jewels, shone brightly behind stylish red-framed sses. She didn¡¯t disy much of an expression, but it¡¯s exactly due to this that she had the look of a cool beauty. ced neatly on top of her head was a white maid headdress, and she wore Victorian-style maid clothes that hugged her superb body lines. In other words, she was extremely beautiful. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± May tilted her head cutely at my continued scrutiny. Ugh. Perhaps this gesture of hers was also added by the makers in order to make her seem even cuter. Each and every movement of hers was picturesque and worthy of a thousand paintings, and they had the almost magical quality of captivating all who witnessed them, making them a prisoner of her charms. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. I just thought about how your performance has been majorly improved despite not having changed much in appearance.¡± ¡°Can you really perceive how much my overall abilities and power have improved just by visual assessment, Master?¡± May then flexed her biceps, as if to show off her improved power. You really like that pose, don¡¯t you? It is kinda cute though. ¡°Um¡­ Oh, right. You also got supplied with weapons, right? What kind of weapons are they?¡± ¡°Do you want to take a look at them?¡± ¡°Yeah, please show them to me.¡± May then took out a ck steel ball from somewhere. What is it? Some kind of grenade? ¡°This is made out ofpressed metal alloy used to make high-grade power armor, military battleship hulls, and the like. Utilizing my throwing power, the impact from it will be able to prate the defenses of standard power armors and deal fatal damage to the pilot within. I can also adjust the power to only give incapacitating injuries instead of fatal ones.¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple but brutal.¡± ¡°This is a security baton made with the same material. With my current strength, a hit with this baton at full swing can crush standard power armors and deal damage to the pilot within as well.¡± May took out a 40 cm long ck alloy baton from who knows where again. Just where is she storing this stuff? It didn¡¯t seem all that fancy, but it sure looked pretty tough. Even so, she keeps using power armors as an example to be destroyed. Does she feel a sort of rivalry between her and power armors? Maybe she wants to prove she¡¯s the better machine or something? But they can¡¯t even converse with people like androids can, so what¡¯s the point ofpeting with them? Anyway, it looks like all of the weapons May took out kinda had a primitive feel to them, and focused greatly on destruction via physical impact. It looks like May prefers to be up close and personal when inbat. ¡°Krishna already has a wide assortment of energy weapons, so I focused on getting physical ones.¡± ¡°I see.¡± She does have a point. There are things likeser rifles and aseruncher inside Krishna¡¯s cargo hold after all. It seems May focused on weapons that can be easily concealed as well. ¡°We will deliver the rest of your orders to your shipter!¡± ¡°Ah, mm.¡± I kinda got worn out after looking at all the low-tech, primitive, blunt force weapons May ended up purchasing. ¡°Now then, we¡¯ll have to check her movement functions next!¡± ¡°Movement functions?¡± ¡°Yes! Please go ahead and feel directly with your body if her specs are to your liking. We can¡¯t have customersing back here andining about this and that after the fact, you see. It would have a negative impact on the image of ourpany.¡± The receptionist gynoid then gave me a somewhat suspect smile as she made a fist. She then kept thrusting her thumb in and out between her index and middle finger. I wrapped her outstretched fist within my hands and lowered it. The receptionist gynoid tilted her head cutely in puzzlement. ¡°It¡¯s the standard procedure you know?¡± ¡°Oh c¡¯mon. You bring this up on me all of a sudden and expect me to just say OK!?¡± ¡°More than 90% of our customers agree with it straight away though. Anyway, that¡¯s just the kind of existence we all are. You don¡¯t have to worry about it so much, sir.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too nonchnt about all this! I don¡¯t even know what to say anymore!¡± ¡°Ohe on, sir. It¡¯s not like you aren¡¯t interested in that sort of stuff, right?¡± The refreshing smile on the female gynoid¡¯s face changed into a lewd one. Dammit! Of course, I¡¯m interested! ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s part of the procedure, sir. May-san, please.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± May hugged one of my arms and started pulling me toward who knows where. Gaah! This soft sensation enveloping my arm is just¡­ No, wait, hold up! Ugh. She¡¯s strong! Really strong! I can¡¯t seem to hold my ground one bit. ¡°Wait, wait, wait! Calm down, May. Mimi and the others are waiting for us back at the ship!¡± ¡°¡­¡­You don¡¯t want me?¡± For the first time, May disyed a sorrowful expression. Graaaaaah! That¡¯s just cheating. Since she¡¯s normally expressionless, the impact of seeing her act like this was more than double. ¡°¡­¡­I-I do want you.¡± ¡°Really? Alright then.¡± May returned to her usual cold expression and started pulling me again. Did Mimi and Elma know this was going to happen so they didn¡¯t insist oning along? Were they really both aware of this? It can¡¯t be. No, that¡¯s probably not it. I¡¯m overthinking things. Yeah, I¡¯m sure I am. I hope. Yosh! Now that it¡¯se to this, I say bring it! Since this android maid was overflowing with service spirit, then I have no choice but to take her on. I¡¯m gonna do this, guys! And I ain¡¯t gonna lose! Chapter 95 Chapter 95 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°I sincerely wish for your happiness, both of you¨C!¡± The receptionist gynoid waved goodbye at us while disying a first-ss business smile. Please be happy? Why does it sound like she¡¯s congratting us on our marriage? On second thought, for AI like them, maybe getting an owner really does equate to marriage in a sense. So, when you customize a gynoid and buy it, it¡¯s like getting a made to order wife¡­¡­? Ugh. I better not think about this stuff anymore. It¡¯s giving me a headache. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± ¡°I turned to the side and found May tilting her head cutely as she gave me a questioning look. Our degree of closeness was leagues apart from before we arrived at the workshop. We were walking so close to each other that I didn¡¯t even have to stretch out my arm to grab her soft waist. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°Is something bothering you?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± After seeing May disy a faint smile, my cheeks couldn¡¯t help but flush red. That¡¯s cause it was freaking amazing. How can I even begin to describe it¡­? Anyway, it was freaking amazing. It was so amazing that I¡¯mpletely at a loss for words. If you really pressed me to describe the experience, then I can only say it ¡®felt right¡¯. Yep, that¡¯s it. You want me to give you guys the nitty gritty? Just don¡¯t ask. It¡¯s embarrassing. It went beyond winning or losing. It was a sublime experience for sure. I walked back to the Krishna with an extra spring in my step, but what greeted me when we arrived was the sight of macho onii-sans wieldingser rifles, who were standing guard outside the ship for some reason. Judging from their equipment, they don¡¯t seem like soldiers from the imperial military, but seeing as they wore matching uniforms and armor, they should be part of some sort of organization. ¡°They should be part of Earl Daleinwald¡¯s private troops. They likely serve as his personal bodyguards.¡± ¡°Really? So that means Chris¡¯s grandfather has arrived, right?¡± ¡°Yes. They arrived while we were going through the ¡®fitting¡¯ process. As we were indisposed at the time and couldn¡¯t return back to Krishna right away, I contacted the ship and informed them that we were busy procuring additional weapons to enhance security.¡± ¡°O-Okay.¡± A ¡®fitting¡¯ process huh. Hahaha, that¡¯s one way to call it. And, well, it¡¯s true that we did purchase additional weapons. Yep. It wasn¡¯t a lie folks. ¡°But how and when did you contact the ship anyway¡­?¡± ¡°I essed Master¡¯s portable data terminal earlier and replied to Mimi and Elma¡¯s message using the app.¡± ¡°Oh, okay.¡± I guess it¡¯s pointless to ask just how she got ess to my terminal huh. May right now is equipped with an ultrapact high-performance positron brain capable ofplex calction functions, and has transformed into a true super AI robo-maid. And herbat capabilities are nothing to sneeze at as well. Actually, it was possible to rely on May for arge number of stuff, but I felt it would cause me to be a useless sleazebag, so I put a stop to that train of thought. Even if I have a super AI maid, I won¡¯t lose toziness! I renewed that vow inside my heart and started walking toward the macho onii-sans. They became visibly alert when they saw me. One of them also used a portablem device attached to his ear to contact someone. Were they asking for reinforcements or something? That¡¯s my ship though, guys. ¡°Halt. Stop right there.¡± ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll stop, see. I don¡¯t want to be on the receiving end of that nasty-lookingser rifle after all.¡± I obeyed theirmand and stopped in my tracks. They should be able to confirm that I¡¯m the owner of the ship soon, so there¡¯s no need to make a scene here. They¡¯re probably Chris¡¯s grandfather¡¯s men after all. May is also acting calm, so I guess there¡¯s no problem. If these guys weren¡¯t really Chris¡¯s grandfather¡¯s men, the May would have subdued them already. ¡°We¡¯ve confirmed your identity. You¡¯re Captain Hiro, correct?¡± ¡°Yep. You¡¯re Earl Daleinwald¡¯s men, right?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct. We¡¯ve been dispatched to serve as Christina-sama¡¯s guards.¡± ¡°I see. Can I enter my ship now?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± The two men made way for us, and we finally climbed up the ramp and entered Krishna. I was a bit worried that they¡¯d suddenly fire at me from behind, but thankfully, that didn¡¯t happen. But it wouldn¡¯t hurt to stay alert. We found the others gathered inside the dining room. And the atmosphere was kinda heavy. Mimi didn¡¯t meet my eyes and kept hugging Chris tight. Elma was the same and kept fiddling with her data terminal. Chris also didn¡¯t turn my way. Did they perhaps find all about my ¡®fitting¡¯ session with May while we were at Orient Corporation¡¯s workshop? Or maybe they were angry because there was some sort of trouble with the earl, and I was out having the time of my life while undergoing the ¡®fitting¡¯ process with May. Or maybe it¡¯s both. Yeah. That¡¯s probably it. But I won¡¯t apologize! ¡°We¡¯re back, guys!¡± ¡°¡­¡­Tsk!¡± ¡°I¡¯m very sorry! Please forgive me!¡± I immediately went down and performed a dogeza in front of Elma. I don¡¯t care if you guys say I¡¯m weak willed! It waspletely my fault that I failed to notice the message. I can¡¯t just make excuses by telling them May basically forced me into the act. And I won¡¯t. ¡°Please forgive us. I was presumptuous even though I only just joined.¡± May also knelt in seiza beside me and bowed in apology. Elma made an awkward-looking face after seeing May and me act this way. ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d react that badly. I was only thinking of troubling you a bit.¡± Elma got up from her seat in a fluster and offered her hands to both of us. ¡°¡­¡­You¡¯re really not angry with me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not. Anyway, I only wanted to frighten you a little. I didn¡¯t n on troubling May. I don¡¯t have anything against her after all.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± May took Elma¡¯s hand and stood up. Seeing what happened, I also tried to get up from my kneeling position. When I made my attempt, I felt a small fist hit the top of my head. ¡°Try to reflect a little more about what you did, you idiot. You just made a high-ranking noble wait for you.¡± ¡°Yeah. Sorry.¡± I honestly nodded my head. ¡°So what¡¯s wrong with Mimi?¡± ¡°I wrote in the message I sent you that Chris¡¯s grandfather arrived, right? So Chris would be heading to her grandfather¡¯s ship after this. Since Mimi and Chris have spent a lot of time together as roommates, they¡¯re both really down about it.¡± I nced at Chris and saw the rims of her eyes were swollen red. Mimi, who was hugging her tightly and patting her head seemed like a gentle mother coaxing her child. So this was the so-called motherly quality. I see. I¡¯ve witnessed something special, it seems. ¡°Uh, so, what happened with the meeting anyway?¡± ¡°¡­¡­You didn¡¯t read the message I sent after all huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about that.¡± I bowed my head in apology towards Elma, who gave me an irritated side-eye. Sorry. I¡¯m still feeling a bit lightheaded after that ¡®fitting¡¯ session, so forgive me for acting dull like this. I¡¯m truly sorry. ¡°We managed to get in contact with them via the Mercenary Guild. Her grandfather wanted to meet her immediately, but since you weren¡¯t here, we didn¡¯t feelfortable with setting out on our own even with some private guards tagging along, so we told them to wait until you came back. In any case, Chris already spoke to her grandfather via thems, so we only need to hand her over afterward. We really couldn¡¯t make any decisions without you, the captain, present.¡± ¡°I see. Okay.¡± I¡¯m this ship¡¯s owner as well as its captain. Even if the other party is a noble, it wouldn¡¯t be good if Elma made a decision on her own without the captain¡¯s knowledge. ¡°So you arranged to contact them once I came back?¡± ¡°Yep. That¡¯s how it is. We¡¯re gonna get in contact with the earl directly. Will you be alright?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I meant yournguage, mister. The other party¡¯s a high ranking noble you know. You can¡¯t talk with him using the same tone you use with that bumbling major.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, really.¡± That¡¯s kinda troublesome. While I was feeling troubled, May raised her hand up and called our attention. ¡°If you would like, I could change the holo-disy and present a perfectly worded response.¡± ¡°Nah. I don¡¯t want to rely on others about this stuff all the time. Anyway, I¡¯ll just try my best to sound formal. If it really is no use, you two can help me out.¡± ¡°Okay, I understand.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After I finished consulting with Elma and May, I turned my attention toward Mimi and Chris. ¡°Well, there you have it. I feel sad about it too, but shall we head over to the cockpit now? The holo-disy in the cockpit is the best one in the ship after all.¡± ¡°Mimi-san¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes.¡± The teary-eyed Mimi finally let go of the simrly teary-eyed Chris. Mm. At least there wasn¡¯t any snoting out of their noses. Even if that were the case, I would have pretended not to see it though. ¡°Go wash your faces a bit and thene to the cockpit, you two. Let¡¯s head over first, Elma, May. Please stand behind meter, you two, and if I mess up somehow, please help me out.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll help as best I can.¡± After nodding to each other, the three of us finally headed for the cockpit. Chapter 96 Chapter 96 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone I was nervous about contacting the earl, but it went smoother than expected. ¡ºWell then, a vehicle wille to pick you all up after fifteen minutes. The earl is looking forward to seeing you all.¡» Yep. We were prepared for a formal talk with the earl, but instead, his secretary arranged an appointment for us and the call ended with that. ¡°I guess he didn¡¯t want to simply meet up via holo-disy and wanted to see us in person.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°Is that really the case¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Hm. I don¡¯t quite understand what grandfather is thinking either.¡± The three girls were mulling over the arrangements made by the earl with puzzled looks on their faces. May stood quietly on the side. She stood all prim and proper, with both hands resting on top of each other in front of her maid dress¡¯s skirt. After getting upgraded, May acted even more elegant and refinedpared to before. Has something fundamental changed within her, I wonder. But maybe it¡¯s just me. And by the way, we had Chris confirm that the person we got in contact with was unmistakably her grandfather¡¯s secretary. You can never be too careful after all. We also did a bit of information gathering on our end. As for the results, we ended up not finding much about the secretary, but we did confirm that a ship that¡¯s owned by House Daleinwald was currently docked inside Sierra Prime. And it wasn¡¯t just a civilian cruiser or luxury ship. It was actually a battleship. It looks like Chris¡¯s grandfather, Earl Abraham Daleinwald, was actually quite wary of his very own son, Balthazar Daleinwald. ¡°In any case, I guess this does indicate that he believes your uncle is aiming for your life, Chris. I think there¡¯s a low chance of this being your uncle¡¯s trap.¡± ¡°Yes. I also think it¡¯s alright. I clearly remember seeing that secretary every time we paid grandfather a visit.¡± ¡°But even so, we still can¡¯t let our guards down.¡± ¡°Yes. Even if it¡¯s true that we got in contact with Earl Daleinwald, it doesn¡¯t mean that Christina-sama¡¯s safety is already 100% guaranteed.¡± May agreed with Elma¡¯s warning. Mimi was still mulling over the situation with furrowed brows. ¡°Anyway, they should be arriving soon. Shall we go ahead? Just in case, make sure to have yourser guns with you. That goes for you too, Mimi.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mimi positively replied as she tapped theser gun that was holstered to her hip. I do hope Mimi can improve her shooting ability soon¡­¡­ She should aim to at least be able to hit a stationary enemy with her gun. I better apany her for some target practice after this matter is over. After getting down from Krishna, the macho onii-sans standing guard gave crisp salutes when they saw Chris with us. Chris exchanged some words with them, and the men looked quite moved as they replied with ¡®We are unworthy of such words, mdy.¡¯ and ¡®We will ensure your safety with our lives if need be, princess!¡¯ enthusiastically. Un. It¡¯s a scene far removed from what I¡¯m used to. ¡°Seeing you like this really brings home the fact that Chris-chan is actually a noble princess, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not royalty though¡­¡­¡± Mimi was acting moved by the scene while Chris disyed a strained smile in response. Before long, a vehicle resembling a jeep stopped in front of Krishna. It¡¯s just like those RVs used to survey distants back on Earth. You¡¯re not familiar with RVs? It ain¡¯t those recreational vehicles used by families to go on a long trip, but recon vehicles used to survey they of thend. They¡¯re used to explore the surface of distants. It was smaller than an average power armor, but it was equipped with an energy shield, so it was a considerably tough vehicle. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have one parked inside Krishna. Hm. But maybe I can purchase one through Mercenary Guild channels. It should be useful for work as well. We can use it to search for relics of past civilizations on unexploreds and whatnot, and sell the gathered data for a good price to willing buyers. But the problem is that it would take up too much space inside Krishna¡¯s cargo bay. We all boarded the RV along with the macho onii-sans, and speedily drove out of the port area. The port area was bustling with activity today. There were several industrial use power armors unloading cargo from ships, a family wearing fancy clothes that probably came here for a vacation, people who looked like they were from the same trade as us, some weird-looking alien creatures that actually seemed like merchants out on business¡­¡­ Anyway, lots of different people were out and about inside the port area. Of course, there were also imperial soldiers walking about. Oh, and I think I saw Major Serena too. Well, she shouldn¡¯t have noticed my stare¨C Huh? She turned my way? So she actually noticed? How¡¯d she do that? Scary. After driving for a while, the RV finally arrived in front of an imposing-looking ship. It wasn¡¯t exactly thetest model, but it was still sufficiently intimidating. It looked quite powerful. You can actually kind of tell the personality and quirks of a fleetmander to a certain extent based on theposition of his or her fleet. And based on this battleship here, I reckon themander is someone who values a sure and steady approach when engaged in battle. Its basic strategy was to steadily bring down the fast vanguard ships while weathering attacks with tight defenses, and exchanging fire with enemy battleships in the rear in a battle of attrition. This ship looked like it could take quite a beating and stille out with guns zing. Looks like themander prioritizes safety and stability above all. If you take a fleet like this head-on without a n, chances are you¡¯d have to expend a considerable amount of effort. ¡°We have been waiting for you all. And I am truly d that you are safe, Christina-sama. It truly is a relief.¡± The RV drove inside the ship¡¯s hangar. After we got off from the vehicle, we met the secretary guy who we talked with earlier via the holo-disy, as well as a woman who seemed to be a maid. Now that I got a good look at them, the personnel walking around busily inside the hangar were all dressed like butlers or maids. Talk about entricity. ¡°It is all thanks to father, mother, and this gentleman, Captain Hiro. What about my grandfather?¡± ¡°He is waiting for you all inside his private quarters. Pleasee with me. Thisdy will be the one to guide the rest of you, Captain Hiro.¡± ¡°Pleasee with me. I shall lead you to the ship¡¯s parlor.¡± The smart-looking maid-san invited us to follow her. Now then, would it really be okay to let Chris meet with her grandfather alone? I exchanged gazes with Chris, and she nodded back to say it was fine. Guess there¡¯s no problem then. I exchanged gazes with Elma just in case, but she also nodded in assent. Okay then. ¡°Understood. We¡¯ll see youter, Chris.¡± ¡°Yes, Hiro-sama.¡± After waving goodbye to a smiling Chris, we followed after the maid from earlier. But man, the interior of this ship sure looks quite fancy. Elmapared Krishna¡¯s interior with that of a first ss luxury cruiser, but this ship easily exceeded Krishna by several leagues. The outside appearance was that of an intimidating battleship, but the interior rivaled that of a five star hotel or an affluent noble¡¯s mansion. Oh boy. As expected of nobles. Even their ships served as impressive status symbols. So this ship served both as House Daleinwald¡¯s gship as well as a mobile holiday vi. How fancy. So that¡¯s why the crew were all dressed as maids and butlers. Un. I actually quite like it. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Why are you all starry-eyed?¡± ¡°No, I was just thinking the owner of this ship has such good taste.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t your ship basically the same?¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah. It has an interior rivalling a luxury cruiser, and you even have a maidroid now. Isn¡¯t it following the same basic style as this ship?¡± ¡°Come to think of it, you¡¯re right¡­¡­¡± She does have a point. Umu. So should I also purchase a mothership that has a simr vibe as this ship to match Krishna? I¡¯m sure it wouldn¡¯t be cheap, but it would probably be more than a few times cheaper than purchasing a detached house with a garden on a residential and official citizenship. And once we get a mothership, we¡¯d be able to carry significantly more cargo. It would increase our business options as well as our ie by several fold. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say. I should really start thinking seriously about purchasing a mothership. I found Krishna spacious before, but now that the crew has increased in number, it¡¯s starting to feel a bit cramped. And no, I have no ns of increasing my crew any further guys. I said no. I¡¯m serious. ¡°It feels like a noble¡¯s mansion, so I can¡¯t seem to settle down¡­¡­¡± ¡°I sort of get where you¡¯reing from, Mimi. But it looks great, doesn¡¯t it? If you keep thinking about how much it costs, you¡¯d just stress yourself out needlessly. Just don¡¯t mind the furnishings much.¡± ¡°I understand what you¡¯re getting at, Elma-san. But the entire atmosphere of this ship just exudes fanciness, so, well¡­¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯ll get used to it soon, Mimi.¡± It seems Mimi¡¯s aesthetic taste leaned more on the punkish side, so the neat and elegant feeling of this ship¡¯s interior doesn¡¯t seem to sit well with her. But it can¡¯t be helped, so she¡¯ll just have to cope. ¡°Please wait here, everyone.¡± The room we were brought to was a wide and luxurious parlor for receiving guests. One side of the walls wasposed of arge ss sheet, and through it, we could see a grand-looking garden. Well, it¡¯s probably just arge holo-disy and not a real garden though. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°I will prepare some drinks. Would you be fine with tea, everyone? If you want something else, don¡¯t hesitate to tell me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with tea. How about you, girls?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have tea as well.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°Understood. Please wait while I prepare your drinks.¡± The maid who guided us here made an elegant bow and left the parlor. After seeing her off with my gaze, I sankfortably in one of the sofas inside the parlor. Oooh. Now that¡¯s what I callfy. The sofa¡¯s incredibly soft and fluffy, but it can still fully support my weight. The table also looked to be made of high-quality natural wood exuding a ck sheen. At least, it seemed just like natural wood when I touched it earlier. If it really was genuine natural wood, then just this one table would cost a heck of a lot of Enels. After a short while, the maid came back with our drinks. It was a steaming beverage with a deep red hue. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°What is it, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°¡­¡­No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± It was different from the tea I was familiar with, but I didn¡¯t want to sound rude, so I kept my thoughts to myself. Thankfully, the aroma and taste were that of normal tea. But what¡¯s with this? Did they add some food coloring while brewing the tea or something? How curious. Maybe it was because of the tea leaves used. We enjoyed the overly red tea and waited at the parlor for about an hour. Then, finally, the one we were waiting for arrived. ¡°The lord is here. Please stand and offer him your sincerest greetings.¡± We followed the words of the maid-san and waited for Earl Daleinwald to enter. Before long, therge double door leading to the parlor opened, and an elderly man with a stately bearing entered the room. Following after him was Chris, who now wore a stylish white dress that made her look like a fairytale princess. The elderly man was tall in stature, and has a very sturdy-looking physique despite his advanced age. Strapped on his waist were two swords ¨C one of regr length and one with a short de. His originally ck hair was peppered with streaks of white, but it still looked well-maintained. But what stood out the most was the man¡¯s eyes. He had deep ck eyes that resembled those of a hawk. They were filled with strength and dignity, and one without sufficient courage would find him or herself cowering before their sharp gaze. I was half-expecting a weak-looking geezer earlier, but it turned out to be a strong old man. ¡°My name is Earl Abraham Daleinwald, and I am the current head of House Daleinwald.¡± Chris¡¯s grandfather, Earl Abraham Daleinwald, introduced himself and turned a sharp gaze toward me. Man. This old man sure is intimidating. Looks like I have to tread carefully around this guy. Now then, how should I go about this, I wonder Chapter 97 Chapter 97 rantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone Since the earl already introduced himself properly, it would be bad manners if we didn¡¯t do the same. I opened my mouth straight away. ¡°I¡¯m a Gold rank mercenary affiliated with the Mercenary Guild, Captain Hiro, your lordship. Please forgive me if I show you any discourtesy, as I am not quite ustomed to using formal addresses yet. These two lovelydies here are crew members of my ship, the Krishna. This is my copilot, Elma. And this is my operator, Mimi. The one standing in the back is our maidroid, May.¡± ¡°I am honored to be in your presence, your lordship. My name is Elma.¡± ¡°L-Likewise, your lordship. I-I¡¯m Mimi.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°This humble one is called May.¡± Elma reverently bowed toward Earl Daleinwald as she introduced herself. Mimi followed after her in a fluster. It looks like Mimi¡¯s lost her cool a bit after meeting a high ranking noble with the regal bearing to match his status. She¡¯s an imperial citizen after all, so she must be even more affectedpared to me. ¡°Umu¡­ Please take your seats, everyone.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± We obeyed the earl¡¯s words and took our seats once more. The maid then refilled our tea. It was more of that shockingly red tea. Should I call it new age tea or something? Nah, let¡¯s just call it tea. Nice and simple. ¡°First, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to all of you. Thank you for doing such a splendid job in taking in and protecting the heiress of the Daleinwald House, my dear granddaughter Christina. As the current head of the Daleinwald House and a grandfather, I am truly thankful.¡± ¡°We are unworthy of such words¡­.. is what I¡¯d like to say, but we really did have a hard time, your lordship.¡± ¡°Hey¡­!¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s the truth, so we need to tell it as it is, right? I¡¯m sure Christina¡¯s already filled you in on the details sir, but we ought to give you our ount of what happened as well.¡± I ignored Elma, who was frantically elbowing my ribs, and carried on with the conversation. ¡°I see. I have heard of what happened from Christina, but I suppose it would be good to hear the details from you as well.¡± Earl Daleinwald nodded magnanimously and gestured for me to continue. When I disyed a smug smile, Elma sharply jabbed her elbow on my ribs. Ouch. I then ryed the entirety of the past events with Mimi, Elma, and Chris supplementing my story from time to time. I told Earl Daleinwald about how we were persistently and mercilessly attacked, how we responded, and how much effort we expended in order to ensure Chris¡¯s safety, in vivid detail. I started with how we were attacked by pirates when we arrived at the Sierra star system, and how we found the cold sleep pod containing Chris in one of the pirate ship wreckages. We couldn¡¯t possibly ignore such a discovery, so we secured the cold sleep pod and brought it back to the Sierra Prime colony. We unlocked the pod at the local port administration office, and found Chris inside. ¡°Fumu. It was truly a huge stroke of fortune that you all managed to find Christina.¡± ¡°Yes. And I also owe my life to dear father and mother, who did everything to ensure that I sessfully escaped.¡± ¡°Yes. You¡¯re absolutely right, dear¡­¡­¡± I allowed the earl and Chris to settle their gloomy feelings a bit and took some sips of the bright red tea. After a few moments of silence, I continued on with the story. After hearing about the situation from Chris, I epted her request for protection after receiving a promise of satisfactory rewards. Afterwards, we made multiple bookings on the three resorts in order to confuse our pursuers, who were sent by Chris¡¯s uncle. But as soon as we left port, we were suddenly attacked, and we had no choice but to repulse them. Then, the resort we chose to stay on was directly attacked by hundreds of pirate ships. But that attack was just cover in order to secretly send down military stealth dropships filled to the brim withbat robots. Then, I used my personal connections in order to get in contact with Major Serena Holz of the imperial independent anti-pirate mobile fleet, and managed to secure her help. And finally, I rted the events of the assault by a rogue imperial military squadron, and how we worked together with the anti-pirate mobile fleet in order to defeat them. ¡°Afterwards, we went back to the Sierra Prime colony, and that¡¯s when we got in contact with you, your lordship.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Umu. It seems your story is simr to what Christina has told me earlier. I promise that you shall receive the appropriatepensation for all your earnest efforts.¡± ¡°Thank you very much, your lordship.¡± I disyed an ingratiating smile. Elma looked like she was trying hard to suppress the urge to strangle my neck though. Anyway, with this, we¡¯ve mostly secured a promise of appropriatepensation. We ended up rescuing Chris and earned a lot of money in the process. This is the best oue. Huh? What if Chris wasn¡¯t a little beauty, you ask? Oh c¡¯mon guys. It doesn¡¯t matter if it was a pretty boy or an uncle. I would have extended my help just the same. I do admit my motivation to help was made stronger by the fact that Chris was a beautiful young girl though. Isn¡¯t that obvious? ¡°We can talk about ourpensationter. May I ask what you n on doing now that you¡¯ve reunited with Christina?¡± ¡°Fumu¡­¡­¡± The earl cupped his chin and silently ruminated after hearing my question. ¡°I brought as much of my forces as I could muster on short notice, but even with this much, we would still have trouble facing a squadronposed of military starships, even if they are one or two generations behind thetest models. If it is fine with you all, I would like to hire you to continue serving as Christina¡¯s private guards for the time being.¡± ¡°As long as there is appropriatepensation, I am more than willing to ept the job. What about you two?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°M-Me too.¡± It looks like Elma and Mimi have no problems with it too. As for May, she would probably follow whatever I decide to do, so I didn¡¯t ask her. ¡°Now then, let us continue talking about your remuneration. First, let us decide on your payment for serving as Christina¡¯s guardians thus far.¡± Earl Daleinwald called in his secretary, and we proceeded with the discussion regarding our payment. It was decided that all of the expenses we ended up using in order to evade the enemy¡¯s pursuit including the money we used to book the resorts were to be fully reimbursed. In addition, we were also going to be paid an additional 5,000,000 Enels as remuneration for serving as Chris¡¯s guards. As expected of a high ranking noble. How generous. He easily forked out more than 8,000,000 Enels just like that. So I take it that the earl considers this amount as nothing muchpared to the life of his dear granddaughter. However, even if we did purchase her on Sierra III, May wasn¡¯t considered a part of the expenses for ensuring Chris¡¯s safety. Well, I guess that¡¯s reasonable. We did just purchase her quite recently, so considering that, it¡¯s reasonable that she wasn¡¯t considered as part of the necessary expenses. Adding the 240,000 Enels we received from guarding the Pelican IV, and cutting out Mimi and Elma¡¯s share of the money, my current assets now amount to about 24.4 million Enels. I¡¯ve also subtracted the money used to buy stuff on Sierra III while we were on vacation, the payment for the lecture given by the receptionist gynoid when we went to the Orient Corporation workshop, May¡¯s option parts and weapons, and all other misceneous expenses. By the way, Mimi¡¯s share for the Pelican IV escort job and being Chris¡¯s guardian was 41,200 Enels. Elma¡¯s was 247,200 Enels. Elma¡¯s earnings should be roughly enough for purchasing a fully customized Bronze rank ship of her own, right? But she hasn¡¯t repaid even a single Enel to me though. I don¡¯t really mind, actually. It¡¯s fun being with her, and she¡¯s really reliable. But I have 24.4 million huh? I think this much is enough to purchase a pretty decent mothership. Well, I¡¯d have to earn a little bit more in order to fully customize it. After we finished discussing the payment for the previous job, we moved on to discuss the details for our new contract. ¡°The average hiring fee for Gold rank mercenaries is 80,000 Enels per day. But we are willing to pay you 250,000 Enels per day to continue acting as escorts to Christina-sama.¡± Earl Deleinwald¡¯s secretary confidently dered our proposed remuneration. Wow. 250,000 Enels a day. How generous. It¡¯s leagues apart from that stingy Major Serena, who only paid us the minimum amount of 80,000. But I was a bit uneasy about the fact that they¡¯re willing to fork out more than three times the regr price. Of course more money is a good thing, but since they were willing to triple the price just like that, there should be a corresponding amount of danger to the job. Maybe there¡¯s still something they¡¯re not telling us. I gave Elma a questioning gaze, and she moved closer to whisper her thoughts to me. ¡°I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a bit more to it, but basically, this is hush money. This may cause a really nasty scandal for the Daleinwald House if word got out after all.¡± ¡°Um, we¡¯ve already told Major Serena about the whole incident though.¡± ¡®I¡¯m sure they¡¯ve already taken that into consideration. Like I said, the things Chris¡¯s uncle pulled off would result in a huge scandal for the Daleinwald House, and their use of military issued stealth dropships and the involvement of a rogue imperial squadron would put the imperial government on the spot as well. Both the empire¡¯s top brass and the Daleinwald House don¡¯t want this matter to blow up more than it already has, so they¡¯re giving us hush money. If we ever mess up, we¡¯ll have both the Daleinwald House and the empire out for our heads, so keep that in mind.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡­ I¡¯ll make sure not to let anything slip. You be careful too, Mimi.¡± ¡°Y-Yes!¡± After listening to Elma¡¯s exnation, Mimi became blue in the face and nodded. Earl Daleinwald just quietly observed our reaction. He was very calm andposed. Chris had a bitter smile on her pretty face, and the secretary had his usual business smile. Man, this old guy¡¯s scary. ¡°We¡¯ll ept those arrangements.¡± ¡°Very well. Resupplying and ¡®cleaning up¡¯ would take a few days more, so just make some preparations for departure for the meantime. We will get in contact with the Mercenary Guildter on and arrange a formal request.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± I was curious about what he meant by ¡®cleaning up¡¯, but I¡¯d better not to ask. No matter how I think about it, that bit sounded somewhat ominous, so I¡¯ll just leave it at that. It was scary to have both a distinguished noble house and an entire empire hot on your tail after all. And so, we managed to secure our payment for our previous efforts, as well as another lucrative contract. After a few more minutes of idle talk, we finally decided to get off the earl¡¯s ship. ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll see you all tomorrow.¡± Chris, who was nked by the beefy onii-sans from earlier, apanied us outside the ship in order to send us off. She made an elegant bow. ¡°Yeah. Leave it to us.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll do our very best for Chris-chan¡¯s sake!¡± ¡°Yep. No need to worry.¡± We started walking down the ramp, but I suddenly remembered something and paused. I then turned around and went back. I then searched my jacket pocket for something. Hey, hey. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m trying to take out a weapon, so stop readying thoseser rifles, misters. They¡¯re damn scary. ¡°I forgot about this. Here¡¯s your pendant back, Chris.¡± The thing I brought out from my jacket pocket was the pendant Chris handed to me when she requested my help after waking up from the cold sleep pod. It was an expensive-looking article iid with a beautiful purple jewel. ¡°No, please keep holding on to it. You still have to keep protecting me after this, right? I¡¯m counting on you, my dear knight.¡± Well, I feel that the forces Earl Daleinwald brought with him were more than enough though. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have much to do, actually. Well, since Chris herself said so, I suppose I¡¯ll just hold on to it for the time being. ¡°¡­¡­If that is your wish, my lovely princess.¡± ¡°Yes, please keep it safe.¡± Chris¡¯s lips formed into a beautiful smile after hearing my reply. Yep. She sure is pretty. Her white dress also suited her and made her seem even more like a fairy tale princess. ¡°We¡¯ll be going then. We¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes. Tomorrow then.¡± I turned around and walked away once more as Chris and the beefyser rifle-toting onii-sans saw me off with their gazes. We¡¯re mostly finished with ship maintenance and resupplying, and we got a whole lot of money on our hands right now, not to mention a daily ie of 250,000 Enels. Since we sessfully handed Chris¡¯s custody over to her grandfather, I¡¯m sure Chris¡¯s uncle and hisckeys would not make a move on us anymore. Looks like we can finally rx now. Chapter 98 Chapter 98 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone It¡¯s been three days since we handed Chris over to the custody of her grandfather. We were finally departing from the Sierra Prime colony today. It looks like there have been a series of shocking incidents that took ce inside the Sierra Prime colony these past three days, like the appearance of unidentified corpses that were hung on top of street lights, or sounds of gunfire echoing through the more secluded areas of the colony, where public security was bad. Oh, dear. It all sounds sooo scary. I wonder just who the perpetrators were? While those things were going on, we just holed up inside the Krishna without a care in the world. We installed May¡¯s newly purchased maintenance pod inside the cargo bay, and afterward, I just spent my time happily flirting with Mimi and Elma. We had to hold ourselves back when Chris was here after all. Anyway, I noticed the two of them were bing more and more assertivetely. Was it May¡¯s influence, perhaps? ¡­Somehow, I got the feeling that the two of them were actuallypeting with her in terms of feminine charm or something. Well, apart from that, Mimi and Elma got along quite well with May. The two of them talked a lot with her, and even took baths together. But, somehow, I felt like the three of them were up to something. Am I just overthinking it? Oh well. It¡¯s good that the three of them got along with each other. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Mm? Oh, uh¡­ I was just thinking about some stuff.¡± ¡°You okay? We¡¯ll be departing soon, you know?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I was just reminiscing about what happenedst night¨C Ow, ow, ow!¡± Elma¡¯s face turned bright red and forcefully pulled my ear. Hahaha, I¡¯ll never get tired of Elma¡¯s cute reactions. We didn¡¯t really need to arrange anything for this time¡¯s departure. Krishna was temporarily registered as part of Earl Daleinwald¡¯s retinue after all. The Daleinwald House took care of all the necessary work, so we only needed to follow after them once they departed from the colony. ¡°It would be great if there were no more incidents.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. And it¡¯s amazing that they¡¯re willing to pay us 250,000 Enels per day¡­ Nobles are really rich.¡± ¡°Asserting their status is also part of it. If some of the other nobles heard that they hired a Gold rank mercenary for cheap, there¡¯d be all sorts of bad rumors after all. They¡¯d even im the noble house¡¯s fortunes were waning or something. It¡¯s mostly the same for businessmen. The military usually hires Gold rankers for the standard price, which is 80,000. But bigtime traders and businessmen usually pay up to 160,000 Enels, and nobles pay at least 180,000.¡± ¡°Hee¡­ So that¡¯s how the world of the rich works. It¡¯s far removed from the everyday reality ofmoners like me.¡± ¡°Well, I guess. But you know Mimi, your sense of wealth has already started to deviate from your typical civilian. Or haven¡¯t you noticed?¡± ¡°A-Ahaha¡­¡­ I¡¯m actually a bit afraid of checking out my current ount bnce.¡± I don¡¯t exactly remember how much Mimi¡¯s earnings amounted to so far, but I think it¡¯s about 100,000 Enels or something. In other words, she¡¯s earned at least ten million Yen in just a few months. Mimi¡¯s just reached the legal age for this part of the gxy, but earning more than ten million Yen after her societal debut does set her apart from your average citizen. Elma should have earned 1.2 million already. Well, she does purchase liquors that cost up to 100,000 Enels quite often, so I don¡¯t know how much she¡¯s really saved up. And she still needed to repay me 3 million too. It¡¯ll be ages before she saves up enough at this rate. ¡°Um, Hiro-sama, it looks like the departure clearance has been issued. We¡¯re going to be departingst.¡± ¡°Roger. Give me a holler once it¡¯s our turn.¡± ¡°Yes. The rest of the ships have startedunching¡­¡­ Large battleships are quite slow, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°They¡¯re also being extra careful because we¡¯re still inside the port. Since the ship is quiterge, it would be a huge disaster if it ran into the colony walls or something.¡± ¡°Yeah. That would be catastrophic.¡± Back when I yed SOL (Ste Online), there were lots of yers who got into huge idents and greatly damaged their newly bought ships because they weren¡¯t used to the sensation of pilotingrge shipspared to small and medium ones after switching over. After a short while, it was finally our turn, so I uncoupled Krishna from the dock and moved it forward. Sierra Prime colony was bustling with activity today as well. It looks like the attack of pirates on Sierra III a few days ago actually resulted in increased confidence in the security measures implemented on the resorts. That¡¯s because the defense systems of Sierra III ultimately managed to repel the pirate attack, in the end, making way for a wave of positive publicity. It¡¯s obvious to us that some measure of information control and maniption had urred, but, as promised, we¡¯ll keep our thoughts to ourselves. ¡°Man, flying a starship is the best. This sense of freedom and excitement is just so addictive. It¡¯s a lot like plunging straight into the sea for a swim.¡± ¡°Swimming in the sea, huh¡­¡­¡± Mimi let out a sigh from the operator seat behind me. It sounded like she didn¡¯t quite understand what I was getting at. Oh well. It¡¯s just how I personally felt, and I don¡¯t expect others to understand me anyway. ¡°Well, I kind of get what you¡¯re feeling a bit. For me, it¡¯s like walking inside a lush forest instead of the sea though.¡± It looks like Elma somehow gets it huh. Maybe it¡¯s because she¡¯s got more experience flying around on a starship than Mimi. ¡°Will I also get to feel that sense of freedom in the future as well?¡± ¡°Maybe. You might even feel something a little bit different than Elma¡¯s or my impression.¡± Everyone¡¯s interpretation of what freedom and excitement mean depends on themselves after all. ¡°In my case, I feel that it¡¯s something I wouldn¡¯t be able to understand easily.¡± May gave her opinion from the sub-operator seat. Since Chris wasn¡¯t here anymore, May took her ce on the sub-operator seat. She¡¯s basically acting as Mimi¡¯s support. She¡¯ll be able to help Mimi in improving her skills as a ship operator. With her specs, she would have no problem perfectly performing operator duties after all. That¡¯s why she¡¯s also the perfect trainer for her. We finally passed the special barrier gate and got out of the Sierra Prime colony. ¡°They¡¯re signaling for us to move to the bottom left position. The fleet is going into formation.¡± ¡°We¡¯re tasked with bringing up the rear, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It¡¯s a position from where we could immediately swoop in to assist any section of the formation if the fleet were to get attacked. If we were positioned out front and the fleet was to get attacked from the rear, it would take more time to turn the ship around and intercept. It would only be an instant, however, that instant could prove to be fatal for the rest of the fleet. Well, conversely, it was also a position that had a higher chance of receiving an attack first. We promptly went to the back of the formation as instructed. ¡°Set both the FTL drive and Hyperdrive on standby, get clearance from the gship, andmence synchronization.¡± ¡°FTL drive and Hyperdrive, standby. Sending synchro request. Synchronization has been approved. Synchroplete.¡± ¡°Okay. Now we can just sit back and rx.¡± Because we were synchronized with the entire fleet, there was no need for us to manually activate our FTL drive and Hyperdrive ourselves. We¡¯re set into auto-pilot and will navigate in ordance with the gship¡¯smands. Shortly after, Krishna activated its FTL drive, and after a short while more, it disengaged from FTL navigation and activated the Hyperdrive. ¡°No matter how many times I¡¯ve seen it, I still feel it¡¯s a marvelous sight.¡± Mimi let out a sigh as she watched the colorful scenery outside the ship as we were traveled via hypene. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. But don¡¯t look at it for too long, or you¡¯ll start to feel sick.¡± ¡°Really? I feel like I can stare at it forever though.¡± ¡°You¡¯re tough in the weirdest aspects, Mimi¡­¡­¡± ¡°Eh¡­? Why does it feel like you just casually made fun of me?¡± Mimi puffed up her cheeks in annoyance as Elma teased her. I think Elma¡¯s right though. But I better just keep that to myself. Well, y¡¯see, the scenery inside the hypene is like an eclectic mix of shining rainbow-colored lights. It looks pretty at first nce, but if you look at it long enough, you¡¯ll start feeling nauseous because it messes with your sense of distance and bnce. The journey¡¯s been smooth sailing so far. There was basically nothing one can do to a ship traveling via hypene, and we weren¡¯t hit with an interdictor when we exited to normal space and switched back to FTL drive propulsion either. We used the hypene to travel outside the Sierra star system, and finally reached the Myuure system, which was four systems away from Sierra. We could have used Hyperdrive navigation to travel straight to the Dexer star system, but there¡¯s a reason we stopped over here. ¡°Fuuah¡­ So that¡¯s a gateway huh.¡± ¡°It¡¯s so big.¡± After seeing the gigantic structure floating in space, Mimi gushed excitedly with sparkling eyes while I gave an expression akin to that of an elementary school student out on a field trip. It can¡¯t be helped, guys. It really is gigantic y¡¯see. This superstructure was many times bigger than the colonies we¡¯ve visited and was shaped like a gigantic iron triangle. Within the center of the giant metallic triangle was a swirling mass of distorted space, and you could spot countless shipsing and going through it. So that¡¯s a gateway. It¡¯s a symbol of this era¡¯s hyper-advanced technology. It looks a little bit different from the gateways I¡¯m familiar with from the game, but it¡¯s not like everything in this dimension is exactly the same as what I encountered in SOL (Ste Online). Maybe it¡¯s just designed in the style of this particr gctic empire. ¡°Oh, right. It¡¯s your first time seeing a gateway huh, you two.¡± ¡°I¡¯m familiar with them, but it¡¯s my first time seeing one for real.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m the same as you, Hiro-sama.¡± There really is a world of difference between knowing something and seeing it with your own eyes. But man, it really is huge. It¡¯s insanely huge. Is the scanner disying the correct values? Really? It¡¯s more than a few times bigger than Sierra Prime. Scratch that, this thing looks like it¡¯s even bigger than Earth. It¡¯s an utterly crazy superstructure, that¡¯s for sure. ¡°But with this, we can finally breathe easy, right? Each gateway has several imperial military fleets patrolling them as guards, so there¡¯s next to no chance of an attack happening.¡± ¡°Yeah. The ones who¡¯d attack this ce would have to be really screwed in the head. They¡¯re gonna turn into space dust in an instant with this much firepower.¡± This gateway allows instantaneous travel between space sectors several thousand, or even millions of lightyears away from each other in practically an instant. It was a really important structure that made it possible for the empire to continuously expand and acquire its utterly vast territory. And as a result, the forces assigned to guard it are several times more powerful and numerous than what we encountered in all the ces we¡¯ve visited thus far. Even a special ship like the Krishna would be reduced to mere space dust in an instant by this overwhelming force. If one really insisted on attacking this ce, he¡¯d have to bring the entire armed forces of an average gctic empire in order to stand a chance. Why? ¡®Cause the Gran empire would most likely use the other gateways they control to continuously send in a great number of reinforcements, that¡¯s why. And, just like what I said earlier, the forces assigned here are pretty powerful too. Unless you had enough forces to attack the gateways simultaneously, you¡¯d just be done in by a concentrated assault of the empire¡¯s military might. And it would start with elite special forces specifically assigned to guard the gateway. One would have to be really crazy to take on that kind of force. ¡°You¡¯re right. We¡¯ll get done straight away. That¡¯s why the danger will probablye after this.¡± ¡°Yeah. There¡¯s that, huh. Uh, how many more star systems do we have to pass by after leaving the gateway in order to reach the Dexer system?¡± ¡°Five systems. The system we¡¯ll arrive at after we pass through the gateway is the Neeparc system, and following that would be the Melkitt system, Zieger system, Uerick system, Comatt system, and finally, the Dexer system.¡± Mimi disyed the gxy map on the cockpit screen as she exined. She also indicated the hypene routes we¡¯ll be taking on the map, as well as the approximate travel time from system to system. ¡°If an incident urs too far away from the gateway, the guard fleets would probably note to our aid, but if it¡¯s within their jurisdiction, they¡¯d sortie right away.¡± ¡°Yes, exactly.¡± ¡°So that means we¡¯ll have to watch out for possible attacks once we pass by the Zieger system and the Uerick system huh. I¡¯m sure the earl and his men have also prepared countermeasures for that possibility though.¡± ¡°The emperor also bestowed the earl with the system directly neighboring Dexer as part of his domain, so we would probably be fine once we reach the Comatt system. Melkitt system is directly under the emperor due to its proximity to the gateway, so the earl¡¯s influence probably isn¡¯t that strong there. But if his rtions with the ruling noble houses of the Zieger system and Uerick system is cordial, he can probably request the assistance of some of their forces at least.¡± Elma fiddled with the gxy map and set it to disy the territories of the various noble houses in the sector, which were separated via different colors. Just like Elma said, Melkitt star system was directly managed by imperial authority. The Zieger system and Uerick system were managed by different noble houses, and the Comatt system was part of Earl Daleinwald¡¯s territory. ¡°From what I know, nobles generally aren¡¯t that friendly with each other.¡± ¡°I also have that image of them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like everyone¡¯s like that you know. Well, it¡¯s a different story when there¡¯s jostling for resources andpetition between industries involved.¡± It¡¯s not like the gxy map has info on the rtionships between different noble houses, so we can¡¯t really find out anything of that nature from it. And it¡¯s not like info of that nature is important for our line of work, so we didn¡¯t bother with it in the first ce. Yep. That means we have absolutely no clue regarding that aspect. ¡°In any case, we just need to keep our guards up. Don¡¯t ck off and always be alert for possible threats.¡± ¡°Kaaay.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± We gradually approached the center of the gateway, which was a swirling mass of distorted space. Okay, okay. I get it. I¡¯ll keep my guard up, so stop pinching my thigh already. ¡°By the way, what¡¯s your opinion on all of this, May?¡± I turned back toward May, who kept her silence during the entire conversation, and asked what she thought. She won¡¯t express her opinion at all unless you ask her directly for it after all. She will instead prioritize her master¡¯s, meaning my thoughts, over her own. I would honestly prefer it if she were more assertive though. ¡°Yes, well, I think what poses the highest danger of an attack is the moment immediately after we warp out to the Comatt system.¡± She posed a conjecture that ran contrary to everything we¡¯ve surmised earlier. ¡°What¡¯s your basis?¡± ¡°The territory of Earl Daleinwald is basically his home ground. Judging from his previous actions, Balthazar Daleinwald¡¯s preferred method is to manipte a third party in order to further his designs using currently unknown means ¨C including those from the military. From this pattern, we can surmise that the forces assigned to the Comatt system have the highest chance of being coerced or manipted.¡± That¡¯s right. Chris¡¯s uncle, Balthazar Daleinwald, had enough capability to send hundreds of pirates after us on Sierra III, procure cutting edge military stealth dropships, as well as manipte an imperial military squadron to attack us with total abandon. If he really could somehow extend his ws toward the Comatt system¡¯s forces¡­ Just thinking about it is giving me goosebumps. Earl Daleinwald¡¯s fleet can probably stand their ground against the Comatt system¡¯s forces, but they could stage a surprise attack the moment we warp out, which is the moment when our fleet is the most defenseless. It sounds like something he would likely do as well. ¡°¡­¡­Should we inform the earl about this?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure the earl has also thought of that possibility already. He looks prettypetent after all. Or rather, this conjecture implies that the earl doesn¡¯t have a handle on his own territory you know. Doesn¡¯t that sound kinda rude?¡± After saying so, Elma disyed a wry smile. Yeah. She¡¯s right. If I went ahead and told him something like ¡®Hey, I think your own forces back home will be manipted and sent to deal against you, man. You better watch out, kay?¡¯ out of the blue, I¡¯m sure the earl would flip out. But if he can¡¯t even settle a dispute within his own household, then we probably won¡¯t be able to expect much out of him in the end. ¡°Looks like our hands are tied.¡± ¡°Yep. Definitely. So let¡¯s just work hard and survive guys.¡± ¡°It looks like that¡¯s the only thing we can do¡­¡­¡± Elma shrugged her shoulders and Mimi let out a resigned sigh. I also sighed quietly. Oh boy. Now I suddenly feel really uneasy. Chapter 99 Chapter 99 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone No matter how free mercenaries may seem to be, once they¡¯re under a contract, they¡¯re basically tied to the ones who hired them until thepletion of the job. So I can¡¯t just act arbitrarily without the earl¡¯s consent. In the first ce, the other party was a high ranking imperial noble, so I had to be even more mindful of my actions. If the earl thought of us as¡®guys who he can¡¯t get a read on and seem highly likely to double-cross him¡¯, then I can¡¯t even imagine what kind of actions he¡¯ll take against us¡­ I¡¯m scared just thinking about it. Maybe he¡¯ll pull out his sword without a word and cut us down on the spot? ¡°And so, Captain Hiro has decided to turn a blind eye towards everything and became just your regr flunkie.¡± I then tapped the send icon on the messaging app and sent the above mail along with some silly emoji stickers. ¡ºDon¡¯t worry, Hiro-sama. It seems my grandfather is already taking all possible precautions against my uncle. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any cause for concern, but I¡¯ll try to warn him just in case¡­¡» A reply was sent back along with an animated cartoonish ck cat sticker with a troubled expression. Fumu. It looks like Chris was quite skilled in ying mahjong. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡ºI¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be alright! Even if something did happen, I¡¯m sure Hiro-sama will do something about it.¡» That message was sent along with a cartoonish squirrel-like creature sticker posing like a bodybuilder. After sending that message, Mimi made some more reckless moves. However, she always seemed to draw good tiles. ¡ºNo matter how skilled Hiro is, there¡¯s still a limit you know¡­¡­ Well, judging from all that¡¯s happened before though, he¡¯ll likely pull through one way or another.¡» That message was sent along with a super-deformed one-eyed alien sticker sipping a ss of wine like a boss. It was finally my turn to draw. And it was¨C ¡°Hey, I got a Ron!¡± ¡ºSame for me.¡» ¡ºWhat!?¡» The one-eyed alien from before appeared again. But this time, it was incinerating a city with an eye beam. Uh, well, Elma¡¯s uchisuji wasn¡¯t bad, but she just has the most rotten luck. It was bad to the point that even that starship filled to the brim with good luck charms, the U*ko, would probably get attracted to her, just like with a certain gxy police officer. Her incredible bad luck may even rival that guy. As such, she was way too weak at gambling. She was a total pushover. She only ever got bad hands ever since we started ying this mahjong app on our portable terminals. Her total score was quite a sight to behold, in apletely different sense. By the way, Mimi was the reigning queen of the game. She yed really recklessly, but always seemed to avoid bad hands, and as a result, her score steadily rose. She truly seemed to be blessed by the goddess of luck. By the way, I was chilling in Krishna¡¯s cockpit and ying online mahjong with everyone using my portable terminal while exchanging silly messages with them in order to kill time. Mimi and Elma were currently taking a break. Even if Krishna was traveling the hypene via auto-pilot, at least one person should still stand by inside the cockpit just in case. Mimi and Elma were probably inside their own rooms or the dining room. May was with me, sitting quietly on the sub-operator seat. She didn¡¯t join in the fun but served as the audience to our mini e-mahjong tournament. ¡ºI wouldn¡¯t lose to you guys if we were ying a racing game!¡» The SD alien was dejectedly bending forward as the one who sent it grumbled in frustration. Is she really that down about losing¡­¡­ Well, in any case, we didn¡¯t have much to do except ying around like this. Like I said earlier, we were traveling on the hypene via auto-pilot, and it¡¯s next to impossible to get attacked by enemies while inside the subspace tunnel. We were now traveling from the Zeiger system to the Uerick system. And once we pass the Uerick system, we¡¯ll finally reach part of Earl Daleinwald¡¯s territory, the Comatt system. And after that, we¡¯ll finally arrive at the Dexer star system. We didn¡¯t face any problems when we warped out to the Zieger system, and even got escorted by Zieger system troops part way because of Earl Daleinwald¡¯s friendly rtions with the ruling noble house over there. We traveled through it without any incident, and now we just left the system and went back into the hypene. The travel time between the Zieger system and the Uerick system via hypene was roughly ten hours. It was an hour or so since we jumped into the hypene. ¡°Master, you can just leave the task of standing guard inside the hypene to me you know.¡± May called out to me as I continued ying e-mahjong with everyone. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯d be able to do everything well May, but I don¡¯t wanna push everything onto you, so¡­¡­¡± ¡°I do not mind. Unlike biological life forms, I feel no physical or mental fatigue whatsoever.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know. But still¡­ I know what you¡¯re capable of, May. But I don¡¯t want to get used to dumping all the work to you alone. And anyway, there¡¯s little chance the enemy would be able to mount an attack inside the hypene. As you can see, we have nothing much to do and are just ying around.¡± ¡°What about deepening your rtionship with the twodies?¡± ¡°We have to keep a bnced lifestyle. I think we have to keep everything in moderation. Or rather, it¡¯s to keep everyone from getting too preupied with stuff like that. Especially me.¡± Mimi and Elma are both unparalleled beauties after all. And of course, May is the same. I may lose my edge if I keep indulging myself in the three of them; though it may just be toote for that already. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yep. With my current assets right now, I could probably justze around while hunting some pirates asionally and just indulge myself in a decadent lifestyle together with all of you. But I don¡¯t want to do so. I¡¯m serious.¡± That may be an attractive prospect, but I still haven¡¯t fulfilled my dream of owning a detached house with a garden on a residential. Anyway, I¡¯m currently nning on buying a mothership to increase our money-making options. We¡¯ll be able to earn more with it, and that would take me one step closer to fulfilling my dream. ¡°I do not think that kind of lifestyle seems so bad, but if Master says you do not want it, then I will simplyply. But if one day you feel otherwise, then please don¡¯t hesitate to inform me. I will support you as best I can.¡± May said something so tempting with a straight face. Well, she sports that serious look more than 90% of the time anyway. She may be the crew member I have to be wary of the most. I feel she¡¯ll lead me to a path on no return if I let my guard down¡­¡­ I need to polish my self-control more. And I can¡¯t exactly me her for it because she¡¯s just acting in good faith due to her loyalty to me. Anyway, it¡¯ll be fine if I pull myself together. I hope. Eventually, we arrived safely at the Uerick system. We didn¡¯t go for a stop-over at the Uerick system main colony and continued to travel on. Just like what happened at the Zeiger system, we were also escorted by some of the local forces partway. It looks like Earl Daleinwald got along fairly well with his fellow lords. ¡°It¡¯ll take twelve hours before we arrive at the next system, right? Wanna switch?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just stay inside the cockpit for the duration of the journey, so why don¡¯t you all take a break, everyone? If my conjecture proves to be correct, the most dangerous part of this journey is when we arrive at the Comatt system, so it would be better if you face it in your best condition.¡± ¡°No, uh, like I said, I don¡¯t want to leave everything to you, May¡­¡± I was about to refuse, but Mimi cut in. ¡°Hiro-sama, wouldn¡¯t it be better to take May-san up on her offer this time? Her conjecture has a high chance of urring after all. If May-san is fine with that arrangement, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to rely on her more depending on the situation.¡± ¡°I also agree, Hiro. You act too reserved around us sometimes. Of course I also think it¡¯s not good to rely on May for everything, but don¡¯t you think being too reserved and not allowing her to do her job is a disservice to her as well?¡± ¡°¡­Really?¡± ¡°Yes. I agree as well.¡± May backed Elma¡¯s im and nodded in the affirmative. ¡°I am happy that you treat me no differently from your otherpanions and treasure me, but I am a maidroid first and foremost. My reason for being is to be of service to you, Master. Please do not be reserved and make use of my services more. I will be happier if you do.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± May nodded once more. Umu. How troubling. In my view, May was just a regr beautiful girl, just like Mimi and Elma¡­ She didn¡¯t really act like an artificial being and you wouldn¡¯t even notice if not for those mechanical ¡®ears¡¯ of hers. No, well, I¡¯ve been trying to remind myself that May¡¯s an android ever since she started staying with us guys. But since I first saw maidroids on Sierra III, my first impression of them was beautiful maid onee-san, see. Seeing her as a machine was also made difficult by what happened to the two of us when we went to the workshop on Sierra Prime. And we kept that rtionship up even now. Whenever I held her in my arms, all I could feel was the softness and warmth of a beautiful girl. ¡°Okay then. I¡¯ll do as you say and leave the cockpit to you, May¡­ But I just finished resting a while ago though.¡± It¡¯s only been three hours since I woke up from myst nap. I caught some Zs just before we took the hypene towards the Comatt system. ¡°How about you eat a meal first, then take a rxing bath, and rest in your room afterward?¡± ¡°Hohoo. Do you n on joining me for those, Elma?¡± In other words, doing ¡®this and that¡¯ after eating a meal and taking a quick shower. ¡°U-Uhm¡­ D-Do it in moderation, okay?¡± After getting what I was implying, Elma¡¯s face became beet red. ¡°I also think that¡¯s a great idea. Can I join in too?¡± I¡¯m not sure if Mimi really understood the flow of my exchange with Elma or not, but she disyed a sunny smile and was raring to go. Hoo. Doing it with all three of us huh? My interest is piqued. It may be the beginning of me sinking deeper into the honey trap, but who the heck cares at this point? What? I¡¯ll pull myself back out before sinkingpletely so it¡¯ll be alright guys. No, really. ¡°Okay then. Let¡¯s all go ahead and spend some quality time together.¡± ¡°H-Hey, Mimi! W-Wait! I said wait!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s all have a nice time together. First, we eat! Let¡¯s have some artificial meat today!¡± ¡°Hm. Sounds good.¡± ¡°Hey!!¡± We pulled the panicking Elma with us and went to the dining room to have Tetsujin V make some delicious meals for us. May sent us away with a somewhat amused-looking gaze despite her stoic expression. Chapter 100 Chapter 100 rantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone Thanks to May¡¯s consideration, Elma, Mimi, and me got to wholeheartedly spent some real quality time together, and we weed the warp out to the Comatt system in a thoroughly refreshed state. ¡°So will they really aim for us the instant we warp out?¡± ¡°If all goes ording to what we thought ofst time.¡± ¡°It would be best if nothing happens¡­ But judging from his previous actions, I don¡¯t think Balthazar Daleinwald is the type to take defeat lying down. However, since he¡¯s already been found out by his father, wouldn¡¯t it be useless no matter what actions he takes?¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°On the contrary Master, He may be nning to capture both Chris and Earl Daleinwald, and then force them to acknowledge him as the sole heir. Or worse, he might even be nning parricide in order to forcefully snatch the position. It¡¯s because he¡¯s cornered that he might do desperate things like that. Judging from his previous behavioral patterns, there is an 81% chance of him initiating an attack.¡± ¡°Not 100%?¡± ¡°Because his ns have been foiled by Master time and time again, that may cause him to be more wary and hesitate as a result. It¡¯s also possible that he may not have been able to secure enough forces to mount an attack. I included those variables in my calctions, so it¡¯s not 100%.¡± ¡°I see. But we still don¡¯t know just how far that Balthazar guy is willing to go.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± While in the middle of our conversation, an alert suddenly rang out inside the cockpit. No, it¡¯s not that we¡¯ve been locked on by an enemy. It was just an alert before Krishna goes through warp out procedures. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re nearly there. Anyway, just make sure we can activate the weapon systems immediately if something does happen.¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll prep the subsystems and defense systems as well.¡± ¡°Hiro-sama, what should I do with the radar system?¡± ¡°Just set it to maximum range.¡± I thought it was best to prepare for heavy long range bombardment, but May had a different opinion. ¡°No, there¡¯s a good chance they¡¯ll close in on us immediately, so it would be best if you shortened the range instead.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°Yes. If my calctions prove to be correct, that is.¡± May turned quiet again after saying her piece. Hm? A close quarters encounter huh¡­? Would they charge at us with torpedo ships armed with anti-ship reactive torpedoes? But that would be overkill. Even one or two of those is enough to settle everything by taking out the gship directly. Damn, I hope it doesn¡¯te to that. Well, reactive torpedoes are actually quite slow, so you¡¯d have to fire them close to point nk range to guarantee a hit. They can be intercepted easily as a result, but were still very popr in the game for the sheer romance of EXPLOSION! If they didn¡¯t have pilots with the required skills, the only choice was to send in a great number of kamikaze ships while hoping at least one would survive and deliver its payload, but I¡¯m not sure if the enemy¡¯s really so desperate to resort to that tactic. It would be pretty scary if they somehow obtained a crap-ton of reactive torpedoes and simply fired them all at once in a saturation attack though. ¡°Hiro-sama, we¡¯ll be warping out soon.¡± I continued mulling over countermeasures for the possible battle until Mimi notified me we were about to arrive. ¡°Oops. Oh well. Let¡¯s just keep alert and try to cope with whatever situation that happens.¡± ¡°In other words, let¡¯s just leave it up to fate, huh.¡± Elma grumbled a bit after hearing my instructions. But it can¡¯t be helped, right? We can¡¯t predict what would happen once we warp out after all. All we can do is keep alert and go nuts when a battle does ur. ¡°5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­¡­ We¡¯re warping out!¡± The fleet came back out to normal space followed by loud booms. Mimi hurriedly switched the radar settings from hyperspace detection to normal space. As a result, aside from Earl Daleinwald¡¯s ships, we actually did pick up another reading. The earl¡¯s fleet went on alert, and we were sent a warning as well. From the radar readings, an unidentified ship was circling around the earl¡¯s fleet. Its movements were akin to a shark eyeing prey. No matter how you look at it, that ship is he suspicious. It was more than likely aiming for the earl¡¯s fleet, but stubbornly kept its distance. Was it trying to buy time? ¡°It¡¯s clearly buying time. I wonder what they¡¯re aim is?¡± ¡°Maybe they¡¯ll hit us with something like a Singing Crystal?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s probably not it¡­ Rather, I think you¡¯re the only guy crazy enough to use something as dangerous as that as a weapon.¡± ¡°Really? It¡¯s quite effective though.¡± As I and Elma exchanged banter, the earl¡¯s gship tried to hail the suspicious ship and asked for the crew to identify themselves. However, there was no response at all. It kept circling around our formation and didn¡¯t carelessly approach, but it¡¯s crew kept their silence. From the readings, it was an orthodox military small or medium attack craft. Since they¡¯re trying to avoid being identified as part of the military, they were using some sort of jamming device to mask their signature. It was truly quite a suspicious ship. The gship of Earl Daleinwald¡¯s fleet finally issued an ultimatum. If the suspicious ship didn¡¯t fall back, they would immediately bring it down. The unidentified ship still ignored that warning and continued circling us. The tension went up several notches. ¡°Hiro-sama, there¡¯s something approaching the fleet! It¡¯s fast!¡± ¡°What!?¡± Krishna¡¯s radar caught a high-speed object heading straight for the earl¡¯s fleet while we were all preupied by the unidentified ship. It was plunging straight towards the gship! ¡°They¡¯re breaking through directly?¡± The earl¡¯s fleet also caught the object on their radars, and their weapons systems immediately went online to intercept. At the same time, the unidentified ship also activated its weapons and started firing on the fleet. In any case, we can¡¯t just stay still and allow the attack to seed. I immediately had the Krishna elerate to intercept as well. It looks like May¡¯s conjecture was mostly correct. The enemy did opt for a close quarters engagement. It¡¯s just that we didn¡¯t anticipate how close it was. I pushed the thrusters to maximum and started chasing after the object ¨C a long, bullet-shaped small craft. ¡°It¡¯s a ship I¡¯m not familiar with! And its shield¡¯s he tough!¡± This ship wasn¡¯t implemented in SOL, at least as far as I know. I tried shooting it down with a repeated volley from Krishna¡¯sser cannons, but the shield of the unfamiliar ship managed to tank all the shots. It was small, but it was super tough. ¡°That¡¯s thetest suppression ship model used by the imperial military.¡± ¡°Suppression ship?¡± ¡°Yes. It is equipped with an energy shield emitter that rivals those of a battleship¡¯s, and its general tactic is to ram itself directly onto target ships. That will allow the infantry squad riding within it to board the target ship and suppress it from the inside. Aside from the powerful shield emitter and a generator that can support the emitter¡¯s output, it has virtually no weapons equipped.¡± ¡°What the heck is up with that weird-ass ship!?¡± In other words, it¡¯s a human-filled torpedo, right? Eh? Don¡¯t tell me their aim is to kill Earl Daleinwald and Chris by boarding the gship? Seriously? But there are other more efficient methods, right? Why the heck did they choose this kind of stupid strategy? Is there something wrong with their heads!? This is the same stupid stuff the designers of the Great Panjandrum came up with. Was this part of imperial style battle tactics or something? ¡°Well, it¡¯s that you know. Imperial nobles are well known for their love of sword duels¡­¡­¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I watched it happen plenty of times in a long running holo-vid series called The Unfettered Emperor. I think it¡¯s already on its 2406th episode.¡± ¡°Argh! Hold up, hold up, okay¡­¡­ Let me wrap my head around it first. Wait¡­ Don¡¯t tell me that Balthazar guy is actually part of that boarding party?¡± ¡°Probably. It¡¯s an imperial noble¡¯s style to ask for a sword duel to settle things with a hated foe, or something like that.¡± ¡°My head hurts¡­¡± Did I unknowingly get myself transported to a spaceedy-themed dimension aftering out of hyperspace? Argh! I won¡¯t let myself be defeated by a joke machine! Go down! Go down, I say! I¡¯mma make you guys full of holes using my shotgun cannons dammit! However, despite my best efforts, the suppression ship was simply too fast, and it eventually found itself lodged on one side of House Daleinwald¡¯s gship. Chapter 101 Chapter 101 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Man, it kinda feels like everything suddenly went into a very stupid direction¡­¡­¡± ¡°There, there. We¡¯re still on a job after all, Hiro-sama. Please do your best for a little while more.¡± ¡°Working is tough sometimes¡­¡­¡± I moved Krishna toward the gship where the earl and Chris were while being gently consoled by Mimi. No matter how you slice it, the troops riding inside that suppression ship or whatever are way outnumbered by the earl¡¯s troops stationed inside the gship, but they still went for it anyway. And they¡¯re actually doing quite well despite their disadvantage. But even so, there¡¯s still a limit, and they were being gradually taken out. ¡°Seriously! What is with that ship? Are the designers idiots? Do the people that rode inside that thing have death wishes? If that¡¯s the case, then just p some anti-ship torpedoes onboard, and it would have been game over. It looks like an overgrown torpedo anyway, so why didn¡¯t they go with that?¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°I heard the total production costs for that type of ship is roughly 25,000,000 Enels. It just wouldn¡¯t be worth the astronomical cost for it to be a one-off kamikaze ship. And it would pose a safety issue if a ship meant for carrying soldiers had anti-ship torpedoes as payload.¡± ¡°But don¡¯t ramming a ship and self-destructing immediately and ramming a ship in order to attack with totally outnumbered forces just lead to the same thing? They¡¯re both suicidal acts anyway!¡± Since both forces were preupied with fighting each other, nothing got in the way of our approach toward the gship. Anyway, I moved Krishna close to the suppression ship to check it out first. ¡°Should we just get rid of this thing first?¡± ¡°The gship will leak air if you do that. They probably have ways to deal with it, but it¡¯s better not to carelessly remove that thing for now. It might even cause a sudden explosion if you did it poorly. It¡¯ll greatly damage the gship if that happens.¡± ¡°Yeah. That doesn¡¯t sound good. Just what went through the developer¡¯s heads when they made this thing¡­?¡± Even if the shield emitter is powerful, it would probably still not be able to stand up to a direct hit from a battleship¡¯s main cannon. Since it costs 25,000,000 Enels to produce each ship, the costs would pile up to unreasonable numbers even for a wealthy empire like Gran. It¡¯s also not a tactic that can be used frequently since it¡¯s impractical. It might be of use if you wanted to capture a sample of the enemy¡¯stest battleship model¡­ Nah, probably not. The risk is way huge. In the first ce, standard battles between rival starship fleets involve battleships and cruisers getting into a tight formation and sting away at the enemy from long range. This kind of straightforward assault tactic isn¡¯t usually used. And I can¡¯t even think of any other situation where a suppression ship with extremely limited use would be a viable option. Or rather, since I haven¡¯t seen this thing in Ste Online at all, that means it¡¯s a unit unique to this particr empire. So it¡¯s a bit simr to my Krishna. Actually, some yers may even try to customize this thing since it does have a number of good things going for it, like the powerful shield emitter, generator, as well as that sharp pointy horn out front. It¡¯s a ship that kinda smells of romance. So if they customize it a bit, p some weapon systems on it, and make it so that horn charge could be used as a hidden special finishing move, I¡¯m sure lots of em will have a st with it. There¡¯s a lot of entric guys who like that sort of stuff back on Earth after all. I¡¯m almost a hundred percent sure some idiots would turn that horn into a drill. ¡°It seems the design was approved due to some intense lobbying by factions in the military with help from some of the more influential noble houses. By the way, this ship model was only officially used in battle a total of four times. It looks like this is the fifth one though.¡± ¡°And what about the sess rate of the charging assault?¡± ¡°Including this instance, there¡¯s now a total of three instances when the assault was sessfully performed. So, based on that, the sess rate is 60%. The other 40% is when the ship got shot down. It¡¯s sometimes described as a noble¡¯s fancy exclusive-use mobile coffin, a surprisingly effective decoy, and the imperial military¡¯s most expensive secret weapon.¡± ¡°So that Balthazar guy was able to make use of this kind of entric ship to its full potential huh.¡± ¡°This man called Balthazar is probably a really skilled tactician. If an irregr like Hiro didn¡¯t appear, his ns would have most likely gone without a hitch.¡± ¡°It looks like he was just unlucky to encounter Hiro-sama.¡± Just what are you saying, girls? Do you really think of me as some sort of super dangerous guy? I¡¯m just a bit skilled and blessed with a great ship and crew. That¡¯s all. Probably. No, surely. Uh, maybe? ¡°Anyway, what do we do now? It looks like the other ships can take care of the other enemy ship out there with no problems, so should we charge in to help protect Chris and the earl?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡­ If we just boarded the ship without informing the crew, there¡¯s a chance we¡¯ll be attacked by both sides.¡± ¡°But we can¡¯t just sit here while Chris and the earl are exposed to danger.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s also true¡­¡­ But charging in suddenly like that and going into a direct firefight will be quite dangerous you know? It¡¯s way too risky.¡± It looks like Elma didn¡¯t want me to get into a firefight personally. I¡¯m also a bit reluctant, but doing nothing would be going against the contract, and most of all, I really wanna protect Chris. If that Balthazar guy was somehow able toy his hands on Chris and the earl, it would be game over. Not only will that 250,000 Enels per day not be paid, but Balthazar would seed in his ploy to usurp the position of earl, and he may even turn his wrath towards me and the girls. It would be more reassuring to get rid of that Balthazar guy now instead of letting a potential source of trouble run free. ¡°No, let¡¯s do it. It¡¯ll be dangerous if Balthazar ends up surviving this. In the worst case, even if the earl were to be killed, we have to at least ensure Chris¡¯s life and try to get rid of Balthazar if possible.¡± In the very worst case that both Chris and the earl get killed, we at least have to kill that Balthazar as well, or it¡¯ll lead into all sorts of trouble. I have to protect my enjoyable life with Mimi and Elma after all. ¡°Mimi, send out a boarding request. I¡¯ll charge inside using my power armor. I¡¯ll leave Krishna¡¯s controls to you, Elma. Once I get in there, lock the hatch, deploy the shields, and don¡¯t let anyone else board the ship no matter what. You¡¯reing with me, May.¡± ¡°Y-Yes!¡± ¡°¡­¡­Haa. Aye, aye sir.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Mimi, Elma, and May nodded and acknowledged my instructions. I¡¯m actually nervous as heck, but I have no choice. Let¡¯s go for broke then. I relinquished the main pilot seat to Elma and went to the cargo hold with May. Chapter 102 Chapter 102 rantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone Alrighty, folks. We¡¯re about to plunge straight into a close-range shoot-out right now. Oh, man. I wonder why a guy like me, who owns a high-end starship packing plenty of firepower ended up forced to fight goons in a melee shoot-out? Dammit! It¡¯s all that f***ing stupid noble Balthazar and his retarded suppression ship¡¯s fault. F**k! ¡ºWe¡¯re about to make contact, Hiro-sama. The enemy forces are concentrated away from the hangar bay so it should be fine for the most part, but don¡¯t let your guard down.¡» ¡°Roger that.¡± Well, it¡¯s not like the firepower the enemies are packing will be able to easily breach my power armor¡¯s defenses anyway. My partner¡¯s¡­ er, my custom power armor¡¯s concept is heavy armor and heavy firepower after all. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 It¡¯s sporting ss III military-grade armor with extremely highser tolerance, corrosion resistance, and bullet-proofing. It can also deploy an energy shield to further improve its already impressive defense. ¡°I will ensure Master¡¯s safety. Please leave everything to me.¡± May dered in front of me as she snorted defiantly. She seemed as cool and calm as usual, but there was a lively andpetitive air about her. Yep. Guess she¡¯s really raring to go huh. I understand, so please stop swinging around that power armor-useseruncher you¡¯re holding like a bat. That¡¯s not how you use that thing, okay. As for why May has got that power armor-useseruncher, it¡¯s because she said her new generator can handle its energy requirements with plenty of room to spare. It looks like the generator she has right now isparable to those used by most high-end power armors. It may even have a higher output. And so, May is able to use aseruncher made for power armors without any problems. By the way, she has a power cable sticking out of the back of her waist attached to theseruncher. It looks like she has a power adaptor there. I can¡¯t really see anything of the sort when we¡¯re in bed together though¡­ How curious. As I was thinking of such things, the ship lightly shook. It looks like we¡¯ve managed tond. ¡ºLanding sessful. Well, since we took the job, we¡¯ll have to do our best, but be sure to take care of yourselves and don¡¯t take any unnecessary risks, okay. Don¡¯t go overboard and get yourselves killed.¡» ¡°Aye aye, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡ºAlso, avoid getting cut by the noble-exclusive sword. Dodge it at all costs. Even power armors will be easily cut in two if they take that thing head-on after all.¡» ¡°Eh?¡± Now just wait a minute! This is the first time I¡¯m hearing this though. ¡ºOh, and nobles often get cybeic imnts that dramatically increase their information processing capabilities, so be wary of that as well.¡» ¡°¡­¡­Uh, why?¡± What¡¯s the deal with getting some information processing upgrades anyway? ¡ºIn other words, they¡¯ll have tremendous reaction speeds and will be able to blockser shots with their swords, and even deflect them in some cases.¡» ¡°You gotta be kidding me!¡± What the¨C? Blockser shots with a sword? Deflect them, even? Are they J*di knights or something!? There¡¯s such a thing? Oh, man. I have to think of some countermeasures then. ¡ºTheir bodies won¡¯t be able to keep up with those increased abilities for long though, so there¡¯s that. Or rather, can¡¯t you do the same? That¡¯s why I thought you were a noble when we first met you know.¡» ¡°Huh? I can? Oh¡­¡­¡± Maybe she¡¯s talking about how everything would be in slow motion when I hold my breath? I see. So in their perspective, I was firingser shots at incredible speeds huh. ¡°Well, no matter how fast their reaction speeds are, there¡¯s only one guy who has that type of sword, right? At most, they¡¯ll have two. If that¡¯s the case, then there¡¯s no problem.¡± As I said so, I readied the weapons I brought with me this time. For this sortie, I brought two splitterser guns with me, which are renowned for their anti-personnel capabilities among all power armor-use weapons. These babies can fire twelveser shots with the same power as that emitted by aser rifle simultaneously. They¡¯re sort of likeser shotguns. Since I got two of them, I can fire off twenty-fourser shots in one go. Of course, the split-mode of aseruncher packs more punch since it¡¯s of a higher caliber, but in narrow spaces such as ship corridors, these splitterser guns will be easier to use. So I brought two of them for maximum coverage. ¡°Yosh! We¡¯re barging in! Mimi, inform the ship crew so they won¡¯t shoot us on sight by mistake.¡± ¡ºOkay! Please be careful!¡» ¡°I will handle the navigation, Master.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you. Let¡¯s go!¡± The hatch opened and the two of us jumped off of Krishna. Because the firefight was happening further away from the hangar, I spurred my power armor to a sprint with heavy-sounding footsteps. Man. The sound of the footsteps may give the impression of a slow, lumbering behemoth, but I was running at speeds several times fasterpared to me without the power armor on. The shock absorbers and artificial muscles equipped on the power armor¡¯s legs were doing a great job. Compared to my clumsy gait though, May was running gracefully in front of me in fluttering maid clothes. But she was doing so while carrying a bulky-lookingseruncher. What a surreal sight. The sight of a viinous sumo-wrestler mecha running alongside a maid carrying aser cannon was something straight out of a crappy B movie. ¡°We¡¯ll be arriving at the battle site once we pass this corridor.¡± ¡°Got it. We¡¯re breaking through. Get behind me. I¡¯ll put up an energy shield.¡± ¡°Understood. I will look for an opening and sweep the hostiles.¡± After hearing May¡¯s acknowledgment, we finally passed through the corridor and arrived at a hall filled with enemy soldiers wearing tight-fitting body armor on one side and maids and butlers sportingser guns on the other. Both groups were hiding behind makeshift barricades while ring at each other. Oh, right. The crew of this ship wore maid and butler uniforms. It was another very surreal sight. The soldiers on the other side looked very surprised when they suddenly saw me barge in wearing an evil-looking rikishi power armor. The maids and butlers looked equally surprised though. Sorry ¡¯bout this folks. Coming through. ¡°Uraaaaaaaah!¡± I leaped past the barricade created by the maid and butler-sans and fired my two splitterser guns at the enemy soldiers ahead of me. Multiple crimsonser shots bathed the barricade made by the enemy soldiers and caused small explosions. ¡°Damn! A power armor! Shoot! Shoot!¡± ¡°Hahaha! It¡¯s no use idiots!¡± I deployed my energy shield and tanked all theser shots fired at me. If I continue to take concentratedser fire, my energy shield will end up being saturated sooner orter, but I wasn¡¯t nning to just stand there in the first ce. ¡°May!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± May appeared from behind me, held theseruncher up, set it to convergence mode, and fired away at the enemy¡¯s barricade. The bombardment was several times more powerful than my two splitter guns and effortlessly destroyed the enemy¡¯s barricades. The shots prated through and hit the soldiers hiding behind the barricades, blowing several of them away. ¡°Yahoo!¡± I set my energy shield to maximum output and charged at the enemies at high speed, blowing both the makeshift barricades and soldiers behind them away with the impact. This was the special move of my sumo wrestler-type power armor¡ºRIKISHI ¨C mk. III¡». It was the¡ºBUCHIKAMASU¡»move that made use of the power armor¡¯s overwhelming mass and armor to devastating effect. ¡°Ora ora ora!¡± I swung away at the enemies with the power armor¡¯s hefty arms and sent them flying, fired my splitter guns at point-nk range at some, and kicked some more underfoot. No mercy for you all! May also jumped in to join the melee. ¡°Haa!¡± May, who looked like a delicatedy at first nce, swung around herseruncher and blew away the macho enemy soldiers wearing tight-fitting body armor like leaves at the mercy of a raging storm. Oooh. Those are some really nasty sounds. They¡¯re all going ¡®crack crack¡¯. ¡°We¡¯re going ahead.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After thoroughly destroying the enemy barricades, we decided to leave the clean-up to the maid and butler-sans of Earl Daleinwald and went on our way. It was lucky that the enemies didn¡¯t employ power armors. It would be nice if everything went this smoothlyter too. Chapter 103 Chapter 103 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone When we went past the enemy barricade, we arrived at a corridor that was dyed crimson. ¡°Ugh¡­ This is¡­¡± ¡°They were cut by an extremely sharp weapon.¡± There were several human remains that were cut up to horrifying degrees scattered all throughout the white corridor that was now dyed red with blood. I almost ended up hurling in disgust, but the power armor¡¯s anti-nausea function prevented that from happening. Even so, I still felt sick to my stomach. TOP ARTICLES2/5Rule Breaker Chapter 127 I went through the corridor while making sure not to step on the remains and raced on. ¡°So that¡¯s the result of being cut up by a noble¡¯s sword huh¡­¡­ That¡¯s something I¡¯d like to avoid at all costs.¡± ¡°Please do not worry, Master. As long as I am present, nothing of the sort will happen to you.¡± May dered in a reliable tone. But I also don¡¯t want to see May end up being cut to pieces like that¡­¡­ I¡¯ll try my best and finish that bastard off as fast as I can. ¡°By the way Master, there were traces ofser shots hitting several spots on the walls of the corridor we just passed earlier at strange trajectories. It is highly likely that our enemy did indeed undergo cybeic enhancements and imnts to increase reaction speed.¡± ¡°How troublesome¡­¡­ Well, I doubt he¡¯ll be able to deflect all twenty-fourser shots from the splitter guns though.¡± If it was just single shots from aser rifle, then it would be for the guy to anticipate the trajectory by watching the gun barrel¡¯s movements and such, but I bet he won¡¯t be able to deal with simultaneous splitterser gunshots which scattered the beam via a prization lens. Even if he was dual wielding, he won¡¯t be able to block all the shots from two splitterser guns firing at the same time. And since the shots would cover a wide area,pletely avoiding them was out of the question as well. Yeah, we¡¯re good. I¡¯m gonna show that sword-wielding Neanderthal the power of scientific civilization. Muahahaha. ¡°Sounds of fighting are echoing up ahead, Master.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯m gonna¡­ No, it¡¯s better for you to take point, May. You can run way faster than me, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­ Understood.¡± May nodded and rushed through the corridor at an astonishing speed iparable to before. Is it just me, or is the floor actually getting dented from her steps? Just how fast can she run? I did make May¡¯s specs top-of-the-line, but seeing her in action like this is something else, man. And she¡¯s also installed withprehensivebat programs on top of her crazy specs. Isn¡¯t she way more powerful than me even with my power armor on? I ran after her as fast as I could, and before long, my power armor¡¯s audio sensors picked upseruncher firing sounds. It looks like May has already engaged the enemy. I then saw a burnt trail that was most likely caused byseruncher fireing out of the open doors just ahead of me. Judging from the earlier sounds, she must have fired several shots already, but she still hasn¡¯t managed to finish him off? I refrained from charging inside directly and opted to confirm the situation inside the room first. I saw Earl Daleinwald, who had his sword raised at the ready, surrounded by his subordinates. Chris was also with them. Earl Daleinwald¡¯s body was riddled with many serious-looking cuts. He was in a terrible state. But fortunately, there doesn¡¯t seem to be anyone inside the room who has been cut down and killed yet. A little further from the earl and his retinue, May was in a fierce battle with someone. ¡°You damned sex doll!¡± ¡°That statement is technically correct. However, I would still rmend you retract it due to it having discriminatory connotations and is unbing of someone of your station.¡± May faced a furious-looking guy sporting two swords with calmposure as she repeatedly fired herseruncher. She fired high-poweredser shots in diffusion mode at the man. They should have already pierced straight through him¡­ but they didn¡¯t. Instead, the man used his swords to deflect the shots heading for his vitals and dodged the rest. Eh¡­? The man fighting May sported a long sword on his right hand and a short sword on his left. He used them with uncanny precision in order to weather through May¡¯sseruncher fire. Oh c¡¯mon! Is he really a Je*i knight or something? Seriously? ¡ºMay, give him another barrage. We¡¯ll get him with a crossfire!¡» ¡ºAcknowledged.¡» After hearing May¡¯s reply, I jumped to a suitable spot inside the hall and¨C What the¨C!? ¡°Nuooo!?¡± ¡°Kuh!¡± For some reason, the man seemed to have predicted my move and instantly closed the distance to the spot I jumped toward. I instinctively tried to smash him with theser gun held on the power armor¡¯s left hand, but the damn guy deflected the blow with his sword and used the momentum to take some distance. And to add insult to injury, he even cut theser gun on the power armor¡¯s right hand clean in two in the middle of jumping away. ¡°You!? How dare you cut up my precious splitter guns, you bastard!¡± ¡°Nuooooh!?¡± I threw the remains of the severedser gun at him and aimed the remaining one, as well as the shoulder-equipped fixedser turrets on the RIKISHI MK. III at the dual-wielding bastard. I immediately unleashed a barrage. ¡°Youuuu! How dare you aim such barbaric weaponry at someone of noble standing such as myself!¡± ¡°Like I care, dammit! Die! I¡¯ll burn you to a crisp!¡± If I shoot scatter shots from too long a distance, the uracy and effectiveness will be decreased, so I mostly kept to medium range as I pelted the guy with mercilessser fire. Tsk. This bastard actually had a portable energy shield emitter on him, huh? He managed to block myser barrage in the end. Doesn¡¯t matter. Even if he has an energy shield, it would eventually go down from the concentrated fire. If one shot doesn¡¯t do it, then I¡¯ll hit him with two, three, four, ten, twenty¡­ as manyser shots as I have to. ¡°What the heck are you gawking about for, you fools!? Fire your weapons as well!¡± The maids and butler were shaken from their shocked stupor by Earl Daleinwald¡¯s shout and started firing theirser rifles and guns as well. May switched herseruncher to convergence mode and started hammering the dual-wielding bastard¡¯s shield with shots as well. Just one well-ced shot should be able to saturate that bastard¡¯s shield. That¡¯s good. Give it to em! ¡°Damn it to hell!¡± The dual-wielding bastard suddenly set off an explosion. No, it¡¯s a smokescreen huh? The guy¡¯s form vanished within the white smoke as it quickly dispersed all around the hall. I see. In addition to blocking our vision, the smoke also serves to dampen ourser shots. That¡¯s a nice move, son. But it¡¯s useless. ¡°Soooi!¡± ¡°Guwaaaaah!?¡± I threw the remaining splitter gun at the dual-wielding bastard, who was in the middle of sprinting toward Earl Daleinwald, and got a direct hit. Sure, antiser weapon smokescreens are quite effective at their role in normal cases, but they are next to useless when facing someone equipped with a power armor. That¡¯s because power armors sport several other high-precision sensors apart from optical ones, such as infrared and the like. A smokescreen of this degree poses no trouble at all. I deployed my energy shield and rapidly closed the distance with the dual-wielding bastard. ¡°You son of¨C!¡± The guy noticed my approach and tried to cut me down with his swords, but they were blocked by the power armor¡¯s energy shield. Those swords may have impressive cutting power, but they can¡¯t prate an energy-based shield, just as I expected. Without the tremendous heat produced byser shots or the powerful kic impacts produced by explosions or high-caliber ballistic shot-cannon rounds, there¡¯s no breaking through a military-grade energy shield. So even with those exceedingly sharp swords and his cybeic imnts providing a boost in speed and power, there¡¯s no chance in hell he¡¯d be able to cut through my energy shield. Uh, but there was still a chance he actually could. Fortunately, my hunch proved true. Phew. Energy shield tech was originally meant to block space debris, so I was pretty confident. ¡°Goshaaaaaaa!?¡± I ced the full weight of my power armor on a full-body tackle and blew the enemy away as if he was hit by a speeding truck. The right hand of the dual-wielding bastard bent in an awkward direction, and the long sword it held was flicked away. ¡°May, secure him!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Theseruncher-wielding May rushed in like a gale and smashed the dual-wielding bastard to the floor. She then crushed his legs with merciless efficiency. Those are the most painful sounding cracks I¡¯ve heard to date. Someone in the room wolf-whistled in astonishment. I couldn¡¯t ce who it was though. Still though, ouch. The smoke gradually cleared, and I finally got a clear view of the dual-wielding bastard, who now sprawled pathetically on the floor as theseruncher-toting May gantly stepped on his back. Hey, Earl Daienwald. Wouldn¡¯t it be better if you reced the maid and butler-sans under your employ with a high-specbat maidroid like May? Well, maybe there¡¯s a reason why he didn¡¯t employ maidroids in the first ce. Not my problem anyway. ¡°So, is it okay for me to kill this guy now?¡± I asked Earl Daleinwald, who was looking in my direction, with a stern expression on my face. This guy was most likely Balthazar anyway. C¡¯mon, man. Give me the green light already. Chapter 104 Chapter 104 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°¡­¡­We will take that man into custody.¡± Earl Daleinwald dered his decision with a stern countenance and signaled the maids and butlers at his side with a nce. The maids and butlers started to take action in a fluster in response to the Earl¡¯s gaze. One of them brought out something resembling a choker and snapped it on the neck of the dual-wielding bastard. One maid retrieved the long and short swords the guy had, which flung into a corner of the room during the battle, ced them back in their scabbards, and brought them over to me. What¡¯s this? ¡°I have some misgivings regarding your battle methods, but it remains a fact that you and your equipment were the ones who led to the defeat of this man. Those swords can be counted as your spoils of battle.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°¡­¡­I don¡¯t get it. What¡¯s up with this, May?¡± ¡°There are several methods to resolve strife between nobles, but the one Balthazar Daleinwald chose for this asion was a sword duel. In the end, we barged in on the duel between Earl Daleinwald and his son, and ended up defeating him. This can be counted as Earl Daleinwald¡¯s win, and Balthazar¡¯s fate, including his life or death, will now be decided by him. It is also customary for the winner of a duel between nobles to im the loser¡¯s prided swords for his or her own. Despite our intervention being an irregr factor, it remains a fact that without us, Earl Daleinwald would have lost to his son. That is why they are presenting Master the swords as a prize for our assistance.¡± ¡°I see. Those rules are a bit way over my head, but I more or less get it. So it¡¯s okay if we take these, right?¡± ¡°I presume so, Master.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± If May says it¡¯s fine, then I guess it is. And so, I gratefully received the swords the maid-san presented to me. It looked a bit awkward because I was still wearing power armor though. A sumo wrestler-based power armor wielding swords is yet another surreal sight. ¡°So what¡¯s gonna happen to that guy?¡± ¡°We will handle his matter with the appropriate measures.¡± After a curt reply, Earl Daleinwald turned on his heels and walked out of the room. The maid and butler-sans hurriedly followed after him. After sending them off with my gaze, I proceeded to pick up the splitterser gun I threw earlier as well as the cut off half of the other one. The weapons can be mounted on my power armor¡¯s back. I dunno what sort of weird tech is used, but they just automatically float and attach to the weapons rack just like in mecha anime or games. Just kidding. The weapons rack is equipped with auto controlled sub-arms. It just looks like what happens in anime and games from the front. I only carry myser gun most of the time, but this world does have things like tactical armor. I saw some in an online store, so there¡¯s no mistake. ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you, Hiro-sama.¡± Chris approached me as I was busy recovering my stuff. ¡°Yeah. You too. You¡¯re not hurt, are you?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m okay.¡± I saw something hung on Chris¡¯s hip which she didn¡¯t have before. It was a knife¡­ No, it was a bit longer than your average knife. A self-defense dagger huh. ¡°I¡¯d actually like to pat your head, but I¡¯m still wearing power armor y¡¯see. Anyway, I¡¯m d you¡¯re okay, Chris.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to Hiro-sama. We finally managed to resolve this whole ordeal without me having to use my dagger.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll refrain from asking how exactly you nned on using that thing.¡± If it¡¯s anything like what I¡¯m familiar with back on Earth, those types of self defense daggers can also be used as ast resort to protect a woman¡¯s dignity in hopeless situations. In other words, they¡¯re used for voluntary suicide. If Earl Daleinwald lost and I didn¡¯t arrive in time to rescue her, Chris would probably choose to end her own life rather than being disgraced. ¡°Oh, right. Gotta contact Elma and Mimi¡­¡­ Hey, Elma, Mimi, we¡¯re finished here. As for Balthazar Daleinwald¡­ Yeah, we didn¡¯t manage to kill him, but he¡¯s been apprehended. Earl Daleinwald¡¯s men ced something that looked like a metal choker on his neck.¡± ¡ºGotcha. So you didn¡¯t finish him off huh?¡» ¡°We barged into his duel with Earl Daleinwald, and May crushed his legs in the end. He fainted and is now in custody. I asked if we should finish him off, but the earl decided against it and just captured the guy.¡± ¡ºI see. Are you and May alright?¡» ¡°Yep. One of my splitterser guns got cut clean in half though.¡± ¡ºWell, that¡¯s unlucky. But I¡¯m d the only casualty was yourser gun. It¡¯s way better than you getting cut in two, right?¡» ¡°Definitely.¡± With that crazy sharpness, my power armor would have been really split in half. Hooray for energy shields! ¡ºPleasee back safely, Hiro-sama.¡» ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s have a feast tonight to celebrate. At least, we can finally breathe easy now.¡± ¡ºYes.¡» I suddenly remembered something after hearing Mimi¡¯s cheerful reply. ¡°Right, do you want toe with us to the ship, Chris? We¡¯re gonna have a celebration party of sorts for taking down that Balthazar.¡± ¡°A party? That sounds nice. Thank you for inviting me, Hiro-sama. I¡¯ll dly join you all.¡± ¡°Even though I say it¡¯s a party, we¡¯ll just have the auto-cooker make a bunch of things as usual. If you¡¯re fine with that, then by all means,e over my princess.¡± ¡°Yes. I will obtain permission from grandfather no matter what.¡± After saying so, Chris balled her fists and pumped herself up. She¡¯s already acting simr to Mimi huh¡­ Well, they did spend quite some time as roommates, so it¡¯s no wonder she picked that gesture up. ¡°Oh yeah. What about the fighting outside?¡± ¡ºIt looks like they already announced Balthazar¡¯s defeat, so the fighting has stopped. Some ships surrendered, while some attempted to flee.¡» ¡°I see. Guess I¡¯ll head back then. Hey Chris, we parked Krishna on this ship¡¯s hangar, soe over once you get permission, alright. May, I¡¯ll leave escorting Chris to you.¡± ¡°Alright. I will see youter, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Understood, Master.¡± We¡¯ve already handled Balthazar, so I think it¡¯s fine already, but I¡¯ll have May apany Chris just in case. Well, even without May¡¯s escort, there¡¯s still thoseser gun and rifle-wielding maids and butlers though. But I decided to relieve May of her bulkyseruncher and will be bringing it back along with the other equipment. I checked with the ship personnel if there was still some fighting going on in other sections of the ship, but they confirmed that the enemies have all been eliminated, so I finally breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Man. I feel exhausted.¡± Maybe it¡¯s because we apprehended the ringleader going after Chris, but I couldn¡¯t help but rx my guard. How do I put it? I just feel kinda drained by this whole fiasco so I couldn¡¯t help but want to finally rx. I know I should still keep a minimum amount of vignce, but I couldn¡¯t help it. I gotta get my act together. I walked with lumbering steps that attracted the attention of the maid and butler-sans I passed by until I made it back to the hangar. The escort fighters stationed on the ship started to return as well. There were units that were pretty much unscathed aside from a few nicks and there were some that were so beat up, it was a wonder how they actually made it back. The fighter escorts were your standard imperial fighter model. They sported two mounted multi-cannons and two seeker missile pods on each wing. They had great speed and maneuverability. Their armor was virtually paper thin, but nevertheless, they were excellent units overall. Mercenaries tend to prefer models with greater cruising range and cargo capacity though. But there were also some mercs who preferred these models instead. They looked like badass sci-fi fighter nes and were quite cool. Krishna towered over all of them though, and was pretty conspicuous. It was ssified as a high-speed smallbat craft, but its overall size was actually quite close to medium-sized ships. Its specs andbat abilities was another matter altogether though. I walked through the hangar, which was busy with mechanics heading to and fro for maintenance and repairs, as well as personnel aiding the injured fighter pilots, and headed back toward Krishna. Since I was carrying a bulkyseruncher, I had to be careful not to identally injure the personnel running around inside the hangar. They also cleared the way for me, so I managed to pass through without any incident. I went up the ramp, went through the hatch, and made it back to Krishna¡¯s cargo bay, where Elma and Mimi were waiting. ¡°Hiro-sama!¡± ¡°I¡¯m back. Anyway, I¡¯ll get out of my power armor first.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Mimi followed after me as I went to park the power armor. I didn¡¯t really get injured, but she still acted worried. I went over to the armory and ced theseruncher back on the weapons rack. I then tossed the destroyed splitter gun inside the junk box and parked the power armor. ¡°Puhaaa! Freedom atst!¡± ¡°Good work, Hiro-sama!¡± I took the towel Mimi handed over and wiped my head to get rid of all the sweat. The power armor has an air conditioning unit installed, but going through an intense firefight still made me sweat a lot. ¡°Thanks, Mimi. Oh, right. Get a load of these.¡± I took down the swords I got as trophies from defeating Balthazar and showed them to Mimi. ¡°Swords? These are the ones used by nobles, right?¡± ¡°Yep. May and I beat Balthazar up together, and Earl Daleinwald gave them to us as a reward.¡± ¡°Can you really obtain these just like that¡­?¡± Mimi disyed a perplexed expression. Yeah. I kinda get that. I was confused about it too. But there¡¯s no use worrying since I already brought them back anyway. It looks like they weren¡¯t against me taking them, and May also said it was okay. ¡°Well, I was reluctant to receive them at first, but they insisted, so¡­¡± ¡°I-I see¡­¡­¡± Mimi switched from being perplexed to being curious. To Mimi, these swords were the very symbols of nobility. In other words, they were things only those who ruled above the masses possessed. In Japan, they are kinda like the badges worn by national diet members, I guess. Uh, that example might be a little off. A-Anyway, they are not something your average joe can have. ¡°Do you want to check them out?¡± ¡°Is it okay?¡± ¡°Sure. Here you go. Oh, and be careful since it¡¯s really sharp.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I handed the short sword to Mimi while I checked out the long sword. Fumu. It was surprisingly thinner than I expected. It was at least thinner than the sword Major Serena had. But I guess its sharpness was about the same huh. I haven¡¯t really seen these swords in action apart from today, so I can¡¯t say for sure. It was double-edged. The de wasn¡¯t that wide, and the point was sharp. I guess they prioritized speed and handling instead of power when they made this huh. Well, the thickness of the de doesn¡¯t matter much if they focused on sharpness, so I guess being lightweight and easy to handle is better. ¡°They look quite grand, don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Really? Hm. Maybe.¡± I exchanged items with Mimi and checked out the short sword next. This one was thickerpared to the long sword. It may be just as sharp, but it kinda looked more solid over all. This wasn¡¯t made for attacking, but defending instead. ¡°¡­What are you guys doing over there?¡± We turned toward the entrance of the armory and found an exasperated Elma with her hands on her hips. I held the short sword aloft so she can take a better look at it. ¡°Do you want to check out the spoils as well?¡± ¡°Spoils huh¡­¡­ Did you receive those from the earl?¡± ¡°Yep. May and I beat up Balthazar and rescued Earl Daleinwald, so he rewarded us with these.¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking like it¡¯s no big deal¡­¡­¡± Elma disyed a pondering expression as she eyed the swords. ¡°Was it bad for me to take them?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that, but¡­¡­ Well, I guess it¡¯s up to the other party to decide what to make of this. It¡¯s not like we can do much about a noble¡¯s whims. Anyway, what about our preparations for tonight¡¯s celebration? Just put away those dangerous-looking things and let¡¯s get to it, you two. But first, take a shower Hiro. You stink of sweat.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Okay, I got it.¡± I listened to Mama Elma and obediently put away the swords inside the weapon case, then walked out of the cargo bay. Mimi and Elma stayed to take out the foodstuffs and beverages. I went for a shower as Elma suggested. After showering, it¡¯s straight to partying baby! Chapter 105 Chapter 105 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Man, that was some good eating.¡± After gorging on the pizza and fried chicken Tetsujin V made for the party, I immediately took a bath and returned to my room. Eh? What about the party, you ask? Everyone made a fuss about the delicious menu including top-quality artificial meat and had a st. Anyway, we had a hell of a time. Well, there was one elf who kinda took it to the next level after getting drunk though. Since I was already full, I left the elf who was still drinking and making noise to the two girls, as well as May and a maid from the earl¡¯s ship who tagged along with Chris. I then took a bath and promptly returned to my room. Apparently, I was more mentally and physically exhausted after that intense battle than I expected. It washed over me all at once at thetter half of the party. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°Man, what a rough day.¡± I fiddled with the bedside console and put up the security images taken by the optical sensors installed all over Krishna on the holo-disy. What appeared before me was the image of the hangar Krishna was parked in. I saw the busy maintenance personnel and robots running around busily inside the hangar. We had an enjoyable party on our end, but it looks like Earl Daleinwald and his people were still busy dealing with the aftermath of the incident. It looks like some people from the Comatt system defense forces were invited by Balthazar to participate in the failed attack, and ording to Chris, the Daleinwald house and the Comatt system forces were in the middle of trying to clear things up. None of that matters to a merc like me though! Currently, we are still on standby inside Earl Daleinwald¡¯s ship until further notice. We were free to do whatever we wanted while waiting though. If there was a need to sortie due to some unexpected developments, we would have to participate as well. After clearing the battlefield, Earl Daleinwald and his fleet continued on to the Comatt system main colony, Comatt Prime, in order to deal with the captured ships, hospitalize the injured, get much-needed repairs among other stuff. And we also had to tag along. Since we already took care of the mastermind, Balthazar, and we were already on Earl Daleinwald¡¯s home turf, this particr incident should be considered finished now right? But it looks like the earl still wanted to act prudently. As Iid in bed while thinking about those matters, a chime notification rang out. It looks like somebody wants to enter my room. Since the doors of Krishna¡¯s rooms were pretty thick and airtight, you won¡¯t be able to hear anything inside if people simply knocked. That¡¯s what the electronic chime was for. Well, in Elma¡¯s case, she would persistently knock on the door to the point where you can¡¯t help but notice though. ¡°Good evening.¡± ¡°Y-Yeah. Good evening.¡± I thought it was Mimi who visited, but when I opened the door, the one waiting outside was a ck haired beautiful girl. In other words, it was Chris. I didn¡¯t really expect it to be Chris, so I went out just wearing boxers and a tank top. In other words, I was just in my underwear. ¡°Uh, can you wait for a sec. I¡¯ll go change first.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sorry for dropping in on you so suddenly.¡± Since it¡¯s not proper to talk while just wearing undies, I hurriedly put on some pants. Chris was kind enough to avert her gaze to the side while I was changing with slightly red cheeks. Sorry about this, girl. ¡°Uh, so what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing in particr, really¡­ I just wanted to talk.¡± ¡°Okay?¡± The reason wasn¡¯t clear, but I can¡¯t just refuse her after all. I led Chris to sit on the chair in front of the table ced a bit away from the bed. I can¡¯t just let a young nobledy sit on a guy¡¯s bed after all. Uh, but maybe inviting her into my room was already an offense in the first ce. Oh boy. ¡°Sorry. I don¡¯t have anything fancy like tea to offer you¡­ Will this do?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After seeing Chris nod, I took out a non-carbonated c from my mini-fridge and ced it on top of the table beside her. Yep. It doesn¡¯t pack much of a kick, but the sweet taste is still great. ¡°Well, uh, good job out there. In any case, you¡¯re already out of danger, so congrats Chris.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s all thanks to you. My grandfather is also full of praise for your actions.¡± ¡°Really?¡± But that old man always had a scowl on his face whenever he talked to me though. Well, I guess I should be thankful that he acknowledged a mere mercenary like me at least. ¡°Yes. He looked a bit grumpy, but he did say you were quite skilled.¡± ¡°I see. It doesn¡¯t feel bad to be acknowledged.¡± I then remembered something and got up from the bed. I walked in front of the closet and took out the ne with the light purple jewel attached. I left it inside the pocket of my favorite jacket. ¡°It¡¯s about time to return this to you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­¡± Chris moved her gaze to the ne on my palm. Her expression looked a bit forlorn. ¡°Well, I still have to work as Chris¡¯s personal knight for a little bit more though. But since I already received a reward for protecting Chris from Earl Daleinwald, I think it¡¯s better to return this to you now. It¡¯s something important to you, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes.¡± When I presented the ne to her, Chris obediently picked it up with her small hands. I then ced another chair in front of Chris and sat down. ¡°Um, I¡­¡­¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I¡­ towards Hiro-sama¡­ I think of you as someone very special to me. I think I may have fallen for you.¡± Chris gripped the ne tightly with a red face as tears flowed down from her eyes. ¡°¡­¡­I see.¡± Well, I did kinda see thising. I¡¯m not that dense. We did bond during our stay on the resort after all. Well, even discounting that, a guy who willingly puts himself in harm¡¯s way to protect a girl in desperate straits is a recipe for this kind of development. Well, I could just chalk it off to being carried away at the heat of the moment and leave it at that, but for this girl, it was a serious confession, so I can¡¯t bring myself to do that. But, well¡­ ¡°I did tell you this before, right? I have no intention ofying my hands on a noble daughter¡­ No, wait! Don¡¯t cry.¡± Chris¡¯s eyes flooded with tears after hearing me, so I wiped her eyes with my hands in a fluster. Sorry for not having a handkerchief with me. Just where did all that aggressive attitude that led to her tagging along with Mimi to attempt to sneak inside my room, I wonder? ¡°It¡¯s just that we both are under certain circumstances, Chris. You have your standing as a nobledy to consider, right? Balthazar is now certain to be stripped of his right to inherit the house, so that would leave Chris as the sole heir.¡± There¡¯s also an option of adopting an heir from talented persons from within the rest of the family, but I¡¯m not all too clear about something like that. ¡°I don¡¯t think Earl Daleinwald would approve of Chris being in a rtionship with a guy from who-knows-where. On the off chance that he did approve, I still can¡¯t ept. I don¡¯t have any intention of quitting the mercenary business at this time after all.¡± If Earl Daleinwald did approve of our rtionship somehow, I¡¯d probably marry into the family and get to live on a where I can drink carbonated stuff as much as I want. It¡¯s possible, but it just doesn¡¯t sit well with me for some reason. I probably want to aplish my dreams with my own efforts. ¡°Is it really no good¡­? Even if I say I¡¯m willing to forsake my position as the Daleinwald House heiress?¡± ¡°That¡¯s no good. If you do that, I¡¯d be hunted down by Earl Dalienwald without a doubt. I¡¯m sorry, but I just can¡¯t throw everything I have right now away to be with you. I¡¯m really sorry, Chris.¡± Chris started tearing up again. My words were as good as rejection after all; and a not so subtle one at that. But it can¡¯t be helped. As I said, I don¡¯t have any intention to throw away my current life with Mimi and Elma just to be with Chris. If I were hunted down by the earl, I¡¯m sure Mimi and Elma will be implicated as well. As a man, and as the captain of this ship, I cannot put my crew, who are also important women in my life, in any sort of danger unreasonably. In other words, I treasure Mimi and Elma morepared to Chris¡¯s feelings. I¡¯m really sorry about Chris. But it really can¡¯t be helped. I took out my portable terminal and called May. After a short while, May entered the room. I signaled toward Chris, who was still crying her heart out. ¡°Sorry, May. Would you please?¡± ¡°It¡¯s no trouble, Master. Please leave it to me.¡± May then apanied the crying Chris out of my room. I could have tried tofort her myself, but I¡¯m not so skilled as to be able tofort a girl I practically just rejected. I had no choice but to leave it to May. ¡°Uwaaaaah¡­¡­¡± I let out a big sigh as I plopped powerlessly on top of my bed. Let¡¯s just sleep. Yeah. I gradually drifted to sleep with the image of Chris crying sorrowfully stuck to the back of my head. Chapter 106 Chapter 106 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone I woke up after sulking in bed for a while. I felt a heavy weight on my shoulders and a bit of a headache. My condition was the worst. In order to protect my current way of life, I trampled over an innocent girl¡¯s first love. When I thought about it again, my chest felt even heavier. I can actually make up lots of excuses. Her grandfather was an earl, and he would not have epted our rtionship. If we went against all odds and insisted, I would have to give up my mercenary lifestyle and possibly part with Mimi and Elma. In the off chance that the earl did agree, I still would end up quitting the mercenary business. There was still a chance of me using Krishna to hunt down pirates for sport, and Mimi and Elma would probably be treated as my mistresses. But would I be able to ept a life like that? I really don¡¯t think so after all. And if I marry into a noble house, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be burdened with tons of worries and responsibilities. And I¡¯m sure Chris will face her own troubles as well. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 I could try my best to support her, but I just don¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to do well in noble society¨C ¡°Ei!¡± ¡°Ooof!?¡± What the¨C!? I turned toward the culprit and found light brown eyes staring closely at me. Those eyes looked somewhat sad and troubled. ¡°Mimi, huh.¡± Mimi then suddenly burrowed her head onto my chest. What¡¯s with her? She¡¯s just like a puppy. I actually imagined dog ears on top of Mimi¡¯s light brown hair for a moment. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I patted Mimi¡¯s head and coaxed her. She removed her face from my chest and looked up at me with teary eyes. She looked quite shaken. ¡°Uu¡­¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong Mimi?¡± Mimi tried to talk but broke down into mournful sobs instead. I hugged her close to me once more and patted her head in order to soothe her. Her sobs gradually subsided. Is she done crying? I peered at her face and found the red-eyed Mimi sniffling like a baby. ¡°Oh, man¡­ Don¡¯t be like this, Mimi. It¡¯s a waste of your good looks.¡± ¡°Uuu¡­¡­¡± I took some wet tissues from the bedside and wiped her nose clean. I then tossed the used tissue inside the wastebasket and some recement tissues appeared on the bedside once more. I don¡¯t know just what mechanism was behind it though. I continued to pat Mimi¡¯s head until she eventually calmed down. Her state reminded me of Chris¡¯s crying face earlier and I felt gloomy. I felt what I did to her was quite heartless just because I didn¡¯t want to lose my current life with Mimi and Elma. ¡°Mimi.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes.¡± ¡°Seeing you like this helped me calm down somewhat.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Fuguuu??¡± Mimi ended up crying once more. Mimi sure is crying a lot today huh. I made a wry smile as I patted her head once more. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the trouble¡­¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± The only sacrifice from the earlier incident was my undershirt, which was wet with tears and snot. It¡¯ll be good as new after a round inside theundry module, so it¡¯s all good. But the wet tissue stocks did get depleted. That¡¯s because it took more time to replenish the tissues on the bedside than usual. ¡°So just why did you start bawling like that anyway?¡± After hearing my question, Mimi¡¯s eyes started tearing up again. But Mimi managed to hold the tears back this time and started talking. ¡°Um¡­¡­ I heard about the matter with Chris-chan from May-san.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I felt really happy that Hiro-sama chose me and Elma-san over Chris-chan¡­¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ And?¡± I get that she¡¯s happy, but just why did she cry a river earlier then? No, maybe it¡¯s something like¡­ Hm. I can¡¯t really be sure, but maybe¡­ ¡°I was happy that I got chosen over Chris-chan. I was over the moon. But after I calmed down and thought about it, I felt like I was a really despicable person for being happy about Chris-chan being rejected¡­ I visited Hiro-sama¡¯s room to try and cheer you up, but when I saw you, everything just¡­¡± ¡°Okay, okay. I understand. There, there¡­¡­¡± I hugged Mimi, who was starting to tear up once more, and continued patting her head. She¡¯s feeling guilty about being happy even though her friend ended up getting hurt. ¡°It wasn¡¯t supposed to be like this. I was the one who wanted to cheer you up, but in the end, I was the one who needed to be cheered up¡­ I¡¯m so hopeless¡­ To think I was such an unfair, shameful person¡­ It¡¯s just¡­¡± Mimi let out a mournful sigh as she buried her face on my chest. I clearly felt her pain as she sobbed on my chest. But now, two undershirts got wet from her crying¡­ Oh well. ¡°I ended up calming down a lot as a result anyway, so it¡¯s okay. You did well, Mimi. So don¡¯t be so hard on yourself.¡± ¡°Uu¡­¡­¡± Mimi looked up and peered at my face. I just wiped her face clean earlier, but now it¡¯s ruined again. Here you go. Let me wipe it again then. Stay still. But at this rate, my room¡¯s wet tissue supply would really run out. The recement speed was clearly slowing down to a crawl already. It can¡¯t be helped. ¡°I¡¯m feeling a bit hungry. Let¡¯s go to the dining area for some food, okay?¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± I helped Mimi off the bed and pulled her to the dining area. Of course, I changed shirts before going out and tossed the wet one inside theundry module. Mimi looked apologetic, but I decided not to mind since she might start crying again. ¡°Oh, that was quick¡­.. Wait, Mimi, why are your eyes so red?¡± ¡°Let me take care of it. Please sit over here, Mimi-sama.¡± We found Elma still drinking her booze inside the dining area as May watched over her. After seeing Mimi¡¯s current countenance, May prepared something and promptly had Mimi sit down next to her. ¡°You sure are rxed, Elma.¡± ¡°Well, yeah. We really can¡¯t do anything about it, so why worry in the first ce?¡± Elma ced her shot ss on top of the table and made a strained smile. ¡°Realistically speaking there¡¯s no way Earl Daleinwald would have approved of a rtionship between you and Chris. In the first ce, Chris won¡¯t even have time for something like romance.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I didn¡¯t get what Elma meant by ¡®not having time¡¯ and inclined my head. ¡°Since her father was killed and Balthazar is out of the running, the burden of being the heir will fall on Chris¡¯s shoulders. Since he¡¯s a high-ranking noble, Earl Daleinwald is qualified to undergo life-prolonging treatment, but even that has a limit. If the earl ended up kicking the bucket early, the Daleinwald house would be left in the hands of the still immature Chris. Well, I¡¯m positive they will make sure that doesn¡¯t happen, but Chris will still undergo rigorous training and studies from now on in order to prepare her to inherit the house.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°Chris will be ced under strict surveince and will be taught everything an imperial noble needs to learn thoroughly. She won¡¯t have time for engaging in romance at all. She¡¯s still young though, so there¡¯s no rush toplete her education just yet, but I bet her freedom is gonna be restricted from now on.¡± ¡°We saved her, but she¡¯s still quite pitiful in the end, huh¡­¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s the duty of imperial nobility, so it can¡¯t be helped. In exchange for their domains and authority, they have to take upon themselves the required responsibility. Well, she does seem quite pitiful¡­ but¡­¡± Elma turned her gaze toward May. May was busy wiping Mimi¡¯s face with a towel. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing. I do hope it doesn¡¯t turn out into another incident in the future.¡± ¡°Now just hold up there. What the heck is with that ominous-sounding statement?¡± ¡°These imperial AI are just¡­ How should I put it? Um, they are kinda fixated on defending true love, or just the idea of a happy ending or something like that.¡± I turned toward May in trepidation and heard some pretty dangerous-sounding words from her. ¡°Love and romance will save the universe.¡± May looked at Elma and dered an unsettling slogan with a straight face. Wait, wait, wait! Just what did you say to Chris, May-san!? ¡°How old was that girl again? Twelve-something? In that case, she¡¯ll be considered an adult after three years¡­ It would be okay if she somehow had a change of heart after those three years. But if not¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, Elma-san. We¡¯ll be able topletely charm Hiro-sama within those three years, so there¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡± After having her face wiped by May, Mimi seemed rejuvenated and she pumped herself up with clenched fists. Seeing Mimi like that, Elma just nodded half-heartedly. She acted indifferently, but her face and ears turned slightly red. It looks like Mimi was okay now, and Elma looked as rxed as usual, but I¡¯m shaking in my boots here. ¡°May, just what did you tell Chris?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing worthy of note.¡± ¡°Just tell me.¡± ¡°Alright. Chris-sama is a nobledy. I just told her that in order to get what she wants she¡¯ll have to make it so she¡¯ll have enough power and influence to silence all opposition. Afterward, she¡¯ll just have to chase after Hiro-sama with all her might, corner him, and make it a fait apli.¡± She just uttered some terrifying statements with a straight face. ¡°Hey, May¡­ I don¡¯t have the slightest intention of bing a noble y¡¯know.¡± ¡°Yes, I know, Master. You hate being restricted and treasure your freedom after all. But there are several ways to get around what¡¯s troubling you, so there¡¯s no problem.¡± The corners of May¡¯s mouth raised up slightly. ¡°Hiee.¡± It was a spine-chilling smile. Is she enjoying this? She is, isn¡¯t she? Just what is this maidroid up to? Scary! ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to be afraid, Master. I will devote my entire being to ensure you live the life you want to live.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Hiro-sama. Please believe in May-san. She¡¯s a good person.¡± ¡°Well, I believe she won¡¯t do anything detrimental to you as well, so don¡¯t worry. I can¡¯t guarantee it won¡¯t trouble you though.¡± Mimi waspletely supporting May now. As for Elma, she looked like she¡¯s already given up. It feels like I¡¯m gradually getting cornered here, man. ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s enough about Chris¡¯s matter. We¡¯ll just have to im our rewards once wend on Daleinburgter. I¡¯ll leave our future itinerary to you, okay Captain?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah¡­ Okay. We¡¯ll need to n our next destination.¡± Since we used the gateway toe to a faraway sector of imperial space, we¡¯ll have to collect data about the surrounding systems again. Since we¡¯ve made a considerable amount of money, maybe it¡¯s time to consider buying a mothership once more? Once we get one, we¡¯ll be able to make money through transport requests as well, and use Krishna¡¯s cargo hold exclusively for weapons and supplies. I really want to buy a mothership, but I also want to find something cheap but high-quality. I¡¯ll have to consider future repair costs, as well as the fees for remodeling and customizing the ship, so the cheaper the initial purchase price, the better. And in order to get the best deal, it¡¯s better to head directly to the source. In other words, we¡¯ll have to head to a star system with a lot of ship makers. Fumu. Yeah, I¡¯ll have to seriously consider this. Chapter 107 Chapter 107 rantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Man, I just can¡¯t stopughing.¡± ¡°Okay, okay. It¡¯s great that we made a profit huh.¡± ¡°As expected of Master.¡± After arriving at the Dexer star system, which was the home system of Earl Daleinwald, we entered the Dexer Prime colony and finallypleted our bodyguard mission. We just got our rewards for the job. We would be paid 250,000 Enels per day, and the time it took to arrive at the Dexer star system was a total of 22 days. The battle we went through and our time resupplying at the Comatt system was also included in the calction. The time we spent getting the fleet repaired and hospitalizing the injured crew was also taken into ount. And we also got a bonus for stopping Balthazar¡¯s rampage. The initial reward was 5,500,000 Enels, with a bonus of 2,500,000 Enels. That¡¯s a grand total of 8,000,000 Enels all in all. As expected of Earl Daleinwald! He¡¯s filthy rich! TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 Since Mimi¡¯s share was 0.5% of the total rewards, she¡¯ll receive 40,000 Enels. Elma¡¯s was 3%, so she¡¯ll get 240,000 Enels. The remaining 7,772,000 Enels will be my share. My assetsst time was 24,400,000 Enels, so I now have a total of over 32,100,000 Enels. I have to subtract about 10,000 Enels or so for the maintenance and repair fees as well as restocking ammunition and supplies. ¡°M-Mm¡­¡­¡± Mimi¡¯s face froze when she saw the numbers disyed on the data terminal. Fumu¡­? Was the pay she got not enough? But, yeah. 0.5% was really too little. Yosh. ¡°Come to think of it, you¡¯ve already ustomed yourself to being our ship operator, right Mimi?¡± ¡°Eh? Um¡­ I guess so?¡± Mimi got surprised when I suddenly called out to her and nodded reflexively. ¡°That¡¯s right. I guess it¡¯s about time for her to graduate from being a trainee huh.¡± It looks like she already knew what I was getting at, so Elma backed me up. Un. It really is the case though. ¡°That means it¡¯s also about time Mimi gets a raise, right?¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡­ N-N-No! I¡¯m fine! I have enough money!¡± Mimi started panicking after hearing our exchange. What are you getting flustered for, girl? ¡°That won¡¯t do. Once you get promoted to a full crew member, it is a standard procedure that you¡¯ll get a pay raise. After all, you¡¯ve already mastered all the necessary procedures, resupplying, selling loot, as well as keeping watch on the radar. Since you¡¯ve raised your skills, you should be rewarded an appropriate amount.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The 0.5% share is just the very minimum after all. Should we raise it to 1%?¡± ¡°Yeah, that sounds good. Alrighty then. Instead of 40,000 Enels, you¡¯ll be receiving 80,000 Enels for the job this time¡­¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s fine! You can raise itter! Later, okay!¡± ¡°No, well, we made an unexpected killing this time, so it¡¯s better to raise your sry now, right?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be able to use up that much money though!¡± After hearing Mimi shout, Elma and I exchanged gazes. ¡°80,000 Enels won¡¯t be enough to customize a cheap Zabuton ship though.¡± ¡°Yeah. You can probably purchase a second-hand generator, but that¡¯s about it.¡± The Zabuton is the nickname SOL yers gave to the cheapest ship in the game ¨C a so-called noob ship. It was squarish and t, so it got the nickname zabuton. Zabuton is an in-game ng used by SOL yers, but Elma was actually familiar with it for some reason. It¡¯s things like this that make me question if this was really another dimension or not. ¡°But I don¡¯t have the samemon sense for moneypared to Elma-san and Hiro-sama. I just can¡¯t keep up. I¡¯m just your regr citizen, okay. 40,000 Enels is enough for us to livefortably for a year, you know?¡± ¡°Is that so¡­? Hm. Come to think of it, it does seem like that huh.¡± If you convert 40,000 Enels to Japanese Yen, you¡¯ll end up with 4,000,000 Yen all in all. If you don¡¯t include taxes and insurance premiums, it does seem that it would be enough for an average family to live off of for a year. ¡°But that is that, and this is this. If you really insist on it, then I¡¯ll keep your share to 0.5% this time, but you¡¯ll need to receive 1% the next time weplete a job, okay? That¡¯s final.¡± ¡°Uu¡­ Okay.¡± Mimi still looked quite troubled and let out a sigh. Anyway, that does it for the sry talk. ¡°I mentioned this before, but I¡¯m nning on buying a mothership with the money we received.¡± ¡°A mothership huh¡­ How much do we have on hand again?¡± ¡°About 32 million.¡± ¡°Nn¡­ If we have that much¡­ But we¡¯re barely scraping it, don¡¯t you think?¡± Elma inclined her head and raised her eyebrow. Well, it¡¯s true that 30 mil would be barely enough to cover purchasing the ship, customizing it, and setting aside an emergency fund for the possibility of getting shot down. ¡°We¡¯ll just take on most enemies with Krishna. It doesn¡¯t have to sport high firepower. It would be okay if it has a tough enough shield and hull, arge cargo space, and sufficient speed and maneuverability for its size so it can escape if need be. Besides, Krishna would be more than enough forbat purposes anyway.¡± ¡°I see. So a support mothership that won¡¯t participate actively inbat huh. I guess we could make that work. But our budget would still be barely enough.¡± ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s why I¡¯m nning on purchasing one directly from a ship-maker to get it as close to the factory price as possible. We¡¯ll have to go to a system with lots of ship makingpanies for that. We¡¯ll have to choose the ship maker and model carefully though.¡± I then fiddled with my portable terminal and connected with the holo-disy inside the dining area. ¡°I¡¯ve managed to list some prospects already.¡± The first one I showed on screen was Recon Industries¡¯¡¾RIMS ¨C 013 Night Hawk¡¿. This ship was designed for speed. Although the armor, shields, and cargo capacity suffer a bit due to that, it was still a top-ss mothership with great speed and maneuverability. And even if the shield and armor strength, as well as cargo capacity, were a bitcking, that¡¯s onlypared to ships of its ss. It only loses out to medium-sizedbat starships, but it¡¯s way tougher than those repurposed civilian ships that the pirates use. ¡°It¡¯s a really cool-looking ship, Hiro-sama. But it doesn¡¯t hold a candle to Krishna though.¡± ¡°It has a sharp and streamlined feel to it. Having great speed doesn¡¯t sound bad at all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. But it doesn¡¯t have enough synergy with Krishna, I think. Wouldn¡¯t something with greater defense be better in order to take advantage of Krishna¡¯s firepower?¡± ¡°I think this is a good choice though. Anyway, next is this one.¡± The next unit I put up on the holo-disy was the mothership model¡¾SDMS ¨C 020 Skizbrazunil¡¿manufactured by Space Dwerg. It¡¯scking in the speed department, but it has powerful shield output and thick armor. It has arge cargo capacity so it¡¯s used as a mercantile ship often, and since it is fairly easy to customize, it can not only serve as a mothership and transport ship but also as a mining or research ship, depending on the customer¡¯s needs. But due to the heaviness of the ship, its speed and maneuverability suffer a lot in exchange. It may fall prey to things like interdictors quite easily, and its FTL Drive speed was mediocre as well. The Hyperdrive doesn¡¯t seem to suffer too much though. ¡°It¡¯s tough-looking and really big!¡± ¡°I have noints about its specs, but the style is just not for me.¡± ¡°This ship would make good use of Krishna¡¯s abilities, I believe. It may be weak to interdictors, but Master would actually prefer it if we engage with pirates often, right?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s right, I guess. But I kinda have reservations on it being too slow for my tastes.¡± I put up another ship model on the holo-disy. This is a mothership manufactured by Ideal Star Way; the¡¾ISMS ¨C 007 Chrome Elephant¡¿. This ship is in the middle ground when ites to performance and overall specspared to the two earlier models. It¡¯s slower than Night Hawk, but it has a tough shield and thick armor. Its cargo capacity is also quite satisfactory. It¡¯s faster the Skizbrazunil, but its armor and shield don¡¯t measure up to it. The cargo space also isn¡¯t quite asrge. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it kinda resemble an imperial military starship?¡± ¡°Well, the official manufacturer of imperial ships is Ideal Star Way after all. Looking at Ideal ships kinda brings back some bad memories though¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not good to be half-baked. It won¡¯t be able to outrun enemies the Night Hawk can outrun, and it won¡¯t be able to defend against attacks the Skizbrazunil will be able to easily take on. That isn¡¯t good enough, in my opinion.¡± ¡°So this is a bust as well¡­ The specs look fine though.¡± Mimi didn¡¯t have a problem with it, but it looks like Elma was getting goosebumps just looking at it. May was against it as well, so I guess Chrome is a no-go. ¡°Okay then. We¡¯ll remove Chrome Elephant from the list and choose between Night Hawk and Skizbrazunil.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°I-I think either is fine¡­ I¡¯ll leave the choice to you, everyone!¡± Mimi hurriedly bowed out of the discussion. Well, Mimi still didn¡¯t have enough knowledge about ships after all. In any case, it looks like Elma likes Night Hawk while May is in favor of Skizbrazunil. In the end, it¡¯ll be up to me to make the choice huh¡­ Decisions, decisions. Chapter 108 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°First, let¡¯s finish deciding on the ship we¡¯re going to buy.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Mimi and Elma nodded at my suggestion. May also nodded quietly. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°My main aim for buying a mothership is to earn more money. And what¡¯s hindering us from increasing our earnings right now is our very limited cargo space.¡± ¡°Krishna is primarily abat ship after all.¡± May nodded in agreement. Yep. Krishna is a technically small-sizedbat craft. It has great firepower for its ss, but its size is basically on the smaller end. The cargo hold is small so it can¡¯t carry much inside. That hinders us from collecting all possible loot from downed pirate ships as well. ¡°That¡¯s why the goal for buying a mothership this time is to obtain that much needed cargo space. And from these three, the one that satisfies that condition the most is the Skizbrazunil.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Uhuh.¡± ¡°Great. After saying this much, I¡¯m sure you already get the picture. If we consider that point alone, the Skizbrazunil is the perfect choice, but Night Hawk specializes in speed and will leave Skizbrazunil in the dust. Speed and maneuverability are also important factors. It would be easier to escape from sticky situations with a fast ship after all.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Exactly.¡± ¡°Is that really the case?¡± Elma and May¡¯s opinions differ on this point. ¡°Running away when attacked means we will not try engaging the enemies with Krishna at all. That will not make good use of Krishna¡¯s high firepower andbat abilities. And in cases where we have no choice but to engage with Krishna, a mothership will not have enough maneuverability to evade all iing attacks. That will in turn hinder Krishna¡¯s performance. With that said, it seems the only advantage the Night Hawk offers is its higher FTL Drive speeds.¡± May¡¯s points were concise and logical. ¡°I acknowledge your points, but I wonder if you¡¯ve taken the crew¡¯s safety into ount as well. With Skizbrazunil¡¯s size and limited maneuverability, avoidingser cannons, multi-cannons, ballistic cannons, and ship torpedoes would be a tall order. It does have powerful shields and armor, but it still wouldn¡¯t be possible to block all attacks. It¡¯s true that Night Hawk won¡¯t be able to avoid some enemy fire with its size, but if Krishna buys enough time, we¡¯ll be able to activate its FTL Drive and have a high chance of escaping.¡± ¡°Our enemies will mostly be space pirates, so I highly doubt they have powerfulser cannons or anti-ship reactive torpedoes. They also always try to capture medium-sized ships instead of shooting them down in order to repurpose them, so that¡¯s all the more reason not to be concerned much about taking fatal damage. And Night Hawk is alsoparably more difficult to customize.¡± May shook her head after expressing her points. It looks like she doesn¡¯t really think Night Hawk is up to par. ¡°In conclusion, if Master¡¯s personal ship wasn¡¯t Krishna, Night Hawk may have been a good choice, but in terms of synergy with Krishna, Skizbrazunil is, by far, the better of the two.¡± After saying so, May turned her gaze toward me. After receiving her gaze, I cupped my chin and paused to think. ording to May¡¯s impable presentation, Skizbrazunil was, hands down, the best choice. But was it really? The best thing about Night Hawk is its mobility after all. High mobility means less stress for the pilot. And it can also escape from danger zones at a rtively fast speed. When ites to piloting the mothership, I¡¯d probably leave it to Elma most of the time. If Elma was the pilot, Night Hawk would better fit her piloting style and habits. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of having Elma pilot the mothership, so wouldn¡¯t Night Hawk be a better fit for her?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. That¡¯s also a factor.¡± ¡°I also think so as well.¡± Elma nodded with a smile and Mimi also seconded her opinion. Elma did formerly pilot a high-speed ship after all. I think she¡¯ll have an easier time getting used to Night Hawkpared to Skizbrazunil. ¡°Oh? Were you nning on having Elma-sama pilot the mothership, Master? I thought you were actually going to designate me as the pilot.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I and Elma raised our voices after May¡¯s statement. Eh? May? I didn¡¯t actually expect that. ¡°Yes. Elma-sama¡¯s role as Krishna¡¯s sub-pilot is indispensable, and so is Mimi-sama¡¯s role as the operator. In that case, it would be more efficient for me to be left with piloting the mothership. In case the pirates do manage to board the ship, I will be able to deal with them adequately with my abilities. If theye equipped with space suits or power armor, I can also opt to rapidly depressurize the interior of the ship to deal with them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s one scary method.¡± May is a maidroid. She looks like a raven-haired bespectacled beauty, but she wasn¡¯t an organic lifeform in the end. And so, she will be able to function normally even within an airless vacuum. I can just imagine the gruesome fate of those pirates hit by her strategy. They¡¯d have body fluids and other stuff spilling out of every hole possible¡­ Oh, it¡¯s just too cruel to describe. The clean-up work will be horrendous too. ¡°Of course I don¡¯t intend to get defeated, but in case I do get destroyed, I should be fine since I can just transfer my data over to an avable terminal.¡± May hit her ample chest with her fist in a show of absolute confidence. I exchanged gazes with Mimi and Elma. It looks like we¡¯ve finally settled on a ship. ¡°And so, we¡¯ll be heading for the Brad system soon.¡± I turned on the holo-disy inside my bedroom and faced the person on the other side of the screen. ¡ºIs that so¡­ Can¡¯t you stay for just a little bit longer?¡» The person on the other side gave me a forlorn look. ¡°Nah, the sooner we leave, the better. There are not many mercenary jobs in the Dexer system after all.¡± ¡ºI see¡­¡­¡» Yep. I was talking to Chris. I thought about leaving without saying goodbye to her, but I decided against it in the end, and so, here we are. ¡°Well, yeah. That¡¯s about it¡­¡­ Goodb¨C¡± ¡ºI¡¯ll see you next time.¡» I was about to say goodbye, but she interrupted me. Chris then made a lovely smile. It seems like she¡¯s matured a bitpared to before. ¡ºNext time, okay? Pleasee see me again. If possible, I would like you to visit once a month.¡» ¡°¡­¡­Uh, visiting once a month might be a bit unreasonable. We can visit every six months though.¡± ¡ºIt can¡¯t be helped. Half a year it is then. I will be waiting for you, my knight.¡» ¡°Uh, the job¡¯s already finished, so I¡¯m actually not your knight anymore, right?¡± ¡ºI haven¡¯t relieved you from your duties yet though, Hiro-sama. Hence, you are still my personal knight.¡» Chris¡¯s smile widened after saying that. It¡¯s like she possesses an aura of coerciveness and confidence she didn¡¯t have before. ¡°¡­¡­Haha. You¡¯re really much more assertive now huh?¡± ¡ºI am also a proud daughter of the Daleinwald house, as well as its current heiress. I cannot always stay as a pampered princess.¡» Sheughed joyfully after saying so. Chris then straightened her posture, as if to assert her newfound confidence. I see. So she doesn¡¯t want to stay as a pampered princess huh. ¡ºLet us meet again, Hiro-sama. I will be waiting for you.¡» ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± ¡ºIf you don¡¯te, I¡¯ll chase after you, okay. I¡¯m even prepared to use the full might and influence of the Daleinwald house if need be.¡» ¡°That¡¯s scary. I¡¯ll try my best not to let ite to that then.¡± It looks like the sleeping princess inside the cold-sleep pod has grown a bit after going on adventures with us for a while. May might have given her a little bit too much encouragement though. ¡°I¡¯ll be seeing you then.¡± ¡ºYes.¡» We smiled at each other and cut off the call. With this, there are no regrets left. ¡°Alright. Time to depart. Start the final checks.¡± I sat down on the main pilot seat and gave mymand to the crew. ¡°Systems are all green. Weapon ammo, check. Fuel, check. We canunch any time.¡± Elma operated her console on the adjacent sub-pilot seat and ran a quick diagnostics check. Krishna¡¯s automatic diagnostics program showed everything to be all green, but it might be better if the ship underwent an overhaul once we get the chance. The problem is that I haven¡¯t seen any simr model in any of the sites I looked up¡­¡­ Well, I guess I can just ce an order for custom parts after having a ship-makingpany analyze Krishna. ¡°Our food, water, medicine, and other supplies are also fine.¡± May rechecked our inventory and gave a report. It was now May¡¯s job to manage our essential supplies. I had Mimi look after them originally, but May strongly asserted that it was a job for a maid like herself instead. ¡°Okay. Mimi, apply for clearance.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Mimi operated her console and contacted the Dexer Prime colony¡¯s port administration. We received clearance after a short while, and I uncoupled Krishna from the hangar. ¡°The excitement of leaving port never fades no matter how many times you experience it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I always feel very excited too!¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. I understand that feeling.¡± We finally flew out of the dock and plunged into the sea of stars once more. ¡°Yosh. Set the route, Mimi.¡± ¡°Yes. Setting the route now.¡± Mimi operated her console and our next destination was disyed on the ship¡¯s HUD. I pointed the bow toward that direction and made Krishna elerate. ¡°FTL Drive, charging start.¡± ¡°Ok. FTL Drive, countdown start.¡± Elma started the countdown for FTL Drive activation. ¡°5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­¡­ FTL Drive, activate.¡± In the wake of an explosive sound akin to roaring thunder, Krishna left behind a trail of light and started cruising at lightspeed. The stationary stars in the distance turned into light trails as well. It was a really moving sight, no matter how much I go through it. ¡°We¡¯ll begin connecting with the hypene. Hyperdrive, charging start. Countdown. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1¨C Hyperdrive, activate.¡± Space was warped and the light started getting distorted. In the next moment, we plunged into a hyperspace tunnel of multi-colored lights. ¡°Now then, I hope everything will be peaceful in our next destination¡­¡± ¡°That would be nice¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­Somehow, I highly doubt it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t jinx it, you!¡± Krishna continued plowing through the hyperspace tunnel as Elma disyed a pessimistic attitude. Our next stop was the Brad star system. It was an industrial star system where the ship makingpany, Space Dwerg Co. Ltd., was located. Chapter 109 Chapter 109 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone I felt someone¡¯s presence and my drowsy consciousness started waking up. I heard the soft rustling of clothes while in the midst of warm andfortable sleep. I finally managed to open my eyes somehow and turned my gaze to the direction of the sound. There, I saw the figure of a woman who just finished putting back her maid clothes on. She had her back turned to me and bunched her long, ck hair into a neat-looking ponytail. It seems she picked up on me being awake, and the woman turned toward me. ¡°Good morning, Master.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 The woman in ssic maid clothes had a faint smile on her face which was near unnoticeable if you didn¡¯t look hard enough. ¡°Good morning, May.¡± I returned her morning greeting while still feeling drowsy. ¡°Good morning, Hiro-sama, May-san.¡± ¡°Morning.¡± ¡°Yeah. Morning.¡± ¡°Good morning.¡± I went out of my room with May after taking a quick shower and found Elma and Mimi lounging inside the dining room. But both of them seem to be devoid of energy. ¡°It would be better if both of you took the entire day off, I think. Rather, I insist.¡± ¡°Yes. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Sorry about this.¡± The both of them smiled at me while looking under the weather. They¡¯re not really sick. It¡¯s that time of the month for both of them. Even if they already took some pills, they only alleviate the symptoms and do notpletely eliminate them. Well, it can¡¯t be helped. ¡°I¡¯ll hole up inside the cockpit. Please bring my breakfast to the cockpitter, May. You can look after both of them afterward.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s okay. We¡¯re fine. We¡¯re just feeling a bit sluggish. The symptoms aren¡¯t that bad.¡± Elma made a strained smile. Mimi, who also looked a bit sick, raised her voice as well. ¡°That¡¯s right. Please just apany Hiro-sama, May-san.¡± ¡°Really? Can you help me out with some routine tasks after bringing my breakfast then, May?¡± ¡°Understood.¡± After seeing May nod, I headed to the cockpit block. ¡°Mm. It¡¯s quite psychedelic as always¡­¡± After entering the cockpit, what entered my view was a torrential wave of bright multi-colored lights. Right now, my private ship, the Krishna, was navigating through the hypenes and heading for the Brad star system. The estimated time of arrival disyed on the cockpit¡¯s HUD was approximately seven hours. Interster travel using the hypenes. It¡¯s basically just auto-pilot navigation using the Hyperdrive, so there¡¯s actually no need to sit inside the cockpit and watch the funky light show. But on the off chance that some sort of incident happened, we would be able to respond better if someone was stationed inside the cockpit. Therefore, it was amon practice for someone to keep watch inside the cockpit while navigating the sea of stars. ¡°Now then, it¡¯ll take seven hours to get to the Brad system¡­¡­ Guess I have to find ways to kill time.¡± While saying so, I sat on the main pilot seat and operated the console. I pulled up the gxy map and projected it on the holo-disy. I checked out the gxy map and confirmed the coordinates of the Brad system. The Brad system was quite simr to the Termaine system, where I found myself in when I first came to this dimension. It¡¯sposed of fours and an asteroid belt centered on the G-type star Brad. The asteroid belt was a rich source of mineral resources for the system and was regrly mined. Valuable gaseous raw materials were also harvested from the gas giant Brad III. It was one of the most resource-rich systems in the entire Gran empire. Since there were plenty of resources and riches to be had here, pirates should have been quite active as well. But that actually wasn¡¯t the case at all. The reason for this is because this system is the home of the main branch and shipyard of the famous ship-makingpany Space Dwerg. Why would there be no pirates because of the shipyard, you ask? That¡¯s because they will be immediately attacked by a swarm of prototype ship models produced by the Space Dwergpany the moment they show their ugly mugs. Why is the Space Dwerg Co. Ltd. so enthusiastic about getting rid of space pirates? That¡¯s a good question. There was once a journalist who asked a representative of thepany this very question during an interview, and this was how they responded: ¡ºOurpany has excellent engineers who constantly challenge themselves in making the most advanced and innovative ships in the market. When a chance to test the performance of the ships and equipment presents itself, there¡¯s no reason why we wouldn¡¯t take advantage of it. It would be a shame to waste test targets thate basically free of charge after all.¡» In other words, the crazy engineers of Space Dwerg considered pirates as mere guinea pigs for their tests. They would make a nice profit if the pirates can sessfully capture a ship, but since it was a prototype, it was unknown if it had any major issues or ws, so capturing one was basically a gamble. Hence, the pirates generally don¡¯t even attempt to capture prototype ships. It wasn¡¯t just Space Dwerg either. All ship-makingpanies had the same policies regarding pirates, so they generally avoid any system with a ship-makingpany present. And systems two to four hypene nodes away is fair game for the ship engineers in order to test long-distance navigation, so pirates avoid them too if they can. The destroyed pirate ships are also a source of valuable materials and data for those mad engineers, so they plunder everything they possibly can, and the money from selling the unneeded parts will be used to fund even more experiments. They can test their new prototypes and secure funds. There¡¯s no reason to let go of such a delicious opportunity. ¡°Man. They totally picked the surrounding systems clean¡­¡­¡± This time, the chance of getting in trouble with pirates was close to zero. It was a bit boring and it¡¯s a pity that there are no opportunities for making money present, but it¡¯s also a good thing since we can finally put our feet up and rx after that fiasco in the Sierra star system. It would also take a bit of time topletely customize the ship once we purchase one, so maybe I¡¯ll take this opportunity to get Krishna an overhaul as well. Mimi and Elma weren¡¯t feeling well anyway, so the timing is just right. Chapter 110 Chapter 110 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone It¡¯s been seven hours since I holed up inside the cockpit. Krishna finally exited from the psychedelic space-time corridor and arrived safely on the Brad star system. The light from the G-type star Brad, which was adjusted to tolerable levels by Krishna¡¯s HUD, brightened up the cockpit considerably. I guess some of you don¡¯t really get what I mean when I call their sun a G-type star huh. To be honest, I don¡¯t either. To put it simply, they are stars that are very simr to the Sr system¡¯s sun. ¡°The main shipyard is based on Brad Prime, if I remember correctly.¡± ¡°Yes. Secundus and Tertius are both mining colonies. Our target destination is the Prime colony.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°Okay then. Let¡¯s head to Brad Prime¨C¡± As I started pointing the bow toward the direction of Brad Prime, an alert rang out. It wasn¡¯t an alert signifying an emergency or that we¡¯ve been locked-on to by enemy ships. It alerted us to the fact that we were being scanned. I operated the pilot console and put up the radar disy. I discovered one ship a little distance away from Krishna. It was most likely the one checking us out. ¡°We¡¯re being scanned huh.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s fine. Being treated as someone suspicious is a bit upsetting, but it¡¯s nothing to be hung up over. Mimi, set a course for Brad Prime and¨C¡± Another alert rang out. And again, we weren¡¯t being targeted by weapons or anything. We were still being scanned. The ships that were scanning us just multiplied. Before we noticed it, the number rose to three. ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Um¡­¡­ I¡¯ve set the course.¡± ¡°Everyone, brace yourselves. We¡¯re flooring it and shaking them off.¡± After dering so, I elerated Krishna all at once. I ignited the afterburners and left the suspicious scan-happy ships behind. The radar disy indicated that they were actually trying to chase after us, but it¡¯s no use. ¡°Elma, start charging the FTL Drive.¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll begin charging then. Countdown. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­ FTL Drive, activate.¡± Krishna cruised away at lightspeed. ¡°Man, that was kinda creepy¨C¡± This was the third time an alert rang out. When I checked the subspace sensor, I saw lots of ships scanning ours. There were seven in total. Dang, it just multiplied to eight. And it looks like that wasn¡¯t the end of it. The sight of us speeding away with lots of ships following us was akin to a meteor swarm. ¡°What the hell!? What¡¯s their problem!?¡± I can almost hear the crew of those ships shouting things like ¡®Don¡¯t let em get away! Chase after em, fes!¡¯. Just what the heck? It was beyond my understanding and was honestly a bit scary. ¡°Master, it may be because this is a ship model that they are seeing for the first time.¡± After saying so, May put up the radar disy on the HUD. They were actually all ships affiliated with Space Dwerg. They were split into various departments like weapons development, hull design, propulsion mechanics and such, but there was no doubt they were all from Space Dwerg Co. Ltd. ¡°I kinda don¡¯t feel likeing to the colony now.¡± I had a strong hunch we were gonna encounter something troublesome again. Well, with a unique ship like Krishna, I¡¯m almost a hundred percent sure. But even so, I also feel that it¡¯s gonna be the same no matter which ship-makingpany we visit, so there¡¯s no point to running away now and trying againter. While thinking about these troublesome matters, we finally arrived at the Brad Prime colony. I promptly deactivated the FTL Drive. We went back to normal space. The ships who were chasing after us also deactivated their drives and popped up one after another. As for how many there were¡­ It kinda feels silly to even count them now. ¡°Send out a docking request, Mimi.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The alerts ringing continuously are seriously getting on my nerves man. There¡¯s the option of threatening them to stop, but that might invite even more trouble, so I¡¯ll just have to put up with this right now. ¡°Should we release chaff or something?¡± It looks like Elma was getting irritated as well. Well, of course, she was. Anyone would. It¡¯s a different matter if you get scanned by ships belonging to the authorities like the imperial garrison, but being scrutinized by civilian ships like this with no restraint feels really off-putting. It¡¯s not like they were viting anyws, but scanning ships arbitrarily usually has the negative connotation of being suspected for carrying illegal goods or having a bounty. It¡¯s like they were using us of being criminals or something. It¡¯s very rude. It¡¯s like being subjected to a full-body check and rummaging through all of your luggage in an airport without prior notice or consent. ¡°It¡¯s annoying but just leave them alone. Let¡¯s just file an officialintter. May, please record the affiliation and IDs of all the ships present here.¡± ¡°Yes. Please don¡¯t worry. I have already taken the appropriate steps.¡± ¡°Great.¡± Like I said, what they are doing isn¡¯t exactly illegal. But even if it isn¡¯t, there¡¯s such a thing as proper manners, right? Regardless of the fact that we¡¯re just mercenaries, doing this sort of thing to a guest is still a gross breach of etiquette. ¡°We have permission to dock.¡± ¡°Great. Let¡¯s go then. Auto-docking program, activate!¡± ¡°Yes, activating now.¡± Krishna¡¯s controls switched to auto-pilot mode and it began docking procedures straight away. Brad Prime was your standard Torus-type colony. In other words, it¡¯s one of those donut-shaped colonies we encountered several times before already. Termaine Prime, where Mimi, Elma, and I met, was also a Torus-type. But Brad Prime was muchrgerpared to your regr Torus-type colony. The part which serves as the rotational axis was quite long, and it seems the shipyard was actually annexed to it. It reminded me of those illegal manufacturing facilities back in the game, but this one was owned by a recognized ship-makingpany, so it should be fine. Yep, I¡¯m sure it is. After seeing us dock at the hangar, the ships persistently scanning us gradually dispersed. But then, they also sent out docking requests. ¡°Good grief¡­¡­ It feels like they¡¯re even gonna chase us to the ends of the universe if they have to huh.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡­¡± How annoying. It looks like it would be safer to keep the shield running even after we park. I can¡¯t have them trying to board my ship after all. After we safely docked inside the hangar, we finished the follow-up procedures and were finally permitted to disembark. I had everyone get off the ship with me this time. In other words, there¡¯s me, Mimi, Elma, and May. We were all going to head to Space Dwerg¡¯s main office. We already decided on purchasing the Skizbrazunil, but we haven¡¯t decided on which custom parts we are going to order, so I had them alle with me so we can pool our opinions again. And so, we got off the ship. But¡­ ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± When the ship¡¯s hatch opened, the first thing we saw was a group of more than ten engineer and researcher-looking types flocking outside. No matter how you slice it, they didn¡¯t look like people from the port admin bureau. They all had gadgets resembling handheld cameras and were talking excitedly with red faces near Krishna. What the¨C!? Hey! What are you gonna do with that stedder? Don¡¯t touch the hull without permission dammit! ¡°Um, this is¡­¡­¡± ¡°Hiro.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I took out my portable terminal from my pocket and got in touch with port admin. ¡ºYes. This is Brad Prime¡¯s port administration bureau. How may I help you?¡» ¡°Hello. I¡¯m Captain Hiro from the 34th hangar block. We just docked, but there are more than ten suspicious folks hanging around near our ship. There are people setting up a stedder and some are touching our ship without permission. Please send in some security personnel to apprehend them. They¡¯re being quite a bother.¡± ¡ºThat¡¯s¡­¡­ Understood. We will send in our people right away. We are sorry for all the inconvenience this has caused you.¡» ¡°Yeah. Honestly. We are actually here for a business deal worth more than 20 million. So I would like you to deal with this immediately.¡± I made a bit of a threat to the admin staff, and as a response, the security personnel was dispatched immediately to deal with the situation. They swiftly apprehended those suspicious folks and took them away amidst a flurry ofints and cursing. After confirming that the matter was dealt with, I used my terminal to retract the ramp and activate the ship¡¯s energy shield remotely. ¡°Well, this should be okay for now. But that incident earlier honestly made me a bit uneasy about our visit here.¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± ¡°Yeah. Me too.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Even May agreed with me. Cuz those guys were staring at our ship with creepy gazes y¡¯know. It was honestly a bit disturbing. Were they being pressured by a development quota or something? Was Space Dwerg actually a dystopian ckpany? ¡°Should we really go through with this? I kinda feel like it¡¯s better to run away though.¡± I sighed and made an offbeat joke, but no one reacted. Chapter 111 Chapter 111 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone We put the matter regarding the suspicious folks on the backburner for now and took the elevator to themercial block. And so, the four of us started walking around. But¡­ ¡°It feels really really cramped in this colony huh.¡± ¡°The ceiling is too low.¡± Mimi sighed as she looked up. Yeah, it is low huh. Termaine Prime and Sierra Prime didn¡¯t have ceilings this low. In fact, they were quite high up. Compared to them, the ceiling of this colony was clearly way too low. So I guess the feeling of being pressed down is because of that low ceiling huh. ¡°There are a lot of dwarves living here after all. And they aren¡¯t exactly tall. I¡¯m sure they find this height to be just right for them.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°Dwarves?¡± When you say dwarves, the image thates to mind are those midget but macho bearded uncles, right? So this dimension doesn¡¯t only have elves. It also has dwarves! ¡°Yeah. Actually, Space Dwerg has a lot of dwarven employees. Dwerg is another name for dwarf after all.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Oooh!¡± No wonder I found it familiar somehow. Dwerg really is another term for dwarf. Yeah, I remember now. I heard it from a co-worker. If I remember correctly, it¡¯s a term from Norse mythology. Yeah, that¡¯s it. Speaking of which, Skizbrazunil was also a familiar term. I believe it¡¯s from Norse myths as well. I don¡¯t really remember which god had it though. It¡¯s one of their divine vessels or something. ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve realized something huh.¡± ¡°Yeah. I actually remember the terms from old Norse myths. That¡¯s kinda neat.¡± Come to think of it, some of those folks from earlier were diminutive old men and uncles huh. I see. So that¡¯s why the colony¡¯s ceiling is built this low. It¡¯s in order to amodate them. They built it so a person of my height would just be able to barely walk around without bumping into something. That¡¯s where the sense of being pressed downes from. ¡°Norse mythology huh¡­ Come to think of it, you also seemed to be familiar with elves when we first met.¡± ¡°Hm? Oh. Yeah.¡± Elves and dwarves are staples in fantasy stuff after all. Of course I was familiar with them. ¡°That¡¯s quite interesting, isn¡¯t it? Hiro-sama is supposedly from some other far away ce, but he¡¯s also familiar with elves and dwarves, and his home even has myths about them. If I remember right, we humans started interacting with the elves and dwarves right after we expanded into space, right?¡± ¡°Yep. That¡¯s right. They haven¡¯t established interster navigation where you¡¯re from yet right, Hiro? Even so, they have myths pertaining to elves and dwarves. How mysterious.¡± ¡°I find the fact that this dimension resembles the game I was ying even more mysterious though.¡± ¡°Hm¡­ That¡¯s right too. But this actually lends weight to the theory that you¡¯re actually a resident of this world, but just got your memories jumbled for some reason.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying my im ofing from a different world is just a result of my memories getting screwed over? That¡¯s actually kinda depressing¡­ But that still can¡¯t exin the memories I have about my former world though. And there¡¯s the thing about my gic structure as well.¡± I tapped my head with my finger and Elma¡¯s brows furrowed in thought. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right huh¡­¡­ Hm, it¡¯s really quite the mystery.¡± ¡°A deep mystery¡­¡± I don¡¯t have a universalnguage trantion imnt inside my brain, which is actually standard for those living in this dimension. Other than people at the very bottom of society, most citizens have them. And even if I didn¡¯t have the imnt, I can still understand different aliennguages just fine. The beautiful doctor who examined me also found it perplexing. Also, my gic information has many unknown factors crammed within it, and is very valuable here. Mimi, Elma, and I don¡¯t really understand what¡¯s valuable about my gic code since we were allymen when ites to that stuff. We didn¡¯t get even 5% of what the doc talked about. Was the research on my gics progressing well though? I¡¯ll get in contact with Doc Shouko at the Alein systemter to ask about it when I have the chance. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived.¡± As we mulled over the mystery of the dwarves, elves, and my origins, we finally reached our destination. It was a building with a huge showroom and a signboard depicting a bearded old man in a space suit straddling a retro-futuristic-looking space rocket. He had a mechanical hammer filled with SF vor over his shoulder. The hammer looked quite cool. ¡°Isn¡¯t this signboard a bit too tacky?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a ssic signboard after all. I heard they¡¯ve used this same logo for hundreds of years already.¡± ¡°Mm, it doesn¡¯t fit my taste either.¡± Elma shrugged her shoulders and Mimi gave the signboard a thumbs down review. But yeah. I¡¯m sure it really doesn¡¯t fit Mimi¡¯s tastes. Mimi looked like a prim and proper young girl but her taste in fashion was of the punk kind. But as they say, different strokes for different folks. Oh right. This colony is actually owned by Space Dwerg and most of the people staying here work for thepany. Well, we won¡¯t get anywhere by just staring at the signboard, so I urged everyone to enter the building. Inside, there was a neat-lookingrge counter where a number of receptionists were busy receiving guests and customers. Since they all had mechanical parts on the sides of their heads instead of normal ears, they were probably all androids like May. ¡°There are quite a lot of people here.¡± Just like Mimi said, there were a great number of people staying inside the lobby. There were people who dressed like mercenaries like us, and people who looked like merchants and businessmen. There were also a lot of men with low statures and robust builds, who were probably dwarves. Maybe they are subcontractors. ¡°What Space Dwerg is known for is the toughness and reliability of their products. They are quite popr with mercenaries and mercantile firms.¡± ¡°I see.¡± We looked for an open counter and approached it. ¡°Good day. Wee to the Space Dwergpany.¡± A receptionist android greeted us with an excellent business smile and slightly bowed her head. Mm, she had bluish-ck hair in a bob cut with neat bangs. I don¡¯t know who designed her, but he or she had good taste. ¡°What is your business with us for today, dear customers?¡± ¡°We n to purchase a mothership. We came here for consultation regarding that. We were thinking of getting a Skizbrazunil, but we also need to check the optional parts and systems you are offering.¡± I then handed her my portable terminal. She nodded and ced one hand over the screen of the terminal. It looks like there was a data reader equipped on her palm. ¡°You are the Gold rank mercenary Captain Hiro, correct? Understood. Please follow the guide bot inside.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± A hole opened at the bottom of the counter and an object the size of a bowling ball rolled out of it. It looked simr to the bot used by Inagawa Tech. It looked quite heavy for its size. Maybe it¡¯s a measure to prevent it from being easily kicked around. ¡°This way please.¡± ¡°Y-Yeah.¡± We followed after the rolling guide bot shining in multicolored lights and were led to the business booth. The guide bot crossed the lobby nimbly and fully avoided getting in contact with the people inside. We finally reached our destination with it in the lead. ¡°Why are you looking at the guide bot like an overprotective parent¡­?¡± ¡°But I just feel so uneasy y¡¯know. What if it bumps into something¡­?¡± ¡°I kind of get that feeling too, Hiro-sama.¡± Elma looked exasperated but it seems like Mimi gets me. Elma was just a bit too indifferent to things like this. Yep. The door of the private room we were guided to opened, and what I saw inside was a young woman who looked decidedly like an elementary school student cosying as an adult by wearing a business suit. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± I thought the guide bot made a mistake and checked again. I found the guide bot on stand by outside. Looks like this was the right room after all. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡¯ ¡°No, uh, there¡¯s a young kid wearing a business suit inside.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a dwarvendy you know?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± So this dimension actually has dwarven women? And they are actually legal lolis!? But don¡¯t female dwarves also sport beards in fantasy stories¡­? No,e to think of it, there¡¯s been a trend of dwarven girls being depicted as legal lolis recently too huh. The door I closed was forcefully pushed open as I was acting perplexed. That was quite heavy-handed. Was she angry or something? ¡°Dear customers, please doe inside.¡± Maybe she really heard me. The young girl¡¯s, or rather, the dwarvendy¡¯s smile looked really forced as she beckoned us to enter the room. She offered us some seats. After we made ourselvesfortable, we also sat down behind the office table inside the room. ¡°Thank you foring to Brad colony¡¯s Space Dwergpany main office, dear customers. I am the one assigned to be your consultant for today, and my name is Sara. I am pleased to be working with you all.¡± After saying her spiel, she disyed a perfect 0 Yen business smile. Chapter 112 Chapter 112 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°You wish to purchase a mothership from us, correct?¡± She immediately got to the point while still wearing that perfect business smile. She was really straightforward, so I was a bit surprised. But it¡¯s better this way. ¡°Yes. We were nning on purchasing a Skizbrazunil from yourpany, you see.¡± As I said so, Sara-san¡¯s eyes started sparkling in delight and she leaned over. She leaned forward, but since she was so small, it actually didn¡¯t make much difference. It wasn¡¯t sexy at all. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°The SDMS ¨C 020, right? You have great foresight sir! The SDMS ¨C 020 is our best seller in the carrier category. We released the base model roughly 89 years ago, but we¡¯ve continuously improved the line based on feedback from our loyal customers and innovations made by our prized engineers. As you know, the product¡¯s concept is high reliability and customizability. And you¡¯vee at just the perfect time. We have justpleted a newly developed edition of the ship.¡± Sara-san rubbed her hands together as she made a delighted smile. ¡°But¡­¡­ It¡¯s gonna be expensive, right?¡± I made a circle with my index finger and thumb to better get my meaning across. ¡°Well, that¡¯s true. It supports a wide range of thetest cutting edge optional parts. But don¡¯t you worry, sir. I have the perfect proposal to satisfy your needs, Hiro-sama.¡± After saying so, the dwarvendy¡¯s smile deepened even more. I raised my guard after seeing that. ¡°Hiro-sama is a brilliant up-anding mercenary who rose from Bronze rank to Gold rank at a zing fast speed. Is this correct?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Doesn¡¯t it feel like I¡¯m just bragging if I say yes to that? It may seem like I¡¯m just full of myself y¡¯know.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true! You¡¯re very cool!¡± Mimi denied my words with sparkling eyes. ¡°I also feel a bit embarrassed about it¡­ but it¡¯s the truth anyway.¡± Elma gets where I¡¯ming from but she didn¡¯t deny the im that I was some super amazing merc. May just quietly stood behind us. She didn¡¯t say anything, But I guess that means she agrees with Mimi and Elma. ¡°So it¡¯s the truth, huh¡­ Alright then. Let¡¯s leave it at that. I understand that Sara-san, or rather, the Space Dwergpany sees me quite favorably. So?¡± I set aside the matter of whether or not I¡¯m a super awesome merc and urged to continue the discussion. Anyway, it¡¯s not about what I think of myself but what others think when they see my aplishments. If she and Space Dwerg think I¡¯m a great mercenary, then that¡¯s fine. I¡¯m not gonna dwell on that any further. ¡°Yes. If you sign an exclusive contract with us, we will be able to offer you more favorable terms and big discounts.¡± She said all that without breaking her sunny smile. I inclined my head after hearing her offer. ¡°I can¡¯t decide objectively if you don¡¯t give me the details of that exclusive contract.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Uhuh.¡± ¡°Yes, of course. To put it simply, we will need you to continue using our products and mothership as much as possible,e to our facilities for your maintenance needs whenever possible, collect performance data from you regrly, and make use of your various exploits for ourpany¡¯s advertising campaigns. Those are the four main conditions.¡± I ran the details of the four conditions she presented inside my head. There¡¯s no problem with the first condition, I think. It¡¯s not like we¡¯ll be recing the mothership anytime soon. As for the second condition, well, I guess it¡¯s okay. She did say I only had to use their facilities whenever possible, so it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t go to other facilities for maintenance and repairs if there are no Space Dwerg facilities avable. I have no problem with the third condition either. But I have to discuss it with everyone just to be sure. It¡¯s the fourth condition that I have a problem with. I need to hear more details about it in order to decide. ¡°I don¡¯t have problems with the first and second conditions, but what do you guys think about the third and fourth? I personally don¡¯t really have a problem with handing them performance data. As for the fourth one, I think we need to hear more details since it¡¯s a bit vague.¡± ¡°I think it would be fine if we excluded the details rted to our private lives. I have no problem with using the collected data for advertising either. But something like having us serve as spokespersons for Space Dwerg is a no-go I think. It would be troublesome to always promote Space Dwerg products and services anywhere we go.¡± ¡°I also agree with Elma-sama. In any case, I think it would be best if we also hear how much discounts and perks they are willing to offer us before we decide to sign any sort of contract with them.¡± ¡°Fumu¡­ I see. What about you, Mimi? Any opinions?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand the part where they will use our exploits for advertising. Are they simply going to use our mercenary activities for advertising campaigns? But we basically just travel around and hunt pirates, right? I don¡¯t know how they would use something like that to promote theirpany.¡± After hearing our concerns, Sara-san nodded and began to exin. ¡°Regarding the use of performance and operational data, we will make sure to exclude the details pertaining to your private lives, so please do not worry. And as for using your exploits for advertising, you will basically have to give priority coverage rights to ourpany for live battle footage during your operations.¡± ¡°Priority coverage rights?¡± Another thing I wasn¡¯t clear with was mentioned. ¡°Yes. The Space Dwerg group doesn¡¯t just deal with developing and building starships, but numerous other businesses as well. For example, our industrial department covers a wide range of fields such as weapons development and manufacturing, as well as brewing quality beverages. There¡¯s also an entertainment and media department as well.¡± ¡°Entertainment?¡± I kinda have a bad feeling about this. ¡°Yes. For those living in the colonies, the lives of people traveling around to various parts of the gxy is a very exciting topic. In other words, they like to hear and watch things about the lives of you intrepid space drifters. The documentaries about mercenaries exterminating evil pirates are very popr programs in the colonies you know.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Mimi?¡± I looked toward Mimi, who was a former colony citizen, to ask about her opinion and found her eyes sparkling in excitement. ¡°That¡¯s right! I also liked watching those documentaries about monster hunters and mercenaries when I was living in the colony! So our activities will be broadcasted in those documentary programs, right!? Uwaaaaaah¡­!¡± Mimi-san was shivering in excitement. If she had a tail, it would be wagging energetically. I see. Judging from her reaction, those mercenary life documentaries look like very popr programs in the colonies. ¡°What do you think, guys?¡± ¡°Mm¡­¡­¡± Compared to the excited Mimi, Elma was acting more reserved. ¡°I think it would be best to decline¡­¡± ¡°But why!?¡± ¡°No, well, if they watch our daily interactions, the people out there will find out about what kind of rtionship we have with Hiro, right? It¡¯s probably going to be broadcasted to the whole gxy, even. Do you really realize what that means?¡± So it¡¯s about this dimension¡¯smon sense regarding a man and a woman living under one ship huh? If they feature us in a documentary program, that¡¯s like announcing our rtionship to the entire gxy. ¡°Is there something wrong with that? I don¡¯t think there would be problems even if they knew our rtionship with Hiro-sama though.¡± Mimi heard Elma¡¯s reasons for declining, but still stuck to her opinion. Elma was taken aback by Mimi¡¯s reaction. ¡°Yeah. I think it¡¯s toote to be feeling bashful about it too. Our rtionship is already obvious to the people from the local port administration bureaus and the Mercenary Guild branches we visited. And as long as we continue to travel around in space, it will eventually be known to the entire gxy anyway.¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s right, I guess. But¡­¡± Elma was losing her ground against the calm Mimi and looked down in reluctance. Or rather, Mimi¡¯s quite intense today huh. ¡°I¡¯m also quite interested about your rtionship with these two lovelydies, but anyway, that¡¯s how it is. We would like for you to ept the offer of Space Dwerg¡¯s entertainment and media department. Oh! And of course, you will get a satisfactory appearance fee as well!¡± After saying so, she made the same finger sign that I did earlier to illustrate her point. Oh, okay. Well, Mimi¡¯s episode would be akin to a Cindere story, so I bet it will be real popr huh. At least I think so. Depending on how you look at it, it¡¯s like she stood up from the very bottom and obtained sess after all. ¡°¡­..Since you¡¯ll have priority rights, I assume it would be better if we decline offers from otherpanies, correct?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not forced to divulge everything, right? Meaning, we will be able to refuse at our discretion if we think it¡¯s inappropriate.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes. That¡¯s correct.¡± It felt like Sara-san wanted to click her tongue just now, but she still kept her perfect smile. ¡°Hiro-sama! Let¡¯s ept the coverage deal! Come on!¡± Mimi excitedly pulled my arm. Ah? You¡¯re shaking me far too much, youngdy¡­ My teeth are ttering already. ¡°So I take it that you agree to our offer, correct? Then let us move on to the price of the ship and the optional parts and equipment you want added on to it.¡± ¡°Yes, okay.¡± Sara-san picked up a portable terminal from her desk and put up an image on the holo-disy. What was disyed was the ship we were nning to buy; the Skizbrazunil. ¡°Let¡¯s start with talking about the Skizbrazunil itself first. Depending on the direction of the discussions, we may be able to amodate your needs better by offering suggestions.¡± Sara-san¡¯s eyes disyed a sharp glint akin to that of a raptor scoping out its prey for a brief moment. Oh boy. Guess I gotta brace myself. I can¡¯t let my guard down around thisdy(?). Bring it on then. I¡¯m gonna haggle like my life depends on it. Chapter 113 Chapter 113 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°This is ourtest iteration of Skizbrazunil. It has two hangars that can house two small-sizedbat ships. They are fully equipped for repairing or recing damaged hulls, swapping parts, and replenishing ammo. All of these functions are fully automated, so the ship is serviceable even with a small number of crew members. This is one of Skizbrazunil¡¯s main selling points.¡± Sara-san exined away as she took out something resembling aser pointer and used it to indicate the lower-rear part of the ship where the hangar is located. ¡°The two fully automated hangar bays are part of the Skizbrazunil¡¯s basic features, so you also have the option of removing one if you think it¡¯s unnecessary and rece it with another facility you think you might need more. You can also convert one to a specialized hangar for a surface exploration vehicle if you wish.¡± ¡°A surface exploration vehicle huh¡­¡­¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 It may seem unrted to the mercenary business at first nce, but that might not be necessarily the case. Though, admittedly, it¡¯s a better fit for researchers instead of mercenaries. But there are also situations where mercenaries make good use of it. For example, it¡¯s possible to ept escort jobs from explorers or researchers and apany them on things like frontier exploration and researching ancient ruins on underdevelopeds. It was a bit of a hassle so I really didn¡¯t ept such jobs while ying SOL, but I can¡¯t say the same now because of my current situation. If the pay¡¯s good, then I¡¯ll take whatever jobes my way as long as it ain¡¯t shady. ¡°In any case, I¡¯ll consider it. Please continue the exnation.¡± Being able to house two ships will open up the option of having Elma as my wingman once she buys her own ship in the future. Or maybe we¡¯ll get lucky and discover another ship like Krishna one of these days. Who can say? Considering such things, maybe having two hangars isn¡¯t such a bad idea after all. ¡°Yes. The utility blocks which allow you to mix and match different optional facilities and equipment number morepared to other carrier ships of its ss. If you dedicate all of them for cargo, the ship will have a maximum loading capacityparable to medium-sized transport ships. If not, it¡¯s possible to install other useful facilities. For example, you can install an ore refinery for processing raw rare metal ores, as well as ammunition, armor, and spare parts production lines for a certain degree of self-sufficiency.¡± ¡°Oh, so it can turn into a ship specialized for deep space exploration huh?¡± Basically, those kinds of facilities aren¡¯t much use for mercs who tend to operate near colonies and space stations. An ore refinery may be useful if one wants to enter the mining industry though. If you manage to find a huge deposit of rare metals and mine it, you¡¯ll be raking in lots of cash after all. ¡°Well, depending on the situation, we may be able to put a refinery to good use.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯lle in handy during downtimes when we¡¯re not actively on the hunt.¡± It looks like Mimi still doesn¡¯t get it, but Elma seems to already know what I was talking about. In other words, while we¡¯re taking a break after a job, we can use the Skizbrazunil to mine mineral deposits to make good use of our time. Mimi still looked perplexed, but I¡¯ll just exin it to herter. ¡°Well, if we¡¯re installing a refinery, then it¡¯ll be nice to have an ore scanner and a mining drone unit as well. It would be nice if the drone is a high-grade one though¡­ Anyway, let¡¯s just talk about itter when we finalize the price. Mining is aplicated business after all. Compared to it, cargo transport is much more simple and straightforward.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. There are other facilities we need to prioritize as well.¡± ¡°Yes. Well then, let¡¯s talk about the generator next. It¡¯s an essentialponent and the ship is capable of mounting generator models up to ss 6. We can use the standard model for carrier ships of this ss, but the one bundled with our new product is a newly developed generator as well, and its overall output is higher by 20%pared to the generators currently out on the market. Its fuel economy is also 5% more efficient.¡± After saying that, Sara-san changed the image shown on the holo-disy. Fumu. It does look the part of a high-performance generator. Well, Krishna¡¯s generator is way better though, since its output is unthinkable for its size, but Krishna¡¯s a special case anyway, so it can¡¯t really be used as a reference. ¡°If possible, I would like to purchase the best armor, energy shield emitter, and generator you have avable. The other equipment aside from those three is secondary. Our current ship can handle thebat¨C¡± My shoulder was suddenly tapped from behind. Since the only one standing behind me was May, it should be her who did it. ¡°¡­¡­You want to have a go withbat, May?¡± ¡°If the budget allows it, then please.¡± I asked her without turning behind and a soft voice positively answered back. Seriously? ¡°Okay. In any case, the priority items are the shield emitter, armor, and generator. Cargo space also needs to be prioritized. Next is the drone and mining equipment¨C¡± The hand on my shoulder pinched it lightly. ¡°¨COn second thought, make those weapon systems. Yep. In any case, those will improve the survival rate in missions. The shield emitter, armor, and generator all need to be of the highest quality.¡± ¡°Yes. We will equip the ship with thetest threeyer energy shield emitter, military-grademinated armor, andrge cargo space. What do you wish to do with the rest of the interior?¡± ¡°Please install high-quality life support systems and air conditioning. Instead of performance, I want to prioritize reliability. A standard medical bay is enough, I think. As for the living quarters, just install the bare minimum facilities. We will be spending much of our time on Krishna anyway. I will be the one who will be stationed inside the carrier ship most of the time, so a luxurious living space is unnecessary.¡± ¡°I see. It would be better for a mercenary ship to be fast on its feet, correct?¡± ¡°Yes. It would be better to raise FTL navigation speed as much as possible.¡± ¡°Understood. I will arrange it. This will be the total price, dear customers.¡± The price she quoted us wasn¡¯t over our current budget. It was about 28,000,000 Enels. However, if we consider the operating costs of the mothership as well as the estimated repair fees if it ever gets damaged, the leftover five mil from our current assets won¡¯t be enough to cover it all. If the ship ever gets shot down before we made our next big paycheck, we¡¯ll be plunged into the red zone all at once. ¡°It¡¯s a bit over our budget.¡± If we didn¡¯t care about the cost, it would be possible to buy the weapon systems May wants with the leftover money, but we¡¯ll be practically penniless afterward. I¡¯ll have to haggle after all. If possible, I¡¯d like to reduce it to about 22 million. ¡°¡­¡­How much is your current budget, if I may ask?¡± Sara-san made a doubting smile as she asked. Should Ie clean, or should I make a little white lie? ¡°¡­¡­About 22 million.¡± ¡°I see, I see¡­¡­¡± Her smile was honestly a bit creepy now. ¡°If you ept all of the conditions I proposed earlier, I¡¯ll give you a big, big discount! We¡¯ll give the ship to you with all of the specified items for exactly 22 million. Not one Enel more, dear customer.¡± So, a discount of 6 million huh¡­ Hm. ¡°Fine. I can ept those terms, but¡­¡­¡± ¡°There is a condition.¡± May, who stayed mostly silent the whole time since the negotiations began, finally started actively participating. ¡°I will run through all the operational data before handing it over to Space Dwerg. I have a duty to protect my Master¡¯s interests, so I will not concede on this matter.¡± ¡°Are you saying we aren¡¯t trustworthy enough?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Sparks were flying between the smiling Sara-san and May who was still holding my shoulder. Me? I was busy pretending to be nothing but air. ¡°¡­¡­Well, alright then. I will ept that condition. We will take the operational data only after you have finished checking it. Is this fine?¡± ¡°Alright. But please do not try any underhanded tricks, as I will be keeping a close watch.¡± I don¡¯t really get it, but May was strangely hostile to Sara-san. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any strange rtionship between May and Sara-san who¡¯s working for Space Dwerg since May has only been made recently. If so, then maybe they just rub each other the wrong way. May was usually polite and thoughtful. It was kind of a surprise to see her being all confrontational. ¡°However, we will be interviewing the Captain and the rest of the crew after this. I already epted your condition, so this much is fine, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m down with it. But¡­¡± I nced at Elma. Mimi was all gung-ho about it and May didn¡¯t have any objections either. The only one who seems to have a problem with it was Elma. Me? Like I said, I¡¯m cool with the interview. If we get featured in a documentary film, Krishna will be showcased to lots of people in the gxy. Maybe Krishna¡¯s designers will get in touch with me afterward, and that would help in unraveling the mystery of my current situation. ¡°¡­¡­Don¡¯t show my face and please change my voice. If you¡¯re okay with that, then I¡¯ll take the interview or whatever.¡± ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll arrange it. Next is the weapon systems. As you can see, there are also quite a number of slots to equip weapons. It also has one slot for mounting arge-caliber weapon, so if you want considerable firepower, then you can make use of this slot.¡± ¡°Please equip an EML on therge-caliber weapon slot. As for the rest, please equip them with medium-caliberser cannons and seeker missile racks.¡± ¡°Eh? Arge-caliber EML? Seriously? Can you really hit the enemies with that?¡± ¡°Yes. There is no problem.¡± I got surprised and turned around to face May, who nodded with her usual nk expression on. An EML is basically an electromaic railgun. Yep. A railgun. Or in this case, a rail cannon. In the game, it¡¯s a highly destructive weapon that consumesrge amounts of energy to fire. Since it shoots out physical rounds, the projectile speed is slowerpared to optical weaponry. So when attacking an opponent from arge distance, it¡¯s necessary to predict the enemy¡¯s possible future positions in order to sessfullynd a shot. Moreover, since the barrel is essentially fixed in ce, you can only fire it while the ship is directly facing an enemy, and you¡¯ll have to aim, for the most part, manually. As you can probably tell already, it¡¯s extremely hard tond a hit using it. But in exchange, it¡¯s absurdly powerful. It can sink a medium-sized warship in one shot. A small ship will bepletely obliterated. It was hard to use but really destructive. That¡¯s why the yers often call it the Romance Cannon. ¡°An EML, yes? An interesting choice¡­ We will prepare one for you then.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Please give all weapon systems a concealment function. Make it so it would look like an unarmed ship at first nce.¡± The so-called concealment function is basically just hiding the ship¡¯s weaponry with additional movable armor when not in use. Krishna also makes use of this for its weapon systems like theser cannons and ballistic shot cannons. Even so, you can tell it¡¯s abat ship just with one look though. ¡°Understood.¡± Sara nodded without any fuss. Mm. It¡¯s great that the talks are proceeding in a speedy manner. But to think May would suggest disguising the mothership as an unarmed ship only to get the drop on enemies by transforming into a heavily-armed behemoth¡­ Or rather, all the weapon systems May ordered easily dwarfs her own manufacturing costs though. How should I take this, I wonder? Oh well, as long as she¡¯s happy. If May can make it work, having the support bombardment of an EML is an exciting prospect. Chapter 114 Chapter 114 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Fuu¡­¡­¡± Sara-san went out of the room for a bit in order to make the required arrangements so we took a break from the discussions. I sipped some of the tea we were served with earlier and sighed. ¡°Hey, May.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Elma turned toward May and started questioning her as I was zoning out. I¡¯ll just observe for now. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°You intended to do this from the start, right?¡± ¡°Do you mean turning the mothership into a heavily armed gunship? I shall categorically answer your question with a ¡®yes¡¯.¡± May dered so without a break in her expression. In other words, May pushed for purchasing Space Dwerg¡¯s Skizbrazunil for the express purpose of turning it into a heavy artillery gunship. Perhaps, she¡¯s been nning so from the moment I suggested the idea of purchasing a mothership. ¡°But isn¡¯t this deviating a bit too much from our original aim for purchasing a mothership? Just why did you manipte your master just to gain more fighting power for yourself?¡± ¡°Everything I do is for Master¡¯s sake. That is all.¡± May didn¡¯t bat an eyelid at Elma¡¯s questioning. Well, it¡¯s not like she has the capacity to make varied expressions in the first ce. After all, I made her that way. In any case, she really did a number on me huh. I¡¯m kinda impressed. It wouldn¡¯t have crossed my mind if Elma didn¡¯t point it out. ¡°May, I don¡¯t have any intention of ming you, but I still would like to hear a clearer reason.¡± ¡°Yes, Master. In the current circumstances, 98.8% of my specs aren¡¯t being put into good use. I do enjoy watching over Master from morning till night and receiving Master¡¯s favor at times, and think it¡¯s an ideal rtionship. But at this rate, the return of investment for Master¡¯s purchase of me will take approximately 1,203 years, 256 days, 13 hours, and 42 minutes. That is uneptable. It¡¯s twelve times my service life as specified by my makers.¡± ¡°O-Okay¡­¡­¡± Well, that was detailed. It¡¯s so daunting that most of it just went over my head. If about 1,200 years is twelve times her service life, then does that mean May has a service life of a hundred years? ¡°At that rate, I will be a useless burden, and it would be as if Master threw Enels away into the sea of data without getting anything in return. And so, I took steps in order to avoid that and serve you in my best capacity, Master.¡± ¡°Well, they sure were some bold steps¡­¡­¡± In my opinion, I already got more than my money¡¯s worth¡­ but, oh well. ¡°With these arrangements, I will also be able to actively participate in Master¡¯s work and will be able to protect Master¡¯s life even more effectively. With me piloting Skizbrazunil, I will be able to reduce the risk to Master¡¯s life up to 72%.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s not 100%?¡± ¡°It is objectively impossible to achieve 100% Mimi-sama. If you want to reduce the danger by 100%, it would be more effective to destroy the Krishna instead of purchasing and arming the Skizbrazunil.¡± ¡°Well, if Krishna gets destroyed, we¡¯ll have no means of running around the gxy and risking our lives to hunt pirates, so the danger will certainly be reduced by a hundred percent.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it, okay?¡± Thedies were talking about a dangerous topic, so I hurriedly interjected. ¡°And so, the final price including all the additional weapons, equipment, and facilities ended up being 25 million Enels.¡± ¡°A price of 25 million is just too far out there for me. I still can¡¯t wrap my head around it¡­ Or rather, even if we purchased lots ofser cannons and missile pods, the price didn¡¯t increase by much huh.¡± Mimi inclined her head cutely. Certainly. Just as Mimi said, typical weapon systems aren¡¯t really all that expensive. The most expensive weapon we got for the Skizbrazunil is the EML, which is about 1,200,000 Enels. As for theser cannons, one unit costs 100,000 Enels, and the twelve emcements we got amounts to 1,200,000. The seeker missile pods go for 60,000 Enels a pop. Since we got ten of them, we would be paying a total of 600,000 Enels. All in all, the weapon systems cost a total of 3,000,000 Enels. By the way, the cost breakdown of Skizbrazunil itself, including all the optional facilities, parts, and the two hangars is as follows: The hangars and the basic frame cost about 8,000,000 Enels. The threeyered shield emitter amounts to 4,000,000 Enels. The military-grademinated armor is 5,000,000 Enels, and the ss 6 power generator is 4,500,000 Enels. The high-performance drone system is 1,000,000 Enels, and the propulsion systems which include the Hyperdrive, FTL Drive as well as the main and auxiliary thrusters amount to 2,500,000 Enels. The cargo hold and the internal management systems cost 1,000,000 Enels, and all other misceneous stuff like the life support system, furnishings etc. add up to all those for the total cost of 28,000,000 Enels. As per the agreement earlier, they gave us a discount and allowed us to purchase the ship for exactly 22 million. As you can see, the frame, shield emitter, armor, and power generator are the most expensive stuff on the list. I don¡¯t really have a say in it because I ain¡¯t the one setting the price, but in SOL, it¡¯s amonly known fact that the optional parts are actually a lot more expensive than the basic ship itself. Due to that, it became amon practice to save up three times the basic purchase price of a ship if you want to fully customize it. So you sell off your existing ship, buy a basic frame, and use up a majority of the remaining budget on all of the optional parts and systems until you get a ship fit for your tastes. It¡¯s amon beginner¡¯s mistake to try and force things with a vani ship, get wrecked, and then go back to life with a Zabuton. By the way, if we purchased the previous edition of the Skizbrazunil and not the new one, the basic frame will cost 6,000,000. The generator bundled with the previous edition was a ss 5, so we ended up buying a more expensive one. The shield emitter is also of higher quality so that further added to the cost. I wasn¡¯t able to ount for these two points, but it turned out okay in the end. If not for these, we would have ended up quoted a price that was not over budget¡­ I think. Probably. Yeah. That¡¯s what I¡¯d like to think anyway. Anyway, I exined it to Mimi like that. ¡°¡­So the option parts are more expensivepared to the rest!¡± Her eyes were spinning around. Apparently, it was too much info. Well, I think she gets the gist of it, at least. ¡°The point is that with these, we will be able to totally beat up the pirates we will encounterter on. This is also why there¡¯s a big gap in performance between pirate ships and mercenary ships. They are just using basic frames with a bit of customization using plundered second-hand parts. Compared to them, we have ships that are decked out with thetest custom parts and weaponry. We buy expensive, high-quality energy shield emitters and armor, so our ships areparably tougher. We can¡¯t really fully avoidser fire barrages, so it all boils down to which ship can take a beating better.¡± ¡°Is that really the case?¡± Mimi turned her gaze toward me. There have been lots of instances where I avoidedser fire after all. Well, it¡¯s not really dodging but predicting the trajectory or avoiding getting caught up in their range in the first ce. ¡°This idiot¡¯s abnormal maneuvers are a special case. Those can only be performed by a handful of weirdos, so don¡¯t take them as an example. What we need to watch out for are direct hits from seeker missiles, as well as anti-ship torpedoes. Those can easily bring down our shields after all. Energy shields are generally weak to explosions, and if we take more than a few, it¡¯ll be game over. So we have to avoid those as much as possible. As for anti-ship torpedoes, they are equipped with warheads specifically designed to pierce energy shields, so one hit is all it takes to incur severe damage¡­ Oops, we¡¯re straying from the topic huh.¡± Elma rposed herself with a cough. ¡°As I said earlier, I¡¯m okay with getting an interview, but I won¡¯t be showing my face and will be using a voice changer. If not, it¡¯s a no-go. Rather, if you want to create a documentary of Krishna¡¯s exploits, then focusing on Hiro will be enough.¡± ¡°I gotcha.¡± I don¡¯t know what kind of interview they are gonna do, but I don¡¯t have anything to hide in particr¡­ or not. Oh well. It would be fine if I don¡¯t blurt out the thing about me possibly being from another dimension. That leaves Mimi. ¡°It¡¯s really exciting, isn¡¯t it?¡± Mimi was really eager for the interview. There¡¯s no problem with getting all excited, but at this rate, she might blurt out things that are better off not getting known. I should probably have May stick with her during the interview. After we finished talking among ourselves, there was a knock on the door, and Sara-san entered shortly afterward. Did she actually spy on our discussion through some dubious means? Her timing was strangely spot-on, so I couldn¡¯t help but be suspicious. ¡°I have submitted the purchase order. It will take approximately two weeks for the product to be delivered.¡± ¡°Two weeks huh. Is that reasonable?¡± ¡°I guess.¡± If Elma says so, then alright. Back in the game, you immediately get the ship after purchase, but I guess it¡¯s different in reality huh. Rather, spending two weeks to install the generator and all the other optional stuff seems kinda quick. ¡°Do you have any other requests?¡± ¡°Yeah. I want to send my personal ship for an overhaul.¡± ¡°Understood. Leave it to us.¡± Well, that was quick. It was quick, but I still have something to add. ¡°I bet you¡¯re already aware, but that ship is quite unique.¡± ¡°Yes. We will have to analyze the parts in order to replicate them from scratch. Don¡¯t worry. We will give it our best.¡± ¡°Hmm. So, how much are you willing to exchange for that?¡± Sara-san froze up with her smile still on. Whoah, there. It would be troublesome if you freeze updy(?). There¡¯s no reason they¡¯ll pass up on a chance to scan my ship. Krishna is filled to the brim with tech unknown to Space Dwerg, so I¡¯m sure they are itching to get their hands on it already. Once it goes in for an overhaul, they¡¯ll have to thoroughly analyze each part in detail and will take that opportunity to absorb all the unknown tech. And they will probably try to apply that tech to their next products. It¡¯s so obvious even a kid will be able to tell. ¡°That ship is a virtual treasure trove for you guys, right? So, I¡¯ll ask again. How much are you willing to fork out in order to study all that unknown tech?¡± ¡°The overhaul will bepletely free of charge.¡± Sara-san recovered and continued to give me a 0 Yen smile. ¡°And here I thought we could have a happy partnership¡­ Fine. I understand. Let¡¯s just say it wasn¡¯t meant to be.¡± ¡°W-W-W-Waiiit! Please wait! Just a moment! Okay! I understand! The overhaul is free! And we will give you another discount on the Skizbrazunil! The three million for the weapon systems will bepletely waived! We will even give you ammo for all the weapon systems for free!¡± I matched gazes with May. I think it would be better to leave these kinds of negotiations to her¡­ Am I getting a bit too dependent on her, I wonder? ¡°I think cutting the price to exactly 20 million is appropriate.¡± ¡°Now just hold on there! With that, the total discount will amount to 11,000,000 Enels including the overhaul fees and the free ammo. That¡¯s impossible for us. We will be making a loss.¡± Sara-san turned all serious. Hm, well, it does seem that selling Krishna¡¯s info for 11 mil is a bit too much. ¡°This is Krishna¡¯s operational data until now, including normal operation, cruising in normal space, FTL Drive navigation, Hyperdrive navigation, andbat records.¡± ¡°Understood! The price will be set for exactly 20 million Enels. Not one Enel more.¡± May took out a data crystal, which is a data storage medium in this dimension with a reallyrge capacity, and the serious expression of Sara-san reverted to her 0 Yen smile. Just when did you prepare that, May¡­? ¡°This is the basics of risk management, Master.¡± May then handed over the data crystal to the smiling Sara-san. Risk management huh. Well, it¡¯s not like I¡¯mpletely clueless about it. It¡¯s certainly better to hand over what the other party wants in your own terms and get an appropriatepensation instead of suffering the risk of the other partying after you using less savory means. I¡¯m sure that¡¯s what May is thinking. ¡°There¡¯s a lot you¡¯ve been doing behind my back huh?¡± ¡°Yes. But it¡¯s all for your sake, Master.¡± ¡°I see. But don¡¯t you think being all secretive like that and refraining from reporting your actions to me is overdoing it?¡± I¡¯ll let the thing about the ship and weapons slide. But taking the ship¡¯s operational data in secret to be used as a trump card to get a favorable deal is not cool with me. Just how far do May¡¯s ns go, I wonder. ¡°¡­¡­¡± May mmed up. I see. ¡°I¡¯ll punish youter.¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Is it just me, or is May¡¯s reply kinda off somehow. It actually seems like she was looking forward to it. Also, will you stop looking at me like that, Sara-san! Don¡¯t look at me with those disdainful eyes! The way I said it may have caused some misunderstandings, but I don¡¯t really n on doing something perverted! I¡¯m talking about normal punishment! Normal, I tell you! Chapter 115 Chapter 115 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Okay then, we¡¯ll have to book a hotel for now.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Uhuh.¡± After finishing the necessary procedures, I, Elma, and Mimi finally left the Space Dwerg building. Both of them agreed to book a hotel. Since Krishna was due for an overhaul, we wouldn¡¯t be able to stay there for a while. The Krishna served as both our ship and residence, but right now, if we don¡¯t book a hotel, we¡¯d be temporarily homeless. ¡°We¡¯ll be handing the ship over by noon tomorrow. We¡¯ll have to pack some things and book lodgings before then.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°We just need to take the essentials, right?¡± ¡°Yep. It would be fine to just bring our portable terminals and tablets, as well as some change of clothes. That would be enough for me anyway.¡± The portable terminals also function as our wallets, and it¡¯s not like a guy like me needs to pack a lot of stuff anyway. I¡¯ll just buy anything else I¡¯d needter. ¡°In any case, we have to return to the ship for a bit to pack.¡± ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s go back, eat a quick meal, and then search for a hotel to stay in.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The three of us walked back to the docks with May following after us. The areas nearest to the dock area where Krishna was parked were filled almostpletely with offices owned or rted to Space Dwerg Co. Ltd. Themercial and downtown areas are situated on a different block. Most people thate to this colony have business with Space Dwerg and its rtedpanies. There are a lot of people like us who book hotels to stay at the colony for a period of time, so there are plenty of hotel chains operating in order to meet the demand. At least, that¡¯s what Sara-san said. She also gave us a list of hotels affiliated with Space Dwerg and enthusiastically endorsed them to us. By the way, May was walking a few steps away from the three of us. I¡¯ll have to issue May¡¯s punishmentter after all. I¡¯m not sure how effective it¡¯ll be, but I¡¯ve already decided on a punishment method. Well, I¡¯ll just implement it once we sessfully book a hotel. And so, we finally got back to where Krishna was parked. However¡­ ¡°Backup! Send us some backup immediately!¡± ¡°Uoooooh!? Quit it, you idiots!¡± ¡°Unauthorized scanning is strictly prohibited! Drag them away!¡± ¡°This is for the sake of advancing starship technology! Get lost, you government dogs!¡± The area around Krishna was inplete chaos. It was a full-on riot already. There were lots of diminutive uncles and little girls crowding around while carrying various unfamiliar equipment trying their hardest to approach Krishna, and more of their kind wearing matching government-issued uniforms trying to push the other group away and apprehend them. ¡°What the heck?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡­¡± ¡°This is terrible.¡± ¡°Maybe I should have really pushed for more discounts earlier. The passion of dwarves for new tech is overwhelming.¡± May bowed her head toward me in apology. Mm. I don¡¯t really care about that all that much. In any case, we won¡¯t be able to get back to Krishna at this rate. What do we do about this? As I was thinking of our next move, Elma raised her voice and called out to the crowd. ¡°This ship is already scheduled for an overhaul and will be handed to the engineers working for Space Dwerg by noon tomorrow! You¡¯ll get a better chance studying Krishna if you sneak yourselves in along with the Space Dwerg engineers tomorrow instead of crowding around and making a racket here!¡± The surrounding crowd of researcher and engineer-looking folks reacted to Elma¡¯s words, calmed down for a few moments, and then started running full speed ahead toward Space Dwerg¡¯spany office. The only ones who ended up getting left behind were the engineers who already got apprehended and the government officers who looked pretty beat up from all themotion. Thanks for all the hard work, government guys. Much respect. ¡°Uooooh!? So you guys are the owners of this ship!? Please get these boors to release us! This is illegal detention! Illegal detention I tell you!¡± ¡°Please! We¡¯re begging you! Not being able to participate in the overhauling process will be the death of us!¡± ¡°Take them away.¡± ¡°Leave it to us, sir.¡± ¡°Nooooo! Stoooop! Lemme gooooooooo!¡± The government officers took away all the apprehended engineers. I don¡¯t know how many days you¡¯ll be held in detention, but just treat it as a vacation, guys. The next day. We sessfully booked a hotel to stay in, packed our stuff, and used the freight delivery system to send them all to the hotel in question. We then walked to the hotel almost empty-handed. ¡°The colony freight delivery system sure is convenient. And their service is improving a lot.¡± ¡°I can no longer imagine life without the freight delivery system.¡± ¡°Well, in some ces, the deliverypanies send the items in bulk to local branches, then the delivery guys from those branches load the items intopany vehicles and deliver them to all customer¡¯s addresses one by one. It¡¯s inefficient, but some less-developed ces still make use of such a system.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a tough job¡­¡­ I also did some part-time work for deliverypanies when I was a student.¡± Working in winter was pretty tough. The road conditions were really bad, so I had to be really careful to avoid getting into an ident while still trying to be on schedule. It was tough, but pay during the holidays was pretty good. ¡°Master.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Please reconsider.¡± ¡°Nope.¡± May still had her usual nk expression on, but the atmosphere about her seemed quite gloomy. Well, that goes without saying. She¡¯s undergoing her punishment after all. ¡°Um, shouldn¡¯t we forgive May-san already? I¡¯m sure she¡¯s learned her lesson already¡­¡­¡± ¡°The results of her acting arbitrarily did turn out mostly fine, but it¡¯s still too early to stop her punishment. I need her to really repent on her actions, or it¡¯s no good.¡± Right now, May was prohibited from serving me apart from acting as an escort. For May, her greatest pleasure in life was serving me in all ways possible. It was literally her reason for being. So being prevented from doing that is incredibly unbearable for her, so that¡¯s why I¡¯m treating her as nothing more than a bodyguard right now. I wasn¡¯t all that sure about how effective this method is. But it¡¯s something I learned from the receptionist gynoid we met at Orient Corporation when I took her lecture, so I think it¡¯s trustworthy enough. Their loyalty and abilities are really high, so young independent AI tend to get carried away a lot as long as it¡¯s for the benefit of their masters. And that¡¯s why I was taught special punishment methods in order to curtail that tendency. One of them was ordering a maidroid to refrain from any service activities apart from acting as an escort for their master. By the way, any form of physical punishment is practically useless since they have tough mechanical bodies. You¡¯ll probably be the one who gets injured if you attempt to hit them. And in the first ce, I find the act of hitting a girl as punishment quite distasteful and have no intention of doing something like that if I can help it. I¡¯m no feminist, but I just don¡¯t like that kind of stuff. Well, it also depends on whether or not the other party deserves it though. And I know some of you are thinking about it, but punishment in a sexual context wouldn¡¯t be a punishment at all in this case. Actually, it may have the opposite effect. ¡°I have thoroughly repented, Master. I will never do something like keeping secrets from you ever again. So please have mercy.¡± May begged with a serious expression. I gazed at Elma, who shrugged her shoulders and sighed. ¡°AI technically aren¡¯t able to lie to their masters, so I¡¯m sure she means what she says. How about you forgive her already?¡± ¡°Hiro-sama. Please. I can¡¯t stand seeing May-san all gloomy like that.¡± Mimi also pulled my sleeve and spoke out for May. Well, if the two of them say so, then I guess I¡¯ll relent. ¡°Okay then. I¡¯ll forgive you for the sake of these two. And it¡¯s not like we didn¡¯t benefit from your actions, May. But don¡¯t ever do something like going behind my back ever again, okay? Promise me.¡± ¡°Yes. Thank you very much, Master.¡± The punishment onlysted a dozen minutes or so. But for May, who has a positron brain with extremely high information processing capabilities, it might as well have been an eternity. We haven¡¯t gotten far from where Krishna was parked yet. But once I lifted the master service ban, May¡¯s steps became lighter. The gloomy atmosphere from before was blown away, and she seemed rather happy about being forgiven despite her usual expressionless face. Even if she doesn¡¯t show much emotion in her expressions, you can still kind of tell from her aura and gestures. We continued walking and took some detours for a bit of sightseeing until we finally arrived at the hotel we will be staying at. ¡°It looks like a real fancy hotel.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. It does look pretty high-ss.¡± ¡°It¡¯s 1,500 Enels per night, including breakfast and dinner. So it¡¯ll just be 10,000 Enels for a week.¡± ¡°That¡¯s still expen¨C¡± ¡°Our stay on Sierra III cost us 10,000 Enels per day you know? And that¡¯s 10 thousand per person. So this one¡¯s actually pretty cheap.¡± ¡°Really¡­¡­? No! I won¡¯t be deceived! It¡¯s expensive! A room at a cheap hotel only goes for 50 Enels per night you know! A twin room just goes for 150 to 200 Enels!¡± Tsk. So I couldn¡¯t fool her huh. Mimi¡¯s pretty sharp. ¡°Mimi, since we have the money, we should spend it. Or rather, any Gold-ranked mercenary who would still insist on staying at a cheap hotel will be treated as aughingstock you know.¡± ¡°Is that the case¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Yup. That¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s actually like that huh.¡± I didn¡¯t really consider that factor when I chose this hotel. I paid much more attention to the reviews, the avable facilities, the look of the rooms, and the overall atmosphere. It had a training room that didn¡¯t lose to the one on Krishna, and also had a suite avable spacious enough to allow us all to stay together. Actually, only this hotel had that kind of room avable, so choosing it was a no-brainer. It¡¯s a hotel affiliated with Space Dwerg, so we got a discount as well. So the price actually was rtively cheap. Actually, the reason I was liberal with spending was thanks to May negotiating that favorable deal with Space Dwerg. The overhaul was also offered for free, so we still had 12 million on us right now. May did a lot of stuff behind our backs and manipted our actions to suit her intentions, but the overall result was still beneficial to us all. So I guess the punishment being light is fairly reasonable. ¡°Alright. Come on you two. Our luggage has already been sent in, so don¡¯t just stand at the entrance. Let¡¯s go ahead and check ourselves in.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Uu¡­ Okay.¡± We pulled the still-unconvinced Mimi and headed inside. The hotel lobby looked quite ssy and grand. The waiting area inside had several elegant-looking sofas and tables, and beyond it was an indoor garden with various nts. It was quite a rxing sight. The ceiling was also quite high, and the crystal chandelier hanging at the very top filled the entire lobby with gentle light. ¡°It really does look premium. It¡¯s better than I imagined.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s a first ss hotel after all. Let¡¯s go, you two.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I was also a bit daunted, but seeing Mimi getting antsier than me calmed me down. Elma looks like she was used to this sort of luxury, and she wasn¡¯t fazed at all. Hm. Was she really a runaway nobledy or something simr? Or maybe she was just used to it since she¡¯s been to these kinds of ces many times already during her mercenary career? I can¡¯t just arbitrarily judge her. Yep. ¡°Wee everyone. Thank you for visiting our hotel today. Have you made a reservation?¡± ¡°Yes. We¡¯ve booked a room under the name ¡®Captain Hiro¡¯.¡± The middle-aged employee at the front desk who sported a splendid-looking mustache fiddled with a portable data terminal and checked our reservation. He then gave us a professional smile. ¡°I have confirmed your reservation. It¡¯s Hiro-sama andpany, correct? I will send the digital passcode for the room to the rest of yourpanions as well if you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll take it. Here, save the code too, Mimi, May.¡± ¡°Y-Yes.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± At Elma¡¯s urging, Mimi took out her portable terminal and gave it to the receptionist. May just put her right hand forward. The middle-aged nice guy swiped his terminal over all of our own terminals to transfer the code. The code will serve as the electronic key for locking and unlocking our room. ¡°Well then, we shall now guide you to your room, everyone. We have already sent your luggage up to your room as well.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Pleasee this way.¡± A youngdy wearing a maid uniform bowed to us and led the way. She also looked like nothing more than an elementary school student, but her aura was very mature. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s also a dwarvendy. She¡¯s small and cute, but she¡¯ll probably be angry if I ever pointed that out, so I¡¯ll just keep my trap shut. Let¡¯s be more careful. ¡°This will be your room, dear guests.¡± The maid dwarfdy and us finally reached our room. It had a pretty spacious living area. There were quite a number of elegant-looking furniture in the living area. Our luggage was neatly ced on one side, and there were a number of side-rooms. ¡°Mm. It¡¯s bigger than I thought.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ Um¡­ I don¡¯t know which is which¡­¡± ¡°The doors on that side are our private rooms. Right?¡± ¡°Yes. This suite consists of four bedrooms, two restrooms, a dressing room, arge closet, a premium bathroom, and a living and dining area.¡± ¡°It¡¯s wonderful. It¡¯s a room fit for Master.¡± ¡°Thank you for the praise. You can contact the lobby using that terminal over there, so please do so if you are in need of anything.¡± The dwarven maid bowed to us and excused herself. ¡°Let¡¯s organize our luggage first. Come on, Mimi. Let¡¯s choose our rooms.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ Yes¡­¡± Elma took their luggage and pulled the still-overwhelmed Mimi to choose rooms. ¡°The master bedroom is this way.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± May picked up my luggage and apanied me to the master bedroom. Honestly speaking, I¡¯m also a bit overwhelmed since I was just your average employee back on Earth, but we¡¯re already here, so I¡¯ll just go with the flow like always. Anyway, we are going to stay here for a week. Let¡¯s enjoy this to the fullest, shall we? Chapter 116 Chapter 116 rantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone The delivery of the newly purchased mothership will be in two weeks. Krishna¡¯s overhaul will be finished in one week. Aside from the fact that we need to wait for the mothership to be delivered, Krishna is also in the middle of undergoing aplete overhaul, so in the meantime, we¡¯re stuck inside the colony. It¡¯s a nice opportunity to take it slow. The suite room is spacious and luxurious. The auto-cooker installed in the dining area is also pretty high-quality so the meals are delicious too. And more importantly, I get to fool around with Mimi, Elma, and May without a care in the world, at least for a little while. What could be better? So I¡¯m definitely gonna make sure I thoroughly enjoy this. ¡°A call from the workshop doing the overhaul?¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sorry to trouble you during your much-earned rest, Master, but it seems they really need to see you.¡± We handed over Krishna to the maintenance workshop yesterday noon, and then returned to the hotel. We then spent the entire night flirting around with each other. I was looking forward to even more flirting today as well, but a request like this came up so early in the morning. ¡°If they have something to ask, then wouldn¡¯t it be more appropriate to send over a representative here¡­?¡± ¡°Yes. I also think so. I told them as such as well. Shall I call Sara-san to lodge a formalint?¡± ¡°Nah¡­ I¡¯ll go.¡± I¡¯m their client, but the other party isposed of those crazy space dwarves y¡¯know. It won¡¯t be pretty if I refuse here and end up alienating those finicky artisans. They might even cut corners. Well, I can always lodge aint to Sara-san if that ever happened, but it¡¯s better to avoid that oue in the first ce. I¡¯d just be fooling around with Mimi and Elma all day if I didn¡¯t go anyway. C¡¯mon guys. That¡¯s important y¡¯know. Yes, flirting is very important. But it¡¯s also good to refrain from being too clingy. Everything needs a bnce, and that¡¯s true for the art of flirting as well. ¡°I¡¯ll clean up a bit and head out. Please enter the site location on my terminal¡¯s navi app.¡± ¡°Understood. But wouldn¡¯t it be better if I came with you instead?¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯d like to experience walking around by myself from time to time.¡± It¡¯s a colony filled with space dwarves so maybe they¡¯re selling some interesting articles or something. Maybe I can find some melee weapons for power armor use. Y¡¯know, like h**t hawks or vibro-des. Swords are generally thought of as weapons reserved for the nobles over here after all. If ded weapons are out, blunt weapons should be fine too. A giant mace would be good for crushing the armor of enemies. It would be nice if it had a hidden piledriver or something. Man, the dream just keeps expanding. Well, that¡¯s all just my wishful thinking, so I might not be able to find anything like those in the end. Oh well. I freshened up a bit and left the hotel on my lonesome. Mimi was still fast asleep, and Elma drank bucketsst night, so she might not wake up until noon. I left May to take care of both of them, so I¡¯m not worried at all. It¡¯s times like these that let me appreciate May¡¯s presence even more. She¡¯s very dependable. ¡°Uh, so it should be right past here¡­¡± I checked the route disyed on my portable terminal as I walked. This is also prepared by May. Man, May¡¯s really taking care of me a lot huh. Somehow, I had a vision of Mimi growling cutely in dissatisfaction, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just my overactive imagination. I continued to navigate around the colony interior with a low ceiling. I have to prioritize showing up at the workshop, so I¡¯ll leave the sightseeing forter. It¡¯s still early in the morning, so I don¡¯t think the shops selling power armor weapons are open yet. Along the way, I had to pass near a ce that looked like the downtown area, but it totally reeked of alcohol so my face contorted into a grimace. I kinda think bringing inrge quantities of a vtile substance like alcohol inside a sealed colony might be a recipe for disaster though¡­¡­ Do they have any special countermeasures in ce? Well, maybe they do. It won¡¯t be a joke for a fire or explosion to ur inside the colony due to the alcohol after all. The moment Ipletely passed the downtown area, the smell of alcohol filling the airpletely disappeared. ¡°!?¡± I got surprised, backpedaled a bit, and lo and behold, it reeks of alcohol again. What the heck? What¡¯s with this strangely over the top use of cutting edge tech? Was it due to the air conditioning system installed inside here? I can¡¯t seem to spot anything that looks conspicuous, but¡­¡­ I¡¯m dead sure there has to be some sort of advanced device that made this possible. Dwarf tech sure is impressive¡­ or is it? It kinda feels a bit pointless. It reminds me of an item making use of advanced technology for trivial stuff. Yep. I¡¯m talking about the gravity sphere. It implements space locking and anti-gravity tech only to be used as a glorified tumbler. As for this one, it may be a shield that only blocks theponents that make up the smell of booze or something. ¡°¡­¡­Let¡¯s move on.¡± After a short while more, I finally reached the maintenance and workshop area. There were appliances such as auto-cookers, weapons such asser guns and rifles, power armors, as well as various maintenance parts and equipment lined up around the area. So that downtown area earlier is most likely a ce for rxation of the dwarven employees who work here. ¡°Hm. Maybe I should send in my power armor for an overhaul as well.¡± I¡¯ve gotten much use for RIKISHItely after all. I¡¯ve been doing regr maintenance on it, but I haven¡¯t overhauled it as well ever sinceing into this dimension. Maybe it would be best to have pros look at it as well. I¡¯d also like to procure power armor weapons that aren¡¯t on the bulky side. Theseruncher was a bit too unwieldy after all. Of course, there are the shoulder-mountedser guns as well. But those just aren¡¯t enough. I thought about which weapons would be nice for my power armor as I walked until I reached the workshop proper. Since starships are quiterge, service areas for them are usually situated inside low-gravity blocks. It¡¯s also the same in this colony as well. Being inside a low-gravity area makes people feel like ying around, but excitedly bouncing to and fro in areas like these are frowned upon by most because of the possibility of idents. But it truly is quite fun, so lots of colony kids make use of these areas to build makeshift secret bases and such, or so I¡¯ve heard. Mimi told me she also often sneaked inside low-gravity blocks like this one to y around, only to be scolded by her parents afterward. You can build up quite a bit of speed while bouncing around inside a low-gravity area like this one, but you also run the risk of identally crashing into someone else. That¡¯s why you have to be extra careful while going around a low-gravity area like this one. It¡¯s hard to kill your momentum in areas like this, so running around recklessly isn¡¯t advisable. So I made sure to proceed carefully myself. Finally, I reached the garage Krishna was taken to yesterday. But¡­ ¡°What the heck is this?¡± I peeked inside and found Krishnapletely stripped of its outer hull, with lots of dwarves crawling around it. Some were scanning it with their gadgets, and some were using small hammers to hit sections of the ship as if they were checking for something. The four heavy-caliberser cannons and two ballistic shot cannons were also removed. The variable armor was also disassembled and was currently being serviced. The maniptor arms theser cannons were attached to were of particr interest. And then, a rugged-looking dwarf who seemed to be the leader of the engineering team noticed my presence and turned toward me with excessive vigor. ¡°The pilot¡¯s arrived! Secure him!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Uoooooooh!!!¡± ¡°Out of the way! I¡¯ll catch em!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry boys, but we¡¯ll be the ones to catch him! Soooi!¡± I suddenly found myself getting swarmed by dwarves with strange glints in their eyes, but the female dwarf who reacted a bitte to my presence grabbed her female partner, made a wind-up, and threw her at me with explosive force. ¡°Waaaaaaaah!?¡± ¡°Uoooooooooh!?¡± I caught the other female dwarf, who sailed through the air at an amazing speed, but the momentum was too strong, and we got blown away straight out of the workshop. Or rather, this female dwarf is tiny, but she¡¯s actually quite heavy! We barreled through the air until my back hit a wall and got sandwiched by the female dwarf. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± My body slowly slid down the wall, and the female dwarf was shouting something like ¡®I caught him!¡¯ as she hugged my chest. What the heck¡­? Why did I have to go through something like this the moment I came here? While thinking of such things, I slowly lost consciousness. Chapter 117 Chapter 117 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone I¡¯m usually an even-tempered person. What? Stop joking, you say? You think so? No, really, I am guys. It¡¯s a different story while in the middle of a job because usually, I got pirates aiming to take my life. But I don¡¯t easily get mad with people I¡¯ve be close to. But when ites to people I¡¯m unfamiliar with, like a store clerk or a ticket seller, I¡¯ll just act like normal and won¡¯t be all confrontational. Of course, this depends on the attitude of the other party as well. For example, I didn¡¯t feel like acting polite toward that government official who was in charge of Mimi¡¯s debt or that port officer who put me in detention back on Termaine Prime. There¡¯s also the saying ¡®Rich folk don¡¯t get into fights.¡¯ back where I¡¯m from. It¡¯s a saying that basically means that rich people are aware they won¡¯t gain any money by getting into fights, so better not get into one in the first ce. Well, the nuance is a bit different, but I¡¯m basically a rich guy now, so I wanna spend my time as peacefully as possible, at least when I¡¯m not on the job. That¡¯s what I thought. But¡­ ¡°You think I can still let this slide just like that? No way, man! I¡¯m done!¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 I think I¡¯ve been patient enough, really. There¡¯s the unauthorized scanning, them crowding around the docks right in front of my ship while making a huge racket, and them calling me out here so early in the morning. There¡¯s also the saying ¡®Stroke the face of a Buddha three times, and his anger will be roused.¡¯ No, that actually doesn¡¯t mean you can only forgive three times, but a warning so people are reminded not to go too far. But in this case, I¡¯ll go with the ¡®three times¡¯ interpretation. So bite me. ¡°Um¡­¡­ We¡¯re really sorry.¡± Sara was currently kneeling in seiza in front of me. Yep. She was kneeling directly on the floor of the garage smeared with oil and grunge. The one right next to her was the chief engineer and overseer of their workshop. And behind them was the dwarf woman who hit me like a dead ball earlier, and the other dwarf woman who f***in threw her at me. I also had all the other engineers and mechanics kneel behind them. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m your client, right? We did undergo some back and forth, but in the end, I still bought thetest model of your ship without much fuss, so I should be a valuable client now, right? Is repeatedly inconveniencing and even injuring a valued client Space Dwerg¡¯s modus operandi? Or maybe it¡¯s just how you dwarves do things? Is calling out a customer this early in the morning only to let him eat a dead ball your idea of manners or something? Huh? C¡¯mon, say something!¡± ¡°T-That w-was never our intention¡­¡­¡± Sara looked up at me with a teary-eyed expression. ¡°Hey, hey, hey, don¡¯t give me that,dy. I¡¯m the one who wants to cry here. And don¡¯t you think the sight of a human-like me looking down on a dwarfdy as she kneels on the floor while crying may give others the worst impression possible? It¡¯s like I¡¯m the viin now even though I¡¯m actually the victim here, so stop.¡± Yeah. This situation really paints me in a bad light if a random stranger happens to pass by without knowing what¡¯s up. ¡°Anyway, holding you up like this without getting any work done is inefficient and doesn¡¯t do me any good either. First, just get back to work. If you do a sloppy job, you better believe I¡¯m gonna chase you all down to the ends of the gxy and crush you to a pulp, so you better shape up, y¡¯hear. Don¡¯t just get caught up with analyzing tech and properly overhaul my ship. And be quick about it. Alright, scram.¡± After my rant, the rest of the dwarven engineers and mechanics went back to work except for Sara, the chief engineer, and the dead-ball sisters, who were still kneeling in seiza. ¡°So, next up is you guys¡­¡­¡± I red at Sara with a scowl on my face. ¡°I won¡¯t tell you guys what to do in order to make it up to me. I¡¯ll leave that up to you. I¡¯ll have you show me just how sincere you are in apologizing for all the crap I¡¯ve been put through this far.¡± ¡°Hyesh¡­¡­¡± Sara nodded while crying sorrowfully. The chief engineer also nodded with a pale face. The dead-ball sisters already went past being deathly pale, but that¡¯s not my problem. ¡°For now, just continue the overhaul. But we¡¯ll put purchasing the Skizbrazunil on hold for now. I¡¯ll decide whether or not to go through with it depending on how you¡¯llpensate me. You¡¯re fine with that, right? Oh, and I¡¯m putting the purchase on hold, but I won¡¯t tolerate something like stretching out the deadline for delivery. You guys understand, right?¡± ¡°Hyesh¡­¡­¡± Sara nodded weakly once more. I checked my Enel bnce and handed 10,000,000 Enels as down payment, which is half the 20 million we initially agreed upon. The remaining 10,000,000 will be handed to them if there are no ring ws with the final article. Of course, if I don¡¯t find the ship to my liking, the 10 million will be refunded to me in full. If Space Dwerg fails to satisfy me, they¡¯d have to shove a fully customizedtest edition of Skizbrazunil back to their inventory without getting rewarded for all the work they put into it. Since it¡¯s such arge ship, leaving it parked inside their facility would incur additional costs to thepany until they somehow manage to dispose of it. They can¡¯t just use the public docks after all. So who exactly will take the fall if that ever happened, I wonder? Muahahaha! I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be pretty desperate after this hehehe. ¡°Okay. Discussion¡¯s over. I¡¯m looking forward to how exactly Space Dwerg and you dwarves will show your sincerity. Depending on the results, I may leave this colony straight away once the overhaul of my ship gets finished. I¡¯m still a Gold-ranked mercenary y¡¯know. You at least have an idea of what will happen when someone like me decides to use¡­ a more forceful approach, right? I¡¯m not all that bad with firefights just so you know.¡± I had my guard down earlier, so I ended up eating that dead-ball full on. Well, of course, I didn¡¯t have my guard up. I wasn¡¯t expecting to get assaulted like that just for visiting a ship workshop after all. I mean, that¡¯s justmon sense. ¡°Yes¡­ We will do our best to give you proper ounting and satisfy your demands.¡± ¡°I hope so, Sara-san. I hope so.¡± I then turned my back on her and walked out of the workshop. I was initially nning on looking for power armor weapons and some sightseeing after finishing my business here, but I don¡¯t really feel like it anymore. Let¡¯s just go back. Or rather, why the heck did they even call me over in the first ce? And they even wanted to capture me. What the heck? I even ate a dead ball and got injured. I have to give myself credit for not drawing myser gun and going nuts after all that¡¯s happened. I mean seriously, man. Sheesh. ¡°Shall I massacre all the dwarves, Master?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, May. It¡¯s fine.¡± After getting back and telling the girls what happened, May made a dangerous proposal with a nk expression. When she heard I ended up getting injured after inconveniencing me so early in the morning, she got really angry, which was obvious even with her usual nk look. Well, it¡¯s not like she was nning on seriously killing them anyway¡­ She¡¯s not, right? Oh boy. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you had to go through that though, Hiro-sama¡­¡± ¡°So they wanted to secure the pilot, huh¡­¡­¡± Mimi was confused after hearing my story. Yeah, I don¡¯t get it either. Why¡¯d I need to eat a dead ball first thing in the morning anyway? I looked toward Elma and found her deep in thought. Does she have an idea about what happened? ¡°Have you thought of something?¡± ¡°Those dwarves may have deduced how you¡¯ve been using the ship¡¯s thrusters to make those unorthodox maneuvers after taking Krishna apart. Yes, that¡¯s most likely it.¡± ¡°But the data pertaining to that is locked though?¡± ¡°They must have deduced it by checking out the thrusters directly. Dwarves have the uncanny ability to make detailed observations regarding the state of metal alloys and the like. They can ¡®read¡¯ metals much like how people and elves read books. So even if they don¡¯t have ess to the data, they¡¯ll be able to deduce how unique and unordinary your maneuvers are just by ¡®reading¡¯ the state of the thrusters.¡± ¡°Reading the state of metals huh¡­¡­¡± May connected to the and searched for information. She then nodded as if convinced of Elma¡¯s conjecture. ¡°But why¡¯d they want to capture me though? They can just use their own test pilots.¡± ¡°Engineers have this tendency topete with each other in securingpetent test pilots you see. It may have been a conditioned reflex.¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t it counterproductive since it would probably scare off or infuriate potential candidates¡­?¡± They should act in moderation and not lose their cool when ites to things like this. ¡°In any case, I wonder what they¡¯ll do after this¡­¡­ You said they need to show their sincerity, but I can¡¯t predict what method they¡¯ll use to do so.¡± ¡°They were very rude to their client, but in the end, Master managed toe out of it with only light injuries. You can at most get a 500 Enelpensation fee if you hand your diagnostic data to the authorities. Well, a blunder such as this should have be a big issue back at theirpany. I¡¯m sure they are frantically thinking up countermeasures in order to deal with it.¡± ¡°Well, they¡¯re dwarves though¡­¡­ Honestly, I won¡¯t even be surprised if they end up doing something over the top.¡± Elma sighed and made a wry grin. Come to think of it, how is the rtionship between the elves and dwarves in this dimension anyway? I always had the image of them not getting along because that¡¯s how they¡¯re usually portrayed back on Earth. ¡°Do you have something against dwarves, Elma?¡± ¡°No, not really. I don¡¯t have any particr opinion about them. But, well¡­ when ites to dwarves, there are a lot among them who can be called, uh, entric. Their train of thought has a tendency to go wild often, and may take totally unexpected directions. It¡¯s a nice quality to have as inventors, engineers, and researchers, but it pertains more to their instincts as a race, so it may blow up in their faces and trouble the others around them.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ Well, Sara doesn¡¯t seem like the impulsive type at least¡­ She¡¯s not, right?¡± ¡°Perhaps. Well, it¡¯s not like every dwarf is like that, and there are quite a lot of dwarves who act in a reasonable manner as well. They just have that tendency because it¡¯s a trait of their race.¡± ¡°Um¡­¡­ We will be in your care starting from today. I¡¯m Tina.¡± ¡°L-Let¡¯s get along¡­ I¡¯m Whisker. Please go easy on us¡­¡­¡± That night, the dead-ball sisters came into our room wearing suspiciously thin clothing. The dwarf named Tina had red hair and had cute features. She wore oil-stained overalls and a work helmet this morning, so I didn¡¯t manage to get a good look at her face back then. And the other dwarf girl named Whisker had aqua blue hair. I also didn¡¯t notice it earlier this morning, but she was quite cute too. Or rather, they kinda looked the same aside from their hair color. Maybe they¡¯re twins. Oh well. Anyway, there¡¯s just one thing I want to say to them right now. ¡°Scram.¡± I then closed the door again. Afterward, I began to hear sorrowful wails from outside the door. ¡°If we go home like this, we¡¯ll end up without a home and a job!¡± ¡°Please hear us out, sir! We¡¯ll do anything you say!¡± They started banging on the door. Ugh, so noisy. Guess I¡¯ll call hotel security. ¡°U-Um, Hiro-sama¡­?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I was just about to call hotel security using the room¡¯s terminal when Mimi spoke up. ¡°Um¡­¡­ Is it okay if we let them in first?¡± ¡°Look, Mimi. I¡¯m really angry right now. I was wondering what Space Dwerg will do in order topensate me and they actually give me THIS? What the heck is this even supposed to mean anyway? They tossed their underlings away and told them to serve me aspensation. Did they think I was a womanizer just because I came to their office with the three of you in tow? So this is how they nned topensate me?¡± I do admit I like women just as much as the next guy, but this is just in rude. And something like taking advantage of women because of a matter like this is a huge no for me. Forcefully taking a woman by using threats, money, and authority just leaves a bad taste in the mouth and I want no part in that stuff. May did get forcefully handed over to me, but she seems okay with it anyway, so it¡¯s fine. That¡¯s a different thing, so it doesn¡¯t count, okay. ¡°Ugh. I just don¡¯t care anymore¡­¡­ I¡¯ll leave those two to you, Mimi.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Eh?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Um¡­.. Okay. I¡¯ll let them in first and hear what they have to say.¡± I sat back down on the sofa and let out a tired sigh. Are dwarves my natural nemesis or something? We just can¡¯t seem to see eye to eye. Or rather, they really rub me the wrong way. Before long, Mimi entered back into the room with the dead-ball sisters in tow. And then, she let the two of them sit down on the sofa opposite mine. She also sat down beside them. ¡°Man, the appearance of dwarven women is just a cheat¡­¡­ It¡¯s like I¡¯m aplete viin or something.¡± ¡°A-Ahaha¡­¡­¡± Mimi made an awkward smile as she coaxed the dead ball sisters who were sobbing sorrowfully beside her. By the way, Elma was lounging in front of the table a bit further away and was constantly ncing over to our group to check the situation. May quietly stood behind me and stared down on the dead ball sisters with a chilly gaze. After matching gazes with May, the dead-ball sisters shivered in fright and hugged each other tightly, so her re must be really intense. ¡°Um, May-san. Please don¡¯t bully the two of them too much.¡± ¡°I am not doing anything of the sort, Mimi-sama.¡± May answered in a cold tone. It was cold and hard, just like a starship¡¯s hull. But it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t get where she¡¯sing from. Compared to our cold attitudes, Mimi looked at the dead-ball sisters with a sympathetic gaze. Maybe it¡¯s due to their appearance, which resembled young children. ¡°I was once in the same situation as the two of them after all, Hiro-sama. That¡¯s why I can rte to them to an extent.¡± ¡°Mmph¡­¡­¡± C¡¯mon, Mimi. You know I¡¯m weak to that sort of stuff. And, well, I was part of the reason why these two ended up in this situation in the first ce. So, I can¡¯t say I didn¡¯t feel even an iota of guilt¨C ¡°No, I don¡¯t feel guilty at all. Absolutely not. It¡¯s all their fault, to begin with. They¡¯re just getting their just desserts.¡± That was dangerous. I was about to get swept up in Mimi¡¯s rhythm. But¡­ fine. I understand why Mimi feels pity for the two of them at least. I guess I¡¯ll hear them out for Mimi¡¯s sake. Chapter 118 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll hear you out. But first, who was the one who crashed onto me this morning?¡± ¡°U-Um, that would be me, sir.¡± The aqua blue-haired loli, err, dwarf, Whisker, timidly raised her hand. ¡°I see. Well, you just got tossed over without a choice, so I guess I can let that slide. Fine. Go and sit down.¡± TOP ARTICLES2/5Rule Breaker Chapter 127 ¡°Y-Yes¡­ B-But, what about sis?¡± She worriedly nced toward the red-haired loli called Tina, who I made to stand in the corner earlier along with her. It looks like she felt bad for being the only one allowed to sit back down on the sofa. Judging from her reaction, it seems that this dwarf girl Whisker is a pretty decent person. She must¡¯ve just been influenced by her less savorypanion into doing reckless stuff. Of course, I still can¡¯t say for sure. ¡°I see. Alright, I¡¯m not really an unreasonable person. So, you said you want to discuss with me, right? What¡¯s this about?¡± ¡°Y-Yes. Um, we¡¯re going to be chased out of our home and deprived of our jobs due to the incident this morning, so¡­¡­¡± ¡°Well, of course, you would. Do you think a decent employee will assault a client for no good reason? It¡¯s justmon sense not to.¡± I¡¯m not sure what they mean about getting chased out of their home as well, but I understand why they were about to be fired from their jobs. ¡°So, what does all this have to do with me? Did Space Dwerg tell you guys to offer your bodies in order to appease me in exchange for getting hired back or something?¡± ¡°No, um, not exactly¡­ It¡¯s not like that, but, uh, I just thought it would be bad to leave it like this so¡­ um¡­¡± ¡°Hm?¡± So these guys weren¡¯t sent here by Space Dwerg after all? ¡°So what about losing your home and job?¡± ¡°I-I just thought it would eventually lead to that if we didn¡¯t do something soon, so, uh¡­¡­¡± ¡°So you weren¡¯t really chased out nor were you threatened to be chased out, right?¡± ¡°Um, yeah, but¡­ uh¡­¡± So these guys went here on their own? Seriously? Don¡¯t they realize doing something like this will just make the situation worse? If Space Dwerg was to learn of this, they might really end up out of a job. Rather, these guys were actually talking in the Kansai dialect. Are most dwarves like this? ¡°So let me get this straight. You didn¡¯t get told to do so by anyone, but you still dragged yourself along with your little sister to me in order to sell your bodies for favors?¡± ¡°B-Bodies¡­? Um, y-yeah, I guess.¡± Tina¡¯s face alternated between red and blue as she nodded weakly. I turned to Whisker, and after she noticed my gaze, her face also turned bright red. ¡°Hey, do you guys really understand why I actually got so angry?¡± ¡°Eh¡­? Um, because we ended up injuring you¨C¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not it. That¡¯s also an issue, but the number one reason why I got so angry was that you fes from Space Dwerg kept on bothering us to no end ever since we got here and it was annoying me a lot. You get it?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡­?¡± Tina didn¡¯t seem to get it yet, but Whisker looked like she did and started trembling pitifully. ¡°Let me put it this way. Because of guys like you who keep on doing outrageous stuff without a care for the consequences, we¡¯ve been put through so much trouble and I find that extremely annoying. You even called me out so early in the morning only to let me eat a dead ball. Is that head of yours filled with cotton or something? Or is it just empty inside?¡± I ended up smiling unnaturally. I had this habit of smiling unnaturally whenever I got really angry. Whenever my colleagues and acquaintances saw me making one, they made sure to avoid me in order to not get caught up. ¡°U-Um, well¡­¡­¡± After finally realizing that she messed up, Tina started sweating buckets. ¡°May.¡± ¡°Yes, Master. I have already contacted Space Dwerg for you.¡± ¡°Great. I can always count on you, May.¡± ¡°Thank you for your praise, Master.¡± I ignored the dead-ball sisters for the time being and exchanged gazes with Mimi. ¡°Mimi, I think these two are already beyond saving.¡± ¡°U-Um, but at least they came here in order to take responsibility¡­ even if their actions are a bit off. Can¡¯t you at least consider their intent, Hiro-sama¡­?¡± ¡°No, that just won¡¯t fly, Mimi. They weren¡¯t really forced toe here by their superiors in the first ce. They just decided to do this on their own. In other words, they¡¯re just trying to save their own skins.¡± The dead-ball sisters let out pained groans after hearing my words. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t forgive you both. But that¡¯s just me.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°I only got minor injuries because of what you did anyway. It would be too petty of me to keep ming you for that. I won¡¯t do anything serious to you guys just because you made me eat a dead ball. I¡¯m not that much of a lowlife.¡± The dead-ball sister¡¯s expressions brightened considerably. Well, that¡¯s just how it is. No matter how you slice it, I really did only receive minor injuries from the actions of these two just like May said earlier. I would bepletely fine after a session inside a med-pod, and it¡¯s not like my injury hurts too much in the first ce. As I exined that to the two, May went in front of the room¡¯s entrance and opened the door. I guess they¡¯re already here. That was fast. They must have rushed over right after receiving the call. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m gonna let this drop.¡± The door opened fully. ¡°But I¡¯m not too sure if THEY will though.¡± After the door was opened, the ones who entered while bringing a luxurious-looking fruits basket, a bottle of expensive-looking alcohol, and a fancy-looking box, were a male and female dwarf wearing formal suits. ¡°We are really sorry for all you had to go through this time, sir¡­¡­¡± Three dwarves were seated on the sofa opposite mine and were busy bowing their heads in apology repeatedly. At the center of the three was the general manager of Brad system¡¯s Space Dwerg branch. He was Sara¡¯s superior, and the person at the very top of Brad system¡¯s Space Dwerg branch. On his right was the chief engineer of the workshop who I saw earlier this morning. On the left was the sales chief of Brad system¡¯s Space Dwerg branch, who was directly responsible for deals with well-known mercenaries and other prominent figures. The assistant manager and Sara herself were standing behind their bosses along with other high-ranking Space Dwerg employees. ¡°The way yourpany does business is really shocking huh. I don¡¯t think I¡¯d ever get bored from the way things are going, hahaha.¡± Really. It¡¯s like you guys can¡¯t sit still unless you make a hugemotion. It¡¯s certainly quite exciting, in a bad sense. That was what I was trying to get across. ¡°A-Ahahaha¡­ M-Much obliged, sir.¡± The sales chief startedughing awkwardly with his face wet with cold sweat. Hey, you wild-pitching red-haired loli over there. I¡¯m not praising you, okay. I¡¯m being sarcastic. ¡°I was surprised about how they barged in on me like this. They were trying to offer me flowers in order to apologize. I¡¯m a fan of flowers myself, but I also have preferences when ites to them, you see. I thought they were trying to force them onto me, so I almost got angry again.¡± ¡°A-Ahahaha, we had no idea at all. Even we were surprised, sir.¡± The sales chief took out a handkerchief from his suit pocket and wiped his sweat as he made a bitter grin. Hahaha, now you can¡¯t make excuses anymore, huh? ¡°Yes, well, I¡¯m sure a reputablepany like Space Dwerg won¡¯t do something foolish like offending a Gold-ranked mercenary, right? Of course not. Hahaha.¡± ¡°Yes, of course. Mercenaries, and most especially Gold-ranked mercenaries such as yourself, are valued clients and business partners of ourpany after all.¡± ¡°Even so, I still find your service to be slightlycking in propriety. Rather, don¡¯t you think you have to tighten up measures in order to supervise your employees better? And if things like this continue to happen often, won¡¯t the reputation of yourpany¡¯s after-sales service suffer as well. What do you think, chief?¡± ¡°O-Ourpany¡¯s after-sales service prides itself on its high degree of customer satisfaction and has received great reviews. We have excellent staff and services that are head and shoulders above those of otherpanies.¡± ¡°But those excellent staff just injured me this morning you know.¡± At my words, the sales chief, along with the branch manager and chief engineer, started sweating buckets. ¡°And in their desire to be forgiven, the two culprits even barged into my room at night. Why are the culprits of today¡¯s incident allowed to freely do what they want, hmm?¡± ¡°Well, t-that¡¯s¡­¡­¡± The sales chief nced nervously at the chief engineer. ¡°I already warned the two of them to stay put until further notice. But the two of them decided to slip out on their own, sir¡­¡± ¡°On their own huh. I see. So because they did this on their own, you¡¯re saying the rest of you can¡¯t be med for it, correct? Is that what you¡¯re trying to say here?¡± ¡°N-No! That isn¡¯t what we mean, sir¡­¡­¡± The sales chief interjected on our exchange in a panic. ¡°If so, then I expect all of you to hold equal responsibility for this incident and act ordingly.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes. We truly are sorry, sir.¡± The sales chief bowed deeply again, and the rest followed suit. Oh well. Let¡¯s cut them some ck with this. ¡°Alright. I ept your apology under two conditions. The first condition is for you toplete the work I¡¯ve entrusted to yourpany in a speedy, thorough, and efficient manner. The second is to guarantee I will never be subjected to unreasonable conduct from your employees again. In my opinion, I shouldn¡¯t even be demanding these of you because these things are but natural for any business. But in any case, those are my two conditions.¡± ¡°It¡¯s definitely as you say, sir.¡± Some color returned to the face of the sales chief as he nodded briskly in agreement while still wiping his sweat. Those are really just part ofmon sense, okay. ¡°And so, if you have any proposals in order to show your sincerity, I will be more than happy to hear them out. We are nning to go on with traveling throughout the gxy after this. Since we¡¯ve obtained a mothership, we¡¯ve been thinking of dabbling in the trading business as well you see.¡± In other words, I¡¯m indirectly asking forpensation from thepany. Since they gave us so much trouble, I don¡¯t think doing this much is unreasonable at all. Or rather, since they¡¯ve troubled us a lot, I would feel cheated if I didn¡¯t get anything out of them. ¡°Ha¡­ Haha¡­ We will discuss further back at thepany and promise to give you a satisfactory proposal, sir.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it then. Oh, right. One more thing.¡± ¡°Y-Yes.¡± The sales chief acted antsy once more. It looks like he¡¯s worried about what else I was going to demand, haha. Hey, there¡¯s nothing to be afraid of, okay. I¡¯m not nning on asking for any morepensation. ¡°Just why did you call for me this morning anyway? I ate a dwarven dead ball so I didn¡¯t get the opportunity to ask earlier, so I want to know now.¡± ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s about that. Actually, we arecking in qualified test pilots for our next-generation prototype ships, you see¡­ After they saw how you handled your ship, our engineers wondered if we could invite you to be our test pilot, at least temporarily. Since the development teams got wind of the n, they all gathered in the workshop earlier today in order to appeal for your help with each of their projects. And, well, each of them didn¡¯t want to lose out, so¡­¡­¡± The sales chief exined as he continued to wipe his sweat. ¡°Okay. But wouldn¡¯t it have been better if you sent a formal request to the guild in order to hire me? No matter how you think about it, calling me over personally for such a thing without even exining what it¡¯s all about is just in rude. And I¡¯m also your client, so that makes it even worse, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s as you say. We are deeply sorry for our actions. We can offer no excuse.¡± The chief engineer¡¯s small body seemed to get even smaller as he bowed even lower in apology. Perhaps this guy was an excellent engineer, but that doesn¡¯t mean he had excellent management skills as well. Perhaps he¡¯s not really suited to be in a managerial position. ¡°Well, it¡¯s true that we will be staying in this colony for a period of time in order to wait for the mothership to be finished. So I guess I could take your request to serve as a test pilot. But that depends on the remuneration you¡¯ll be offering. So please send a formal application to the Mercenary Guild.¡± ¡°Thank you very much, sir.¡± The sales chief, branch manager, and chief engineer all bowed down in unison. I¡¯m also interested in serving as a test pilot for next-gen ships. Maybe I¡¯ll even get to pilot ships I haven¡¯t seen in SOL. It¡¯s as good a chance as any, so I should grab it. ¡°Alright then. That¡¯s about it for the time being. Please contact me again once you¡¯ve made the proper arrangements. Oh, and this means I¡¯ll go ahead with the mothership purchase.¡± ¡°Yes. Thank you, sir. Again, we are really sorry for all the trouble you went through.¡± ¡°Mm, alright. I pray nothing else happens from now on. Oh, and about those two¡­¡­¡± The dead ball sisters started shaking nervously. Since they were wearing thin, skimpy clothingpared to the dwarves in formal suits¨C Oh, who am I kidding? They aren¡¯t the least bit sexy at all. Really. What were these two thinking? ¡°While they share part of the me for today¡¯s incident, I wouldn¡¯t really want them to get fired because of it. It¡¯ll leave a bad taste in my mouth you see.¡± ¡°We will deal with them appropriately, sir.¡± After saying so, the folks from Space Dwerg started filing out of the room. They left behind the high-quality fruits basket, expensive alcohol, and fancy-looking box. ¡°Hoo boy. That sure tired me out.¡± ¡°I¡¯m kind of impressed. So you¡¯re also well versed in negotiations if you feel like it, huh.¡± Elma, who was observing us earlier from the corner of the room, approached the table and started checking out the alcohol bottle. ¡°Nah, not really. I¡¯m not sure if that was the best oue, but it could have been worse.¡± After saying so, I picked up the box and opened it up to see what¡¯s inside. What I found was an assortment of processed food. Some were vacuum-sealed smoked stuff, and others were packed in clear bottles. There were some fancy-looking canned goods too. They looked like part of a high-ss snack set to go with the alcohol. ¡°I think you did quite well, Master. You epted the apology of the other party graciously and made it so both sides can make appropriate concessions. Since the other side¡¯s entire upper management came in-person to apologize, it was a good decision to not drive them into a corner too much and offer a way out.¡± May, who was standing behind me, offered some praise. It¡¯s not a direct equivalent, but you can think of apany manager asparable to a lieutenant colonel or rear admiral in the imperial navy. With that as a basis, that sales chief was higher ranked than Major Serena. And the sales department can be said to be one of the foremost departments in anypany. And I made those higher-ups continuously get drenched in cold sweat. It wouldn¡¯t have been a good idea to corner them more than I had. It might have led to an even bigger mess. ¡°If you say so May, then I guess I did a pretty good job after all¡­¡­ Uh, Mimi?¡± Mimi seems lost in thought. I wonder what¡¯s up. ¡°Ah¡­¡­ No, um, I was just thinking I want to handle such situations as calmly and wonderfully as Hiro-sama as well. Um, I¡¯ve always known Hiro-sama is cool, but today, I saw a different kind of cool, so¡­¡± ¡°So him dealing with the officials of argepany in an equal footing impressed you more than him hunting down pirates or rampaging in his power armor huh.¡± ¡°Something like that.¡± Mimi nodded to Elma¡¯s words. ¡°Please stop, girls. I really didn¡¯t do anything that impressive.¡± ¡°Oh, are you blushing? How cute. Where¡¯d that cool and collected Hiro from earlier go, huh?¡± ¡°Okay, stop. I mean it. Oh, hey, look at these delicious-looking snacks. Let¡¯s try them out right away.¡± I offered the vacuum-packed snacks to Elma, who was having fun teasing me, and diverted her attention. I¡¯m seriously all worn out today. I¡¯ll just rest my tired heart by enjoying these fruits and delicacies. Chapter 119 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone The next day. Man, that smoked stuff sure was quite the surprise. They were stuffed in vacuum-sealed packs, but once we opened one, the contents started wiggling creepily. But, well, when we mustered the courage to try them out, they were actually quite tasty, so the three of us ended up finishing them all. As for the taste¡­ they kinda were like richly vorful shrimp. Not the boiled kind though. They were more like sashimi. But the texture was simr to, um¡­ abalone? Anyway, that was my impression and I have absolutely no intention of digging deeper than that. It¡¯s better for stuff like this to remain a mystery¡­ for my stomach¡¯s sake. ¡°I want to look around for power armor weapons today.¡± After waking up, I ate breakfast, did my routine workouts at the hotel¡¯s training gym, took a quick shower to wash off the sweat, and went off to do some shopping. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°Lemme serve as your tour guide, boss.¡± ¡°S-Sis¡­¡­ You have to be more careful with your words. Don¡¯t talk to big brother so casually.¡± For some reason, I found the dead ball sisters standing in front of me the moment I opened the door to go out of the room. Just what is going on? I turned my gaze to Mimi, Elma, and then Sara, who was standing outside with the sisters. Yep. It looks like Sara tagged along as well. ¡°Yes. These two really wanted to make it up to you, so I came with them as a chaperone¡­¡­ so if they do anything stupid again, I¡¯ll be able to immediately throw them inside a holding cell in prison.¡± Sara just casually said something dangerous, which allowed a glimpse of just how peculiar the internal affairs in a dwarvenpany is. She just casually said something like throwing people in prison with a straight face after all. ¡°So, how did yourpany decide to deal with these guys anyway?¡± ¡°Due to your request Hiro-sama, they narrowly avoided the harshest punishment. They got severely reprimanded, got prohibited from drinking for two weeks, and got pped with a pay cut for three months. By the way, I also got fined a two-month sry reduction, but I was not prohibited from drinking. The chief engineer was banned from drinking for a month and got fined with a three-month sry reduction. He is also scheduled to undergo another round of leadership training seminars.¡± ¡°Why is getting prohibited from drinking part of the punishment? Is that really something unbearable for dwarves?¡± ¡°Course it is, boss.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too cruel.¡± ¡°I¡¯m d I wasn¡¯t prohibited from drinking myself.¡± The dead-ball sisters looked pretty down while Sara had a relieved expression on her face. As outrageous as it sounds, getting prohibited from drinking is supposedly one of the cruelest forms of punishment for dwarves. They really are hopeless alcoholics huh? ¡°Okay. I gotcha. Like I saidst night, I¡¯ll ept your apology. But I thought I told you not to cause me any more trouble yesterday as well, right? Then why did you bring these two troublemakers here again?¡± Normally, they should have been prohibited from getting in contact with me. ¡°Well, about that¡­ It¡¯s not yet set in stone, but thepany is thinking of dispatching these two as Hiro-sama¡¯s personal mechanics.¡± ¡°¡­¡­I¡¯m sorry, bute again? You¡¯re saying what now?¡± ¡°Um, these two would be dispatched as your personal mechanics.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Why does it have to be these two?¡± I nced at the red-haired loli with a silly grin on her face and the blue-haired loli who looked flustered due to her sister¡¯s behavior. Isn¡¯t the personnel selection weird? Why did they have to push these troublemakers onto me? ¡°These two are greatly skilled, you see. And they have great enthusiasm for their work. But, well, that enthusiasm did backfire on them in this case.¡± ¡°If you ask me, the little sister should be more than enough. She looks more well behaved and decent overall.¡± ¡°U-Uhm? T-That¡¯s¡­¡­¡± ¡°Just why!? I¡¯m also cute, right boss!?¡± The blue-haired little sis blushed at mypliment, while the red-haired big sis made a fuss andined. Why? Because you¡¯re ¡®that¡¯ sort of person, that¡¯s why. ¡°Rather, what do you mean about personal mechanics anyway? How would that work?¡± ¡°Their sries will still be paid for by Space Dwerg. In other words, they will still be serving as Space Dwerg employees. Of course, we will do all the necessary procedures in order to allow them to travel freely outside the colony as well, so you don¡¯t have to worry about that end. The only thing you¡¯ll need to bother with is providing these two rooms to stay in the Skizbrazunil. We will be shouldering all their living expenses as well, of course.¡± ¡°Fumu¡­¡­?¡± Well, isn¡¯t this a bargain? I¡¯ll get to have two experienced maintenance crews, and practically all their living expenses will be provided by thepany they work for. I can¡¯t deny having some skilled pro engineers to take care of maintenance work does sound quite nice. ¡°I¡¯ll say this first before anything else. Tagging along with mercenaries like us can be quite dangerous. I can¡¯t guarantee your lives, and you might get to have some really scary experiences if you¡¯re with us.¡± ¡°But we¡¯ll be able to travel around to all sorts of ces, right boss? We can go sightseeing and drink rare booze. Even with the danger, I¡¯m more than willing to tag along. We¡¯ll be imposing on you, boss, but we also want to repay you for not pursuing the issue.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ honestly a bit scared. But I also want to repay big brother. If you didn¡¯t speak out for us, I and my sister might really have lost our jobs.¡± The dead-ball sisters didn¡¯t seem to mind the dangers of boarding a mercenary ship too much. They were quite casual about it. Are you really fine with this, you two? You aren¡¯t underestimating the dangers faced by mercenaries, right? Well, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to let the mothership I just bought be shot down just like that, so yeah. Well, I guess them wanting to repay favors is admirable. It doesn¡¯t feel bad at all, and it¡¯s not like I did anything special either¡­¡­ But I guess it¡¯s really difficult to get back on your feet once you mess up in a closedmunity like a colony. ¡°I can¡¯t decide right away. I¡¯ll have to consult with the rest of my crew and see if they¡¯ll be able to get along with these two.¡± ¡°Of course. If so, then how about having these two to apany you while strolling around the colony? It would be a good opportunity to get to know each other better and check yourpatibility.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­¡± I turned to the dead ball sisters once again. The big sister, Tina, looked real confident about herself for some reason. Her little sister, Whisker, seemed really worried about her big sister¡¯s devil-may-care attitude though. We really got off on the wrong foot, but maybe it¡¯s a good idea to start over with this. Who knows? We might even be able to get along. ¡°But even if we did decide to wee them to the crew, that would mean¡­¡­¡± My ship will be literally filled with nothing but women. The rumors about me being a lecherous womanizing merc will gain even more credence. Rather, with these two boarding my ship as well, it¡¯ll be a bona fide eroge scenario, huh? Isn¡¯t that kinda bad in a sense? ¡°Um, what about that custom? You know. That custom where a woman who boards a man¡¯s private starship will be treated as his lover or something. You guys don¡¯t mind that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t. Anyway, you already have that sort of rtionship with those three, right boss? Wouldn¡¯t it be awkward if you added a male crew member instead? Rather, ain¡¯t that kinda risky in a sense?¡± ¡°Well, yeah. I can only see that as a potential root of troubles. Unless there¡¯s some sort of special circumstances, I probably wouldn¡¯t rmend adding male crew.¡± Elma agreed with Tina¡¯s words. What do you mean about special circumstances¡­? Wait¡­ Okay, I should probably stop now. I have a bad feeling for some reason. I¡¯m not really much of a fan of backdoor y. ¡°Alright, if you guys say so¡­ But I still haven¡¯t decided if we¡¯ll let you join, okay.¡± ¡°Well, I think we¡¯re definitely a bargain, boss. And I¡¯m confident about my looks too. I¡¯m pretty cute, right?¡± Tina peered up at my face with a self-satisfied grin. Well, her face really does look nice. She can be said to be a beautiful girl, sure. Since the big sister is cute, then her twin little sister Whisker is much the same as well. But, y¡¯know¡­ ¡°Sorry, but you guys are a bit too little for my tastes.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s little!? You¡¯re just too big, boss! We¡¯re already twenty-seven this year. We¡¯re both grown-updies.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°Seriously.¡± They¡¯re the same age as me. They¡¯re this tiny, but they¡¯re the same age as me? Seriously? Dwarves sure are a mysterious race. ¡°You¡¯re twenty-seven too, right Hiro?¡± ¡°Big brother is the same age as us?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡­ yeah.¡± I didn¡¯t want to acknowledge it, but we were really supposed to be the same age. Man¡­ Really? If that¡¯s the case, then Mimi¡¯s the youngest. She¡¯s more than ten years younger than me after all. Wait, if that¡¯s the case, then Sara¡­¡­? ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing.¡± I was about to ask her age, but a dark and malevolent aura began emanating from Sara, so I held myself back. I guess no matter how tiny they were, a woman¡¯s age is still quite a touchy subject. Gotta note that down. ¡°I¡¯m the youngest among everyone.¡± For some reason, May was emitting a fierce andpetitive aura as she said so. She even looked a bit smug about it, despite her expressionless face. Oh, right. Well, she¡¯s technically correct though. May was just two months old after all. Yep. ¡°Okay then¡­ Can we count on you guys to lead the way?¡± ¡°You¡¯re nning on shopping for power armor weapons, right Hiro? Then you should bring May with you. I¡¯ll be shopping and sightseeing with Mimi instead.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tag along with you then, boss. You can guide the prettydies, Whisker.¡± ¡°Un. I understand, sis.¡± And so, I formed a group with May and Tina, while Whisker joined Elma and Mimi. We then proceeded to tour the Brad Prime colony. Chapter 120 rantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about yesterday, boss. I¡¯ll take this chance to apologize once more.¡± ¡°I already said I¡¯ve epted your apology though. Or rather, you really have to start thinking about the consequences before doing stuff, okay?¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­¡­ I¡¯ve gotten that from Whee a lot since we were just kids.¡± Tina smiled wryly and scratched the back of her head. It looks like she calls her little sis with the pet name Whee. Whisker refers to Tina as ¡®big sis¡¯, so she probably doesn¡¯t have a pet name for Tina. Calling her ¡®Tee¡¯ does seem a bit weird because it rhymes with tea. ¡°Even though it hasn¡¯t been decided if you guys will being aboard our ship, I think you really need to work on fixing that reckless attitude of yours. If even your sister is having problems with it, then you really should work on it.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°I do understand that boss. Really.¡± ¡°At least learn from this experience, okay. Sheesh.¡± From the looks of it, anything I say will just be a waste of effort. I kinda understand how hard Whisker has it now. ¡°Please do not worry, Master. I will immediately report to Space Dwerg if she ever does anything that inconveniences you. And so, you better shape up. If not, you¡¯ll get disciplined again.¡± ¡°Uu¡­¡­ I¡¯ll be careful from now on.¡± It looks like Tina had a pretty intense first impression of May, so she acted a bit ufortable around her. Well, it¡¯s true that the scariest, when angered among all of us, was May, so It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t get where she¡¯sing from. In the first ce, May will only truly get angry when it has something to do with my wellbeing. Since I haven¡¯t acknowledged Tina and Whisker as part of the crew yet, it¡¯s understandable that she¡¯s stricter around thempared to how she treats us. Mimi and Elma are my lovers, so she does give them a considerable amount of respect. ¡°U-Uhm¡­ Oh yeah! You wanted to buy some weapons for power armor, right boss?¡± ¡°You sound desperate to change the subject,dy¡­ But, yeah, that¡¯s right. My splitterser gun gut cut in half on myst job after all. I want to buy a new one, and maybe look for some other nice weapons.¡± ¡°It got cut in half? Just what did you get yourself into for that to happen, boss¡­?¡¯ ¡°I can¡¯t give the exact details, but let¡¯s just say we got caught up in a conflict between nobles. So myser gun became an unfortunate casualty.¡± ¡°Oh, then I better not ask. Yeah. That would be better. But you did well to survive getting caught up in that, boss.¡± ¡°Well, I guess.¡± ¡°Okay then. Anyway, I know a good ce that specializes in selling good qualityser weapons, so let¡¯s visit there first.¡± When she heard it had something to do with nobles, Tina promptly backed down. She then continued leading the way for us as she walked through avenues with uniformly low ceilings. May and I diligently followed after her. ¡°By the way, how long have you been in the mercenary business, boss?¡± ¡°Hm? Oh¡­ Uh, I¡¯ve been doing this for a while now, I guess.¡± If we count the time when I first came into this dimension until now, it¡¯s been barely half a year. I¡¯ve spent quite a number of days just cruising around in the gxy after all. ¡°A while huh. But your pretty impressive boss. You¡¯re already Gold-ranked. How much have you been making?¡± ¡°I¡¯d say about 100,000 Enels on good days.¡± ¡°Eh? You¡¯re joking, right? 100,000 is a bit too much, boss. C¡¯mon.¡± Tinaughed as if to say ¡®nice joke¡¯ as she elbowed my waist. ¡°No, I¡¯m serious. If not, then I wouldn¡¯t have been able to fork out 20 million Enels just like that you know. We did a number of big jobs like assaulting pirate bases, participating in territorial conflicts, and the like.¡± The 100k per day is a result of tirelessly hunting down pirates almost every day after all. ¡°Seriously?¡± Tina nced upward with shining eyes. ¡°Seriously.¡± I nodded to confirm, and Tina proceeded to take my hand and ce it on her meager chest. Man. It wasn¡¯t soft at all. Guess this is what you call a washboard huh? ¡°Hey boss, why don¡¯t you marry me? I¡¯ll throw Whee in as a bonus too.¡± ¡°Marriage huh¡­¡­ Well, if I ever decide to get married one of these days, Mimi, Elma, and May are my priorities.¡± ¡°Kuh, so I¡¯m fourth in the running huh¡­¡­¡± ¡°What the heck are you saying? If, and I say if, I do marry you sisters, I¡¯ll prioritize your little sister more.¡± ¡°Why!? This Tina-chan is super cute, right!? Or rather, we¡¯re twins, so Whisker and I look pretty much alike!¡± ¡°Since you look alike, I¡¯ll base it on personality.¡± ¡°Gaaah!¡± Tina groaned as I pushed her forehead away. I then picked my ear with my left hand without a care. Maybe I¡¯ll get May to clean my earster. Her ear cleaning skills have transcended the realm of just being good and sublimated into something almost divine. ¡°Kuh¡­¡­ Oh well. I¡¯ll teach boss all about this Tina-chan¡¯s super cuteness no matter what. Just you wait.¡± ¡°You know, making it painfully obvious that you¡¯re only interested in me because of my money is already making your prospects bleak.¡± ¡°What the heck are you saying, boss? Being able to make money shows just how dependable a man is. It¡¯s just natural for women to get attracted to dependable men you know. Though one can also fall in love even without money involved, it¡¯s better to have that covered.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite a practical view of love.¡± ¡°Well yeah. People can¡¯t live on beautiful dreams alone y¡¯know. If you don¡¯t have a stable ie, you won¡¯t be able to continue living well.¡± ¡°I see.¡± I ended up thinking back to the feeling of Tina¡¯s washboard chest. I guess Tina¡¯s had it hard as well. Maybe she sensed what I was thinking about. Tina looked up at me with a peeved expression. ¡°It¡¯s not like that, okay. I¡¯m still in the middle of my growth period.¡± ¡°Growth period huh¡­¡­¡± I gazed at the dwarven women walking around the streets. Fumu, they certainlye in all sorts of sizes¡­ But growth period huh¡­ ¡°You sure you¡¯re still in your growth period when you¡¯re already twenty-seven?¡± ¡°Boss, you idiot!¡± My behind ended up getting pped by an incensed Tina. Her hands are small, but they sure pack a punch¡­ Ouch. ¡°This is the ce, boss.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± The shop Tina led us to was a weapon store withser weapons as their main merchandise. It also has a pretty diverse assortment of other weapon types as well. There were a lot of customers who looked like mercenariesing and going. ¡°It¡¯s more packed than I expected.¡± ¡°This shop has a nice selection after all. You can also get order-made weapons here too. Most of the mercenaries whoe here would be staying at the colony for an extended period of time, so they take the opportunity to get order-made weapons here.¡± ¡°Order-made weapons huh¡­¡­ Fumu.¡± So, a weapon that¡¯s made just for me huh? It¡¯s quite an exciting prospect. We have some budget left over because of May, so I¡¯d like to get one too if possible. ¡°Okay then, let¡¯s go in.¡± ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s been a good while since Ist came here too.¡± Tina led the way and entered the shop first. Her way of speaking really sounds like Kansai-ben to me. Is she really speaking in a particr alien dialect so it¡¯s being tranted to me as Kansai-ben? But this can be considered one of her unique traits too, I guess. ¡°Hmm, mmhm, mmm.¡± The shop interior was quite spacious. The shopfront was prettyrge as well, but it looks like half the store is dedicated to the workshop for making made-to-order weapons. ¡°C¡¯mon boss. Are you an owl or something?¡± Tina got a goodugh while looking at my actions. Even if you say that this kind of ce just tickles the male heart y¡¯know. The sight of all kinds ofser guns,ser rifles, and all sorts of other cool-looking weapons is quite exciting, even though these are ultimately tools made for the purpose of killing. ¡°Let¡¯s check out the splitterser guns first. Maybe we can even get the sliced up one fixed.¡± ¡°Master, if it¡¯s alright, may I also shop around for a weapon?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. We¡¯ll need to look for a weapon for you as well, huh. Sure. If you spot something you like, then go ahead.¡± ¡°Thank you very much, Master.¡± May made a little bow. Increasing May¡¯sbat abilities will also lead to an increase in our safety after all. That¡¯s more than wee, so she should just buy whatever she fancies. ¡°How about me, boss?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got no use for weapons, right? Rather, even if you do, I don¡¯t remember ever saying I¡¯ll buy one for you too.¡± ¡°Stingy. Can¡¯t you treat me just a bit?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll buy you lunch then. I don¡¯t mind if we eat somewhere expensive, so go ahead and show us somewhere good.¡± ¡°Great! Leave it to me, boss!¡± Her mood brightened up instantly. She¡¯s really gung-ho about money and benefits huh. Well, it¡¯s fine, I guess. I¡¯ll just treat it as her guide fee or something. Come to think of it, Elma and Mimi rarely ask me for something on their own ord. So being proactively asked for a treat like this is kind of a refreshing experience. May? Instead of pleading, it¡¯s more like she¡¯s asking for something absolutely necessary whenever she asks me to buy something for her. They are usually expensive, but it¡¯s not like she¡¯s buying them just to satisfy her hobbies. So it¡¯s more close to demanding for something instead of begging. But it¡¯s a bit different from that too. ¡°Let¡¯s buy some grenades while we¡¯re here as well. Well, we don¡¯t usually use them so they aren¡¯t much of a priority.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. It¡¯s not a grenade, but can we buy this, Master?¡± She showed me something made of some sort of metal alloy¡­¡­ What the heck is it anyway? Throwing knife? But it¡¯s quite a bit thicker and tougher-looking than your usual throwing knife. It¡¯s also way too thick to be ssified as a throwing needle. A full-metal dart? ¡°It¡¯s a dart made of special alloy. The metal used to make it is also employed in producing power armors.¡± ¡°Can you really use this thing?¡± ¡°Yes. With my specs, I can easily pierce power armor with it, and it¡¯s perfect as a hidden weapon.¡± She then showed me something resembling a holster for storing the metal dart. I see. So it¡¯s a hidden weapon huh. It looks quite heavy though¡­ But I guess with May¡¯s specs, carrying it on her person will just be a piece of cake. ¡°Is an analog weapon like this really fine?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s analog, but that just means it¡¯s very reliable.¡± ¡°Hm. I guess. It won¡¯t suddenly break down on you, that¡¯s for sure.¡± It doesn¡¯t just apply toser weapons, but ballistic weapons as well, but there¡¯s always a chance of them breaking down from impacts and the like because they possess some delicateponents. Compared to that, metal darts like this may not be all that mainstream, but they won¡¯t easily bend or break and would deal considerable damage when thrown with proper force. In that sense, it¡¯s true that analog weapons are more reliable. ¡°Okay then. Let¡¯s buy it. How about you buy a new alloy baton as well? I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to make use of it effectively in close quartersbat with your abilities, May.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much. I¡¯ll help myself then, Master.¡± She bowed slightly to me once more. When she looked up, I noticed that May was acting quite happy. She still had her nk expression on, but her aura just gives that kind of impression. Geez. She¡¯s mostly expressionless, but this maidroid sure knows how to appeal to her master. Chapter 121 Chapter 121 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone It looks like the concept of personal desire does not exist in advanced independent AI, so everything that May buys ultimately is for the purpose of better serving her master; namely me. They are basically items that will better ensure my safety or will provide me with a better quality of life, so perhaps May does have desires after all. It¡¯s just that all of that desire is focused on ensuring her master¡¯s happiness and safety. Anyway, what I¡¯m trying to get at is¡­ that she¡¯s buying too much and my arms are about to fall off from carrying all the items she got. I¡¯m not even sure if she¡¯s still holding back. ¡°Hey. Hey, boss. Buy this too.¡± ¡°¡­No, why would I buy something for you in the first ce?¡± ¡°But Tina-chan really wants this¡î¡± Tina gazed up at me with moist, upturned eyes. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°3 points. Not good enough.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too strict boss! 3 out of 10!?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Haah.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s 3 out of a hundred¡­¡­? But isn¡¯t Tina super cute?¡± Tina sulked andined. Well, her appearance certainly is cute. I¡¯ll give her that at least. She¡¯s wearing it in a ponytail right now, but her semi-long hair looks silky smooth, and her face is of the cute and delicate type. Her red eyes, that were the same bright hue as her hair, sparkled with liveliness. And her expressions and gestures were loveable too. ¡°Well, fine, I admit you¡¯re cute.¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Like I said, you¡¯re cute, Tina.¡± ¡°R-Really? R-Right? That¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it.¡± Tina¡¯s face turned bright red. She¡¯s certainly quite cute, but she¡¯s the annoying cutesy type. Unfortunately, the annoying parts greatly outweigh the cute parts. If you forcefully ignore her more un-redeeming aspects, she can certainly be said to be a cute girl. Like what I¡¯m doing now. ¡°But I¡¯m still not gonna buy that for you. So just give up, okay.¡± ¡°Eh. You¡¯re loaded, right boss? So ain¡¯t it fine if you splurge a wee bit more?¡± Tina tried to plead again, but May forcefully got between her and me. ¡°Tina-san.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Tina turned stiff and stood at attention. It looks like she really can¡¯t handle May huh. ¡°Did you perhaps forget exactly why you are now apanying my Master?¡± ¡°Yes. I mean, no! I¡¯m very sorry.¡± ¡°You must prove that you will be useful to Master, and that you have the qualifications to stand by his side. That is why Space Dwerg wanted you toe with Master. It¡¯s in order to determine your qualifications.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s exactly as you say.¡± ¡°Very well. If you understand that much, then why, pray tell me, are you acting so insolently toward Master?¡± ¡°I have no excuse, ma¡¯am.¡± Tina started getting smaller and smaller in front of the angry May. Her usual liveliness was now all but gone. Come to think of it, Mimi feels like she gets smaller too whenever she¡¯s all depressed. ¡°That¡¯s enough, May. I¡¯m sure Tina didn¡¯t mean to be rude, so don¡¯t hold it against her too much.¡± ¡°If that is your wish, Master.¡± May backed off, and Tina let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Fuu¡­¡­ Your maid-san sure is scary, boss.¡± ¡°But she has a point, right?¡± ¡°Eh? But it¡¯s just a little bit? Can¡¯t you treat me to at least this much?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped¡­ Is that what you were hoping I¡¯d say?¡± ¡°You¡¯re so stingy, boss.¡± Even if sheined, Tina obediently ced the mysterious gadget she picked up back on the shelf. She exined what it was, but I wasn¡¯t all that interested, so her words went inside one ear and back out the other. It was something about photonic resonance and quantum whatchamacallits, I think. Anyway, I don¡¯t get it. ¡°So all that¡¯s left is an order-made weapon.¡± ¡°What are you gonna get, boss?¡± As I browsed at the e-catalogue, Tina squeezed herself closer and gazed at the screen as well. I¡¯m not really bothered by it, but she really likes to stick close huh. I¡¯m sure a certain segment of society will dly enjoy this kind of thing though. ¡°I¡¯m looking for handheld weapons for power armors. It should be easy to handle even in confined spaces and effective in close quarters. It would be best if it doesn¡¯t get easily cut by noble swords.¡± ¡°That¡¯s one heck of a requirement. Those swords have reinforced high-frequency vibration monomolecr des, so if you want something that will stand up to those, it¡¯ll have to be made of hyperpressed heavy alloys. Those are really tough but are also really heavy, and really, REALLY expensive. If you make weapons with those, even a handgun will weigh at least 30 kgs.¡± ¡°Hm. Even if it¡¯s for a power armor, that¡¯s still too heavy.¡± If even a pistol is already that heavy, then something of a size fit for power armors will be nigh unusable. ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s why those types of materials are often just used in ship manufacturing. They can be made into the toughest hulls known in the gxy. If you just want your weapon to stand up to a sh or two, there¡¯s the option of coating it with those materials as well. But it¡¯ll be a moreplicated process, so it¡¯ll be even pricier.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ Hey, can you handle designing my order-made weapon instead? I¡¯ll pay you as well. I¡¯ll even buy you that gadget from earlier if you want.¡± I think this matter is best left to specialists. There¡¯s a certain romance to a newbie designing and using his own order-made weapon, but practically speaking, it¡¯s best to leave it to a pro. Tina¡¯s specialty was starships, but it looks like she¡¯s knowledgeable when ites to material engineering, and it looks like she can design a more decent weaponpared to me. ¡°So it¡¯s a handheld weapon for a power armor which can be easily handled even in confined spaces, effective at close quarters, and can block shes from noble-issued swords¡­¡­ Isn¡¯t that way too much?¡± ¡°My budget should be about 100,000 Enels. The design priority should be easy handling, effectiveness in CQC, and withstanding noble-issued swords. If its close-quarters performance exceeds expectations, I¡¯ll give you an additional 10,000 Enels. If it lets me cross swords with nobles reliably, I¡¯ll double the pay. I don¡¯t mind if you use up all the budget, but anything beyond that 100k is a no-go. Of course, the cheaper it is, the better. What do you think?¡± ¡°Please let me try, boss!¡± Tina¡¯s face was shining in excitement. ¡°Yosh. I¡¯ll have May support you then. May, please hand Tina data regarding my power armor and help her in designing the weapon. And use this chance to get along better if possible.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± May epted my instructions reverently. It sure helps that May is very obedient and excellent in her job. Tina let out a groan, but this is a test of sorts for her. If she can¡¯t get along with the rest of the crew, there¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to let her board my ship. ¡°Alright then. You two stay here and discuss with the weapon makers in the shop. I¡¯ll leave the money to May.¡± ¡°Yes, Master. As you wish.¡± ¡°Understood. I¡¯m gonna do my best!¡± ¡®And I¡¯ll get that reward!¡¯was what Tina¡¯s expression seemed to be saying. ¡°I¡¯m going to join up with Mimi and the others. Please contact me once you¡¯re finished with the business here. We¡¯ll decide if we¡¯re gonna meet up somewhere in the colony or go back to the hotelter.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Roger!¡± I left the two of them and went to meet up with Mimi and the others. I¡¯ll hang out with them if it¡¯s convenient, and if they¡¯re in the middle of something, I¡¯ll walk around the colony on my own. I¡¯ll contact them first. I took out my portable terminal and opened the messaging app. Chapter 122 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡ºI¡¯m finished on my end. I left May and Tina with an errand though. How about you guys?¡» I sent the message via group chat and started walking around while waiting for a reply. The three of them were supposed to be shopping around, so maybe they were in a section of the trade andmerce block where there were a lot of food and lifestyle shops. ¡°What should I do about those two?¡± I also thought about what to do with Tina and Whisker as I was walking around. Having some pro engineers and mechanics around was a very desirable prospect, especially in our case. I¡¯d feel more assured if there were people who can handle most sorts of mechanical trouble as we continue traveling around the gxy. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 The most worrying problem was the possibility of those two getting ess to my and Krishna¡¯s secrets through essing the ship¡¯s database during maintenance. And then, they may opt to send that data directly to Space Dwerg. But maybe there¡¯s actually no need to worry so much about stuff like that happening. Krishna and the new mothership¡¯s data protection measures will be handled by May after all. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be able to block any attempts to pull out ssified data from the databanks if those two ever decided to pull something like that off. And she¡¯ll report it to me immediately as well. If that happens, what would I do? No matter how cute they were, I have no intention of letting such bloodsucking insects stay anywhere near me. I¡¯d probably crush them or abandon them along the way. I¡¯d probably strike out at theirpany too. Thoroughly. Well, those are the most logical courses of action, but I kind of doubt I¡¯d be able to put something like that into practice for real. Tina¡¯s personality isn¡¯t something I particrly dislike either. It¡¯s a bit annoying but quite refreshing at the same time. It¡¯s kind of rxing in a sense to be around that sort of person. I can¡¯t say much about Whisker since I haven¡¯t spent much time with her yet, but I feel she was a bit miserable. I can easily imagine how much trouble that sister of hers has put her through. She was even dragged around by her sisterst night to participate in her scheme. Maybe she was just the type who finds it difficult to refuse her loved ones¡­¡­ I still can¡¯t say for sure though. Anyway, when ites to deciding whether or not to ept the two of them into the crew, I had to weigh the merits of having pro engineers on board against the possibility of my and Krishna¡¯s secrets leaking out to a third party. The info about me and Krishna will probably be known to other people eventually if we continue to travel around the gxy doing mercenary work. It would be best if I could keep a tight lid on those as much as I could, but being on guard all the time sounds far too stressful. I don¡¯t really care about keeping such things secret in the first ce if I were being honest. I don¡¯t n on stopping from being a mercenary after all. In other words, I¡¯d probably get into more escapades along with Krishna. If that¡¯s the case, then no matter how excellent Krishna was and how skilled I was as a pilot, Krishna still had a good chance of breaking down eventually without proper maintenance because it was, in the end, a machine. The only way to prevent that was by having skilled mechanics take a look at it and perform regr maintenance. In other words, no matter how much I wanted to prevent anyone from touching Krishna due to the risk of info leaks, I¡¯d still have no other choice but to leave it in other¡¯s hands from time to time. If I end up losing Krishna due to me stubbornly refusing to let those secrets leak out, that¡¯ll be a case of putting the cart before the horse. In that case, it would be better to ensure I could rely on Krishna for a long time through periodic maintenance by skilled mechanics without caring so much about keeping secrets. At least that¡¯s what I think. There would be no problems if Krishna actually didn¡¯t need maintenance and could maintain peak performance indefinitely. But since this world isn¡¯t a game, machines will eventually deteriorate, and that deterioration will be even faster if you rely on them heavily. As long as I n on continuing to fight using Krishna, I¡¯d have topromise eventually. ¡°Oops.¡± I was lost in thought and didn¡¯t notice that I¡¯ve already arrived at the trade andmerce block. I took out my portable data terminal once more and checked the messaging app. ¡ºRight now, we¡¯re telling Whisker-san all she needs to know when she boards the ship with her sister. It will probably take a bit more time.¡» ¡°I still haven¡¯t decided whether or not to let them join though.¡± I muttered such aint, but it¡¯s true that I was heavily leaning on letting them board as well. That¡¯s because the merits of them boarding the ship and joining the crew outweigh the demerits. But it would still be best to discuss this matter with Elma, Mimi, and May. I¡¯m the one who will have the final say, but I can¡¯t ignore their opinions as crew members. ¡ºUnderstood. I¡¯m going to wander around the colony a bit then.¡» I sent out the message and walked around while setting aside thoseplicated issues for the time being. There were many handicrafts being sold at stores. It¡¯s probably because this was a colony with plenty of dwarves. Or rather, there were many stores that were selling handicrafts that also looked pointlessly high-tech. For example, there was a wooden avant-garde sculpture that was actually an auto-cooker in disguise, a decorativeser gun holster, or shoulder pads that had spikes on them. No, wait¡­ What¡¯s with those shoulder pads anyway? Armor¡­? Fashion items¡­? A cosy item that allows you to dress up like the end of the century thugs and go ¡®Hyahaaa¡¯!? ¡°Oh, you have a good eye for these things, brother. This here is a nice, high-quality thermal cloak.¡± A dwarf store clerk called out to me as I was checking out the shoulder pads. He had a full beard so I couldn¡¯t ce his age, but he sounds younger than he looks. ¡°Thermal cloak? This thing? This is a cloak?¡± No matter how you slice it, these are just Hyahaa! pads though. There¡¯s no resemnce to a cloak at all. ¡°That¡¯s right. We had a hard time developing them so they wouldn¡¯t look like your typical cloak at first nce. If you put one of these on your shoulder and switch it on, it will allow you tofortably cope with temperatures ranging from minus 50 degrees to plus 50 degrees Celsius.¡± ¡°That sounds impressive. What¡¯s the power source?¡± So these things can allow you to spend all year wearing just T-shirts and shorts huh? That¡¯s kinda amazing. If they didn¡¯t look like spiked shoulder pads, I would have bought one for myself. ¡°They use one energy pack at a time. One pack can allow them to function for 20,000 hours.¡± 20 thousand hours huh. So that¡¯ll be about 833 days. So two energy packs will allow them to work for more than two years huh. Yep. Amazing alright. ¡°How much are they?¡± ¡°Mm, we had trouble modifying them after all. They are actually newly developed products you see. Let¡¯s see¡­ 3,000¡­ No, how about 2,500 Enels for one?¡± ¡°O-Okay¡­¡­¡± I can easily buy one at that price, but the appearance is a bit¡­¡­ I kinda feel like I¡¯d be forced to shout Hyahaa! if I wear one of these. Maybe I¡¯ll even get a Mohawk haircut without me noticing until it¡¯s toote. Uh, nope. Not happening. That¡¯s not a pretty picture by any stretch of the imagination. I actually have a pretty built body right now due to my daily workouts, but I wasn¡¯t like those macho bodybuilders. I had a leaner physique. These shoulder pads would probably look better on men with bodybuilder physiques. ¡°I don¡¯t think they suit me, so I¡¯ll pass. But since I¡¯m already here, do you have non-modified versions of these thermal cloaks?¡± ¡°We do. Those are 800 Enels a piece. One energy pack can power them for 30,000 hours. A cloak that covers most of the body is more energy efficient after all.¡± After saying so, the dwarven store clerk brought out a hooded cloak made of an unfamiliar material that had a mysterious texture. It was all-white and felt like a cross between vinyl and leather. ¡°Do you have these in more inconspicuous colors?¡± This is far too shy for me. ¡°Oh, do you prefer a cloak with the chameleon system? Here you go then. These chameleon thermal cloaks are 1,200 Enels per item.¡± He then brought out a dark brown cloak with a rough texture. The clerk fiddled with the sp on the cloak and its color changed to a gray urban camouge pattern. ¡°Hm. This looks good.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t it? But these have a better design though. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll suit you, brother.¡± The clerk then ced one of those spiked shoulder pads on my shoulder. He then made a nice business smile. Just how do these shoulder pads stick themselves on anyway? It¡¯s another pointless application of advanced tech. ¡°No, the chameleon thermal cloaks are fine. Let¡¯s see¡­¡­ I¡¯ll need some spares too, so give me five of those.¡± ¡°You¡¯re buying five of them!? Of course, sir! Right away!¡± The clerk ran to the back of the store with a cheerful smile on his face. I bought one for me, Elma, and Mimi, plus two spares. Tina and Whisker can also use them if they join the crew. A thermal cloak with a temperature regtion function and a chameleon system that allows it to blend with the surroundings huh¡­¡­ It may prove useful one of these days. For example, they¡¯lle in handy if we somehow get stuck on a with a harsh environment, or when we need to investigate a colony with a broken life support system. There were plenty of those kinds of events in SOL after all. It doesn¡¯t hurt to be prepared. ¡°Hey, mister! We also have great products here! Why don¡¯t you take a look?¡± ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t cut in line! I had my eye on him first. Hey mister, take a look at our wares too why don¡¯t cha?¡± ¡°Oi, oi! He came to our store first. Come on then, brother. Let¡¯s go to the back.¡± Before I knew it, several dwarven shop clerks already gathered behind me. Hahaha, you guys are really passionate about doing business huh? Also, those female shop clerks at the back. Stop trying to seduce me. No matter what you do, my heart won¡¯t be moved since you practically look like children y¡¯know. But this sure is a mess. In any case, I followed the dwarven shop clerk to the back of the store toplete my purchase. Chapter 123 Chapter 123 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone I had a hell of a time refusing all the offers of the dwarven merchants. They had an uncanny way with words and their sales talk may even prompt people to buy useless junk while believing them to be priceless treasures. They mixed in some useful stuff with the junk goods and tried to sell them in bulk, which was a pretty devious tactic. I managed to muddle through somehow, and I got away from those pushy guys by promising to bring acquaintances from my hometown on my next visit. They probably thought I was filthy rich so they tried to squeeze me for all I¡¯m worth. I may have some leeway when ites to funds, but presently, there¡¯s just no cargo space to dump all that junk they were trying to sell me. I¡¯m d I was able to avoid meaningless purchases. But I did buy a portable cooking kit. It¡¯s a high-quality item that can be powered for quite a long time by a single energy pack. The cooking kit is the same size as your regr toolbox and includes a cooking heater, an ingredient scanner for checking freshness or possible harmful stuff, and a cutlery set. This thing cane in handy if we ever find ourselves stranded on an unexplored or something¡­¡­ maybe. Uh, I guess if we ever crashnd on a in a state where even the auto-cooker and other facilities are busted, then Krishna and the newly purchased mothership should be heavily damaged to the point of despair. Alright, I admit I bought this thing on impulse. Sorry. Ugh. Cut me some ck, guys. C¡¯mon. Thepact cooking kit and the chameleon thermal cloaks will be delivered to Krishnater on. Well, to be exact, they¡¯re going to be sent to the workshop where Krishna is undergoing its maintenance overhaul. The items will be sent on board the ship once the maintenance work gets finished, so there¡¯s no problem. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°Well, that¡¯s a surprise. You were able to hold your own without getting caught up in their pace for the most part.¡± The one who called out to me just after I ditched the dwarven merchants was Elma. It looks like the girls were finished with their shopping. There¡¯s no word from May and Tina yet, so I guess they¡¯re still hard at work designing my weapon. It¡¯s great that they¡¯re giving their all. ¡°Were you watching all that?¡± ¡°Yeah. Just halfway through though. I thought for sure you¡¯d get suckered in to buy lots of pointless stuff, but you did better than I expected.¡± ¡°I already said so earlier. Hiro-sama can be resolute when he wants to.¡± Elma shrugged her shoulders in mock-disappointment while Mimi looked quite pleased and proud. ¡°But he¡¯s not exactly the prudent sort, right? If he was, then he wouldn¡¯t have paid for Mimi and my debts without so much as batting an eye. And he evenid his hands on both of us.¡± ¡°Uh, that¡¯s true, but this and that are very different things y¡¯know.¡± It was a bit different for Elma, but I just thought I could get along with Mimi when I paid her debts back then. I didn¡¯t really expect it¡¯ll go in that direction at all. It was a major culture shock for me. I¡¯m now aware of what the implications are, so I¡¯m more prudent when ites to deciding if the dead ball sisters will be allowed on board as part of our crew. I guess I¡¯ve somewhat ustomed myself to this dimension already. Humans are quite adaptable creatures y¡¯see. ¡°A-Anyway, you purchased a portable cooking kit right, big brother? Are you nning on cooking with it yourself?¡± Maybe she sensed the awkward air, so Whisker made an effort to change the subject. ¡°That¡¯s right. Hiro-sama is a wonderful cook. He can cook fish, veggies, and meat. He¡¯s really, really good.¡± ¡°Uh, I¡¯m not really all that great a cook. I just know some simple meals.¡± ¡°Eh, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s an exaggeration at all¡­¡­ They were really delicious, you know?¡± ¡°Is that so¡­¡­? How rare. It¡¯s a surprise to meet someone who knows how to cook who¡¯s not a dwarf like me.¡± ¡°Oh, right. Come to think of it, there are a lot of dwarven chefs out there huh. I even saw a good number of restaurants in this colony that doesn¡¯t use auto-cookers to prepare their meals.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that we don¡¯t use them at all. Fresh, natural ingredients are pretty expensive, so most shops use auto-cookers to produce ingredients, and then cook them manually.¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t that kind of bothersome¡­?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think the meals made by auto-cookers taste a bit nd? The simple ones are passable, but most other meals are like that.¡± ¡°Oh. Yeah, I kinda get what you mean.¡± I wasn¡¯t really bothered by it anymore since buying our trusty Tetsujin V, but the default auto-cooker that was installed on Krishna when I first came here did make somewhat nd-tasting food. ¡°Is that really the case, Elma-san?¡± ¡°I have no idea.¡± Mimi and Elma inclined their heads in bafflement. Mimi probably only ate food made by auto-cookers since she was a child, so it¡¯s no wonder she doesn¡¯t get it. Elma was a firm junk food lover though¡­¡­ This elf keeps eating stuff like pizza and steaks for meals. Honestly. But even so, she doesn¡¯t seem to get fat no matter how much she eats. Elma sure is one mysterious elf. ¡°Most people don¡¯t get things like these apart from other dwarves. I feel like I can get along really well with you, big brother.¡± ¡°d to hear that. So, how about we try having lunch at a dwarf restaurant then?¡± ¡°That sounds great. I¡¯ll guide you. I wonder which ce would be good¡­¡­?¡± Whisker got lost in thought for a few moments then pped her hands happily after making a decision. ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s have ¡®that¡¯. It¡¯s cheap, filling, and very delicious.¡± After informing May and Tina of our destination, our group went to a cozy-looking eatery that resembled an old-fashioned diner in Japan. There were both usual seats and tables and small separate dining areas that resembled raised-tatami seating areas used in Japanese restaurants. There were sunken kotatsus ced in the middle of those areas as well. But what was ced on top was not a normal kotatsu. There was a metallic alloy te in the center of the kotatsu table. It was most probably a teppan or hotte used for cooking. The seats were filled because it was in the middle of lunchtime, and it looks like we have to wait a bit to have our turn. Well, Tina and May will be arrivingter anyway, so I guess it¡¯s fine to wait. ¡°What type of food does this shop sell? Crepes¡­? I guess not.¡± ¡°They sell what you call dwarf-yaki or dwarven fried savory pancakes. You mix various ingredients with some batter and fry them on top of the te. You can enjoy freshly cooked, hot food along with various vors and sauces.¡± ¡°Dwarf-yaki, huh.¡± From the looks of it, the ingredients are mixed together with the batter and then fried instead of just putting them on top. So it was more like Kansai-style okonomiyaki instead of Hiroshima-style. I¡¯m not an expert when ites to okonomiyaki so I can¡¯t really say for certain though. ¡°Yes, this is dwarf-yaki. We can have fun with each other while cooking so it¡¯s really popr with other races apart from dwarves as well.¡± ¡°I see! It looks really fun!¡± Mimi¡¯s eyes were already shining in anticipation. Elma also looked curiously at the customers who were busy frying their orders. I¡¯m really interested as well. I guess these kinds of meals are simr even in another dimension huh. ¡°Thank you for waiting?¡± ¡°We have arrived, Master.¡± May and Tina finally arrived, with thetter¡¯s nose already reacting to the smell of oko¨C err, dwarf-yaki. Tina was beaming brightly, so she must¡¯ve been satisfied with her work on my order-made weapon. May was together with her, so she should have prevented her engineering soul from going too wild. But she still looked quite smug, so I was a bit worried about the end result. ¡°So it¡¯s dwarf-yaki huh? They¡¯re treating anyway, so why didn¡¯t you take them to a fancier joint? Isn¡¯t this ce a bit too in?¡± ¡°Sis, you¡­¡­¡± Whisker made an exasperated sigh due to Tina¡¯s brazen attitude. Come to think of it, she was pestering me about treating her to lunch earlier, huh. I did say it was fine to go somewhere expensive, so this ce does look a bit too in. I don¡¯t know how much the meals will cost yet, but I don¡¯t think they will be that expensive. ¡°Let¡¯s just leave that for next time. We¡¯re also interested in traditional dwarven cuisine anyway.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I really want to try it!¡± Mimi, who made it her goal to taste all gourmet food in the gxy, was very curious about traditional dwarven cuisine. But I managed to spot some strangely wriggling meat within the provided ingredients, so we might be in for a surpriseter. I better not let my guard down. After a bit more, a spot was finally free, so we were guided there by the staff. May really stood out with her maid clothes. I may have to consider getting her some casual clothes too. ¡°Leave it to me. I¡¯ll take you to a good ceter as well.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, big brother. I¡¯ll be sure to check the shop first.¡± Whisker kept bowing beside Tina, who was sporting a cheeky grin. Nah, it¡¯s fine y¡¯know. It¡¯s not like we¡¯ll be forking out several thousands of Enels just for meals. When I took a look at this ce¡¯s menu, it seems the meals would cost 5 to 8 Enels per person. May didn¡¯t need to eat, so I, Mimi, Elma, and the sisters made five people. The meals won¡¯t exceed 100 Enels even if you include the side dishes and drinks. ¡°I¡¯ll leave the orders to you guys. We¡¯re not all familiar with the menu after all. I¡¯ll have chilled tea or water for my drink.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have the same as Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯ll go for some alcohol. What would go well with dwarf-yaki?¡± ¡°Beer is the usual fare, but I personally rmend watered-down dwarven sake or a highball.¡± ¡°I prefer dwarven ochawari.¡± ¡°Okay. I guess I¡¯ll go for a highball then. You two will have drinks as well, right?¡± ¡°Of course¨C¡± ¡°B-I-G S-I-S?¡± ¡°¨CI¡¯ll have some tea. We¡¯re banned from drinking liquor for two weeks after all. Yeah.¡± ¡°Is that so? I guess I¡¯ll refrain from drinking this time then. I¡¯ll get some chilled tea or water as well.¡± Tina already forgot about the two-week liquor ban huh. It¡¯s an official punishment by thepany, so I believe breaking it would have some serious consequences. Whisker¡¯s aura when she reprimanded Tina was kinda overwhelming. ¡°Mistress, we¡¯ll have three orders of pork and squid sets and six orders of chilled tea!¡± ¡°Right away¨C!¡± Tina yelled her order in a loud voice, and the dwarven mistress at the counter responded right away. By the way, the mistress looked like a ssic legal loli, so it kinda looked like two kids having a cheerful exchange. It honestly threw me off a bit. ¡°That¡¯s quite old-fashioned.¡± ¡°Well, fiddling with a tablet for things like this feels kinda off y¡¯know. It¡¯s not like everything¡¯s better if it¡¯s high-tech.¡± ¡°I feel that¡¯s not something an engineer would normally say.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m an engineer. Why would you want to use a console for cing orders in a roundabout manner when it¡¯s more efficient and less confusing to ce orders directly?¡± ¡°I see.¡± I kinda get it but kinda don¡¯t at the same time. Before long, the restaurant mistress brought us a bowl containing the ingredients for making dwarf-yakis as well as our drinks. ¡°Thank you for waiting. Here are your orders.¡± ¡°Thanks a bunch. Here are your drinks, everyone.¡± After handing out all the drinks, Tina held her ss cup aloft. ¡°Okay then. To our meeting with each other! Cheers!¡± ¡°Chee?rs!¡± What¡¯s with the Ondo-like singsong voices? Oh well. I don¡¯t want to ruin the atmosphere, so I refrained from making such a quip. Let¡¯s just enjoy the dwarf-yaki, shall we? Chapter 124 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°You¡¯re quite skilled at this.¡± ¡°I told you Hiro-sama is a great cook!¡± ¡°No, uh, just about anybody can do this much y¡¯know¡­¡­¡± After seeing me flip the okonomiyaki without any trouble when one side was cooked, Whisker sounded quite impressed while Mimi looked really proud. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°But still though. Before frying it, the mixture really resembles vo¨C¡± ¡°That¡¯s no good,dy. If you say any more, it¡¯ll mean war.¡± Tina promptly interjected when Elma, who was drinking beer without a care, was about to utter a particrly disgustingparison. Nice job Tina. By the way, even if it really resembles okonomiyaki quite a bit, dwarf-yaki really is a different dish altogether. The taste and texture do feel simr to an extent, but there¡¯s just something that sets it apart. The taste of the veggie resembling cabbage is a bit off. It was the same for the meat resembling pork and squid. It¡¯s like they¡¯re missing something. However, the vors of the dried green nori(?), katsuobushi(?), and mayonnaise(?) were all on point. If I were to describe it¡­ I guess it¡¯s a dish about 80% simr to okonomiyaki. It was actually pretty close, all things considered. By the way, it¡¯s not like May can¡¯t eat food, but since she won¡¯t be able to properly digest it, she¡¯ll need to dispose of all the ingested food afterward. She says it¡¯s wasteful and didn¡¯t participate in eating. She was currently frying Elma¡¯s share of the dwarf-yaki for her. She learned the proper method by observing how Tina and Whisker did it, and now she was cooking like a pro. ¡°I-I did it.¡± It looks like our Mimi has sessfully cooked her portion of dwarf-yaki. Its shape was slightly off because she messed up a bit when she turned it over, but otherwise, it looks good to go. ¡°U-Um, Hiro-sama¡­ If you¡¯d like, um¡­¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have some.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I opened my mouth and Mimi pushed a bite of the dwarf-yaki she cooked on top of her spat in front of me. As I didn¡¯t want my tongue to get burned, I blew on it to cool it down and then ate Mimi¡¯s dwarf-yaki. The subtle sweetness of the dough spread inside my mouth, coupled with the fresh sweetness of the cabbage(?), the rich vors of the sauce and mayo(?), and the pleasant aroma of the green nori kes¡­¡­ Mm, delicious. Apart from the slightly disappointing umami of the other ingredients, the sauce and mayonnaise were practically perfect, and the green nori and bonito kes were quite fine as well. ¡°H-How is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s delicious. You did really well. I bet you¡¯d be a great cook if you get enough practice.¡± ¡°R-Really? E-Ehehe¡­¡­¡± Mimi squirmed in delight as she cut the rest of the dwarf-yaki into bite-size pieces with tremendous momentum. What incredible spat-handling. Maybe Mimi actually has a talent for knife-fighting? I¡¯ll try to have May instruct her next time. ¡°Say, boss. I¡¯d like you to check out the fruit of ourbor.¡± After saying so, Tina took out her portable data terminal and ced it right next to the hotte. She then operated it and projected a holographic 3D image of something which looked like a hatchet. It resembled both a hand ax and a giant hatchet. But it wasn¡¯t any of those either. There ain¡¯t a trigger on the grips of normal hand axes and hatchets, and they certainly didn¡¯t look like a fusion between a gun and an ax. It wasn¡¯t just any gun either. It looked like a short-barreled rifle or shotgun. It¡¯s like they forcefully shortened the barrel and stock of the gun, which originally needed two hands to be wielded properly, in order to allow it to be handled with one hand easily. It also had arge and brutal-looking ax de stuck on its barrel. ¡°It¡¯s a really cool-looking weapon!¡± Mimi¡¯s eyes shone in excitement when she saw the weapon image. Oh, right. I guess this thing pushes all the right buttons for Mimi, who had a taste for punkish fashion. As for me, I was busy imagining how much more evil the RIKISHI would look like once it gets equipped with this thing. I mean, it already looked like a viinous machine, but this just takes it to a whole other level. ¡°Boss¡¯s power armor will be able to handle this baby with one hand easily. So I ordered three of em. You can dual-wield and have one spare if either of the first two breaks down or get lost in battle.¡± The amount disyed on the holo-video was exactly within the budget. I did have May supervise her so I wasn¡¯t worried about her messing up, but it looks like she really did her best huh. ¡°Their overall specs are a bit lower than the splitterser guns, but since the diffusion rate of theser rounds was reduced, their uracy is improved. We used hyperpressed alloy as the material for the axe des, so it can exchange blows with the monomolecr vibro-des of noble-issued swords. Since the hyperpressed alloy is used for the des alone, we seeded in designing a weapon with a good bnce between handling and toughness. With the specs of Master¡¯s power armor, you¡¯ll be able to crush enemy power armors with ease.¡± May went ahead and exined the weapon¡¯s specs. She didn¡¯t mention anything about fighting with flesh and blood people since they¡¯ll be crushed in two without a doubt when hit with these things. ¡°What can I say? They look like weapons fit for viin characters.¡± Elma grinned in amusement as she looked at the holo-disy. ¡°I took the design of boss¡¯s power armor into ount when making these things after all. It¡¯s best if they fit together, right? And their overall specs are quite impressive. As for the name¡­ um¡­ How about calling them hatchet guns?¡± ¡°Hatchet guns huh. Mm. Nice and simple. Sounds good.¡± Ax guns huh. It feels weird when their name is written in Kanji. I¡¯ll just stick with Katakana and call them hatchet guns. ¡°There seem to be no problems with the theoretical specs. We¡¯ll just need to conduct a live test to know for sure. I¡¯ll give you your reward once I receive the real thing and test them out.¡± ¡°Okay. No problem, boss.¡± Tina nodded in agreement at my words as Whisker tilted her head in puzzlement. ¡°Reward?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ll get a reward for designing this order-made weapon for boss¡¯s custom power armor. If he¡¯s satisfied with the specs, he¡¯ll give me 10,000. If I exceed his expectations, it may double to 20,000.¡± Tina exined the situation to Whisker with a big grin on her face. Whisker gave me a longing gaze. ¡°It¡¯s just for big sis¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ Yeah, sorry. I¡¯ll make sure to get your help if somethinges up next time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a promise, okay?¡± ¡°Okay, okay, I promise¡­.. Hm?¡± Now hold up. From the way this convo is going, did she just assume she¡¯ll be together with us from here on out? I turned to Whisker once more and found her smiling sweetly while Tina had a face which practically said ¡®all ording to n¡¯. Mimi was still happily eating her dwarf-yaki while Elma gave me a strained smile. I feel like they just casually turned it all into a fait apli¡­ Oh well. It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve made the final decision yet anyway. ¡°How was Tina as an engineer, May? Can you give me your impressions?¡± ¡°Wai¡­¡­ Don¡¯t just ask something like that with me here, boss!¡± Tina¡¯s expression turned from a smiling one to a panicky one. May ignored her and proceeded to answer while continuing to cook dwarf-yaki. ¡°There are no problems regarding her engineering skills and knowledge. She has the skills and the knowledge to be expected of a first-ss engineer at the very least. As for the conceptualization of ideas, I feel that she is more of a steady type as opposed to the spontaneous type. Despite her usual cheeky attitude and recklessness, she is very focused when ites to working. She was able to greatly utilize her overflowing passion that gave Master excessive amounts of trouble in order to improve her work, and the result speaks for itself.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re actually praising me or criticizing me.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s basically true, right?¡± Tina ate her dwarf-yaki with a troubled expression as Whisker affirmed May¡¯s impressions. I really thought Tina, who was a ball of energy, was the instinctive type of genius, but I guess I waspletely off. So she¡¯s the steady type huh. Come to think of it, apart from the looks, the design and specs of the hatchet guns didn¡¯t implement anything too drastic. ¡°Whisker¡¯s the one who designs a lot of crazy stuff y¡¯know.¡± ¡°Calling them crazy is rude, sis. I just don¡¯t like being half-baked.¡± ¡°I get that, but the stuff you make has some pretty drastic quirks. That ain¡¯t really good. Remember that thruster you designed recently? Because it had that bonkers inertial control system, the people who piloted ships installed with it all coughed up blood after.¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t having high output and response what¡¯s important when ites to thrusters?¡± ¡°Even so, there¡¯s a thing called ¡®limits¡¯ y¡¯know¡­¡­¡± The sisters were having a pretty dangerous-sounding discussion all of a sudden. Did people really end up coughing blood due to a bonkers inertial control system? Just what kind of killer eleration did they get to experience to the point of coughing blood? That¡¯s scary, man. ¡°She looks harmless, but isn¡¯t Whisker the more dangerous of the two?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll say this first. I don¡¯t want to turn into minced meat inside Krishna¡¯s cockpit.¡± ¡°You tell me. Even I don¡¯t want to experience something like that, okay.¡± Anyway, I think I now had a pretty good grasp of the sister¡¯s personalities after spending time with them. I¡¯ll just ask Mimi and Elma¡¯s impressions about Whisker after we go back to the hotelter. I¡¯ll also share my experience with Tina with them. Unfavorable first impressions aside, I don¡¯t really find the personalities of these two sisters to be off-putting. I was leaning on letting them board the ship. But Mimi, Elma, and May¡¯s opinions are also important. I¡¯ll talk it over with them first before making my decision. Chapter 125 Chapter 125 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°We¡¯ll see youter, boss.¡± ¡°Thank you for the treat.¡± Tina was all-smiles as she energetically waved goodbye and Whisker bowed politely and followed after her sister. We waved goodbye to the sisters as well and started heading back to the hotel. ¡°The dwarf-yaki was really delicious, wasn¡¯t it? And it was really fun to cook your own food.¡± ¡°I think most people who don¡¯t usually cook would find it novel as well. I did buy a portable cooking kit, remember? Do you want to have Tetsujin make the ingredients so we can try cooking again next time?¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll help out as well.¡± It looks like Mimi has taken a shine to cooking because of the dwarf-yaki. Well, just baking, boiling, or frying stuff isn¡¯t all thatplicated, so I guess I can teach Mimi what I know once we get the opportunity. Back on Earth, the first dish I ever learned to cook was just your average scrambled eggs. However, I¡¯ve never seen any real eggs in this dimension ever since I got here. Guess I¡¯ll check Tetsujin out first to see what types of ingredients it can actually produce. ¡°From what we¡¯ve seen, they don¡¯t really seem like bad people. They do get carried away sometimes, so that¡¯s somewhat of a fault. But their skills as mechanics and engineers are mostly ster, no?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I inquired with Space Dwerg and found that Tina¡¯s engineer rank evaluation is A and Whisker¡¯s is S.¡± ¡°So Whisker was actually the more talented of the two?¡± Elma sounded surprised as she gave a questioning look at May, who subtly shook her head. ¡°No, they are about equal. ording to Space Dwerg¡¯s evaluation criteria, in addition to an excellent service record, one would also have to render a significant technical contribution to thepany in order to be ranked S. I did not go so far as finding out what exactly her contribution was, however.¡± So, judging from her tone, it looks like May would be able to find out that particr piece of info even if Space Dwerg didn¡¯t specifically disclose it to her. If I ask her, I wonder if she really can? No, I bet she definitely could¡­.. It was a bit unsettling, so I better not bring it up. ¡°But basically, they are both really excellent in what they do, right? So what do you think, guys? I¡¯m leaning on letting theme aboard.¡± ¡°Can I ask the reasons why you¡¯re thinking about letting them join?¡± ¡°To put it simply, it¡¯s to reap the benefits even with the apanying bit of risk. There¡¯s a risk of having some info about us leak out by having Space Dwerg employees board our ship, but I think we can basically ignore that to a certain extent. The merits of having qualified engineers and mechanics aboard trumps that risk. And ording to May, there¡¯s no doubt those two are fairly skilled, so that¡¯s all the more reason to let them join.¡± ¡°I see. What do you think, Mimi?¡± After hearing my thoughts, Elma turned to Mimi to ask her opinion. It looks like Mimi¡¯s already formed her views on the matter, and she gave her answer without any pause. ¡°I did manage to get along with Whisker-san and Tina-san today, so I think it¡¯s okay as well. But if you want topletely eliminate the risk, wouldn¡¯t it be better to decline? We could just look for other skilled engineers not affiliated with Space Dwerg.¡± ¡°That would be really difficult, I think. Technology is advancing day by day. The engineers who have experience with thetest techniques and innovations are basically all working for certain establishedpanies. So skilled engineers that are not affiliated with saidpanies can only be found in academic institutions focused on technology and engineering or certain researchbs.¡± ¡°Okay. Well, there¡¯s also the option of increasing the maidroids like May-san and maintenance droids, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s also one method, but the costs of increasing the number of maidroids on par with my specs will be quite high. And also, it will be difficult for multiple AIs to serve the same master as well.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°We also have our own circumstances. It could work if it was only a temporary thing, but there would be someplications if you want something more permanent.¡± After saying so, May quieted down. It looks like she doesn¡¯t really want to talk about the situation of the AIs all that much. I could order her to continue disclosing the details here, but seeing as she looks ufortable with it, I don¡¯t really feel like doing that right now. But I was still a bit curious, so I¡¯ll try to talk about it with her when we¡¯re alone together. Yep. ¡°In other words, it¡¯s difficult to find skilled engineers who aren¡¯t tied up one way or another, right? Well, if I was a skilled engineer myself, I would definitely want to work for a reputablepany too.¡± ¡°Yes. Those who im to be skilled frence engineers are mostly quacks or people who¡¯ve been dismissed from work due to causing some sort of mishap.¡± ¡°Tina and Whisker would have been fired after causing an incident as well, if not for Hiro asking to go easy on them.¡± That¡¯s certainly true. They did injure a customer after all. I¡¯d say they barely hung on by the skin of their teeth. ¡°That¡¯s true. But I¡¯m not sure if we can get along with another set of people if we have them reced now. I personally wouldn¡¯t want a bearded old man tagging along with us.¡± Instead of that, cute twin sisters were way better, even if they were a bit problematic. They were definitely easier on the eyes, disregarding whether or not I would actuallyy my hands on them. ¡°You¡¯re really adamant about them huh? Did you really take a liking to them?¡± ¡°¡­¡­It¡¯s not really like that. It¡¯s just that if we were to reject them now, I can¡¯t imagine it ending well for them. It would kinda leave a bad taste in my mouth.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­? Well, if you say so Hiro, then I don¡¯t particrly have anything against it either. It would be no problem if May looked after those two anyway.¡± ¡°Yes. I will constantly monitor them with a mobile terminal to prevent them from doing anything suspicious.¡± ¡°Mobile terminal?¡± ¡°Yes. The same one Miro used back on Sierra III. Though the functions are more limited, they are smaller and more mobile.¡± ¡°Hee, so there¡¯s something like that as well.¡± We did interact with a volleyball-sized floating terminal that Miro used as its interface back on Sierra III. So it looks like May is able to use something like it as well. ¡°There would be limits if I were to control multiple terminals, but controlling just two would pose no problems.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ I did offer some options, but if Hiro-sama is okay with letting them board, then I¡¯m fine with it as well. Like I said earlier, I did manage to get along well with them today.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s decided then. It would be fine for those two to room up in the mothership, right?¡± ¡°That would be ideal. It would be best if they secure rooms near the hangar.¡± ¡°So they¡¯ll be pretty close by huh. Let¡¯s try to get along with them well then.¡± ¡°Yeah. If nothing else crops up, we¡¯ll go through with it.¡± And so, it was decided to let those sisters onboard as we discussed while walking back to the hotel. ¡ºI see. Well then, I¡¯ll tell the two of them the good news and have them prepare ordingly.¡» The next day. I contacted Sara and told her the decision to let the twins on board. ¡°Yeah, please do. I¡¯ll leave the interior of their rooms up to you guys, but I have some requests regarding the interior of the rest of the mothership. I¡¯ll send you the datater, so please use it as a reference. Basically, it¡¯ll go up by a grade or two.¡± ¡ºUnderstood. We will be waiting for the data then.¡» ¡°Yeah.¡± I turned my data terminal off after cutting the call with Sara. Alright then, what should I do today¡­? As I was lost in thought, someone hugged me from behind. It wasn¡¯t all that soft, so¡­¡­! It¡¯s probably Elma, huh. ¡°Guuuoo¡­!?¡± ¡°You¡¯re thinking of something rude again, aren¡¯t you?¡± I tapped on the arm that was wrapping around my neck in surrender. She was able to read my thoughts even if she didn¡¯t see my expression huh. Or rather, I¡¯m gonna fall. I¡¯m gonna fall, so stop clinging onto me like that. But just where was she getting all this power even though she had really delicate-looking arms? ¡°Haa¡­¡­ haa¡­.. Man. You¡¯re so enthusiastic even this early in the morning, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just passionate. So, are you nning on going somewhere today?¡± ¡°I was thinking about it. Why?¡± ¡°You¡¯re restless as always, huh¡­¡­ We¡¯re finally staying in such a ritzy hotel, so why don¡¯t you take this opportunity to rx more? Honestly.¡± Elma sighed in exasperation and sat down next to me. Then she forcibly pulled my head down on herp. A forcedp pillow huh. ¡°We¡¯re finally on a break after so long, so stop being a busybody and just rx. Isn¡¯t deepening the bond with his crew members also a captain¡¯s responsibility?¡± ¡°Now there¡¯s an opinion I don¡¯t hear much about. But if Elma says so, then I guess I¡¯ll justply obediently.¡± ¡°Good boy.¡± I found it kind of a luxury spending time leisurely like this without doing anything. Maybe it¡¯s a habit from back when I was just your typical poor sryman, but I still felt it would be my loss if I didn¡¯t do something productive in my free time. ¡°What about Mimi?¡± ¡°Oh c¡¯mon you. I¡¯m giving you ap pillow and yet¡­ Well, I guess it¡¯s fine. It looks like she¡¯s holed up in her room and is busy with her data terminal. It looks like the dwarf-yaki yesterday really made an impression on her. She¡¯s researching the various gourmet spots in the colony.¡± ¡°Okay?¡± But it¡¯s not like she needed to stay inside her room to do that, right? It would be fine even if she joined us in the living area to do her research. ¡°¡­¡­It looks like it¡¯s my turn to have you all to myself today, so she went out of her way to give us some space.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Hey!¡± Elma lightly hit my head when I started to rub my cheek on herp. But she didn¡¯t really look angry. Rather, she was actually smiling happily. Anyway, it¡¯s decided I would spend my time rxing today, so that¡¯s that folks. Chapter 126 Chapter 126 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone And so, I spent the entire day happily flirting with Elma. The next day, I went out together with Mimi on a food trip all over the colony. We began with grilled skewer stalls, then went on to takoyaki-looking stuff filled with mysterious ingredients, live seafood restaurants, meat restaurants serving artificial, cultured, and even natural meat, and so on. We thoroughly enjoyed the local dwarven cuisine. In any case, we resolved to stop visiting live seafood restaurants after trying it once. Cuz it was inly unappetizing, y¡¯see. They served things that looked like those parasitic alien creatures in games and movies y¡¯see. And to think we were supposed to eat something that looked like a huge alien spiny lobster fresh. It was still twitching y¡¯know. I had Mimi take a video, but it turned out to be something right out of an SF horror flick. Well, if you ask me whether or not it was tasty¡­ Uh, I guess it was¡­ Yeah¡­ And afterward, I sent my proposal for the refurbishment of the mothership¡¯s interior to Space Dwerg. We nned to spend most of our time inside Krishna, but there might be times when we need to entertain guests and the like, and we also needed a ce to stay if Krishna is sent for an overhaul again. And so, I made several upgrade requests to the facilities that will be installed inside the mothership. It turned out quite expensive, but Space Dwerg suggested something to cover the costs. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°Test pilot huh.¡± ¡ºYes. We are in great need for test pilots who¡¯ll fly ourtest prototypes, obtain data, and give us first-hand impressions regarding our products.¡» We received a notice from the Mercenary Guild that Space Dwerg applied for a request addressed specifically to us in the morning, so we went and contacted Sara for the specifics. We were, of course, still inside the hotel room. Since we were renting a high-ss suite room, it came equipped with arge holo-disy with a telmunications function for video calls. ¡°I¡¯m aware that it¡¯s a rare opportunity, but¡­ what¡¯s up with the 1,500,000 Enel reward just for serving as a test pilot?¡± ¡°I also think it¡¯s a bit too much. A Gold ranker¡¯s hiring price is usually 80,000 Enels per day, so this is quite arge sum inparison. Why is that?¡± Under the contract, we were supposed to serve as test pilots for five days, and in doing so, the 1,500,000 Enel price for refurbishing the interior of the mothership will be waived entirely. It was a great offer, but it seemed just a bit too generous, so we suspected a catch. ¡ºI hope you can think of this as part of our sincere apology for all the trouble we¡¯ve caused this far. And of course, that price includes the hush money in order topel you from talking about ourtest technological advances to unrted parties. It¡¯s really not such an absurd amount.¡» ¡°I see. So it includes a hush fee. That makes sense, right?¡± Mimi, who was beside me, nodded her head and was seemingly convinced. So this much is appropriate for hush money huh. Well, I¡¯m sure the apology for their blunders factored in a lot as well. ¡°I¡¯m more or less okay with the reward. Then, can you give me some detailed specifics regarding the job?¡± ¡ºYes, of course. Then¨C¡» To sum up Sara¡¯s exnation, we were going to serve as test pilots for one of Space Dwerg¡¯s experimental prototype ships, gather data, and provide our objective impressions. Several safety measures have been implemented beforehand, but in the off chance that something did happen, she told us what to watch out for and what to do in case of emergencies. ¡°It won¡¯t suddenly explode on our faces or something, I hope.¡± ¡ºWe pride ourselves on the reliability and safety of our products, so please rest assured.¡» Sara¡¯s image on the other side of the screen disyed a confident smile. Even if you say that, I can¡¯t say I can muster the same level of confidence given what I saw the other day with those swarming dwarven mechanics with crazy looks in their eyes. I remember hearing about Whisker developing some problematic thruster systems as well. ¡°I¡¯ll just pray that¡¯s the case then. So, how should we prepare for it and where do we report for the job?¡± After about an hour, I found myself wearing a skin-tight pilot suit inside a hangar where several of Space Dwerg¡¯s prototype ships were parked. I was currently receiving a lecture about the ship we were supposed to test. ¡°This ship is Space Dwerg¡¯s attempt at developing a next-gen high-speedbat starship. We incorporated our expertise in making tough, reliable ships into the design and made sure it had the best mobility as well. ¡­Uh, that¡¯s what we¡¯re aiming for anyway.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a roundabout way of describing it.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s because our in-house test pilots can¡¯t even make use of this baby¡¯s full potential¡­¡­ At best, they can bring out 50% of the theoretical specs.¡± ¡°50% huh.¡± That¡¯s interesting. If they could only bring out half of what the ship was capable of based on its specs, it¡¯s either the pilots just in suck, the ship¡¯s setting are problematic in the first ce, or there was a mistake in the overall design. Or maybe it was just that hard to pilot. ¡°Well¡­ just try riding it first.¡± ¡°Guess so.¡± I received a helmet with a built-in HUD from an engineer and started heading for the prototype ship we¡¯ll be piloting for today. When I got in front of the ship, I found Mimi and Elma, who had also finished their preparations, standing nearby. They were also wearing skin-tight pilot suits. ¡°Mm. Now that¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°It is, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°S-Stop it, you two. It¡¯s a bit embarrassing if you stare at me like that.¡± Elma nodded at my words while Mimi¡¯s face reddened as she attempted to cover her bountiful chest with her arms. The skin-tight pilot suit enhanced Mimi¡¯s bombshell figure even further and emphasized her amazing chest assets. It looks like a lot of the dwarven engineers (mainly the men) were also attracted to the overwhelming sight presented by the pilot-suit wearing Mimi. Hey, guys, she¡¯s my girl, so don¡¯t stare too much, okay. ¡°L-Let¡¯s hurry up and board already!¡± ¡°Fine, fine.¡± We got pushed by Mimi and boarded the ship. Since it was a prototype, the interior looked pretty bare. There¡¯s practically nothing that enhances the livability installed. Well, I expected as much anyway. ¡°It would be bad if we get into some sort of ident and get stranded huh.¡± ¡°It seems the cargo hold was loaded with at least a week¡¯s worth of water and food. Since this ship is a prototype, it¡¯s also loaded with powerful beacons, so don¡¯t worry too much.¡± Well, we were conducting the test on a site near the colony, so I guess we would be rescued immediately if an ident urred. ¡°Let¡¯s start with the set-up then. There¡¯s a lot that¡¯s different from Krishna, so pay attention, alright.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± We wore our helmets and started prepping the aircraft forunch. I mainly focused on the OS, while Elma checked the control systems, and Mimi checked the radar andm equipment. ¡°It looks like the power loses out to Krishna, as expected.¡± Elma, who was checking the propulsion systems, sighed. ¡°Krishna¡¯s generator is special after all. It seems even Space Dwerg¡¯s engineers couldn¡¯t analyze it.¡± Krishna¡¯s extreme maneuverability and its powerful shields, as well as the fourrge-caliber pulseser cannons that gave it heavy-cruiser ss firepower all relied on the said generator. In other words, Krishna¡¯s special generator served as its heart and allowed full use of its other superb features. It was an extremely peculiar ship that wasparable to a heavy-cruiser despite being a small craft. When I first got a load of the generator output back when I was ying SOL, I thought it was a bug, and checked it three times just to be sure. In any case, I told them strongly not to fiddle with it since they couldn¡¯t analyze it, so there should be no problem. I was honestly still worried, but if I can¡¯t leave it to the professionals, then I¡¯d have no choice but to maintain Krishna myself. I don¡¯t think I¡¯d do a good job if it came to that, so in the end, I still have to leave it in other¡¯s hands. If we can build enough rapport with Tina and Whisker and earn mutual trust, I would be able to rest easier. ¡°There¡¯s no problems with the radar andmunication systems.¡± ¡°Yosh. We¡¯re taking out the prototype. I¡¯ll leave it to you, Mimi.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mimi contacted the control room of the prototype ship hangar and informed them we were ready to set off. Afterward, we¡¯ll just need to follow the port control¡¯s instructions and fly the ship out of the colony. ¡°How is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit slow. The reaction speed is one tempo slower.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because the frames of Space Dwerg ships are basically on the heavier side and sport thick armoring. Hence, it¡¯s quite sturdy, but it kinda doesn¡¯t fit with my or your style because we favor speed and mobility more.¡± Fortunately, I was able to adjust to the ship¡¯s handling pretty quickly, but the moment we left the hangar, we experienced some turbulence. This was because of the reaction speed being fairly slow like I said earlier. If you manage to understeer or oversteer the ship, you could fire up the auxiliary thrusters in order to correct your position, but if you don¡¯t have enough grasp of the thruster¡¯s output, the ship will end up shaking just like earlier. ¡°Man. The auto-bncer and the gyro of this thing sucks. Normally, the ship will correct itself via auto-pilot and wouldn¡¯t shake like this.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s a software problem rather than a hardware one huh. If we knew it¡¯ll turn out like this, we could have brought May as well.¡± May headed to Brad colony¡¯s Orient Corporation branch today to undergo scheduled maintenance. May would have no problems identifying this kind of software trouble because of her nature as an AI, so we could have found the root cause if she were here. ¡°Space Dwerg normally focuses onrger ships, so they shouldn¡¯t have much experience developing a small, mobile ship like this one. Maybe that¡¯s why their software isn¡¯t up to par.¡± Yeah. Those dwarves really looked like they were hardware nuts after all. But it¡¯s because they¡¯re hardware nuts that maybe the problem isn¡¯t the software after all. Maybe they just designed a crazy ship without considering ease of use and focused on specs. Man, I sure hope not. They wouldn¡¯t, right? Ugh. ¡°The gate is open.¡± ¡°Yosh. We¡¯re moving out.¡± Weunched the ship out into space from the gate leading out onto the test site. First, I¡¯ll have to get used to the ship¡¯s handling. ¡°Mm¡­ It really is one tempo slower.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡­¡± Elma let out an exasperated sigh after hearing mein again. This prototype, which relied on high-powered thrusters in order to forcefully shove mobility and speed into such a heavy frame,pletely adhered to the ¡®power is all you need¡¯ philosophy. Due to the ship¡¯s weight, the resulting inertia was quite strong, and that led to difficulties in making sharp maneuvers. However, because the output of the auxiliary attitude control thrusters was high as well, you could attempt some fairly interesting maneuvers if you manage to make full use of them. Even if the resulting inertia is stronger than usual, hence making the ship prone to oversteering, if you manage the directional thrusters well, you should be able topensate for it to an extent. So if the reaction is one tempo slow, I¡¯ll just have to pilot it one tempo faster than usual. Also, because the main thrusters sport a considerably high output, its speed when going straight was quite amazing. However, due to the high inertia, one mistake could lead to an unfortunate ident if you weren¡¯t careful. So flying this thing in a ce with lots of obstacles like an asteroid belt wasn¡¯t advisable. In other words, this thing isn¡¯t able to make sharp, sudden turns and brake well. Conversely, it would be phenomenal if it fought in a ce with few obstacles. It will be able to catch up to prey quite easily with its overwhelming speed and bring it down. It might not do well in a chaotic melee, but it would be great for hit-and-run tactics. Its speed was great and had thick armor, so if you load it with high-powered weapon systems, it would be perfect for hit-and-run. ¡°It¡¯s handling really is quite a bit different from Krishna.¡± ¡°It being a heavy and well-armored ship trying to be a high-speed fighter does lend quite a bit of character to it after all.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re still able to pilot it with no problems, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Well, just this much isn¡¯t that hard. This girl is still way easier to pilot than Elma¡¯s Gctic Swan.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Hey. The Swan is a great ship, y¡¯know.¡± ¡°Uhuh. It sure is great for a flying space casket with an unpredictable tendency to self-destruct.¡± That ship had an even more powerful thruster system than this prototype despite its looks after all. That made it an absurdly difficult unit to fly ¨C a veritable wild horse. Compared to it, this thing, whose only problem was being one tempo slow due to being too heavy, was a lot easier to handle. ¡ºThis is Control. Can you hear me, Hammer Seven?¡» After we got used to handling the ship, the control room of the test facility finally contacted us. Hammer Seven was this prototype ship¡¯s name. ¡°Yes, this is Hammer Seven. We hear you loud and clear.¡± ¡ºWe¡¯re starting the test. Please take your position at the designated coordinates.¡» ¡°Hammer Seven, roger. I will mark the coordinates on the nav, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Yeah, roger that.¡± I started flying Hammer Seven and followed the directions disyed on my helmet¡¯s HUD. Now then, it¡¯s been a while since I piloted a ship other than Krishna. Better enjoy this to the fullest then. Chapter 127 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone 127 ¨C End of Hotel Stay The first day of us serving as test pilots ended without any problems. Uh, maybe not totally problem-free, but we pulled through, I guess. Anyway, wepleted our job without a hitch. There were no problems with the weapons test of the prototype ship Hammer Seven. There were a total of four hardpoints where weapon systems could be installed on the ship. It was an average number for a small craft. They were all ced on the upper sections of the hull, so all firepower was concentrated there, leaving the bottompletely bare of weaponry. The two main guns were trained out front while the secondary weapons covered both nks. Basically, I think one can judge if a ship has an optimum set-up for weapon hardpoints on whether or not the positioning will allow it to have the ability to focus fire all its weapons from a direction other than the front of the ship. For example, in the case of a ship with four hardpoints, if one each is ced on the top, bottom, left, and right sides of the ship, you can only focus fire with three turrets at maximum except for firing directly forward. That means one turret is essentially dead if you don¡¯t concentrate fire to the front. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 In this case, it would be better to ce the hard points in positions which allow Hammer Seven to easily reach maximum firepower in one direction even if you had to leave the bottom of the ship weaponless and a potential blind spot. That¡¯s what I think anyway. Some folks may ce more importance on eliminating blind spots, so I can¡¯t say my take on it is absolute. After all, you can¡¯t make good use of my set-up if you don¡¯t have the piloting skills to match. And so, regarding that little problem I mentioned at the start¡­ ¡°The ship does perform as the specs suggested! What the heck are you on about!?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no problem with the software! There¡¯s only ag in the reaction time because the calction of the weight to thrust ratio is wrong! The data here proves it!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no problem with our calctions! The software problem just gotpensated by the skills of the pilot!¡± ¡°The software is perfect! The mistake in the weight to thrust ratio is the one beingpensated for by the pilot¡¯s skills, you fool! The data corroborates this!¡± After the performance test, I seeded to clock in numbers that exceeded the expected values. Well, if the ship¡¯s only problem is being one tempo slow, I just had to operate it one tempo faster topensate. And once I got used to its tendency to oversteer or understeer, I was able to perform some interesting maneuvers. And so, I made up for the dy in the reaction time with my skills. I wasn¡¯t sure if the cause of the problem was the hardware or software side of the spectrum, so I just suggested they look into both and implement some improvements based on the results. And that led to themotion going on right now. Maybe the hardware and software engineers didn¡¯t get along much, so they both kept passing the buck and pointing at the other party as the one at fault. Well, it¡¯s not my job to meddle in the spats of apany¡¯s employees anyway. My main responsibility was to serve as a test pilot, and I believe I did a pretty good job. ¡°In any case, I have noints at all regarding the ship¡¯s speed when cruising in a straight line. They are also affected by the one tempo dy, but all in all, I think there are no pressing problems with the turning speed and rolling speed either. However, since the ship is heavy, sharp and nimble maneuvers are next to impossible. With its top speed, I think it will be put to good use on hit-and-run tactics which takes full advantage of its speed and thick armor, or by pilots that can simrly make use of its quirks to keep enemies firmly in their crosshairs just like I did. And since the positions of the hardpoints are concentrated on the top half of the ship, I think it¡¯s a unit that can only be put to good use by highly skilled pros.¡± I would have liked to share more of my impressions if the dwarven engineers didn¡¯t start to fight amongst themselves. These guys. Honestly. ¡°I see¡­¡­ Can I ask what you mercenaries consider as a ship that¡¯s easy to handle for reference?¡± ¡°Of course. This is just my personal opinion, but first, it has to be straightforward. What I mean is that it¡¯s better for a ship to have at least a standard response time. That¡¯s a really important factor.¡± ¡°Oh. So, cing importance on ease of handling eh?¡± ¡°Next is some good defensive capabilities, but I think most mercenaries ce more importance on tougher energy shields rather than thicker and more durable armor. Of course, having thicker armor is a good thing, but it does affect maneuverability. And also, there are no mercs who¡¯d prefer to tank shots with their ship¡¯s armor rather than the energy shield. It costs more money to rece damaged armor after all. The costs will add up, and that¡¯s not something mercs wee at all. In this aspect, energy shields are more cost-effective, don¡¯t you think? A ship¡¯s armor serves as itsst line of defense once its shields are down, but I think most mercs would immediately escape when their shields start showing signs of going down anyway. There are next to no mercs who¡¯d rather stay and fight once their energy shields are down, I think.¡± There¡¯s also the fact that armor upgrades cost a ton more Enel than energy shield emitter upgrades. There¡¯s a saying that you can¡¯t show off your strength if you don¡¯t spend money, but conversely, you can¡¯t just spend money on pointless stuff. ¡°Umu, I see.¡± ¡°In terms of overall firepower, I think smallbat starships should be outfitted with at least two ss 2 weapons. If you can make it so it can actually be equipped with one ss 3 weapon, I think it will turn out to be quite popr. ss 1 weapons are frankly no good. Mercenaries would be more willing to purchase ships that can equip ss 2 weapons by default no matter how few the number rather than ones which can equip lots of ss 1 weapons.¡± ss 1 weapons are what you can consider as small arms. ss 2 is the middle ground and ss 3 weapons are the heavyweights. By the way, Krishna¡¯s pulseser cannons and ballistic shot cannons are all considered ss 3. It¡¯s a small craft, but it sports a total of six ss 3 weapons plus anti-ship reactive torpedoes. That makes Krishna¡¯s overall firepower on par with a heavy cruiser. Normally, you can only equip a maximum of one ss 3 weapon on a small ship, and those ships are already considered top-of-the-line. ¡°Thank you. These will be very helpful.¡± The dwarf engineer finished typing my words on his tablet terminal, bowed to me in gratitude, and joined the fray of his quarreling peers. It looks like he¡¯s gonna finally put a stop to it. Do your best, man. ¡°Are you finished?¡± After the engineer left me, Elma called out. It looks like the girls also finished their report. ¡°Yeah. It looks like you guys finished early though.¡± ¡°Yes. There were no problems with the radar andmunication systems. It looks like it was the same for Elma-san too.¡± ¡°Well, Space Dwerg is known for the toughness and reliability of their products, so I guess it isn¡¯t much of a surprise. I really can¡¯t say the same for the overall performance of the ship though. There¡¯s no point in a ship that can¡¯t be piloted unless you make strange unorthodox maneuvers like Hiro. It¡¯s totally out.¡± ¡°C¡¯mon. They aren¡¯t that strange¡­¡­¡± Uh, I guess if you don¡¯t get used to the oversteer and understeer, you¡¯d likely end up spinning endlessly in space like an out of control ice skater. But that can be made up with practice. Yup. You have to start with mastering the timing for the auto-bncer and gyro. You¡¯d probably end up puking in space a few times, but that¡¯s just how it is. I did manage to experience that in front of aputer screen back on Earth, and I felt sick even then, so I guess the experience will be a good magnitude worse if you do it for real. ¡°So what will we do now?¡± It seems the turmoil subsided before it grew worse, but the engineer¡¯s faces still looked positively miffed. A dwarven engineer with a slightly tired look on his face approached us. It was the guy who was talking with me earlier. ¡°We¡¯re stopping with the tests for today, so your jobs are finished as well. We¡¯ll be counting on you again tomorrow though.¡± ¡°I see. Guess we have some free time then.¡± I turned toward Mimi and Elma and saw them nod in response. We took off the skin-tight pilot suits and changed back to our normal clothes. We then exited the Space Dwerg testing facility. Afterpleting the five-day test pilot gig, we were once again back to a life of leisure and rxation. Well, we weren¡¯t exactly keeping idle because we spent the majority of our time touring the colony and enjoying the sights. What about the test pilot gig? There¡¯s isn¡¯t really much toment about, actually. I just yed around with the prototype the whole time and got Mimi and Elma blue in the face because of thecking inertial control system. That¡¯s probably because it was a prototype, and not everything had been adjusted optimally. But they eventually got used to it in thetter half of the five-day stint. ¡°Hey, hey, boss. Are you free today?¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s no good, big sis¡­¡­¡± Tina plopped her head on myp as I sat on the sofa and began flirting with me. Whisker got all panicky after witnessing her sister¡¯s brazen actions. I don¡¯t really mind you doing that since you do look cute, but aren¡¯t you too casual, Tina? ¡°Mmmgh!¡± I pinched Tina¡¯s nose, who was enjoying myp pillow without a care. Hahaha, now your cute face is ruined. ¡°She just did that so naturally¡­¡­ I¡¯ll have to step up as well.¡± ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you quite something, dwarf.¡± Mimi and Elma, who were lounging around the nearby table, looked at Tina as if she was a formidable foe. I¡¯m not all bothered by it because I didn¡¯t really look at Tina in that way. Honestly speaking, I saw her more like a small pet such as a dog or cat rather than a romantic partner. ¡°So, uh¡­ there¡¯s about five days left until the mothership gets finished, right?¡± ¡°Yes. If everything goes on schedule, it will get finished after about 120 hours. There seem to be no dys in the work, so it will most likely get finished on schedule.¡± May, who was standing right next to the sofa as she looked after me, answered my question. ¡°It looks like Krishna¡¯s about to roll out as well.¡± ¡°Yes. They¡¯re a littlete, but it seems they will finish the overhaul by today. I was told they will be handing it over by tomorrow due to them needing to finish reloading the luggage onboard.¡± ¡°I see.¡± If that¡¯s the case, then I guess this is ourst day staying in this fancy hotel. ¡°Are you guys okay with your preparations, Tina?¡± ¡°Hm, of course, boss. We¡¯ve done all the necessary paperwork and packed our things, so we¡¯ll be ready to board the mothership once it gets finished.¡± Tina, whose nose I was still pinching, answered with a confident grin on her lips. I turned toward Whisker and saw her nod several times in agreement. Guess there¡¯s no problem then. I hope. ¡°Good. Hm¡­¡­ Let¡¯s see. How about we visit that luxurious restaurant you mentioned the other day, Tina?¡± After hearing my words, Mimi sat up straight away. Ok, ok, of course, I¡¯ll take Mimi along as well, so don¡¯t be so anxious. I¡¯ll take Elma too, of course. I remember her eyes twinkling when she heard they stocked up on famous liquors around the gxy. And so, that night, Tina led us to the restaurant in question¡­¡­ and I found myself eating yakitori in a restaurant called Yakitori. Yeah, I know what you guys want to say. This so-called luxurious restaurant served yakitori and even named itself as Yakitori after all. It seems it was a restaurant that used real chicken meat bred from a farm two systems out. It wasn¡¯t as expensive as that Kobe beef I encountered back then, but it was still quite pricey. One skewer costs 15 Enels. Ain¡¯t that too pricey? If you convert it to Japanese Yen, you¡¯d end up with 1500 Yen a pop. Mimi was impressed by the taste of real chicken while Elma was satisfied with the taste of those famous liquors. The sisters were gushing about the taste of yakitori butmented the fact that they were banned from drinking as they watched Elma chug down bottle after bottle. They were looking at Elma like she was their parent¡¯s murderer. It was honestly a bit creepy. It looks like they still weren¡¯t past the liquor ban. ¡°You don¡¯t look like you¡¯re enjoying this much, Master.¡± ¡°Uh, yeah¡­¡­¡± Cuz it¡¯s just your standard yakitori, y¡¯know! I would honestly cry tears of joy if they served authentic carbonated c here, but unfortunately, apart from liquor, they only served water and 100% all-natural fruit juice, which was insanely expensive. One ss was 100 Enels. That¡¯s highway robbery. I¡¯ll just stick with 3 Enel sses of water. And so, ourst night staying at the hotel ended in such a fashion. Chapter 128 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone And so came the next day after we enjoyed organic chicken meat yakitori. When we received word that the loading of the luggage inside Krishna was finished, we finally checked out of the hotel and headed for the workshop where the Krishna underwent an overhaul. ¡°We¡¯re finallying home.¡± ¡°Krishna is our ship, but it¡¯s also kind of our home huh.¡± ¡°It¡¯s prettyfy inside after all.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°I personally think it¡¯s no good if a ship¡¯s interior is unsuitable forfortable habitation after all.¡± In Elma¡¯s case, her image of a normal mercenary ship is pretty spartan and no-nonsense. I and Mimi don¡¯t share that opinion, and so we changed the proposal for the interior of the mothership to be clean, functional, and highly livable. It was a good use of our hard-earned money in my opinion. By the way, the hatchet guns, which were the new power armor-use weapons designed by Tina and supervised by May, should have already been loaded along with the other luggage as well. It might be good to try the guns out once we finish overhauling the power armor. I guess I¡¯ll look for jobs that require the use of power armorter. That¡¯s only if there actually were jobs requiring the use of power armor and swinging weapons around. I don¡¯t think this colony has those types of jobs avable¡­ Wait, maybe it does? Hmm. This colony is quite big after all. And it looked fairly old too. There¡¯s a lot of ship traffic, so ¡®those guys¡¯ might be lurking somewhere as well. Yeah, I¡¯m sure they are¡­¡­ Mm, if there¡¯s a job involving ¡®them¡¯, I¡¯ll be more than happy to take it. ¡°Why are you making a difficult face all of a sudden, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Well, since I got the power armor overhauled and received new weapons, I was thinking of taking jobs that will allow me to use them to test them out in the field.¡± ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s it. Yeah, it wouldn¡¯t surprise me if those kinds of jobs were avable in this colony after all.¡± Elma looked convinced as she nodded. ¡°What are you two talking about?¡± Mimi tilted her head in bewilderment since she couldn¡¯t get what I and Elma were referring to. It looks like she has totally no idea. ¡°Termaine Prime was a rtively new colony, so I guess ¡®they¡¯ haven¡¯t cropped up over there yet. But this Brad Prime colony looks like it¡¯s been here a good while, so perhaps the countermeasures for dealing with ¡®them¡¯ are no longer as effective, or maybe they¡¯ve just given up altogether.¡± ¡°¡­¡­?¡± Mimi still couldn¡¯t get what Elma was referring to and kept tilting her head in confusion. ¡°I¡¯m talking about the Abandoned. Or would calling them illegal residents ring more bells for you?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡­¡± Mimi finally understood what Elma was referring to and her expression clouded over. The Abandoned is a term used to call people who have been literally abandoned by the government to fend on their own. In other words, it¡¯s much like how Mimi was before I ended up rescuing her. In Termaine Prime, in exchange for the government basically not caring one whit about them, they were allowed to live inside the colony as long as they stayed in one specific block and never stepped beyond it. The colony only provided breathable air. Any other things necessary for a living would have to be secured by their own hands. Frankly, the colony higher-ups wouldn¡¯t really care if they starved to death. And there definitely were lots of them who up and died just like that. In exchange for not cracking down hard on them, the colony higher-ups wouldn¡¯t care for them at all either. They were people who were not treated as legitimate residents, and to arge extent, weren¡¯t even treated like people in the first ce. That¡¯s what the Abandoned are. They may have been a former regr resident who fell from grace due to some reason or other, a person who was left behind by the ship he or she was staying on, a stowaway who secretly disembarked and settled in¡­ Their origins greatly vary. A fairly old colony like Brad Prime should have lots of these Abandoned staying inside it. ¡°But what does that have to do with mercenary work?¡± ¡°Sometimes, we¡¯re hired to deal with the Abandoned. Dead or alive.¡± ¡°Eh!?¡± Mimi disyed an appalled expression. Well, I guess she would. That¡¯s cause we¡¯re basically talking about taking out power armor and using its weapons to kill the Abandoned en masse. ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯re hired to get rid of people like those staying on Termaine Prime¡¯s third block. The ones we¡¯re hired to capture or kill are those on the shadier side of the spectrum. In other words, it¡¯s those associated with gangs, mafia, and other organized crime groups.¡± ¡°¡­¡­What kind of people are they?¡± ¡°Oh, lots of kinds. Some people arm themselves, upy a section of the colony, and mess around with the piping in order to obtain oxygen and various chemical substances. Some deal with pirates and provide them with useful intel in exchange for cash and benefits. Some even go as far as kidnapping regr residents and literally preying on them.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡­¡± Mimi turned blue in the face. I was also surprised. I did know about those armed mafia groups, but to think there were actually those who actively engaged in cannibalism as well¡­¡­ What a shock. ¡°¡­¡­Err, how about I rent a training facility for the test instead? I kinda don¡¯t want to get involved in that sort of stuff after all.¡± ¡°That would be good. There are those among us mercenaries who specialize in those kinds of jobs after all. Better just leave it to them. It doesn¡¯t suit you, Hiro.¡± ¡°Yeah. You¡¯re right.¡± And so, we got a glimpse of the dark underbelly of colony life. ¡°Hiya everyone.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting for you all.¡± ¡°H-Hey.¡± When we arrived at the workshop, we found Tina and Whisker already waiting for us there. I couldn¡¯t spot the chief engineer anywhere. Oh, right. He was undergoing re-training, I believe. He must be in the middle of that right now. ¡°What¡¯s up, you two?¡± ¡°Since we¡¯re finally handing it over, we were wondering if we could try riding on the Krishna as well. So we came here and waited for you all.¡± After saying that, Tina made puppy dog eyes filled with expectation at me. I don¡¯t really mind taking them for a spin though. ¡°We¡¯re just going to be flying it to the public docks y¡¯know?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. We just want to personally experience how Krishna flies with our own bodies. Is it okay, boss?¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t mind.¡± Tina disyed an overjoyed smile. Whisker sighed in relief. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something to get all worked up about though. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s go ahead and prep the ship first. Do we need to do any other procedures in order to take it out?¡± Afterpleting the necessary procedures with the deputy workshop manager, everyone, including the two sisters, finally boarded Krishna. ¡°May, go check if they¡¯ve done anything weird.¡± ¡°Yes, leave it to me, Master.¡± As soon as we entered the ship and closed the hatch, I had May check the interior in order to see if there was anything amiss. May proceeded to thoroughly check each section, starting with the cargo hold. After witnessing that, Tina made an awkward grin. ¡°You¡¯re really careful boss¡­¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to get hit with any surprises after all.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll do our best to gain your trust.¡± ¡°¡­¡­I hope so.¡± That said, it would be difficult to ce ourplete trust in them as long as they were still Space Dwerg employees. Personally, I find them amusing, but from their point of view, they may prioritize the interests of Space Dwerg over their own. ¡°Well, once we fly out to space, it¡¯s sayonara to stuffy corporate life.¡± ¡°It¡¯s liberating not to have our superiors breathing down our necks all the time, isn¡¯t it, big sis?¡± ¡°We can drink all the booze we want too!¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Hey Space Dwerg, is this really okay? Are you really okay sending out these two? Well, I do understand that it would be really difficult. What I mean is that it would be difficult to board a mercenary ship, especially ours, and act like corporate spies. In the first ce, even if they somehow managed to slip past May¡¯s surveince, they would have a really hard time sending out their collected data back to Space Dwerg. It would be easier if we operated just one or two systems away from Brad, but mercs like us normally hop around dozens of star systems in search of work and profit. It would be really difficult to send any info back in that situation. Space Dwerg is apany that owns several industrial colonies within the empire, so they might not need to send info directly to the Brad branch, but it would still be fairly difficult. If they did a poor job of it and were discovered, they¡¯d be thrown out of the ship and marooned on an uninhabited or abandoned space colony, or maybe even directly thrown out into open space¡­ At least I¡¯ve heard of those instances happen. There¡¯s no doubt that conducting espionage was a very risky affair for the sisters. And we don¡¯t exactly know what sort of instructions they received from Space Dwerg either. But perhaps Space Dwerg will consider receiving updates on how we make names for ourselves while using thetest mothership model from theirpany as a more profitable affairpared to engaging in shady stuff. With that factored in, I don¡¯t think they¡¯d do things behind my back that will ruin our working rtionship. But I still wouldn¡¯t know for sure. ¡°In any case, we didn¡¯t really receive any weird instructions from thepany. They only told us to do our job as best we could in order to earn your trust, boss.¡± ¡°It¡¯s as big sis said. Rather, I¡¯d totally not participate even if they were to order us to spy or something. May-san is scary after all.¡± ¡°It¡¯s impossible.¡± ¡°It really is.¡± The sisters nodded to each other in mutual understanding. Hm. Yeah, I get you both. It would be an absolute scary affair to go behind my back and do something shady on May¡¯s watch after all. If I were in their shoes, I¡¯d also not do anything of the sort. I wouldn¡¯t dare even if thepany insisted. I don¡¯t want to die after all. ¡°Okay, guys. Let¡¯s end all that tedious talk for now. We¡¯ll berades in arms from now on, so let¡¯s try and get along.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. First, let¡¯s have our head chef brew us some rxing tea.¡± ¡°Oh, so you guys have thetest model of the Tetsujin series installed huh. I¡¯m definitely interested.¡± ¡°Um¡­¡­¡± Whisker gazed at me with upturned eyes. Yeah, yeah, my bad. ¡°¡­¡­The dessert menu is also delicious. I rmend pudding.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± Whisker made a relieved smile. I¡¯m curious how much of that was actually on purpose, but I guess I¡¯ll leave it at that for now. I left the sisters to Mimi and proceeded with checking the ship. The cargo should have increased by a fair amount, so I¡¯ll have to organize them. Chapter 129 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Fumu. That should do it, I guess.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I left Mimi, Elma, and the sisters inside the dining room and proceeded to the cargo hold in order to organize the cargo with May. By the way, I only organized the power armor and weapons. Everything else was left for May to handle. ¡°Thanks for your help as always, May. I¡¯m trying not to rely on you for everything though, but it looks like I¡¯m not doing a good job.¡± ¡°Is that so. But I will be more than happy if you relied on me more, Master.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 May, whose hands were filled with cargo, moved in front of me with great momentum. The pressure she¡¯s emitting was really great. ¡°I¡¯m just thinking it would be bad to rely on you for everything. I don¡¯t want to be too idle and be slovenly.¡± May was handling almost everything on top of monitoring the sisters after all. ¡°Hm. By the way, May, how are those two? Anything going on?¡± ¡°They seem to be fine for the most part.¡± May put the items she was carrying down and turned toward me once more. ¡°In addition, I do think the merits of letting those two aboard outweigh the risks and demerits as well. And Master has already approved of them as well, so I will just do my part and ensure nothing goes wrong.¡± ¡°I see. By the way, what risks and demerits were you referring to, exactly?¡± ¡°The first things to pay attention to is Tina¡¯s hasty conduct and Whisker¡¯s tendency to entertain oundish ideas and the potential resulting problems from said behaviors. The possibility of an incident much like when Master first met with the two of them happening again in the future isn¡¯t zero. I do think they have learned the consequences due to what happened this time though.¡± ¡°Y-Yeah. That¡¯s right. What else?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a risk of personal and confidential information regarding Krishna and its crew would be leaked to Space Dwerg because of those two. However, after looking up Space Dwerg¡¯s track record and management policies, it seems they are not really fond of such underhanded dealings. Judging from their eagerness to obtain records of Master¡¯s day to day life exploits as a mercenary, I believe there is a high probability they truly are interested in the entertainment value of those records apart from their interest in new technology.¡± ¡°Entertainment, huh.¡± ¡°Yes. Just like what Mimi-sama said, colony residents are highly starved for entertainment, and they find the life of so-called space drifters particrly interesting. They live a stable, if somewhat dull, everyday life, and thus hold a kind of admiration for the lives of those who travel freely among the stars just like Master.¡± ¡°I see.¡± I don¡¯t really get why they¡¯d find my daily life entertaining in the least though. Instead of wholesome family entertainment, they¡¯d probably get material that¡¯s more suitable for viewing behind closed doors. But I don¡¯t have the slightest intention of providing material for ¡®that¡¯ sort of program at all though. ¡°In conclusion, I will just abide by your wishes, Master. I will make sure those two will not have the opportunity to mess up, so Master doesn¡¯t have to worry about anything.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ Understood. Thanks, May.¡± ¡°Yes. Those words are enough of a reward for me, Master.¡± After saying so, the corners of May¡¯s lips lifted up ever so slightly. And so, we found ourselves back inside the Krishna, but things won¡¯t end with just sorting out the cargo. ¡°A-Are we really going, boss?¡± ¡°Yeah, we sure are.¡± ¡°I-I-It¡¯ll be okay, right?¡± ¡°Sure it will. Hunting pirates is a piece of cake for Hiro-sama.¡± After wepleted the test run, we decided to have some livebat practice by going out to hunt pirates. I have already contacted Space Dwerg and have been given the go-ahead to take Tina and Whisker with us. ¡ºPlease don¡¯t hesitate to take them.¡» The face of Sara on the other side of the screen replied as such while disying a really radiant smile. She must have felt satisfied after seeing Whisker and Tina¡¯s blue faces due to all the trouble the pair have caused her. It was a bit in poor taste, but I can¡¯t exactly me her since these two caused her to nearly fail the big contract she managed to close, and even had her offer a stream of apologies, not only to me but to her bosses too. In other words, she had a lot to be pissed about, so yeah. I¡¯ll just pretend I didn¡¯t see the darkness lurking behind her radiant smile. The sisters sat down on the sub-seats they pulled out from a corner of the cockpit¡¯s walls and fastened their seatbelts. After seeing them secure themselves, I proceeded with the preparations forunch. The reason why they left their seats once earlier was probably to put ¡®those¡¯ on before departure. You know. That thing. It¡¯s to prevent themselves from possibly making a messter. Mimi¡¯s already graduated from using them, but now I¡¯m d I didn¡¯t throw away the ones left over. Yep. ¡°Generator is A-okay. Output is stable. Power transmission to all sections is good as well.¡± ¡°Is there anything different after the overhaul?¡± ¡°There¡¯s none. But having a ship function the same as usual after taking it apart and putting it back together is proof of their skills, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°I guess so. How about you, Mimi?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no problem on my end as well. I¡¯ve gotten departure clearance.¡± ¡°Ok, let¡¯s get going then.¡± I grabbed the control stick and flew the Krishna out of the maintenance workshop¡¯s hangar. Once we get back, well park inside the public docks again. ¡°How is it?¡± ¡°Not bad. I really feel more in my element when piloting Krishna.¡± There¡¯s a huge difference between the response times of my partner and the prototype ship I pilotedst time. The feeling of the ship resonating with my every whim was truly exhrating. Now, this is what you call abat ship. ¡°Wow, it sure flies smoothly.¡± ¡°The inertial control system installed is really top-notch. It doesn¡¯t shake at all, and you can hardly feel the ship elerating and decelerating.¡± ¡°But if you push this thing ording to its intended specs, even this inertial control system wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up, right? What are we gonna do when that happens, boss?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right¡­¡­ Once we start doingbat maneuvers, we¡¯d be hit with quite a bit of Gs, right Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Yep. It would be disastrous if we entered a fight with a full stomach.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t. I won¡¯t be able to stand going intobat with a cockpit filled with floating vomit.¡± Elma, who was sitting on the sub-pilot seat,ined while sporting a disgusted expression on her face. Even I don¡¯t want to experience something like that y¡¯know. ¡°A-Ahaha¡­¡­ I-It¡¯s okay. We just had tea earlier anyway, right Whisker?¡± ¡°Y-Yes. Un.¡± The faces of the sisters turned blue with fear again, perhaps because all the talk aboutbat maneuvers reminded them we were about to engage pirates in battle soon. Since they were momentarily able to forget their fear when we started talking about technical stuff, I guess I¡¯ll go for a short test flight around the colony first to help get rid of their nervousness. ¡°Hm? We¡¯re not gonna use the FTL Drive yet?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going for a test flight first.¡± ¡°We piloted apletely different ship from Krishna for a few days after all, Mimi. It¡¯s important to regain our feel for this ship again before we engage inbat activities.¡± ¡°I see.¡± I gradually raised the throttle to elerate Krishna as I listened to Mimi and Elma¡¯s exchange. Yeah, the reaction between the throttle and the ship¡¯s thrusters isn¡¯t bad either. As expected of dwarves. They¡¯re very thorough. ¡°W-Whoah¡­¡­ This thing is fast.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a small ship so it¡¯s supposed to be fast, but I guess you feel it¡¯s faster than expected huh.¡± Once we reached top speed, I cut the flight assist and switched to manual mode. I then started to perform severalbat maneuvers. ¡°W-Whoaaaaaaa?!?¡± ¡°Hyaaaaaaaah!?¡± I tried all sorts of different maneuvers like using the afterburners for making sharp and sudden turns, drifting using the resulting counterforce, reverse flight, barrel rolls, and so on. ¡°Looks like there¡¯s no problem. Let¡¯s go guys.¡± ¡°Yes. Activating the FTL Drive.¡± ¡°Charging start. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­¡­ FTL Drive, activate.¡± With a loud boom, the Krishna sped off beyond lightspeed. The eyes of the sisters were spinning, but I figured it would turn out that way, so I wasn¡¯t really bothered about it. ¡°A-Are you guys usually like this?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ This is usually how it is for us.¡± ¡°I kinda feel I now understand why you have nerves of steel despite your looks, Mimi-san.¡± Mimi has nerves of steel? That¡¯s just¡­¡­ No, maybe she actually does. Recently, she doesn¡¯t act all panicky that often anymore and is a lot moreposedpared to when we first met her. Maybe she built up her so-called nerves of steel after spending time with crazy folk like us. ¡°Now then, where are those pesky pirates hiding, I wonder¨C¡± I opened the system map and picked out all the sectors where pirates were likely to appear. Their targets would either be the trade goods manufactured in Brad Prime, or the various rare metals mined and refined from the surrounding resource-rich asteroid belt. Mm, in this system, dealing with rare metals would be easier. It would be a simple matter to sell the stolen metals off to a ¡®clean¡¯ mining ship and make a quick buck. ¡°Yosh, let¡¯s head for the asteroid belt.¡± ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll mark the coordinates on the map.¡± Just like Mimi said, several markers appeared on the map disyed on the HUD. We¡¯ll just have to head for those markers one by one. ¡°W-We¡¯re finally starting huh¡­¡­¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m feeling nervous.¡± The sisters froze up due to nervousness. ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much, you two. It¡¯s not like we¡¯ll enterbat the moment we arrive at the asteroid belt.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. We¡¯ll have to scout out the points first and check if there are pirates in those areas. You¡¯ll just tire yourselves out if you keep being that nervous.¡± ¡°Ahaha, this sure reminds me of the time I first boarded Krishna.¡± Mimi looked at the shaking Tina and Whisker and disyed a wry grin. Yeah, Mimi was also a nervous wreck when she first boarded Krishna. It¡¯s a bit nostalgic. ¡°Y-You¡¯re telling the truth, right? If you guys are lying, I¡¯m really gonna cry y¡¯know.¡± ¡°We¡¯re gonna believe you all, okay?¡± ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s fine guys.¡± It¡¯s rare to find prey as soon as you enter the hunting grounds. There¡¯s no problem. I did some prior research as well, so I think this trip will turn out to be mostly sightseeing in the asteroid belt. It¡¯s all good. Chapter 130 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Aaah! We¡¯re getting shot at! They¡¯re firing at us, boss!¡± ¡°I-I-It¡¯s okay, sis! With this ship¡¯s shield output,sers of that intensity won¡¯t¨C¡± ¡°Missiles! Seeker missiles are heading straight for us! Missiles are bad news, right!?¡± ¡°M-Missiles are no good!¡± ¡°They sure are getting lively over there.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°More like noisy.¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­¡­ So I was like this too back then.¡± We ended up encountering a small fleet of ships as soon as we plunged into the asteroid belt. Are they mining ships? I scanned them just in case, but it looks like I hit the jackpot and they turned out to be pirates in disguise. It was a whole group of 13 pirate ships. They even had a medium-sizedbat ship within their ranks. ¡°Man, we sure got lucky.¡± ¡°No, no, no! This is definitely bad luck boss! Encountering pirates right off the bat is definitely bad luck I tell ya.¡± Tina was making a ruckus at the back, but I ignored her and continued to scan the ships. ¡°T-They have thirteen ships you know? And that medium-sizedbat ship looks fairly heavily armed. Isn¡¯t it too dangerous to provoke such a group, big brother¡­¡­?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. This will be a cinch for Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s just crazy! No matter how cutting edge this ship is, it would still go down if it gets showered with a rain of missiles you know.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t matter if we don¡¯t get hit.¡± I quoted a famous line from a certain Red Comet and activated Krishna¡¯s weapon systems. With this, our trusty heavyser cannons and ballistic shot cannons are ready to go as always. Prepare forbat guys. ¡°You said we won¡¯t get intobat right away boss! You liar!¡± ¡°W-Wait! My heart isn¡¯t ready yet¡­ Hyaaaaaaaaa!?¡± And so, we plunged straight intobat. Krishna with its weapon systems fully deployed immediately attacked the rear of the fleet and sessfully finished off two small pirate ships ced at the very back. ¡ºW-What the hell!?¡» ¡ºEnemy attack! Break up! Break up!¡» ¡°Like I¡¯d let you.¡± The pirates tried to break formation in a panic, but Krishna had already managed to close down on the fleet. I fired the two ballistic shot cannons in session and brought down three more pirate ships with a hail of submunitions. ¡ºN-Nooooo! I don¡¯t wanna d¨C¡» One of the pirate ships which got turned into swiss cheese exploded. Maybe we managed to hit their fuel cells. The other two ships got caught up in the explosion and followed suit as well. But as expected, these pirates won¡¯t simply go down without a fight. The other pirate ships turned around and started counterattacking withser cannons and multi-cannons. Of course, most of the weapons sported by these retrofitted civilian ships were as good as peashooters to Krishna, so we could just shrug them off. That¡¯s also made fairly obvious by the ship condition disyed by the HUD¡¯s holography model. I, Mimi, and Elma already knew the drill, so we didn¡¯t mind, but we can¡¯t say the same for Tina and Whisker. ¡°Aaah! We¡¯re getting shot at! They¡¯re firing at us, boss!¡± ¡°I-I-It¡¯s okay, sis! With this ship¡¯s shield output,sers of that intensity won¡¯t¨C¡± Compared to Tina, whose face was already flooded with tears and snot, Whisker was keeping herself together better. Her voice was shaking though¡­¡­ As I amused myself with the sister¡¯s reactions, an alert rang out inside the cockpit. ¡°Missiles! Seeker missiles are heading straight for us! Missiles are bad news, right?¡± ¡°M-Missiles are no good!¡± ¡°They sure are getting lively over there.¡± Tina¡¯s panicked screams were funny, but hearing Whisker say missiles were no good while desperately trying to act calm was interesting as well. In any case, we scattered res in order to shake off the seeker missiles hot on our tail. I then fired up the thrusters and performed a sharp evasive maneuver. ¡°Fugyaaaa!?¡± ¡°Hiyaaaa!¡± Due to the Gs which couldn¡¯t be fully prevented by the inertial control system, each of the sisters let out distinct screams. ¡°Are we going for the medium-sized ship first?¡± ¡°Nah. If we shoot it down, those small fries will just run away. We¡¯ll take out the small ships first.¡± The medium-sized ship did sport higher firepower, but it was equipped mostly with missile pods, so we just had to pay attention to the seeker missiles. There are still plenty of res left, and I can always just shake the missiles off without using them anyway, so there¡¯s no problem. ¡°Hyahaaa! I¡¯m gonna turn you all into space dust¨C! ¡ºD-Dammit! What is this thing!? Fire, fiiire!¡» Wahaha! If you want to take me down, then at least bring military ships with you, idiots! But even if they did, I had no intention of getting done in by mere pirates. ¡°¡­¡­We just went through hell and back.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Uuu.¡± After the battle, the sisters, who quieted down halfway through, started making a fuss again. Tina looked pretty burned out, but Whisker was muttering awkwardly with a red face. She must have taken a leak. Well, she did put on you-know-what before we headed out, so at least she didn¡¯t make a mess inside the cockpit. Good for you, girl. ¡°We managed to get quite a haul today, Hiro-sama¡­¡­ Let¡¯s check them outter.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a lot of refined rare metals too. We¡¯ll be making a tidy sum for this one.¡± ¡°How much do you estimate our profits are?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be getting 112,000 Enels for the bounties alone. The bounty for the medium-sized ship was quite sizeable as well.¡± ¡°112,000 Enels!? S-Seriously¡­¡­?¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing¡­¡­ And there¡¯s also profit from selling the loot, right?¡± ¡°Yep. We don¡¯t know how much we¡¯ll be getting from selling them for sure yet, but I estimate it to be at least 20,000 Enels.¡± ¡°So that means the total profit would be 132,000 Enels¡­¡­ This is your regr ie¡­? Are you kidding me?¡± ¡°How many months would it take for us to evene close to that amount¡­¡­?¡± I don¡¯t know how much their monthly sry is, but since they were first-ss engineers, I¡¯m sure they were being paid a pretty tidy sum. ¡°Um¡­¡­ We get a monthly sry of 3,700 Enels, right¡­? So that means it¡¯ll take at least 35 months or so.¡± ¡°So it¡¯ll take three years¡­¡­¡± The sisters were having a conversation with a gloomy atmosphere hovering over them. You didn¡¯t factor in the risks involved guys. Working as an engineer may still get you involved in idents, but it was still a lot safer than what we do. High risk, high rewards, as they say. That¡¯s mercenary work in a nutshell. ¡°Do you guys wanna quit working for Space Dwerg and be full crew members? I¡¯ll give you a reasonable sry.¡± ¡°Uuu¡­¡­ I¡¯m sorely tempted.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t go so easily, big sis. Our unrestricted travel passes already cost 200,000 each¡­¡­ Our entire life savings don¡¯t evene close.¡± ¡°Muh¡­¡­ I know that. But y¡¯know¡­¡± The big sister pouted at her little sister¡¯s calm retort. We finally finished recovering all the loot. There was no damage to the hull this time as well. We tanked everything with the shields and annihted the small pirate fleet. It was aplete victory. ¡°Yosh. This should be enough for today. Let¡¯s head back, guys.¡± ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll set the coordinates.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s have a celebration party tonight. It would be nice to go to a ce that serves some good liquor.¡± I turned the bow toward the direction of the Brad Prime colony and started elerating. For the time being, the overhaul seems to be a sess. I¡¯ll give Sara a call once we get back to the colony. Chapter 131 Chapter 131 rantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone Once we got back to the Brad Prime colony, Whisker immediately headed for the toilet to clean up, but unfortunately, her sister managed to witness the whole thing. It turns out that Tina became suspicious because of Whisker¡¯s conspicuous behavior, so she ended up tailing her. ¡°Ahahahaha!¡± ¡°Mou, stopughing already!¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 Whisker¡¯s face turned bright red as she directed a resentful gaze at Tina, who wasughing like there was no tomorrow. I honestly had to hold myself back fromughing as well. ¡°No, but I never thought you¡¯d still manage to wet yourself at your age, Whisker¡­¡­ Pfft. Bahahaha!¡± ¡°Big siiiis!!!¡± The red-faced Whisker finally couldn¡¯t hold herself back and pounced on theughing Tina in order to shut her up. But since they had the same build, it didn¡¯t go as she wanted. ¡°Man. Tina was a nervous wreck earlier, but just look at her now.¡± ¡°Maybe she¡¯s doing this precisely to forget her fear from earlier?¡± ¡°So Tina¡¯s now leaking from above while Whisker¡¯s was down below huh.¡± ¡°Hiro-san!!¡± Whisker gave me a sharp reprimand as she wrestled with her sister. I don¡¯t really think it¡¯s a big deal though. Mimi was just like Whisker in the past too. I gave Mimi a quick nce, and our eyes met. Mimi¡¯s cheeks were slightly red and she ended up turning away with an embarrassed expression. Maybe she felt embarrassed witnessing someone who suffered the same thing as her back when she was just starting out. Me? Maybe it¡¯s the influence of ying the game, but I didn¡¯t feel nervous at all, even when I just found myself stranded here. Maybe I just didn¡¯t have enough sense of reality for my current situation though. ¡°Hiro¡­¡­¡± ¡°Sorry for saying something rude. Guys need to act like gentlemen after all.¡± ¡°You, a gentleman? Stop joking.¡± ¡°How cruel.¡± Well, even I think acting like the perfect gentleman doesn¡¯t suit me. That¡¯s just not me y¡¯know. It just feels too uptight. ¡°Man, that was tough.¡± Tina spun her shoulders around as we walked together on the colony streets. Uh, your shoulder doesn¡¯t sound right though. Are you sure you¡¯re okay? ¡°You had thating, y¡¯know.¡± In the end, Whisker emerged as the victor of the sister spat. She performed a splendid mid-air tackle followed by a joint lock and made Tina tap out in defeat. Well, both of them looked like little kids, so it lookedical instead of being fierce. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Whisker seemed to still be indignant even if she won. It seems she still couldn¡¯t forgive Tina forughing at her unfortunate ident. Yeah, I guess I understand why. ¡°Your sister still seemed pretty angry y¡¯know.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll apologize to her properlyter.¡± ¡°You may want to leave her alone for a bit to let her cool down.¡± Tinaughing like an idiot and Whisker¡¯s extreme reaction may be a result of the lingering tension they felt from returning after experiencing a real battle. Once one manages to ovee a life-threatening crisis and returns to safety, they¡¯d feel jumpy for a while. It wasn¡¯t a surprise that they acted the way they did. How did Mimi deal with it back when she just started out, you ask? She just stuck to me like glue and had mefort her of course. Like, really close. Of course, you guys know what will happen once she does that, right? She¡¯s calmed down considerably nowadays, but she still had the habit of engaging in skinship with me right after battles if she could. Elma? Elma just drank her liquor to rx. And once she¡¯s drunk enough, she sneaks into my bed. Elma really likes drinking alcohol, but her tolerance was just so-so. A drunk Elma was pretty cute too. ¡°Um, what were we talking about earlier anyway? Uh, it¡¯s about Sara-san organizing a farewell party, right?¡± ¡°The mothership will be delivered in three days after all. It¡¯s already decided that these two will be joining us, so maybe she just wants to have a huge send-off.¡± ¡°Howvish¡­¡­ Well, maybe she just wants to use this opportunity to unwind herself.¡± ¡°Well, Space Dwerg is a fairlyrgepany after all. Maybe it¡¯s just part of their corporate culture.¡± Socialization while drinking huh. ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t it quite crowded here? I wonder what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Mimi made such an observation when we neared the bar, so I looked around to check things out. When I did so, I saw that it was indeed crowded out front. And not just that. There were even guys who were dressed like the local security forces in the crowd. ¡°Did an incident happen?¡± ¡°I wonder what though. What do you think, sis?¡± ¡°Mm, I¡¯m not sure. It doesn¡¯t look like a fire. Is it a sher crime incident?¡± ¡°sher crime¡­¡± This dimension is firmly in an advanced space-age, so how could a sher incident even take ce here? They already mostly forgot how to cook themselves and relied on auto-cookers, so¡­¡­ Oh, right. The dwarves actually cook food for themselves huh. I guess that makes it easier to get ess to ded objects like knives. ¡°I hope the ce they reserved wasn¡¯t involved in the incident.¡± ¡°That¡¯s gonna be a problem.¡± Both Elma and Tina were acting like it wasn¡¯t their problem. Well, I guess they would. We¡¯re not really part of thew enforcement and we¡¯re certainly not heroes of justice nor charitable phnthropists. It was hard to rte even with such a gruesome incident if you weren¡¯t directly involved in some way yourself. With great poweres great responsibility? Like I care. One uses his or her power ultimately for his or her own benefit, regardless of intentions. I certainly don¡¯t want anyone to push an unreasonable sense of obligation onto me just because I had power. ¡°It¡¯s this ce, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, I think so.¡± Damn. I sense something troublesomeing along. Ugh. The bar we were invited to had police lines with the words¡ºKeep Out¡»wrapped all over it. The only good thing was that it didn¡¯t look like there were any casualties in the incident. It looks like the farewell party tonight was a big bust. ¡°Is Sara okay?¡± ¡°I wonder. How about calling her?¡± ¡°Yeah, okay.¡± I took out my portable terminal and called her number. When I did so, a ringtone resounded from nearby. I got worried that she got caught up in the incident for a moment, but then I realized that the sound wasing from the crowd checking out the crime scene. Phew. I wouldn¡¯t know how to react if it wasing from inside the bar. ¡ºYes, this is Sara speaking. I¡¯m sorry. It looks like tonight¡¯s party is¡­¡­¡» ¡°Oh, that¡¯s okay. We¡¯re already here actually. We¡¯re right in front of the ce. You can probably see us if you turn around.¡± ¡ºOh, you¡¯re right. I¡¯ming over then.¡» A small figure squeezed through the crowd and came in front of us. It was certainly Sara, who was in her business suit. ¡°I¡¯m sorry it turned out this way even though I invited you all.¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s just a case of bad luck. What happened anyway?¡± ¡°It seems like there was a burry. I don¡¯t get why they purposely targeted a bar and restaurant though¡­¡­¡± After saying so, Sara made a pondering expression. Yeah. A restaurant isn¡¯t really a prime target for a burry, and it was now past 5 pm, so there should have been a lot of customers inside the ce already. In other words, this ce was probably packed and filled with potential witnesses. If the thieves wanted to break in and steal stuff in secret, they should have picked a less crowded time. ¡°Well, there¡¯s no use thinking about something iprehensible. So do you have a n B in mind?¡± ¡°There¡¯s another ce not far from here, but it¡¯s not as fancy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. Tonight¡¯s a celebration, so I¡¯m raring to eat my fill.¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m gonna drink till I drop!¡± ¡°Yaaaaay!¡± ¡°Uh, y-yay.¡± ¡°You two are still on probation.¡± Tina, who raised a whoop of joy after Elma¡¯s deration, was coldly shot down by Sara. Yeah, I thought so. Chapter 132 Chapter 132 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone It¡¯s been three days since we engaged in a pirate hunt. We didn¡¯t engage in any more pirate hunting after that one time and just spent our time lounging around inside Krishna. Eh? Will we be okay with not working, you ask? It¡¯s not like we can¡¯t afford to not have any ie right now, and when the mothership gets delivered, we¡¯ll perform some joint maneuver drills with Krishna, then get right back into pirate hunting. Krishna¡¯s good to go, judging from its performance on thest sortie. Well, it¡¯s not like we just spent all of our time staying inside Krishna anyway. I went shopping with Mimi, visited dwarven bars with Elma, and went to the imperial military barracks with May in order to pick up the bounty rewards for the pirates we just exterminated. The reward for the bandits and the profits from the sale of the plundered loot totaled 135,000 Enels. The bounty reward was 112,000 Enels, and the profit from the loot was 23,000. Mimi¡¯s sry increased from 0.5% to 1%, so her share of the money is 1,350 Enels. Elma¡¯s sry was still 3%, so her share was 4,050 Enels. After subtracting their sries, my share amounts to 129,600 Enels. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 It may seem that I take a lion¡¯s share of the profit, but that¡¯s not really the case. The ship was 100% mine, and I also served as the main pilot. I¡¯m also obligated to provide food, clothing, and shelter for the two of them, and I needed to provide fringe benefits as well, so there¡¯s actually a lot on my te. Considering that, my share wouldn¡¯t seem that unreasonable at all. The Mercenary Guild was the one that set the standard sry, so I don¡¯t think they¡¯d shortchange any party. If the ship was jointly owned, the percentage of the shares would be quite different. How much one contributed to the purchase of the main ship seems to be a major deciding factor in the calction of the reward distribution. ¡°We¡¯re finally going to receive the mothership!¡± Mimi squealed in excitement while we were on the way to the private dock where the brand new mothership was moored. ¡°Yeah. It sure felt like forever. By the way, have you decided on a name for the new ship, Hiro?¡± ¡°A name huh¡­¡­ Right, we should have decided on a name. I kinda forgot.¡± What would be good, I wonder. I wasn¡¯t really particr with ship names back when I was ying the game and usually used the default ones. ¡°Is Skizbrazunil no good?¡± ¡°Not really. But, y¡¯know¡­¡­ I want one with more character.¡± Character huh. But Skizbrazunil did sound a bit too in. Ande to think of it, Skizbrazunil was a name derived from Norse mythology while Krishna was the name of a hero in Indian myth. I believe he was one of Vishnu¡¯s incarnations. It¡¯s difficult to think up of a name that will harmonize the two. They¡¯re frompletely different mythologies after all. And I only managed to learn about Krishna¡¯s origin when I searched the inte on a whim back when I first got the ship. If I didn¡¯t do so, I wouldn¡¯t have any idea about it at all. Hmm. Let me try cooking something up using the inte trivia I barely remember. Oh, I think I got one. ¡°How about Garuda?¡± ¡°Garuda?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the name of a sacred bird that served as a divine steed. Krishna is named after an incarnation of a god in the first ce, and Vishnu, his persona as a god, rode the Garuda; a divine bird that shone as bright as brilliant mes.¡± I actually don¡¯t know for sure if Vishnu really rode on Garuda in the first ce since I didn¡¯t manage to search it up back then, but who cares anyway. ¡°A bird huh¡­¡­ Um, but the ship really doesn¡¯t look much like a bird though.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Hm, you¡¯re right.¡± The Skizbrazunil was quite a beefy-looking ship and sported an appearance that was far removed from the grace and elegance associated with birds. It certainly didn¡¯t fit huh. ¡°Hm. How about Lotus then?¡± ¡°Lotus? That¡¯s the name of a nt, right? Or was it a flower?¡± ¡°Yep. It¡¯s both the name of the nt and the flower it produces. In my hometown, gods were often depicted sitting on top of lotus flowers.¡± I¡¯m talking about the so-called lotus position. Gods and Buddha were often depicted sitting or standing on them in Buddhist murals and sculptures. Since it was a seat used by gods, wouldn¡¯t it fit nicely? There¡¯s a close rtionship between Hinduism and Buddhism anyway. ¡°But lotus flowers range from white to pale pink, right? Our mothership is predominantly ck, so it still doesn¡¯t fit.¡± ¡°So we¡¯ll just call it ck Lotus. It¡¯s a pretty grand-sounding name. Expensive too.¡± ¡°Grand and¡­ expensive¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Nevermind that.¡± Mimi tilted her head in bewilderment after hearing my remarks. It¡¯s a name that raises the charm of anything by at least three points. That¡¯s especially true for car nuts. ¡°Well, at least ck Lotus sounds more appropriate than Garuda.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Naming it after a flower is kinda cute as well.¡± ¡°Okay then. Are you fine with the name too, May?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± May, who was following after us, nodded quietly. May¡¯s hair and eyes are ck. Her maid uniform was also a mix of white and ck. Her piloting a ship called ck Lotus was surprisingly on point. ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting for you all.¡± When we arrived at the private dock, we found Sara waiting for us there. There were others with her, but I only recognized Sara. Well, the male dwarf standing near Sara was kinda familiar, I guess. He may be one of thepany bosses who paid us a visit along with her a couple of days back. Honestly speaking, male dwarves all sported dense beards, so it was kinda hard to differentiate them. ¡°Hey. It¡¯s finally time huh.¡± After greeting them, I looked up at the newly minted mothership; the Skizbrazunil ¨C ck Lotus. It was several timesrger than Krishna. Krishna was already pretty big despite being ssified as a small ship, but even two of it wouldn¡¯tpare to the size of the ship before me. The overall form was streamlined despite its bulk. Actually, it had a lot of curves, and almost no part of the hull waspletely t. Was this intentional? Did it have to do with structural stability or something? From the side, its silhouette kinda resembled that of aser rifle. The bow, which protruded imposingly, was shaped like a rectangr pir with rounded corners. The various gun emcements were concealed beneath the movable armor sections, which would slide out once the weapon systems were deployed. Therge-caliber EML was mounted on the upper part of the fusge, and it was also cleverly concealed with arge patch of moveable armor. When deployed, the armor will slide to the sides and reveal its form just like the other concealed turrets. ¡°Mm. Great. It looks really cool.¡± Man, a new ship sure makes my male heart dance with glee. The ck Lotus, which was armed to the teeth at May¡¯s behest, was technically superior to Krishna in terms of overall firepower. The EML was difficult to wield, but it rivaled the main guns of military battleships in pure destructive power. Even Krishna wouldn¡¯t fare well if it takes a direct hit from something like that. As for pirate ships, they¡¯d definitely be turned into space debris in an instant. In terms of specs, it rivals the cruiser ss of imperial warships. However, one ship still wouldn¡¯t be able to take on an entire imperial fleet, no matter its specs. The imperial military has thousands of ships that areparable or better than ck Lotus, so we¡¯d definitely lose if we picked a fight with that kind of force. Krishna only managed to deal with the Vereverem Federation fleet back on the Termaine system due to employing some rare tricks. If we took on that fleet head-on, we would have been obliterated. So how would enemies take down the ck Lotus? It looks like the lower hull was a blind spot, so if they focused their attacks there, it would be possible to sink it. It would be dangerous to use it in a direct exchange after all. ¡°Hiro-sama¡¯s eyes have a certain twinkle to them.¡± ¡°Men generally act like little kids in front of new ships, Mimi.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Master is so cute.¡± I was surprised by May¡¯s words and turned my gaze toward her. Mimi and Elma¡¯s eyes also widened in surprise and followed suit. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°N-No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± I was just surprised by her unexpected words. To think she¡¯d describe me as cute. Now I¡¯m getting kinda embarrassed here. ¡°I¡¯m d you all seem to like it.¡± Sara also had a gentle smile on her lips as she observed me gushing over the new mothership. Ugh. What a blunder. ¡°Alright then. How about a tour inside?¡± ¡°Yeah, okay.¡± We climbed the ramp that was brought down by Sara and boarded the ship. Part of the interior was renovated to a living space on par with Krishna¡¯s, but the corridors we were currently walking on looked pretty standard. Even so, they disyed their expertise as ship makers by making sure the passages were reasonably wide and had no unnecessary protrusions that may cause idents if one weren¡¯t careful. It all felt quite refined, and it looks like you won¡¯t get hurt that much even if you identally collide with the walls. ¡°It looks like the ship¡¯s inner walls are covered with shock-absorbing material.¡± Elma pointed out in amazement as she touched the white walls. I also tried touching it as well. It was a fascinating material. Itcked luster and felt like stic. But if you put some pressure onto it, the material sinks. How should I describe it? Uh, fluid stic? I wasn¡¯t familiar with this type of material at all. Perhaps it¡¯s a high-tech material only avable in this dimension. ¡°Yes. This will make it less likely to get injured when one gets mmed onto the walls due to outside impact or sudden maneuvers. It also offers high thermal instion which improves the ship¡¯s overall energy efficiency.¡± ¡°I see. It would lessen the energy needed to run the air conditioning systems huh.¡± ¡°Precisely.¡± After inspecting the mysterious texture of the walls, we proceeded to the hangar, which also doubled as a cargo hold. ¡°Oh, you finally came boss.¡± ¡°Good day, everyone.¡± Tina and Whisker, who were both in work overalls, were already waiting within. Apparently, they were busy checking the equipment and supplies for maintenance and repairs. ¡°We will be in your care starting today. Please go easy on us, boss.¡± ¡°We¡¯re looking forward to working with you all.¡± Tina raised one hand in greeting and Whisker made a slight bow. ¡°Yeah. Likewise. Well,pared to staying on Krishna, staying on this ship will¨C¡± I¡¯m nning to use this as pirate bait, so it¡¯s rtively risky to stay here. It had tough shields and thick armor, so I think it¡¯ll be alright. It won¡¯t go down that easily. ¡°¨Cprobably be safe. But memorize the evacuation routes and escape pod cements just in case.¡± ¡°You just made a strange pause boss!? You sure it¡¯ll be okay?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. Absolutely no problem!¡± I can¡¯t really tell them I¡¯m nning to use the ship as pirate bait huh. Meh. I¡¯ll just tell themter on. Hahaha. I ignored Tina, who disyed a doubtful expression and checked out the hangar and cargo hold. It was very big and spacious. The Krishna¡¯s cargo hold can¡¯t even begin topare. We¡¯ll finally be able to take on some transport requests with this baby. We¡¯ll be able to engage in trade as well. With this, our moneymaking options just multiplied severalfold. ¡°Let¡¯s head to the cockpit next, everyone. But before that, let¡¯s stop by the break hall and the dining hall along the way.¡± ¡°Okay. We¡¯ll see youter guys.¡± ¡°Okey dokey boss.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± We left the sisters to their work and started following after Sara once more. Man, this ship really is big. As expected of a mothership. Chapter 133 Chapter 133 rantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone We continued strolling around the new mothership. By the way, the Skizbrazunil-ss mothership ck Lotus was a fairlyrge ship, but the number of crew required for its operation wasn¡¯trge at all. Rather, if one so wishes, they could even operate a ship of its ss solo. This is of course the result of really heavy degrees of automation, but I have no idea how or why this extreme concept of reducing humanbor was born in this dimension. SOL was a game in which yers could control and y with various ships regardless of their size and ss on their own, so it made some form of sense there. However, it felt a little strange now that I found myself transported to a seemingly real world that¡¯s uncannily simr to that game. No matter how developed the concept of automation was in this dimension, it would still be more costly to operate a ship of this size with that alone instead of hiring more crew. It seems Tina and Whisker were familiar with the reason for this though, so I¡¯ll try asking themter. ¡°This is the break room.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 Sara turned toward us with a confident smile on her lips. The break room was prettyrge. It should beparable in size to a traditional Japanese inn¡¯s banquet hall. Kids can run around without any problems within it. ¡°Uwaah, it¡¯s so big!¡± ¡°Certainly. I find Krishna¡¯s dining roomfy enough, but this ship¡¯s break room really has that rxing vibe going for it huh. Ara, I see there¡¯s a terrarium over there.¡± After saying so, Elma walked toward the botanical terrarium in a corner of the break room. Apparently, a part of the wall surface was made with arge ss pane, and a section which recreated a small scale natural environment was ced behind it. Oh, this is one of those huh. Zoos had animals like iguanas and such living in such enclosures as well. But now that I got a good look at it, it seems there¡¯s nothing inside apart from nts. It seems it¡¯s meant purely for enjoying nt life. I personally think it would have been more interesting if it had animals in it. I soon lost interest, but Mimi and Elma were fairly engrossed in the terrarium. Mimi was a former colony resident, so she probably hasn¡¯t had many opportunities to see any natural nts. As for Elma, she may be feeling an affinity for them due to her sensibilities as a nature-loving elf. I¡¯m not too sure about that though. There were several sets of tables and sofas littered around the break room that looked prettyfy, as well as drink servers and massage chairs. It certainly lives up to its purpose as a break room. ¡°The dining room, training room, and shower rooms are all located on this block as well. There¡¯s also some unused crew rooms, guest rooms, and a fully stocked medical bay. This is basically the living area of the ck Lotus.¡± Sara continued guiding us around the facilities located in the living area. The dining room was wayrger than Krishna¡¯s, and the auto-cooker installed seemed to be a Tetsujin V as well. There¡¯s plenty of room for three people in Krishna¡¯s dining room, but this one may be morefortable if we dine with five people since Tina and Whisker will be joining us as well. Also, this ship¡¯s training room was a lotrger than Krishna¡¯s, so you won¡¯t feel constrained at all. It also had training equipment that¡¯s not avable on Krishna, and because it¡¯s wide, three people can easily train inside together. Krishna¡¯s training room was on the narrow side, so it felt a bit cramped when the three of us trained there simultaneously. It may be better to use this training room, bathe in the shower room, and have meals in this ship¡¯s dining room every morning from now on. The break room was also quiterge and looked very rxing. And also, Mimi and Elma seem to like that terrarium a lot. Was it automatically maintained just like what we saw on the food production factory tour? I wonder if it is. If not, those nts will eventually wilt and dry up. ¡°Let¡¯s proceed to the cockpit then, everyone.¡± After having our fill looking around the living area, we finally headed for the cockpit. ¡°Hmm, a ship¡¯s cockpit really is quiterge as well huh.¡± It wasn¡¯t as much as the break room, but it was still fairly wide. This ce could easily house ten people with some room to spare. Unlike Krishna, ck Lotus¡¯ cockpit was not ced near the front end of the ship, but near the center instead. So it might be more appropriate to call it a battlemand post rather than a cockpit. ¡°I will basically sit in this seat and take full control of the ship during operations.¡± May pointed toward a seat that had various option parts attached. There were a lot of terminals I didn¡¯t know the use of surrounding it. It didn¡¯t look like a regr pilot seat at all. ¡°That¡¯s a very bulky-looking seat.¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a custom pilot seat that takes full advantage of the processing power of the positron brain installed inside me. I can control the ship¡¯s propulsion systems, weaponry, power flow, and life support entirely from this seat.¡± ¡°I see. You won¡¯t have any problems grasping the system?¡± ¡°No, it would be no problem at all, Master. I can gainplete mastery of the system in five minutes.¡± ¡°I see, I¡¯ll leave this ship to you then, May.¡± ¡°Yes, please rest assured, Master.¡± May gave me a crisp nod. I probably don¡¯t have to worry about anything now that May¡¯s in charge of this ship. ¡°With this, the guided tour is finished. Is there anything you wish to point out before weplete the handover?¡± ¡°I¡¯m good. How about you guys?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with it as well.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°There are no problems.¡± It looks like we¡¯re all in agreement. ¡°Well then, if you would please sign here. There we go.¡± I took the tablet terminal handed by Sara and authenticated the electronic receipt. With this, the ck Lotus was officially ours. After this, the rest of the payment will be transferred to Space Dwerg¡¯s ount as well. Businessplete. After confirming the payment, Sara heaved a sigh of relief. This deal seemed to have caused her a great amount of trouble after all. The main cause was those two sisters back at the hangar. Me? I didn¡¯t really want to cause trouble myself. Sara did get wrapped up in a mess after she got involved with me, but it¡¯s not like I knew it would turn out like that y¡¯know. It can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯m not at fault here. ¡°You¡¯ve really taken good care of us, Sara. Thanks.¡± ¡°No, it was no trouble¡­¡­ Well, maybe I did need to put on some extra effort.¡± Sara probably meant to say that it was no trouble at all on reflex, but after remembering what she went through, she held back her words. Man, it looks like we really stressed her out. You¡¯ve got it hard, Sara-san. ¡°This has been an eye-opening experience for me as well. Let me thank you once again, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Likewise. I do share part of the me for your troubles so, um, sorry about that.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not your fault at all, Hiro-sama¡­¡­ Ufufufu.¡± Maybe she remembered the sisters. Sara¡¯s smile turned dark. The sisters were now like quasi-crew members of our ship, so can you please withdraw that ck aura, Sara-san? Calm down. Calm down, gooddy. Why are you filled with so much malice? Uh, I guess it¡¯s no surprise though. ¡°Hahaha¡­¡­ Well, those two suffered from their punishment already, and they would be engaging in dangerous mercenary work from now on.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it? Well, I guess it¡¯s no good to dwell on the past further.¡± I don¡¯t know if my words had any effect, but for the time being, the ck aura surrounding Sara subsided. That¡¯s for the best. ¡°Anyway, I n on sticking around in this colony for the time being in order to take ck Lotus for some trial runs. Maybe we¡¯ll end up discovering some concerns after the trials. I¡¯ll contact you again if it turns out that way.¡± ¡°Yes, please do contact us right away if that happens. We at Space Dwerg are looking forward to a great working rtionship with you.¡± Sara then disyed a sunny smile on her child-like face. ¡°And so, we¡¯re going for a test run guys.¡± ¡°Aye, aye sir!¡± ¡°Yeah, alright. Are your preparations done over there, May?¡± ¡ºYes, Elma-sama. We can depart anytime.¡» It¡¯s been thirty minutes since Sara left. I, Mimi, and Elma were preparing to leave port in Krishna¡¯s cockpit. We are going to dock inside ck Lotus immediately, and train theunch procedures when sortieing from ck Lotuster on. We¡¯ll have to perform some joint training exercises as well. I want to get used to cooperating with May and the ck Lotus as soon as possible. She should be fully capable of making things work out by matching my timing herself, but that is that and this is this. It was decided that Tina and Whisker won¡¯t participate actively during operations unless circumstances required them to. For example, if something happened to ck Lotus which May can¡¯t handle alone. They were instructed not to intervene inmunications during battle unless an emergency or something unusual happens, such as engine failure, or someone secretly infiltrating the ship. However, their assistance would be valuable during docking andunching from the ck Lotus, so they can open am line in those instances as well. Well, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll encounter any situation that would require us to dock inside the ship in the middle of battle anyway. ¡°Okay then, we¡¯ll meet up at an area a few clicks away from the colony and perform training exercises. Please mark the coordinates.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve marked the coordinates on the nav.¡± ¡ºI¡¯ve marked the coordinates as well. I will now apply for departure clearance.¡» ¡°I will apply for clearance as well.¡± Mimi quickly applied for departure clearance from Brad Prime¡¯s port admin bureau, and the application was promptly approved. Brad Prime colony is teeming with activity today as well. I advanced the ship while being careful not to identally crash with others along the way. ck Lotus lined up beside us before long. ¡°Un, it feels great. I¡¯m getting really excited.¡± ¡°Looking at it like this¡­¡­ It feels bigger than the medium-sized pirate ship we faced a few days ago.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s skimming the line between medium andrge-sized ships.¡± The majestic bulk of the ck Lotus was the exact opposite of its graceful-sounding name. Even though it had some nice curves, its appearance can still only be described as rugged. The protruding armor sections concealing the cannon turrets and missile pods contributed to that impression as well. If I were to describe it, it¡¯s like a firmly sheathed sword that was concealing its razor-sharp de. ¡­Uh, no, sorry. I was trying to act cool just now. My true impression is that it¡¯s like a rugged-looking ck-suited guy with epic biceps and pecs. The one who works for dangerous and shady people and would immediately reach out for ¡®insurance¡¯ underneath his suit at the slightest sign of trouble. The description was quite apt since those concealed weapon systems afforded it with firepower rivaling a military cruiser. ¡°¡­¡­It sure is bulky. It¡¯s employing concealed weaponry, but will we really be able to fool anyone with this?¡± ¡°I guess it won¡¯t look suspicious from a distance. It would probably work out just fine.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Well, most pirates were stupid anyway, so I guess it¡¯s fine. If they bite the bait and swarm the Lotus only for Krishna to jump out of it, I¡¯m sure they¡¯d be shocked out of their wits. And once the Lotus reveals all its firepower, they¡¯d surely lose it in despair. ¡°It looks like ck Lotus is ready for departure.¡± ¡°Gotcha. Let¡¯s head for the designated coordinates then.¡± ¡°Yes. Initiating synchronization with ck Lotus.¡± Mimi started synching Krishna and ck Lotus¡¯ FTL Drives. Since ck Lotus was far heavier of a ship, Krishna will end up piggybacking on it. ¡ºWe will now head to the specified coordinates via FTL Drive. FTL Drive, charging start. Countdown.¡» We heard May perform a countdown from thems. ¡º5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­¡­ FTL Drive, activate.¡» With a loud boom, Krishna and ck Lotus elerated at the speed of light. Chapter 134 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡ºWe¡¯ve arrived at the target coordinates. Deactivating FTL Drive.¡» May¡¯s voice resounded through thems, and the next moment, Krishna and ck Lotus returned to normal space. It was just a short jump via the FTL Drive, but we couldn¡¯t see even a shadow of Brad Prime in the distance anymore. ¡°There seem to be no problems so far.¡± ¡ºYes, it seems so. Well then, I shall open the hangar hatch.¡» ¡°Got it.¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 May¡¯s operations were smooth and efficient, without any waste. After the FTL Drive test, it looks like we¡¯re immediately performing the docking test. When I moved Krishna in front of the hangar that was located on the lower rear of the ck Lotus, a guide beam was immediately emitted from the hatch. The guide beams employed by motherships are a kind of tractor beam that automatically pulls the target ship inside the hangar. In other words, once the guide beam hits us, the whole process will be entirely automated. Of course, you can also opt to do it manually, but if you mistake the speed and timing, you may end up crashing, and that would cause great damage to the mothership as well, so I wasn¡¯t nning to attempt it at all. As I was thinking about such things, the guide beam from ck Lotus sessfully captured Krishna and pulled it inside the hangar. We docked without any problems and the hatch promptly closed up. ¡°No problems with this either.¡± ¡ºYes. I will have the sisters check the state of the hangar and equipment, so please stand by for a little while.¡» ¡°Roger.¡± Thending pad Krishnanded on did a full 180-degree turn. In other words, Krishna¡¯s bow was now pointed toward the hangar¡¯s exit hatch. When we perform aunch, thisnding pad will double as a catapult and will propel us outside of the ship. From now on, this hangar will be Krishna¡¯s new home. Basically, Krishna will stay on standby inside this hangar and will jump out in case of emergencies or battle. I observed the sisters who were now hard at work with the optical cameras installed outside the ship. ¡°They both look very focused.¡± ¡°Yes, they sure are. Dwarf girls are small and cute, aren¡¯t they?¡± Mimi¡¯s expression as she looked at the sisters seemed like a real big sister watching her little sisters do their best. Uh, but both of them were older than Mimi, right? Well, it was kind of amusing to see dwarf sisters who looked like little girls running around busily inside the hangar. By the way, Elma was looking at Mimi while making the sameplicated expression as me. ¡°Oh? So there were maintenance bots too.¡± ¡°Looks like it. It¡¯s different for Krishna, which is a small ship, but maintaining ck Lotus would be difficult with using them because of its size.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± Despite its designation as a small ship, Krishna had enough living space for five people to stay inside with some room to spare. Including the cargo space, the engine, and various other facilities, it should beparable in size to Earth¡¯srge aircraft. It might even be slightly bigger. And the ck Lotus has a hangarrge enough to store two Krishnas, an equallyrge cargo space, and a living area where up to thirty people can stay. Its total length should be over 300 meters. It seemed like an absolute giant in my eyes. It would certainly be impossible for just two people to maintain such a gigantic ship. Thus, it¡¯s only natural to employ maintenance robots. And after finishing the equipment checks, Tina and Whisker moved away from Krishna. ¡ºThe equipment check is finished, Master. We will now perform theunch test.¡» ¡°Roger. We can go anytime.¡± ¡ºYes. Opening hatch. Beginning catapultunch procedures. 3,2,1,unch.¡» Krishna abruptly elerated, and I felt my body get pressed toward the pilot seat. We then got sessfully ejected to outer space. So this is how it felt to getunched by a ship catapult. It¡¯s like those thrill rides in theme parks. ¡°That was pretty intense even with the use of inertial control huh.¡± ¡°Yes, I was really surprised.¡± Well, it¡¯s not like the Gs were enough to make you faint. So it wasn¡¯t really a problem, I guess. I was a bit curious about why my body¡¯s reaction to the force was dyed though. Maybe that¡¯s just normal when you get elerated by an external force. ¡ºI will open the hatch once more. The next test would be auto-docking. And next will be manual docking.¡» ¡°Manual too¡­¡­? Roger that.¡± And I was going on about not attempting manual docking earlier too. Oh well. I guess I can¡¯t say there¡¯s absolutely no need for it so it doesn¡¯t hurt to get some practice in either. I¡¯m sure the only times we¡¯re gonna attempt manual docking were in emergency situations, so practicing now would prevent us from messing up when it counts. After doing repeated practice drills forunching and docking, next on the agenda was checking out the weapon systems. At May¡¯s prompt, the moveable armor sections that concealed the weapon turrets and pods opened up and revealed the ck Lotus¡¯s fully armed state. ¡°Man, that sure looks shy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s amazing. Seeing all thoseser cannons firing is a bit scary, but it¡¯s also kinda pretty.¡± ¡®Well, the sight is quite beautiful, sure. But I wouldn¡¯t want to plunge in the middle of that bombardment at all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true too.¡± The sight of twelveser cannons firing in a barrage sure was something. The ck Lotus was equipped with eight ss 2 and four ss 3ser cannons, for a total of twelve. There¡¯s also the ten seeker missile pods that were not being fired right now. And we can¡¯t forget the main centerpiece ¨C therge-caliber EML. In terms of overall firepower, the Lotus definitely trumps Krishna. ¡ºThe weapons check isplete. I will now proceed with the maneuverability test.¡» ¡°Yeah, go ahead.¡± ck Lotus fired up its afterburners and started elerating. Because of its size, it was fairly slow out the gate. But due to the high output of its thrusters, its top speed was nothing to scoff at. This speed was more than sufficient for shaking off chasing pirates during an escape. ¡°Oh¡­¡­ It¡¯s actually faster than I expected.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s huge but it sure can move huh.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± I and Elma were surprised by the unexpected mobility of ck Lotus, but Mimi didn¡¯t seem to get it and tilted her head. No, it really is more mobile than I expected. In other words, its turning speed was rtively high. Usually,rge ships like it had good straight eleration but somewhat suck at turning. That¡¯s why they were very susceptible to small ships sticking close. Once the small ships manage to get behind therge ship¡¯s blind spot, they would get peppered with attacks after all. But the turning speed of ck Lotus was unexpectedly good. Rather, it looks like it¡¯s not only using the side thrusters but also the attitude control thrusters to forcefully achieve such a feat. Maybe those maneuvers are based on my own. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°It¡¯s faster than expected, but that¡¯s about it. But it could best pirates with crappy ships and equally crappy piloting I guess.¡± ¡°Yeah, I thought so.¡± It¡¯s indeed faster than expected, but Elma and I didn¡¯t think much of it regardless. Just like Elma said, it could surprise unprepared and sucky pirates. But it¡¯s just to that level. As expected, we can¡¯t count on ck Lotus too much in high-speed battles. Well, it¡¯s a heavy andrge ship after all, so I guess that¡¯s to be expected. While ck Lotus continued its maneuvers in open space, multiple ships suddenly warped out nearby apanied by booming sounds. From the looks of them, they were probably part of the imperial navy. I wonder what¡¯s up? ¡ºThis is the Brad System Defense Forces Third Fleet. Please respond.¡» They immediately openedmunications. Did they mistake the situation for an active battle or something? ¡°This is the mercenary ship Krishna¡¯s Captain Hiro speaking. Thatrge one over there is our mothership, the ck Lotus. We just got it today, so we were performing some tests. Go ahead.¡± ¡ºI see. Please wait for a bit.¡» ¡°Aye, aye sir.¡± An alert signifying the imperial ships scanning us rang out. We didn¡¯t really carry anything illegal so we just allowed them to scan us obediently. The ck Lotus should be getting scanned as well. ¡ºMaster. The imperial navy is asking that weply with an inspection.¡» ¡°We¡¯re not carrying anything illegal anyway, so just let them go ahead. It¡¯s not all that pleasant, but it can¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡ºUnderstood.¡» ¡°Also, the Krishna will dock in order toply with the inspection as well. Please make preparations.¡± ¡ºYes.¡» I cut the call with May and had Mimi connect with the imperial fleet next. ¡°This is Captain Hiro. We will now dock inside the ck Lotus to participate in the inspection. The Lotus has two functioning hangars. Please go ahead and send a small ship to the second hangar for performing the inspection.¡± ¡ºUnderstood. Thank you for your cooperation.¡» After confirming their response, we proceeded with docking inside ck Lotus. I was thinking of going to the asteroid belt after training and doing a bit of hunting, but it looks like that won¡¯t be happening this time. We¡¯ll probably undergo a full inspection this time, and that means they¡¯ll be scrutinizing our entire cargo. It¡¯s better to just honestly cooperate at times like this. Chapter 135 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone A few minutes after we docked the Krishna back inside ck Lotus, the drop ship from the Brad System Defense Forces Third Fleet finally arrived. A dropship was a small craft that allowednding on a, colony, or other space vessels afterunching out from a mothership. The one that arrived was your standard military model. For ships out in space with a hangar bay like ours, they can normally dock this way, but if the situation requires it, they may use the dropship to forcibly tear open the hull and rush in. In short, this tiny ship is unexpectedly good at close range engagements. It¡¯s like the high-tech sci-fi version of militarynding crafts. In addition to being able to carry small vehicles and a good number of soldiers, it also has anti-personnelser weapons, so when they use it to charge inside enemy ships, it doubles as a front line base. As I reminisced about the missions I participated in back in SOL involving storming enemy ships alongside allied soldiers, the imperial soldiers sportingser rifles and power armor finally got down from the dropship. There were about thirty of them. The number of soldiers wearing power armor was countable with my fingers, but it would still be reckless to try taking them all on with just me, May, and Elma. TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡°Wee. I¡¯m Captain Hiro, the captain of these ships.¡± I waved to the soldiers in greeting, and one of the soldiers stepped out front. ¡°I¡¯m Ensign Paul Dry, themander of the 6th toon of the Brad System Defense Forces Third Fleet. We will now conduct a spot inspection of your ships in ordance with Article 3 Paragraph 7 of the Imperial Space Navigation Charter.¡± Ensign Paul was a youthful-looking soldier who very much seemed to be a freshly promoted young officer. He was your typical handsome, blue-eyed, blonde ikemen with a moderately well-built frame. ¡°Yes, wee. We just got this today, so forgive the cargo hold for being a mess.¡± ¡°¡­¡­It does seem that way.¡± Ensign Paul looked at the ce I pointed to and made a wry grin. The cargo hold was visible from the hangar after all. The stuff inside the cargo hold were the groceries and daily necessities that were originally loaded inside Krishna. I left only a minimum amount of supplies inside Krishna and moved the rest of the stuff here. We still didn¡¯t have a lot of supplies stocked up because we weren¡¯t really nning on departing from this system just yet, and we didn¡¯t stock up on trade goods to peddle on other systems yet as well, so the cargo hold felt a little empty. ¡°Um, well then, we will check the cargo and inspect the rest of the ship.¡± ¡°Go ahead. Would you like me to apany you all?¡± ¡°We will be d to have your assistance. We will ask you about the cargo as we go along as well. And we will need to inspect thatbat ship as well.¡± ¡°Sure. Can I ask you guys to go with them, Mimi, Elma?¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The imperial military had a reputation for being strict and thorough as well as being sticklers for regtions, so I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t be harassed or anything of the sort. ¡°Sergeant Betty, inspect thatbat ship with your squad.¡± ¡°Aye aye, sir!¡± The female NCO led her squad members toward Krishna with Elma and Mimi following along. The officer being a female one might be some form of consideration on Ensign Paul¡¯s part. Ensign Paul asked me several questions as his men busily inspected the stuff inside the cargo hold. The questions were the usual ones like our reason for leaving port, the reason for us being in this particr sector of space, and the source of the cargo we were carrying. ¡°Anyway, this truly is a newly minted ship huh¡­¡­ It looks great. Everything looks brand new. I can¡¯t believe you were able to personally purchase such a grand-looking ship.¡± ¡°We did get the price cut down by a lot, but even so, this girl still cost us 20,000,000 Enels.¡± ¡°Twenty million¡­¡± Ensign Paul¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Um, if I remember correctly, a first-ss warrant officer¡¯s sry is 4000 Enels a month, right? With that monthly sry, you¡¯d only be able to afford one yourself in about 416 or 417 years. Based on that, I get why you¡¯re so shaken.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡­ Wait, why do you know the monthly sry of a first-ss warrant officer anyway?¡± ¡°I was offered a position as a first-ss warrant officer a while back. I refused because the sry seemed too low.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yeah, I bet you would.¡± Ensign Paul¡¯s gaze turned distant. I¡¯m sure an Ensign¡¯s sry was higher than a first-ss warrant officer, but even that Major Serena was surprised after hearing our regr ie as mercenaries¡­ Okay, let¡¯s not dwell on the sry of military officers too much. I might have hit a nerve there. ¡°It looks like they¡¯ve finished checking the cargo. Let¡¯s continue with inspecting the rest of the ship.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll apany you. Well, this ship just got handed over to us today, so forgive me if I don¡¯t serve as a satisfactory guide.¡± I joined with Ensign Paul and his men as they inspected the rest of the ship. First, we exited the cargo hold and the hangar and went toward the central section of the ship. ¡°You¡¯re telling me this is a mercenary ship¡­?¡± ¡°What the heck is with this overwhelming sense of luxury?¡± ¡°It¡¯s way too big¡­¡­ And the interior design makes full use of all avable space.¡± ¡°I want to live here dammit!¡± Ensign Paul and his subordinates were mentally dying after getting a load of the luxurious andrge break room, dining room, and training room. ¡°Ah¡­¡­ Gaaaaah¡­¡­!¡± A soldier wearing power armor nced at the dining area and froze up. And he then promptly fell on all fours after letting go of hisser rifle. ¡°What!? What¡¯s wrong!?¡± The other soldier wearing power armor beside him got surprised and rushed over. No, really, what¡¯s up man? Did you really see something so shocking? ¡°¡­¡­Take a look at the auto-cooker over there guys.¡± ¡°What are you¡­?¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s¡­ Tetsujin V¡­!¡± ¡°What¡­¡­ did you¡­ just say!?¡± The gazes of Ensign Paul and his men simultaneously focused inside the dining room. Well, yeah, that¡¯s a Tetsujin V, alright. ¡°Tetsujin¡­? And what¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Unlike our damned Chef back at the ship that only ever whips up stuff that tastes like unprocessed food cartridge paste even though it¡¯s already supposed to have processed them, that is an ultra-luxury auto-cooker that processes all sorts of high-ss and absurdly tasty food¡­¡­¡± The soldier who was on his knees answered Ensign Paul¡¯s question in a gloomy tone. Ah, it seems the performance of the auto-cooker back in their ship was quite terrible¡­ It would certainly make morale drop if they only ever had nd-tasting food usually. ¡°¡­¡­But the tea it makes is tasty, right?¡± ¡°That and tea snacks are the only things it can make decently though¡­¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s the captain¡¯s decision¡­¡­ Just give up, soldier.¡± After hearing his subordinate¡¯s words, Ensign Paul¡¯s gaze became distant once more. I see. So I guess the auto-cooker on their ship was extremely inclined towards tea and tea-rted items. So, was it, like, a British-inspired auto-cooker or something? ¡°Hey there, soldier guys. You sure are working hard.¡± ¡°Good day, everyone.¡± Tina and Whisker passed by Ensign Paul and his men, whose tensions fell to critical levels. ¡°¡­¡­Um, those were¨C?¡± ¡°They were engineers who were sent to us from Space Dwerg. As you saw, they¡¯re twin dwarf sisters. They are both already maturedies, so you guys better not treat them as children.¡± ¡°Engineers¡­¡­ Then who¡¯s the one piloting this ship?¡± ¡°I left pilot duty to my high-performance android.¡± I didn¡¯t specifically need to tell them she was a maidroid though. But one of the soldiers still ended up noticing a kinda awkward thing. ¡°¡­¡­So let me get this straight. You¡¯re the only guy here and the rest are females?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Uh, well, yeah. Haha.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡­¡­¡­¡±¡±¡± Hey, stop that. Don¡¯t start priming yourser rifle, you! And you! Stop gnashing your teeth and shaking your first, man. If you hit me with it while wearing power armor, I¡¯ll seriously die y¡¯know. By the way, all the soldiers with me were probably men. I¡¯m not too sure about the three who were wearing power armor, but judging from their gestures and voices, they were probably men too. ¡°Damn¡­ Damn, damn, dammit all¡­¡­! Even I could get a great girl if given the chance¡­¡­!¡± ¡°Even if you did, it¡¯d be meaningless y¡¯know. Once we get on the ship for duty, we won¡¯t be able to see them for months, or even a year or two.¡± ¡°Wahaha! I bet she¡¯ll be all over another guy once youe home¡­¡­¡± ¡°Stop it. Don¡¯t give me that, guys¡­ If I were at least stationed in the colony, it would probably work out. Damn.¡± I continued guiding the soldiers, whose morale dropped to an all-time low, around the rest of the ship. We also checked out the cockpit along the way. ¡°Thank you for your hard work, everyone.¡± ¡°This girl is the android pilot¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah.¡± ¡°¡­¡­But ain¡¯t she a maidroid?¡± ¡°Indeed I am. Is there something wrong?¡± May tilted her head after hearing the soldier¡¯s words. ¡°No, she¡¯s certainly a maidroid¡­ but her specs seem quite crazy.¡± ¡°Yes, that is correct. I can even serve as Master¡¯s bodyguard if need be.¡± After the power armor-equipped soldier¡¯s remarks, May nodded briskly in agreement. There were three soldiers equipped with power armor here, but May should be able to win against them within this confined space. May¡¯s closebat specs are extraordinary after all. ¡°With this, we¡¯ve gone around the entire ship. Do you still want to continue looking around though?¡± ¡°Yes. We still need to check out the engine room and such. Those sections are often used to hide illegal contraband after all.¡± ¡°Illegal contraband huh¡­¡­ Are they really thatmon over here?¡± ¡°Yes. Some viins who have colluded with pirates secretly exchange stolen and illegal goods in inconspicuous sectors of space and smuggle them inside the Brad Prime colony, or do the opposite and smuggle goods out from here to other systems. They¡¯ve also partnered with the Abandoned ouws staying inside the Brad Prime colony as well¡­¡­¡± Ensign Paul let out a sigh. So there are pirates and there¡¯s Abandoned ouws huh. It looks like the public order of Brad Prime was actually in a bad spot. I¡¯m sure keeping an eye on those criminal elements takes a lot of work. The only way to curb it was to eliminate all of the Abandoned who have turned to crime, but that would be difficult as well. It also seems that therge criminal groups were preventingrge mopping-operations by upying certain areas with important infrastructure and equipment within the colony. It¡¯s not like they can¡¯t get rid of them, but it was difficult and tricky to do so because of the potential losses and danger to the colony as a whole. They could still attempt it if they didn¡¯t mind taking a loss in my opinion, but I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a lot of other unspoken reasons behind the current circumstances. We continued discussing the topic on pirates and criminal elements, and before long, the inspection finally wrapped up. Ensign Paul and his men boarded their dropship and went back to their fleet. The result of the inspection was a favorable one. Well, of course, it was. We¡¯ve managed to avoid undergoing inspections in the past since we were traveling around via a small ship. But from now on, we will probably undergo such a thing more often since we got ck Lotus and a lot more cargo space to store stuff. This incident was timely, in a sense. At least, we finally got some experience regarding on-the-spot inspections like this one. ¡°It¡¯s alreadyte, so I guess we should head back to Brad Prime now. We¡¯ll start with the full-scale operations by tomorrow.¡± I grabbed my portable terminal and told Mimi and the others we were going back, and I had May set a course back to Brad Prime. We¡¯ll start hunting pirates in earnest by tomorrow. Chapter 136 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone After the consecutive training exercises and the surprise inspection by the imperial military yesterday, we were finally going to return to our normal routine of pirate hunting today. We managed to encounter pirates right away during Krishna¡¯s test run a few days back as well, but this was the first time in a while that we¡¯ll actively engage in pirate hunting. The Space Dwerg mechanics Tina and Whisker didn¡¯t participate, but the rest of us had a meeting about today¡¯s pirate hunting activityst night. And so, ck Lotus with Krishna parked snugly inside one of its hangars, applied for departure from the Brad Prime colonye morning straight away. ¡°Let¡¯s go with the n we decided on yesterday then.¡± ¡ºAcknowledged.¡» TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 Only I, Mimi, and Elma were inside Krishna¡¯s cockpit. May was piloting the ck Lotus while the mechanic sisters were standing by inside a room near the hangar. They were still ultimately outsiders, and it wasn¡¯t advisable topletely let our guards down against them, so it was possible to monitor the room they were staying in from Krishna to some extent. ¡°Tina, Whisker, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll face any trouble today, but we¡¯re going to engage in livebat after all. Just keep your wits about, okay.¡± ¡ºRoger boss.¡» ¡ºUnderstood.¡» They replied with tense voices over thems. ¡°Be sure to wear your diapers just in case.¡± ¡ºAhaha. Whisker already has one on, so you don¡¯t have to worry boss.¡» ¡ºBig sis! Hiro-saaan!¡» Whisker¡¯s face turned red from my and Tina¡¯s teasing. Well, at least that got rid of some of their nervousness. Mimi gave me a slight nce for some reason. ¡°You¡¯ve already graduated from using one, right Mimi?¡± ¡°O-Of course. I¡¯m also already used to the job after all.¡± Mimi smiled joyfully even as her face blushed red. It looks like she¡¯s happy about my attention. I didn¡¯t really intend to ignore Mimi, but I¡¯ve been really busytely due to the purchase of the mothership, Krishna¡¯s maintenance, and the fiasco about the mechanic sisters. I¡¯ll spoil her a lot after pirate hunting today. Of course, I¡¯ll be spoiling Elma as well. Oh, and May too. I¡¯ve made May work a lot these past days, so I¡¯ll need to do my duty as her master as well. ¡ºWe have been given clearance. We will now depart.¡» ¡°Roger. Once we get out, immediately set course for the designated coordinates.¡± ¡ºYes, please leave it to me.¡» Krishna¡¯s HUD disyed the images captured by ck Lotus as well. It looks like we¡¯ve already left port and started elerating, but we, who were inside Krishna, couldn¡¯t tell that we were moving at all. I guess other than beingunched out from the catapult, the inertial control system is able to deal with this much momentum. Soon, the ck Lotus activated its FTL Drive and went superluminal. Our destination for today was a sector I heard about from the ensign we met yesterday and was said to be a hotspot for pirate activity in the Brad system. They target ships cruising via FTL Drive and stopped them in their tracks by using interdictors. ¡°Guess we¡¯re fishing for pirates in a sense.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s pirate fishing on a system-wide scale huh.¡± ¡°You always go big when you do things, don¡¯t you, Hiro-sama?¡± I think this was just normal for a merc though. Well, people usually don¡¯t allow themselves to get purposely get hit by interdictors, so yeah. Only mercs like us who engage in pirate fishing would be more than willing to do so. ¡ºMaster, there¡¯s a response on the subspace radar. There¡¯s a group of ships tracking us.¡» ¡°Jackpot huh. Yosh. Pretend to run away, but make sure you don¡¯t shake them off. Match your speed with a regr civilian cargo ship. Set course for the Brad Prime colony.¡± ¡ºAcknowledged. I will pretend to desperately try to escape the moment they hit us with an interdictor.¡» ¡°Please do. Yosh. Buckle up, guys. We¡¯re starting.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Roger. We¡¯re counting on you for the catapultunch timing, May.¡± ¡ºPlease leave it to me.¡» I felt the ship slightly shake as we prepared forbat. It looks like they already hit us with an interdictor. Soon after, we got a call from Tina. ¡ºB-Boss, I think we got hit with an interdictor! Are we going to be okay!?¡» ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll be fine. Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s all ording to n. We just sessfully baited some pirate ships.¡± ¡ºB-Bait¡­¡­? Y-You¡¯re not telling me you were nning on making ck Lotus pirate bait from the start!?¡» ¡°Exactly. The shields and hull of ck Lotus are pretty tough, so you don¡¯t really need to worry guys. There will just be some shaking when taking enemy fire.¡± ¡ºNo! Nononononono! We¡¯re gonna get shot at!? That¡¯s absolutely bad, y¡¯know!¡» ¡°It¡¯s okay! Believe in the ck Lotus and Space Dwerg¡¯s capabilities!¡± I made an OK sign with my fingers toward Tina on the other side of the screen and cut thems. She looked like she still wanted to say something, but I don¡¯t have the time to deal with her right now. This is gonna be a regr thing from now on, so the earlier they get used to it, the better. ¡ºThe interdictor has taken effect and we will now be returning to normal space. I will scan the unidentified ships, and once they are determined to be pirates, I will open fire.¡» ¡°Roger.¡± After a few moments, the ship strongly shook, and we were finally thrown back out into normal space. It looks like it¡¯s starting. ¡ºScanplete. Unidentified ships are confirmed to be pirates. There are nine small ships. Opening hatch. Activatingunch catapult.¡» ¡°Roger. We¡¯re starting you two. Once we¡¯re out there, we¡¯ll charge in immediately. You should start support bombardment once Krishna manages to get their attention, May.¡± ¡º¡º¡ºRoger! (Yes.)¡»¡»¡» After hearing the crisp replies of mypanions and grabbing the control stick, I switch the HUD disy from ck Lotus to Krishna. Afterward, the hatch of the hangar began to open. ¡ºLaunching Krishna.¡» Along with May¡¯s announcement, powerful G forces assaulted my body and pressed it against the pilot seat. We instantly left the hangar behind and shot off to outer space. ¡ºHey! There¡¯s a small ship thatunched out from that big one.¡» ¡ºAn escort ship? That¡¯s weird. Why didn¡¯t it fly alongside the big one from the start?¡» ¡ºIt¡¯s just one ship. Surround it and bring it down.¡» We could clearly hear the valiant exchange of the pirates over thems. Hahaha, what a happy bunch. We¡¯re gonna turn you into space dust and get that sweet, sweet bounty. Eh? Don¡¯t I feel even a little bit repulsed about taking lives? It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t, but the other party is pirates y¡¯know. There¡¯s no room for those sorts of feelings when dealing with the likes of them. They normally kill all the crew of the ships they attack, and even worse, they may cut them up to sell their organs, or turn them into outlets of their lust. Some are even more depraved. There¡¯s absolutely no benefit to leaving scum like these alive. So they don¡¯t deserve any form of mercy from me. The moment weunched out from ck Lotus, I activated Krishna¡¯s weapon systems. The four heavyser cannons and the two ballistic shot cannons revealed themselves. Apparently, those bandits mistook Krishna for a regr escort ship and sent six ships to deal with us. The remaining three ships went after ck Lotus. The six ships rushed over haphazardly without any semnce of a proper ship formation. ¡°We¡¯re charging in.¡± ¡°Roger. Releasing chaff.¡± Elma controlled the subsystems and released the chaff. The chaff doesn¡¯tpletely shut down the enemy¡¯s targeting systems, but it¡¯s very effective in disrupting their aim and reducing uracy. Why is there chaff in space, you ask? I have no idea. It¡¯s just how it is guys. Well, it¡¯s not sprinkling metallic foils though. Maybe it¡¯s some sort of unknown particle or something. Anyway, I don¡¯t really have any interest in knowing how it works as long as it¡¯s effective. If it can make the enemy ship¡¯s uracy drop, then I¡¯m using it. ¡ºIt¡¯sing in fast!?¡» ¡ºBreak up! Break up! We¡¯ll crash with it at this rate!¡» Maybe they¡¯re aware of just how thin their shields and armor was, so the pirate ships desperately made evasive maneuvers in order to avoid Krishna. Basically, most escort ships are of the well-shielded and well-armored variety, so in a head-on collision, the retrofitted pirate ships will be the ones to turn into space debris. So they were well aware of that weakness and tried to avoid a collision as a result. But that was part of my aim as well since that will expose plenty of gaps I can take advantage of. ¡ºUwaaah¡ª¡» The emeraldser beams fired by Krishna¡¯s four heavyser cannons tore through the energy shield and hull of the lead pirate ship and instantly brought it down. It looks like the shots failed to hit its generator so it didn¡¯t explode. That¡¯s rare. I flew past the silenced pirate ship and turned the flight control system off. I used the attitude control thrusters to make Krishna turn rapidly and fired the main thrusters to the maximum in order to chase down the remaining ships. I was already pretty used to the Gs resulting from these intense maneuvers. It may be a result of my daily training workouts. My body doesn¡¯t feel burdened as muchpared to before when I make these sorts of sharp maneuvers. ¡°Gu¡­¡­!¡± ¡°Uuu.¡± Elma and Mimi let out pained groans, but I can¡¯t just stop the pursuit. I finally got a clean look at their behinds, so I immediately showered them withser cannon shots. ¡ºWhat the hell is with that thing¡¯s movements!? Goddamn monster!¡» ¡ºDammit! I ain¡¯t going down like this!¡» After shooting down two more ships, the remaining three started retaliating withser cannon fire of their own. However, Krishna¡¯s energy shield effortlessly shrugged off their shots. I gave the shield¡¯s condition a quick check and found that it would be able to tank at least another 200 or so shots before being saturated. Though if that happens, Elma would immediately activate a shield cell, so it can tank even more. ¡ºUwaaah! Stooop!¡» Krishna made a sharp turn and instantly closed in on the remaining ships. The pirate ships tried to escape, but Krishna was overwhelmingly faster. ¡ºNo, don¡¯t¨C¡» The tworge-caliber ballistic shot cannons spewed fire and countless submunitions prated the shields and hulls of the enemy ships, peppering them full of holes. Two ships were simultaneously brought down. Like I said, no mercy for these guys. ¡ºNo! Not here! Not like this¨C!¡» The single remaining ship was also brought down by a salvo ofser cannon fire, and I then headed to support the ck Lotus. ¡ºNo! I don¡¯t wanna die! I don¡¯t wanna¨C!¡» A ship was running away from the ck Lotus with itsrge-caliber EML already deployed. It looks like the other two ships were already taken down by theser cannons of the Lotus. ¡°Ah, thest ship activated its FTL Drive¨C¡± The barrel of the EML gave off a fierce light, and in the next moment, thest pirate ship that was trying to escape exploded into bits. Man. That¡¯s brutal. ¡°¨Cand failed to escape. Phew.¡± ¡°Guess that¡¯s it. Battle over. We¡¯re starting salvage work, guys.¡± Thanks to ck Lotus, we could now retrieve all of the usable equipment from the pirate ships that we usually had to leave behind in the past. That meant that the gains from hunting pirates will increase several timespared to before. And also, we can salvage pirate ships that took rtively lesser damage and sell them off. Recovered pirate ships have little value for mercenaries since we piloted only the best, but they would be nicemodities for interster traveling merchants, miners, or scavengers because they could be bought at rtively cheap prices. As long as we could secure one or two, they were pretty valuable loot. ¡°Hehehe, from now on, I have to be more careful and not make the pirate ships explode into pieces.¡± ¡°You¡¯re making a face fit for a viin, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Just leave him be. We¡¯ll leave the big one to you, May. Hey, Hiro! Let¡¯s start collecting the loot already!¡± ¡ºAcknowledged.¡» ¡°Roger, ma¡¯am.¡± I moved Krishna toward the pirate ship wreckages and scanned their cargo holds for loot. I¡¯m looking forward to our profits today! Chapter 137 Chapter 137 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡ºBoss, are we not going to recover the FTL Drive from that ship?¡» Tina made a call while we were in the middle of salvaging the loot. ¡°They have no problems with external equipment like weapons, but the drones can¡¯t salvage internal stuff like that.¡± ¡ºThat¡¯s true, but we can always take them inside the hangar. We can handle the salvage work over here y¡¯know?¡» ¡°Won¡¯t it take too much time?¡± TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29 ¡ºIt¡¯s fine. There¡¯s a lot of maintenance bots to help us out, and if we don¡¯t care about what happens to the rest of the ship, recovering those should be easy.¡» ¡°Fumu¡­¡­¡± ¡°What do you think?¡¯ I asked Elma with my gaze. ¡°Why don¡¯t have them try it then? It¡¯ll increase our profits anyway.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. Okay, go ahead then. May, use the tractor beam and bring the wreckage in.¡± ¡ºUnderstood.¡» ¡°Tina, Whisker. I¡¯ll give you a nice bonuster so do your best. I have no idea how much I give you guys though, so I¡¯ll have to consult the Mercenary Guild first.¡± ¡ºLeave it to us!¡» ¡ºWe will do our best!¡» The replies of the sisters were filled with motivation. Afterward, the ck Lotus approached the ship that didn¡¯t explode and fired off its tractor beam that shone with green radiance. The ship wreckage gradually drifted toward ck Lotus. By the way, that green light is apparently just given off by a guidingser, and the tractor beam itself was actually invisible. It also didn¡¯t give off that cliche UFO tractor beam SFX. That would have been neat though. ¡°Oh, and make sure there are no surviving pirates inside the wreckage before you open it up, okay.¡± ¡ºYes. What shall we do if we found some?¡» ¡°Get rid of them. We don¡¯t take prisoners.¡± ¡ºUnderstood.¡» May¡¯s curt reply resounded from thems. Well, it¡¯s her, so I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll do a thorough job. Eh? Killing fellows who can¡¯t resist is overdoing it? Nah. These pirates must have had their fair share of killing without mercy, so they shouldn¡¯tin if it was done to them as well. There¡¯s no room for mercy here. Anyway, let¡¯s get back to looting! ¡°They really have a fondness for alcohol huh.¡± ¡°Yeah. But usually, you can only find cheap nd-tasting alcohol in a pirate ship¡¯s cargo hold though.¡± ¡°They collect a lot of junk as well. Hey, they have refined rare metals here. Sweet.¡± Now that we have a huge mothership with equally huge cargo space, we can finally take all the loot we can carry instead of prioritizing the valuable ones. Yeah, it¡¯s not really necessary and sometimes inefficient, but it just feels great to strip ¡¯em bare y¡¯know. Mimi was always in charge of organizing the recovered loot and selling them back at colonies we visit, so her smile today was especially radiant as she took note of all the items we were getting. Back then, Mimi acted all flustered whenever she participated in loot recovery with the drones, but now that she¡¯s used to the work, she was even multitasking and calcting the estimated profits from selling the loot. The contents of the pirate ship¡¯s cargo holds were mostly foodstuffs and alcohol, as well as the loot from their previous victims. There were also pirate ships that had their cargo holds filled with loot, but those usually are more preupied with selling them off, so they won¡¯t attack any other ships until they empty their stock. Encountering those ones ispletely up to luck. However, we also sometimes encounter ships that are filled with loot even though they haven¡¯t attacked anyone else yet. They mostly hoard stuff like rare metals that are quickly exchangeable to cash. In other words, those are their so-called savings. You never know when you can encounter such ships, and if you keep hunting pirates, you¡¯re bound to find them asionally. ¡°Yosh. Since we¡¯ve filled the cargo hold, let¡¯s return to the Lotus and drop them off before heading back out for more.¡± ¡°Understood!¡± Mimi replied with a radiant smile still disyed on her face. Yeah. I get you, Mimi. Looting is fun huh. We transferred the contents of Krishna¡¯s cargo to the Lotus several times until we finished collecting all the possible loot. We then returned to the Lotus for a well-deserved break. I watched the mechanic sisters working busily with Krishna¡¯s optical sensors as I sipped my drink from the pointlessly high-tech sci-fi floating tumbler. ¡°They sure are putting those maintenance bots to good use.¡± ¡°They¡¯re pro mechanics after all. Judging from that, they¡¯d be great at controlling drones after a little practice as well, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Really¡­?¡± ¡°Mechanics are usually great drone operators as well. If they ever decide to part from Space Dwerg and work full-time with us, I think they should be hired as both mechanics and drone operators.¡± The mechanics assigned torge starships try to maintain the ships on their own as much as possible, but there naturally is a limit to doing stuff manually. Lifting the armor tes of starships by hand is difficult, even in low gravity environments, and above all, it¡¯s quite dangerous to do so. That¡¯s why mechanics use maintenance bots for those kinds of jobs. Usually, one mechanic controls up to three maintenance bots simultaneously. By the way, there were ten maintenance bots running around the hangar of ck Lotus right now. It looks like each sister was controlling five bots at the same time. ¡°Isn¡¯t controlling ten bots with just two of them quite amazing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably due to the work not requiring much precision, but yeah, it¡¯s still amazing.¡± Tina and Whisker were operating the holographic control console projected by the holo-disy with expert demeanors. It even looks like they were talking as they worked, but the maintenance bots continued to work on their own jobs without interfering with each other. Hmm. Just like May said, their skills as pro mechanics were superb. I¡¯m even more impressed after seeing it firsthand. My evaluation of the two of them was sharply rising. The maintenance bots operated by the two of them seem to be taking apart a section of the hull of the pirate ship wreckage withser torches. Thoseser torches look really cool, man. They look like they might allow me to awaken to the Force. But since I¡¯m not Force-aware, I¡¯ll probably just cut off my leg if I attempted to swing one around. But beam swords are a man¡¯s romance y¡¯know¡­ I also think the swords I got from Earl Daleinwald are cool, but I¡¯d get mistaken as a noble if I ever walked around with those, and that could only lead to massive trouble. I don¡¯t want to go through that, so I don¡¯t have any opportunity to use them at all. ¡ºMaster.¡» As I watched the sisters and the maintenance bots work with Mimi and Elma, a call from May went through. ¡°Hm? What¡¯s up?¡± ¡ºIt looks like there are some more targets.¡» The response picked up by the subspace radar of ck Lotus got disyed on Krishna¡¯s HUD. Oh, so there¡¯s new prey huh. They sure are biting a lot today. ¡°Roger. We¡¯re heading off for more work, guys.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Aye aye, sir.¡± Guess we should sortie before those guys warp out. ¡°Oh boy. That was exhausting.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really hard work, isn¡¯t it big sis?¡± After the second wave, another set of pirates came. After we managed to hunt a total of three pirate groups, we finally decided to go back to Brad Prime. We managed to arrive during rush hour, so we were currently waiting in line in order to enter the colony. Our total number of kills this time was 27 small ships and 2 medium ones, for a total of 29 ships. The total bounty reward is 217,500 Enels. The bounty money was alreadyrge enough, but we also managed to secure one small pirate ship in good enough condition which was put inside ck Lotus¡¯s hangar, and one medium-sized ship which we towed back. We made so we could use the FTL Drive while towing the ship and brought it back. The small ship inside the Lotus was your typical chimera ship made up of a stock civilian model patched with assorted stolen parts. In addition, the cargo hold of ck Lotus was now filled with the items we plundered from the destroyed pirate ships. Just how much will we be able to earn from selling all of this loot? I¡¯ll calcte it using my knowledge from SOL as a basis. If I remember correctly, small ships sold for 30,000 Enels and medium ships sold for 70,000. I can¡¯t say anything certain for the rest of the loot though. But it probably won¡¯t fall below 80,000 at least. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s time for a celebration tonight as well. We can eat out, or we can have our chef whip some stuff up since they¡¯re also delicious. Which would you prefer?¡± Since there¡¯s no danger present in the sectors near the colony, we got down from Krishna as soon as we arrived in the vicinity of Brad Prime and met up with the sisters. We then rxed at the break room as we waited for our turn to enter the port. By the way, the chef I referred to was our amazing high-performance auto-cooker, Tetsujin V. If you used high-end food cartridges instead of the normal ones, you¡¯d end up with tastier food that won¡¯t lose out to those served at five-star restaurants back on Earth. And we can also party harderpared to eating out. You need to worry about the way back if you eat out, so you can¡¯t overdo it. I¡¯m not really concerned about that though since I don¡¯t drink alcohol, but I¡¯ll pass on carrying back four women knocked out from drinking too much. Two is probably okay, but four is too much. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to have the party inside the ship? I¡¯ll even bring out my secret alcohol stash.¡± ¡°Alcohol!¡± ¡°Alcohol huh¡­ Come to think of it, we should already be allowed to drink, right big sis?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Hey, boss!¡± Tina turned her excited gaze toward me. Her eyes were sparkling in anticipation. ¡°Mimi, listen to their preferences and order the dwarven liquor of their choice.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The sisters let out joyful whoops after hearing my words. It¡¯s kinda awkward seeing these mechanic sisters, who looked like elementary school kids, celebrating after knowing that they¡¯ll be able to drink their favorite liquors. ¡°Dwarven alcohol huh¡­¡­ They¡¯re all strong liquors so I¡¯m not that fond of them.¡± ¡°Dwarf alcohol isn¡¯t all of the strong variety. They also have kinds that have a sharp taste that prates straight into your noggin. For example, the Ground Ring from Kiraku Brewery is reasonably priced but has a solid character and vor. I highly rmend it.¡± Whisker nodded in agreement to Tina¡¯s words. It looks like these twin sisters have simr preferences for alcohol as well. ¡ºI¡¯ve receivednding clearance, Master.¡» ¡°Understood. Go ahead and enter the port. Be careful not to get into an ident.¡± ¡ºYes, please leave it to me.¡» I replied to May, who contacted us through the break room¡¯s speakers, and smiled faintly at the sight of the girls crowding around Mimi as she fiddled with her tablet to ce some alcohol orders. It looks like we would be able to get along with the sisters well after all. Soon after, I saw Elma and Tina trying to buyrge amounts of expensive alcohol from the online store while Mimi and Whisker desperately tried to stop them¨C Hey, wait a minute, guys! I¡¯m the one who¡¯s gonna pay for that alcohol y¡¯know? We need to have a little talk, you two. Honestly. This pair of hopeless drunkards. Chapter 138: READ MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MORE Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°A bonus for mechanics?¡± It¡¯s the next day after we partied hard in the dining room of ck Lotus. I and Mimi visited the Mercenary Guild branch located on Brad Prime for a consultation. Elma, who drank till early morning, was still knocked out cold in her room, and May brought Tina and Whisker to the imperial military garrison in order to cash in the bounty reward for the pirates. ¡°We do have a standard amount set for that. In this particr case¡­ I see. So the two mechanics were sent out from an independent firm. And Hiro-sama is the full owner of the ship they are assigned to.¡± A male guild receptionist, who was your typical pretty boy, fiddled with his tablet terminal and confirmed my details. He then proceeded to operate a holo-disy¡¯s console. Man. He sure is amazing at multitasking. Top ArticlesStarship Chapter 61READ MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MORE ¡°It¡¯s a bit rare to have mechanics working for a private enterprise be deployed to a mercenary ship so there are not many cases to base on, but since thepany still pays them their monthly sries, they aren¡¯t normally given a certain percentage of the reward from mercenary jobs, unlike regr crew members.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°However, there have been quite a number of cases of mechanicsining that their regr sry isn¡¯t nearly enough given the amount of danger they are subjected to, so the turn-over rate for these kinds of deployments is quite high. ording to the records, most of them onlyst three months on average before asking to be recalled.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not 100%?¡± Yeah. Normally, you would absolutely refuse if you¡¯re told to risk your life for a measly pay of 3,500 Enels per month. That¡¯s what I¡¯d do anyway. ¡°Yes. There are those who die during sorties before reaching the three-month mark.¡± ¡°Man, that¡¯s harsh.¡± ¡°Those are pretty rare cases though. Usually, privatepanies are careful when choosing which ship they deploy their employees¡­ There, I¡¯ve found the info you¡¯re looking for, sir. Regardless of how much you earn from your mercenary activities, you can give a certain percentage of your gains to the mechanics as a bonus if you¡¯re so inclined whenever they participate during operations. The average amount is 10% to 20% of your total earnings from each job.¡± ¡°¡­¡­It¡¯s gonna be a pain to calcte.¡± So whenever we finish a job with the sisters participating actively, we¡¯ll have to set aside 10% to 20% of the total gains for their bonus huh. Well, I already knew it was going to be somewhat of a hassle. But troublesome stuff is troublesome stuff. ¡°Many mercenaries share the same sentiment, so they end up going for a fixed amount instead.¡± ¡°I see.¡± In any case, I managed to find out what I came for. ¡°Anyway, thanks for the help. I¡¯ll talk with the rest of my crew and then decide afterward. I have another to inquire about though.¡± ¡°Yes, go ahead, sir.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯ve already noticed after looking at my data, but I just recently bought a mothership. And so, I want to dabble in some system to system trading. If I remember correctly, I need the Mercenary Guild to arrange the particrs with the Commerce Guild in order to do that, right?¡± ¡°Yes, we can certainly arrange it for you.¡± The Mercenary Guild and the Commerce Guild had a really tight rtionship in this dimension. That¡¯s because of the rampancy of pirates and space monsters out in space. In order to protect themselves from those threats, the merchants from the Commerce Guild hire mercenaries from the Mercenary Guild to protect them during trips. And there are also folks who serve both as mercenaries and merchants as well. I earn my money mostly by hunting down pirates, but there are quite a lot of mercs who often serve as merchant fleet escorts. I¡¯m more at home with the run-and-gun style of y after all. I¡¯m great at charging head-on with guns zing, but I¡¯m not too good at fighting while protecting a specific target. It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t do it at all though. ¡°A Skizbrazunil-ss ship is it¡­¡­ You managed to obtain quite a good ship, sir.¡± ¡°Yeah. The loading capacity is about 180 tons. We need some space for our personal stash after all.¡± The loading capacity of ck Lotus wasn¡¯tparable to a specializedrge cargo ship used by merchants, but 180 tons is still pretty hefty. It was more than sufficient to bring us some nice profits on the side in between big jobs and pirate hunting. ¡°Its cruising speed is much faster than a regr merchant cargo ship, and judging from its performance during today¡¯s pirate hunting activities, it¡¯s also pretty secure. You can even use it for requests requiring express delivery. And it looks like the living facilities are also quite impressive, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°We paid good money for those after all.¡± ¡°With this much, you can even afford to take on jobs that require the transport of the merchants themselves apart from their goods. You have some great-looking guest cabins, so if we sell this enough, I think we can introduce you to a diverse selection of clientele.¡± ¡°Sure. But please don¡¯t introduce us to guys with troublesome characters. I have a lot of women on my ship after all. I don¡¯t want any idents happening.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. We will do our best to introduce you to decent clients.¡± The handsome guild staff answered with a really refreshing smile on his face, but I didn¡¯t miss the momentary leak of a distinct aura of jealousy. Needless to say, Mimi, who was standing right next to me, was a really pretty girl. And I¡¯m sure he¡¯d already seen the profiles of Elma and the others on his tablet terminal. Chill man. Don¡¯t worry so much. You have a nice enough face anyway, and since you¡¯re a Mercenary Guild employee, I¡¯m sure you have an equally nice sry as well. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re pretty popr yourself. I mused such thoughts inside my head but didn¡¯t dare utter them out loud. Maybe he has his own circumstances after all. ¡°I¡¯m going to hunt pirates within the Brad system for another week or so. We¡¯re going to be getting in some training exercises as well. But if the loot gets sold earlier, it¡¯s possible we may decide to depart early as well. Please arrange things with the Commerce Guild.¡± ¡°Understood. I will contact you straight away once we get a response.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I thanked the pretty boy receptionist and left the guild office with Mimi. She kept quiet all throughout our time in the Mercenary Guild but opened her mouth to speak as soon as we got out. ¡°We¡¯re finally doing a job other than hunting pirates huh, Hiro-sama.¡± She made her usual guts pose and pumped herself up. She¡¯s been really interested in the trading of specialty goods for a while now, so I understand why she¡¯s so excited. She seems to have investigated such things and studied the topic while selling off the loot plundered from defeated pirate ships. ¡°I guess I can leave this stuff to you huh, Mimi. Elma doesn¡¯t seem so interested in it anyway, and May has her hands full with ck Lotus and the sisters.¡± ¡°I still think May-san would do a good job if you left it to her though¡­¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave everything for May to handle, you know. I¡¯ve been saying that since the start. And wouldn¡¯t it be pretty boring if she really did handle everything?¡± In fact, if May made full use of her incredible specs, I¡¯m sure she¡¯d be able to manage everything rted to ck Lotus and Krishna, including me, Mimi, and Elma. But if that happens, it would feel like we would just robotically follow all of May¡¯s instructions without thinking for ourselves. ¡°That¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it? I feel a bit sorry toward May-san, but I think so as well.¡± ¡°Right? Rather, if that happened on a muchrger scale, I¡¯m sure that would be the start of the empire¡¯s fall.¡± I¡¯ve stayed in this dimension for quite some time already, so I have a moderate understanding of its history. This gctic empire named Gran was once almost destroyed in a war with highly evolved AI. I haven¡¯t managed to grasp the entire picture yet, but to put it simply, the Gran empire of long ago during the peak of independent AIs, was a society that was heavily reliant on said AIs for almost everything. And in true dystopian SF future fashion, a portion of the AIs staged a rebellion that eventually led to full-scale war. It¡¯s said that the rebuilt empire is extremely careful about relying on AIs because of the war that happened in the past after reconciling with them. However, looking at the current state of the Gran empire, I find it already impossible for them topletely break free from independent AIs at this point. On the surface, it seems that humanity was the one that pushed for peace and that the independent AIs were content with being relegated to the background after the reconciliation happened, and they were now supporting the current imperial society from behind the scenes. But sometimes I suspect that the AIs were actually the ones that were truly running the show. I don¡¯t have any solid evidence for it, but it does feel like the AIs intentionally made it so that they can run everything from the shadows. It¡¯s just that I felt absolutely no malice from the AIs I¡¯ve encountered so far. Actually, it feels more like being watched over from the shadows rather than being manipted¡­¡­ Or maybe it¡¯s just me. Even if that¡¯s the case though, I don¡¯t really care as long as they don¡¯t pose a threat to me or my loved ones. ¡°About the war with the AIs. There¡¯s a lot of rumors floating about regarding what really happened during the end of the war. There are even urban legends stemming from them. Did you know that, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Really? What are they about?¡± We talked about the urban legends surrounding AIs until we managed to reach the dock where ck Lotus was anchored. The topics Mimi told me about were really quite interesting. However, stories like an AI from a defeated battleship transferring itself inside a sexroid owned by a low-ranking soldier, then awakening to the joys of love and sex after associating with the said soldier and became one of the keys for reconciliation between humans and AI were just too over the top that I couldn¡¯t really take them seriously. I¡¯m sure these kinds of stories simply originated from dirty jokes made by bored individuals or something. Chapter 139: READ MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MORE Chapter 139 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone 139 ¨C Money Talk ¡°Wee back.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°We¡¯re back.¡± Top ArticlesStarship Chapter 61READ MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MORE When we got back to ck Lotus, we found Elma resting up inside the break room. I, Mimi, and May all went out for business, but this elf sure was living it up huh. ¡°So, how was it?¡± ¡°We found out what we came there for. It looks like the standard bonus for those two would be 10-20% of the total earnings whenever they participate in jobs. It¡¯s reasonable enough.¡± ¡°I see. The parts we salvaged the other day already got sold by the way.¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± ¡°That was quite fast.¡± ¡°Yeah. Here. Take a look.¡± I took the tablet terminal from Elma. She then sat down beside me. Mimi sat down opposite me as well and peeked at the terminal screen. ¡°¡­¡­They sold for much higher than I thought.¡± ¡°Yeah. I also got a bit surprised.¡± The sale price disyed on the terminal was higher than I expected. The small chimera ship sold for the price of 55,000 Enels. The medium-sized ship with a rtively undamaged frame and serviceable equipment sold for 90,000 Enels. In addition, the various weapons and parts we stripped from the other downed pirate ships sold for a total of 130,000 Enels. ¡°Um, so we earned a total of 275,000 Enels, right? It¡¯s a lot more than the bounty rewards.¡± ¡± That¡¯s amazing, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Yeah, it is. It¡¯ll seem even more amazing if you consider the fact that this might be our average earnings from now on. After all, we¡¯re going to be continuing with stripping down all we can from the ships we defeat and bringing those in good condition back to be sold. It¡¯s gonna be great.¡± ¡°Wow!¡± ¡°The rest of the loot also got sold already as well. All in all, they got sold for 150,000 Enels.¡± ¡°This one¡¯s also unexpected.¡± ¡°There were quite a lot of rare metals and other valuable minerals after all.¡± The total prize money for the bounties was 217,000 Enels. The salvaged ships, weapons, and parts were sold for 275,000 Enels. And the rest of the loot sold for 150,000 Enels. So that makes our total profit 642,000 Enels. If it was from before we got the mothership, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to reach even half the amount of this time¡¯s total profits in a single sortie. So this actually means our average ie has practically doubled! ¡°So how much are you giving those two?¡± ¡°I think 10% is appropriate for the work those two put in. What do you guys think?¡± ¡°Paying them a fixed amount of 10,000 Enels would suffice as well, I think. But 10 thousand does feel a bit cheap if you consider the fact that they risked their lives too. I¡¯ll leave it up to you, Hiro.¡± ¡°I-I also think 10% is fine.¡± ¡°Okay then. I¡¯ll pay them 10% of our total earnings. So their bonus is gonna be 27,500 Enels then. The remaining money is 614,500 Enels, so your share is 6,145 Enels and Elma¡¯s is 18,435 Enels. Your share is gonna end up lesser than those two, Mimi. You sure you don¡¯t have any objections?¡± I¡¯m also a bit iffy about it as well. ¡°Well, those two are professionals with the apanying skills to boot, so I think it¡¯s fine. Mimi has already improved a lot in her job as the ship operator, but she¡¯s still shaky if you want her to transact business within a colony alone. The next step for her is to learn some proper self-defense techniques so she can fend for herself if need be. I¡¯m sorry Mimi, but even though you perform a ster job as an operator, I still can¡¯t say you¡¯re a full-fledged mercenary if you can¡¯t go out of the ship without an escort.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯ll do my best¡­¡­¡± Elma¡¯s so strict when ites to working. But I can¡¯t really say otherwise since she¡¯s doing such a perfect job as a sub-pilot and can go out of the ship to do errands by herself without any problem. And I bet she can even do a better job than Mimi as a ship operator. She also has quite a lot of channels built up for selling loot. She was formerly a solo ship captain as well, so I guess that¡¯s just to be expected. She¡¯s not a veteran for show. ¡°The total bonus for those two is 27,500 Enels, so each of them gets 13,750 Enels.¡± By the way, my share is 589,920 Enels. It¡¯s too much? No, the ships are a 100% mine y¡¯know. I¡¯m the captain as well as the owner and manager, so this much is fine. I¡¯ll also have to shoulder everyone¡¯s daily expenses too, so it¡¯s just fair. ¡°My share is just a bitrger than theirs huh. Can you consider raising my sry a bit too, dear captain?¡± Elma gazed at me with upturned eyes. ¡°Please ask for a raise only after you return at least part of your debt, my dear sub-pilot.¡± ¡°Oh, can I really?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Are you really in such a hurry to pay it off?¡± ¡°Hmm. I wonder.¡± Elma smiled teasingly. Damn. She¡¯s really cute. But I still won¡¯t raise her sry. As I was charmed by Elma¡¯s smile, Mimi suddenly hugged my arm. I felt Mimi¡¯s puffed up cheeks as she did so. ¡°Mimi-san?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing, Hiro-sama.¡± Mimi¡¯s strength has been steadily increasing due to her daily workouts, so she¡¯s now physically stronger than your average adult woman. I¡¯ve also been working out myself so I was also growing in strength, but Mimi¡¯s development also can¡¯t be dismissed. In other words, what I¡¯m trying to say is that her hug now hurts if she does it too strongly. However, the two soft mounds pressing on my arm served as wonderful cushions, so it¡¯s all good. Oh, dear Lord. What bliss. ¡°That¡¯s ying dirty, Mimi.¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t at least do this, I won¡¯t be able to win against you, Elma-san.¡± Mimi and Elma seem to be in an argument with me sandwiched between them, but I wasn¡¯t really paying attention since I was busy focusing on the soft sensations assaulting me from the left and right. Who cares anyway. ¡°Ah¨C! Boss is flirting around without me!¡± ¡°Big sis¡­¡­¡± A cute-sounding high-pitched voice rang out. It looks like May brought the mechanic sisters with her. I turned toward the spot where the voice resounded from and saw Tina running straight toward me, Whisker chasing closely from behind, and May looking apologetic at the very back. And due to Tina¡¯s shout, the two soft sensations left my arms¡­¡­ Oh, howmentable. I then stretched out my hands in order to catch the running Tina. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± The starry-eyed Tina jumped straight into my arms with great momentum. She made quite the jump, but due to her tiny frame, it didn¡¯t have enough force to knock me down. ¡°There, there. Good girl. Good girl.¡± I unknowingly started petting Tina. ¡°Meooow!¡± What are you, a cat? Come to think of it, I haven¡¯t managed to encounter anyone having pets in this dimension yet, but do they actually have them? Cats, I mean. Anyway, I haven¡¯t really seen any cats in the colonies we¡¯ve been to. But was Tina really imitating a cat, or was it another type of simr animal? I¡¯m not sure. ¡°¡±¡­¡­¡±¡± ¡°Haau¡­¡­¡± Whisker stopped at an awkward distance from me and her sister. She looks like she wants to have her stop, but doesn¡¯t know how to go about it and just paused in ce. Before long, herplexion started going pale and she became teary-eyed. I continued innocently stroking Tina¡¯s head. I ignored the sharp gazesing at me from left and right. I¡¯mma ignore them no matter what. Whisker looked like she was about to wet herself from the pressure, but I¡¯ll ignore that as well. Of course, I was alsopletely ignoring May¡¯s gaze. See no evil, folks. See no evil. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough. Turn end! Break up!¡± ¡°Uh, why?¡± ¡°Just cause.¡± Mimi and Elma¡¯s voices sounded harsher than usual. C¡¯mon. It¡¯s not something to get irritated about, you two. Tina¡¯s just like a kid to me. She¡¯s an adult in age, but just look at how she acts. ¡°Oh, right. The ship parts you salvaged for us have been sold already together with the two ships we recovered. The total profit is 275,000 Guineas.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a lot more than we thought.¡± ¡°We were quite surprised as well. And as a result of consulting with the Mercenary Guild, it was decided that the bonus for the two of you will be 10% of the total earnings.¡± ¡°10%?¡± ¡°Yep. 10%. In other words, your bonus will be 27,500 Enels. You¡¯ll need to split this amount, so each will get 13,750 Enels.¡± ¡°Thirteen thousand seven hundred fifty Enels¡­¡­!?¡± Tina tilted her head in confusion. It even seemed that steam was rising from her head. I turned to Whisker and saw that she was just the same as her sister. ¡°Our profits will vary depending on the job we undertake and how many we hunt per day, but you will get the same bonus rate from now on as long as you participate actively.¡± ¡°???¡± It looks like Tina¡¯s brain has already short-circuited. She was looking up at me with her neck still tilted to the side when she froze up. Instead of short-circuiting, did her engine stall or something? ¡°This has got to be a dream, right?¡± I don¡¯t know how she got to that conclusion, but all strength left her body as she buried her face on my chest. She looked like she was getting ready to sleep. ¡°It¡¯s no dream. This is real y¡¯know. It¡¯s not really something worth being so surprised about, right?¡± ¡°Now look here, boss. We just pulled out parts from scrapped ships for a day and we got a bonus that¡¯s worth four times more than our monthly sries. Of course, we¡¯re gonna be shocked silly!¡± ¡°Uh, I guess so, huh.¡± ¡°Just what have we been working so hard for until now¡­¡­?¡± Tina continued to sulk as she made herselffy on my chest. Tina¡¯s pressing herself closer against me, but the only impression I¡¯m getting was of her being woefully t. Even so, Mimi and Elma still looked really jealous as they continued giving harsh stares toward Tina. Whisker, who has frozen on the spot herself, was pulled by May. She was then made to sit on the adjacent sofa while still looking ssy-eyed. So it really was that much of a shock for them huh. Elma and Mimi couldn¡¯t take it in the end and forcibly tore off Tina from me. Afterward, they both asked me to hug them as well. I then woke up Whisker, who ended up sleeping on the sofa from shock. She was already groaning strangely as if having a terrifying nightmare. Anyway, it was a bit of a mess, but in the end, I managed to have them all calm down and gather around the coffee table inside the break room. Whisker still looked somehow out of it, but she was at least responding properly when addressed, so I guess she¡¯ll be fine after a while more. Probably. ¡°I guess it¡¯ll turn out this way if you use an ordinary citizen¡¯smon sense huh.¡± ¡°Yeah. Or rather, Boss¡¯s sense of wealth is just so out there. It¡¯s pretty stressful for little old me y¡¯know.¡± ¡°Am I really that strange¡­¡­?¡± I didn¡¯t think so myself, but it seems that Mimi and Tina thought otherwise. I don¡¯t really have any intention of bing a careless wastrel, guys. ¡°I don¡¯t really think it¡¯s that unusual. He¡¯s a bit light on the purse strings sometimes, but it¡¯s not like he¡¯s wasteful when ites to money, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. You tell em, Elma.¡± ¡°This is bad. These two are actually of the same kind.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t they? Recently, I¡¯ve begun to question if I was the one who¡¯s strange.¡± Tina shook her head in exasperation and Mimi nodded strongly in agreement. Eh? Really, guys? ¡°We¡¯re just looking at things from different perspectives. For us, our most pressing concerns when ites to money are our daily expenses, meals, and our monthly sry. Big brother¡¯s concerns are more focused on the prices of ships, equipment, weapon systems, and ammo. So what he considers as a bit expensive may start at a million or so. I bet he thinks 10,000 Enels is just chump change. No, I¡¯m sure of it.¡± ¡°But 10 thousand is already a lot of money, right?¡± ¡°Yes, it is.¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡­¡± 10 thousand Enels can¡¯t even begin to cover the expenses for ammo replenishment and repairs y¡¯know. Our two ship¡¯s shields are pretty tough though, so I rarely pay for hull repairs, if at all. But in case Krishna ever gets damaged severely, even 100,000 Enels won¡¯t be able to cover the repairs. 10,000 Enels was peanuts inparison. ¡°There he goes with his ¡®Eh¡­¡¯ again. I suppose our perspectives really are worlds apart¡­¡­¡± ¡°But won¡¯t 10 thousand get easily spent in ces like a fancy restaurant or something?¡± ¡°That¡¯s only if the restaurant serves real organic meat and vegetables. In a regr restaurant, you can eat your fill with just five Enels or so.¡± I guess she has a point. ¡°Our food cartridges cost 100 Enels though, and those are just regr ones. See. It¡¯s not that unusual to spend that amount on food, right?¡± ¡°One cartridge can already make thirty meals. That means each meal costs just 3 Enels. 300 Enels would be enough to cover all your three meals for a month. If you add the bills for air, water, and other living expenses, you¡¯d just need 1000 Enels to cover all the basics. Our sry is 3700 Enels per month, and that¡¯s already considered rtively high y¡¯know?¡± Whisker nodded in agreement to Tina¡¯s exnation. It¡¯s true that they looked quite energetic and healthy when we first met, so they probably were rtively well-off. I see. My sense for money was unusual huh¡­¡­ Well, Mimi¡¯s already told lots of times in the past, but I really didn¡¯t pay much heed to herints. ¡°Well, isn¡¯t it fine? That just means I¡¯m contributing a lot to driving the economy. Yep.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. Since we¡¯re well off, it makes no sense to hold back too much.¡± It looks like Elma agrees with my point of view. ¡°And as long as you stick with me, you won¡¯t be strapped for cash anyway. So just give up, okay.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess that¡¯s right huh¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­We¡¯ll try to adapt as soon as we can.¡± Mimi nodded obediently at my words. Maybe she just wanted to prove that her money sense was the one that¡¯s normal so she was being stubborn. ¡°It¡¯s wonderful that everyone has managed to finally see eye to eye when ites to our finances.¡± May, who was standing next to the table, made a satisfied nod after our talk. I wonder what her opinion about all this was though. ¡°How about you, May? What¡¯s your take on this?¡± ¡°Me? I do not have any problems whatsoever with Master¡¯s proclivities when ites to handling money.¡± ¡°Is that so? I¡¯m a bit surprised.¡± I don¡¯t intend to be much of a spendthrift, but I wasn¡¯t expecting her to not have any objections at all. ¡°Yes. You are a bit susceptible to hard-selling, but there have been no major problems so far. And it seems you are also aware of it to an extent, Master. I will endeavor to earn enough for us to spend freely without feeling burdened with ck Lotus, so there is no problem.¡± ¡°I see.¡± If my money sense was that of the average joe, I wouldn¡¯t be able toe up with the idea to buy ck Lotus in the first ce. And besides, we¡¯re earning good money anyway, so it¡¯s fine. ¡°Yosh. That¡¯s a wrap then. We¡¯re done with this topic, okay? So, about the other thing that I discussed with the Mercenary Guild¡­¡­¡± I ended the talk about money matters for the time being and moved the discussion to my n to make ck Lotus double as a mini cargo transport carrier. I still have to make lots and lots more money to reach my ultimate goal and make the girls happy after all. It would be better to n ahead for a bright future instead of getting hung up on the past. Chapter 140 Chapter 140 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone I was thinking of going out for pirate hunting again since we already sold off the loot and the captured ships, but there was a call from the Mercenary Guild about a potential client for a transport request. ¡°So they managed to find a client straight away even if you just arranged for it yesterday huh.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a good thing though.¡± After our usual morning workout routine, I took a quick shower. The call came through while I was busy washing the sweat off. And now, I gathered everyone to the dining room for breakfast and to talk about the details of the request. The mechanic sisters also participated in the morning workouts, and now they were dining with us as well. ¡°You¡¯re actually pretty busy, boss. I wasn¡¯t expecting it, to be honest.¡± Top ArticlesStarship Chapter 61READ MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MORE ¡°Oh, I understand where you¡¯reing from, Tina-san. I was also surprised about how diligent Hiro-sama was when it came to working when I first boarded. He¡¯s honestly such a workaholic.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Mimi echoed Tina¡¯s sentiment and I gave them both a questioning gaze. Me? Diligent? A workaholic? It¡¯s not like I focus on work and making money every single day you know. I do take breaks for a day or two whenever we finish a job, so I don¡¯t really think I¡¯m a workaholic or anything. ¡°There¡¯s amon image of mercenaries taking one week, or even one month breaks to y around after jobs, you know?¡± ¡°Yup. I also thought that was the case, boss.¡± ¡°Actually, I also thought it was like that at first.¡± Tina and Whisker nodded to each other, and Mimi did the same. ¡°But if we rest for that long, we won¡¯t be able to build up our savings, and we won¡¯t be able to update our equipment either¡­¡­¡± ¡°But there are actually lots of mercenaries like that. They do big jobs, get paid a lot, go all out until every Enel¡¯s down the drain, and then look for more jobs again.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. That¡¯s what I had in mind.¡± ¡°Compared with those mercs, Hiro can certainly be described as diligent huh. He has proper savings, and he doesn¡¯t do a lot of meaningless spending.¡± ¡°Really¡­? Well, it¡¯s not a bad thing anyway, right?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s definitely a good thing.¡± Whisker agreed with my words. And besides, I wouldn¡¯t say I didn¡¯t make any excess purchases. I did get forced to buy May, made the ck Lotus¡¯s interior way too fancy, bought those novelty thermal cloaks, among other stuff. Well, it¡¯s not like I¡¯ve fully ustomed myself to this world yet so that might be one of the reasons why it seems I¡¯m holding back to others. I don¡¯t have anything else to splurge on at the moment aside from ships and equipment after all. That¡¯s just how it is. ¡°As long as you girls are with me, I have the responsibility to ensure that you aren¡¯t wanting for anything. I can¡¯t just ck off and leave everything up to fate now, right?¡± I also have a goal I¡¯m working toward too. I¡¯ll purchase a detached house with a nice garden on a residential and drink all the carbonated stuff I can get my hands on until I get sick of em. ¡°You¡¯re so responsible, boss¡­¡­ Just why did you choose to be a mercenary anyway?¡± ¡°Uh, for the thrills?¡± ¡°Why did you answer a question with another question?¡± Oh c¡¯mon. Don¡¯t sweat the small stuff Whisker. Anyway, I currently have no intention of telling the engineer sisters about my special circumstances, so I¡¯ll just have to put aside the topic for now. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s talk about proper business now. May, if you please.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± At my prompt, May put up the details of the transport request on the dining room¡¯s holo-disy. She didn¡¯t participate in our earlier exchange at all and just silently stood behind me as she listened to us talk like certain characters with thin presences. But she wasn¡¯t exactly the type to be inconspicuous, so she didn¡¯t actually have a thin presence at all. ¡°These are the details of the request submitted by the Commerce Guild to the Mercenary Guild. It¡¯s a request to deliver about 120 tons of supplies to the imperial military outpost in the Izrooks system.¡± ¡°Delivering supplies? To a forward base?¡± ¡°???¡± I and Elma had puzzled looks on our faces. Mimi and the engineer sisters followed our lead and tilted their heads cutely as well. We basically all had question marks on top of our heads. ¡°What are you puzzled about, Hiro-sama?¡± Elma and I exchanged gazes after hearing Mimi¡¯s question. ¡°Well, uh, it¡¯s an imperial military forward base y¡¯know?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be simple if the almighty imperial military actually resorted to a civilian transport ship to deliver supplies instead of relying on themselves. And furthermore, it¡¯s just 120 tons too. It¡¯s certainly not a small amount, but it¡¯s also far below what the military usually requires.¡± ¡°In other words, you guys thought we were given a request from a privatepany or individual, but it turns out our client is the military, so you got surprised, right boss? But it¡¯s true that the imperial military cruisers stationed here on Brad can handle120 tons of supplies just fine. I don¡¯t get why they would hire a private ship either.¡± ¡°Yeah, if you put it like that, it does seem a bit strange.¡± The engineer sisters also began to have doubts. Mimi nodded in understanding as well. ¡°Or rather, what did they build a forward base there for anyway? Is the Izrooks system near the border with Vereverem?¡± The Vereverem Federation is one of the gctic powers that are hostile to the Gran Empire where we¡¯re currently staying. We¡¯ve also worked with the Gran military to fight them once. ¡°No. The Izrooks system is located in the remote regions of the empire. It¡¯s probably a forward base to defend against the crystal lifeforms.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡­ The crystal lifeforms huh.¡± ¡°Ugh. S-Space monsters huh¡­¡­¡± ¡°Space monsters¡­¡­¡± Tina turned blue in the face after hearing the words ¡®crystal monsters¡¯. Whisker also looked shaken up. The so-called crystal lifeforms are silicon-based alien lifeforms that look exactly as their name suggests. They are one of the alien races regarded as space monsters that the rest of the known civilizations have not been able to effectivelymunicate with until now. They made their nests ons and asteroids that carbon-based lifeforms cannot live in, and when they detect other sentient races, they would immediately attack with high-density energy projectiles andsers. They would also ram theirrge crystal-like bodies against ships in order to destroy them. The reason for their aggression has not been discovered until now, but any carbon-based lifeform will be consumed by them and subsequently killed. There has been a lot of studies made regarding them, but so far, there have been no results worth mentioning. They were an extremely mysterious hostile alien race. ¡°The supplies we¡¯ll be carrying are newly developed ammunition shells that are effective against the crystal lifeforms. They will be conducting a field test for them soon, so they want them delivered as soon as possible.¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t that the military¡¯s job¡­?¡± ¡°It seems they chose us instead because they deemed we would get there faster than their standard vessels. If you aren¡¯t up to it, then I can turn down the request, Master.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m unwilling. What do you think, guys?¡± ¡°Since it¡¯s a request from the military, it¡¯s rtively reliable, and the pay¡¯s fine, so why not?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s fine to ept it too. And why don¡¯t we use the remaining 60 tons of cargo space to stock up on alcohol and other luxury items? I heard that dwarven alcohol is pretty popr.¡± ¡°That¡¯s actually not a bad idea.¡± Luxury goods are usually in short supply in ces like military forward bases. They may limit the amount we could sell so as to not undermine military discipline though. Oh well. We can always sell the remaining stock at another star system. ¡°Great suggestion, Mimi. Ya can¡¯t beat dwarven alcohol.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Our colony is more famous for shipbuilding, but there are also a lot of master alcohol brewers here.¡± The locals, Tina and Whisker, were in favor of Mimi¡¯s suggestion. Just in case, I turned my gaze toward May for confirmation. She nodded in assent. ¡°I think it¡¯s a good idea as well, Master.¡± ¡°Okay then. I¡¯ll leave stocking up on trade goods to you, Mimi. I¡¯ll also rely on you for this type of stuff in the future as well, so do your best.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡­ Huh? E-Eeeh!?¡± Mimi nodded with a smile at first, but her smile quickly froze up and she raised her voice in shock. Huh? Did I say something strange? ¡°Mimi¡¯s just shocked after being dumped with such a heavy responsibility all of a sudden.¡± ¡°Eh? Heavy?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s heavy. I mean, you just handed her full responsibility to purchase trade goods using your money and produce profits, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess.¡± Is that really so strange? ¡°Mimi¡¯s not a pro or anything, so there¡¯s a certain risk she might cause you to lose money, right?¡± ¡°That could happen, yeah.¡± ¡°In other words, she¡¯s afraid of the possibility of using up your money and causing the venture to fail.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. So that¡¯s what you mean by heavy responsibility huh? It¡¯s fine y¡¯know. I don¡¯t really mind a loss or two from time to time.¡± Of course, a loss amounting to hundreds of thousands or even millions of Enels would hurt a lot, but that won¡¯t likely happen with 60 tons or so of trade goods anyway. Even if we end up not disposing of everything at our initial destination, we can still sell them at other systems, so it won¡¯t be much of a problem. ¡°¡­¡­Well, that¡¯s just like you, I guess.¡± Elma made an exasperated sigh. ¡°Let¡¯s not sweat the small stuff and take it easy, alright. If we purchase specialty goods at a colony that¡¯s rtively cheap because of an abundance of supply, at least we¡¯d be able to almost guarantee a minimum amount of profit. And even if we made a loss, it won¡¯t be that much. If we don¡¯t get a good price at a certain colony, we can just try to sell them at another one. I won¡¯t mind certain losses as long as they¡¯re not too great, and if we make a profit selling stuff, it would be a nice bonus. I don¡¯t mind if the profit margin isn¡¯t all thatrge as well. As long as it can help with certain expenses like our daily necessities or the docking fee at ports, that would be enough for me. In other words, it¡¯s just a bit of extra ie. Pocket money, basically.¡± ¡°The scale of Boss¡¯s definition of pocket money is just too dang grand¡­¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡­¡± The engineer sisters hadplicated expressions on their faces after hearing my exnation. ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s about it, so do just your best, okay, Mimi?¡± ¡°Y-Yesh¡­¡­¡± Mimi had a desperate expression on her face for some reason, but she¡¯ll probably get used to it over time. C¡¯mon girl. It¡¯s fine, okay. ¡°You don¡¯t really need to worry that much, okay. I¡¯ll have May support you as well.¡± ¡°Yes, please be at ease, Mimi-sama. I will help you to the best of my ability.¡± I¡¯m sure May will be able to train Mimi into a fine trader. And if Mimi umtes achievements, she¡¯ll get promoted much faster as well. She¡¯ll undergo self-defense training, learn trading know-how, and continue polishing her operator skills¡­¡­ I guess I should pay attention so she won¡¯t end up overdoing things. Yep. Mimi¡¯s an earnest girl, so she might get a little bit too eager and bite off more than she could chew. ¡°I¡¯ll help out too, so don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°U-Understood. I¡¯ll be in your care, May-san, Elma-san.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± ¡°And I¡¯ll just sit back and wait for that additional ie toe rolling in.¡± ¡°How sleazy¡­¡­¡± ¡°Hey, I can manage the trading stuff too y¡¯know. But it¡¯s the captain¡¯s job to assign appropriate tasks to the crew, right?¡± I¡¯ve dabbled in trading in SOL as well, so I¡¯d probably be able to do it here as well if I had the mind to. It¡¯s basically just a matter of finding out which goods are cheap and which are in short supply in the various star systems. ¡°You can use my money as you see fit, so please select appropriate items for trade. Here¡¯s a piece of advice. If we¡¯re selling stuff to the military, limit the amount of cheap alcohol. Make alcohol of standard quality the main products and about 10 to 20% should be dedicated to luxury brands.¡± Because military officers have rtively good sries, they have some leeway when ites to spending money. That¡¯s why they¡¯d most likely prefer alcohol of a certain qualitypared to cheap ones. We can probably sell luxury brands to the higher-ranking officers. But if we¡¯re selling at a colony or space station, quantity tends to be preferredpared to quality. ¡°U-Understood.¡± ¡°May, please go ahead and inform the other party that we ept the request. And I¡¯ll count on you to support Mimi as well.¡± ¡°Certainly.¡± ¡°How about us, boss?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing, in particr, I want you guys to do for the time being. But we¡¯ll be leaving the colony soon, so if you have any unfinished business left here, you better settle them first. We won¡¯t know how long it¡¯ll be before wee back here again after all.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll start making preparations for departure then.¡± ¡°Please do. I¡¯ll go over the equipment again and confirm the route. Okay then. Dismissed.¡± The girls went off to do their own thing. Well then, I guess it¡¯s goodbye to the Brad system for now. I was half-expecting to meet Major Serena again in some fashion actually, but I guess we¡¯re too far away. We did make use of the gateway after all. But I can¡¯t say for sure though. Maybe the moment I let down my guard, she¡¯d appear just like that¡­¡­ If I didn¡¯t know better, I¡¯d even suspect she was chasing after me. Uh, actually, I can¡¯t really discard that possibility. We¡¯re going to an imperial forward base next too. But Major Serena was in charge of hunting down pirates, so there¡¯s probably a low chance we¡¯ll encounter her there. We won¡¯t, right? Right? Yeah, I¡¯m sure we won¡¯t. Yep. Chapter 141 Chapter 141 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone Someone suddenly shook me awake. I was right in the middle of sleep and wakefulness when I heard a lively voice and a somewhat timid voice calling out to me. When I opened my eyelids with great effort, what appeared before me were the faces of a red-haired girl who looked like she was enjoying herself quite a bit, and a blue-haired girl who was desperately trying to stop her antics. It looks like the girls noticed that I was already awake, and their identical faces peered up at me with doe eyes. Their uncannily simr looks pointed to the fact that they were actually twin sisters. Uh, what¡¯s going on anyway¡­¡­? ¡°We¡¯ll be reaching our destination soon, boss.¡± Top ArticlesStarship Chapter 61READ MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MORE ¡°Um, we were told to wake you up, big brother.¡± I see. I remember now. The name of the red-head who was speaking in Kansai dialect was Tina. The name of the blue-haired, more timid-looking one was Whisker. They were the engineer sisters who have recently boarded my ship. ¡°¡­¡­Morning, you two.¡± ¡°G¡¯morning, sleepyhead boss.¡± ¡°Good morning, big brother.¡± ¡°What¡¯s with you, boss? Did you not recognize us right away back there? How heartless¨C¡± ¡°Uh, it¡¯s not like we spent that much time together already y¡¯know.¡± ¡°Ugh. I guess. We¡¯ll be together from now on though.¡± I was walking down one of the aisles of my spaceship while being sandwiched by the engineer sisters, whose heights only went up to my chest. This spaceship is mine; the Skizbrazunil-ss mothership ck Lotus. It has two fully functioning hangars that can amodate two small starships and has a cargo capacity of 180 tons. My favorite ship and dependable partner, Krishna, was currently parked inside one of the hangars. If needed, it can valiantly be deployed from the mothership and engage enemies or perform missions as required by the situation. ¡°Don¡¯t you think this girl is far too straightced for her own good sometimes, boss?¡± ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s kinda unexpected actually. She sometimes just freezes up and gets all silent when she gets embarrassed.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just trying to act with proper modesty, okay!¡± Whisker¡¯s face turned red as she raised her voice in protest after being teased by Tina and me. Hahaha, how cute. They really were quite short. Yep, they were reallycking in the height department. But there¡¯s a good reason for that. Both of them are actually dwarves, not humans. Yep. Dwarves. It¡¯s the race that¡¯s probably ranked number two when ites to the frequency of appearances in fantasy works. They were strong, had tougher bodies than normal humans, and were quite adept with their hands. But aren¡¯t dwarves fantasy creatures that were great cksmiths and lived underground, you ask? And weren¡¯t dwarven females burly and bearded like their female counterparts? No, no, no, folks. That may be true for some previous works, but there¡¯s been an increasing trend of cute loli dwarves appearing in recent media as well. The type of dwarves that live in this dimension is thetter, and these two girls, who look underage at first nce, are actually full-fledged adults. The age of these two, whose heights only go up to below my chest, was actually 27 years old. They were the same age as me. ¡°So boss, just when are you nnin toy yer hands on me?¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡­ No, no, that¡¯s impossible y¡¯know?¡± After saying so, I moved my gaze toward Tina¡¯s stomach. Even if I did have the intention to do those kinds of things to her, wouldn¡¯t that be physically impossible? She was pretty small after all. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m a dwarf y¡¯know. I¡¯m pretty tough.¡± ¡°Seriously¡­¡­?¡± ¡°That¡¯s how it is. So why don¡¯t ya just go ahead and do it, boss?¡± ¡°Certainly.¡± Uh, I already had a track record for those kinds of things after all. ¡°I¡¯m not saying I¡¯m not interested at all, but it¡¯s not like doing that with you is absolutely necessary, right? Even if you did board my ship, that doesn¡¯t automatically mean you guys are now my women and have to serve me.¡± There seems to be a lot of peculiar customs in this dimension I¡¯ve been transported to, y¡¯see. Among them, there¡¯s a custom that a woman who boards a guy¡¯s private starship will be considered that guy¡¯s woman. Before the development of interster navigation tech to what it is now, it took quite a long time to travel between different star systems and sectors in the early days of the true space age. There was a time when traveling between different star systems took up to a whole year. Due to those circumstances, there were plenty of incidents of something happening between men and women stuck inside the same ship for days on end while space traveling¡­ so it developed into the custom we¡¯re all familiar with now. In other words, if a guy offers for a girl to board his own ship, that¡¯s the same as saying¡ºBe my woman!¡»to her. And if a girl offers to board a guy¡¯s ship instead, it means that she was willing to enter into that sort of rtionship with the guy. And it just so happens that I¡¯m the sole owner of both Krishna and ck Lotus. And since Tina and Whisker have agreed to board my ship, in the eyes of this dimension¡¯s society, they are already considered my mistresses even though I haven¡¯tid my hands on them at all. ¡°You were ordered to apany us by yourpany after all. So it¡¯s not like that counts, right?¡± They did agree to board my ship, but it wasn¡¯t actually of their own volition entirely, but instead had arge part to do with thepany they were working for, which was called Space Dwerg Co. Ltd. In other words, they weren¡¯t directly working for me, but for the Space Dwerg Company that sold me the ck Lotus instead. They were sent to me in order to perform maintenance on this new edition of the Skizbrazunil line and obtain necessary data for thepany. ¡°It¡¯s not like that at all. We were specifically chosen to be assigned to this ship by Space Dwerg for a reason y¡¯know.¡± ¡°Are you really fine with that¡­¡­?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t hate it, okay. Or do you really not like me, boss?¡± ¡°You¡¯reing on to me straight, aren¡¯t you?¡± Am I really averse to entering that sort of rtionship with the two of them? Honestly, I¡¯m not. I have a policy of eating what¡¯s offered to me. But I find the idea of using their position as a means toy my hands on them distasteful. ¡°Well, let¡¯s just talk about this next time, okay? If you want to be with me from the bottom of your heart and not just due to some sense of duty or your job, it¡¯s not like I won¡¯t consider it.¡± ¡°I see. It would just be a matter of timing then, huh.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. But you first need to set a proper mood, sis.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a bit of a tall order for¨C Whisker?¡± I and Tina simultaneously turned toward Whisker and found her face red as an apple. ¡°It looks like you got to her good this time, big sis.¡± ¡°You really are straightced, aren¡¯t you, Whisker?¡± ¡°I-I-I¡¯m not straightced!¡± ¡°Ow, ow. Easy there, girl. Easy.¡± The red-faced Whisker forcibly tore her hand from my grasp and started hitting me with her tiny fists. Even if they were tiny, she was still a dwarf, so they actually hurt more than they looked. Please stop. I continued to pacify the red-faced Whisker as we headed toward ck Lotus¡¯ cockpit. As I entered the cockpit of the ck Lotus while pulling Tina and Whisker, I found three other women waiting for us there. No, it¡¯s not like they were specifically waiting for me. They were just doing their usual jobs. ¡°Hiro-sama, we¡¯ll be arriving soon.¡± It was Mimi who smiled and greeted me as soon as we entered the cockpit. She was the first to join my crew and was just your regrss who lived in a colony a while back. She was a really beautiful young girl with a bodacious chest, and she now works as an operator for my ship. I also recently gave her full responsibility regarding the trading of goods and selling off our loot. She was also the first case of me being served a taste of the weird customs of this dimension. ¡°You probably couldn¡¯t get much sleep, right? You can go back to sleep once you finish your tasks as captain, okay.¡± The next one to address me was a beautiful girl with silver hair and long ears. Her name was Elma. She¡¯s a veteran mercenary, and also an elf. Due to an ident that happened, she ended up joining as a member of my crew as well. That¡¯s right folks. An elf. It¡¯s a major race that is one of the absolute staples of fantasy works. The race with beautiful men and women with long ears that were often highly attuned to magic and nature. So what were elves and dwarves doing in this clearly SF dimension filled with flying starships,ser artillery, and electromaic cannons, you ask? Truth is, I have no idea myself. But it¡¯s what it is. And she doesn¡¯t really use it all that often (if at all), but she actually can use magic, or so I¡¯m told. ¡°Master, we will warp out to normal space in approximately 15 minutes.¡± Thest to call out was a tall maid with long, jet ck hair that stretched to her waist and sported a stern look. Her name was May. She looked like a human, but she had various un-human aspects such as mechanical headphone-like ¡®ears¡¯. She was actually a female android. To be more specific, she was a maidroid who was manufactured first and foremost to serve as a maid to her master. She¡¯s in possession of an ultra-high-performance positron electronic brain and a highly evolved artificial intelligence. Although an android, she was actually recognized as an official citizen of the empire we are currently in and is guaranteed a certain extent of ¡®human¡¯ rights. There¡¯s quite aplicated history regarding the position of independent AI in the empire, but anyway, I ended up purchasing her, and now, she was also part of the crew. When I designed her, I made liberal use of the best and most high-end parts and materials without caring about the price, so her specs were far beyond the norm for maidroids. Frankly speaking, she¡¯d probably beat the ever-loving crap out of me even if I wore power armor. That¡¯s how strong she was. She¡¯s arguably the strongest ¡®person¡¯ in this ship by far. ¡°Should I, Mimi, and Elma go on stand-by inside Krishna just in case?¡± ¡°Yes, that would probably be a good idea. Though we¡¯re going to a ce with arge imperial military presence, so I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll encounter much danger right off the bat.¡± After saying so, Elma stood up from her seat. Mimi followed after her. May didn¡¯t get up as she would be piloting the ck Lotus instead. ¡°So how was it? ck Lotus, I mean.¡± ¡°We just got our feet wet, so I still don¡¯t have much of an impression. But I think you¡¯ll actually have the most trouble with it, Hiro.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I¡¯m only in charge of the radar and sensors so it isn¡¯t much different from Krishna, but it would be a different story when ites to piloting it, right?¡± ¡°Well, I guess. I¡¯ll leave this ce to you then, May.¡± ¡°Yes, please leave it all to me.¡± We left May to take charge and went over to the hangar where Krishna was parked. Tina and Whisker also followed after us since their room was located near the hangar. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have much opportunity to pilot this ship, but it¡¯s better to get some practice in, just in case.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. There may be a situation where May wouldn¡¯t be able to pilot ck Lotus after all.¡± Basically, all the controls and systems of ck Lotus were left for May to handle. She¡¯s a powerful maidroid with an advanced AI, but just like Elma said, we might encounter a situation where May would be left incapable of piloting the ship. So it would be best if I used a cockpit simtor to train to pilot it in my spare time once we got to our target destination. ¡°The front line base for battling and defending against the crystal lifeforms huh¡­¡­ We¡¯d better be careful.¡± ¡°Right. It¡¯s better to be safe than sorry. I don¡¯t wanna let my guard down and end up being absorbed by those monsters after all.¡± The Izrooks star system, where we will be warping out soon, was at the forefront of the empire¡¯s battle against the alien crystal lifeforms. The crystal lifeforms are quite troublesome creatures(?), and it seems that the imperial military was having a tough time with them. They weren¡¯t all that strong individually, but they came at you in massive swarms, and if a ship¡¯s shields were broken through, they¡¯d pierce the hull and pose an extreme danger to the crew. ¡°They¡¯re really creepy.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be fine, right, big brother?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. There¡¯s no need to worry with Hiro-sama here. After all, we did make use of a swarm of crystal lifeforms to achieve victory over a Vereverem Federation fleet and raised major achievements some time ago.¡± ¡°What the heck? That¡¯s scary!¡± Oh, right. There was that one time, huh. I used the Singing Crystal we looted in order to summon a swarm of angry crystal lifeforms in the middle of the Federation fleet. It was quite a disaster for that fleet. ¡°They don¡¯t possess an ability simr in effect to interdictors, so we¡¯ll be fine as long as we¡¯re navigating via FTL Drive. And as long as the outpost we¡¯re going to isn¡¯t attacked en masse, there would be no need for us to stick our noses in any way.¡± ¡°Ugh. When Hiro says something like that, I somehow have a bad feeling that the military outpost would really end up getting attacked¡­¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t jinx it, you!¡± ¡°There¡¯s also the time when he took the Krishna out for testing¡­¡­¡± ¡°This is bad.¡± Now that¡¯s just cruel, everyone. There¡¯s no way that would happen, right? And even if it did, we¡¯re heading to an imperial military outpost, so they should be able to deal with it. I mean, c¡¯mon. Chapter 142 Chapter 142 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Nn¡­¡­?¡± The first to notice that something was wrong was Mimi Well, not exactly. The reason Mimi made a puzzled hum was the data May sent to Krishna that was parked inside of Lotus¡¯ hangar. Anyway, the first one to notice the abnormality in the data was Mimi. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Top ArticlesStarship Chapter 61READ MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MORE I already had a bad hunch, but I asked her anyway. It seems that Elma, who was sitting on the sub-pilot seat, had the same hunch as me, and she quickly pulled up the radar and sensor data that was sent to Krishna with brows wrinkled in worry. I operated my own console and checked out the data as well. ¡°This is where the outpost is, right¡­¡­? Aren¡¯t they in the middle of an engagement with hostiles?¡± ¡°Hiro¡­¡­¡± ¡°Hiro-sama¡­¡­¡± ¡°Me!? You¡¯re telling me I caused this!?¡± Now that¡¯s just unreasonable, you guys. You¡¯re telling me my words earlier were a g or something? It¡¯s not like I have reality-bending powers or anything. And if I did, I would¡¯ve used it for something other than calling disasters on top of our heads. I was denying the usation inside my head when the mechanic sisters called the cockpit via thems. ¡ºBoss¡­¡­¡» ¡ºBig brother¡­¡­¡» ¡°This ain¡¯t my fault!¡± You called just to rub that in my face!? I dropped the call from the sisters and contacted May. ¡°We¡¯ve seen the situation. There¡¯s a high likelihood of getting involved in the battle, so prioritize safety above all else.¡± ¡ºIf our priority is safety, then there¡¯s also the option of waiting it out until things settle down.¡» ¡°That¡¯s also an option¡­¡­ but judging from the current situation, we probably wouldn¡¯t be able to pull that off now. The imperial forces losing a defensive battle within their home grounds isn¡¯t that likely, but if things turn for the worst, we¡¯ll immediately escape.¡± I don¡¯t n to fight a losing battle and die in the process. But I do n to take advantage of the situation if the military is winning though. That said, the fixed base defense weapons installed on imperial outposts are pretty powerful. And with the addition of well-equipped troops, sessfully overrunning an imperial base was an exceedingly tall order. But of course, there are always exceptions, so we should still be careful. ¡ºUnderstood. We will be arriving at the Izrooks system imperial military outpost soon. We will return to normal space in thirty seconds.¡» ¡°Roger. Prep the catapult. We¡¯ll get the Krishna ready forunch.¡± ¡ºYes. Please leave it to me.¡» I cut the call with May and changed the setting of the main monitor. I then disyed the images taken by ck Lotus¡¯s sensors on it. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s see what exactly is going on.¡± The flowing lights disyed on the monitor turned stationary once more. We finally stopped the FTL Drive and exited to normal space, but there was no booming sound this time since Krishna was inside ck Lotus¡¯s hangar. Uh, that doesn¡¯t really matter right now anyway. Now then, how¡¯s the battle looking¡­¡­? ¡°Huh? They¡¯re having a harder time than I expected.¡± ¡°Looks like it.¡± ¡°Uwaa¡­¡­ They¡¯re swarming like crazy.¡± Mimi¡¯s face turned blue after witnessing the sight of the imperial outpost and its garrisoned forces being assaulted by a great number of crystal lifeforms. It really feels like thoserge-scale war movies. The small-type crystal lifeforms rapidly charged toward the imperial military outpost and the deployed ships. Most were shot down by interception fire or blocked by energy shields. The medium-type crystal lifeforms were exchanging energy projectile andser fire with the defense fleet, while therge-types were ¡®birthing¡¯ new crystal lifeforms continuously in order to press the attack on the base. Right now, the imperial forces were managing to sessfully repel the attacks of the small and medium-type crystal lifeforms, but their attacks weren¡¯t able to reach therge-types either since they were being blocked by the small and medium-types. Therge-types can¡¯t produce small and medium-types endlessly, so their numbers will eventually thin out the longer the battle goes on, but that also applies to the imperial forces, since their ammo and energy aren¡¯t unlimited either. ¡°It¡¯s a fierce battle of attrition.¡± ¡°Yes. If the remaining supplies of the garrisoned forces get depleted, coupled with increasing fatigue, the tide of the battle may turn for the worse.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do this, May¡­¡­¡± ¡ºYes.¡» ¡°Change heading and point the hatch at therge-type on the far right of the battlefield. Launch Krishna at maximum speed and set course for the base to ask for reinforcements. Also, tell themanding officer that we¡¯ll proceed to take down therge-types for them. We¡¯ll negotiate the reward once we¡¯re done.¡± ¡ºUnderstood.¡» ¡°Well somebody¡¯s eager¡­¡­ Or rather, are you seriously nning to jump in the middle of that mess?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just like always, Elma-san.¡± Mimi had a peaceful look on her face as if she was enlightened by Buddha. It¡¯s good that you¡¯re already used to this, Mimi. As I marveled at Mimi¡¯s impressive growth, the Lotus finally finished turning. As the hatch opened, we finally saw the chaotic battle between the imperial garrison and the crystal lifeforms before our very own eyes. ¡ºThere are many crystal lifeforms obstructing theunch path.¡» ¡°Don¡¯t mind them. Launch us out.¡± ¡ºAcknowledged. Good luck, Master.¡» Right after May¡¯s blessing, Gs that couldn¡¯t be preventedpletely by the inertial control system immediately assaulted my body, and I was pressed tightly onto the pilot seat. As I thought, outside force can¡¯t bepletely negated by the inertial control system. ¡°What¡¯s the n!?¡± Elma bellowed a question while enduring the intense Gs. ¡°We¡¯ll break through at maximum speed, throw a couple of anti-ship reactive torpedoes at therge-types, and escape dashingly before we get swarmed. In other words, we¡¯re gonna do a hit-and-run!¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s the¡­ n¡­¡­!?¡± Mimi raised a strained and worried voice, but we definitely have a good chance of pulling it off. Their hostility was entirely directed at the imperial forces, and the crystal lifeforms were putting their all into attacking them. In other words, we weren¡¯t even in their radars, so we have a good chance of mounting a sneak attack. Of course, it won¡¯t be that easy either. The medium-types were acting in concert with therge-type as escorts to a certain extent, but the small-types were acting fully on instinct, and there¡¯s a good chance they¡¯d swarm Krishna the moment they detect us. However, Krishna¡¯s shield wouldn¡¯t go down from the crystal fragments shot out from the small-type creature¡¯s bodies which served as their main projectiles, nor their ramming attacks. I wouldn¡¯t be so sure if it was a head-on collision at maximum speed, but it¡¯s not like I¡¯m nning on doing that in the first ce. Medium andrge-types are quite slow to react, so the moment they¡¯ve turned their hostility toward us, we¡¯ll be long gone. Some of the medium-types may chase after us, but even these alien creatures were wary of friendly fire, so they wouldn¡¯t be able to effectively use theirser beams and energy projectiles to take us down if we weave in betweenrge concentrations of small-types. And since they were fairlyrge themselves, they wouldn¡¯t be able to continue chasing after us unless the small-types got out of the way. We¡¯ll take that opportunity to close in on therge-type and hit it with a few anti-ship reactive torpedoes. ¡°We¡¯re punching through, guys! Activate the weapon systems! Clench your teeth! This one¡¯s gonna be rough!¡± ¡°Roger!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Krishna elerated further and plunged through the swarm of crystal lifeforms. The small-types immediately gave chase, but I refrained from firing any weapons and focused on evading them and shaking them off. I didn¡¯t fire any weapons to avoid getting the aggro transferred from the imperial forces to us. Of course, attracting the attention of the crystal lifeforms was inevitable, but now¡¯s not the time to paint a target on ourselves. ¡°Yahooooooooooo!¡± I slipped in between the plentiful swarms of small-types and headed straight for therge-type crystal lifeform. But the crystal lifeforms actually looked quite beautiful in appearance. They were like exquisitely crafted crystal arrowheads. If it was just based on appearance alone, they may be one of the most beautiful alien species in this gxy. ¡°We¡¯re right in the middle of an emergency, but there¡¯s not much I can do in this situation.¡± ¡°Yes, me too. I can¡¯t offer any effective support in the middle of such a chaotic battle¡­¡­¡± Krishna¡¯s shield was tanking the crystal projectiles with ease, so there¡¯s no need for pinpoint defense or shield cells. And if you use ECM or chaff within a swarm like this, you may get the attention of even more crystal lifeforms instead. As for Mimi¡¯s job, I already put up a holo-window of the short and medium-range radar disys in one corner of my field of view, so she didn¡¯t have much to do either. Or rather, if I relied on her warnings, we probably wouldn¡¯t be able topletely avoid what¡¯sing to us in such a short distance. The rm set off by the short-range radar is quite a bit faster after all. ¡°Shaoraaa!¡± We finally made it through the wall of small and medium-types and got therge-type in our sights. At this point, therge-type spewed another batch of small-types to intercept, and the medium-types were in the middle ofing after us, but it¡¯s toote. ¡°First kill!¡± An anti-ship reactive torpedo equipped with a reaction warhead was ejected from Krishna¡¯s lower deck and rushed at arge-type with tremendous speed. Originally, reactive torpedoes were fairly slow, but I made use of Krishna¡¯s momentum to forcibly increase its speed. As a result, the torpedo rushed at therge-type with roughly the same speed as Krishna right now. Before the warhead hit the target, I changed course and headed for the next prey. A few secondster, the anti-ship torpedo¡¯s warhead finally hit the target and caused a massive explosion behind Krishna. From the image captured by the rear monitor, it looks like that took down not only therge-type but the small-types that were chasing after Krishna as well. They weren¡¯t able to deploy shields, so after getting caught up in the explosion, they were torn apart by the ricocheting debris. ¡°Yosh! Let¡¯s go for the next target!¡± ¡°Yes, yes, I know. I¡¯ll keep an eye on the shield, so go wild.¡± ¡°I will also issue a warning whenever arge number of enemiese after us.¡± I was exhrated after destroying the first target and headed for the next one straight away. Eh? Whatever happened to hit-and-run? Ain¡¯t I doing that right now? This is called sessive hit-and-run folks. Alright! Time to go ham to my heart¡¯s content. Chapter 143 Chapter 143 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone The battle situation wasn¡¯t progressing all that favorably. However, it wasn¡¯t that bad either. If we kept going like this, we would probably eke out a victory. There¡¯s a good chance of a number of ships getting devoured by the enemy, but if the base defense forces persist even while sustaining losses, we would be able to barely win. The problem was¨C ¡°We¡¯re gradually getting tied up here.¡± ¡°There¡¯s still a bit of leeway, but¡­¡­¡± Once that delicate bnce crumbles, our good fortune will crumble along with it. Yes. The problem was this ship, the Restalias, was probably going to be part of those aforementioned losses before long. Top ArticlesStarship Chapter 61READ MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MOREREAD MORE ¡°If the timees, please escape on your own, Major¨C¡± ¡°There¡¯s no use fleeing via a shield-less escape pod with enemies swarming us from all sides. And furthermore, I cannot possibly make my escape while my crew sacrifices themselves. That¡¯s my decision, as the captain of this ship, and as a proud imperial noble.¡± This ship was slowly getting pushed back, but we can still hold on for a while. If the situation on the other parts of the battlefield turn for the better, they may send us some reinforcements. Once that happens, the chance of this ship¡¯s survival will rise. ¡°That said, without some sort of irregrity happening¡­¡­¡± As I sighed away at our hopeless situation, we noticed something. There was a ship hailing us. ¡°A ship affiliated with the Mercenary Guild is saying it¡¯s moving in to assist us.¡± ¡°Mercenary Guild? But wasn¡¯t the mercenary detachment deployed on point S-02?¡± ¡°It seems they just arrived on the battlefield. It¡¯s a Skizbrazunil-ss ship. It¡¯s also fully armed.¡± ¡°Fully armed¡­¡­? That¡¯s good to hear, however¡­¡± I don¡¯t know how much firepower that ship was sporting, but if I remember correctly, a Skizbrazunil-ss was a medium-sized mothership model developed by the Space Dwergpany. Getting its help was a promising prospect. ¡°Please give instructions for it to move behind Restalias. We¡¯ll leave intercepting the small-type enemies to¨C¡± As I was rying my orders, a bright light shed in the distance, and a medium-type crystal lifeform that was directly in our line of fire was shot down. Thebat capabilities of the middle-type were reduced to near zero due to the hit, as its rear was virtually pulverized and scattered crystal debris. ¡°¡­¡­What was that?¡± ¡°It was support bombardment from the mercenary ship. It seems its name is ck Lotus. As for what that attack actually was¡­ I believe it was from arge-caliber EML.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my first time witnessing an EML shot¡­¡­¡± ¡°It had really low uracy so our military didn¡¯t adopt it in the end. Even if its power and destructiveness were high, it would be no use if we couldn¡¯t hit anything with it after all.¡± I operated my handheld console and checked out the appearance of the ck Lotus captured by the external cameras of Restalias. The dark blue, almost ck, colored ship kind of reminded me of that person¡¯s ship. They used the gateway and went to a faraway sector while escorting Earl Daleinwald¡¯s fleet, so I could no longer track their movements, however¡­¡­ is he doing well? ¡°That¡¯s quite the firepower.¡± ¡°Yes. It sure is something for a mercenary ship.¡± The ship named ck Lotus retracted parts of its armor and deployed a great number ofser cannon turrets and seeker missile pods. It thenunched a concentrated bombardment on the enemies. It had a total of twelveser cannons and ten missile pods. There¡¯s also thatrge-caliber EML on its bow. It probably made use of concealed armor in order to disguise itself as an unarmed civilian ship and fool others. Fool who? Well, since it was a mercenary ship, it was probably aiming at fooling pirates. They would disguise themselves as an unarmed cargo ship, but they were actually fully armed and dangerous. It was a poisonous ck flower that kills off all the hapless prey that dared approach it after letting their guards down. ¡°No¡­¡­¡± We learned that particr baiting tactic from him and managed to pile up quite a number of achievements because of it. Due to our sess, there were also mercenaries who requested to tag along with our fleet as observers to check out our tactics. And their thoughts were basically as follows: ¡®The imperial military actually thought of and employed such a dirty and despicable tactic¡­? How scary.¡¯ And that ck ship was a textbook example of such a tactic. It¡¯s quite suspect. Thatrge-caliber EML on the bow made it even more suspicious. If I remember right, that ship also had hidden shard cannons for close-range engagements. There¡¯s a huge resemnce in their employing of EML and shard cannons as hidden highly destructive weapon systems. ¡°Please find out who the owner of that ship is.¡± ¡°Eh? Y-Yes!¡± The adjutant sported a look that virtually screamed ¡®Why are you asking that now of all times?¡¯, but still performed my order. He operated his console and essed the online databank. ¡°M-Major!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a message from the ck Lotus. Um¡­¡­¡± ¡°Hurry up with your report, soldier.¡± ¡°Um, this may sound ridiculous, but¡­¡­ it seems that a small-sized mercenarybat starship just plunged deep into the crystal lifeform swarm.¡± I was almost certain of my conjecture now. There just can¡¯t be another huge idiot who would unhesitatingly perform such a suicidal act within this gxy. ¡°Major.¡± ¡°It¡¯s him.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s probably him.¡± I moved my gaze toward the main monitor. Out there was a battlefieldpletely filled with a huge swarm of crystal lifeforms. And I just witnessed part of that gigantic swarm copse with my own eyes. ¡°The pressure from the enemies is getting reduced! Use this chance and push through!¡± ¡°¡±¡±Aye, aye, ma¡¯am!¡±¡±¡± The bridge crew responded spiritedly to my orders. It looks like he saved me once again. ¡°This is bad! Badbadbadbadbad!¡± ¡°Hahaha! You ain¡¯t seen nothing yet!¡± ¡°Nooo! This is impossible! Impossibleeee, Hiro-samaaaa!¡± Elma and Mimi raised agonized screams, but I ain¡¯t panicking just yet. The radar screen was just a bit filled with red guys. It¡¯s just a swarm of small-types chasing after us. This much is no problem. I can handle it. ¡°Gyaaaaaaaaah! In front! Frooooont!¡± ¡°Ooops.¡± ¡°Hiii¡­¡­¡± A couple of medium-types tried to block Krishna¡¯s course, but I managed to evade them by a hair¡¯s breadth by passing through a tiny gap between their shining gigantic bodies. The small-types in hot pursuit ended up crashing with the medium-types instead. Just as nned guys. ¡°W-What are we gonna do next?¡± After calming down a little, Elma posed me a question. ¡°Well, we already used up all our reactive torpedoes.¡± I weaved through the enemies while taking care not to get in the sights of more medium-types and swatting down the small-types in the way with the shotgun cannons. Since we did major damage to therge-types using the reactive torpedoes already, there¡¯s no more need to pay attention to aggro control. In other words, I can attack as I liked. Now that it¡¯se to this, I¡¯ll just have to clear a path while avoiding getting boxed in by the enemy swarms. And then I¡¯ll just count on the imperial forces and May¡¯s ck Lotus for the rest. ¡°So we¡¯ll just run like heck and pray the support fire of our allies clears a path for us!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a n at all, idiot!¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. We did mess up the battlefield quite a bit after all. But if the imperial forces stationed here are at least half-decent¨C¡± Laser bombardmentunched out from the direction of the defending imperial forces and swept away the small and medium-type crystal lifeforms hot on our tail. ¡°There you go. We just have to pay attention in order to not get caught up in the imperial fleet¡¯s bombardment, and we can slip away just fine.¡± ¡°Hiro-sama! The imperial fleet sent us their bombardment trajectory data just now!¡± ¡°Seriously? Okay then. Ovey the data on the radar disy and HUD. We¡¯re gonna guide the enemies right into their sights.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Has May secured their cooperation? And they were keeping up with my maneuvers pretty darn well to boot. It¡¯s like they¡¯re already familiar with them¨C ¡°No. It can¡¯t be¡­¡­¡± ¡°What? Why are you getting all ominous on us at this timing!?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. Let¡¯s hold out for just a little bit more guys.¡± The image of a certain blonde female major just shed in my head earlier, but there¡¯s no way she¡¯s out here with her anti-pirate fleet. I¡¯m sure it was just May being the skillful negotiator she is. I firmed my thoughts as I led the crystal lifeform train behind me around by their nonexistent noses. ¡°Man, that sure was thrilling. But I wonder how much we¡¯ll get as a reward this time?¡± An hourter, the crystal lifeform swarm was finally driven out of the sector. Once the bnce crumbled due to our actions, everything proceeded swimmingly. The medium-types were shot down one after another, and the small-types that lost their support were herded up and destroyed as well. They would have been able to press on much longer due to therge-types spewing out new lifeforms in droves, but we ended up shooting down 4 out of the 6rge-types hanging out at the back of the swarm with anti-ship reactive torpedoes. Since they lost most of their key units, they ended up being beaten down by the imperial defense fleet¡¯s bombardment. ¡°I¡¯m drained already¡­¡­ I wanna rest up soon.¡± ¡°Me too¡­¡­¡± Mimi and Elma slumped on their consoles with pale faces. They really were drained. Mentally that is. They wouldn¡¯t be so listless now if they just rxed a bit more earlier. They had me at the helm anyway. But I guess I did overdo it a bit and ended up frightening them. I should just act as the understanding captain that I am. ¡°What¡¯s with that expression, buster? I¡¯m gonna sock you, y¡¯now.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t. I¡¯ll die.¡± Even though Elma had a lithe and delicate-looking build, she possesses near wild animal-like power. She defeated me in seconds when we arm-wrestled a while back. Just where was she getting all that power from with thin arms like that? Maybe she was supplementing her physical strength with magic or something. ¡°This was the toughest jam we¡¯ve found ourselves in by far¡­¡­¡± ¡°It was really hair-raising. Any misstep would have caused us to die.¡± ¡°And someone¡¯s all nonchnt about it.¡± Elma gave me a grudge-filled stare. But I often found myself battling swarms like those during my time ying SOL on Earth. Battles like these were presented as raid events in the game, and the numbers we faced there was even more overwhelming. It¡¯s to the point that I can already correctly identify their anatomy by heart now. Well, I guess it¡¯s different now that I¡¯m facing them in the flesh, but I still made sure I had enough of a safety margin. ¡°Let¡¯s return to ck Lotus, Mimi.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll contact May-san right away.¡± I headed in the direction of ck Lotus¡¯ guide beacon. But when I arrived, I saw the familiar silhouette of a ship that was beside ck Lotus. ¡°Um, Hiro-sama. Isn¡¯t that ship¡­?¡± ¡°Hahaha, it can¡¯t be. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just the same model.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already confirmed. It¡¯s Restalias.¡± ¡°How in the world!?¡± Why do I keep crossing paths with this troublesome major in this wide universe? In the first ce, this ain¡¯t somewhere the independent anti-pirate fleet should be in anyway. Rather, we already used a gateway, man. Why are we meeting them again here? ¡°Um, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a call from Restalias¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­Okay.¡± I definitely can¡¯t ignore this call. As for why; that¡¯s because I need some sort of connection in the imperial military in order to maximize the rewards for our efforts this time. We did record battle data, but I¡¯m sure that with the help of an imperial military officer and a bona fide noble daughter like Major Serena, the process would significantly speed up. There would also be the possibility of even more benefits. ¡°Yes, this is Captain Hiro.¡± ¡ºIt¡¯s been a while, Captain Hiro. We really owe you this time.¡» ¡°It¡¯s my honor to help.¡± ¡º¡­¡­Hmm. Someone¡¯s polite today. Why don¡¯t you talk to me brazenly like always?¡» ¡°Please stop, major. I¡¯ll seriously die y¡¯know.¡± It¡¯s the same for Elma and Major Serena. If you mess around with them, the only thing waiting for you is a violent beating. Violence is no good y¡¯know. What about me, you ask? No, no. Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m a peace-loving guy? I only p people¡¯s faces with money after all. ¡ºAnyway, you can follow Restalias back to the base once we put everything back in order. We¡¯ll take your battle records as well. Don¡¯t worry. We won¡¯t take advantage of you.¡» ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am. Do you guys need some more help?¡± ¡ºThere¡¯s no need. Please return to your mothership and rest up for the time being. We¡¯ll contact your mothership if anything happens.¡» ¡°Roger.¡± I cut the call with Major Serena. Mimi and Elma disyed relieved expressions on their faces. The two of them really look tired, so I guess I¡¯ll just take Major Serena¡¯s suggestion and rest up at our mothership. ¡°Yosh. Let¡¯s go back then.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After hearing their replies, I flew Krishna toward ck Lotus¡¯ hangar. Now then. She did say they won¡¯t take advantage of us, but how reliable was that promise, I wonder. I¡¯m getting a bad feeling again. This is probably gonna get troublesome. Chapter 144 Chapter 144 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Wee back.¡± ¡°Wee back, big brother.¡± ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± We safely returned to ck Lotus and found the mechanic sisters waiting for us when we stepped out to the hangar. They were sporting their work overalls and led a bunch of maintenance bots. It looks like they were going to service the Krishna straight away. ¡°What about Big Sis Elma and Mimi?¡± ¡°Both of them are resting up inside their rooms on Krishna. Today¡¯s battle was hard on them mentally.¡± ¡°Well, of course, it was¡­¡­¡± Whisker disyed a pitying expression as she looked up at Krishna. ¡°I don¡¯t think it was that bad¡­¡­ It was fairly safe actually.¡± ¡°You really do have a few screws loose, don¡¯t you, boss?¡± ¡°Oh c¡¯mon?¡± ¡°You do¡­¡­ We watched the whole thing via ck Lotus¡¯s monitor y¡¯know. One small misstep and you guys were done for.¡± ¡°Well, don¡¯t you think avoiding crystal lifeforms is way easier than avoidingser cannon fire?¡± You can¡¯t technically avoid aser after all. Instead of avoidingser fire directly, you had to predict the trajectory in advance and get out of the way. If you couldn¡¯t, then you would just have to pray your shields and armor will hold out. ¡°I think it¡¯s wrong topare it toser bombardment in the first ce though¡­ Anyway, that¡¯s not the problem. Are you really not afraid of getting into a situation where one mistake will cost your life, boss?¡± ¡°Hm¡­¡­ If you put it that way, maybe it was a bit scary after all. But it¡¯s just a matter of getting used to it.¡± ¡°Is it?¡± ¡°Yep. It is. You¡¯ll be fine once you get used to the feeling.¡± I could only justify it like this. I would certainly be lying if I said that I feel absolutely no fear when ced in situations where one mistake can cause me to die, but in my opinion, it¡¯s much the same as driving cars back on Earth. If you made a mistake in handling while you¡¯re traversing the mountain roads, you¡¯d crash against the guardrail and possibly fall to your untimely death. ¡°I see¡­¡­ Anyway, we¡¯ll get right to servicing Krishna now boss.¡± ¡°Yeah, go ahead. We didn¡¯t get hit much, so just pay attention to the undercarriage, generator, and shield emitters, okay?¡± ¡°I get it, boss. Okay then. We¡¯ll get to work now.¡± ¡°Ou. Safety first.¡± ¡°Okey-dokey.¡± I want to stress the idea of ¡®safety first¡¯. But maybe it wasn¡¯t necessary after all. The maintenance would do most of the work anyway. But it sure is handy to have Krishna get maintenance anytime without having to go to port. Of course, there¡¯s a limit too, since we¡¯ll need to procure recement parts and supplies from time to time. After observing the work of the mechanic sisters and maintenance bots for a short while, I headed for the cockpit of ck Lotus. ¡°Wee back, Master.¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m back. What¡¯s the situation?¡± ¡°The imperial garrison was very thorough in wiping out the remaining crystal lifeforms. They are currently in the phase of collecting and disposing of the remains.¡± ¡°There¡¯s quite a lot out there huh.¡± ¡°Yes. But they can¡¯t be careless.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true.¡± The remains of crystal lifeforms were fairly valuable. For example, they were used as materials for making the lensponents insideser cannons, alternative energy sources, among other utilities. However, it was very dangerous to get in contact with ¡®live¡¯ crystal remains. If you carelessly touch one barehanded, chances are you¡¯d end up getting your whole arm crystalized instead of just your fingers. There¡¯s also a danger of ¡®live¡¯ crystal remains gathering and reforming into a full crystal lifeform if you store enough numbers of them in close proximity. And so, the imperial military wouldb through the remains and retrieve only the useable ones while disposing of the unusable and live ones by incinerating them withser fire. But I wonder what happens to the loot retrieved by imperial forces though? Will they be part of the soldier¡¯s sries? Or maybe they¡¯ll go straight to the military¡¯s coffers. ¡­¡­Well, not that it matters to me anyway. ¡°This would probably take quite a bit of time huh.¡± ¡°ording to my estimate, it would take approximately 2 hours.¡± ¡°Sure is rough for the military folk. I¡¯d rather unload the delivery goods as soon as possible and get out of here quicker though¡­¡­¡± ¡°I have already informed Major Serena about the goods. She will probably contact us soon. ¡ºThis is crazy.¡» I included Krishna¡¯s battle data as well as Restalias and ck Lotus¡¯s observation data in my report and handed them over to my superiors for evaluation. And when I mentioned giving Krishna and ck Lotus special rewards for their contributions in today¡¯s battle, my superiors reacted as such. Themanding officers for each of the fleets stationed in the Izrooks system were now participating in the meeting as well, and their reactions were much the same. But I do understand where they¡¯reing from. But that¡¯s just how crazy of an existence that man was. ¡ºI did wonder why there was a major change in the movement and attack patterns of the crystal lifeforms in the middle of today¡¯s battle, but to think something like this happened.¡» ¡ºCan we make use of this battle data somehow?¡» ¡ºYou mean analyzing this data and implementing it in our tactics? That would be possible if we would be allowed to put independent AIs into practical use but¡­¡­ it probably won¡¯t push through. Being consumed by the crystal lifeforms is fatal for the AIs as well. They also have a strong sense of self-preservation you know.¡» ¡ºIn the first ce, it¡¯s impossible for us to mass produce a specialized ship such as this¡­¡­ And even if we did, it would probably just turn out to be a kamikaze torpedo boat or something anyway.¡» ¡ºEven that would be more useful than those silly suppression ships though.¡» ¡ºOkay, please stop saying words of criticism against that particr model. You¡¯ll be challenged by the Drawn Sword faction members to a life and death duel if they ever got wind of it y¡¯know.¡» Discussions regarding the suppression ship certainly was a dangerous topic right now. I¡¯m not part of the Drawn Sword faction, but there were quite a lot of particrly fanatical members in the military after all. ¡°In my opinion, we should recognize the fact that they contributed greatly to tipping the bnce of the battle, so we should give them the appropriatepensation for their efforts.¡± There were quite a lot of assenting opinions after I stated my piece. ¡ºI agree that merits should be properly rewarded as well. That¡¯s especially true for them since they yed an essential part in our victory today.¡» ¡ºJudging from the battle data alone, this mercenary group really pulled out all the stops and didn¡¯t hold anything back. What should we do?¡» ¡ºWe¡¯ll just have to recognize their contributions. Their achievements are obvious to everyone. We¡¯ll need to inform the ounting department.¡» ¡°Thank you very much.¡± I was able to fulfill my promise to him at least. In any case, this can be considered a sess. ¡ºWill he be staying on the base for a while?¡» ¡°I wonder. I did hear they were nning to depart once they unload the supplies we hired them to deliver.¡± ¡ºIf possible, I want you to get him to stay for a while more. We want as much excellent personnel as we can right now.¡» ¡°I will try my best¡­¡­¡± It would probably be no use, but I didn¡¯t say my thoughts aloud. I¡¯ve already tried to entice him lots of times, but he just wouldn¡¯t budge. But when pushes to shove, there¡¯s only one way to ensure he¡¯ll stay here for the time being. ¡°I shall need your cooperation if we want him to stay.¡± ¡ºThe rest of themanding officers have acknowledged your merits, so you should be able to expect a satisfactory reward.¡» It¡¯s been an hour since I started watching the imperial military work earnestly to clean up the battlefield. A call from Major Serena¡¯s Restalias came in, so I was now talking to her again in front of the holo-disy. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. I¡¯ll be very disappointed if I worked that hard for nothing after all. Oh, right. Can I get my ammo resupplied as well? I used up four reactive torpedoes in the battle earlier too.¡± ¡ºI believe we still have some torpedoes on stock, so that should be no problem. We will give them to you free of charge, of course, so don¡¯t worry.¡» ¡°That would be great, but¡­¡­¡± I wonder. Aren¡¯t they being way too amodating? Uh, but maybe they¡¯re just feeling really thankful for my timely assistance or something¡­? My trouble sensor was giving off an rm right now. ¡ºWe have verified the details of the delivery as well, so pleasend inside the outpost for the time being. The ounting department will get in contact with your regarding your payment for the delivery as well as your rewards for today¡¯s battleter on.¡» ¡°Good¡­¡­ But I wonder if you¡¯re nning something shady again, miss major?¡± ¡ºMy. Of course not. What made you say so?¡» I couldn¡¯t glean anything from Major Serena¡¯s expression. She¡¯ll act like a no-good onee-san when she¡¯s drunk, but when she¡¯s in her element, she¡¯s an exemry military officer. If it was May, she would probably be able to notice something by observing the subtle changes in her reactions, but unfortunately, I can¡¯t do the same. ¡°¡­¡­Oh well. I guess I¡¯ll just express my thanks then. We¡¯llnd the ck Lotus on the outpost then.¡± ¡ºYes. The warning rm for crystal lifeform attacks has deactivated, so it¡¯s probably safe now, but do still be careful.¡» ¡°Roger. Oh yeah. I have some dwarven liquor on stock right now actually. Can I sell them to some of the soldiers in the baseter?¡± ¡ºWe are a little short on leisure items like that, so it¡¯s good timing, I think. You¡¯ll be able to sell them at a good price. Of course, I¡¯ll be purchasing some as well.¡» ¡°Don¡¯t overdrink like before, okay.¡± ¡ºOf course.¡» Major Serena¡¯s perfect smile twitched after hearing my warning. I guess she just remembered the mess she caused in the Alein system. Major Serena still owes us for that as well. Well, I guess we can count her help this time as a form of repayment. ¡°See you then. Be careful out there.¡± ¡ºYes. If you¡¯ll excuse me.¡» Major Serena nodded back and cut the call. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I believe they want Master to stay here and help out as part of the fighting force.¡± ¡°I thought so too.¡± Well, I guess I could ept if they offer me appropriatepensation. It¡¯s the military, so they probably would not neglect to pay up. But it¡¯s possible that they¡¯ll overestimate my ability and have me do something ridiculous as well though. There are things I can and can¡¯t do¡­¡­ If they ever tell me something like dealing with a crystal lifeform swarm by myself, that would be absolutely impossible. But I¡¯m sure they¡¯re aware of that as well, so they probably won¡¯t ask something that unreasonable. ¡°Well, it¡¯s fine as long as they don¡¯t request something too ridiculous.¡± ¡°We will be able to take advantage of this opportunity to make further connections with the imperial military as well.¡± ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s that too. Let¡¯s just do our best then.¡± In SOL, this would be ssified as a faction quest. Basically, you¡¯d be able to increase affinity points with a certain faction by taking up various jobs for them. That would you various useful benefits. When ying as a mercenary, you¡¯d find it much easier to increase your affinity with the military. The one that offers and pays the bounties for pirates is the military after all. As your affinity points with the military gradually increase, you¡¯d be able to take on lots more subjugation quests, get ammo and supply discounts when purchasing them from the military, and in some cases, will be offered military-grade equipment that¡¯s normally not avable to the general public. Sometimes, you get them for free as quest rewards. It¡¯s a very good faction to raise affinity for mercenary yers. Of course, if you get all chummy with a certain country¡¯s military forces, you¡¯d be viewed with hostility by pacifist organizations and the forces of enemy nations, so it¡¯s not all sunshine and rainbows. ¡°And I probably shouldn¡¯t expect the benefits to be just how it was in the game¡­¡­¡± This world was simr to SOL, but the conditions for getting along with the military aren¡¯t as clear cut as in the game. This wasn¡¯t a game after all. There¡¯s a good chance we¡¯ll be dragged into something troublesome. ¡°I hope it¡¯s nothing too troublesome though.¡± ¡°It¡¯s as you say, Master. But I do not know if that sentiment of yours will be realized though.¡± So you¡¯re saying it¡¯s almost certain I was going to be caught up in something troublesome? Well, I was actually thinking the same thing. There have been lots of gs popping up after all. We got caught up in a crystal lifeform raid the moment we arrived and met the imperial officer we formed a certain connection with. There¡¯s no way this would end without any incident¡­¡­ Yeah, that¡¯s right. Let¡¯s just keep our wits about then. Chapter 145 Chapter 145 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone We were quickly given permission to dock at the imperial military outpost without much fuss . Maybe they¡¯ve already done the necessary procedures in advance, or maybe the officer in charge of the approval process took into ount our cargo of luxury goods . Or perhaps they just really wanted to get their hands on the newly developed special shells by Space Dwerg Co . Ltd . and proceed with live testing as soon as possible . ¡­¡­Well, whatever the case may be, we¡¯ve sessfullynded at our destination . It¡¯s great that we didn¡¯t have to wait for a long time before we got permission tond . ¡°Man . We really have nothing to do right now huh . ¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right¡­¡­ Haaah . ¡± I and Elma were idling inside ck Lotus¡¯ break room since we really were quite free right now . Mimi and May went out of the ship in order toplete the delivery request and set up shop for selling leisure goods we brought with us . Thus, Elma and I were left idling about . Oh, and the mechanic sisters were busy performing maintenance on the ships . They had to check Krishna out since I pushed it a lot in the earlier battle, and ck Lotus fired its weapons like crazy too, so they had to check those out as well . ¡°Go ahead and sleep if you want to . ¡± ¡°Nn¡­¡­ Okay . ¡± Elma moved next to me and leaned on my shoulder as she prepared to take a nap . Uh, I did say you could take a nap, but you didn¡¯t have to use my shoulder as a pillow y¡¯know . Well, I guess this is fine too . Soon after, I heard Elma¡¯s soft breathing as she drifted off to dreand . I then picked up my tablet terminal and started to gather intel . May already put together a detailed report earlier, but it wouldn¡¯t hurt to do some info gathering myself . I first searched for info regarding the crystal lifeform activity in this sector . It seems that this base has a history of being sporadically attacked by the creatures ever since its inception . The attacks have been growing fiercer recently, so the imperial military has been deploying more and more forces to hold the fort . I tried to search for info about the spawn point of the crystal lifeforms next, but it looks like they haven¡¯t managed to find it yet . That¡¯s strange though . Usually, finding the spawn point is of the utmost priority, so why haven¡¯t they found it until now? They usually nest in systems with pulsars after all . It shouldn¡¯t be that hard to find it . I don¡¯t know the exact details, but I¡¯ve read that the crystal lifeforms make use of the electromaic waves and x-rays emitted by pulsars as energy sources, and then encroach and devour the surroundings in order to propagate . In SOL, before they implemented the crystal lifeforms, they first released several chain quests that required yers to investigate the new and mysterious enemy units . That¡¯s where I got the info . I was already a veteran mercenary yer at that time, so I participated in quite a few crystal lifeform extermination quests, as well as rescue and retrieval quests in systems encroached by them . Arge part of the info about the crystal lifeforms was gathered by the hardworking explorer yers . ¡°I wonder if the investigation regarding crystal lifeforms is still ongoing in this dimension, so they still ain¡¯t aware of this particr piece of info¡­¡­?¡± I sighed as I continued browsing my tablet terminal . It¡¯s quite possible, actually . This dimension really resembles SOL, but it¡¯s not like they¡¯repletely simr . My in-game knowledge won¡¯t always apply, so I have to keep my wits about . The specialty products and needed goods of star systems that specialize in certain industries as well as the general specs of the ships are pretty much the same as what they were in the game . However, there were also quite a few ship models I haven¡¯t encountered in the game here, as well as other factors that were fairly different from what I remember . For example, maidroids like May weren¡¯t present in the game at all . In fact, as far as I know, there didn¡¯t seem to be highly advanced independent AIs implemented in SOL at all . It¡¯s these factors that are real headscratchers for me . In any case, I decided to postpone investigating the mysteries of this dimension for the time being and put up the star map of the Izrooks system on the break room¡¯srge holo-disy . Let¡¯s see here . Where are the pulsar systems within Izrooks system located¡­¡­? Over here huh . ¡®It¡¯s pretty close¡­¡­¡¯ I murmured as I took note of the coordinates of the pulsar system . While I was immersed in gathering info, the ringtone of my portable terminal went off . I made sure not to disturb Elma as I checked out the caller ID and tapped the screen to ept the call . ¡ºAra, you picked up real quick¡­¡­ Were you actually waiting for my call?¡» ¡°Nope . ¡± I moved my portable terminal so that the smiling Major Serena would be able to see Elma sleeping blissfully on my shoulder . ¡º¡­¡­Are you showing off your harmonious rtionship, perhaps?¡» When I moved the terminal back, the smile was gone from Major Serena¡¯s face . ¡°I don¡¯t have any such intention . I was quick in picking up the call because I didn¡¯t want to wake her up and was busying myself gathering info using my terminal . So, what is your business with me today, Major?¡± ¡ºI shall be direct with you then . We have a new request for you . ¡» ¡°Let me guess . Does it have something to do with fighting off the crystal lifeforms?¡± ¡ºI¡¯m d you¡¯re quick on the uptake . We want to employ you and your ships to help us fight off the crystal lifeforms . As for how long, it would probably be for about thirty days for now . ¡» ¡°For now, huh¡­ Hey, I have absolutely no ns of wasting my time here and get gradually cornered by you, okay?¡± ¡ºYou have the right to refuse, of course . You¡¯re not part of the military after all . You¡¯re a bold and free pro mercenary . It would be impossible for us to restrain you and keep you here in the first ce . We also have to consider our rtions with the Mercenary Guild . ¡» ¡°I see . So, what about our reward?¡± This was the most important point . ¡ºThe ounting department is going over it now . I cannot give an exact figure, but you can expect a fairlyrge sum for your contributions this time . ¡» ¡°I see . Okay then . I¡¯ll give you my answer once the reward amount gets decided and after I look up the particrs of the request . ¡± I won¡¯t promise anything though . There are also things impossible for me to do . For example, there¡¯s no way I would have been able to resolve the earlier battle all by my lonesome . I¡¯ll be really troubled if they put too many expectations on me . And furthermore, I¡¯ve been entrusted with the lives of Mimi, Elma, and the newly joined mechanic sisters . Thus, I can¡¯t just rashly ept requests without taking the possible dangers into ount . ¡ºI thought you¡¯d say that . Anyway, I just wanted you to know our intention to employ you in advance . And since we¡¯re the ones greatly in need of assistance this time, you can expect additional rewards apart from Enels . ¡» ¡°What sort of other rewards, exactly?¡± ¡ºWe can allow you to procure military-grade weaponry from us . There are certain limits, of course . ¡» ¡°I admit, that¡¯s certainly tempting . ¡± It was quite difficult to procure military-grade weapon systems even in SOL after all . You¡¯ll only be able to obtain them by doing a ton of troublesome quests for the military and raising your affinity points by a great amount . Their performance and specs were, not just one, but two or more ranks above weapons sold to the general public . It was deemed an utmost priority for top ranking mercenary yers to obtain their fair share of military-grade weaponry . With that factored in, Krishna was a very unique ship, since it had such weapon systems at its disposal from the get-go . ¡ºIsn¡¯t it? Please do consider our request . ¡» ¡°Sure . ¡± It¡¯s a really tempting offer, but I¡¯m still not making any definite promises . There¡¯s just something off with that perfect smile of yours, my dear major . ¡°Let¡¯s set aside the reward amount first . What exactly do you want me to do anyway?¡± ¡ºBasically, we want you to help in the investigation regarding the location of the crystal lifeforms¡¯ nest . We will dispatch fleets for this operation, and we want you to tag along with them as an escort while they survey and investigate the surrounding star systems . ¡» ¡°I see¡­¡­¡± Dispatching survey fleets to the surrounding systems huh¡­¡­ It looks like they really don¡¯t know that crystal lifeforms build their nests in pulsar systems huh . If they knew, they wouldn¡¯t be doing something this tedious . Well, I can¡¯t say it¡¯spletely pointless though . Those guys often consume the asteroid belts of the surrounding star systems once they¡¯ve stored up enough energy from pulsars after all . Cleaning up the crystal lifeforms that are consuming the surrounding systems is fairly important too . But unless you find and destroy the Mother Crystal, it¡¯ll just be an unending game of whack-a-mole . ¡ºWhat¡¯s wrong?¡» ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing . It¡¯s just I¡¯ve heard from somewhere that crystal lifeforms often build nests in pulsar systems . ¡± ¡º¡­¡­Is that info credible? What¡¯s your source?¡» ¡°I just said I¡¯ve only heard of it from somewhere . I also don¡¯t remember where exactly I heard of it . ¡± They¡¯d probably just think I¡¯m crazy if I told them I leaned it through ying a game in my home dimension . And besides, I¡¯m also not sure if that info still applied here, so it¡¯s not like I can vouch for its authenticity . I can only act like this to not cause any undue suspicion . ¡º¡­¡­My fleet is actually the one scheduled to on a scouting mission this time . ¡» ¡°Heee¡­¡­ Oh, right . What are you guys actually doing here anyway, major? I believe your fleet is specialized in dealing with pirates, so whye here?¡± ¡ºOur gship, Restalias, is one of the newest state-of-the-art models fielded by the military right now . It can both serve as themand center and has firepower and speed above most of its peers in the cruiser ss . We¡¯ve built a reputation of covering a lot of ground ever since our inception, so the higher-ups also make use of our fleet to deliver military supplies via long-distance warps from time to time . ¡» ¡°So while you were in the middle of that, you got caught up in the mess here, right?¡± ¡ºIt¡¯s outside of our original purpose, but serving here would lead to the safety of the imperial citizens under our protection as well, and we can¡¯t really abandon ourrades to face the threat alone either . ¡» ¡°I see . ¡± Man . Folks in the military sure had a lot on their tes as well . Major Serena was apparently the daughter of a marquis, so that might have factored in as well . ¡ºAnd so, please take our request, okay?¡» ¡°I¡¯ll discuss it with my crew first and then get back to you . ¡± C¡¯mon . That bright smile just seems shady as all heck to me, Miss major . Please just cut it out . Chapter 146 Chapter 146 rantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°¡­¡­Good morning.¡± ¡°Ou. How about you wash your face and freshen up first?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Elma went out of the break room while yawning. Major Serena was as persistent as ever, but since I¡¯ve already been taken for a ride once, I didn¡¯t bite the bait carelessly this time. I kept dodging the issue and told her I had other business to attend to before dropping the call. And I contacted Mimi, May, and the mechanic sisters while making sure not to disturb Elma and told them to gather at the break room for a meeting. In any case, we finallypleted the transport request and earned a total of 1,500,000 Enels. We got that much probably due to the fact that this was a pretty dangerous sector as well as our fast delivery speed. However, we did get scolded by the guild staff for engaging inbat while still carrying the cargo we¡¯re supposed to deliver. Mm. But it can¡¯t be helped y¡¯know! I think we weren¡¯t really in any danger for the most part because we warped out to somewhere well within the range of the imperial fleet¡¯s support fire, but I¡¯ll try to be more careful next time. If the situation allows it, that is. I feel bad for the Commerce Guild, but in the end, my main affiliation is with the Mercenary Guild. I definitely won¡¯t miss out on battles that¡¯ll me lots of rewards. If they find that disagreeable, then I¡¯ll just have to continue with the trading side-gig without their support. The good thing about delivery jobs is that they¡¯re fairly simple. You just carry the cargo and deliver it to somewhere to make a tidy profit while performing some interster trading on the side. You can definitely amass a fortune if you do it long enough. Or rather, why are they stillining in the first ce? I mean, I did deliver the goods safely and made it way earlier than the specified deadline to boot. I sent a reply to the Commerce Guild with those sentiments. ¡ºIt¡¯s not that we don¡¯t trust your capabilities. We just made a suggestion with the usual business practices in mind. We will still count on you to fulfill jobs from us in the future. We¡¯re looking forward to a healthy working rtionship with you.¡» That was the reply that they sent back. Hm? Why the sudden change in tune? Did they underestimate Mimi when they saw that she was a young girl and thought they could get away with a little intimidation? Man, there sure are a lot of troublesome characters out there. ¡ºYou sure are scary, boss.¡» A message popped up on the app from an ount with an avatar of an anthropomorphic cartoon character that looked like a red spanner. It should be from Tina. ¡ºWell, we can¡¯t have them underestimating us mercenaries after all. If we just turned tail from that battle and insisted on just delivering the goods, we¡¯ll be looked down upon by other mercenaries as well.¡» An avatar of a cartoon one-eyed alien nodding repeatedly while crossing its arms popped out next. I told her to freshen up, but she actually joined the convo from the bathroom? Was she brushing her teeth as well or something? ¡ºThe mercenary business is also quiteplicated, isn¡¯t it?¡» This time, the message was from an ount with a blue hammer cartoon character avatar. This one should be Whisker. But the avatar characters of the sisters looked like super-deformed macho uncles, so it felt quite awkward. Why the heck are they using such avatars anyway? ¡ºUu¡­¡­ I slipped up on my first assignment, Hiro-sama.¡» An avatar resembling a cartoon rendition of a squirrel-creature mixed with a cat slumped down in dejection. Well, lots of folks judge other people by looks alone, so it really can¡¯t be helped. May her atmosphere would change if she wore sses. How about I get a pair of non-prescription sses for Mimi next time. Then she¡¯ll change into a reliable-looking secretary¡­¡­ Nah, it wouldn¡¯t work. Mimi looked like your cute girl-next-door type no matter what she wore after all. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t let it get to you. Just face everything with a smile next time. It¡¯ll be alright.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡­¡± ¡°And you did manage to make a tidy profit from selling the goods we brought, right? You don¡¯t have to feel ashamed about anything.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes!¡± The goods we brought sold like hotcakes, it seems. Customers came in droves as soon as they put up the goods for sale, and they emptied our entire stock pretty quickly. Our total profits from trading this time were 330,000 Enels. After discussing with her, it was decided that Mimi¡¯s bonus will be 3% of the total profits, so she¡¯ll have a cut of 9,900 Enels this time. My share will be 320,100 Enels. And as for the 1.5 million Enel payment we got forpleting the delivery request, we decided to base everyone¡¯s cut on the usual percentages, so Mimi will get 15,000 Enels. Elma will get 45,000 Enels. My share will be 1,440,000 Enels. So my total share this time will be 1,760,000 Enels, all in all. A part of it will go to the maintenance costs of the ships, port fees, as well as everyone¡¯s daily living expenses. The port fees aren¡¯t a joke y¡¯know. The Lotus was a fairlyrge ship, so the fee for it is significantly higher than Krishna¡¯s. By the way, the mechanic sisters won¡¯t be getting a cut this time. They would only receive a bonus if they yed an active part in fulfilling a job, so most of the time, they¡¯ll only get a cut from the money earned from selling the salvaged parts of defeated pirate ships or the pirate ships themselves. ¡°So, um, there¡¯s a request from the major¡­ or rather, from the imperial military.¡± ¡°Well, it depends on how much they¡¯re offering, I guess.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s how it is after all huh. They still haven¡¯t contacted us again, right?¡± ¡°Yes. The imperial military still hasn¡¯t reached out to us as of now.¡± I checked with May, who was now standing right behind me, but it looks like the ounting department of the imperial military still hasn¡¯t contacted us yet. ¡°Does it usually take this long?¡± ¡°Perhaps they are having a hard time deciding the final amount since there is no precedent.¡± ¡°No precedent? But isn¡¯t itmon for mercenaries to intervene in military battles and ask for rewards after?¡± It wasmon for mercenary yers to plunge right into active battlefields and fish for profits. That¡¯s how I earned most of the money for equipment and ship upgrades back when I was just starting out in SOL. ¡°I believe the problem is that the weight of the merits you raised is far too valuable, Master. You did manage to almost singlehandedly tip the battle in the imperial military¡¯s favor after all.¡± ¡°You basically went for a crazy kamikaze charge and came outughing, after all, you dolt.¡± I don¡¯t think I did anything that reckless though. I left enough of a safety margin y¡¯know. And it¡¯s all backed by solid experience. I did get shot down a lot before I managed to get the hang of it back when I was ying SOL though¡­¡­ But, yeah. I guess people from this dimension wouldn¡¯t normally get the hang of the maneuvers I employed like I did since one miss would lead to their deaths for real. If you get struck down in the middle of a crystal lifeform swarm here, you¡¯ll just end up being consumed. ¡°Master destroyed fourrge-type crystal lifeforms, thereby greatly undermining their capability to rapidly field units in battle, and attracted arge number of small and medium-types in order to herd them to the imperial defense fleet¡¯s bombardment range. Although I believe the imperial military still suffered losses, they were greatly mitigated due to your actions. Those achievements are enough for you to be conferred full military honors and an honorary noble peerage, I believe.¡± ¡°Eeeeh!?¡± ¡°Yep. You might be awarded a medal of honor and granted the title of an honorary knight.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Can I actually refuse?¡± Getting some marypensation and a medal isn¡¯t much of a problem. But getting an honorary title totally smells like trouble. Geh. Somehow, I got a vision of a ck-haired young noble girl waving at me with a suggestive smile. I didn¡¯t really hate being with Chris, but bing a noble will just cause me some major hassles, so I¡¯d rather not have anything to do with it at all. Ugh. Now I¡¯m getting a vision of Chris and Major Serena forcefully pulling each of my hands. When ites to power and influence, it seems that House Holz, which was headed by a marquis, had an edge over the Daleinwald House, which was only headed by an earl. But there¡¯s also the fact that Chris and I once shared the same bed. Of course, I didn¡¯ty a hand on Chris at all, but I kinda feel like if that terrifying granpa earl ever got wind of it, he¡¯lle chasing after me with swords in hand and force me to take responsibility. But wait! Didn¡¯t Major Serena stay on my ship that one time as well? She was the one who boarded the ship unannounced of course. And she even got drunk and made a mess. If she ever managed to record that particr incident, she¡¯ll have solid evidence to use against me, and it¡¯ll turn into a big mess for sure. ¡°Given Hiro-sama¡¯s goal, wouldn¡¯t it be convenient for you if you gained a title?¡± ¡°Boss¡¯s goal?¡± ¡°He wants to purchase a detached house with a garden on a residential and live there.¡± ¡°That¡¯s definitely one heck of a goal.¡± In addition to purchasing a house, you¡¯d also need first-ss citizenship in order to live on a within the empire. If you get knighted, you¡¯d automatically be given first-ss citizenship, and you would also be able to purchase a lot and a house on a at a lower price than usual. ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s true that I¡¯ll be one step closer to my goal if I ept the title¡­ Geh! Why are we talking like it¡¯s already a done deal anyway? There¡¯s no need to dwell on that right now!¡± ¡°Running away from reality isn¡¯t a solution y¡¯know.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry about something that hasn¡¯t happened yet. It¡¯s ridiculous to be stressed out by something that¡¯s still not set in stone. And anyway, Major Serena should know full well that I don¡¯t like being tied down like that. She should be aware that forcing me into such a thing will just put a dent in our current rtionship.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true as well.¡± Mimi nodded at my words. I¡¯m right, aren¡¯t I? And if worsees to worst, I could always just run away. I have absolutely no intention of abandoning a carefree mercenary life. I¡¯ll dly ept a medal if it didn¡¯t have any strings attached though. ¡°That¡¯s such a waste. I think it would be awesome if you became a noble, boss.¡± ¡°Rising to a noble status from being amoner is the ideal sess story for most imperial citizens, isn¡¯t it, sis?¡± The mechanic sisters were talking like it was that simple, but was bing a noble really all that great? You¡¯d gain lots of benefits, of course, but you¡¯ll also be burdened with loads of responsibilities. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to continue living as a carefree merc if that ever happens. ¡°I¡¯m not good at socializing with uppity folks, so bing a noble is definitely a no-go.¡± ¡°Ara. It¡¯s not like attending social parties is all there is to being a noble you know. And knights may be ssified as nobles, but they are still treated as halfmoners by the rest of noble society, so they¡¯re not that well regarded.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like being looked down upon due to my noble rank as well. Instead of something stuffy like that, I¡¯d rather raise my mercenary rank to tinum.¡± ¡°And you think that goal would be any easier to achieve¡­¡­? But hold on a bit. Why are you so against bing a noble anyway? Do you have any unpleasant memories regarding it?¡± ¡°Unpleasant memories¡­¡­? Nah, it¡¯s nothing like that. I just think it¡¯s more trouble than it¡¯s worth. It just doesn¡¯t click with me, y¡¯know.¡± ¡°Who knows. You might get to like it once you be one.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡­ Let¡¯s just stop. This talk is over! Discussion end.¡± ¡°Eeeh?¡± Tina pursed her lips in a pout. You¡¯re just having a st by making fun of me, aren¡¯t you? I¡¯ll remember this. ¡°Oh, it seems the ounting department of the imperial military already contacted the Mercenary Guild.¡± ¡°Oooh! That¡¯s some great timing, ain¡¯t it? What did they say?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡­ Your efforts in the previous battle greatly contributed to our victory against the enemy forces and saved the lives of countless soldiers. In recognition of your achievements, we grant you a prize of 3,000,000 Enels and the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal.¡± ¡°I have absolutely no idea about that Silver Sword Wings Assault medal or whatever, but 3 million Enels ain¡¯t bad at all.¡± I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s a fair amount, but it¡¯s quite a lot regardless. In Japanese Yen, it would be about 300 million. If it was on Earth, it would be enough tost me a lifetime. ¡°Butpared to that 3 mil, the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal¡¯s a lot more surprising, ain¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with it after all¡­ Is it that amazing? It sure sounds fancy though.¡± I was more interested in the design. Will it look like a sword with a wing-shaped sword guard? Or maybe a fighter unit with sword-shaped wings. ¡°It¡¯s the same as what Mimi-sama read aloud earlier. It is a medal awarded to those who greatly contributed to a battle or battles involving the imperial military and saved the lives of many soldiers. ording to the records in the database, it has been 12 years and 7 months since such a medal has been awarded to a mercenary in the Gran empire. Only a total of 17 mercenaries have received such an award in the entire history of the empire, including you, Master.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ Hm? Then what about the battle at Termaine system¡­? Uh, no, I guess that one doesn¡¯t count huh.¡± I did raise simr achievements when we were in the Termaine system, but I did so by using a Singing Crystal, which was considered an illegal item. They couldn¡¯t possibly recognize me for that because using a Singing Crystal in order to win a battle can be considered as hical employment of a weapon of mass destruction and vites certain rules of war. ¡°So, does it have any special benefits attached to it?¡± ¡°Within the Gran empire, the recipient of such a medal will be treated the same as a nobleman with the title of Knight.¡± ¡°You look like you¡¯ve swallowed something disgusting, but it¡¯s fine y¡¯know. It¡¯s not like you¡¯ve really be a noble anyway. He¡¯ll also receive a yearly pension, right?¡± ¡°Yes. Master will be receiving a 150,000 Enel pension per year.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Ain¡¯t that too stingy?¡± You can¡¯t even upgrade a Zabuton ship with that kind of money. How awkward. ¡°No, it isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just that your sense of value for money is really out there, boss. You¡¯ll be able to live itrge without working for the rest of your life if you get 150,000 yearly y¡¯know.¡± Whisker and Tina shot me down immediately. I see¡­¡­ That¡¯s how it is, huh. These mechanic sisters have themon sense of normal citizens living in this world after all. Yeah. Come to think of it, a yearly pension of 15,000,000 Yen does sound quite a lot. ¡°I won¡¯t get dragged into anything troublesome if I ept it, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I believe it¡¯s okay, Master.¡± ¡°Okay then. Go ahead and tell them we dly ept, Mimi.¡± ¡°U-Understood¡­¡­¡± Mimi fiddled with her tablet terminal nervously and startedposing a reply. The rewards seemed excellent for the most part. That just leaves the new request. Judging from this, I think we can expect it to be worthwhile as well. Chapter 147 Chapter 147 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone It¡¯s now the next day after Mimi confirmed my eptance of the award. A formal invitation by the imperial military came just this morning. It seems they will hold a simple eptance ceremony, so I was told to go to the B-3 block of the imperial forward base. ¡°If I knew there would be something this troublesome as an eptance ceremony, I wouldn¡¯t have said yes¡­¡­¡± We were in the dining room of ck Lotus. We gathered here and held a celebration of sorts for the sessfulpletion of our first transport and trading job among other things. May didn¡¯t join in the revelry though since she preferred not to eat. She told me she had some other business to take care of, but I wonder what she¡¯s up to. Elma addressed me with furrowed brows and a slightly puzzled look. She held a metallic drinking mug in one hand. It seems it was a sort of high-tech mug that always maintained the optimum temperature for enjoying different drinks. I¡¯m not even gonna ask how much that item costs, but why don¡¯t you pay at least a portion of your debt to me before buying stuff like that first, you troublesome elf. ¡°It¡¯s really unusual. It sure makes me wonder why you hate it that much, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Yeah. And Boss seems to be the type to get really hyped and carried away whenever he gets praised too.¡± ¡°Um¡­¡­¡± Mimi and Elma tilted their heads as Tina said something rather rude. Just what type of person do you think I am!? And you don¡¯t have to follow up on your sister¡¯s im, Whisker. ¡°I don¡¯t have a definite reason, but I really just don¡¯t feel like going through things like that¡­¡­ And it has Major Serena involved y¡¯know. That¡¯s nothing but trouble.¡± ¡°Then it can¡¯t be helped, I guess.¡± ¡°Yes, I now understand why you feel that way, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Right?¡± Elma and Mimi nodded at my words in understanding. ¡°Oh boy. Based on Boss and everyone¡¯s reactions, I¡¯m now super curious about that Major Serena person.¡± ¡°I think it would be better if you don¡¯t get involved with someone like that, big sis. That¡¯s what I feel anyway.¡± You sure are perceptive, Whisker. There¡¯s this saying: ¡®A wise man keeps away from danger.¡¯ I¡¯m not sure if this dimension has something simr, but it sure is apt in this situation. ¡°In any case, you¡¯ve already agreed to ept the award, so you have to go.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡­ Haaah, oh well. I better just get it over with.¡± The sliding door of the dining room opened and May entered. ¡°¡­¡­? Why are you carrying something like those along?¡± May had the noble swords I received from Earl Daleinwald with her. She had them with her, but she hadn¡¯t equipped them. She was holding them in her hands as normal. She also brought some sort of belt with her. The swords May was carrying was part of our spoils after putting down a viinous nobleman. Or rather, they were semi-forcibly given to us by a grumpy old guy who was actually the father of the said viinous nobleman¡­ ¡°I hope you¡¯ll wear these on you when you attend the award ceremony, Master. I shall be apanying you as well.¡± ¡°O-Okay¡­¡­?¡± I don¡¯t get it. I don¡¯t get what May¡¯s thinking at all¡­¡­! These types of swords are basically the symbols of imperial nobility. Though there¡¯s now that specifically prohibits non-nobles from having them, most ordinary folks don¡¯t wear such swords on their person anyway. That¡¯s because some nobles may get offended if they saw amoner freely unting them around. They might even challenge you to a life and death duel over it. Scary. ¡°I don¡¯t have any intention of getting into a life and death duel with a scary aristocrat though?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no problem if it¡¯s you, Master. You are already considered an honorary knight due to the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal, so it would be better if you brought these swords with you.¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right¡­¡­ Well, isn¡¯t it fine?¡± I tried to ask Elma for confirmation, and she didn¡¯t find any issue with it as well. ¡°I really don¡¯t get where you¡¯reing from, guys. Can somebody just please exin this to me in detail?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m all familiar with it myself you know. But if you carry those swords with you, it would indirectly imply your rtionship with Earl Daleinwald, right? There¡¯s May too. She¡¯s an imperial independent AI. The nobles in this country can¡¯t really put their hands on imperial independent AIs like her. Well, at least not openly. In other words, this is in order to reign in Major Serena and her schemes.¡± ¡°So they¡¯re like charms to ward off bad luck or something?¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess. That¡¯s your intention, right?¡± May silently nodded at Elma¡¯s question. I see. So it¡¯s to avoid troublesome stuff huh. Guess I gotta bring them then. I took the two swords and the belt from May and strapped them on. Un, this is actually kinda cool. ¡°Would it be better to carry these around with me often from now on?¡± ¡°Yes, I believe so. You¡¯ll be fine walking around with them since you¡¯ll receive the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal, Master. From now on, you will effectively be treated as an honorary knight of the Gran empire and part of imperial nobility.¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t there a chance of attracting trouble as well?¡± ¡°There will be no problems for people who received a Silver Sword Wings Assault medal. On the contrary, it would allow you to ward off trouble, so you had better wear the medal on your person as well.¡± ¡°Whoah. That medal¡¯s a bigger deal than I thought¡­¡­¡± ¡°Yes. A living person receiving such a medal is exceedingly rare after all.¡± Eh? ¡°The recipients of the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal are those who have rendered exceedingly remarkable merits in battles. Those who receive such a medal usually render such merits by charging headfirst into the middle of enemy forces. Normally, such actions often lead to their deaths.¡± ¡°In other words, it¡¯s highly unusual for a living person to receive such a medal, right?¡± ¡°Yes. And most likely, others will be wary of antagonizing such an individual.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ll be treated like a really sharp knife or something?¡± ¡°What kind of weird analogy is that, boss?¡± Oh, thank you very much for that equally sharp retort, Tina. I¡¯ll treat you to some juice next time. Or maybe you prefer booze? ¡°In other words, people who have a Silver Sword Wings Assault medal are treated as really amazing individuals who shouldn¡¯t be provoked cuz they might not be able to handle the consequences.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a crude way to put it, but that¡¯s how it is, basically.¡± ¡°As I expected, should I actually decline receiving that thing after all?¡± ¡°That¡¯s no good.¡± ¡°Yeah, I thought so.¡± I tried to bring Mimi and Elma along with me, but they said they¡¯ll refrain this time, and the mechanic sisters declined as well because they weren¡¯t really involved in the battle and their status as personnel dispatched by a privatepany. So in the end, the only one who came along with me was May. We both headed to the B-3 block of the base. I felt lots of gazes were gathering toward me due to me wearing noble swords on my waist and May following me around. No, maybe they were just stunned by May¡¯s beauty or something. Yeah, that¡¯s it. That has to be it. In any case, I¡¯ll just treat it that way. ¡°Should I actually train in swordsmanship after this?¡± ¡°If that¡¯s what you wish, Master. Leave the training n to me.¡± ¡°Please start with the basics then¡­¡­¡± It feels really awkward to bring swords around without any idea how to use them after all. Swords aren¡¯t weapons that you can use just by randomly swinging them around¡­¡­ I remember reading in a book that if one doesn¡¯t know proper swordsmanship, swords would be nothing but useless sticks. Uh, but maybe I could get away with it after all. These swords were way too sharp anyway. ¡°Please leave it to me, Master.¡± May seemed really pumped up about it for some reason. It¡¯s nice that she¡¯s filled with enthusiasm, but since her specs are off the charts, she might identally turn me into a stain on the wall if she doesn¡¯t control her strength. So please go easy on me, okay. I kept imploring the pumped up May to go easy on me during training until we finally reached our destination. It looks like there were other people aside from me who would also receive some form of award. They were lined up in front of the entrance. I approached the crowd and tried to observe them. There were lots of military officers present among them, but there were also folks who looked like mercenaries. But there was no one else who had a maidroid tagging along with them like me. I guess that¡¯s to be expected. Or maybe maidroids aren¡¯t actually that popr? A young-looking mercenary male who wasst in line noticed me and gave me a once-over. It was as if he was ascertaining my caliber. I also gave the guy a once-over myself. He looked rtively young. He had finely chiseled features, so I couldn¡¯t get an estimate of his actual age, but he didn¡¯t seem older than me, at least. He had aser gun on him, plus another weapon I couldn¡¯t quite ce on a scabbard-like pouch. He was wearing a rugged-looking pair of pants, a in shirt, and a thick jacket. The design was different, but he wore an ensemble that was quite simr to mine. It looks like he really was a mercenary. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± ¡°I just thought I spotted arade. I also have some business here, you see.¡± The young mercenary replied to me in a belligerent tone and turned his gaze to the door beyond the crowd. He then eyed me with a gaze filled with suspicion. It was probably because of my swords and May. Here was a guy sporting two swords and a maidroid following behind him. ¡®Is this guy really a mercenary? If he was, why the heck is he sporting swords? What the heck is up with that expensive-looking maidroid following after him?¡¯ This was probably what the guy was thinking regarding me. I would have reacted the same way If I were him, so I wasn¡¯t really offended by his gaze. ¡°Well, there are all sorts of circumstances behind this. It would be a pain to exin, so it would be great if you can just ignore it for me.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Hmph. So you¡¯re a noble young master ying mercenary or something?¡± I¡¯m not really a noble young master or anything y¡¯know. Well, I would probably ruffle his feathers more if I tried to exin further, so I guess I¡¯ll just ignore it. It looks like this line was for registering the guests for tonight¡¯s award ceremony. Before long, it was finally my turn to register. I went over along with May. ¡°Please hand me your ID, sir.¡± ¡°Here you go.¡± The soldierdy who served as the receptionist picked up a tablet terminal and held it over my ID. When she looked at the info on the tablet, her face suddenly turned pale as she gave me a nervous stare. She repeatedly turned her gaze back and forth between me and the screen of her tablet terminal. What was she so shocked about anyway? Did you see a ghost without feet or something? Or rather, do the ghosts in this dimension float without feet? ¡°Um, miss?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Hah!? I-I¡¯m sorry, sir! I shall guide you inside!¡± The soldier handed me my ID back, gave me a crisp salute, and led the way inside the function hall. I gathered quite a bit of attention once I entered the venue. Most of the gazes were from the soldiers who were running the award ceremony. The other recipients were already seated out front and had their backs turned to me. But the hall wasn¡¯t all thatrge. In addition to the tense gazes of the soldiers gathering toward me, I stood out like a sore thumb due to my swords and May. And Major Serena disyed an indescribable expression when she noticed the swords strapped to my waist and May following behind me. Come to think of it, Major Serena hasn¡¯t had the chance to meet May yet, hasn¡¯t she¡­¡­? There¡¯s a chance they might have made contact without my knowledge when we arrived at the base, but I don¡¯t remember them meeting before this. ¡°¡­¡­This seat over here?¡± ¡°Yes, please go ahead and make yourselffortable, sir.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡­¡± And for some reason, my seat was isted from everybody else. It was ced on the left front-most position of the guest seats. If anything, it seemed reserved for an official or VIP instead of a regr guest seat. And wasn¡¯t the seat facing a strange direction? Why did they ce it so I¡¯ll be staring down on all the other guests in attendance? Were they pulling a prank on me or something? By the way, the soldiers who were officiating the program were all on the side directly opposite mine. Major Serena was also among them. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, we will nowmence the award ceremony.¡± Arge holo-disy was activated, and a 3D map was projected in front of all the guests. It looked like a birds-eye view of thest battle¡­¡­ Kind of like the overhead map of RTS games. The 3D map urately reproduced thest battle, and all the various participants were marked clearly on it. With this, we would be able to tell the position of everyone here easily as well as what they did during the battle. This event was an award ceremony, but maybe it also doubled as a debriefing. The first half up to the middle stage of the battle didn¡¯t look favorable for the defending forces. They managed to barely hold on, but they were gradually being pushed back by the overwhelming number of crystal lifeforms. I looked at the position of Major Serena¡¯s Restalias and the independent anti-pirate mobile fleet under hermand. They were covering their allies by putting themselves in a precarious position. Man. That looks quite dangerous. And finally, the ck Lotus appeared to provide reinforcement. I was also able to find Krishna¡¯s position on the map. Wow. We really were quite fast. Mm? The icon for Krishna got highlighted. When the icon plunged right into the formation of crystal lifeforms, amotion went up inside the hall. A part of the 3D map zoomed in to disy Krishna¡¯s movements at close range. It showed us weaving through the small and medium-type crystal lifeforms until we finally brought down arge-type with an anti-ship reactive torpedo. The movements of the enemies disyed on the rest of the 3D map also began to change significantly. The number of crystal lifeforms deployed to the battlefield decreased sharply due to us bringing down multiplerge-types in quick session. Arge part of the crystal lifeform swarm also started to veer away from the defending ships and began targeting Krishna. Since the pressure from the crystal lifeforms was reduced, it created an opening for the imperial allied fleet to push back, and the heavy bombardment caused the number of enemies to decrease further. Our act of leading the enemies to the fleet¡¯s line of fire was also clearly disyed. Before long, thestrge-type crystal lifeform fell by way of heavyser cannon bombardment, and that clinched victory for the allied fleet. ¡°You¡¯re telling me that guy managed to live through all that?¡± ¡°So that¡¯s what happened. I thought it was weird that the pressure suddenly lessened back there¡­¡­¡± ¡°Kuh. Even I could do something like tha¨C¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s definitely impossible, so stop dreaming, man.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be enough no matter how many lives you have on stock. It¡¯s really strange, man. Just how did he do it?¡± ¡°He¡¯s one utterly crazy bastard, that¡¯s for sure.¡± You guys are really saying whatever you want huh! Any SOL yer worth his or her salt can do at least that much! Chapter 148 Chapter 148 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone After the recap presentation of the previous battle on therge holo-disy, the award ceremony finally started. The holo-disy started up once again, and this time, it showed the various military officers and mercenaries who have raised merits in the previous battle, as well as what exactly their merits were. There were various reasons for receiving the awards, but most of the military officers who were going to be awarded were captains of their respective ships. The imperial military also employed a good number of small-sizedbat starships simr to Krishna in the previous battle. Destroyers and therger capital ships have trouble dealing with the great number of small-type crystal lifeforms in a swarm, so they deployed more small-sizedbat ships specialized in fast-pacedbat maneuvers to this base. And it seems like this outpost, in particr, had a greater number of small-sizedbat starshipspared to other imperial bases. More than half of the awardees were captains of such ships. But at least some of the officers being awarded were captains of shipsrger than destroyers. Major Serena was also among the awardees. She received the Bronze Shield Wings medal. It looks like it¡¯s conferred to ships that actively shielded ally forces, controlled damage, and contributed to a reduction of ally casualties in battle. Basically, there are two types of medals that are awarded for two different types of achievements ¨C the Sword and Shield medals. They are further subdivided into three ranks (Bronze, Silver, and Gold), along with other modifiers such as Assault and the like. For example, bronze, silver, and gold sword medals are given to those whose merits are more geared towards offensive actions, such as shooting down enemy ships and the like. If you raised merits by covering your allies or contributing greatly to a defensive battle, you¡¯ll be awarded either a bronze, silver or gold shield medal. Most of the awardees here were given either the Bronze or Silver Sword Wings medal, so maybe these types of medals were for those who achieved merits through spacebat. Maybe guys who achieved merits through close range melees won¡¯t have wings on their medals. I wonder how many more medal types there were. Judging from this, won¡¯t only those who participated actively inbat have a chance to be conferred medals? But maybe there really were medals specifically for supply and maintenance personnel among others, but they just didn¡¯t include those types in this award ceremony. And I also can¡¯t imagine these were all there was tobat-rted awards. And also, there has been no other recipient who has been conferred with a medal with a modifier like Assault like the one I was supposed to receive until now. Most of them got either a bronze sword or bronze shield. One imperial military officer and one mercenary who were captains of their respective ships were very active inbat and managed to shoot down many enemies. They ended up being awarded Silver Sword Wings medals. ¡°Andst but not the least, Captain Hiro, who undoubtedly contributed the most to the favorable turn in the tide of battle in this campaign. He will be awarded the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal for his service. Captain Hiro, pleasee forward and receive your award.¡± I got up from my seat and approached the officer who would be handing me my medal. He seems to be themander of this base. I already studied the proper procedure for receiving awards like this repeatedly beforeing here, so I had no trouble for the most part. It wasn¡¯t all that difficult orplicated anyway. You just need toe forward, get the medal pinned on your chest and offer a former imperial military salute. It wasn¡¯t all that different from the usual military salute soldiers used back on Earth. The angle of the hand, the method of raising it as well as the direction the palm needed to face were kinda different, but since I was a mercenary, they weren¡¯t all that strict with the details. ¡°Without your contributions, quite a number of the individuals present here might have lost their lives in that battle along with their subordinates and crew. It is quite rare for someone alive to receive the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal. I look forward to seeing more feats worthy of this medal from you in the future.¡± I offered him a crisp salute after he pinned the medal on my chest, promptly turned my heels away, and walked back to my seat. In these cases, it would be best to not make any unnecessaryments. Just like the basemander said, I was thest to receive an award, and when I got back to my seat, themander began his closing speech. As for the contents of said speech¡­¡­ I kinda didn¡¯t pay attention, honestly. The imperial soldiers assigned to this outpost should have listened attentively though since this meeting also doubled as a military debriefing, but it was none of my business. In the first ce, I didn¡¯t really participate in that battle for the sake of the empire. I just went at it for the money. Thus, it would feel awkward if I nodded to their ims that we seeded in our fight to protect the honor of the empire, the lives of its citizens, and whatnot. I¡¯m a proper adult though, so I did do my best to pretend that I was listening to the speech, but I only got about 20% of it, honestly. As for what I was really doing while pretending to be listening to the speech, I was checking out the officers and mercenaries gathered in the hall. The officers were listening attentively to the basemander for the most part, but the other mercs were pretending just like me. As for what they were really doing, they were actually checking me out as well. I¡¯ve been meeting gazes with a lot of them since a while ago, so I¡¯m sure that¡¯s the case. Well, it looks like most of us weren¡¯t familiar with each other anyway. That¡¯s especially true in my case since I¡¯m the type to go solo, stay inside one colony for a short period of time, and hunt pirates in the surrounding areas. Thus, I didn¡¯t really have any other mercenary acquaintances. But it might be good to select one colony to be our main base of operations though. A ce where we could easily procure supplies, ammo, and food, had a Space Dwerg branch, and had plenty of pirate activity in the surrounding areas would be nice. Wait, wouldn¡¯t that make Brad system a perfect fit¡­¡­? Nah. Sure we can easily procure supplies, ammo, and food at that ce, and ship maintenance would be quite essible, but it also has those crazy dwarves living in it. They¡¯d probably go wild for Krishna again, so that ce is a no-go. There¡¯s also Mimi¡¯s goal of tasting all the gourmet delicacies in the gxy, so I guess it¡¯s still too early for us to decide on a base. As I let my mind wander, the basemander¡¯s speech finally ended, and the award ceremony was adjourned. The basemander left the hall first, followed by the higher-ranking officers. It sure was funny seeing Major Serena giving me a troubled look. ¡°Should we get going as well?¡± ¡°Yes, I believe so, Master.¡± Since I got May¡¯s confirmation, I stood up from my seat and headed for the exit as well. Just what was the meaning of seating me on a spot that gathered a lot of attention¡­? Did they give me preferential treatment since I contributed the most during the battle? Being the center of attention wasn¡¯t really a pleasant experience for me. Actually, it was rather embarrassing. I didn¡¯t really like all that unnecessary attention. ¡°Let¡¯s go back. They may have sent the details of the request already.¡± Before I was able to get out of the hall, the exit was blocked. Or rather, somebody got in my way before I could exit. It was someone unfamiliar¨C No, wait. It was that guy. It¡¯s the guy who I first met before I entered the hall earlier. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I already had a bad feeling, but I asked anyway. The only ones left in the hall were mostly mercenaries, with only a few officers among them. They were standing around inside the hall and giving me curious looks. ¡°Just what kind of trick did you use?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you what kind of dirty trick you used to pull that stuff off!¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡­? Are you talking about me diving into that swarm and returning alive?¡± ¡°What the heck else?¡± This guy¡¯s trouble. I looked to the other guys around us, but they were either shrugging as if saying it wasn¡¯t their business or gossiping with each other in hushed tones. Yeah, thought so. I would have ignored this too if I were in their position. ¡°What kind of answer are you hoping for anyway, brat?¡± ¡°Huh!?¡± ¡°If I really did have a trick up my sleeve just as you im, why the hell should I even tell you about it? It would be a different story if you knelt down and begged me to teach you, but what¡¯s with that attitude of yours, huh? If you wanna ask something, do it properly, brat.¡± ¡°You¡­¡­¡± The young mercenary clenched his fist in anger. Oh? What¡¯s up, huh? You wanna go? But I¡¯m probably gonna be a pushover though. I did work out often after getting sent to this dimension, but I never engaged in a fistfight here even once. I did spar a bit with Elma from time to time, but I never got into a serious fist fight with anyone. ¡°If that¡¯s all you wanna ask, then I¡¯ll be excusing myself. Sorry, man. I¡¯m actually quite busy, so that¡¯s that.¡± I shrugged my shoulders and tried to pass by the young mercenary¨C ¡°Guaaaa!?¡± A pained howl echoed around the hall. I turned around to find the wrist of the young mercenary being gripped strongly by May. He probably tried to grab my shoulder behind my back or something. And then May restrained him. ¡°Please refrain from touching my Master with your filthy hand.¡± May directed an ice-cold re at the young mercenary while gripping his wrist tightly. ¡°O-Okay! I get it! I get it, so let go of me already!¡± May released the guy¡¯s wrist. Oh¡­¡­ You okay, man? Your wrist ain¡¯t broken, right? May¡¯s grip strength is really awesome, y¡¯know. She¡¯s made of military-grade materials and servos after all. If May were serious, your wrist wouldn¡¯t just be broken. It¡¯ll be reduced to a red stter on the floor instead. ¡°Okay, man. If you¡¯re free enough to think up weird conspiracy theories, why don¡¯t you try practicing on a simtor first and raise your skill level? Then earn enough to upgrade your ship. That¡¯s what I did anyway. It was through countless practice sessions and experience that I was able to live after plunging inside that enemy swarm. There¡¯s no ¡®dirty trick¡¯ whatsoever. Just pure experience and skill.¡± The young mercenary rubbed his wrist and kept ring at me resentfully. Whatever, man. ¡°Well¡­ that¡¯s about it. Good luck, man. Good luck to you guys as well.¡± I then lightly waved my hand at the remaining mercs and officers and left the hall. After getting enough distance from the hall, I let out a relieved sigh. ¡°Man, that sure was scary. Mercs are really scary. I¡¯m not that good when ites to fistfights, y¡¯know.¡± ¡°Is that so¡­¡­?¡± May tilted her head in puzzlement, which was quite rare for her. She was still mostly expressionless, but it was rare for her to express herself so openly by using bodynguage like this. ¡°I heard that you put up quite a fight in the Alein system with your power armor, and I saw you directly in action when we rescued Earl Daleinwald, Master. And also, you did quite well fighting thosebat robots back on Sierra III.¡± ¡°But those are different. They¡¯re not the same as a fistfight.¡± ¡°Is that how it is?¡± May still looked bewildered. I get that you¡¯re still confused, but that¡¯s just how it is. Anyway, there¡¯s a great difference betweenbat and fistfights for me at least. It¡¯s like a difference in mindset or something¡­¡­ Meh. It doesn¡¯t matter anyway. ¡°Anyway, what was up with that brat back there?¡± ¡°I guess he was jealous that a newbie like Master suddenly got awarded with a Silver Sword Wings Assault medal and wanted to vent.¡± ¡°Vent, huh?¡± ¡°It seems they often use fists to speak their mind in mercenary circles.¡± ¡°That so¡­¡­ Would it have been better if I epted the fight?¡± ¡°You already have me with you, Master. I believe this already qualifies as a sufficient disy of strength. It is fine. And also¨C¡± ¡°Hm?¡± I nodded at May to urge her to keep going. ¡°¨CIf you wanted to put him in his ce, you could have easily done so, right, Master?¡± ¡°I wonder. Well, I guess I could probably manage if I held my breath. But I kinda don¡¯t know how that actually works, y¡¯see. So I don¡¯t really wanna rely on it that often.¡± Since I came to this dimension, I am able to perform super-elerated thinking and reactions by holding my breath for some reason. It was pretty convenient, but I don¡¯t want to abuse it since I don¡¯t know just how it works. I didn¡¯t mention it to Doc Shouko when she examined me since I was scared about the consequences. She already made a fuss when she discovered my unknown genes. What would happen if she knew I had such a strange ability to boot? I¡¯ll probably get imprisoned and treated as ab rat. ¡°Oh well. We¡¯re not nning to stay here for long anyway. Let¡¯s just forget it.¡± ¡°On the contrary Master, we may spend a longer period of time in this outpost depending on the particrs of the imperial military¡¯s request.¡± ¡°Oh, right. Man, that¡¯s annoying¡­¡­ Should we just ignore it and run away?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t Major Serena hold a grudge if you did so?¡± ¡°That¡¯s also troublesome in a different sense¡­¡­ Ugh. This doesn¡¯t feel good.¡± Imented my current predicament as I turned toward the heavens. Chapter 149 Chapter 149 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone The Silver Sword Wings Assault medal was generally as I expected in appearance . It was a sword-shaped medal with a sword guard that looked like outspread wings . The only thing that surprised me was a red jewel embedded at the center of the sword guard . This certainly made it quite eye-catching . It was interesting to see how shocked the military officers in the base were whenever they saw me walking around with the shiny, new Silver Sword Wings Assault medal pinned on my chest . It certainly satisfied my petty sense of vanity . I¡¯ve already walked around the base for a few minutes . But then, I suddenly saw someone up ahead who I really didn¡¯t want to meet . It was a beautiful young woman with golden blond hair, ruby-red eyes, and a pair of swords strapped to her thin waist . ¡°Congrattions on receiving the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal . ¡± ¡°Thanks . Congrattions on receiving the Bronze Shield Wings medal as well, major . ¡± ¡°Yes, thank you . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be on my way then . ¡± I tried to walk past her but had my shoulder firmly gripped from the side . May! Heeelp! I was looking to May for help, but she just stood there with her usual nk look and didn¡¯t seem to mind Major Serena¡¯s actions . ¡°Master . Since meeting with the major is something unavoidable at this point, it would be best not to put up any meaningless resistance . ¡± ¡°Ara . You¡¯re unexpectedly quite reasonable, aren¡¯t you? Some people here though¡­¡­¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t give up that easily . ¡± But anyway, it really was next to impossible to ignore Major Serena at this point, so I guess I¡¯ll just have to give up here and follow her . ¡°So, what now? You want me to shut up and follow you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s great that you¡¯re quick on the uptake . It would be nice if you were cooperative right from the start though . ¡± ¡°That is that and this is this . So where are we going anyway? You¡¯re not telling me you wanna go to my ship, are you?¡± ¡°In fact, that would be preferable . I need to talk with your crew as well after all . ¡± ¡°Seriously¡­?¡± Major Serena already started walking ahead of me, so I had no choice but to follow after her . May followed behind both of us quietly . ¡°There¡¯s a lot I want to ask, but¡­¡­ first, can you tell me about those swords strapped to your waist?¡± ¡°We got them from Earl Daleinwald . They were originally owned by that bastard son of his we beat up ck and blue, and his father just shoved it to me as part of the spoils . ¡± ¡°H-Huh¡­¡­?¡± Major Serena froze up in bewilderment after hearing my casual reply . ¡°Uh, what did the earl say again? Um, our act of barging in on a duel unannounced was a bit uncalled for, but since we beat his son, the swords were still rightfully ours as the ultimate victors . Something like that anyway . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­I see . ¡± After hearing me borate, Major Serena nodded lightly in acknowledgment and then turned her gaze toward May next . ¡°So, this is May, I presume?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . She looks like a normal maid at first nce, but she¡¯s actually a lot more powerful than your average power armor . ¡± ¡°I see . How long have you had her?¡± ¡°Mm, she¡¯s been with us since that incident on Sierra III . ¡± ¡°Yes, that is the case . ¡± ¡°Sierra III, huh¡­¡­ I believe I didn¡¯t see her back then though?¡± ¡°She was cooped up inside Krishna back then . ¡± ¡°Yes . A chance for us to meet at that time did not present itself . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­¡± Major Serena didn¡¯t manage to board Krishna and go binge drinking at that time after all . And I also didn¡¯t feel the need to introduce May to her back then as well . ¡°May is an independent advance AI with a state-of-the-art high-spec positron brain after all . I have no intention of treating her as a mere object or tool . ¡± ¡°I know . Just what do you regard me as anyway?¡± After sulking for a bit, Major Serena shook her head in exasperation . I find you as an overbearing, really clingy, and troublesome imperial military major . If I said that to her face, I have no doubt she¡¯d clobber me till I¡¯m half-dead . ¡°So what¡¯s your business with me anyway? If it¡¯s for the military¡¯s request, you could have just sent the details to the Mercenary Guild . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so prickly . You have no idea how beneficial it is to cozy up to someone like me, you know . ¡± ¡°Say something like that once you actually bring me those so-called ¡®benefits¡¯¡­¡­ Unfortunately, you¡¯ve brought me nothing but trouble ever since I met you . ¡± ¡°I can say the same for you as well . ¡± Major Serena retorted with pursed lips . Beautiful women always look cute no matter what they do huh? Hahaha . ¡°Are you talking about the incident on Sierra III? C¡¯mon, major . We just gave you the opportunity to pay up your debts at that time you know?¡± However, I am not the type to fall for such petty tricks . I spent every day surrounded by beauties like Mimi, Elma, and the perfect maidroid May after all . No matter how beautiful Major Serena might be, I will not be easily swayed . And furthermore, Major Serena was an absolute trouble-ma, so unless she gets rid of that quality of hers, I won¡¯t flinch in the slightest no matter how cute she looks . Eh? What about the mechanic sisters, you ask? Sure, they¡¯re cute, butying my hands on them smelled like a crime¡­¡­ although it technically isn¡¯t a crime . But I¡¯m a responsible adult . Honestly though . It¡¯splicated y¡¯know? If they seriously came at me with that intention, I¡¯m not really confident I can withstand the temptation, to be honest . ¡°Okay, okay, I understand¡­¡­ Mou . Would it kill you to act gentlemanly for once¡­¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I hate you, okay . You just seem really troublesome . ¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same thing?¡± Major Serena¡¯s brows furrowed in displeasure . C¡¯mon, major . That¡¯s a waste of your beautiful face . ¡°It¡¯s just that Major Serena¡¯s position is very troublesome for me in a sense . But I don¡¯t really hate your character . How do I put it? You¡¯re usually a high-flying andpetent career woman most of the time, but you sometimes act like a ditzy and cute maiden in your private life . That¡¯s how I see you anyway . ¡± ¡°Ditzy¡­¡­ and cute?¡± ¡°The crucial point is that you seem far too perfect usually . If you were equally as perfect in your private life, I would probably find it even harder to approach you . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I should be d about that evaluation though¡­¡­ Anyway, you actively try to avoid me just for that reason?¡± ¡°You really are a troublesome person in various senses, after all, major¡­¡­¡± ¡°Can you stop it with that ¡®troublesome¡¯ thing Normally, people would be really hurt if you tell them that to their face . ¡± Haah . The major really is a troublesome woman after all . ¡°Okay . First, let¡¯s have you realize just how troublesome you are, major . If I say or do something that seems remotely bad in other people¡¯s eyes to you, I wonder what kind of actions your family will take? You¡¯re the daughter of a marquis after all . ¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help being born to such a family, okay . ¡± ¡°So let¡¯s just take it as fate then . ¡± ¡°You don¡¯t really pull any punches, do you¡­¡­ Haah . ¡± Major Serena shrugged helplessly and sighed . Yep, that¡¯s it . That¡¯s exactly it . ¡°But there¡¯s no denying Major Serena is a really cute girl, so it¡¯s not like I ain¡¯t tempted . As a healthy male that is . But you are really high up in the socialdder after all, and I can¡¯t actually afford toy my hands on the daughter of a marquis y¡¯know . As a result, you are someone I need to try and actively avoid . It would be toote if I made a mistake I couldn¡¯t possibly take back after all . ¡± ¡°Is that your idea of cheering me up or something?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just saying I don¡¯t actually hate you, major . It¡¯s just that you¡¯re too troublesome for me, so I end up trying to avoid you all the time . ¡± ¡°As I thought, you¡¯re trying to pick a fight with me, aren¡¯t you? I¡¯m gonna beat you up you know?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t, major . I¡¯d probably die from your beating, okay . ¡± I raised my hands in surrender as Major Serena put her hand on her sword¡¯s handle . We kept bantering like that until we reached ck Lotus . ¡°Major . ¡± ¡°Good work, soldier . Sorry about this . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s no trouble, ma¡¯am . ¡± We found Major Serena¡¯s subordinates standing by inside the hangar . There were three of them . One was a buff-looking young male soldier . He was Lieutenant Robbitson, who was Major Serena¡¯s adjutant . The other two were young female soldiers whose names I didn¡¯t know . This was the average number of soldiers for official visits like this . ¡°It¡¯s been a while, lieutenant . Let me show you around my new ship . ¡± ¡°Yes, it truly has . Congrattions on receiving the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal by the way . ¡± ¡°Thank you . I¡¯m the person who received the award, but I still can¡¯t get a handle on how big of a deal it is . ¡± ¡°Hahaha, that¡¯s to be expected . ¡± I¡¯m quite familiar with Lieutenant Robbitson . I used to meet him all the time when I served as the advisor for Major Serena¡¯s fleet and taught them pirate-hunting tactics . I don¡¯t know the other two¡¯s names, but they do look familiar . But why are they giving me those admiring looks though¡­¡­? I wanted to ask, but Major Serena already walked ahead, so the four of us followed suit . I decided to ignore the reactions of the four people with me regarding the luxurious interior of ck Lotus and went straight to the dining room where Mimi and Elma were waiting . I couldn¡¯t see the mechanic sisters anywhere . I wonder if they locked themselves up inside their room? ¡°I¡¯m back . Where¡¯s Tina and Whisker?¡± ¡°They said they didn¡¯t want to get in the way of the discussion with the soldiers, so they holed up inside their room . ¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s better if they participate actually since the content of this meeting will affect our next set of activities moving forward . ¡± ¡°I did tell them that earlier though . ¡± Elma shrugged helplessly . Those two are strangely reserved at times . ¡°Sorry, Mimi, but can you call those two for me?¡± ¡°Understood . ¡± ¡°You should make yourselvesfortable in the meantime . I¡¯m not really particr about the seating order, so just sit where you like . May, can you get everyone a bottle of water please . ¡± ¡°Certainly . ¡± Mimi started fiddling with her tablet terminal after giving a sidelong nce at the officers from the anti-pirate independent fleet while May went off to prepare some drinks . It would have also been fine if I served them a cup of coffee or tea brewed by Tetsujin V, but I didn¡¯t want to bother with asking their preferences . ¡°Um, I guess the reason for your visit today is due to that matter, right? The request from the military, I mean . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct . We wouldn¡¯t be able to convey some of the details urately if we just simply went through the Mercenary Guild . That¡¯s why we chose to talk to you directly . So take this as being a direct request to you instead of something issued by the Mercenary Guild . ¡± ¡°I see . Are you fine with that, Elma? Mimi?¡± ¡°Uhuh . ¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± ¡°There you go then¡­¡­ But hold on a bit . We have crew members affiliated with the Space Dwergpany with us . I¡¯ll have those girls participate in this meeting as well . ¡± ¡°Those girls, huh¡­¡­ It seems the number of women in your ship has increased again?¡± I shrugged my shoulders helplessly at Major Serena, who was giving me a really cold re . ¡°I¡¯m not sure why you¡¯re ring at me like that, major, but yes, they are certainly women . ¡± At that timing, the mechanic sisters frantically rushed inside the room . ¡°We¡¯re really sorry for making you all wait!¡± ¡°We¡¯re sorry! Please forgive us!¡± Tina and Whisker bowed so low that they almost did a dogeza . After staring nkly at the two of them for a few seconds, Major Serena turned to me once again . ¡°You¡¯re not telling me¡­¡­¡± ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re imagining, but that¡¯s certainly not the case, okay! I haven¡¯tid my hands on them . Or rather, these guys are dwarves y¡¯know . They may look small, but they¡¯re already properdies . So please let me off with that . Just please let me off, okay?¡± We were about to have a serious meeting, but why did I end up trying to exin myself desperately like this? The major really was a troublesome woman after all . Chapter 150 Chapter 150 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone May served everyone with a bottle of purified water, and the preliminary negotiations finally went underway . The term was a bit technical, but to put it simply, it¡¯s to make sure both parties agree with the terms and conditions of the request before formally taking action . ¡°First of all,mand wants you to follow us as a temporary addition to our fleet for the duration of the mission . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m good with that . It¡¯s a lot better than teaming up with unfamiliar people anyway . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . We would also prefer teaming up with someone whose strengths and abilities are familiar to us . We would be able to form strategies and act in concert better that way . ¡± ¡°So what troublesome thing didmand shove on you guys, anyway?¡± Major Serena¡¯s eyebrow arched at Elma¡¯s direct question . ¡°It¡¯s not really all thatplicated . We were just tasked with investigating a slightly dangerous sector . ¡± ¡°Slightly?¡± Mimi raised a worried voice . I¡¯m also doubtful about the ¡®slightly¡¯ bit . ¡°Yes . This Izrooks system serves as a hub system for the hypenework, you see . The hypenes from five systems all converge here; four of which are imperial territories . Thest one is connected to the frontier region . ¡± ¡°Frontier region, huh? ¡­¡­Have they dispatched survey fleets to it already?¡± ¡°There was only one instance of a survey fleet being dispatched in the past, but none of the ships have managed to return . However prosperous our empire may be, its resources aren¡¯t infinite . That¡¯s why they established a military outpost here in the Izrooks system, which also doubles as a development base for the frontier . We are allocating resources as efficiently as possible . ¡± ¡°I see . How about survey fleets from private enterprises?¡± ¡°There have been lots of cases where their ships have been lost as well . Nheless, that doesn¡¯t mean that no ships have managed to return . The reports from the surviving private vessels confirmed the presence of crystal lifeforms in the frontier, and more and more forces are being deployed to this base as a countermeasure . ¡± ¡°Your deployment here was also a result of this, Major Serena?¡± ¡°No, not exactly . We have just been temporarily assigned here as reinforcements due to the increase in crystal lifeform activity . We won¡¯t stay here indefinitely . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ So we were asked to apany your fleet to investigate the frontier area . Is that it?¡± ¡°Yes . So expect a high probability of encounters and battles with crystal lifeforms during the mission . ¡± ¡°Well, of course . How about the reward?¡± ¡°400,000 Enels per each 24 hour period . ¡± ¡°Wow, boss . That¡¯s a lot of money¡­¡­¡± ¡°F-Four hundred thousand¡­¡­¡± Tina was muttering softly with a stunned expression while Whisker¡¯s eyes became round as saucers as she froze up on the spot . Mimi and Elma were disying conflicted expressions . I¡¯m probably making the same expression as them right now . ¡°I¡¯m telling you this first . I have absolutely no n of being used as a scapegoat . ¡± The reward was astronomical, but that just made the mission even scarier . It¡¯s so high that I suspect we¡¯re gonna get involved in something highly dangerous . ¡°We do not intend to do that at all . This reward amount was proposed in consideration of your skills and abilities, as well as our expectations for your service . ¡± ¡°Expectations, huh¡­¡­¡± I¡¯m afraid they really want to push us as hard as they can . Well, there¡¯s no useining about it here anyway . ¡°You im you have absolutely no intention of discarding us, right?¡± ¡°Yes . That is correct¡­¡­¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then promise me you¡¯ll heed my advice if I judge that things are getting far too dangerous and I propose a retreat . Treat this as a personal promise between you and me, major . I¡¯m not saying we¡¯ll abandon our post and run away on our own when things get hairy though . We¡¯ll bring up the rear for you if pushes to shove . ¡± ¡°Fumu¡­¡­¡± Major Serena cupped her delicately-shaped chin and thought for a little while . And then, she finally nodded slightly . ¡°Alright, I understand . I will promise you then . I will not ignore your words and prioritize the safety and lives of the ships and crew, including you all . It should be okay with this, right?¡± ¡°Yep . That¡¯s fine for me . How about you two?¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay with whatever Hiro-sama decides . ¡± ¡°I have noints either . ¡± ¡°How about you guys? Tina, Whisker . ¡± ¡°U-Us? Um, we don¡¯t really have anything to add either¡­¡­¡± ¡°Sis, what about our report?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, that¡¯s right! Um, miss major, ma¡¯am?¡± ¡°Yes, what is it?¡± Major Serena turned her gaze toward Tina . ¡°Um¡­ actually, we were tasked by ourpany to write up an activity diary periodically and send it back to them as part of our duties while dispatched to this ship . Um, will including this meeting in the diary be okay? I mean, won¡¯t there be anyplications if we write this down as well?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡­ I don¡¯t think anything that we¡¯ve discussed here is considered confidential, but let me check just in case . ¡± ¡°Will you employ censorship?¡± ¡°Now that¡¯s an unpleasant way of putting it¡­¡­ We¡¯re just being careful not to leak any ssified military secrets identally . It¡¯spletely well-intentioned . ¡± Major Serena gave me an annoyed side-eye . ¡°I check and edit the contents of their diaries every day, so you do not have to worry, everyone . As an additional precaution, I shall send a copy of the edited materials to you for confirmation . ¡± ¡°Really? Please do so then . ¡± ¡°Certainly . ¡± May bowed her head . So it isn¡¯t the military that will employ censorship . The material was already censored by May from the start . What a twist . Tina acted shocked for some reason . What¡¯s up with that? Whisker didn¡¯t have any reaction, so I guess she knew it from the start . Why was Tina not informed though? ¡°Okay then . That leaves the matter ofmand out on the field, but¡­ it should be okay if we did it like usual, right?¡± ¡°Yes . You will be treated as my direct subordinate out on the field, and only I as the fleetmander have the right to issuemands to you . ¡± ¡°Ok . You can just send the details of our discussion to the Mercenary Guild for approval . ¡± ¡°Understood . ¡± ¡°Next would be regarding supplies . ck Lotus has just unloaded its cargo so the cargo hold has quite a bit of free space right now . ¡± ¡°Oh, that sounds good . It would be quite convenient if you could store some supplies for the fleet in your ship for the duration of the mission . ¡± ¡°Uhuh . But we¡¯re not going to be your porters for free, y¡¯know . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­You¡¯re really not holding back, aren¡¯t you?¡± Major Serena¡¯s smile twitched awkwardly . Of course . We¡¯re gonna provide you protection out in a potentially dangerous sector of space, so we should get as muchpensation as we can . ¡°Oh c¡¯mon . Just listen to the proposal first . It¡¯s not like I¡¯m gonna ask for more money . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Go on then . ¡± I raised my hands in surrender to Major Serena who was giving me a doubtful gaze and started borating further . ¡°You see, I think it¡¯s a bit of a waste if we just left this system after the mission with our hands empty . That¡¯s why I was thinking of stocking up on some goods . I have no problem with acting as a porter for the fleet and storing part of its supplies for the duration of the mission, but in exchange, I want you to negotiate with your superiors if we could get a cut of the raw materials derived from crystal lifeforms when this is all over . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Fumu . ¡± ¡°We will lend our help and expertise to you as much as possible, major . In exchange, we want to gain as many benefits from you, but without touching your bottom line . In other words, we propose a fair trade . What do you think?¡± ¡°Let me just ask to make sure . What exactly do you expect from me?¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not asking for something unreasonable or against the rules . We¡¯re gonna purchase the materials from you, but I want you to put some word in so we can get it at the lowest price allowable withoutpromising quality . ¡± I thought back to the first time I met Major Serena . She seemed like a person with a strong sense of justice and had a distaste for illegal or fraudulent practices . I¡¯m not so stupid as to ask such a person to break the rules . ¡°Alright . I¡¯ll try to talk to the ounting department then . Oh, and before I forget, we will shoulder the costs for the supplies we will use during the mission . However, luxury and leisure items are a different story . You¡¯ll have to pay for those yourselves . ¡± ¡°Understood . We¡¯ll send you our cargo capacityter . ¡± ¡°Alright . That¡¯s about it then . ¡± Major Serena rose from her seat, and we saw her and her subordinates off with a smile . ¡°Well, that¡¯s how it is . So, for now, go ahead and prepare, everyone . ¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± ¡°Okay . ¡± ¡°Understood . ¡± ¡°Y-Yeah . ¡± ¡°I-I understand . ¡± The mechanic sisters are acting a bit nervous as expected . It can¡¯t be helped . Any normal person would feel scared if you tell them they¡¯ll be going to a ce possibly teeming with hostile crystal lifeforms . The terror of being consumed by crystal lifeforms is pretty well known, even among themon popce . ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry too much, you two . It¡¯s unlikely that ck Lotus will face any direct attacks . The only situation where the ck Lotus, which will act as a supply ship during the mission, will get attacked is when the rest of the fleet is practically annihted . And I¡¯ll warn Major Serena properly to avoid that worst-case scenario from happening in the first ce, so I believe the ck Lotus won¡¯t be in any sort of danger during the mission . ¡± ¡°I-I see¡­¡­ It¡¯s really gonna be okay, right, boss?¡± ¡°Yeah . Don¡¯t worry . ¡± At least, that¡¯s true for Tina, Whisker, and May . On the other hand, I, Mimi, and Elma would probably have to engage the crystal lifeforms head-on if we encounter them . Well, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be alright as long as we don¡¯t face arge enough swarm . There¡¯s also the strength and firepower of Major Serena¡¯s fleet to consider . ¡°We should have finished resupplying by now, right?¡± ¡°Yes . We have stored a total of twelve anti-ship reactive torpedoes on ck Lotus in addition to the four on Krishna, just like you instructed, Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°Yep . The supply manager¡¯s expression was twitching when we took them from the base armory though . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine . There¡¯s no need to hold back . ¡± I was actually nning to get twenty spares in addition to the ones loaded on Krishna, but I was told twelve was the limit, so that¡¯s that . Well, they were dangerous weapons that had the power to destroy a colony, so it can¡¯t be helped . ¡°We have enough stock of water, food, and other daily necessities that we got from Brad Prime, and I was told we would be given part of the supplies from the military as well¡­ Mm, we would be able to sortie anytime once the goods from the military get loaded up . How¡¯s the condition of both ships?¡± The mechanic sisters were still a bit nervous, but they managed to reply clearly . I¡¯ll try and talk to them moreter to relieve their fear and stress as much as possible . ¡°Mm . We¡¯ve finished up Krishna¡¯s maintenance . We just need to do some minor checks on ck Lotuster, so we can probably finish everything before the day ends . ¡± ¡°ck Lotus engaged in heavybat this time, so we¡¯re focusing on checking the energy supply and weapon systems . We haven¡¯t discovered any problems so far . ¡± ¡°I see . Do your best . ¡± ¡°Leave it to us . ¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± ¡°Okay . That¡¯s a wrap, folks . I¡¯ll wait for the official request to go through the guild, and I¡¯ll contact you guys again once the sortie time gets decided . Until then, do whatever you need to do . Oh, and as much as possible, stay on board the ship . Well, there¡¯s no ce suited for sightseeing inside this base anyway . ¡± Everyone responded in the affirmative and dispersed . Now then, what should I do? I¡¯m basically free until the sortie time gets decided¡­¡­ Since that¡¯s the case, how about I spend my time checking out how all of my crew members are doing? The mission this time seems to entail quite a bit of danger . And it¡¯s a different kind of danger from facing off pirates . It¡¯s the captain¡¯s duty to ensure the physical and emotional wellbeing of his crew after all . Chapter 151 Chapter 151 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Fumu¡­¡­¡± Well, I decided to go around and see everyone, but where do I start? There¡¯s Mimi, Elma, and the mechanic sisters¡­¡­ Let¡¯s start with the mechanic sisters then . Mimi and Elma were somehow already ustomed to my reckless stunts, and I didn¡¯t really have to worry about May, so that leaves the sisters, who¡¯ve just newly boarded my ship . I¡¯ll spend time with Mimi and Elmater tonight . And so, I went straight to the sisters . ¡°Oh, boss, what¡¯s up?¡± The two were sitting side by side on the sofa inside the break room . They weren¡¯t doing anything in particr and were just sitting right next to each other while gazing at the terrarium filled with alien nts . ¡°Um¡­¡­ I was thinking of going around to check up on everyone y¡¯see . Am I in the way?¡± Since the sisters seemed to be getting along just fine, it doesn¡¯t look like there¡¯s any room for me . ¡°We¡¯re just fading out a bit, big brother . Don¡¯t mind us . ¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine . Come and sit down over here with us, boss . ¡± After saying so, Tina separated from Whisker and tapped the now-open space between them . ¡°Right between you guys¡­¡­? Is that really okay?¡± Doesn¡¯t this seem like getting in between two lilies? Wouldn¡¯t I be struck by karma or something? Uh, but it¡¯s not like the two of them are in that kind of rtionship anyway . ¡°What are you hesitating around for, boss . C¡¯mon over and sit here already . ¡± ¡°U-Umu¡­¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re so strange sometimes, big brother . ¡± I sat down next to theughing Tina . Since I was right next to Tina, that meant I was right next to Whisker as well . ¡°There you go . ¡± ¡°Oi?¡± A few moments after I sat down, Tina scooted over and hugged me from the side . ¡°C¡¯mon, Whisker . You too . ¡± ¡°Uh¡­ T-There . ¡± After getting prodded by Tina, Whisker also scooted over to me from the other side . What the heck did I get myself into? ¡°Skinship really feels good somehow . And I don¡¯t mean in a naughty sense, okay, boss?¡± ¡°I¡¯d be really troubled if you meant it in a naughty sense . ¡± ¡°Why? Tina-chan¡¯s really cute, right? Whisker¡¯s pretty cute too . ¡± Tina cutely sulked as she kept hugging my arm . ¡°I acknowledge that you two are pretty cute, but¡­¡­¡± Them being cute and seeing them ¡®that¡¯ way are two very different things . I mean, sure, they¡¯re cute, but their bodies were quite small, and somehow, it really smells like a crime¡­ I¡¯m afraid of unwittingly opening a brand new door for myself that I can probably never close again . Scary¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s set that topic aside . Um¡­¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°¡­¡­I can¡¯te up with a good topic . ¡± ¡°So you aren¡¯t good at socializing, boss? But I wonder why Mimi and Elma are so head over heels for you?¡± ¡°Shut up, you . If you¡¯re so good at socializing, how about youe up with a good topic . ¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right . Let¡¯s see . How about we talk about Whisker¡¯s embarrassing stories?¡± ¡°Big sis!¡± ¡°Oh, I got one . This happened four months ago . We were tasked to give a ship a new paintjob that day . So we were busy painting the ship, but Whisker didn¡¯t realize some of the paint got onto her butt . Whisker went all day without noticing and left lots of butt-shaped paint stamps all around the workshop . ¡± ¡°Big sis!!!¡± Whisker let out an embarrassed scream with a beet-red face . So she was unexpectedly the airheaded type huh . ¡°Ain¡¯t she cute?¡± ¡°Yeah, she is . ¡± ¡°Kuu¡­¡­ If that¡¯s how you want to y, then I got some stories about sis as well . ¡± ¡°Oh, go ahead and spill then . I¡¯ll tell twice the amount of Whisker¡¯s embarrassing stories to Boss . ¡± No matter how embarrassing those stories are, I actually think nothing beats the time when the two of them rushed to our hotel room wearing nothing but negligees and tried to sell themselves off . I listened to the two¡¯s stories while inwardly thinking that . ¡°Gununu¡­¡­¡± ¡°Mumumu¡­¡­¡± They were able to tell me loads of embarrassing stories regarding the two of them in just a short period of time . Well, the episodes seemed more like clumsy bloopers though . ¡°I liked the episode where Tina came to work while half-asleep and still in her pajamas . ¡± ¡°W-Who was half-asleep? I just came to work in pajamas . Is there anything wrong with that¡­¡­?¡± ¡°There¡¯s quite a bit y¡¯know . ¡± That¡¯s an out no matter how sleepy you were . There¡¯s a limit to being half-asleep y¡¯know . ¡°Fufun . As I thought . Big sis is even more careless than me . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true . Whisker¡¯s the one who¡¯s careless . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re the careless one, sis . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s you, Whisker . ¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s you, big sis . ¡± ¡°¡±Gununu¡­¡­¡±¡± Are you guys familiar with the expression ¡®scant difference¡¯? There¡¯s no point no matter how much you twopared yourselves . Well, I¡¯m a proper adult, so I guess I¡¯ll just watch over them quietly . They really seemed quite simr in my eyes though . Come to think of it, aside from Tina, now Whisker was hugging my arm tightly as well . I guess she got too worked up so she didn¡¯t realize what she was doing¡­¡­ I added a ¡®careless girl¡¯ point to Whisker¡¯s name in my head . With this, Whisker was slightly in the lead when ites to being careless . ¡°Or rather, isn¡¯t it unfair that only the two of us shared our embarrassing stories?¡± ¡°Mu¡­¡­ That¡¯s certainly true . Please tell us some of your embarrassing stories as well, big brother . ¡± ¡°My stories huh¡­¡­¡± But what should I tell them? I haven¡¯t told them anything regarding my situation yet, so I really can¡¯t say much . I guess I¡¯ll have to use the amnesia excuse I told Mimi and Elma first here . ¡°I don¡¯t really remember much about my past . I only remember the memories from when I met Mimi and Elma until the present clearly¡­¡­ I was involved in a hyperdrive ident you see . And as a result, I apparently got amnesia . ¡± ¡°You sure know how to crack a joke, boss¡­¡­ Eh? Seriously?¡± ¡°Yep . Seriously . Before I realized it, I already found myself sleeping inside Krishna¡¯s cockpit . It was really freezing so I was forced to wake up . My body still remembered how to pilot Krishna for some reason, and that somehow helped a lot . I was then suddenly attacked by pirates, and after I brought them down, I found myself in the Termaine Prime colony . I was treated as a suspicious guy since I didn¡¯t have any records avable; not even ship logs . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­ Then what about memories of your family or siblings¡­¡­?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing . I don¡¯t really mind though¨C¡± The sisters peered up to my face with moist eyes when I said I didn¡¯t mind not having memories . What¡¯s up with them? I tilted my head . ¡°You look like you don¡¯t have a care in the world, boss, but in truth, you were actually suffering¡­¡­¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t sad¡­¡­? Are you really okay¡­¡­?¡± The two of them reached out their arms and patted the top of my head caringly . U-Un¡­¡­ I can¡¯t really say I was blessed with an ideal family environment, but it¡¯s kinda hard to see them being worried about me this much . ¡°No, uh, I really don¡¯t mind guys . ¡± ¡°Lying is no good . Anyone who lost their memories of their family will surely feel very uneasy . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, big brother . ¡± ¡°I-I see¡­¡­¡± I got overwhelmed by their overflowing concern . The two of them were disying such serious expressions after all . I really felt their genuine concern, so I couldn¡¯t bring myself to ignore them . ¡°If you¡¯re sad, then you can always rely on us, okay?¡± ¡°Uh, that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to¡­¡­?¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t want to . ¡± Be cool, me . And think . Think hard¡­¡­ How will I get myself out of this awkward situation¨C Wait, that¡¯s it! ¡°Let¡¯s set that topic aside for the time being . Are you guys interested in how I met Mimi, Elma, and May? They¡¯ve already told you the gist, but I¡¯m sure they didn¡¯t go into detail about the events, right?¡± ¡°Nn¡­¡­ Yes, that¡¯s certainly true . ¡± ¡°Yes, yes . Of course . I¡¯ll start from my time on Termaine Prime then¡­¡­¡± I then started telling them about how I met Elma, Mimi, and Major Serena . And so, we exchanged stories while closely glued to each other . It somehow feels like their impression of me has changed a bit due to this little event¡­¡­ But it wasn¡¯t bad to spend time with the two of them leisurely like this . Chapter 152 Chapter 152 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone The sisters were only taking a break from work because they were charging the maintenance bots and had them perform self-diagnostics . When the rm alerting that the charging and self-diagnostics wereplete rang out, they returned to work with a bit of reluctance present in their expressions . I saw them both off and headed to the ck Lotus¡¯s cockpit next, where May was staying . ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Master?¡± As soon as I entered the cockpit, May noticed me and turned around . There was a cable extending out from one of her wrists, and it was plugged onto the cockpit console . She was probably using this particr direct interface method to control ck Lotus . But the ship was parked inside the base hangar right now, so I wonder what she¡¯s actually doing? ¡°Uh, I was just checking on everyone before we set off for the mission . ¡± ¡°And you also wanted to check on me?¡± ¡°Yeah . You¡¯re also part of the crew . May . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± I felt like I saw a glint of happiness in her eyes that were behind red-framed sses . May remained as expressionless as ever, but I feel like she¡¯s begun to show some subtle emotional changes through her bodynguage and aura more often than before . Since I was able to pick up on them now, for the most part, it might be an indication that May¡¯s range of expression really was developing . Well, it¡¯s not like you can pick up on them normally at first nce, so it was a very subtle change . ¡°Master really is a mysterious person . ¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes . In the empire, advanced independent AIs like me are nominally granted civil rights to an extent under thew . However, whether or not those rights are actually recognized is another story . ¡± ¡°Nnn?¡± I was a little confused by May¡¯s statement . Just what does she mean? ¡°Most people from other nationsrgely do not recognize the rights bestowed upon imperial AIs like me, and even a good number of imperial citizens have the same attitude . Of course, a lot of people do treat us appropriately as well, but someone like Master, who sincerely treats AI like me no differently from other people, is exceedingly rare . Your act of worrying about me right now before we head out for a potentially dangerous mission is a great example of how different your attitude is from most others . ¡± While saying so, May gradually closed the distance between us and gave me a hug . I froze up after being hugged by a girl who was almost the same height as me . Man, it¡¯s just like always, but how does an android like her manage to smell so nice, I wonder . The slightly sweet and fragrant scent never fails to make my heart race . ¡°May-san?¡± ¡°I am certainly a machine . But scary things are scary . Crystal lifeforms do not discriminate between organic and non-organic . They devour organic lifeforms and machines alike . This body that was designed by Master is no exception to that . Of course, Mimi-sama, Elma-sama, Tina, and Whisker are no exception either . All of them are my precious friends . If they were to be harmed, I would be sad as well . ¡± May said all that in one breath . She then slightly rxed her hug and stared up at my face from a close distance . ¡°But I am most afraid of losing Master . Master is my sole reason for being . Even if Mimi-sama and Elma-sama were to survive, I would probably fall apart if I were to lose you instead, Master . ¡± I nodded quietly to May, who was facing me with a serious gaze . ¡°In truth, I didn¡¯t really want you to ept such a dangerous request . It would have been fine to leave dealing with the crystal lifeforms to the military . The profits you will potentially earn do not equal the danger you will be subjected to . Hunting pirates would be the safer and most efficient option for earning money . However, I believe Master would never leave Major Serena to undertake the mission alone . ¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess . ¡± I would certainly regret it if I left the system just like this only to find outter that Major Serena died . I would like to lend her a hand as much as possible . ¡°That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t stop you . But I will do what I have to do for your sake . ¡± ¡°Sorry, May . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright . I am already content that you are concerned about me as well . ¡± I hugged May back . Her inner frame and her artificial muscles were made out of special metals . Her soft skin was an artificially synthesized material designed to mimic organic skin, and her body heat was generated by the heat exhaust of an ultrapact power generator installed within her . Her glossy ck hair, glittering obsidian eyes, and everything else about her was all designed to mimic humans . However, for me, May was May . Her being fake or real didn¡¯t matter at all for me . ¡°I won¡¯t be brought down by the likes of crystal lifeforms . ¡± ¡°Yes . I believe in you, Master . ¡± ¡°Yeah . I won¡¯t betray your trust . Ever . ¡± We hugged each other in silence for a while and very naturally separated . ¡°Please leave the piloting and general operations of ck Lotus to me . This ship is the ce Masteres home to . I will definitely protect it with my all . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you . ¡± ¡°Yes . Please don¡¯t worry . ¡± I waved goodbye to May, who bowed toward me, and I decided to visit Mimi and Elma next . Mimi and Elma were both inside Krishna¡¯s cockpit . ¡°What are you girls up to?¡± ¡°Ah, Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to go up against crystal lifeforms on this next mission, right? I¡¯m assisting Mimi in calibrating the radar so we can pick them up more easily . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± Although it won¡¯t result in a dramatic increase in performance, it was indeed possible to adjust the sensitivity of the radar toward a certain target to some extent . Thus, the radar¡¯s performance in picking up crystal lifeforms can also be slightly increased . However, the trade-off is a decreased performance in its ability to detect other objects apart from crystal lifeforms . ¡°If you adjust it once and save it on the preset settings list, you can change to that mode with a press of a button, right? That¡¯s why we¡¯re trying to save as many settings as we can . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pretty good idea . If you can master it, you¡¯ll be one step closer to being a full-fledged operator . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best!¡± Mimi replied energetically as she continued to fiddle with the radar console . I was watching over her from the cockpit entrance . As I watched Mimi, I remembered the first time she boarded my ship . She was really anxious and jittery back then . But now, she was looking more and more like a proper ship operator day by day . How long has it been since I met Mimi anyway? When I¡¯m staying inside my ship, my sense of time bes vague, so I can¡¯t say for sure . But it probably hasn¡¯t been a year since then . Her improving this much after only less than a year might be a sign of talent, but it¡¯s mostly due to her hard work . She picks up her tablet and studies about being an operator whenever she has a chance after all . As I was thinking about that stuff, Mimi and Elma¡¯s gazes turned toward me . ¡°What¡¯s up? You¡¯re spacing out over there . ¡± ¡°Are you nervous about the request, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s not that . I was just thinking about how much you¡¯ve improved, Mimi . ¡± ¡°Eh!? N-No, I haven¡¯t really improved that much . I¡¯m still pretty much a rookie . ¡± Mimi¡¯s face turned beet-red as she frantically waved her hands in denial . It¡¯s true that she was still pretty new, but she isn¡¯t easily distracted during battles now, and whenever she performs her duties as the ship operator, there was a noticeable hint of confidence on her pretty face . ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right . She can¡¯t bepared to how she was back at Termaine Prime . ¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡­ Why did you join in as well, Elma-san?¡± Mimi¡¯s expression turned even more embarrassed . Maybe she thought we were just making fun of her . ¡°I¡¯m not sure about Elma, but I¡¯m absolutely serious here . ¡± ¡°Huh? I¡¯m serious too, you know . Well, I guess her turning out like this is only natural since she boarded your ship, Hiro . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . It¡¯s all thanks to Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yep . Her growth is fast because she¡¯s subjected to lots of practical experiences . ¡± Mimi nodded repeatedly at Elma¡¯s words . Well, I guess we do hunt pirates far more often than your average merc . So it¡¯s just as Elma said . She earned a lot of practicalbat experience . While it¡¯s true that earning practical experience contributes greatly to growth, this was reality and not a game, so that alone won¡¯t improve one¡¯s operator skills . ¡°I think it¡¯s more thanks to Mimi being really earnest in her training and studies . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s true as well . So it¡¯s abination of Mimi¡¯s diligence and Hiro¡¯s spartan practicalbat experience training . ¡± ¡°Elma-san is a really great teacher as well . ¡± ¡°Yeah . All of thatbined led to your current abilities, Mimi . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Mm . Maybe . So, um, what are you here for anyway, Hiro?¡± Elma quickly tried to change the subject with a red face . ¡°That¡¯s really cute, Elma . ¡± ¡°Elma-san can be so shy sometimes . ¡± ¡°Mou! Don¡¯t tease me, you two!¡± We apologized with a smile to the fuming Elma . ¡°So, what are you up to again, Hiro?¡± Elma regained herposure and asked me once more . ¡°Nothing much, really . I was just checking up on everyone . ¡± ¡°Fun¡­¡­¡± Elma snorted and approached me . ¡°¡­¡­It seems you hit it off with the others really well, huh?¡± ¡°You¡¯re scaring me . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, Elma-san! Hiro-sama definitely has the smell of other women on him¡­¡­!¡± Mimi grinned and giggled teasingly after seeing my and Elma¡¯s exchange . It ain¡¯t something tough about, you . Elma¡¯s really scary y¡¯know . ¡°Okay then . If that¡¯s how it is, then how about getting along with me and Mimi as well?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a great idea, Elma-san . ¡± ¡°Please go easy on me,dies . ¡± ¡°Hmm . Let¡¯s see¡­¡­ As your apology for leaving usst, we¡¯ll have you serve us a lot, okay?¡± Elma grabbed my left arm and Mimi grabbed my right . They then began to pull me out of the cockpit . ¡°Let¡¯s eat some delicious stuff at the dining room first . ¡± ¡°Yes . What should we do after that?¡± ¡°Hmm . Maybe we¡¯ll have him give us a massage next?¡± ¡°Yes, yes¡­¡­ I¡¯ll do everything you want me to . Sheesh . ¡± I smiled bitterly as I continued to let myself be pulled by the two of them . Well, I don¡¯t mind being pushed around by these two for a bit . Once we take on the request, we won¡¯t even have time for flirting after all . Chapter 153 Chapter 153 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone The imperial military¡¯s request officially came through via the Mercenary Guild first thing in the morning of the following day . The particrs of the request were pretty much the same as what we discussed the other day and offered a sry of 400,000 Enels per day . Krishna and ck Lotus will apany Major Serena¡¯s Independent Anti-Pirate Mobile Fleet as part of her forces for the duration of the mission and will be ced under hermand . The necessary supplies for the mission will be shouldered by the imperial military . ck Lotus will carry part of the supplies and will serve as both a part of the main fighting force and a supply ship . The duration of the mission is set for a maximum of three months . ¡°A maximum of three months huh¡­¡­¡± Mimi muttered in a somewhat gloomy tone as she fiddled with her tablet terminal . It¡¯s for a maximum of three months, but it may end earlier depending on further developments out on the field . Even so, it¡¯s true that we would have to go out there for an extended period of time . ¡°It¡¯s quite reasonable, I think . The specified duration takes the hypene traveling time into ount after all . ¡± After saying so, I nced at the imperial military¡¯s supplies being gradually loaded inside ck Lotus¡¯s cargo hold from on top of Krishna¡¯s boarding ramp . The loading process was being carried out by the AI-controlled loading system installed on ck Lotus, and seeing the loading drones going about their work with absolute efficiency was an interesting sight to see . ¡°That¡¯s right . We don¡¯t know exactly how many star systems we¡¯ll need to cross, but it would probably take more than a couple of days to reach our target destination . ¡± Elma was also watching the loading process with me, but it seems that she wasn¡¯t really that interested . It looks like she didn¡¯t find the sight of the loading drones as amusing as I did . As for me, I could watch industrial machines like those working at peak efficiency without tiring of it . ¡°The only other instance that required us to be out on the field for a long period of time was during that incident in the Alein system, right?¡± ¡°Yep . That¡¯s right . Well, we¡¯re surely in it for the long haul this time, so it¡¯s better to take it easy instead of being all tense . ¡± It¡¯s impossible to maintain an alert state indefinitely, so if you exhaust yourself and fail to exert your all when it counts, that would be quite counterproductive . ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really think we¡¯ll be out there for that long though . ¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yep . Uh, I¡¯m not that sure about it though . It¡¯s just a feeling . ¡± I managed to tell Major Serena about the info regarding pulsar systems after all . It may not seem all that reliable in their eyes, but the current imperial military and Major Serena still have no clue about how to find the nest of the crystal lifeforms until now . They would probably still investigate the pulsar systems near the Izrooks system eventually with the feeling of grasping at straws when the investigation fails to bring any results after some time . And there weren¡¯t that many pulsar systems nearby to begin with . I¡¯ve only gone through the gxy map briefly, but I believe I only saw about two neighboring pulsar systems . I¡¯m not really all that sure if the nest is truly located on one of those pulsar systems, but there¡¯s still a pretty good chance since the behavior of the crystal lifeforms was mostly simr to the ones in SOL . ¡°Boss!¡± Tina, who held a tablet terminal under her arm, approached us in a rush . Her stature was quite small, but she runs really fast . The sisters also participated in our daily workouts, and her physical capabilities were already more than a match with Elma, who was a five-year merc veteran . In other words, she was probably stronger than me . Her stamina was amazing as well . She could bench-press three times more weights than Elma and five times more than me . Just where was she hiding all that power and toughness in that small body of hers, I wonder . Don¡¯t tell me she was actually storing alcohol inside her system and converting it directly into energy or something? Nah, that¡¯s just silly . Hahaha . ¡°The loading process is almost finished . It¡¯ll probably take 15 minutes more . The contents of the cargo are¡­ pretty much the basics . Water, food, and all that . There¡¯s a bit of some other stuff mixed in though . ¡± ¡°Okay . Go on standby once the loading process gets finished . We¡¯re probably going to sortie soon . ¡± ¡°Roge?r!¡± ¡°Safety first, remember?¡± ¡°Of course . You should rest up before departure as well, boss . ¡± Tina waved goodbye and returned to her work . Mimi and Elma observed our interaction and stared intently at my face . What¡¯s up? ¡°Hey, Mimi . Isn¡¯t Tina¡¯s atmosphere a bit different than before?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right¡­¡­ Um, it¡¯s like she¡¯s a bit gentler now¡­¡­ She¡¯s as casual as before, but her atmosphere really is different, I think . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing really¡­¡­ We just talked a little in the break room . ¡± ¡°What kind of things did you talk about?¡± ¡°We mainly talked about how I met the two of you in the Termaine system . Oh, and I also told them about that amnesia cover story . That¡¯s about it . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­?¡± Mimi and Elma both tilted their heads . They were probably just imagining things when they said Tina¡¯s atmosphere changed . She really did act nicer in general, but she probably just took that story about my supposed amnesia quite seriously and was simply worried for me¡­ I don¡¯t think it was really a cause for concern for these two anyway . ¡°Well, we still have some time before departure, so why don¡¯t you try asking her yourselves?¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± ¡°I guess . ¡± I somehow managed to convince the two with my words and set aside the topic of Tina¡¯s change in attitude for now . And just like Tina said, the loading process got finished exactly 15 minutester . Soon after,unch orders were finally given out . ¡°Well, the sortie order¡¯s out, but it¡¯s not like we need to go on full alert for the time being . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . ¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true . But we still can¡¯t let our guards down too much . ¡± I, Mimi, and Elma were already on standby inside Krishna¡¯s cockpit, but we won¡¯t beunching unless a battle breaks out . May handled all of ck Lotus¡¯s operations like always, so we really didn¡¯t have to do anything at all for now . But, just like Elma said, we have to be ready to move out just in case something happens, so it¡¯s not good to act allx . ¡°Maintaining a certain degree of alertness is really important, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . We have to be ready to take action in case of emergencies, so we can¡¯t rx too much, or it will bite us back hard . ¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind . ¡± In order to maintain a certain degree of alertness, we need to be able to constantly monitor the overall situation . I operated my console to disy the feed from ck Lotus¡¯s sensors and cameras on Krishna¡¯s cockpit monitor . ¡°Launching out with this many ships really is quite the sight huh?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . ¡± The cockpit monitor¡¯s visual feed not only disyed Major Serena¡¯s anti-pirate fleet, but also a great host of mercenary starships . We aren¡¯t the only mercenaries tasked to apany Major Serena¡¯s fleet for this mission . Quite a lot of other mercenaries were participating as well . ¡°Un¡­¡­ We really do look like quite the hodgepodge fleet if you look at the assortment of ships alone . ¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°But at least their skills and abilities are way better than your typical small-fry pirates . Well, even if the abilities of us mercenaries are differentiated by rank to some extent, our equipment and weapons arergely different from each other, so it must pose quite a headache to our dearmander when ites to fleet organization . ¡± The reason a lot of mercenaries were apanying Major Serena¡¯s anti-pirate fleet this time was to make up for theircking short-rangebat capabilities . ¡°Basically, the military corvettes and mercenary ships will act as the vanguard and the destroyers will protect the main force . The cruisers and the gship will then destroy the enemies via long-range bombardment . ¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right . Wasn¡¯t there only two corvettes assigned to Major Serena¡¯s fleet?¡± The line-up of Major Serena¡¯s Independent Anti-Pirate Mobile Fleet consisted of two corvettes, three destroyers, five cruisers, and one battleship . Basically, it¡¯s a line-up that prioritizes preemptively shooting down enemies before getting shot at in return . If it were a battle between two nation¡¯s military forces where cruisers and battleships yed a leading role, this fleetposition was undoubtedly ideal . But fighting with crystal lifeforms is a whole different ballgame . Those things would often charge in without caring for losses after all . No matter how powerful the main guns were, they would be nigh useless once the enemies managed to close in . ¡°So in order to make up for that weakness, they employed a lot of mercenaries to apany the fleet . ¡± ¡°I see . Um, but wouldn¡¯t that mean we would be in a lot of danger if we face crystal lifeformster on?¡± ¡°We would probably be fine as long as the numbers are manageable . ¡± The bombardment from five cruisers and one battleship would be enough to annihte a small swarm of crystal lifeforms in one volley after all . We should be fine if we face at most thirty medium-types and one hundred small-types . It should be okay as long as arge-type or two doesn¡¯t appear . And when a battle does ur, we should also be able to use subspacemunications to request reinforcements from other scouting fleets in nearby star systems . ¡°Okay, just stop right there . ording to experience, we¡¯ll end up facing a horde of enemies if you say something like that, Hiro . ¡± ¡°Oi, oi, that¡­¡­ shouldn¡¯t be the case¡­ I think . Yeah . It shouldn¡¯t be . ¡± ¡°It looks like it¡¯s useless, Elma-san¡­¡­¡± ¡°We should probably brace ourselves now, Mimi . ¡± ¡°Okay, guys, just stop . We¡¯ll really end up facing a horde if you say things like that y¡¯know . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not good to shift the me to us for your own faults, Hiro . ¡± We continued to stand-by inside Krishna¡¯s cockpit as we repeatedly passed the buck around . Chapter 154 Chapter 154 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone The 2nd Recon Fleet,posed of Major Serena¡¯s Independent Anti-Pirate Mobile Fleet and a mercenary mixed fleet, left the Izrooks system along with the other recon fleets and plunged into the frontier region . The first ce we scouted was the Pax system, which was directly adjacent to the Izrooks system . The four recon fleets split up to investigate the entire Pax system, and before long, we managed to confirm that there were no crystal lifeforms in it . There were a total of three hypene nodes in the Pax system, including the one leading to the Izrooks system . The recon fleets then split into two pairs and headed for each of the two other nodes to further investigate . ¡°It¡¯s more convenient to have two fleets working in concert in order to deal with unexpected situations . ¡± ¡°I think so too . It would be ideal to have one fleet act as a vanguard and scout in order to confirm the situation on the other side before the other fleet exits the hypene . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . The other fleet can secure a path of retreat just in case things go south . The two fleets can take turns acting as the vanguard . ¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go with that arrangement then . ¡± The discussion between themander of the 1st Recon Fleet and the 2nd Recon Fleet helmed by Major Serena went as such, and the two fleets proceeded with the investigation of the frontier while exercising maximum caution . And so, it¡¯s been a total of 36 hours since we departed from the Izrooks system . ¡°Our forces in Sector C are losing ground! They¡¯re requesting reinforcements!¡± ¡°Tell May to provide cover fire from here . And tell our friendlies to hold out as best they can for the meantime . ¡± ¡°Yes!¡± We closed in on the crystal lifeform swarm and destroyed the ones blocking our way with shotgun cannon volleys . The fragments of the destroyed crystal lifeforms kept hitting Krishna¡¯s shield and got repelled away by it . ¡°See! I told you guys it would turn out like this in the end!¡± ¡°It¡¯s been more than 24 hours since you said it . It¡¯s a total coincidence, okay!¡± It¡¯s been 36 hours since we left the Izrooks system . We were already four systems away from Izrooks, in the Gagaol system, and there the 2nd Recon fleet encountered a swarm of crystal lifeforms and immediately engaged them in battle . It seems they set up an ambush near the exit point of the hypene node . The vanguard fleet immediately sent out a reinforcement request via hyperspacems to us, who were standing by on the Riximus system adjacent to Gagaul . Fortunately, it would only take a span of approximately 15 minutes in order to reach the Gagaul system from Riximus, so the vanguard fleet should be fine as long as they held their ground for a short while . As for what I and my crew were doing at this point, we were currently serving as bait to pull the crystal lifeforms away from therge shipsposed of the cruisers, battleship, and ck Lotus, and plunged directly into the swarm . The crystal lifeforms instinctively attacked whichever prey was closest to them after all . It¡¯s fairly easy to lead them on by destroying a number of them with shot cannon andser cannon fire while constantly moving around the battlefield . We¡¯ve already destroyed quite a number of them while passing by even more crystal lifeforms to pull them away as well . ¡°Hey, the number of crystal lifeforms chasing after us has already turned really crazy you know!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay . This much is no problem at all . ¡± The number of crystal lifeforms currently chasing after us was far fewer than what we faced when we first arrived at the Izrooks system, however, our current forces were also far fewer than what we had back then as well . There¡¯s a danger of our cruisers and battleships taking quite some damage if the battle devolves into a melee . And so, we needed to do all we could in order to prevent that situation from happening . I switched the attitude controls from auto to manual and reversed the ship to face the chasing crystal lifeforms while preserving our momentum . ¡°Ora ora ora ora!¡± I then let loose with Krishna¡¯s two shotgun cannons and four heavyser cannons to destroy the chasing enemies . Since the chasing enemies were packed so closely together, there wasn¡¯t even a need to aim precisely . You¡¯d be able to hit something even if you just fired your weapons haphazardly . ¡°H-Hiro-sama! I-In front! No, behind us!? The crystal lifeforms are¨C!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine . ¡± I used the attitude control thrusters to maneuver the ship in order to dodge the crystal lifeforms charging after us from multiple angles while continuing to bombard the ones we led away . I could easily tell the positions of the enemies by paying attention to the radar, so it¡¯s a piece of cake for me to avoid their attacks as long as I concentrate . Eh? Don¡¯t I also need to pay attention to the front at the same time, you ask? I¡¯m bombarding the enemies out front to oblivion anyway, so I didn¡¯t need to especially pay attention to them . It¡¯ll be fine as long as I have them in the corner of my eye . ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­Uh, captain . What the heck is that?¡± ¡°¡­¡­What do you mean, Lieutenant?¡± Robbitson and I were stunned speechless as we witnessed ¡®that¡¯ ship¡¯s crazy maneuvers . I was already floored when his ship plunged straight into the swarm of crystal lifeforms and drew them away, but he did something even more absurd by actively counterattacking the swarm chasing after him while on the run . He was right in the middle of the swarm too . His ship was running at a terribly high speed when he suddenly made it turn around to face the chasing enemies and bombarded them with firepower rivaling that of a heavy cruiser . He even evaded all the other crystal lifeforms trying to ram his ship from all directions by using weird-looking maneuvers . He then sessfully broke through the encirclement of the crystal lifeform swarm and ended up leading even more of them away . ¡°It looks like the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal isn¡¯t just for show huh . ¡± ¡°You can say that again¡­¡­ Honestly . I wonder what goes through that man¡¯s head whenever he pulls stunts like this . ¡± No matter how you look at it, plunging headfirst into a swarm of crystal lifeforms with just one ship is already utterly insane, but to think that he even had the guts to reverse his ship in the middle of that situation to mount a counterattack¡­¡­ No, this isn¡¯t the time to act all stunned by his actions . ¡°We can¡¯t afford to waste the opening he made for us . Focus fire on Sector A . Push the enemies back . Have the other mercenaries rush over to Sector C to provide reinforcements . ¡± ¡°Aye!¡± A sh of bright suddenly went off on Sector B, and arge part of the swarm chasing after that ship was shaved off . It looks like he fired an anti-ship reactive torpedo at them . ¡°He¡¯s about to reach the vanguard recon fleet¡­¡­ It looks like they managed to hold on . ¡± The numbers of the swarm chasing after that ship has been greatly reduced thanks to his earlier attacks, but they were still continuing their pursuit . We still can¡¯t let our guards down, but it looks like they¡¯ll be able to manage if it¡¯s just that much . ¡°That was pretty thrilling huh?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yeah . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes . ¡± Elma and Mimi¡¯s replies sounded really drained of energy . It looks like they still aren¡¯t used to fighting the crystal lifeforms . The small-type crystal lifeforms don¡¯t have much when ites to projectile attacks, so you¡¯d be fine as long as you pay attention to their ramming attacks . It isn¡¯t like I would allow us to get surrounded and cut off anyway . Well, I guess it was still plenty dangerous since one mistake under the threat of such a swarm would probably result in us getting shot down . Afterward, we were able to provide reinforcements to the vanguard recon fleet in time and managed to fight off the crystal lifeform ambush . The number of prey would decrease once the other reinforcements arrive, so I made sure to fire off another anti-ship reactive torpedo to earn more kills . Since the imperial military will replenish the ammoter, it would be a waste not to take advantage of such a set-up . ck Lotus also has a sizeable amount of spare ammunition stored in it, so I¡¯d like to use them up gradually during the mission in order to get as many kills as I could and earn more . There actually wasn¡¯t any arrangement such as a kill bonus, but I believe they¡¯d still offer me a sizeable reward as long as I continued to stack up great results . Probably anyway . It might be a good idea to talk with the major about thister . With those thoughts in mind, I maneuvered Krishna to the lower rear part of the ck Lotus and started the auto-docking sequence . ¡°I¡¯ll leave the docking to you, May . ¡± ¡ºYes . Opening the hatch now . ¡» The hatch behind ck Lotus opened, and Krishna went inside the hangar via automated guidance . Mm . Auto-docking really is hassle-free . Just look at how smooth and stable it was . With this, the probability of getting into an ident¡­ probably wasn¡¯t zero, honestly . But only in extremely rare cases . Well, with Krishna¡¯s size, it would probably be okay, barring any strange external factors . ¡°Hey, guys . We¡¯vended already . ¡± The twodies with me audibly sighed . Have they managed to shake off their nerves already? ¡°We¡¯re probably alright for the time being since we¡¯ve sessfully eliminated the enemies here, but there might be other swarms lurking in this star system . In any case, reinforcements from the adjacent systems are probablying over, so you guys should rest up while you can . ¡± ¡°Why the heck are you not one bit bothered after all that though¡­¡­?¡± ¡°I¡¯m already used to those kinds of chaotic battles . It was nothing more than a warm-up . Fuhahahaha!¡± I¡¯m a bit tired, sure, but the battle onlysted for about twenty minutes or so . I still had plenty of fight left . ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it too . Small-types are simr to slow-moving seeker missiles anyway . They¡¯re not such a big deal . ¡± ¡°Is that really the case¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Yep . You basically can¡¯t dodgeser fire, but small-type crystal lifeforms are far, far slower thansers, and they don¡¯t even turn as fast as seeker missiles . You¡¯d be fine once you conquered your initial fear . ¡± ¡°M-Mm¡­¡­?¡± It seems that Mimi was still notpletely convinced though . ¡°Anyway, make sure to get a good rest, you two . I¡¯ll have Tina and Whisker do a quick maintenance check and replenish our ammo . ¡± ¡°We¡¯ll leave that to you then¡­¡­¡± ¡°Understood¡­¡­ . ¡± I headed for ck Lotus¡¯s hangar and left the twodies behind inside Krishna¡¯s cockpit . It¡¯s probably fine since I managed to not take any hits during the battle earlier, but it¡¯s still convenient to have easy ess to proper maintenance and ammo replenishment after such things . It was quite expensive, but ck Lotus really was a great purchase regardless . I mulled over such thoughts as I continued to head for the hangar . Chapter 155 Chapter 155 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone The damage to the 2nd Recon Fleet was rtively minor . The damage directly received by our main force, which wasposed of the ships from the Independent Anti-Pirate Mobile Fleet, was two of their corvettes getting a part of their hulls crushed due to their energy shields getting pierced during the battle . Fortunately, there were no casualties reported as a result of that . However, two mercenary ships ended up going down, killing three people . It looks like they weren¡¯t so lucky when we got plunged in the midst of the crystal lifeforms after they staged an ambush . In addition to the two downed ships, several others received varying degrees of damage and were now parked inside ships with maintenance hangars for necessary repairs . ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Man . It looks like we¡¯re kinda fated to bump into each other huh . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Tsk . ¡± ¡°What are you clicking your tongue for!?¡± The one who got assigned to ck Lotus for repairs is the ship of that young merc I got into a minor scuffle with back at the award ceremony . Come to think of it, I didn¡¯t manage to get his name yet huh¡­¡­ I didn¡¯t, right? ¡°Uh, we haven¡¯t properly introduced ourselves yet huh? The name¡¯s Hiro by the way . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Wade . ¡± I extended my hand for a handshake, but the cheeky bugger ignored me . This guy¡­¡­ I¡¯m trying to treat you as a responsible adult y¡¯know . Well, it¡¯s not like getting angry here would lead to anything good anyway . ¡°Ok, ok, I get it¡­¡­ Want a drink? Water or something?¡± ¡°None of your business . ¡± The young mercenary named Wade gave me a hostile re . Man, this is going nowhere . Well, if he wants me to leave him alone, then fine . Krishna¡¯s maintenance and ammo replenishment is finished anyway, so I was totally free unless another battle happens . ¡°I¡¯m heading back to my ship then . If there¡¯s anything you need, just tell the mechanic sisters working over there . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± What¡¯s with this guy¡¯s attitude anyway? Was he jealous? Uh, well, I¡¯m a lot more sessful than him, I had a big mothership, and I was apanied by the beauties Mimi, Elma, and May . Oh, man . It won¡¯t really be strange if this guy was jealous . Hahaha! It¡¯s not like he¡¯s getting to me . Not at all . Yup . When I returned to Krishna¡¯s cockpit with a wide grin stered on my face, I saw Mimi and Elma, who seemed to have recovered somewhat, staring intently at some info disyed on the cockpit monitor . ¡°What are you guys looking at?¡± ¡°That earlier battle¡¯s consolidated data . You really did it this time huh . This ship is the undisputed top ace . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re amazing, Hiro-sama!¡± ¡°Hahaha, aren¡¯t I? Go ahead, girls . Don¡¯t hesitate to shower me with more praise . ¡± After seeing the two¡¯s admiring gazes, my irritation from earlierpletely flew out the window . Come to think of it, I really shouldn¡¯t let that young merc¡¯s attitude annoy me like this . I¡¯ll just hit him back if he decides to hit me . Hard . ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Elma tilted her head and asked me what was up . Maybe she sensed my irritation from earlier . I didn¡¯t normally ask them to shower me with morepliments after all . Maybe she inferred from that? ¡°I was just a bit annoyed by the young mercenary who came in for ship repairs earlier . It¡¯s nothing much . ¡± After saying so, I plopped down on the pilot seat and started reviewing the battle data as well . Oh, so I managed to bag 153 kills huh . ¡°The torpedo you guided really did the trick, Elma . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . Thanks to Elma-san precise calctions, a great number of the enemies were eliminated . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m not trying to act all humble here, but it was originally your idea anyway, Hiro . And besides, the biggest factor that allowed me to score such a hit was you sessfully bunching them up and dragging them around while avoiding the rest of the enemies . So it really was more of your achievement rather than mine, Hiro . I definitely can¡¯t pull off those weird maneuvers of yours . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call them weird . And besides, I think you can also do them with enough practice . ¡± ¡°Yes, yes, of course, I can . ¡± She dismissed my im without hesitation . Just why? She can definitely do them too if she practiced diligently . Basically, you just needed to pay attention to the radar readings, predict the movements of the enemies, and preemptively evade them . For practice, one should start with evading low-ranked seeker missiles with a rtively slower projectile speed . ¡°For our future schedule, it seems we will stay here for the time being for some rest and repairs, and then mount a counteroffensive afterward, Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°Counteroffensive?¡± ¡°Yes . This system is also a hypene hub with nodes extending out in four different directions . So while we are resting and undergoing repairs here, they n to investigate where exactly the crystal lifeforms came out from and whether or not there are more luring in this system . We will also look for the traces left by past survey and recon fleets . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± ¡°Also, in preparation for future possible ambushes, we will stop acting in two separate fleets and act in concert from now on . It seems they n to strengthen our defenses by consolidating our forces . ¡± ¡°Understood . ¡± We were lucky this time because the time needed to reach our allies via the hypene was quite short, but in some cases, there might be a time difference of several hours between the two groups, so our 2nd Recon Fleet will suffer even greater damage in case of another ambush . It would have made it possible for me to increase my kill count even more, but it would also put ck Lotus in more danger . ¡°Well, in cases like this, I feel like consolidating forces is a basic move in the first ce . ¡± ¡°I wonder . There¡¯s also the risk of being annihted all at once by a bigger force even if we did group up from the start . The goal of the operation this time is to gather info, so separating into two groups in order to ensure at least one group can make it back to base in order to deliver the gathered intel isn¡¯t such a bad move as well . ¡± There¡¯s also the method of letting just a small number of ships escape while the rest buy time for them huh¡­¡­ Won¡¯t that also be a valid method if you just want to ensure the intel would be brought back?¡± ¡°But in that case, only those few ships will survive and the rest will probably get annihted, right? If the forces are divided equally into two, the number of surviving ships will rise drastically . The vanguard group would still be able to buy enough time for the other group to make their escape . ¡± ¡°But the risk of gradually getting worn down by smaller enemy forces attacking you repeatedly will also increase if we continue to act in two groups¡­¡­ Well, it¡¯s certainly a difficult call . Anyway, it¡¯s the military that will ultimately decide our actions, and we need to just obey their orders . ¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right . ¡± A call came in after I finished discussing fleet strategies with Elma . Mimi operated her console and opened am channel . ¡°Yes, this is Krishna . Yes, yes . Please wait for a moment¡­¡­ Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°Hm? What¡¯s up? Who¡¯s calling?¡± ¡°It¡¯s from Major Serena . I¡¯ll put her up on the monitor . ¡± ¡°Okay . ¡± A call from Major Serena? I wonder what for . I inwardly had my doubts but I didn¡¯t let them show on my face . After a few moments, the image of Major Serena was projected on the cockpit monitor . She was looking sharp in her military uniform as always . ¡ºFirst, congrattions on bing the top ace . It seems you¡¯re not as tired as I expected . ¡» ¡°Thanks . You look like you have plenty of fight left as well, major . ¡± ¡ºYes, of course . This wasn¡¯t even enough for a warm-up . ¡» ¡°As expected of a top imperial military officer . So, what do you need, major?¡± I decided to cut straight to the point . I was wary of being sidetracked and led around the nose after all . ¡ºWell now, someone sure sounds impatient . That¡¯s so like you though . It¡¯s not something you need to be wary about anyway . ¡» ¡°I sure hope so . So, what is it?¡± ¡ºSince we¡¯re going to have a 24-hour break, we were nning to invite the top ace and recipient of the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal for a formal dinner banquet . ¡» ¡°Dinner huh¡­¡­ I don¡¯t think your food would be better than ours though . ¡± ¡ºPlease just overlook that . We¡¯ll be sure to bring out some good alcohol . ¡» ¡°You do know I¡¯m an extreme lightweight, right?¡± I¡¯m so utterly weak to alcohol that one sip will bring me down instantly . Even if they brought out the best alcohol in the universe, I wouldn¡¯t feel any excitement at all . ¡ºWell, just think of it as part of the reward for achieving top ace status . We will bring out the best menu the Restalias has to offer for you . ¡» ¡°I¡¯d honestly prefer money to food and drinks though¡­¡­¡± ¡ºOf course, we¡¯ll prepare a mary reward as well . A reward system is indispensable for maintaining morale after all . ¡» Major Serena made one of her perfect-looking smiles . I see . ¡°So you basically want to use me to advertise the treatment a top ace would receive and how much of a bonus I¡¯ll get huh? But won¡¯t that only invite jealousy from everyone else?¡± ¡ºYou¡¯re already attracting more than enough as it is anyway . And besides, you¡¯ve made more than enough contributions to justify such treatment . Also, if we don¡¯t give you the bonus you deserve, the imperial military¡¯s credibility will be called into question . It would be a problem if rumors about the famous imperial military not handing a top ace his due rewards start to spread, don¡¯t you think?¡» ¡°In other words, I have no choice but to attend, right?¡± ¡ºWell, I wouldn¡¯t say that, but we really would appreciate it if you coulde over . ¡» I let out a sigh as I looked at Major Serena, whose smile never faltered in the slightest, and turned my gaze toward Elma sitting on the sub-pilot seat . ¡°I think it can¡¯t be helped . ¡± I turned to Mimi as well . ¡°I want to try eating the best menu the imperial military has to offer, Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°You would, huh¡­¡­¡± Man . Mimi sure has her priorities straight . But I kinda want to sample the best menu the imperial military has to offer as well . ¡°Understood . We¡¯ll ept the invitation . When should wee over?¡± ¡ºThat¡¯s great . Well then, pleasee to the Restalias¡¯ hangar an hour from now . Are you three the only onesing over by the way?¡» ¡°May needs to stay in the ck Lotus, and the mechanic sisters are still busy performing maintenance and repairs on the mercenary ships . Yep, only us three will go . ¡± ¡ºUnderstood . We¡¯ll see you in an hour then . Oh, and please be sure to wear your medal, alright?¡» After saying so, Major Serena cut the call . My sigh echoed around the now-quiet cockpit . ¡°Shepletely got me wrapped around her little finger huh?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s to that extent, but¡­¡­ well, we mercenaries can¡¯t divorce ourselves from getting in contact and working with the military after all . Just treat this as you building connections in preparation for the future . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s like that huh¡­¡­ Well, I guess I¡¯ll just look forward to the food then . ¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Yeah . There¡¯s the alcohol too!¡± At least Mimi and Elma looked excited . I don¡¯t really feel like attending a courtesy dinner organized by the higher-ups though¡­¡­ I sighed again . Chapter 156 Chapter 156 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Take care, everyone . Leave everything here to us . ¡± ¡°Uu¡­¡­ Booze¡­¡­ I also wanna go¡­¡­¡­¡± ¡°Big sis¡­¡­ We have to prioritize work right now, okay . ¡± Mimi, Elma, and I headed to the Restalias, which was the gship of the Independent Anti-Pirate Mobile Fleet, as the other three saw us off . I did feel a bit uneasy about leaving May, Tina, and Whisker to deal with that temperamental merc on their own though¡­¡­ But I guess those three would probably be fine anyway . There aren¡¯t a lot of people who could duke it out with May without using power armor anyway, and Tina and Whisker were actually stronger than me despite their cute appearances . I guess there¡¯s no problem . Or rather, I was the second to the weakest within the crew when ites to pure physical strength . I only ranked above Mimi . I mulled over such pointless things as Iunched Krishna out into space . The scenery outside was quite spectacr . There were quite a lot of mercenary and imperial starships parked all around us, and the mercenary ships were especially eye-catching since no two ships were alike . Strictly speaking, there were ships with the same base model, but each ship was heavily customized and painted ording to each owner¡¯s preferences . Some are so heavily customized that you wouldn¡¯t even be able to recognize the base model . Some had sharp spikes and protrusions all over their hulls, and some had wing stabilizers that didn¡¯t serve any particr purpose whatsoever . Did those guys want to feel like they were flying in the sky while out in space, I wonder? Of course, there were also some that didn¡¯t get customized much at all and still retained their basic looks . Well, it depends on each person¡¯s taste after all¡­¡­ By the way, I also didn¡¯t have any qualms about heavily customizing the exterior appearance of a ship if it was necessary . Before I got Krishna, myst ship was customized heavily as well . There wasn¡¯t even a hint of the original base model . I didn¡¯t put on any meaningless stabilizers or the like though . Some of my buddies opted to put on those spikes and stabilizers too in order to get that end-of-the-century ¡®Hyahaah!¡¯ look, while some opted for more ssy designs . Uh, but no matter how much of a fan of the end-of-the-century ¡®Hyahaah!¡¯ gang those guys were, I still think modifying the attitude control thrusters of their ships so they could spit fire jets like methrowers were too much unnecessary drama . But that method did make it slightly difficult to judge how much they floored their thrusters by masking it with the mes, so it¡¯s not like there wasn¡¯t any practical benefit at all¡­¡­ Ugh . Okay, let¡¯s just stop there . ¡°That ship looks really cool¡­¡­¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡­?¡± I and Elma let out puzzled gasps as we looked at Mimi, whose eyes were sparkling as she gazed at a particr mercenary ship . I mean, c¡¯mon . They have too much unnecessary stuff on the hull, like spikes,rge screw-like protrusions, and a huge skull-head on the bow¡­¡­ So Mimi was also a fan of this kind of stuff . Krishna would probably turn out like that ship if we ever left customizing it to Mimi huh . ¡°I like a ship with a sharper and more elegant design . ¡± ¡°Yeah . But you don¡¯t care much about the interior, do you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll properly focus on the interior design as well next time, okay¡­¡­¡± Thest ship Elma purchased really was aesthetically beautiful from the outside . But the interior looked quite crude and spartan due to her strange fixations . So Elma was the type who judged mostly by looks and not substance, huh . We continued to talk about the other mercenary ships all around us as we headed for Restalias and finally reached it after a few minutes . Actually, we experienced being scanned several times from different directions as we made our way to Restalias . Perhaps they were wondering why a rtively undamaged ship was heading for the gship while the fleet was currently on stand-by . And Krishna was a rare and unusual ship as well . It didn¡¯t really bother us, so we just let them do as they liked . Mimi sent a docking request over to Restalias, and it was immediately approved . It was still a bit earlier than the appointed time, but they should have been told we would being over already . I immediately flew the ship behind thending hatch of Restalias and activated the auto-docking program . A certain space elf was stillining beside me while murmuring stuff like ¡®auto-docking is heresy¡¯ or something like that . Elma was a diehard fan of manual docking as always . ¡°There we go . We¡¯ve arrived . Let¡¯s head out guys . ¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°¡­¡­Okay . ¡± Mimi had a big smile stered on her face as she looked forward to the imperial military¡¯s ¡®best menu¡¯, but Elma looked slightly less enthusiastic due to the auto-docking sequence from earlier . Just admit how convenient it is already, you stubborn elf . I checked the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal pinned on my jacket and started walking ahead with the pair of noble-issue swords strapped to each side of my waist . After I received the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal, May expressly told me to always wear it on me if possible along with the swords in addition to myser gun . I didn¡¯t really like them that much since they made me stand out, but she told me they would allow me to avoid unnecessary trouble since the medal and swords will make other people treat me the same way as an imperial knight in ordance with imperialw and customs . It was May¡¯s advice after all . And Elma didn¡¯t say anything about it either, so there probably was no danger of dangerous noble factions like the Drawn Sword eyeing me and suddenly challenging me to a sword duel to the death . I, of course, knew jack squat about swords and swordsmanship, so if a real noble did challenge me to a sword duel, the oue is already fairly obvious . Should I take some swordsmanship lessons from May¡­¡­? Or maybe it was more practical to just leave the medal whenever I go out? I think so, anyway . I got off Krishna while feeling slightly annoyed by the weight of the swords strapped to my waist, and found an imperial soldier already waiting outside for us . ¡°Wee to Restalias, everyone . I shall serve as your guide this fine evening . ¡± ¡°Thank you for the trouble, sir . ¡± We exchanged salutes, and the soldier started walking ahead to lead us . Well, this ship was like a familiar neighbor¡¯s house to me already in a sense . I used to walk around it a lot when I was teaching Major Serena¡¯s fleet about pirate hunting tactics . ¡°¡­¡­Everyone seems to be quite busy . ¡± ¡°We just finished engaging in a battle after all . They probably have some post-processing work to deal with . ¡± ¡°But then, is it okay to have a dinner banquet in the middle of this situation?¡± ¡°This dinner is also part of the post-battle proceedings after all . They have to make a good show of rewarding the battle¡¯s top ace to the rest of the fleet . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­¡± As we continued such discussions, we finally reached an exclusive dining room for senior officers . It seems that within Restalias, this dining room was exclusive to the highest-ranking senior officers in the ship, including the captain, Major Serena . ¡°But it actually isn¡¯t used all that much huh . ¡± It also seems that Major Serena and the other senior officers rarely used this dining room since they found it far too luxurious and couldn¡¯t properly rx while having their meals . On Restalias, they often held meetings and the like during meals, so the exclusive senior officer¡¯s dining room, which was fairly small and couldn¡¯t house that many people, was hardly used as a result . I see . ¡°Then they shouldn¡¯t have installed one in the first ce, right?¡± ¡°That won¡¯t do . Major Serena doesn¡¯t use it much, but there are also imperial nobles who would probably prefer dining in it as well . ¡± ¡°So they want to behave and feel like proper aristocrats or something huh?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . Large ships that serve as fleet gships usually have facilities like this one installed in them to meet the demands of such people . That¡¯s also part of the reason why they look really fancy . Major Serena might not likeing here much, but there¡¯s no telling if the next captain assigned here would be the same . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± Mimi and I acted all impressed by Elma¡¯s strangely extensive knowledge on the subject as we entered the dining room . The soldier then guided us to our seats . Maybe we¡¯re too early because I haven¡¯t spotted Major Serena yet . ¡°The furnishings including the table all look super luxurious, Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°They certainly won¡¯t look out of ce in a fancy high-end restaurant . I¡¯m not really confident in my table manners though . I don¡¯t even know the proper way to use the cutlery . ¡± Should I use them from the outside going in or something? I don¡¯t have much knowledge regarding this particr subject . Honestly, it¡¯s probably impossible for an average Japanese citizen to be familiar with how to formally use fancy cutlery . As for me, my only dining experiences outside amount to eating gyuudon, udon, ramen, family restaurantfort food, steaks at public steakhouses, and conveyor belt sushi . I haven¡¯t experienced eating at a fancy French or Italian restaurant at all back on Earth . ¡°This isn¡¯t a formal dinner organized for imperial nobles anyway, so I think they won¡¯t be too particr with manners and such . It¡¯ll be okay as long as you don¡¯t do stuff like eating with your hands or licking the te clean . ¡± ¡°As if I¡¯d do that anything like that . ¡± ¡°Yeah . ¡± Mimi also made a strained smile . It¡¯s not like I grew up out in the wild or anything . ¡°There¡¯s all kinds of mercenaries after all . You¡¯reparably more refined than most of them, Hiro . You don¡¯t drink or take drugs, you don¡¯t spend all your money gambling, and you don¡¯t frequent brothels either . In the eyes of other mercenaries, you might even seem too uptight, or just acting all pretentious and stoic . ¡± ¡°I definitely don¡¯t think I¡¯m elegant or stoic though . ¡± In the first ce, there ain¡¯t anything elegant or stoic about my time spent flirting with Mimi, Elma, and May . I¡¯m simply just too weak against alcohol and aren¡¯t interested in gambling or drugs . ¡°I think you¡¯re perfect as you are, Hiro-sama . You¡¯re wonderful . ¡± ¡°Well, I guess he is . I certainly don¡¯t want to see Hiro indulging in drugs or alcohol and losing himself . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry . I won¡¯t ever be like that, okay . ¡± ¡°I sure hope so . Our reputation will take a hit as well if someone awarded with the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal were to engage in such unscrupulous things after all . ¡± Major Serena finally entered the dining room while saying so . It was such exquisite timing . Was she actually listening in on our conversation from outside? No, maybe they have cameras set up all over the room and were monitoring our conversation . ¡°A pleasant evening, major . We thank you for your gracious invitation tonight . ¡± Major Serena disyed a strained smile when she saw me standing up and making a formal bow while cing one hand on my chest . Mimi and Elma hurriedly stood up as well . ¡°Oh please . Seeing you act like that is making my back all itchy . I¡¯m not worthy of such a formal gesture, so please be at ease . ¡± ¡°Thanks . ¡± And then, three other senior officers followed after Major Serena and went over to the table . One of them was Major Serena¡¯s adjutant, Lieutenant Robbitson . I wasn¡¯t familiar with the other two . One was a buff-looking middle-aged guy, and the other was a young woman who looked to be the same age as Major Serena . A sword was strapped to the waist of the middle-aged man, so he was probably an imperial noble as well . ¡°I¡¯m Colonel Wilbert Broadwell . I am themander of the 1st Recon Fleet . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m Lieutenant Cecil nt . I serve as Colonel Broadwell¡¯s adjutant . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m the owner and captain of Krishna and ck Lotus, Captain Hiro . This is my sub-pilot, Elma, and my operator, Mimi . It¡¯s a pleasure to make your acquaintance . ¡± So these people were the head honchos of the 1st Recon fleet huh . Well, the 1st Recon Fleet did rush over to provide reinforcements so I guess it wasn¡¯t strange that these two were here . ¡°You must all be tired from standing around, so why don¡¯t we take our seats and make a toast to start things off?¡± Major Serena urged everyone to take a seat . Now then, what kind of dinner will this be, I wonder . Chapter 157 Chapter 157 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Well then everyone, to victory . Cheers . ¡± ¡°¡±Cheers!¡±¡± The dinner opened with a toast from the most senior officer present, Colonel Broadwell . I was a bit expectant when I heard that they would bring out the finest menu the imperial military has to offer for tonight¡¯s dinner, but in the end, it wasn¡¯t anything I haven¡¯t tried before . The course consisted of a pasta dish that resembled Neapolitan spaghetti, a teful of steak, and a consomm¨¦ soup in a mug . I tilted my head and muttered ¡®This is their so-called best menu?¡¯ as I used my knife and fork to cut off a piece of the steak and brought it to my mouth . The meat was a little firm, but the more you chewed, the more gravy and meat juices scattered within your mouth . The garlic fried rice was pretty fragrant, and the baked onion slices which served as the side dish were cooked to perfect¨C Hm? ¡°You guys used real meat and vegetables huh¡­¡­¡± Now I understand why Major Serena imed this was their best menu . You could easily reproduce such a menu using food cartridges and an auto-cooker, but nothing beats the real thing after all . I looked toward Mimi who was busy eating her own steak and saw the sparkle in her eyes as she ate with gusto . ¡°Fumu, so the hero who received the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal surprisingly also has an eye for gourmet food hmm? Now, this is certainly unexpected . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m not really much of a gourmet at all . I just simply had the great fortune of sampling real meat and vegetables several times before . One of my crew members also loves sampling different kinds of food . Or rather, she absolutely adores eating good food . ¡± ¡°H-Hiro-sama¡­¡­¡± Mimi, who was sitting beside me, called out to me in a fluster . She got easily embarrassed when all of our gazes gathered toward her, but I really like watching Mimi eating food happily . It¡¯s food for the soul . ¡°Fumu¡­¡­¡± Colonel Broadwell eyed Mimi and I with great interest after seeing our exchange . What is it, man? Just give it to me straight if you have something to say . ¡°Will we continue with the operation after this break?¡± ¡°Of course . Twelve hours will be allotted for making necessary repairs, and another twelve hours will be allotted for rest . We will resume the operation after those 24 hours . Right now, we are having some ships scout the surrounding area . ¡± ¡°I see . It would be good if they could find some clues . ¡± I remembered the SOL questline rted to crystal lifeforms while having an exchange with Colonel Broadwell . So far, we¡¯ve undergone a raid event, a counterattack event, and an info-gathering event . If this were the game, what follows would be an enemy base assault event . We¡¯re well in the middle of the info gathering event right now . I didn¡¯t have much experience regarding this particr event since I was a mercenary yer . On the other hand, explorer yers were absolute experts in it . They often journeyed far to find and scout out undiscovereds and star systems after all . ¡°How should I put it? You¡­¡­ do not resemble a mercenary at all . I somehow feel like I¡¯m talking to a fellow soldier or noble whenever I talk to you . ¡± ¡°I also feel the same as His Excellency, Colonel Broadwell . Your manner and speech are all strangely refined . It doesn¡¯t fit the image of a mercenary at all . ¡± Lieutenant Robbitson, Major Serena¡¯s adjutant, nodded in agreement as he cut a piece of his steak with a knife . To think they¡¯d call me refined and elegant, of all things . Just how vulgar do typical mercenaries in this dimension behave anyway? ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t really know¡­¡­¡± ¡°Do youdies feel the same as well?¡± ¡°Yes . After all, to ensurefortable living conditions for his crew, he remodeled the interior of his ship to be on par with a luxury liner, and he¡¯s also really gentlemanly in terms of his treatment toward us . ¡± Elma nodded at Lieutenant nt¡¯s question as she borated and Mimi expressed her agreement as well . Eh¡­¡­? Uh, but Iy my hands on them all the time, so I can¡¯t really see which part of me can be considered ¡®gentlemanly¡¯ at all . Or rather, do these two really think that way about me? Seriously? ¡°Um, somehow, I feel like you¡¯re all focusing a lot on me¡­¡­ If possible, can we just leave it at that please?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped if you feel that way . Alright . But can I ask about a somewhat personal matter then?¡± ¡°As long as it¡¯s something I can answer . ¡± What, what? Are we moving on to interrogation time? I don¡¯t hold much hope for Major Serena, but can you guys help me out a bit here, Mimi, Elma? ¡°It¡¯s about your ship; the Krishna, if I remember correctly . Just where did you manage to obtain such a fine specimen? I consider myself as somewhat of a starship enthusiast, but this is absolutely the first time I¡¯ve managed to witness such a ship . There are plenty of mercenaries who remodel their ships so much that they turn out to be unrecognizable from the base model, but the entire design concept of your ship is already way beyond such amateurish attempts . ¡± And this guy suddenly threw such a fastball . ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t answer that . When I received the ship, I promised never to disclose where it came from . I don¡¯t have any idea where the person who gave it to me is now either . ¡± ¡°Fumu¡­¡­ Alright then . Could I at least take a look at itter?¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡­ Well, if it¡¯s only taking a look¡­¡± ¡°I see! Then I shall pay a visit once we finish dinner . ¡± Colonel Broadwell nodded in satisfaction . It would be good if I can take that smile at face value, but I wonder if he¡¯s actually cooking up a scheme to confiscate Krishna and make it his own or something? I turned a gaze that expressed such concerns to Major Serena . ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry . It¡¯s virtually impossible for imperial military officers to forcibly strip a mercenary of his ship . ¡± ¡°Mu? I was thinking of nothing of the sort, though?¡± ¡°It¡¯s well known among our circles that Colonel Broadwell from the Broadwell House is an avidbat starship and mercenary enthusiast, but I guess not many mercenaries are aware of it . You are from the House of Earl Broadwell after all . You¡¯re also the eldest son and heir as well . People who aren¡¯t familiar with you would certainly have their guards up if you suddenly ask that sort of thing . ¡± Major Serena exined the situation to Colonel Broadwell while smiling wryly . Colonel Broadwell scratched the back of his head in embarrassment after hearing her exnation . ¡°Ah, I certainly didn¡¯t take that into consideration . Hiro-dono, I only asked such a thing to satisfy my personal intellectual curiosity, so please be at ease . And also, could I take a holo-photo with you and these two lovelydies after the tour as well? I also have a hobby of collecting group holo-photos of really promising mercenaries you see . ¡± ¡°Uh, okay¡­ If that¡¯s all¡­ then I guess it¡¯s fine?¡± I ended up agreeing after getting pressured by Colonel Broadwell¡¯s desperate gaze . Mimi and Elma also ended up agreeing while being slightly confused by his behavior . And so, we decided to take the officers for a tour of Krishna after the meal . Just why did it turn out like this? The rest of the dinner went peacefully, and we also received a mary reward of 1,000,000 Enels . The tour and group photo-op also proceeded without problems, I guess . Uh, maybe? ¡°So the frame cleverly hides two shotgun cannons! What a bold design¡­¡­!¡± ¡°These weapon systems are revolutionary . Thisyout has never been seen before . ¡± ¡°There are also a great number of attitude control thrusters ced cleverly around the hull . It seems they are operating at peak efficiency by making use of a very high-output energy generator, and the overall mobility of the ship is increased more than several-fold as a result . But it somehow feels like a very brute-force approach¡­¡­ Is this ship an experimental unit, perhaps?¡± Honestly speaking, it was pretty surreal to witness a grown man running around excitedly all over Krishna like a rabid fanboy with a holo-camera in hand while muttering geeky jargon . I even took the trouble of changing the hangar environment setting to low-gravity mode just so the guy can take an overhead picture¡­¡­ Colonel Broadwell being an avidbat ship enthusiast really felt like an understatement . This guy was absolutely nuts for them . In the end, he took holo-pictures of me, Mimi, and Elma standing with Krishna in the background . He even took solo pictures of me . ¡°Ah, I really managed to take some very good photos . Thank you very much, everyone . ¡± Seeing such a goofy smile stered on the face of a formerly grim-looking guy was pretty surreal as well . ¡°¡­¡­He¡¯s a really strange person, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Shh, don¡¯t say it out loud, Mimi . ¡± ¡°Your reaction is plenty rude already, you know¡­¡­¡± This dinner made me realize there were some pretty weird people in the imperial military as well . Chapter 158 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone After we had our dinner with the officers, it was decided that we go on a scouting patrol around the star system after a short breather and resupplying. Since ours was a smallbat ship, it was pretty suited for scouting duty, or so I was told. Well, it was quite an easy job because I only needed to pilot the ship around the star system while Mimi and Elma monitor the radar. It wasn¡¯t required to constantly monitor the radar either. We just need to set an rm to ring out whenever the radar detects signs of crystal lifeforms. ¡°It¡¯s pretty tranquil out there, isn¡¯t it¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be another hellish battle once a crystal lifeform swarm appears though.¡± ¡°Uu¡­¡­ That certainly won¡¯t be tranquil anymore.¡± I piloted the ship while listening to Mimi and Elma¡¯s chatter. Well, it wasn¡¯t just us out on patrol though. A good number of other mercenary ships and small military scout ships were sent out earlier as well. ¡°Just take this as another break. There are already a lot of starships out on patrol, but we haven¡¯t found any signs of crystal lifeforms yet after all. ¡°Hiro¡­¡­ Why do you always say things like that at times like this?¡± ¡°Hiro-sama¡­¡­ I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a good idea to keep setting up gs like this.¡± ¡°Hey!? Don¡¯t say things like that! At this rate, we really are gonna encounter trouble.¡± Uh, I admit there were already several times in the past when we encountered trouble after bantering like this¡­ But it can¡¯t possibly always turn out that way every damn time, right? In the first ce, Krishna¡¯s sensors weren¡¯t geared for scouting, so we probably won¡¯t be able to pick up anything if the specialized military scout ships weren¡¯t able to. ¡°I¡¯m almost convinced enemies would pop out all of a sudden after Hiro says things like that.¡± ¡°Hahaha, c¡¯mon. Stop joking, you two.¡± ¡°But from our experiences so far¨C¡± The rm suddenly rang out before Mimi could finish. All of us tensed up greatly. Phew. It wasn¡¯t an emergency rm. We were just being contacted viams. ¡°Uh¡­¡­ I wasn¡¯t worried, okay. Don¡¯t look at me like that!¡± ¡°Yeah, fine. Just answer it already.¡± I turned to face my control console and pulled away from Elma¡¯s critical gaze. May¡¯s image then popped up from the cockpit¡¯s main monitor. ¡ºMaster, imperial scout ships confirmed that they¡¯d picked up warp out signals within the system. Orders have been sent frommand. All allied ships in the star system are to gather at the designated coordinates as soon as possible. I will send the coordinates to you now. Please confirm.¡» ¡°ck Lotus is also ordered to go, right?¡± ¡ºYes, we will move in concert with the imperial fleet. We will meet up with you over there.¡» ¡°Roger. We¡¯ll see youter then.¡± May made an elegant bow on the other side of the screen and disconnected the call. ¡°¡­¡­Hey, this ship wasn¡¯t the one that found them first, so it¡¯s all good. I¡¯m safe.¡± ¡°I wonder.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an out, I think. Timing-wise, that is.¡± Don¡¯t you think my ship¡¯s crew members are a little too harsh to their poor captain? The gathering point was on the other side of the star at the center of the star system, so most of the allied ships have already gathered the moment we got there. ¡°It looks like they¡¯re gonna unleash a full-on barrage the moment the enemies warp out huh.¡± ¡°We managed to detect them early after all.¡± Our mixed fleet¡¯s battleships, heavy cruisers, and otherbat ships capable of long-range bombardment like our own ck Lotus already had their sights firmly fixed on the estimated warp out coordinates. Just as I said, they were fully intent on unleashing a full power barrage on the enemy crystal lifeforms once they warp out. ¡°Where¡¯s our position?¡± ¡°Right behind the destroyers in the vanguard. Depending on the situation, we may end up engaging the enemies in a dogfight after the bombardment lets up.¡± ¡°Roger that.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re jumping in the middle of a crystal lifeform swarm again¡­¡­¡± ¡°If necessary.¡± I¡¯d jump in right away if I manage to see an exploitable gapter, but I don¡¯t n on getting overwhelmed by the enemy¡¯s numbers. There¡¯s a great risk of getting swarmed from all directions after all. It might look like I¡¯m rushing in without a care, but I have to instantly assess the risks and act ordingly whenever I do stunts like that. It¡¯s definitely not rmended for amateurs. ¡°What¡¯s the estimated enemy warp out time?¡± ¡°Less than two minutes and thirty seconds from now.¡± ¡°Soon, huh. Activate weapon systems. Start the routine system check.¡± ¡°Aye, aye, sir. Performing routine check.¡± I activated the weapon systems and Elma started checking out the main and sub-systems. We managed to finish our maintenance and resupply earlier, so there should be no problems, but we should still do a check just in case. The warp out time dwindled gradually as we did so. ¡ºAll ships, prepare for a focused barrage. Barrage coordinates¨C Stop!! Barrage canceled!¡» Colonel Broadwell¡¯s flustered orders rang out from thems. I wondered what was going on, and the ¡®enemies¡¯ finally warped out. What came out was a battered medium-sizedbat ship with several parts of its hull already crystallized. It was probably a mercenary ship. After that, more ships with eroded hulls warped out one after another. Most of them were mercenary ships at first. But many more military scout ships warped out after them. They appeared even more battered and erodedpared to the mercenary ships. ¡ºContinue gathering information via scout ships. The fleet is to retreat back toward the system¡¯s star and regroup. All ships, change course!¡» ording to Colonel Broadwell¡¯smand, the allied fleet reversed their heading and retreated back to the central star in order to regroup. ¡°The ones that appeared are the 3rd and 4th Recon Fleets, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. They probably lost to the crystal lifeforms and ran away.¡± ¡°It looks like they escaped without putting up much of a fight.¡± Their numbers are obviously reduced by a lotpared to when we sortied from the base. The star systems around here are all unexplored, but the hypene nodes can be grasped to some extent by using observation tech like sub-space radars. The survivors of the 3rd and 4th Recon Fleets might have escaped to the star system we¡¯re currently investigating based on the data gathered from their radars. ¡°What will happen after this, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Recon Fleets were roughly equal in strength and numbers at the start, so if the 3rd and 4th fleets suffered that much damage, there¡¯s an option to retreat back to the Izrooks system to regroup and reorganize first. After that, we¡¯d rush back to the system where the 3rd and 4th fleets got defeated and attack it with all our strength. Or maybe¨C¡± ¡°They can choose to fully withdraw and leave it as is. If there isn¡¯t much of a guarantee that they can eliminate the enemies, it would be better to fortify the defenses of the Izrooks base instead of expending all their strength in an uncertain battle.¡± Elma shrugged her shoulders and finished my words. ¡°Eh¡­¡­ Is that allowed?¡± Mimi wrinkled her brows after hearing Elma¡¯s words. She¡¯s a genuine citizen of the Gran Empire after all. She should have a level of distrust for the government due to her experience of being abandoned without getting any form of help from the local administration when she was in trouble, but she still held some respect for the imperial military that protects the subjects of the empire. Well, she¡¯s also met Major Serena several times now, so she might have warmed up to them due to that. ¡°The level of damage is quite severe after all¡­¡­ The 1st and 2nd Fleets are mostly intact, but a lot of losses have been incurred by the 3rd and 4th Fleets. They have almost been annihted. By my estimate, only thirty percent made it out and seventy percent had already fallen.¡± ¡°It looks like it. It wouldn¡¯t have been strange if they all fell.¡± Looking at their present state, I suppose they didn¡¯t even attempt a counterattack. I feel like they immediately turned tail and ran away the moment they got swarmed. ¡°Um, so this mission is over?¡¯ ¡°We¡¯ll probably retreat to the Izrooks system first¡­¡­ We can¡¯t continue the scouting mission like this after all. Those beat-up chaps are gonna hand in the relevant data anyway.¡± Subsequent responses are up to the imperial military. There¡¯s still some remaining time on the contract period, but they probably don¡¯t want to incur any more costs by continuing to hire mercenaries like us at expensive prices without getting anything in return. They would probably terminate the contract early, and we¡¯ll be free to go. ¡°That depends on whether or not they decide to mount a retaliatory counterattack after we return.¡± ¡°Hahaha¡­¡­ If that happens, I bet we¡¯ll get assigned to the main attack fleet.¡± Krishna made a big ssh against the crystal lifeforms and achieved more than ster results. Even ck Lotus is ying a big role as both a gunboat and a supply ship. We also have excellent pro mechanics onboard coupled withplete maintenance facilities and equipment. Well, there¡¯s no reason to refuse if they¡¯re willing to pay. There¡¯s a lot of time left on the contract period after all. ¡°¡­¡­It would be nice if the mission gets canceled.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± That would really be nice. Hahaha. Chapter 159 Chapter 159 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone We were on guard about the possibility of crystal lifeforms warping out in pursuit of the battered 3rd and 4th Recon Fleet, but nothing of the sort happened in the end . If that happened, the 1st and 2nd Recon Fleet would have had to stall for time in order to let the battered 3rd and 4th Fleets escape sessfully . They would have possibly engaged in a tough battle depending on the situation . In any case, Krishna couldn¡¯t park inside ck Lotus for the time being because some highly damaged ships from the 3rd and 4th Fleets were upying both hangars . They had to undergo emergency repairs . If not, they would have broken down midway through the return journey . ck Lotus only had two hangars, so if Krishna upied one, only one damaged ship could undergo repairs . ¡°Calm down, you . ¡± ¡°I am though?¡± ¡°You look like you¡¯re very worried, Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Ugh . ¡± I was just a bit worried that the mercenaries who were worked up from the experience of crystal lifeforms trying to kill would do something to Tina and Whisker . I already told May to watch over them, so I think it should be okay . But¡­¡­ there¡¯s always a possibility of something going wrong . If they really do something to those two and May (May would probably be fine though . ), I¡¯m gonna turn them all to space debris the moment we warp out from sub-space . Absolutely . ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry so much¡­¡­ Those mercenaries are more afraid of you than you think, Hiro . ¡± ¡°Why?¡± I can¡¯t think of any reason why they would be afraid . ¡°Right now, the mercenaries participating in this operation see you as an absolute lunatic who willingly plunges straight into a swarm of crystal lifeforms and lives to tell the tale . You didn¡¯t seem particrly happy when you received the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal, right?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡­ I wasn¡¯t exactly jumping for joy . ¡± I just thought it was really troublesome . The only thing interesting was that birds-eye simtion of the entire battlefield . ¡°Because of that, further rumors of you enjoying thrills and danger instead of money and fame have spread around the mercenaries and soldiers a lot . ¡± ¡°What the heck? That¡¯s a joke, right?¡± That¡¯s pretty funny, man . I¡¯d take money and fame over thrills and danger any day of the week . Sorry, but I¡¯m not really a battle junkie, guys . ¡°Where¡¯d you hear about that kind of stuff anyway?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a secret . ¡± Elma smiled and refused to reveal her information source . Was there an underground informationwork reserved for mercenaries or something? ¡°Both of them are pretty strong, and they have their maintenance bots with them too, so I think it¡¯s okay . May-san is also with them . ¡± ¡°I sure hope so . ¡± I spent the whole time worrying inside Krishna until the mercenary ships finished undergoing emergency repairs . The mechanic sisters and May never got into trouble in the end . Rather, May reported that the mercenaries were looking at the mechanic sisters, who were hard at work repairing their ships even though they were small and cute, with warm smiles on their faces . Did they react like that because they normally lived a rough life? Anyway, I tried to picture it in my head and could only imagine scenes that were suggestively criminal in nature¡­ ¡°What? So you were worried about us, Boss? You really are kind, aren¡¯t ya?¡± ¡°Big brother¡­¡­¡± Once all the emergency repairs werepleted, it was decided that we would retreat back to the Izrooks system . We docked back inside ck Lotus and were now taking a break with the mechanic sisters . ¡°It¡¯s not really like that¡­¡­ Well, maybe a little . ¡± When I saw Tina¡¯s teasing grin, I tried to deny it at first, but she and Whisker seemed pretty happy about it, so I couldn¡¯t bring myself to do so in the end . ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would worry about me as well, Master . ¡± May, who joined us in the dining room, had a calm expression on her face . She was as deadpan as usual, but somehow, I felt that she had a gentle atmosphere around her as she looked at me . By the way, ck Lotus was operating normally and navigating sub-space toward Izrooks with the other ships even if she was serving us inside the break room . I don¡¯t know how exactly that works, but it looks like she was operating the ship via some form of remote control . Was this really okay, security-wise? I don¡¯t think May will ever do a poor job though . I guess it¡¯s fine . ¡°I¡¯m d nothing really happened though . All¡¯s well that ends well . Yup . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t wrap things up forcefully like that . ¡± ¡°You don¡¯t really have anything to be shy about it, Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°Aaah . I can¡¯t hear anything . Anyway, we should talk about our future ns first . ¡± I ignored Tina and Elma¡¯s teasing grins and diverted the topic . I won¡¯t stand for being teased any more than this . ¡°Well, we¡¯ll have to go back to Izrooks and wait for the decision of the military higher-ups first, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . ¡± Whisker tilted her head and Mimi nodded in agreement . Kuh, that¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it? I wanted to divert the issue but chose a poor topic . Damn . Nah, it¡¯s fine . I can still do this . ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about . I was thinking of the arrangements for Whisker and Tina¡¯s protection . No matter how physically powerful dwarves are, there¡¯s always a limit . We can¡¯t discount the possibility of pirates sessfully boarding our ship . I think it would be good if both of you hadbat bots for escorts and self-defense . ¡± ¡°Is there any need to go that far, Boss?¡± ¡°But it¡¯s true that there¡¯s still a risk . ¡± Tina and Whisker started thinking seriously about their safety . ¡°What type ofbat bots would be suitable, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer them to be well-bnced and capable of both high mobility and enemy suppression . I¡¯d also like them to have the function of disabling enemies without killing them . ¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, you want security bots instead of specializedbat bots . Since it¡¯s you, Master, I think you¡¯d prefer them to be as high-performance as possible, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . ¡± I don¡¯t n to be stingy when ites to ensuring May, Tina, and Whisker¡¯s safety . There were lots of models being sold at the Brad system, but the product lineup wasn¡¯t all that good . The other equipment shops were alright, but the android andbat bot shops weren¡¯t anything special . Were they notpatible with dwarves? But Tina and Whisker were both pretty used to maintenance bots though . I don¡¯t get it . ¡°Then, after all this is over and we¡¯ve finished selling off all the loot and crystal lifeform materials, it would be better to head to a star system specializing in such products . I will check possible destination candidates with Mimi-samater . ¡± ¡°Yes! Leave it to us!¡± Mimi clenched her fists in front of her in a guts pose . I guess it would really be better to leave our next destination up to them . ¡°The preliminary diagnostics check on Krishna should bepleted by now . We¡¯ll start maintenance then, Boss . ¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be going, big brother . We¡¯ll be sure to do a good job . ¡± The mechanic sisters waved goodbye and left the break room . Mimi and May already started brainstorming for our next destination . I could join in on the discussion, but I guess it would be better if I just wait for them to finish . In other words, I had nothing to do right now . ¡°Are you going back to the ship?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see . There¡¯s probably a low chance of it happening, but there¡¯s still a possibility of scramble orders being given out¡­¡­¡± I guess I should think of something I could do during downtimes like this as well . That said, I left the job of collecting information and trading goods to Mimi . Maintenance and repair-work are left to Tina and Whisker . Even Elma had something to do by collecting other supplementary information through her mysterious sources . ¡°You don¡¯t have to force yourself to think of something to work on like that, you know . It¡¯s also important to get a good rest so you¡¯ll be at your best whenever we encounter an emergency . Besides, you¡¯re the captain, so leave the other jobs to your crew and just hold the fort, alright?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Don¡¯t always think about work, Hiro-sama!¡± ¡°I also think so as well . Instead of trying to lighten my workload, I would like you to entrust more things to me, Master . ¡± Elma, Mimi, and even May were nagging at me now . I¡¯m not really all that tired though . I also don¡¯t think I¡¯m that much of a workaholic . I guess it¡¯s an ingrained habit from back when I was just a poor sryman . It just feels off if I spend time casually without doing anything productive . ¡°Understood . I¡¯ll just chill in the break room then . ¡± ¡°Go right ahead . It¡¯s important for pilots to maintain their concentration, so make sure to rest up, okay?¡± ¡°Yeah . ¡± There¡¯s nothing left for me to do in particr, so I guess it would be good to just plop myself on top of the sofa inside the break room . I then started heading for the break room . Fortunately, after the emergency repairs werepleted, the withdrawal to the Izrooks system proceeded smoothly . We were able to return without encountering crystal lifeforms . However, there was still a lot of work to do . Full-scale repairs and reorganization of the battered 3rd and 4th fleetsmenced . It took about a week topletely analyze the information they brought back in order to determine if there was enough merit tounch a counterattack against the crystal lifeform swarm that defeated the 3rd and 4th fleet . Meanwhile, we mercenaries were ordered by the military to stand by and lend our forces to bolster the defense of the Izrooks base . There¡¯s still quite some time remaining in the contract period, so we really couldn¡¯t go against these orders unless the military rescinds them . Of course, you could try breaching the contract, but there was a steep penalty . A huge amount of money would be incurred as a penalty for breaching the contract, and your evaluation and standing in the mercenary circles would take a hit as well . I can¡¯t afford to pay thepensation . I don¡¯t really care about my reputation as a mercenary, but it would be stupid to breach the contract here and take the penalty when we don¡¯t even know if we¡¯re gonnaunch an attack or not . The attack is canceled! You¡¯re free to go! If they end up deciding that after we breached the contract, it would be a huge loss . That¡¯s why we decided to wait around in the Izrooks system for a while . Chapter 160 Chapter 160 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone Waiting around in the Izrooks system turned out to be very boring . First, a request for performing ship repairs by using the maintenance facilities and equipment inside ck Lotus was issued as a designated request by the Mercenary Guild . It was a separate matter from the existing contract with the military . We got nominated due to the fact that the facilities and equipment inside ck Lotus were all state-of-the-art Space Dwerg products, and they performed even better than what the imperial frontline base had when ites to repairing and maintaining small-sized ships . Moreover, we also had two skilled pro mechanics with great skills and a good number of maintenance bots at their disposal . The imperial military wanted to do everything to quickly recover its strength, so we were a valuable factor that they wanted to make use of no matter how much they had to pay . All the materials used for repairs will be shouldered by the military, and we were paid 100,000 Enels per day . Since the mechanic sisters will handle all the repairs, I decided to give them a 30% cut . When I told them they¡¯ll be receiving 30,000 Enels per day, their eyes sparkled in delight and they both quickly agreed . If youpare it to a Japanese sryman suddenly being told he was going to receive a daily wage of 1,500,000 Yen, I think you¡¯d mostly get how they felt . Well, that¡¯s why ck Lotus has now be a sort of temporary repair instation . Since both of ck Lotus¡¯s hangars are in use, Krishna can¡¯t park inside it for the time being, and since we didn¡¯t take in any damage, for the most part, we weren¡¯t a priority when ites tonding clearance either . In other words, we couldn¡¯t get off the ship, and we were currently moored in a designated safe space near the forward base with nothing to do . If there were pirates here, we would be a very tempting target, but there¡¯s no way there would be pirates lurking around Izrooks system that had a fortified military base, so we got plenty of spare time as a result . Since we were quite free and would continue to be for quite a while, we had to find ways to kill time and relieve boredom . We held a holo-video watching marathon, yed fighting games using our tablet terminals, and uh¡­ well, you guys get it . Also, there was an increase in the use of the bed¡¯s auto-cleaning function and the ship¡¯s bathroom . Uh, I didn¡¯t just indulge in such activities though . I also held mock battles with the other mercenaries who held some form of animosity toward me and kicked their sorry behinds, but let¡¯s leave it at that . After spending four days doing all that, the military finally contacted Krishna . ¡ºIt looks like you went wild these past few days?¡» ¡°For the record, I wasn¡¯t the one who picked a fight first . They came on to me, so I just gave them some pointers . ¡± Major Serena had a pleasant smile on her face that was disyed on the cockpit¡¯s main monitor . Because the mock battles were carried out with the express permission of the imperial military, it wasn¡¯t just mercenaries who participated . Imperial soldiers also joined in on the fun . There wasn¡¯t much in the form of entertainment within the base after all . Under such circumstances, mock battles using actual ships was a very interesting activity in the eyes of the military personnel . In the end, I won a mock battle between me and five silver-rank mercenaries . It won¡¯t even be a gamble! That was what they told me after that . Uh, that¡¯s not my fault though . Well, even though it was still pretty much andslide victory, they did manage to prate Krishna¡¯s energy shields and damaged its armor . It¡¯s all thanks to the final ship performing a sham kamikaze attack though . It was a nice fight, but I dunno about a mercenary resorting to such a thing as a kamikaze attack . You won¡¯t earn even 1 Enel even if you manage to defeat the enemy . C¡¯mon . ¡°So, what do you want this time?¡± ¡ºHow boorish . Can¡¯t I contact you for something other than official business?¡» ¡°Not really, but I won¡¯t apany you to drink . It¡¯ll be a pain to take care of you afterward . ¡± ¡ºKuh¡­¡­ Anyway, can you take a look at this?¡» Major Serena sent me a video file with twitching cheeks . I opened the video file after confirming that there wasn¡¯t anything strange mixed in and saw a brilliant pulsar star and a vast swarm of crystal lifeforms surrounding it . And within that swarm was a gigantic crystal urchin-like monster that dwarfed every other crystal lifeform present . ¡°Hey now . That¡¯s a Mother Crystal alright . ¡± ¡º¡­¡­You actually recognized it?¡» Major Serena asked in a suspicious tone . Crap! I ended up slipping . How careless! ¡°Uh, well, ain¡¯t it really huge? So I thought it was like a mother or something . ¡± ¡ºCome to think of it, you also told me about the crystal lifeforms nesting in pulsars back then, right?¡» ¡°Pyu? hyuhyu??¡± ¡ºDon¡¯t dodge the issue, you! Just tell me everything you know . That¡¯s an order . ¡» ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­¡­¡± Major Serena ordered me in an extremely icy tone that nearly made me wet my pants . ¡°I kinda remember hearing about them from a while back, but my memory¡¯s quite spotty y¡¯see . ¡± ¡ºEven so, you know a fair bit about crystal lifeforms, right? Just tell me what you know . I promise not to investigate your source, so please¡­¡» ¡°¡­¡­¡± I mulled over Major Serena¡¯s request for a bit . To be honest, I don¡¯t want to get Major Serena and the imperial military¡¯s attention by saying something like ¡®I dunno why or how, but I kinda just know . ¡¯ or something like that . It¡¯s kinda toote already, but I still wanna minimize the damage . Fortunately, regardless of the circumstances, Major Serena was still giving me some consideration by promising she won¡¯t pry . I¡¯m positive Major Serena knows that if I ended up rampaging all over the empire with Krishna and ck Lotus in tow, it would make for a very great nuisance, so it was better to maintain the status quo and keep a cordial rtionship with me . But I better bring it up just to be sure . ¡°¡­¡­If you try toy your hands on me or my crew, I promise you I¡¯ll rampage all over the empire and run away by any means necessary . ¡± ¡ºIs that a threat?¡» ¡°I just want to protect myself . Additionally, I¡¯m gonna stir things up by using my secret video archive folder . I¡¯m gonna upload footages of the ditzy and cute Serena-chan to various video streaming sites with provocative titles . ¡± ¡ºOkay, okay, I understand already . I won¡¯t reveal the information source and I¡¯ll do my best to block any investigation attempts . So please delete those videos¡­¡» ¡°I promise not to use them as a bargaining chip from now on . ¡± I can¡¯t promise I¡¯ll delete them . They can¡¯t prove anything anyway . And more importantly, I have no intention of relinquishing such an emergency trump card . ¡ºKuh¡­¡­ Oh, alright . That¡¯s a deal then . Now start talking and tell me everything you know . ¡» ¡°OK . ¡± I talked about everything I knew regarding the Mother Crystal, which was the big boss of the crystal lifeforms currently devouring the pulsar system . Basically, the Mother Crystal itself had little to no mobility and its only means of attack was to spew out myriad small crystal lifeforms . These small crystal lifeforms can performser attacksparable to a ss 1ser weapon and their usual ramming attacks . Since it doesn¡¯t possess defensive measures equivalent to energy shields, ballistic or explosive weaponry would be more effective against it . That doesn¡¯t mean optical weapons won¡¯t work on it . They would just be less effective . The ones that would actually pose more trouble are the Guardian Crystals protecting it . They boast abilities more powerful than medium-types, and there were quite a lot of them . They were particrly troublesome because they possessed excellent short-range shooting capabilities and also performed charging attacks without a hint of hesitation when given the chance . However, since the maximum shooting range of the Guardian Crystals was pretty short, you can just snipe them from beyond it to whittle them down . Although their maximum speed was pretty high, their turning speed wasn¡¯t, and they had a habit of only attacking enemies close to the Mother Crystal . So a valid strategy is attracting them with high-mobility small ships and grinding them down with long-range bombardment from medium andrge-sized starships . It would be best to infiltrate the infested system through a hypene node that was as far away from the Mother Crystal as possible so the small ships don¡¯t have to deal with the small crystal creatures spewed by the Mother Crystal and the Guardian Crystals at the same time . The reason for it was still unconfirmed, butrge-types weren¡¯t present within systems that had Mother Crystals residing in them . Perhapsrge-types were newly spawned juvenile Mother Crystals, and they would go off on their own to develop independently . ¡°The Mother Crystal is pretty damn tough, so small ships won¡¯t be able to deal any substantial damage to it without using something like an anti-ship reactive torpedo . The medium andrge ships should be equipped with powerful missiles with explosive warheads or reaction warheads as well for maximum effect . But it¡¯s not likeser cannons can¡¯t be used . And also, the Mother Crystal¡¯s main weakness is the glowing part at the center of its body . You should be able to spot it easily . ¡± After saying so, I marked the central part of the Mother Crystal disyed on the screen . ¡°But these thorny protrusions are a real nuisance . These thorns would swat down projectiles heading for the Mother Crystal with great uracy . In other words, these thorns function as a kind of reactive armor for the Mother Crystal . That¡¯s why after eliminating the Guardian Crystals, it would be best for the medium andrge ships to surround the Mother Crystal andunch attacks all aimed at its weakness from multiple angles . It¡¯s surprisingly tough and would endure for a long period of time if you just concentrate your fire from one direction . ¡± ¡º¡­¡­That¡¯s some detailed information . ¡» ¡°I¡¯ve had some experiences subjugating the thing after all . I can¡¯t answer when or where I got them though . But you can¡¯t treat the information I provided as something absolute . There isn¡¯t a guarantee that this Mother Crystal is the same Mother Crystal I¡¯m familiar with . That goes for the Guardian Crystals as well . ¡± It wasn¡¯t certain if the info I carried over from ying SOL would still be applicable to this dimension¡¯s crystal lifeforms . Well, considering my experiences so far, they¡¯d been pretty on target for the most part . There¡¯s a lot of new stuff that wasn¡¯t present in SOL, but most of the things I knew from SOL were still applicable here . ¡ºBy your estimate, how urate would the info you provided be?¡» ¡°I¡¯d say fifty-fifty if I want to be extra cautious, but so far, it¡¯s probably about 90% urate . If not, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to survive diving headfirst into a crystal lifeform swarm twice . ¡± Although I did make sure to have more than enough safety margins, the behavior of the crystal lifeforms here was pretty much the same as they were in SOL . The power of their attacks, their frequency, and the projectile speed were all pretty simr to the game . I also didn¡¯t feel much difference when ites to overall durability, so I think it would be the same for the Mother Crystal . ¡ºI see¡­¡­ Thank you for the valuable information . It¡¯s even too detailed so I¡¯m having trouble thinking up of a good way to hand the info over . ¡» ¡°Just be sure to keep your promise not to reveal the info source . For both our sakes . ¡± ¡ºYes, for both our sakes indeed . I¡¯ll make it work . ¡» ¡°Also, think of a way to repay me after this too . You owe me a pretty big favor now . You won¡¯t try to sweep it under the rug, right, major?¡± ¡ºUu¡­¡­ I know . I¡¯ll do my best to amodate you . If possible, can you give me some hints so I can decide on what kind ofpensation is best?¡» ¡°Fumu¡­¡­ In that case¡­¡± I told Major Serena about my n to acquire high-performancebat bots to station inside ck Lotus . Major Serena was the daughter of a high-ranking aristocrat, so maybe she can introduce us to some good dealers through her connections . ¡ºI see . Your ships dock guardsparable to power armor-equipped and trained imperial soldiers . I understand . There¡¯s a weaponspany funded by the House of Marquis Holz that deals with high-performance militarybat bots . I¡¯ll look it up and write a letter of introduction for you . ¡» ¡°It¡¯s great that you¡¯re easy to talk with, major . ¡± You had to be careful around Major Serena, but her professionalism was impable . She was a pretty unruly drunk though! ¡°Is the army nning onunching a counteroffensive soon?¡± ¡ºThat would probably turn out to be the case . I did get some useful information, so the rest will depend on my efforts from here on out . ¡» ¡°We would have a hard time with our current avable forces y¡¯know?¡± If we didn¡¯t incur any lossesst time and still had our fleets intact, we would have a better chance . Since the losses suffered by the 3rd and 4th Recon Fleets were pretty substantial, the counteroffensive would be pretty tough . ¡ºWe¡¯ve already considered that problem . The information about the position of the enemy was obtained through the sacrifice of the 3rd and 4th Fleets after all . We will also deploy the main force stationed within the base in the attack . ¡» ¡°I see . Then I guess it¡¯s alright . ¡± If the main forces stationed inside the forward base will also participate in the attack, it would probably be enough . You won¡¯t snatch a victory by being passive after all . ¡ºThe arrangements and reorganization will probably take a few days more, so make sure to rest up to be in your best condition when it¡¯s time to deploy . ¡» ¡°Aye, aye, ma¡¯am . ¡± I gave Major Serena a crisp salute and she smiled faintly in return . She then cut the call . Now then, I guess I have to tell Mimi and Elma the news as well . First, I¡¯ll go wake them both up, then take a nice, long shower . Chapter 161 Chapter 161 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone It¡¯s been two days since that call with Major Serena . The nned counteroffensive against the crystal lifeforms by the imperial military garrison stationed within the Izrooks system has been finalized, and all mercenaries who would participate have received orders to prep for the start of the operation in 24 hours . Most of the mercenaries responded positively and were relieved to finally escape the monotony and boredom after remaining on standby for an extended period of time . Surprisingly, there wasn¡¯t even one mercenary who broke the contract and opted out of the operation . I was expecting at least a number of them to hesitate and retreat for fear of losing their lives, but my expectations were splendidly betrayed . ¡°If they tucked their tails and ran away in this situation, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll have a harder timending sessful contracts in the future . Instead of paying a hefty fee and running away miserably, most of them are probably thinking of participating in the operation in a half-baked manner while prioritizing their safety above anything else . If they manage to pick a winning ticket, they¡¯ll just have toe forward to get a share of the spoils . ¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡­ So that means we¡¯re gonna stand out again huh . ¡± ¡°Haa?¡± Elma¡¯s expression seemed to exim ¡®Just what is this guy saying?¡¯ or something like that . ¡°I meant that if the rest of the mercenaries will more or less hold back,ter on, we¡¯re probably gonna stick out like a sore thumb . It¡¯s inevitable, really . ¡± I have absolutely no intention of holding back like the rest of them, so that would be the most probable oue . Or rather, if the small, high-mobility ships refuse toe forward to lure away the Guardian Crystals, it would be the medium andrge-sized ships that would take the brunt of their attacks, and may suffer considerable losses as a result . Once that happens, our chances of winning would be lowered drastically, and the smaller ships might get trapped in the middle of enemy lines as a consequence . ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m gonna have to step up to the te this time . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay . I trust Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to your judgment . You aren¡¯t the kind of guy who opts to die in vain, right?¡± ¡°Of course . ¡± I don¡¯t have a hobby of getting shot down after all . Reckless assaults and self-sacrifice aren¡¯t worth a damn . I¡¯ll just do my job properly as long as I can keep myself from dying . The role of small, fastbat craft in raid battles against crystal lifeforms is basically acting as evasion tanks . They have to aggro the enemies in order to prevent them from going after the medium andrge ships in the backline who are in charge of DPS duties . The risk was rtively high, but I¡¯m long used to the job . I¡¯ll just have to be careful not to be cornered and crushed by the enemy¡¯s numbers, keep an eye on the battlefield situation, unleash hell, and then run away at full speed afterward . You¡¯d be fine even if your weapon loadout was mostlyprised of peashooters as long as you had a sufficiently fast and mobile ship, so these types of raid events are actually very suited to noobs in SOL . Of course, most noobs would still rush right into a bad position and end up getting destroyed though . ¡°It looks like the ck Lotus¡¯s hangar bays are finally free . Shall we go back?¡± ¡°Yeah, okay . It would be best to get Krishna serviced properly before weunch out . ¡± ¡°I wonder how Tina-chan and Whisker-chan are doing? May-san should be fine as usual though . ¡± ¡°Wee back . ¡± ¡°Wee back, everyone . ¡± ¡°Y-Yeah, we¡¯re back¡­¡­¡± The mechanic sisters, Tina and Whisker both weed us when we came back to the ck Lotus, but they looked pretty¡­ terrible . ¡°Did you guys actually get any sleep?¡± ¡°We did . We took a quick nap whenever it was okay to leave the job to the maintenance bots . ¡± ¡°There are some quick intervals between jobs where we don¡¯t have to directly manage them ourselves . ¡± They were saying such things with powerless smiles on their faces while sporting heavy eyebags beneath their eyes . Judging from their current state, they must have not gotten much sleep at all . Their faces and work overalls were stained with oil and other substances I couldn¡¯t quite recognize . ¡°This is bad . Hey guys, let¡¯s throw them into the bathroom to wash them up and then put them to sleep . Help me out here . ¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Roger . ¡± After hearing Mimi and Elma¡¯s reply, I carried both sisters under each arm and took them toward the living area with Mimi and Elma in tow . ¡°Wait up? Don¡¯t we still have to do maintenance on Krishna?¡± ¡°Leave that forter . We still have 24 hours before we sortie and it would take another 60 hours to get to our target destination . We have plenty of time for that left . ¡± ¡°U-Um, we haven¡¯t had a shower for days, so we probably smell b-ba¡­¡­ auu . ¡± I shot Tina down quickly when she tried to propose working more, and I hugged Whisker tighter in order to prevent her mind from wandering as she iled in my arm . By the way, they didn¡¯t really smell bad contrary to what Whisker imed . Instead of body odor, they both smelled of oil and other stuff . I might be able to smell their body odor if I opened up their work overalls and pressed my face on their chests or something, but I have no intention of ever performing such a high-level perverted act . No way, no how . When we arrived at the bathroom, I threw both of them inside the shower room and told Mimi and Elma to help them wash up and put them to sleep afterward . I then headed for the cockpit . ¡°Wee back, Master . ¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m ba¨C Whoah!?¡± As soon as I entered the cockpit, May rushed over with tremendous speed and gave me a tight hug . Her chest assets were really soft and felt absolutely great . May didn¡¯t hug me all that tightly, but I still felt I wouldn¡¯t be able to squeeze out of her embrace if I tried . Just how does she do it, I wonder . ¡°May?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been about 149 hours since I saw youst, Master . Just a little bit more . ¡± ¡°O-Okay . ¡± I guess I should just let her hug me . Or rather, I¡¯ll hug her back as well . May finally released me after five minutes of affectionate hugging . ¡°That was a blissful few moments . Thank you, Master . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m d you enjoyed it then . But anyway, what happened to you?¡± ¡°Is there something wrong with my actions?¡± May tilted her head with her usual deadpan expression as if she was wondering what I was confused about . ¡°No, uh, I was just surprised by the sudden skinship . ¡± ¡°Master, to put it simply, I was just feeling lonely . ¡± May was a machine, but she also sported intelligence and feelings as an advanced AI android . So when she was ced in a situation in which she couldn¡¯t meet her Master for a long time, she became lonely and stressed, and needed physical contact with me in order to relieve those feelings . Is that it? ¡°Understood . I¡¯ll try my best not to let a situation like this happen again . ¡± ¡°Thank you, Master . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­What the heck are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m listening to the report about the time we weren¡¯t in the ck Lotus . ¡± ¡°In that position?¡± ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Ten minutes after I met up with her, May and I moved to the break room together and she gave me ap pillow as we made ourselvesfortable on the sofa . She was affectionately stroking my head as she gave me a report about the six days we were absent from ck Lotus . Elma and Mimi just came back from taking care of the mechanic sisters but looked at me with conflicted expressions when they witnessed my current situation . But caring for the crew¡¯s psychological and emotional states was also part of a captain¡¯s duties, so I wasn¡¯t doing anything to feel guilty about . Probably . ¡°I know what you guys are trying to say, but can you just let me off this time? There¡¯s a really good reason for this . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get it, but okay . ¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really care though¡­¡­¡± Mimi sat down next to May while Elma sat a little distance away . May continued giving her report . ¡°We haven¡¯t encountered any particr troublesome incidents these past six days . Some of the mercenaries were surprised about the amenities present inside the ship and tried to inquire about details regarding them . A few of them had somewhat crude manners, so I proceeded to pacify them by using earnest persuasion . ¡± ¡°Earnest persuasion, huh . ¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± It wasn¡¯t just me . I bet Mimi and Elma were also thinking the persuasion method in question was more of a ¡®physical¡¯ kind . Judging from their expressions, I shouldn¡¯t be wrong . Let¡¯s just pray that the ¡®persuaded¡¯ mercenaries didn¡¯t acquiresting trauma against the existence known as a ¡®maid¡¯ . I ended up apanying May all day today . Yep, all day . Forgive me for not borating guys, but you know what I¡¯m getting at, right? I managed to wake up four hours before the operation starts . I was inside a room in the ck Lotus . I don¡¯t see May anywhere, so she¡¯s probably already in the cockpit or dining hall . In the end, it looks like I¡¯ve sessfully managed to alleviate May¡¯s stress . I have to be more careful not to let stuff like this happen again . I mean, seriously . I really can¡¯t win against her who doesn¡¯t get tired no matter what¡­¡­ ¡°Are you alright? It¡¯s just a little bit more before the operation starts you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯m good . I¡¯ll get my energy back after eating and resting a bit . ¡± I had breakfast consisting of a hotdog and a high-nutrition green-colored juice drink as Elma gave me a scornful gaze . If the hotdog was reced with some shady-looking nutrient paste or something, this would be an excellent example of a dystopian dish from a post-apocalyptic future . ¡°What about Tina and Whisker?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve been awake for a good while already . They¡¯re now happily servicing Krishna . Mimi also went to the hangar saying she wants to do a final check of the supplies . ¡± ¡°I see . I guess I¡¯ll go check on them after I finish my meal . ¡± ¡°Please do so . It looks they really pushed themselves hard this time after all . They were in a pretty bad state yesterday you know? They fell asleep the moment they got shoved inside the bathtub . I and Mimi took care of bathing them both and had to join them in the end . ¡± ¡°That sounds pretty bad . I¡¯m d you two took care of them . ¡± I tried to imagine the sight of the mechanic sisters taking a bath together with Mimi and Elma . I kinda wanted to witness it for myself . As if she read what¡¯s on my mind, Elma quickly pinched my thigh . Ouch . ¡°You really have no sense of seriousness whatsoever huh¡­¡­ And we¡¯re about to embark toward a deadly battlefield too . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I don¡¯t think it¡¯s particrly dangerous . ¡± Considering the current scale of the imperial forces participating in the attack, I don¡¯t really feel we would lose . The total forces heading out this time consisted of 6 battleships, 20 heavy cruisers, 25 destroyers, and 42 corvettes . Honestly though . Do they even need us mercenaries? It¡¯s not unexpected though . Once the imperial military gets serious, you really felt their overwhelming might and their intention of achieving total victory . Even if webined the 1st to 4th Recon fleets dispatched earlier on, this current force was still about five times stronger . And this time, we already know the exact position of the enemies, so there¡¯s no need to disperse our forces . We were free tounch a concentrated attack . In other words,pared to the 3rd and 4th fleets that suffered major losses a few days back, we would be charging in with at least three times the total firepower . That¡¯s without taking the mercenaries to ount . ording to my instincts cultivated by years ying SOL, this was close to an excessive amount of force . And as long as we performed the correct strategy without a hitch, even the recon fleets dispatched a few days back would be able to pull this counteroffensive off . ¡°And that¡¯s how it is . ¡± ¡°I see . So you do have a basis for your confidence huh . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . We still can¡¯t let our guards down since there are quite a lot of enemies, but once we eliminate the Guardian Crystals, the overwhelmingbined firepower of the battleships, cruisers, and destroyers would be able to crush the Mother Crystal with little effort . In other words, if we mercenaries and the imperial corvettes do our jobs properly and lead the Guardian Crystals away, the battleships, cruisers, and destroyers of the imperial military will clean everything up for us . Afterward, we¡¯ll just have to deal with the small crystal lifeforms spewed out by the Mother Crystal and we¡¯re done . ¡°So you¡¯re saying unless something unexpected happens, the battle would be over once the imperial forces make their move huh . ¡± Even with the massive losses incurred, it can¡¯t be said that the recon operation a few days back was a total failure . Sure we did suffer a lot of casualties, but we were also able to achieve our goal of pinpointing the enemy base . There was great merit in sessfully bringing back such critical info . ¡°In other words, there¡¯s no need to worry, but we still can¡¯t let our guards down, right? Same old, same old, then . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . ¡± Elma smiled when she saw me shrugging my shoulders nonchntly . There are four more hours until the operation begins . Chapter 162 Chapter 162 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone The crystal lifeform extermination operation has finally begun . The entire garrison fleet on the imperial military has moved out with us mercenaries following suit . It would be bad if ships go out of formation for some reason and get separated from the rest of the fleet, so all mercenaries were ordered to activate synchro mode and link up with their respective lead ships . It¡¯s like auto-docking but applied to fleet maneuvers instead . Once we link up with the lead ship, we would automatically move in concert with it and the rest of the fleet unless synchro mode was deactivated, so we really didn¡¯t have to steer the ship ourselves for the time being . But the link wasx enough that we would be able to immediately disengage in case of emergencies . ¡°It¡¯s really boring huh . ¡± ¡°Um¡­¡­ yes . Should we y some games, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°C¡¯mon guys¡­¡­¡± Elma red at Mimi and me who didn¡¯t give off any shred of nervousness andined about how bored we were . Right now, Krishna was parked inside ck Lotus that was currently linked up with the rest of the fleet . We were supposed to be standing by inside Krishna¡¯s cockpit so we would be ready tounch out any time, but it would still take thirty-six hours before we reached the Jerom system where the Mother Crystal was nesting . There was currently no point in us getting worked up inside the cockpit right now . Even if we encounter some sudden unforeseen mishaps, we had dozens of imperial corvettes acting as the vanguards, so as long as they held out for a little bit, there would be enough time for us mercenaries to mobilize . And so, we don¡¯t have to be on our toes just yet . Or rather, it would work against us if we were too high-strung since that would increase the chances of us dropping the ball when it counts, so that¡¯s why we were currently bored out of our minds . Mimi¡¯s already developed wellpared to before . I remember she was a nervous wreck when she experienced her first sortie and pirate hunting mission . And because I was rather bored, she suggested ying a game to kill time . Plus, her skills andposure aren¡¯t the only ones that developed nicely . I¡¯m pretty sure her chest assets did too . Yep . They were definitely biggerpared to before . Since I was already quite familiar with them, I can only brainlessly im that they¡¯re he big, but the data collected from the medical pod¡¯s daily diagnostics will never lie . Mimi¡­¡­ What a terrifying girl! ¡°Oww!¡± ¡°Hmph . ¡± As I leered at Mimi¡¯s chest while she was selecting games from the library, Elma suddenly pinched my thigh . Uh, yeah . I might have been too crude there . Let me reflect on it . This time, I¡¯ll stare at Elma . Smooth white skin, pointed ears, and very fine features . Yep, what a beauty . Mimi was the cute type, but Elma was the beautiful type¡­ No, the lovely type . For example, Mimi can be likened to a cute puppy . Elma, on the other hand, was like a beautiful flower in bloom . Yep . Comparing her to a flower sure fit her nicely . ¡°What?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing . I was just thinking about how you¡¯re as lovely as a flower, Elma . ¡± ¡°What the heck are you saying, you?¡± Elma red at me in mock anger, but the tips of her ears were as red as a tomato . You can easily tell Elma¡¯s real feelings by observing her ears . Now I think I get why space elves like her had the habit of hiding their ears whenever they felt embarrassed . As I flirted with Mimi and Elma left and right, a lively voice rang out from the passageway connected to the hangar . It looks like Tina and Whisker finished their maintenance on Krishna and were now going to take a break . ¡°Good work guys . ¡± ¡°Yeah . Thanks, Boss . The maintenance waspleted without a hitch . ¡± ¡°We only did some basic systems check and maintenance though . ¡± The mock battles I participated in were conducted using only low-poweredsers with significantly reduced outputs and dummy ammo, so there wasn¡¯t any actual damage to the armor . Only our ship¡¯s maneuverability and speed weren¡¯t restricted, so I think the power and transmission systems were the ones that needed paying attention to . ¡°Hey, hey, c¡¯mon!¡± ¡°Yossha!¡± When I spread my arms wide while sitting on the sofa, Tina immediately rushed in . I caught Tina squarely and started giving her head pats . ¡°There, there . Good girl . Good girl . ¡± ¡°Ahahahaha, you¡¯re gonna mess up my hair . ¡± I patted Tina¡¯s head a few more times then released her . Afterward, two heads collided with my chest from the left and right . ¡°There, there . There, there . ¡± ¡°Ehehe . ¡± ¡°Hey, can you do it gentler? Gentler, I said . ¡± I happily stroked Mimi and Elma¡¯s heads as well . As I did that, Whisker stared at us with aplicated expression . After I had my fill of stroking Mimi and Elma¡¯s heads, I turned toward Whisker and opened my arms wide again . ¡°Uryaaa¨C¡± ¡°B-Big si¨C Waaa!?¡± Tina pushed Whisker forward, and she ended up diving headfirst into my arms . I caught her firmly . ¡°There, there . There, there . It must be hard to be always pushed around by Tina huh?¡± ¡°Hey . That ain¡¯t nice, Boss . ¡± ¡°But it¡¯s true, right?¡± ¡°Guh . ¡± When I pointed toward Whisker who was shoved by Tina and ended up burying her face on my chest, Tina made a mortified expression and pursed her lips . As I gazed at Tina with a gloating expression on my face while petting the flustered Whisker, May entered the break room . And then, she picked up Whisker, had her sit beside Mimi, then knelt in front of me who was still sitting on top of the sofa, and offered her own head for a round of petting . ¡°There, there . There, there . ¡± She must have monitored what was happening in the cockpit, and when she saw me stroking everyone¡¯s heads, she wanted in on the action too . If it¡¯s only head pats, I¡¯ll give you as much as you want, guys . The peaceful and rxing moments didn¡¯tst long . Before long, thebined fleet managed to arrive at the Jerom system on schedule . Soon, the ships will be jumping out of hyperspace and plunging right inside the system . ¡°Now then, start the routine check of each section . May, please prepare theunch catapult so we can sortie immediately when needed after entering the system . ¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± ¡°Aye, aye, sir . ¡± ¡ºUnderstood . ¡» I operated my console while giving outmands to the crew and switched the power generator from idle mode to cruise mode . There should be a good chance of the Mother Crystal being located far away from the hypene nodes of the Jerom system, but conversely, there¡¯s a high possibility of Guardian Crystals being near them instead . Whether due to instinct or some form of intelligence, those things often position themselves near the entrance and exit points of hypene nodes . In SOL, their numbers were the highest in the hypene node nearest to the position of the Mother Crystal, but I¡¯m not sure if that still holds true in this dimension . If the behavioral patterns of the crystal lifeforms are the same as in SOL, their numbers should be thinnest in the hypene node located the furthest away from the Mother Crystal¡­ Well, we won¡¯t be able to find out unless we jump in anyway . ¡°We will be plunging inside the Jerom system soon . 30 seconds to warp out!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do this . ¡± I gripped the flight stick and changed the generator settings from cruise mode tobat mode . I then simted the most efficient evasion and attack maneuvers against crystal lifeforms inside my head . First, we¡¯ll need to deal with the Guardian Crystals that woulde after the rear line and aggro the rest . This is my first priority . In this case, my main job is to make it easier for the allied ships that sport far more firepower to safely pick off the enemies instead of destroying them myself . ¡°We¡¯ll be jumping out of hyperspace soon . Countdown¡­¡­ 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0!¡± A strange sound that was different from what a ship makes whenever it deactivates the FTL Drive rang out . It was like ¡®giyooooon¡¯, or maybe ¡®biyooooon¡¯¡­¡­ Like someone going ham on a synthesizer . Just what the heck was that anyway? As I mulled over that strange sound, ck Lotus finally jumped out of hyperspace with Krishna parked inside it . After a few moments, an alert rang out inside both ships . ¡ºCrystal lifeforms confirmed . The corvettes of the imperial force vanguard are moving in to engage . The mercenaries have been ordered to deploy as well . ¡» ¡°Okay . Send us out . ¡± ¡ºYes . Good luck, everyone . ¡» May¡¯s image disyed on the cockpit monitor made an elegant bow . In the next moment, intense Gs rocked the ship . Krishna was promptlyunched out into open space by the hangar catapult, and the resulting Gs that couldn¡¯t be fully nullified by the inertial control system assaulted our bodies . ¡°Uu, no matter how many times I go through it, I just can¡¯t get used to the feeling . ¡± ¡°The inertial control device is ineffective against Gs resulting from eleration via an external force after all . Mimi, obtain battlefield info from the main fleet and mark the position of the Guardian Crystals on the radar map . ¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± I pacified the grumbling Mimi and headed out to battle . The imperial military corvettes were already at the forefront as they engaged in an intense battle with the Guardian Crystals . The other mercenary ships are heading over as well . It looks like it¡¯s safe to try and eliminate the creatures going after the rear line . And then, we need to prioritize aggroing the rest of the Guardian Crystals and draw them away . ¡°Yosh . We¡¯ll make a detour here and hit the enemies from the nk . We¡¯ll attract their attention with a few reactive torpedoes . Weapon systems activate . ¡± Krishna¡¯s bow transformed, and the two ballistic shotgun cannons appeared in all their glory . The four sub-arms holding heavyser cannons were also deployed out . Two anti-ship reactive torpedoes were ready to beunched out from the weapon bay below the ship . Battle preparationsplete . ¡°Roger . Leave the sub-systems to me as always . ¡± Just as I dered, I didn¡¯t head straight for the battlefield but took a detour instead . ¡°This is Krishna . We¡¯re going to bypass the front line and hit the enemies from the nk . We will be using anti-ship reactive torpedoes to get their attention, so take care not to get caught up in the st radius . ¡± I operated my console in order to share Krishna¡¯s current course and the expected explosion coordinates to all allied ships . Well, I think it¡¯ll be alright since no one else would dare to jump right in the middle of the enemies, but I still sent a warning out just in case . ¡°We¡¯re punching through . ¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Aye, aye¨C¡± After getting sufficient distance, I elerated the ship and began nking the enemies . One of them already noticed Krishna¡¯s approach and headed out to intercept, but I evaded and pelted it with weapons fire from the shotgun and heavyser cannons . After gaining the aggro of one enemy by injuring it, it called even more enemies to assist, and before long, the aggro had sessfully shifted from the vanguard to Krishna . ¡°Here¡¯s one shot to get things fired up!¡± I fired a reactive torpedo from the weapon bay and immediately changed course to avoid getting caught up in the resulting st . I fired another round immediately before the first torpedo exploded and changed course again . ¡°Alright, c¡¯mon! Come and get it, you idiots! C¡¯mon!¡± Of course, they won¡¯t get to hear me provoking them personally, but the reactive torpedoes were a different story . They sessfully got their attention . The first onended a direct hit on a Guardian Crystal that was about to turn around to give chase and exploded it to bits . A good number of other Guardian Crystals got caught up in the explosion as well . Then the other torpedo exploded . It directly destroyed three Guardian Crystals at the same time . The resulting fragments scattered around violently and hit even more Guardian Crystals and caused additional damage . A greater number of Guardian Crystals turned their attention toward Krishna . ¡°Let¡¯s get started . Pay close attention to the shield capacity . ¡± ¡°Aye, aye, sir¨C Leave it to me . ¡± After hearing Elma¡¯s reliable reply, I fired up the thrusters and flew Krishna at full speed . And thus began an extreme game of tag (onigokko) with lots of destructive projectiles and hundreds of Onis . Chapter 163 Chapter 163 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone Right after warping out via hyperdrive, we, along with the rest of thebined imperial fleet immediately engaged in battle with the crystal lifeforms . Our enemies were the crystal lifeform medium-type subspecies Guardian Crystals . This battle was approved due to the critical information that ¡®he¡¯ provided, and there wasn¡¯t even a speck of hesitation in the military¡¯s actions . It was quite difficult to persuade the higher-ups to agree to form a crystal lifeform extermination fleet on the basis of uncertain information, but it was well worth the trouble . Of course, I was careful not to reveal that the information came from him . Using thebined data from the info we got from him and the data brought back by the 3rd and 4th Recon fleets, I persuaded the rest of the captains and themander of the forward base using with the greatest eloquence I could muster . Frankly, I didn¡¯t really have to reveal that my source only heard the information in passing in the form of rumors and that he¡¯s actually a mercenary . I would be able to prevent them from finding out where I obtained the information by doing so . ¡°It looks like the first phase of engagement with the crystal lifeforms went quite well . ¡± The assembled Imperial corvettes immediately engaged the Guardian Crystals in battle just as nned . The mercenary ships soon joined the battle as well, and the mercenaries who possessed medium andrge-type ships began unleashing long-range barrages as well . The rest of the imperial fleet also got ready to unleash their own barrage . ¡°Yes . It¡¯s all thanks to your urate analysis, Captain . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . ¡± In truth, it wasn¡¯t really thanks to my so-called analysis, but the info that man provided instead . Oh well . I guess there¡¯s no problem as long as we¡¯re both satisfied with the oue . If this operation seeds, the credit for it will be entirely given to me after all . ¡ºThis is Krishna . We¡¯re going to bypass the front line and hit the enemies from the nk . We will be using anti-ship reactive torpedoes to get their attention, so take care not to get caught up in the st radius . ¡» He hailed the entire fleet via the open channel and provided us with his ship¡¯s estimated time of arrival, position, and the anti-ship reactive torpedo¡¯s predicted st radius . ¡°He¡¯s as reckless as always, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Like I said Captain, the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal isn¡¯t just for show . ¡± That ship, the Krishna, headed at full speed for the crystal lifeform swarm from an angle and tore a gaping hole in their nk . It looks like he didn¡¯t n to merely cut through the swarm, but wanted to deal some substantial damage to them as well . And furthermore, his ship¡¯s charging speed was unreal . The fact that he hadn¡¯t reduced the speed of his ship one bit as he flitted around the swarm more than proves how sublime his piloting skills were . Just what kind of training did he undergo, and what sort of hellish battlefields did he manage to survive through in order to obtain such skills? ¡°It¡¯s a match with the projected data!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go ahead and crush the enemies while he is getting their attention . Commence synchronized bombardment . ¡± ¡°Aye, aye, ma¡¯am! Commencing synchronized bombardment!¡± All imperial ships will consolidate and share the battlefield data in order to not leave any gaps during the attack, and we will be able to unleash a perfectly coordinated synchronized bombardment . Laser bombardment fired from numerous imperial ships lit up a portion of the normally dark void of outer space . I slid past the Guardian Crystal that was turning to chase after us and hit it with a few rounds from the shotgun cannons at close proximity . I then destroyed the small-type crystal lifeforms that rushed over with the four heavyser cannons . I cut a path through the section of space teeming with enemies . The Guardian Crystals attacked us with light rays and projectiles haphazardly, but Krishna¡¯s solid energy shields managed to easily shrug off their attacks . ¡°The shields are still stable . ¡± ¡°Their light rays and projectiles aren¡¯t as destructive as they look after all . The light projectiles pack enough punch, but they¡¯re painfully slow, so you¡¯ll be able to dodge them as long as you read their trajectories . The only thing that poses some danger is their full-body charge . ¡± ¡°But there¡¯s still a limit, right? Our shield capacity is steadily decreasing after all . ¡± ¡°You two sure areposed even in this sort of situation¡­¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t avert my eyes from the main monitor right now so I wasn¡¯t able to confirm it, but from the sound of her voice, Mimi was pretty anxious right now . I get her, of course . If I made a mistake and took a head-on charge from a small-type, or if a Guardian Crystal manages to ram us from a bad angle, we¡¯ll end up bouncing around the crystal lifeform swarm like a runaway pinball . Once that happens, our shields would get depleted in mere moments, and there would be no other oue except getting surrounded by countless crystal lifeforms and getting destroyed . Well, I have absolutely no intention ofmitting such a rookie mistake in the first ce though . ¡°We¡¯ve received a bombardment warning from the imperial fleet! Synchronized bombardment, iing!¡± After Mimi¡¯s warning rang out, lots of powerful-lookingser projectiles and beams flooded the spot right behind Krishna . The Guardian Crystals that were exposed to such dense and powerfulser cannon fire emitted intense light right before melting down and exploding . As expected of militarybat ships . The firepower of a military cruiser-ss ship really was something else . You won¡¯t be able to tank that no matter how many antiser countermeasures you had . ¡°Wow . Their firepower is amazing . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s a reason why people in the business say that you have to absolutely avoid fighting military battleships and cruisers head-on . You¡¯d probably be alright once you manage to stick to them at close proximity though . ¡± After that barrage, the aggro was transferred from us to the imperial military, and the Guardian¡¯s attacks on Krishna turned more sporadic . I ain¡¯t one to miss such an opening . I immediately fired the two remaining reactive torpedoes at the center of the clumped up Guardian Crystals, reversed heading, and jumped straight into the ¡®hole¡¯ that resulted from the imperial fleet¡¯s bombardment earlier . We immediately got assaulted by strong Gs inside the cockpit due to the consecutive intense maneuvers I performed, but I was already used to it by now . ¡°Kuh¡­¡­ The reactive torpedoes have exploded! The Guardian Crystals areing after us again!¡± ¡°Yosh . Let¡¯s take them for a ride . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s easier than before . ¡± The space in front of us ended up mostly devoid of enemies due to the imperial fleet¡¯s bombardment . At this rate, it would be pretty easy to pull away and escape from the crystal lifeforms chasing after us from behind . In terms of speed, Krishna was overwhelmingly superior after all . It¡¯s just a simple task of evading the asional light projectilesing at us from behind while flooring the elerator . ¡°Another synchronized bombardment iing . ¡± Once again, the unrivaled synchronized bombardment of the imperial military fleetnded on the space behind Krishna and hit the crystal lifeforms from the nk . Laser bombardment that was calcted precisely to thest detail unleashed an uncannily effective surgical strike that didn¡¯t leave room for even one gap to appear . It tore through the enemies and a huge swathe of crystal lifeforms ended up getting destroyed helplessly . With this, all that remained were the few lucky survivors that managed to somehow avoid getting hit by the bombardment . A fierce dogfight with the imperial corvettes immediately ensued . ¡°We¡¯ll join the fray and bag ourselves some more kills . ¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Roger . ¡± Before long, we managed topletely annihte all the crystal lifeforms that lurked in this section of space . ¡°Nice work, everyone . We¡¯ll perform maintenance and ammo replenishment now . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you . Also, there are probably going to be other mercenary ships asking for repairs againter, so please take care of those guys too . ¡± ¡°Understood . We¡¯re going to get busy again . ¡± When we got off the ramp, I gave the mechanic sisters some instructions and headed for the dining room with Mimi and Elma in tow . We¡¯ll take advantage of the downtime during maintenance to catch a break . ¡°Man, that was a bit hard . ¡± ¡°Just ¡®a bit¡¯, huh . ¡± ¡°Yeah, just a bit . ¡± ¡°I think the only one who¡¯d say that was just ¡®a bit¡¯ hard is Hiro though . At least, doing something like that is impossible for me . ¡± We ordered drinks from Tetsujin V and took a nice break . Ah, there¡¯s nothing like cold juice after a huge battle . My current favorite was the lemon-vored one . Mimi seemed to like banana vor, and Elma liked grape . Well, it was 0% real fruit juice though! Wahahaha! Eh? Why didn¡¯t I drink the carbonated stuff I bought from Sierra III? I wanna savor that stuff in a more quiet and calm moment . Those aren¡¯t drinks suitable after going through an intense battle . Well, the main reason is that I only had a limited stock of them . They were more important to me than anti-ship reactive torpedoes . While we were in the middle of our break, my portable data terminal¡¯s ring tone echoed out . It looks like it¡¯s a call from Major Serena . I operated my terminal and transferred the image feed to the dining room¡¯s holo-disy . ¡°Yes, hello . This is Hiro speaking . ¡± The image of Major Serena on the holo-disy looked around the room and saw us taking it easy . She then opened her mouth to speak after a short pause . ¡ºFirst, let me offer my congrattions . You¡¯ve ended up bing the top ace again . ¡» ¡°Thank you . Your support bombardment was a real lifesaver too . ¡± ¡ºIt¡¯s all thanks to you backing us up well . Due to Krishna attracting the enemies earlier on during the battle, the damage to the advance guard was very minimal . Thank you very much for that . ¡» ¡°d to hear it . So, what¡¯s up?¡± ¡ºOh, nothing . I simply wanted to offer words of congrattions to the top ace . We will be hitting their main forces next . As soon as we finish maintenance and resupply the small ships, we¡¯ll be heading out . Be sure to be ready . ¡» ¡°Aye, aye, ma¡¯am . ¡± When I saluted at her, Major Serena made a subtle smile and cut off the call . ¡°¡­¡­I wonder what that was about?¡± ¡°No idea . ¡± ¡°Hm¡­¡­ Maybe she¡¯s nning something?¡± It can be said that all of us held a certain sense of wariness against Major Serena due to her previous actions . I tried going over the earlier conversation in my head, but couldn¡¯t pick up on anything that seemed suspicious . It really seems that she only called to offer me congrattions for bing the ace again . ¡°Well, let¡¯s just honestly ept herpliments then . ¡± ¡°Will it really be okay¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think she¡¯s nning anything judging from that earlier conversation, so I guess it¡¯s alright . ¡± Man . We reallyck a certain level of trust in Major Serena huh . It¡¯s an effect of her usual behavior anyway, so she can¡¯t me us for that . Chapter 164 Chapter 164 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone After resupplying and a quick maintenance check, we immediatelyunched out from ck Lotus and made way for the other mercenary ships that came for maintenance and repairs . ¡°Major Serena said the damage they received was minor, but it looks like there are still a lot of damaged ships . ¡± Krishna¡¯s main monitor showed the mercenary ships, whose hulls have been scraped and partially crystallized in ces . ¡°They probably ate a full-body ramming attack or two from the small-type crystal lifeforms . They don¡¯t have much when ites to ranged firepower, but their ramming attacks are nothing to sneeze at . Those are quite dangerous since they would be able to bring down the average shields with just two or three well-ced hits . ¡± Normally, the energy shields of starships that had been originally developed to protect ship hulls from debris collisions while out in space were quite resistant to physical impacts . However, the ramming attacks from crystal lifeforms can easily break through them . I observed that the tips of their bodies release a particr glow whenever theyunch themselves out on an attack, so I wonder if there¡¯s some kind of unknown mechanism to it . I wouldn¡¯t really know since there wasn¡¯t any detailed exnation for it in SOL too . I wonder if they use the same principle as the submunitions released by the shotgun cannons to prate shields . By the way, the shield-piercing capability of shotgun cannon shells will decrease sharply when fired from a distance other than close range . If you fired shotgun cannon shells in the game from long range, the other yers will just jeer at you while saying stuff like ¡®You on crack mate? Those are shot cannon shells!¡¯ and proceed to happily shrug the attacks off . ¡°You always manage to dodge them though, Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°Their charging speed is decent, but they suck at making quick turns . I¡¯ll be fine as long as I pay attention . ¡± It would be dangerous if they attacked from multiple directions all at once though, even for me . Well, at that point, there would be no choice but to forcibly break out of the siege . If the shields go down in that situation, there¡¯s no way the hull willst . By the way, armor corrosion in SOL was implemented through continuous DOT and a penalty in physical defense . It was set so that the crystalized parts will turn extremely brittle and weak . As we talked about the characteristics of crystal lifeforms, a call came through . ¡ºThis is themander of the Special Crystal Lifeform Extermination Fleet, Gil Folks . ¡» The wide-area transmission was from themander of the entire fleet . It¡¯s probably a final briefing before the start of the main operation . ¡ºThe resupplying of ships and minimum maintenance procedures will bepleted in another 15 minutes . Uponpletion, we will immediately head out to subjugate a superrge type crystal lifeform tentatively named the Mother Crystal nesting at the Alpha sector of the Jerom system . ¡» A wide-area 3D map simting the entire battlefield got disyed on the main monitor . ¡ºThe Mother Crystal subjugation operation will be primarily conducted via long-range bombardment . Although there are many enemies, they do not possess abilities equivalent to energy shielding so their defenses are basically weak . In addition, their shooting range is short, and it would be impossible for them to put up any meaningful response to a long-range bombardment from imperial cruisers and battleships . ¡» A simted image of the imperial fleet grinding down the enemy numbers through multiple long-range bombardments was shown on the 3D map . ¡ºHowever, it remains a fact that the enemies are very numerous, so the possibility of them managing to close in on our ships is still rtively high . The small ships along with the imperial destroyers will be responsible for intercepting the enemy forces that manage to escape the bombardment . ¡» ¡°What do you think of that?¡± ¡°Well, isn¡¯t it quite reasonable? At the very least, it¡¯s a strategy that was devised with a proper understanding of the enemy¡¯s characteristics . The total number of enemies should have already been determined to a certain extent, so this n was drafted based on that info . ¡± I really don¡¯t think the military will engage in a haphazard battle . They are pros when ites torge scale engagements after all . Their usual modus operandi is to gather enough intel, analyze it, and then devise a n that has a high chance of sess . If they think we would be able to win this engagement, we probably would . Unless there are some unexpected factors, our chance of victory is basically unwavering . Someone setting off a Singing Crystal in the middle of a fleet is a good example of an unexpected factor . But there¡¯s no way that would happen here . ¡°If Hiro says so, then I guess it would be fine . Will we be charging in the middle of the fray againter?¡± ¡°That depends on the situation . If charging in would result in us blocking our allies¡¯ line of fire, it would be better for us to stay back and concentrate on defending the rest of the fleet instead . Against a Mother Crystal, even Krishna¡¯s firepower would becking . ¡± There¡¯s still a chance of bringing it down if I manage to get close and m some anti-ship reactive torpedoes on its core, but instead of performing such a dangerous stunt, it would be better to obediently hang back and rely on the long-range bombardment of our allies . We probably won¡¯t get a chance to strut our stuff this time around . ¡°In the next battle, we¡¯ll be free to take an advantageous position unlike when we first came out of the hypene . Won¡¯t it be a one-sided battle then?¡¯ In SOL, the battlefields in raid events were always adjusted to offer a good sense of tension and challenge to the yers, but this is the real world . There¡¯s no need to purposefully choose a disadvantageous position for some cheap thrills . It would be best to crush the enemies in a one-sided beating from long range . ¡°So does that mean the next battle will end with us just watching from a distance, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Probably . ¡± Approximately 30 minutester . The fleet deactivated their FTL Drives and got into firing position . ¡°Uwaa¡­¡­ It¡¯s gigantic . ¡± ¡°It sure is . ¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s actually as big as a minor . ¡± We finally saw the Mother Crystal from a distance and gave our impressions . I was monitoring the movements of the rest of the crystal lifeforms through ck Lotus¡¯s sensors, and the small-types and Guardian Crystals were actually starting to head for the direction of the fleet . They must have detected us even from this distance . ¡ºAll ships,mence bombardment!¡» With the fleetmander¡¯s orders, the imperial ships began their long-range bombardment . Tens of dozens ofrge-caliberser cannons fired and drowned the iing crystal lifeforms with a hail of destructive beams . We witnessed arge number of the crystal lifeform swarm releasing intense glows before exploding in the distance . ck Lotus also deployed itsrge-caliber EML and fired¨C Eh? ¡°Hey, *Mei? Can you really hit them at this distance?¡± ¡ºYes . The enemies are quite numerous after all . ¡» Apanied by a droning sound, the ck Lotus fired a super-elerated shell from therge-caliber EML on its bow . I¡¯m not sure how many seconds it would take for the round to hit a target, but since Mei was the one who fired it, I¡¯m sure that round wouldn¡¯t be wasted . ¡°That¡¯s really amazing, Mei-san . You can really hit the enemies from this distance . ¡± ¡°Yeah, it sure is . Lasers are one thing, but hitting stuff with an EML at this distance is normally impossible y¡¯know . ¡± Although the projectile speed of an EML is many times faster than your typical multi-cannon or ballistic cannon, it still wouldn¡¯tpare toser projectiles that basicallyunch out at lightspeed . Since we¡¯re in outer space where there¡¯s no atmosphere or the influence ofary gravity, you don¡¯t need to worry aboutser shots being attenuated and losing power, but there¡¯s still a chance of them changing trajectories . You don¡¯t really need to care about this factor much in close-range battles where small ships usually engage in frantic dogfights . But during long-range bombardments, you¡¯d have to really pay attention, since a slight deviation will greatly influence theser projectile¡¯s, uh, impact point, or something . Anyway, it¡¯s the spot where the projectile will hit . ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s thanks to thebination of an advanced independent AI and a high-performance positron brain? Man . I¡¯m surprised the old empire didn¡¯t get decimated when they took on opponents like Mei . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . ¡± ¡°Ah, yeah . You have a point . ¡± Mimi obediently nodded her head in agreement while Elma seemed a bit reluctant for some reason . So, am I correct in thinking that they really didn¡¯t manage to prevent their destruction, but were allowed to survive instead? I think there¡¯s a good chance I¡¯m right . While I mulled over such things, the imperial ships along with some mercenary ships continued their heavy barrage, and the number of Guardian Crystals was steadily decreasing . However, it seems that the small-types were gradually managing to get past the bombardment . ¡°Instead of the Guardian Crystals, it looks like the small-types are the ones that would pose a problemter . ¡± ¡°Are we heading out now?¡± ¡°Yeah . They would probably engage the corvettes and destroyers soon, so we better head out there as well . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll contact Mei-san . ¡± As Mimi contacted Mei to inform her of our decision, I fired up the thrusters and headed up to join the interception teamposed of corvettes, small mercenary ships, and destroyers . ¡ºOh, if it ain¡¯t the top Ace with the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal . ¡» ¡ºYou¡¯ve already earned enough achievements, right? Can¡¯t you just leave some for us, man?¡» ¡°C¡¯mon guys . Ain¡¯t it a mercenary¡¯s style to earn as much as you can, whenever you can? It ain¡¯t like me to stay nice and cozy in the back . ¡± ¡ºUh, yeah, you certainly don¡¯t like to stay in the back, alright . ¡» ¡ºOr rather, doesn¡¯t he keep charging in every damn time? Even going crazy has its limits, bro . ¡» ¡ºI feel bad for the nice girls with him . Poor things . ¡» ¡ºHey girls, how about you ditch that crazy guy ande with me instead?¡» ¡ºHey, don¡¯t steal a march on the rest of us . And besides, I earn more than¨C¡» ¡°Hey, you idiots . Did your mother not teach you never to talk about stealing a guy¡¯s women right in front of him? I¡¯m gonna murder you, y¡¯know . ¡± ¡º¡ºWe¡¯re sorry!!!¡»¡» I don¡¯t mind if it¡¯s just ordinary fooling around, but joking about something like that is an absolute no-go . They¡¯d look down on me if I didn¡¯t say anything after hearing all that . ¡°A guy¡¯s women, huh?¡± ¡°Ehehe . ¡± When I heard the two¡¯s reactions, I realized that I actually blurted out something pretty bold, but it was toote to take it back . ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Alright, don¡¯t get all embarrassed because of something you said . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re really cute, Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°Be quiet . You¡¯re distracting me . A moment of carelessness can be fatal . ¡± ¡°The enemies are still a good distance away though . ¡± It was a counterargument I couldn¡¯t retort to . There¡¯s still some time before the interception battlemences . Chapter 165 Chapter 165 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone Countless spears of light fired by gigantic ships lit up the void of space and inundated the crystal lifeforms, causing them to re brightly in their final death throes as they burst into nothingness . Even more projectiles wereunched out from the bodies of the ships and left light trails in their wake as they rained down on the crystal lifeform swarm . The moment they hit their targets, they caused a gigantic congration to erupt, lighting up the void¡¯s darkness even further . And finally, the ships unleashed a barrage of anti-ship reactive torpedoes that the crystal lifeforms couldn¡¯t possibly hope to withstand . The resulting cataclysmic heat and shockwaves from the simultaneous sts of the reactive torpedoes obliterated the entire vanguard of the crystal lifeforms . ¡°Don¡¯t they seem a lot more powerful than the reactive torpedoes Krishna uses?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the difference in the amount of explosive ingredients put in them . Theirs has a lot more than ours . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± Actually, the thing that¡¯s stuffed inside anti-ship reactive torpedoes is even more dangerous than simple explosives . Their missiles were alsorger, so it makes sense that they have more destructive force than the torpedoes Krishna has . This applies toser weapons as well . The high-caliberser cannons equipped on Krishna are mostly the same types equipped on imperial heavy cruisers . It¡¯s just that the ones equipped on imperial cruisers have aparably higher caliber, so their maximum range is much higher than Krishna¡¯s . This also applies to normal missiles . Anyway, there¡¯s an obvious difference in firepower . ¡°Even so, those things are probably going to get through huh . ¡± Elma sighed as she kept an eye on the radar . Well, of course, they would . There are thousands of those things out there after all . It would be impossible to wipe them all out in just a couple of volleys . It can¡¯t be helped . ¡°That¡¯s about it for spectator mode . Let¡¯s go, guys . Generator output, set tobat mode . ¡± ¡°Aye, aye, sir . Don¡¯t stumble when it counts, alright?¡± ¡°Of course . ¡± And so, a long, grueling battle has begun . ¡ºDammit! There¡¯s too many of them!¡» ¡ºThey¡¯reing from above! Careful!¡» ¡ºArgh! John Ray got done in!¡» As I listened to the fric exchange between my fellow mercenaries echoing out thems, I continued to bring down small-type crystal lifeforms one after another . Each of the four heavyser cannons pierced a different enemy, and the onesing directly from the front were taken care of by the shotgun cannons . I kept avoiding the crystal lifeforms that attacked my blind spots . I kept the 3D radar in my line of sight at all times in order to monitor enemy positions constantly . It¡¯s one of the basics of high-speed dogfights . ¡ºJust look at those maneuvers . Does the guy have eyeballs behind his head or something?¡» ¡ºIf I had a high-performance ship like that, then even I can¡­¡­¡» ¡ºNah, that¡¯s impossible . That ain¡¯t just due to the ship¡¯s specs, man . ¡» ¡°To think I¡¯d really get to witness someone capable of avoiding the indiscriminate ramming attacks of countless crystal lifeforms in such a chaotic melee like this . Seriously, my hat¡¯s off to you, Hiro . ¡± ¡°I wonder how high Hiro-sama¡¯s spatial awareness ability is?¡± Man . It wasn¡¯t just from thems . Even thedies seated together in the cockpit with me were getting in on the action . I can only say the current me is a result of tens of hundreds of times experiencing bitter defeat and exploding in-game and hours upon hours of bitter practice runs . And as a result of that, I¡¯ve trained my battle awareness to the max . The maneuvers have already seeped deep into my bones and have be close to instinctual . In other words, my current skills are a result of a heck of a lot of experience and effort . I earned money and got fragged to pieces . I earned some more money, bought a new ship, and got fragged to pieces again . I sold my previous ship in order to earn enough funds to buy a direct upgrade and used the remaining money as a cushion to pay for future repairs . I exploded, exploded, and exploded some more¡­ I heardter on that I had a rtively easier timepared to the other SOL yers, but I also had my fair share of extremely frustrating experiences . In fact, they almost made me want¨C Ugh, let¡¯s just stop . I¡¯m just gonna feel depressed thinking about it . Anyway, I¡¯m just a simple guy who really hated to lose and didn¡¯t know when to give up . So I practiced like mad . I came up with personalized strategies . I also scoured both domestic and international forums and watched in-game videos until the wee hours of the morning for reference . And the result of all that hard work and effort is the present me . I didn¡¯t really think that effort would end up benefiting me quite like this, but I guess all¡¯s well that ends well . ¡°What¡¯s the current battle situation?¡± As I concentrated on performing evasive maneuvers, I asked Mimi about the situation on the entire battlefield . ¡°Small-type crystal lifeforms are pouring in from other areas, but it seems the rear guards are still able to hold them off . 70% of the Guardian Crystals have been eliminated . The elimination phase should be done soon . ¡± ¡°The lesser their numbers are, the faster the elimination rate, huh . ¡± Fewer enemies meant we could focus fire more easily . In other words, it was only a matter of time until we won this battle . ¡°Just a little bit more to go . ¡± I was a bit concerned by the fact that about half of the shotgun cannon ammo has been used up . But I guess it should be okay as long as I didn¡¯t push it too much . But if I became toox, the ally casualties could increase, so it was a little tricky to find a good bnce . ¡°Hiro-sama! An enemy group is closing in from port-side!¡± ¡°Roger that . ¡± Mimi constantly reported the readings captured by the long-range radar to me . It looks like they ended up going for the neighboring area since we pushed ahead . I had Krishna reverse course and caught the enemies in my sights . ¡°The elimination of the Guardian Crystals should beplete soon . ¡± ¡°Move to the nned coordinates as soon as the elimination phase ispleted . Begin a concentrated siege against the main target afterward . ¡± ¡°Aye, aye, ma¡¯am . ¡± I checked the tactical information shared in real-time by all the ships in the fleet and watched the situation on the entire battlefield . Elimination of the Guardian Crystals was proceeding smoothly, and the small-types that managed to slip away from our bombardment are well within our expectations . The area where ¡®he¡¯ was stationed had the fewest leaks . I nced at the number of his kills, and instead of eliminating a few small-types here and there like his fellow mercenaries, he was destroying the enemies at a rateparable to imperial destroyers . ¡°So ¡®he¡¯ really is the real deal, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Yes, he truly is . ¡± I nodded in agreement . It¡¯s only natural for a still-living mercenary who managed to receive a Silver Sword Wings Assault medal to disy such an exemry performance . He has to be able to do at least that much, or else, people would doubt the standards of the imperial military . His battle records from the time he arrived at the Izrooks system until now have been securely recorded in the imperial military database . He should find it easier to secure more jobs in the future since official results like this were like a mark of true skill and a guarantee . However, he would probably also get involved in more troublesome stuff in the future, but that¡¯s one of the consequences of fame . ¡°Can we now say that we are witnessing the rise of another tinum-rank mercenary?¡± ¡°That depends on the Mercenary Guild, but I do think it¡¯s highly possible . ¡± They would certainly put a lot more attention to the man who managed to receive a Silver Sword Wings Assault medal while he¡¯s still alive . I imagine the Mercenary Guild would also like to see another tinum-rank mercenary rise up, and we at the imperial military would not reject such a thing either . In fact, we would wee it . ¡°Guardian Crystal eliminationplete!¡± ¡°Very well . Let us proceed to the next phase . Move to the designated coordinates and start synchronized bombardment . ¡± ¡°Aye, aye, ma¡¯am!¡± Restalias began moving to the specified coordinates in order tomence the final phase of the operation . ¡°The pressure from the enemies is tapering off . ¡± ¡°The military battleships and heavy cruisers have finished eliminating the Guardian Crystals and are now heading for the Mother Crystal . The small-types are breaking away in order to intercept them . ¡± ¡°Tsk . This is bad . ¡± In other words, the enemy lines have spread out and begun slipping through the vanguard . It would have been better to reduce the numbers of the small-types more before starting the siege on the Mother Crystal . It was a miss on my part . I didn¡¯t manage to borate on that previously . Our victory should still be assured even if we left them alone, but if we did, the rear lines would certainly suffer casualties . ¡°Can¡¯t be helped . Mimi, activate the FTL Drive . ¡± After saying that, I immediately deactivated the weapon systems . You can¡¯t use the FTL Drive while the weapon systems are deployed after all . ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine . Activate it now . ¡± ¡°Y-Yes! FTL Drive, charging start . Countdown . 5, 4¡­¡­¡± As I listened to the hum of the FTL Drive activating, I pointed the bow toward the direction of the Mother Crystal . ¡°H-Hey, wait a minute! Hiro?¡± ¡ºH-Hey, where the heck are you gonna¨C!?¡» ¡ºDamn! Are you nning to run¨C!¡» I ignored Elma¡¯s confused plea and the reactions of the other mercenaries on thems who noticed we activated our FTL Drive . I simply waited for the countdown to finish . ¡°3, 2, 1, activate!¡± Boom! A loud roar resounded within the cockpit as the FTL Drive activated . But I immediately deactivated the FTL Drive and returned to normal space after a short-range jump . The two sounds almost ovepped due to the extremely short duration between them . ¡°Mimi, activate the FTL Drive again . ¡± ¡°Y-Yes! Charging start!¡± I kept the bow¡¯s position trained squarely on the Mother Crystal located in the far distance as I instructed Mimi to charge the FTL Drive again . By performing repeated short-range jumps with the FTL Drive, we would be able to bypass the clusters of small-type crystal lifeforms that were deployed between the vanguard and the Mother Crystal . We will continue to perform short-range jumps until we sessfully close in on the Mother Crystal . This is one of the specialized techniques for taking onrge targets in SOL . Once we manage to close in on the position of the Mother Crystal, we should be able to get the attention of a good number of the small-types that were going after the rear line and bait them away . ¡°FTL Drive, charging start . Countdown . 5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­¡­Activate!¡± The ovepping roars rang out once again, and a huge object that looked like an extremely gigantic crystal chestnut or sea urchin soon appeared in front of us . ¡°S-So big¡­¡­!¡± ¡°This is¡­¡­¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to gawk!¡± I immediately re-deployed the weapon systems and punched the thrusters to maximum output in order to close in more on the Mother Crystal . Now then, let¡¯s start the final round . Chapter 166 Chapter 166 rantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°What are you doing!? Just what the heck are you doiiing!?¡± ¡°I¡¯m desperately trying my best to survive and not die a pointless death!¡± A gigantic and obnoxious-looking crystal sea urchin was in front of us . The numerous thorns covering the surface of the colossal urchin burst out in session . The resulting fragments seemed to have gained sentience and flew straight toward Krishna . That¡¯s right . Krishna was currently facing off against the Mother Crystal that had sensed our presence . ¡°Numerous enemy signatures iing¡­¡­!¡± ¡°There we go!¡± As a response to Mimi¡¯s warning, I immediatelyunched anti-ship reactive torpedoes at the cluster of small-type crystal lifeforms that were increasing in number by the second . Once an enemy manages toe close, the first response of a Mother Crystal was to crush it with overwhelming numbers . There¡¯s only one way for us to survive such an attack . That¡¯s tounch an all-out wide-range attack before we end up getting crushed . My goal in firing off reactive torpedoes at the Mother Crystal was to fuel its sense of crisis so it would start to call back the small-types that were chasing after the rest of the fleet . I want to pull as many of the small-types as possible so they won¡¯t be able to harass the rear lines . Although the Mother Crystal is capable of releasing even more small crystal lifeforms, it can¡¯t do it indefinitely . Why? Because those small-types are essentially made out of the Mother Crystal¡¯s own body . In other words, those small-types are both the Mother Crystal¡¯s reactive armor (AP) and hull (HP) . The more it releases them to deal with immediate threats, the more vulnerable it would be to the long-range bombardment of the battleships and heavy cruisers, and the more likely it is that it would be dealt a fatal blow . ¡°Torpedoes have hit the target!¡± The two reactive torpedoes I sent offnded sessfully on the Mother Crystal¡¯s thorns . The resulting fiery explosion blew away the cluster of small-types along with the tips of several thorns . If I can sessfully slip inside the gaps between the thorns right until the central part of the Mother Crystal, I could probably give it a critical blow . But right now, I don¡¯t have the leeway to pull that stunt off . It would be really hard for me to attempt such a thing while fending off the small-types that didn¡¯t get caught in the explosion with theser and shotgun cannons . It would be a different story if I had the assistance of at least ten allied ships to participate in the assault . ¡°Hiro-sama, bombardment iing!¡± ¡°Roger that!¡± I can¡¯t let myself get caught up in my allies¡¯ bombardment of course, so I circled around to a spot well away from the impact point . The huge thorns have already started wriggling about in order to fend off the bombardment . Just how can it instinctively form a defense against long-range bombardment like that, I wonder? Aside from the fact that we can¡¯tmunicate with it, the Mother Crystal has actually disyed a high degree of intelligence . I thought about such things as I busied myself in fending off the small-types that kept charging at us . And then, the bombardment finallynded . The thick armor made up of numerous crystal thorns melted under the intense heat resulting from the bombardment . The shockwaves seemingly shook the void itself . ¡°To think it didn¡¯t even flinch from something like that . What a monster . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s amazing, isn¡¯t it? It didn¡¯t move an inch . I wonder what kind of method it¡¯s using?¡± A dense concentration ofser cannon fire struck it under a zero-G environment and even caused parts of its crystal shell to melt and explode . Normally, the resulting force would have pushed it out of its original spot, but the Mother Crystal didn¡¯t even show any signs of shaking . It was as if it was locked in ce . No, it¡¯s not because the scale is too big so you can¡¯t see the movements . It really didn¡¯t move from its spot one bit . That¡¯s one mysterious phenomenon right there . If one manages to discover the principles behind it and artificially reproduce it, I¡¯m sure that project will be worth tons of money . ¡°If it keeps taking hits like that¨C¡± The moment I thought we¡¯d win it after a few more barrages, something flew at extreme speeds right in the center of the spot where the Mother Crystal¡¯s crystal thorn armor was thinnest due to the earlier bombardment . It pierced the crystal shell and scattered fragments violently . ¡ºKHYAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡» An extremely unpleasant noise akin to nails scratching a ss surface rang out, and I almost couldn¡¯t resist covering my ears with my hands . Should I be praised for not letting go of the flight stick even under such a racket? ¡°Kuh . What was that¡­¡­!?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it looks like it really brought that monster some pain . ¡± The lights within the Mother Crystal¡¯s body flickered as its thorns wriggled intensely . It really looked gross . It looked like an ugly insect wriggling and gave me goosebumps . I think the thing that pierced the Mother Crystal earlier was actually an EML round fired by ck Lotus . I didn¡¯t notice any other imperial ship that was equipped with such a weapon, and there also weren¡¯t any other mercenary ships capable ofnding attacks from such a distance . ¡°Uu¡­¡­ T-The movements of the small-types have turned strange . ¡± After getting hit by the full brunt of the earlier screech, Mimi reported the battle situation as she fought off her urge to tear up . Probably because of that earlier attack, they were hesitating whether or not to redirect their full attention to the rear line . Well, there¡¯s no reason not to take advantage now that the enemy was distracted, right? ¡°He¡¯s making that face again . ¡± ¡°I have a bad feeling about this . ¡± I punched Krishna¡¯s thrusters to the maximum and headed straight for the Mother Crystal . The reason why I did so was to give the anti-ship reactive torpedoes I¡¯ll fireter on enough momentum . The speed of reactive torpedoes was rtively slow, but one can use this method in order to give it some more oomph . ¡°Gooo!¡± I aimed at the gap between those wriggling thorny protrusions, and my two remaining anti-ship reactive torpedoes were finallyunched out . It would be totallyme if I failed to break after making such a charge and suffer an ident though . ¡°Hiee, t-that was really close¡­¡­¡± ¡°Your stunts are really bad for the heart, you know that!?¡± My twopanions mutteredints while sounding relieved . I then turned the ship around to check the results of my work . ¡°Oh? This is¡­¡­?¡± Did the torpedoes misfire? There didn¡¯t seem to be an explosion . I got worried . But imperial products are generally reliable and high-quality . What happened? ¡ºGy¨C!¡» The Mother Crystal¡¯s colossal body, which hasn¡¯t moved an inch until now, trembled . At the same time, an agonized screech pierced our minds rather than our ears . ¡°Guuuh!?¡± ¡°Ergh!?¡± ¡°Giii!?¡± I got so surprised that I arched back . It felt like a rod was directly shoved into my brain and then stirred it up violently . I felt something soure up my throat . What the heck? Was that some kind of mental attack or something? As I suffered in confusion, a drastic change urred to the Mother Crystal . The lights that were once visible within its body and thorns began to disappear, and the thorns gradually fell apart, as if they¡¯ve lost their vitality . It looks like my attack earlier luckily managed to directly hit the Mother Crystal¡¯s core . It was bad luck for the Mother Crystal though . So that was a fatal hit huh . ¡°Did we get it?¡± ¡°It¡­ looks like we did . ¡± ¡°The remaining small-types have also ceased all activity . ¡± After Mimi¡¯s announcement, I checked the battlefield and found that the small-type crystal lifeforms have really stopped in their tracks . Well, not exactly . They were still flying around, but they showed no signs of changing directions at all . ¡°That was surprisingly anti-climactic . ¡± ¡°Yeah . ¡± ¡°Fumu¡­¡­¡± Even if I managed tond a clean hit on the core, I didn¡¯t think that it would actually finish off the Mother Crystal just like that¡­¡­ For better or worse, it was different from how we killed off raid bosses like this in SOL . Well, it¡¯s no use thinking about it now . ¡°Humans die if their brains or hearts are crushed . Maybe it¡¯s also the same for crystal lifeforms . Probably . ¡± ¡°Is that really it?¡± ¡°Well, I wonder . Even a powerful battleship will sink if it gets hit directly in the reactor . ¡± Well, in any case, finishing it off was good . It was worth taking the risk . As I was lost in thought, a private call came through instead of a fleet-widemunique . I had Mimi ept it and established a line . Major Serena¡¯s face appeared on the main monitor . For some reason, her cheeks seem to be twitching . ¡ºGood day, Captain Hiro . ¡» ¡°Y-Yeah . Good day?¡± I returned Major Serena¡¯s greeting while feeling the awkward atmosphere in the air . Huh? Is she angry or something? ¡ºFor the time being, can you haul your smug face to Restalias for me, my dear captain?¡» ¡°Ah, yes, right away ma¡¯am . ¡± I involuntarily agreed due to the strange atmosphere . She immediately cut the call . ¡°¡­¡­Huh? What¡¯s up with her? Is she really angry?¡± ¡°I wonder . ¡± ¡°Um¡­¡­ I have no idea too . ¡± Elma shook her head and Mimi looked equally bewildered as me . I activated the FTL Drive while still puzzled and headed to Restalias, where Major Serena was waiting . Chapter 167 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°First, let me congratte you on your excellent performance.¡± ¡°Ah, yes.¡± The moment I arrived in front of her, Major Serena gave me a smile that seemed to stick to my skin and made me involuntarily stand at attention. We were currently inside Restalias. Specifically, we were inside Major Serena¡¯s private office. When the Mother Crystal kicked the bucket, the rest of the crystal lifeforms have also stopped functioning, so the battle was essentially over. Right now, the rest of the ships were busy collecting the spoils of battle and gathering various data. The Restalias moved right next to the now-inert and dismembered Mother Crystal as well. ¡°Um, Serena-sama. Why did you call Hiro-sa¨C um, our captain here?¡± Mimi was reluctant to call me ¡®Hiro-sama¡¯ in front of Major Serena. Maybe it¡¯s because the major was a bona fide nobledy and a high-ranking officer of the imperial military. She was acting quite reserved. ¡°Let¡¯s see. There are numerous offenses actually. He ignored orders, deserted his assigned position, engaged in dangerous stunts, and more. But I can¡¯t really fault you mercenaries for every little thing, right? Of course, I won¡¯t. And besides, you¡¯re not part of the imperial military, so I can¡¯t even hand you any punishment, ahaha.¡± *Zumomomomo¡­¡­ Somehow, I felt like a dark aura coupled with weird manga SFX was welling up from Major Serena, who remained smiling. The area around her temple was throbbing! How scary! ¡°By the way, Mimi-san. Have you ever experienced working so hard for something only for it to be abruptly snatched away without any warning? If it was you, what would you say to the culprit?¡± ¡°U-Um, err¡­¡­ H-How dare you? S-Something like that?¡± Mimi trembled like a small animal after Major Serena redirected her focus to her. Major Serena nodded in satisfaction after hearing her answer. ¡°Yes, yes, indeed. I made up lots of stuff in order to hide the fact that my source of information was unreliable and unconfirmed. In the end, I even lied with a straight face and imed that the information was the result of my own analysis. I went through rigorous questioning and felt like I was walking on eggshells the whole time. I finally convinced the higher-ups to send out a subjugation fleet, and the moment I felt that I was so close to victory, a clueless guy suddenly sweeps in and finishes the Mother Crystal right off. You can¡¯t exactly me me for feeling extremely vexed, right?¡± ¡°Hieee¡­¡­¡± Major Serena¡¯s tension gradually increased until she was practically trembling in anger. ¡°Um, y¡¯see¡­ I was just worried that the rear lines might incur losses if the situation was left as is, so I decided to perform multiple short-range FTL Drive jumps to close in on the Mother Crystal. I was hoping to bait the small-types heading your way by pestering the Mother Crystal, okay?¡± ¡°And just why did things actually turn out like that though¡­¡­?¡± ¡°U-Um, maybe I was just really lucky, and you were just having a bad day, major? Whoah there! Stay, girl! Stay! Get your hand away from the sword handle and stay!¡± When Major Serena stood up forcefully and tried to draw her sword, I held up both hands to try and pacify her. Kuh, I should¡¯ve brought Mei with us. ¡°I think that¡¯s about enough fooling around, major¡­¡­ So, what¡¯s the real reason we¡¯re here?¡± Elma unleashed a sharp retort without a hint of hesitation. So the main reason wasn¡¯t to sate her grudge against me? ¡°¡­¡­Haah.¡± Major Serena deted like a balloon after hearing Elma¡¯s retort and let out a sigh. She sat back down behind her desk powerlessly. Just where did that spirit that seemed to say she would cut me down no matter what went to, I wonder? ¡°Well, even though you managed to clinch the victory, the one who proposed this entire operation was still me. And so, it can be said that you taking down the enemy leader was proof that my proposed strategy was effective. No matter how it was achieved, the result still ended in our victory, so I was merely just venting my anger at having my prey snatched unceremoniously.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry for acting without permission, major. I only wanted to prevent the rear lines from suffering losses.¡± ¡°Yes, I know. Your innocence will be proven through the battle records taken by Restalias. And more importantly, we can¡¯t just punish the hero that managed to singlehandedly y the enemy leader and imed victory for us.¡± Huh? Somehow, I¡¯m getting a really bad feeling about this. ¡°We always adhere to the policy of appropriate rewards and punishments. Oh, I think we already had a conversation like this one a while back, didn¡¯t we?¡± After saying so, Major Serena operated the console on top of her office desk and showed something to us via the holo-disy. Judging from its appearance, it looked like a medal of some sort. It kind of resembled the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal I received previously, but its color was different. It was golden instead of silver. The shape was also quite different. A crimson jewel was ced in the middle of a cross-shaped medal. And there were silver rays protruding from its back that resembled a solid halo of light. ¡°That sure looks expensive.¡± ¡°Well, I suppose. This is called the First-ss Star Cross medal. It¡¯s moremonly known as the Gold Star. Are you familiar with it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± I turned toward Mimi and Elma and found that Mimi¡¯s eyes were as wide as saucers and Elma sported an expression that was akin to having swallowed an extremely bitter pill. It looks like both of them was pretty familiar with it. ¡°It looks like aside from the captain, the rest of the crew are familiar with it. This medal is only awarded to those who have achieved especially extraordinary merits in battle and is virtually the highest honor given to soldiers and mercenaries. However, instances of people being awarded this particr medal are exceedingly rare. To date, you are only the fourth person who will be receiving this in the entire history of the empire.¡± ¡°Uhuh¡­¡­ So I¡¯m the fourth.¡± Even someone like me can understand the significance of being awarded a medal that only three other people have managed to receive in the entire history of the empire. ¡°Although it hasn¡¯t been finalized yet, in lieu of your numerous achievements during this campaign, including your feat of eliminating never before seen crystal lifeform variants, there is a very good chance of you receiving this medal. Even if you do not end up receiving a Gold Star, a Silver Star is all but given.¡± After saying so, Major Serena changed the image disyed to a simr-looking medal, but with a blue jewel in the center of a silver cross. ¡°Well, the upper ranks in charge of the crystal lifeform extermination fleet, including me, all think you should receive the Gold Star. After all, that is but natural given your achievements.¡± ¡°I-I see¡­¡­ So I¡¯ll receive this award together with the rest of our remuneration when we get back to the Izrooks system, and we¡¯ll be done after that, right?¡± ¡°Fufufu.¡± ¡°Hahaha.¡± Although we were both smiling, one seemed to be enjoying the situation immensely while the other was sporting a forced smile with cold sweat running down his back. Afterughing for a while, Major Serena¡¯s expression suddenly turned serious. ¡°Of course not. We will be escorting you back to the imperial capital.¡± ¡°Right, of course, you would!¡± I didn¡¯t think such an important-sounding medal would be presented to me in a remote area like the Izrooks system in the first ce. I already expected that the venue would be somewhere a bit more regal, but I wasn¡¯t expecting it to be THAT regal. ¡°I would like to refuse¡­¡­¡± ¡°So you intend to smear mud on the honor of the empire?¡± ¡°Dammit! That¡¯s a gross misuse of the power of the state!¡± Although we lived a rtively free and easy life as mercenaries, at the end of the day, we were technically military sub-contractors. That¡¯s especially true for folks who get the majority of their earnings from hunting pirates like me. The Mercenary Guild will protect me from unreasonable pressure from the military to some extent, but they won¡¯t offer any excuses if I went and spurned the military by not attending the award ceremony. ¡°Elma-san, Elma-san, we¡¯re going to the imperial capital, aren¡¯t we? I¡¯ve always admired it from the moment I first saw it on a holo-video.¡± ¡°I can understand. It¡¯s the imperial capital after all. It¡¯s the political and economic center of the empire.¡± Mimi and Elma were having a lively discussion behind me while I was gradually being plunged into the pits of despair. Well, at least some people are happy about this. ¡°But I think we, as his crew members, would have to participate in the award ceremony as well.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Mimi seemed to have turned speechless. I see. So Mimi and Elma will apany me, huh. That¡¯s¡­¡­ The fact that I won¡¯t be alone in the spotlight does make me feel a lot better. Hahaha. ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s how it is. After conducting some more investigations here, we will return to the Izrooks system, and after we get resupplied and maintained, we will immediately head for the imperial capital. Oh, and don¡¯t worry. I haven¡¯t forgotten our promise from back then either. They should have already made preparations back at the Izrooks forward base. This particr matter concerns the prestige of the empire, so we will announce it to the public with great fanfare. You all will be overnight celebrities, and the loot and goods you will bring with you would be even more valuable as a result. You would be able to sell them for a very good price. Isn¡¯t that great?¡± After she dered that, Major Serena smiled happily once more. She¡¯s been trying to rope me into the imperial military for quite some time now, so she must be enjoying my current predicament immensely. Maybe she would even take advantage of the situation to enlist me as her direct subordinate. The reason I participated in the fight against the crystal lifeforms was that Major Serena invited me after all. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s gonna be making use of that angle. ¡°I have absolutely no intention of ever enlisting in the military, just so you know.¡± ¡°Yes, of course. I understand perfectly. It wouldn¡¯t be good to force you into it after all. Or rather, I honestly do not want to have a subordinate like you, and a rigid ce like the military would probably just serve to kill off your good points. I am aware of that much. We¡¯ve been acquainted with one another for quite some time already after all.¡± Some unexpected words came out from Major Serena¡¯s mouth. Huh? I tilted my head in puzzlement. ¡°That said, it¡¯s a different story when ites to the military higher-ups. It¡¯s pretty much the same situation with the imperial nobles. It would be advisable for you to rely more on the Mercenary Guild while you¡¯re in the imperial capital.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Uh, seriously, did you happen to eat something weird today?¡± ¡°If you continue to say rude things, I¡¯m really going to draw my sword you know.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry ma¡¯am. Please excuse me.¡± Major Serena struck the handle of her sword, so I ended up standing at attention and giving her a crisp salute. ¡°That¡¯s all from me. Please return to your ship and get some rest. And don¡¯t even think of running away.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± Major Serena nodded contentedly after hearing my answer. ¡°As expected of Master.¡± When we got back to ck Lotus, I told Mei about the exchange with Major Serena, and she showed a very satisfied expression. The corners of her eyes were slightly lowered, and the corners of her lips slightly lifted up. It was a very subtle change in her facial expression, but for her, whose expression was decidedly deadpan by default, it was a fairly obvious change. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you hitting the Mother Crystal with an EML round with such exquisite precision and timing, Mei. You adjusted the timing so that it would hit directly after the imperial military¡¯s bombardment, right?¡± ¡°Thank you for your praise.¡± Although EML rounds boast the fastest speed amongst physical projectiles, they¡¯re still iparable toser fire. I can¡¯t imagine how exactly Mei read the timing of the imperial military¡¯s synchronized bombardment, or how she ounted for the difference in projectile speeds, but it was an absolutely masterful feat. ¡°However, I really can¡¯tpare to Master. You managed to deliver a fatal blow in one shot to that monster after all. That blow was what you¡¯d call a masterful feat.¡± ¡°I¡¯d probably get carried away if you praise me too much, so please stop.¡± Although I said that, it still feels damn good to be praised man! There probably isn¡¯t anybody who won¡¯t feel good when praised. Add the fact that the one praising me was a really beautiful maid. It¡¯s the best. ¡°But as a result, you¡¯ll have to attend some fancy award ceremony in the imperial capital.¡± ¡°Can you stop sshing cold water on somebody while they¡¯re basking in sess¡­¡­?¡± ¡°B-But Hiro-sama! It¡¯s the imperial capital you know! The imperial capital! It¡¯s the center of the empire and the holynd of culture and gourmet food!¡± ¡°You¡¯re gonna participate in the ceremony as well y¡¯know, Mimi¡­¡­¡± ¡°Uu¡­¡­! I think I¡¯ll be fine since I¡¯ll be together with Hiro-sama and Elma-san!¡± Mimi was taken aback for a moment, but she managed to recover and dered something adorable. Mimi sure is cute. I¡¯ll give her some head pats. There. Mofumofumofu. ¡°We¡¯ll have to shop for a bit once we arrive at the capital. Hiro should be fine, but Mimi and I don¡¯t have formal dresses yet¡­¡­¡± ¡°Why would I be fine?¡± ¡°Remember what happened on Sierra III? You got formalwear from there, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Oh!¡± I hit my palm with a fist. Come to think of it, she¡¯s right. Chris bought me some formal-looking clothes suitable for nobles there. They¡¯re gathering dust in the closet right now though. But they should be perfect for the asion. Honestly speaking, I didn¡¯t really dig such clothes, but I guess it¡¯s fine since thedies, including Chris, seemed to like them. ¡°I¡¯ll pay for your clothes, so you don¡¯t have to worry and just shop for what you like.¡± ¡°That sounds great, but we¡¯ll have to buy some essories too you know?¡± ¡°Even so, it still won¡¯t cost as muchpared to fully upgrading a Zabuton ship, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, I guess¡­¡­¡± Zabuton is the widely used nickname for the cheap multirole starship all the rookie pilots fly for the first time. A full upgrade would cost about 800,000 Enels, but I should be able to cover that cost with plenty of leeways to spare due to the rewards we¡¯ll be receivingter on. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to our trip to the capital.¡± ¡°Ah, yeah. I guess.¡± I wasn¡¯t all that excited, but Mimi seems quite ecstatic, so I just agreed with her. I¡¯m sure the security around that area will be pretty tight, so it won¡¯t be a good ce for mercenaries. Well, I guess it isn¡¯t every day that I¡¯ll get to visit the capital of a space empire. Yeah, I might be looking forward to it a little after all. Chapter 168 Chapter 168 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone Let¡¯s see . Ever wonder why nobles are still swinging swords around in a super high-tech SF dimension with bigser beams avable? And why the heck do you need to be so wary of them? Well, there are some reallyplicated and deep reasons (at least for me) behind it . First, let¡¯s talk about swords . Since its inception, the Gran Empire has always regarded swords as a symbol of power and authority . Something like that isn¡¯t particrly rare though . That¡¯s also the case on Earth, especially for the knights in the European Middle Ages and the samurai of Edo-period Japan, among other examples . Swords like European broadswords and Japanese katanas were symbols of authority to varying degrees and had long and storied histories . If so, then it¡¯s not so farfetched for the nobles of the empire, who still maintain a form of the feudal system, to maintain such traditions as well . Well, there was no denying that guns were more effective than swords in many aspects, so for a time, swords really were regarded as nothing more than status symbols . A few hundred years ago, nobles also had guns strapped to their waists in addition to their swords . However, with the rapid advancement of biotechnology, the situation changed . The nobles made use of highly advanced biotechnology to remodel their bodies at the gic level and get cybeic imnts and such in order to cope with the ever-increasing workload stemming from their position as the ruling ss . So strengthening their bodies far beyond the theoretical limits was an inevitable development . At first, they only dabbled in strengthening treatments aimed at increasing lifespan and stimting brain activity, but it led to the development of techniques suited to enhance physical prowess and the brain¡¯s information processing capability to extremely high levels . It resulted in absolutely dramatic improvements in the overall abilities of the nobles . And with the development of material engineering technologies, the swords that were once relegated as mere symbols underwent a period of rapid improvement as well . The nobles thenbined the sword techniques passed down from their ancestors with their newfound abilities and brought about a revival of swordsmanship . If one was a swordmaster who has attained the absolute pinnacle of swordsmanship, it might be possible to perform the feat of cutting down bullets in mid-air . But for the nobles with powered-up abilities, cutting down bullets became nothing but child¡¯s y . The brain and body strengthening technologies still continue to develop to this day alongside noble sword techniques and swordsmanship styles . Weapons that shot physical alloy projectiles were turned obsolete, andser weapons with powerful miniaturized internal oscitors reced them . But these days, evenser projectiles flying at lightspeed can be easily deflected by the nobles . In some cases, they even reflect them back at the shooter as a form of counterattack . I couldn¡¯t help but ask ¡®Are those guys freaking Je*is!?¡¯ when I first learned of this fact . And so, that brings us to my current situation . ¡°No, no, no, no, no! I can¡¯t do it! I can¡¯t¨C Gyaaaaa!?¡± ¡°Y¡¯know, it¡¯s actually amazing how Boss is doing so well even if heins like that . ¡± ¡°It really is amazing . ¡± I was currently crossing swords with Mei without my power armor on . Uh, Mei¡¯s weapon was actually her baton made of ultrapressed alloy, so I can¡¯t exactly call it ¡®crossing swords¡¯ after all . But that¡¯s not important right now . The heavy metallic baton held in Mei¡¯s left hand was swung at me with terrific force . I first tried to desperately avoid it, but quickly realized I wouldn¡¯t make it in time . So I held up the sword in my right hand to try and receive it . However, I¡¯ve already learned that if I merely tried to block, my sword will simply just be repelled due to the great difference in strength . I held my breath . Time slowed to a crawl, and Mei¡¯s baton, which was originallying at me at a terrifying speed, turned super slow . It was as if we were suddenly submerged underwater and it faced tremendous resistance due to that . If I simply put up my sword to receive the strike, I would definitely lose out due to her weapon¡¯s weight in addition to the force of her swing . There¡¯s only one thing I could do . I had to aim at the weakest point of the strike and disrupt it . I rapidly closed the distance and aimed to strike Mei¡¯s fingers that were holding the baton . ¡°Ugh!¡± The trajectory of the baton that was swinging toward me at high speed suddenly changed . It now aimed straight for my face . I managed to avoid it with a slight movement of my neck, and I took advantage of the opening created after Mei¡¯s full swing missed in order to strike at her torso¨C But Mei suddenly used her right hand to unleash a knife-hand strike to deflect my sh . The force of her knife-hand strike was tremendous, and it resulted in my sword flinging out from my grip . ¡°Gugeh!?¡± Her right hand then went straight for my neck and gripped it tightly . It was a splendid Neck Hanging Tree move . ¡°I don¡¯t think I can ever win against you, Mei¡­¡­¡± The difference between our specs was just toorge . ¡°There¡¯s actually no need for you to win though¡­¡­ Master, this is your first time handling a sword, right?¡± ¡°I used to y with wooden swords when I was a kid, but that¡¯s about it . ¡± I was surprised when she dered she wanted to ascertain my sword skills before we begin the lesson and suddenly swung her baton at me, but she did control her strength so her strikes only caused some minor bruising . If I ever ate a full-powered strike from Mei, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d survive it . But anyway, dang it sure hurts . ¡°Perhaps I have a natural talent for the sword or something?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case, Master . ¡± ¡°I-I see¡­¡­¡± Well, that sucks . I even got my hopes up a bit . ¡°Your footwork, body usage, and way of gripping the sword are all decidedly amateurish . However, your reflexes and overall sword handling skills are far beyond normal . Did you really never undergo body strengthening treatments, Master?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any memory of ever receiving them, yeah . ¡± I can¡¯t say for sure if I really didn¡¯t undergo one since how I came to this dimension was still aplete mystery to me, but if I actually did, then I think Dr . Shouko would have told me when I got my check-up . That¡¯s why it probably isn¡¯t the case after all . ¡°At any rate, the fact that your reaction speed and reflexes are already on par with nobles who have undergone body strengthening treatments is a wonderful thing, Master . In terms of overall physical abilities, you are only at the level of an ordinary well-trained human, but your reaction speed is a different story . With it, you should be able to put up a fight even against nobles from the Drawn Sword faction . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have absolutely no intention of crossing swords with those monsters . ¡± ¡°The possibility of Master facing situations like that can¡¯t be said to be zero, regardless of your intent . Of course, as long as I am by your side, I will never let anyoney even one finger on you Master, regardless of how many opponents there are . But you should still train just in case . ¡± ¡°Well, I guess you¡¯re right¡­¡­¡± Judging from how many close scrapes and dangerous escapades I found myself in until now, It was just as Mei said . There really was no guarantee that I won¡¯t find myself in another troublesome matter . Yeah . Sometimes, I even feel like it¡¯s actually inevitable . Ah, I¡¯m definitely gonna get picked on, huh . I can¡¯t help but have such a premonition . ¡°It¡¯s alright, Master . My pre-installed assets include a detailed advanced course for swordsmanship training . There¡¯s no need to worry on that end . ¡± ¡°Mm . ¡± ¡°With that said, let¡¯s try to raise Master to the level of an expert swordsman in 72 hours . ¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Well then, let us begin . I have anticipated this matter, so I have also prepared a VR device for training purposes . First, let us start with the basics such as how to hold the sword correctly, how to swing it, how to find your center of gravity and some basic footwork . I¡¯ll drill them to you thoroughly . ¡± After saying so, Mei put away her metal baton and suddenly brought out a whip-like object from somewhere . Gosh . That looks pretty painful . Today¡¯s Izrooks sector is very prosperous and bustling with activity . But in the past, it, along with the Izrooks system, which is the sector¡¯s main system, was only an unassuming backwater frontier sector with an outpost to counter incursions from crystal lifeforms . Even the Jerom system, with itsrge deposits of rare crystal ores, was only one of the many unexplored remote areas . The main cause of this situation was the aforementioned crystal lifeforms . Back then, people have not yet obtained a clear picture of the crystal lifeform¡¯s ecology, and they also posed a great threat against the imperial military . Furthermore, the empire already had tense rtionships with neighboring powers such as the Vereverem Federation and had many other underdeveloped star systems and sectors under its rule . That¡¯s why the empire¡¯s higher-ups were quite reluctant to put any effort into surveying and reiming ces already infested by crystal lifeforms . The key to the decision of the Gran Empire to push for the development of the Izrooks sector with such zeal was a battle that is now famously known as the¡ºCrystal Campaign¡», in which abined fleetposed of the imperial military and contracted mercenaries set out for a crystal lifeform extermination operation . Back then, information regarding the crystal lifeforms was quite scarce . At most, they only knew that the crystal lifeforms expanded their territory gradually at regr intervals . The imperial military in those days gathered enough forces in the Izrooks system in order to repel such an invasion and was quite sessful in the endeavor . And there was a particr mercenary captain that jumped to the forefront of history during this particr campaign . That¡¯s right, everyone . As you may have already guessed, it¡¯s the famed Captain Hiro . Captain Hiro¡¯s various feats during that battle have been officially recorded in the imperial database . By the time he arrived at the military outpost located in the Izrooks system, thebined military and mercenary forces were already engaged in repelling the crystal lifeforms assaulting the base . Captain Hiro, who just arrived at the battlefield, immediately rushed in singlehandedly toward the swarm of innumerable crystal lifeforms with only a single ship . He ended up causing great damage to the enemies and sessfully lured a significant portion of the crystal lifeforms attacking the base away . That gave enough time for the embattled imperial fleet to get a second wind and sessfully repel the attack . And furthermore, his favorite ship managed to return virtually unscathed from such an ordeal . He was awarded the prestigious Silver Sword Wings Assault medal for his heroics . Back then, it was standard procedure for the imperial military to send a small number of recon fleets in order to scout out the surrounding areas after a crystal lifeform incursion . The thenmander of the frontline base also followed the procedure to the letter and promptly sent out recon fleets . Normally, scouting operations like that would end after a certain amount of time was spent surveying the surrounding systems, but that particr operation was graced with two unusual factors . Needless to say, one of them was the presence of Captain Hiro, but the other was on the imperial military¡¯s side . When the imperial military and Captain Hiro are mentioned together, there¡¯s only one other name thates to mind . And surely, thebined imperial recon fleet did include the presence of the famous princess general (who was still a major back then) Serena Holz, and her Independent Anti-Pirate Mobile Fleet . Although the recon fleets suffered major losses, they sessfully discovered the location of the Mother Crystal, which was the nucleus of the crystal lifeform presence in the sector . It was located at the Jerom system . They brought back the information, and the princess general quickly formted a n to annihte the crystal lifeforms . Themander of the frontline base quickly approved the operation, and argebined fleet was sent out the same day . The dispatchedbined fleet fought an intense battle in the Jerom system and seeded in defeating the Mother Crystal, but Captain Hiro yed arge part in its eventual demise . He once again charged straight toward the Mother Crystal in a lone ship and hit its core with anti-ship reactive torpedoes from extreme point-nk range . It was around this time that Captain Hiro¡¯s mercenary colleagues began addressing him with the nickname ¡®Crazy¡¯ . Thus, the moniker Captain ¡®Crazy¡¯ Hiro was coined . In addition, the inert corpse of the Mother Crystal, which boasts a sizeparable to arge, still remains at the Jerom system to this day . And ever since the Gran Empire formally took the Jerom system under its wing, the Mother Crystal¡¯s body continues to supply the empire with abundant amounts of rare crystal ores . Chapter 169 Chapter 169 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone I was woken up by a call . I rose out of bed after getting annoyed by the loud electronic ringtone and operated the terminal to top the ringing while fighting the urge to go right back to sleep . ¡°Ugeh . ¡± I opened my heavy lids and let out a groan the moment I read the name of the caller . I honestly wanted to just ignore her, but there will probably be really scary consequencester on if I did that¡­¡­ And so, I resigned to my fate and pushed the receive icon . ¡ºGood morni¨C Just what kind of outfit do you think you¡¯re wearing?¡» A projection of a red-eyed, blonde-haired beauty appeared and lit up the dim room . I wanted to ask if that was how she greeted people in the morning but refrained . She was slightly transparent and glowing, but it¡¯s not like she¡¯s a ghost or something . This room has a hologram device installed, so utilizing it, a life-size image of her got projected inside the room after the signal bypassed severalyers of thick hull ting, with outer space in between . ¡°I always only wear boxers when I go to sleep . If you don¡¯t want to see me nearly naked with only my underpants on, then at least don¡¯t call me directly so early in the morning and contact Mei first so I can have some time to get dressed . ¡± ¡ºDon¡¯t you think it¡¯s quitete in the day already? You call this early?¡» I waved my hand dismissively at the squinting beauty in front of me . ¡°Mei is usually the one who handles it, but she also needs her periodic maintenance y¡¯see¡­¡­ So I ended up on night watch yesterday and stood awake until early morning . ¡± After saying so, I let out a big yawn and turned to her life-size hologram once more . ¡°So, what¡¯s your business with me today, Commander Serena Holz?¡± After ring at me, who was still a bit out of it due tock of sleep, she disyed a strained smile . ¡ºI¡¯m still a major you know . ¡» ¡°Ara? Someone¡¯s early today . ¡± It can¡¯t be helped since I¡¯m already wide awake, so I headed to the dining room after freshening up a bit . I found Elma already chilling out in it . ¡°Major Serena woke me up¡­¡­ Sheesh . Why¡¯d she wake me up for something so trivial anyway?¡± ¡°My condolences then . ¡± Elma disyed a bitter smile after hearing what happened . She was part of my crew, but she wasn¡¯t human . Elma was an elf . An elf in this SF dimension filled withser guns, starships flying in the void of space, and gigantic space colonies felt quite mismatched, don¡¯t you think? But maybe this dimension has already influenced me since I didn¡¯t particrly find it weird now . ¡°What? Why are you suddenly staring at me like that?¡± ¡°I was just thinking you¡¯re as lovely as always, Elma . ¡± ¡°What are you on about¡­¡­? Even if you praise me like that, I won¡¯t give you anything other than coffee . ¡± Elma got up from her seat with a helpless look on her face and went over to the corner where our trusty auto-cooker, Tetsujin V, was installed . I decided to get spoiled by her and sat down while admiring the view of her lithe back . Cute, pointy ears poked out from delicate silky strands of silver hair . Yep . No matter how you slice it, she¡¯s an elf alright . And said elf sported your standard SF mercenary outfitplete with aser gun strapped to her waist . Yeah, as I thought, it¡¯s still a bit surreal . ¡°Oh? You¡¯re quite early, Boss . ¡± ¡°Good morning, Big Brother . ¡± As I watched Elma while she prepared coffee using the auto-cooker, the voices of other people rang out from the entrance of the dining room . When I turned to the source of the voices, I saw two girls with simr looks but different hair colors (one red and one blue) enter the room . ¡°Good morning . I got woken up by a call from the great Commander Serena y¡¯see . ¡± ¡°Whoah . My condolences, Boss . ¡± The red-haired girl, Tina, sat down right next to me . The blue-haired younger twin, Whisker, sat next to her sister . ¡°Big sis Elma, can you get me some tea as well? I¡¯ll have a strawberry jam with it as usual . ¡± ¡°Okay, okay . How about you, Whisker?¡± ¡°U-Um¡­¡­ I¡¯ll have the same as sis . I¡¯m sorry for the trouble . ¡± Elma dismissed Whisker¡¯s apology with a wave of her hand and keyed in additional orders on the auto-cooker . ¡°What are your ns today, you two?¡± ¡°Mm, well, we did finish all the necessary repairs and maintenance on Krishna and ck Lotus yesterday . I¡¯ll probably just hang back and rx in our room or watch some holo-vids . How about you, Whisker?¡± ¡°Un, I¡¯ll probably do some research¡­¡­ Ah, big sis, have you finished your report yet? We¡¯ll have to hand them over once we arrive at the capital . ¡± ¡°Ugeh, Ipletely forgot . Ah, mou! I guess it¡¯s desk work for me today¡­¡­ And I thought I could finally rx too . ¡± After her younger sister¡¯s reminder, the older sister was plunged into the pits of despair and slumped on the table . They looked a lot like young human girls, but they¡¯re actually dwarves . They didn¡¯t seem older than middle school students, but both of them were apparently legal adults . The ages on their IDs proved they were as old as me . I couldn¡¯t help but feel the deep mysteries of biological life whenever I looked at the two of them . Even if they greatly resembled human girls, they do have proper dwarven characteristics . First, they were both crazy strong . I can¡¯t possibly win against any of them in arm wrestling . Or rather, both of them can easily lift and throw me using only one hand . I even witnessed them lift 120 kg barbells without breaking a single sweat in the training room a while back . Just what were their muscles made of? I¡¯m sure you¡¯d ask the same question if you ever witnessed the two of them in action . Of course, their dwarven characteristics aren¡¯t limited to physical ones . Uh, well, I guess you could say they were still part of their physical ability in a sense . Both of them were the stereotypical alcohol-guzzling dwarves . They had extremely high tolerance too . It was entire dimensions apartpared to me who was utterly weak to alcohol . And their appetite was enormous . Just where were they storing that amount of food and drink in those tiny bodies of theirs? ¡°Reports huh¡­¡­ What stuff do you normally write anyway?¡± I won¡¯t get anywhere mulling over what sort of mysterious stuff they write about, so I simply expressed my interest honestly . ¡°Nn? We write about all kinds of topics, but the main points are still about ship repair logs and our umted data . Um, like, we need to identify what caused the problem, what kind of effects it had, and how exactly we fixed it up . We need to identify which parts were damaged or broke down, and exactly how they were damaged . We also need to put in the details whenever we found unknown materials or customization techniques . The rest is about our daily lives here, the results of our periodic stress-level examinations, and other private stuff . ¡± Tina pouted her lips as she exined . Her expression made obvious just how troublesome she found the entire thing was . ¡°It¡¯s because you procrastinate a lot, big sis . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re just too earnest, Whisker . ¡± ¡°Alright, you two . Don¡¯t fight . ¡± Elma appeared in front of us and got between the bickering sisters . She took my coffee (100% artificial concentrate), two cups of tea (like substances), and a pot of strawberry jam (fake) from the tray she brought over and ced them in front of each of us . Just what did Tetsujin use to make that fake strawberry jam though? As I mulled over that mystery, the two dwarven girls immediately put some in their tea and drank happily . Oh, so they drank it simr to Russian tea huh . ¡°Mm, delish . There¡¯s nothing like some good morning coffee to start your day . ¡± ¡°You put in plenty of sugar and milk though . You have surprisingly childish tastes, don¡¯t you, Hiro?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not particrly against bitter stuff, but I¡¯m just no good against bitternessbined with acidic sourness . ¡± It¡¯s a matter of personal taste after all . There are plenty of people who prefer their coffee ck, but as Elma said, I have the taste of a kid, so ck coffee is impossible for me . I find it more delicious to have coffee with plenty of milk and sugar . ¡°Anyway, what exactly happened with Major Serena?¡± ¡°Oh, well, it was kinda weird . She kept asking me if I was properly learning swordsmanship and formal etiquette . She grilled me and kept insisting I do my best mastering them . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­That¡¯s all?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s all . Anyone would get annoyed if they were woken up early in the morning just to be pestered like that . ¡± I really don¡¯t get it . Even if I didn¡¯t go on night watch duty, it¡¯s still not something worth bothering me for so early in the morning . Perhaps Elma and the mechanic sisters had an idea about Major Serena¡¯s intent since they exchanged subtle nces . ¡°Um, maybe she just wanted to see you, Boss?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a scary thought . ¡± ¡°Huh? Scary¡­¡­?¡± Whisker¡¯s lips curled into a strained smile . ¡°C¡¯mon . Don¡¯t you think getting a morning call from an imperial military major just for that reason is scary?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you going too far with that?¡± ¡°Now look here, Tina . I have absolutely no intention of getting into that sort of rtionship with Major Serena, and I¡¯ve told her straight about it as well . And despite that, she still gave me a morning call due to such a reason . That¡¯s quite terrifying . ¡± ¡°Y-You hate it that much¡­¡­? But why? Major Serena¡¯s a noble youngdy and a sessful high-ranking military officer, right? You¡¯d be marrying up if you went for her, right?¡± I see . Marrying up, huh . That¡¯s certainly true as well . But the question is whether or not Major Serena¡¯s family will approve of me . ¡°Think about it . The other person is a bona fide nobledy from the house of a marquis, as well as a high-ranking military officer . If a mere mercenary from who-knows-where were toy his dirty hands on such a precious youngdy, there¡¯s a big chance her scary papa and grandpa would take up their swords in order to consign said mercenary to oblivion . Or rather, if I were in their shoes, I¡¯d absolutely murder the unlucky guy . No mercy . ¡± ¡°Well, I guess . But you can¡¯t know if that would happen for certain you know . ¡± Elma muttered such words and looked away . Well, yeah, I guess . ¡°That¡¯s the problem? But wouldn¡¯t everything be fine and dandy as long as Major Serena acknowledges you, Boss?¡± ¡°Mm, I wonder? Don¡¯t nobles often dabble in stuff like political marriages and childhood engagements, big sis? If you think about it like that, there¡¯s still a good possibility of getting into trouble, right?¡± ¡°I see . You¡¯re pretty clever, Whisker . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s just hypothetical though . ¡± I was a bit curious why Elma suddenly mmed up as the dwarven sisters continued to discuss the topic . Come to think of it, Elma¡¯s past and origin were still a great mystery to the rest of the crew¡­¡­ Since she was behaving strangely, maybe there was something in the discussion that was bothering her . ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°W-What¡­¡­?¡± Elma flinched and drew back a little when she noticed me staring at her . ¡°No, nothing . I was just admiring your beauty, Elma . ¡± ¡°W-What¡¯s with you¡­? I won¡¯t serve you anything else, you know . ¡± Elma¡¯s face reddened . She then turned away again . ¡°Wow, how nice¨C How about me, Boss? How about me?¡± ¡°Ah, yeah, yeah . You¡¯re cute as well, Tina . You too, Whisker . I mean it . ¡± ¡°Ahaha . Thank you very much . ¡± ¡°It sounds kinda nomittal . ¡± I sipped my slightly cooled coffee, or rather, my cafe auit, as Tina hit my arm because she wasn¡¯t satisfied with my nonchntpliment . ¡°Elma-san¡¯s behavior is weird?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I think . Do you have an idea, Mimi?¡± After that little episode in the dining room, I proceeded to have some light breakfast, went to the training room for my daily workout, took a shower to wash off the sweat, and immediately headed to Mimi¡¯s room afterward . Mimi¡¯s room was rather girly¡­ Oh, who am I kidding? It was sorta, uh, hip and stylish . My own room was rather spartan, but Mimi¡¯s room was filled with cool-looking stickers and posters, as well as chain essories and gun belts along the walls . Theser gun I bought for her a while back was also disyed on a handgun rack on top of a nightstand near her bed . Mimi was rather good at decorating stuff, it seems . ¡°Mm¡­¡­ Come to think of it, she did seem rather down at times after it was decided that we would be going to the imperial capital . ¡± Mimi dered as such and tilted her head in puzzlement . The young girl who was battered both physically and mentally when I first met her has already transformed into quite the energeticss . It was probably thanks to her getting enough meals and exercise . Perhaps her daily work as a ship operator has also done some good for her mental and emotional state . ¡°So you also have no idea why either, huh . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry . I can¡¯t really think of a usible reason why she¡¯s like that . ¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing you have to apologize for . It¡¯s something I should take responsibility for as your captain . But, really though¡­ . Just what¡¯s going on? I guess I¡¯ll either ask her directly or just ask Mei¡­¡­¡± ¡°Maybe Mei-san really does know something . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s Mei after all¡­¡­¡± I know I was the one who basically designed her, but Mei¡¯s specs are really borderline overkill . I kinda feel that it wouldn¡¯t be strange if one day, we¡¯d find out that she actually knows more information about ourselves than we do personally . Honestly speaking, Mei gives off the feeling that she¡¯s capable of literally anything and everything . ¡°But on the other hand, Elma¡¯s a proper adult already¡­¡­ I don¡¯t think it¡¯s really a good idea to snoop around regarding her background without her mentioning anything herself . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s true as well¡­¡­¡± Elma must have a reason why she¡¯s keeping things a secret from us . Maybe she feels that it won¡¯t do any good even if she doese clean, or that we might get into some sort of trouble if we found out what she¡¯s hiding . Those kinds of reasons are easy to infer . ¡°But I wonder though . Based on her personality, it¡¯s highly possible that she might actually decide to disappear from our side instead of bringing trouble to us, right?¡± ¡°She¡¯s the spontaneous and rash sort after all . That Elma-san . ¡± Mimi and I exchanged nces and nodded to each other . ¡°So, that led you to ask me about the matter?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . Do you have any idea about what¡¯s going on?¡± Mimi and I went ahead and decided to visit ck Lotus¡¯s cockpit . We came here to find Mei; a super high-spec maidroid who I poured all my hobbies and obsessions into when I designed her . She had big breasts, long ck hair, and wore a maid outfit coupled with sses . She also sported a high-performance positron brain and was the main pilot and custodian of ck Lotus . ¡°I do not know what Elma-sama is worried about exactly . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­¡± I was disappointed a bit . So even Mei has things she didn¡¯t know huh . ¡°However, I do have some conjectures regarding the cause . I believe it has a high chance of being right on the mark . ¡± ¡°Okay? Go on . ¡± ¡°Yes . Elma¡¯s family is likely living in the imperial capital . Perhaps the matter she¡¯s worried about is rted to that . ¡± ¡°So her home is in the capital huh . ¡± ¡°Well, I did have a bit of an inkling . She does know a lot when ites to nobles and noble society . ¡± I did suspect at one point that Elma was a runaway nobledy . As for her family living in the imperial capital, she did start acting strange when she heard we¡¯ll be going there, so it wasn¡¯t really unexpected . ¡°Elma-sama is probably the daughter from an administrative viscount house residing in the capital . ¡± ¡°Administrative viscount?¡± Mimi gasped in shock when she heard Mei¡¯s bold im . Administrative viscount house . In other words, they were nobles without their own territory and served in some kind of official position in the imperial capital . I first thought that the Gran Empire was a nation in which only humans held all the power, but it looks like I was wrong . In a sense, the empire was a textbook example of a multi-ethnic nation . ¡°So it ended up being the most troublesome pattern huh . ¡± ¡°Eh? Eh? So Elma-san is actually a nobledy?¡± ¡°Technically, she is . However, she seems to have an older brother who is poised to inherit the position of the head of the house, and she also has an elder sister as well, so there is little chance for Elma-sama to be the heir of the administrative viscount house . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± If the brother gets married and has his own children, they would have a greater chance of inheriting the housepared to Elma . And even if her elder brother encounters some form of misfortune, she would also not be in the running as long as her older sister and the rest of her family do not pass away as well . ¡°If she formally renounces her right to inheritance, Elma-sama will be treated as amoner . Even though she¡¯ll be technically amoner, she would still retain the privilege of being a first-ss imperial citizen . ording to my investigation results, she has notpleted the procedure for renouncing her right to inheritance . And since she wasn¡¯t disowned by her family as well, she is still formally registered as an imperial noble . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­¡± I did keep harping on about never having to do anything with people from aristocratic families after all . So she was worried because she was actually from an administrative noble house herself . ¡°She might be worried about how to exin your rtionship to her family and how to make them ept it, as well as how to confess her background to you and how you would react after finding out . ¡± ¡°Yeah, I get it . I should talk to Elma about it before we arrive at the capital . ¡± The earlier things like this are resolved, the better . I don¡¯t have a taste for skirting around each other while trying to guess the other¡¯s feelings and all the bittersweet developments that may result from such acts . ¡°Okay then . Everything we¡¯ve nned out for today is canceled . I¡¯ll go and talk to Elma right away . ¡± ¡°Understood . I will readjust the schedule and move them to tomorrow . However, I¡¯ll be sure to make up for it thoroughly, so please prepare yourself . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Please go easy on me, instructor . ¡± Good luck, tomorrow¡¯s me . What? It¡¯s okay as long as I don¡¯t die, right? The med-pods installed inside ck Lotus are excellent high-end models you know! Hahahaha! Haaah¡­¡­ Chapter 170 Chapter 170 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone After exiting the cockpit where Mei was, I contacted Elma using the messaging app and said I had something to talk about with her and will be visiting her room soon . With this, the appointment is set . I mulled over how convenient technology was and headed straight for Elma¡¯s room . Mimi stayed in the cockpit and said she¡¯d like to talk to Mei about various things, but she was probably just giving me and Elma some space . The way to the living area from the cockpit was quite long . So Mimi chose to stay in the cockpit to give me some time to sort out my thoughts . ¡°I don¡¯t even have to think about it though . ¡± I¡¯ve long since reached a conclusion . I have no intention of letting Elma go . Un, I can¡¯t deny that part of it is because of a somewhat unwholesome desire to monopolize her . However, it¡¯s not just that . If, after everything we¡¯ve been through together, I still decided to throw her under the bus just because I was afraid of getting into trouble with her family and circumstances, I¡¯d feel like the lowest of the low . I¡¯m not that heartless of a person . I thought about such things until I finally reached the door to Elma¡¯s room . ¡°Hey there, gorgeous . Just knocking to say hello . ¡± ¡ºIt¡¯s open . ¡» I knocked on the door and heard Elma¡¯s exasperated voice through the speaker . Sorry . I had this chronic habit of making a joke out of serious situations to bnce it out . While apologizing in my heart, I touched the panel next to the door to open it and entered Elma¡¯s room . The interior of Elma¡¯s room was surprisingly cute . There were plush toys of thatical one-eyed alien and the cat-squirrel hybrid creature she and Mimi keep using on the messaging app scattered all over the room, so those were the ones that caught my eye first . But there was also some fancy stuff, like a wine rack that perfectly controls the humidity and temperature inside it to simte ideal storage conditions installed on the wall, and a mini-ref filled to the brim with cold beer cans . ¡°What are you doing? You enter someone¡¯s room and the first thing you do is ogle it? ¡­You said you have something to talk about with me . ¡± ¡°Yeah, about that¡­¡± Elma was sitting on her bed, so I sat down on a chair ced a little ways away from it . It was prettyfy . Did you know this chair actually gets stored beneath the floor duringbat? Ah, don¡¯t let your thoughts wander, me . Focus, focus . When ites to stuff like this, it¡¯s best to be direct . ¡°I asked Mei about your family circumstances . ¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡­ I see . No wonder . It¡¯s Mei, so she probably investigated a fair bit huh . ¡± Elma nodded, convinced, and then smiled bitterly . It looks like all of us didn¡¯t find it surprising that Mei actually engages in that kind of stuff behind our backs . ¡°She told me your dad was an administrative viscount . ¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right . I¡¯m sorry . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re apologizing for, but it matters not, my dear . I shall forgive you!¡± ¡°Fufu, what¡¯s with that?¡± When I puffed up my chest and dered that I forgave her with an arrogant tone, Elma found it strange and softlyughed . Well, at least I got her to rx a bit . ¡°Well, at this point, I no longer care if you and your family are high-ranking nobles . I don¡¯t have any intention of abandoning you for such a reason . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m really happy to hear those words, but it would probably bring you tons of trouble you know?¡± ¡°Well, if you say so Elma, then it would probably be quite troublesome . And you know I hate getting into trouble . I hate it, but that¡¯s not reason enough to let you go . Do you understand what I¡¯m getting at here?¡± ¡°I wonder? I¡¯d like you to be more clear about it, actually . ¡± Elma gazed at my face intently . Wasn¡¯t I already clear enough? Sheesh . ¡°Like I said, I have no intention of ever letting you go . If it¡¯s for your sake, I¡¯ll take on whatever troublesome stuffes my way, to a certain extent . If I really can¡¯t handle it in the end, I¡¯d even abandon everything and run away with you somewhere . Was that clear enough for you, mdy?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes . Loud and clear . My dear captain . ¡± And then, Elma opened her arms as if inviting me . ¡°After a confession, isn¡¯t it amon trope for two lovers to lock into an embrace and give each other a kiss?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you watching a little too much holo-video dramas?¡± Even after saying so, I got up from the chair, sat next to Elma, and hugged her delicate body . Yeah . This feels just right . I really have no intention of losing her . After that, we didn¡¯t really do anything particrly naughty . I justid on the bed together with Elma and listened to her talk about her family . ¡°My father is an official affiliated with the Imperial Household Administration Bureau . ¡± ¡°Un, I have no idea what that is . ¡± ¡°I thought so . The Imperial Household Administration Bureau is a government bureau that handles everything rted to the imperial pce . One of their duties is being responsible for managing the imperial pce where the emperor resides, and every ce rted to it . For example, periodic maintenance of the pce, rted facilities, and vehicles used by the imperial family . ¡± I see? I¡¯m kinda forming an appropriate image in my head now . ¡°Isn¡¯t the range of their duties a bit too broad?¡± ¡°Yeah . It has many responsibilities and has equally many personnel as a result . My father belongs to the department that handles the maintenance of the imperial gardens . That¡¯s a position of great honor, okay?¡± ¡°Un, I see? I guess directly managing stuff rted to imperial families usually are like that huh . ¡± Basically, her father was the official court gardener or something like that, right? It kinda sounds a bit underwhelming, but considering that the head of their house has been granted the title of viscount, they probably are a heck of a lot more prestigious than a meremoner like me . ¡°So what¡¯s his personality like?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡­ He¡¯s gentle but stubborn . My biggest reason for running away from the house is due to a fight with that stubborn father of mine, actually . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ And I¡¯m like the gangster from who-knows-where who actually brought their tomboy princess home huh . Yeah¡­ I really don¡¯t think the first meeting will go well!¡± The runaway tomboy daughter actuallyes back home while bringing some random mercenary along with her . And she¡¯s already had a physical rtionship with the said mercenary . If I were her father, I would immediately bring out my shotgun and pepper the bastard full of holes! ¡°Ahaha, I guess . But I wonder if that would really be the case?¡± ¡°Nn? Why do you think so?¡± ¡°I mean, you¡¯re a hero who received the prestigious Silver Sword Wings Assault medal, you know? And the reason you¡¯re heading to the imperial capital is to receive another award . And that award will either be the First-ss Star Cross medal (Gold Star) or the Second-ss Star Cross medal (Silver Star) . My father may be stubborn, but he also highly respects the authority of the imperial family . ¡± ¡°Oh, so that means my previous achievements may offer me a way out of this pickle huh . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . In the empire, mercenaries with the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal are treated as honorary knights, but those with the Gold Star are treated as honorary viscounts, and those with the Silver Star are honorary barons . Once you receive the Gold Star, you¡¯d pretty much be the same rank as my father, so he won¡¯t be able to act all high-handed and ignore you easily . Even if you only receive the Silver Star, you¡¯re still an honorary baron, so the same thing applies . That¡¯s because if he did so, it would be the same as insulting the honor of the imperial family and the emperor himself . ¡± ¡°I see, I see . So what you mean is I don¡¯t really have a lot to worry about, right?¡± I felt like a weight just got removed from my shoulders . So my former feats will end up saving my life huh . No, it¡¯s misfortune turning into fortune, isn¡¯t it? To think the award I thought was troublesome would end up saving my sorry behind in the end . ¡°Um, it¡¯s a bit early to say that, actually . ¡± ¡°What!?¡± ¡°My mother and sister would probably ept you right away, but my brother is¡­¡­¡± Elma disyed a far-away look on her face . ¡°Brother¡­¡± I¡¯m getting a really bad premonition . My back just suddenly started oozing cold sweat . What the heck? ¡°Um, err¡­¡­ in other words, he suffers from the so-called ¡®extreme sis-con¡¯plex and¡­¡± ¡°No, stop, don¡¯t say another word . ¡± ¡°¡­he¡¯s also an ardent supporter of the Drawn Sword faction . ¡± Oh¡­¡­ Well, damn . ¡°Didn¡¯t you say our schedule for today was canceled, Master?¡± ¡°Sometimes, a man¡¯s gotta do what a man¡¯s gotta do in order to survive . ¡± ¡°Hmm . ¡± As I looked at Mei¡¯s bewildered reaction as she tilted her head, I vowed once again to do everything I can to survive the uing crisis . Yep . I promised Elma after all . I¡¯ll take on whatever troublees my way, provided I don¡¯t lose my life in the process . I¡¯m a guy who keeps his promises! Hahaha¡­¡­ Haaah . ¡°It¡¯s great that your motivation is high, Master . High motivation will allow you to absorb the lessons better and faster . ¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes . And so, why don¡¯t we bring the training intensity up a notch?¡± ¡°Heh?¡± And thus, the training from hell began . It¡¯s been three days since my heart to heart talk with Elma . ¡°H-Hiro-sama, are you okay?¡± Mimi called out to me in worry as I slumped powerlessly on top of a table in the dining room with my spiriting out of my mouth . Mimi sure is a nice girl . I was brought to tears . ¡°Yeah¡­¡­ I¡¯m fine¡­¡­ I¡¯ll live . ¡± It was just some cracked bones, getting blown away across the room while spitting blood, and some internal bleeding . There¡¯s this saying back on Earth: What doesn¡¯t kill you makes you stronger . Hahaha, sometimes, I feel that the world really is a crappy ce . ¡°¡­¡­There¡¯s this thing in heroics where the protagonist senses danger in advance and actively avoids it, right?¡± ¡°Hm? Ah, yes, there certainly is . ¡± Mimi was visibly confused by my sudden remark, but I droned on . ¡°I thought that was just something made up, but now I know firsthand that it really exists¡­¡­ Or rather, I actually ended up learning the damn thing without even realizing it . ¡± ¡°I-Is that so?¡± ¡°Yep¡­¡­ I learned it by sacrificing my body and soul . ¡± Where and how an attack wasing . The ability to sense and read such things from your opponent¡¯s slightest body movements was probably what you¡¯d call bloodlust sense . It¡¯s a kind of pseudo-future sight that is based on tons of experience and a thorough understanding of the body, coupled with high information-processing capabilities . Probably . I came up with such a theory after training with Mei . The ability has already seeped deep into my bones . It¡¯s just like the skills I gained while ying FPS games back on Earth, or my umted experience ying SOL, which I polished even further ever sinceing to this dimension . I am able to recreate aprehensive picture of the entire battlefield in my head by taking into ount the information disyed on the radar, the visually confirmed movement patterns of the enemy ships, the impact warnings disyed on the hologram of my own ship whenever an attack hits the shield, the ringing alert warnings, among other things . Using that, I am able to minimize the damage to my ship while firing off attacks that would prove fatal to my enemies . It was the same for swordsmanship . I take note of the vibrations on the floor, the flow of the air on my skin, the foot and eye movements of the enemy I see with my eyes, the sound of the rustling of clothes and footsteps I take in with my ears, and other information I pick up with my senses to gain an urate picture of the enemy¡¯s possible moves . And then, I would be able to avoid my enemy¡¯s attack and unleash a deadly counterattack . Thanks to Mei¡¯s hellish daily training where I¡¯m constantly beaten to near-death, I was able to obtain the bloodlust-sense ability . Or perhaps you could even call it enhanced spatial awareness . Anyway, it¡¯s something like that . And I was able to apply that very ability to my swordsmanship . I used to vomit blood dozens of times whenever I fought with Mei, but I was able to limit it to seven times today . ¡°By the way Mimi, can I ask you something¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Uh, you¡¯re not suddenly going toe up and tell me you¡¯re a youngdy from a ducal or baronial house, are you?¡± Y¡¯see, Major Serena is the daughter of a marquis, Chris is the granddaughter of an earl, and Elma was actually the daughter of a viscount . ¡®At this rate, would Mimi actually be¡­?¡¯ was what kept going through my head recently, so it¡¯s better to ask now . ¡°Eh? I don¡¯t think so . I¡¯m a genuine imperialmoner, and my grandparents were ordinary space colonists as well . ¡± ¡°Hahaha, that¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it? There¡¯s no way that can happen huh . ¡± Anyway, Mimi should be fine . If she was from a powerful family, she wouldn¡¯t have found herself at the very bottom of society after losing her parents in an ident . She even incurred a huge amount of debt . ¡°Well, of course, it won¡¯t . Geez . Do I look like some nobledy to you, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Mm, Mimi¡¯s really cute after all¡­¡­ You can totally pull off the noble youngdy look if you dress up a little, y¡¯know?¡± ¡°I¡¯d probably just end up getting worn by the clothes instead of the other way around even if I changed into something so fancy . I don¡¯t have Elma-san¡¯s crisp aura, Serena-sama¡¯s dignified bearing, or Chris-chan¡¯s grace . ¡± ¡°Is that so? I think you pulled it off quite well when you wore those goth loli dresses I bought for you a while back . I kinda want to see you in them again . ¡± ¡°Eh? M-Mm, I don¡¯t really think those kinds of clothes suit me though . ¡± Mimi¡¯s face suddenly turned bright red as she shyly murmured a reply . How cute . I managed to convince the shy Mimi to wear the goth loli costumes I bought previously in order to heal my heart that was worn down from May¡¯s daily training . Chapter 171 Chapter 171 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone The ck Lotus with Krishna stationed inside finally headed for the central system where the imperial capital was located together with Major Serena and her Independent Anti-Pirate Mobile Fleet . Of course, I continued my training under Mei in order to ensure I could survive even if I faced an attack by Drawn Sword faction-affiliated nobles . There were quite a few nights where I coughed up blood beforepletely passing out whenever I went to bed . And due to the torment I experienced constantly, I don¡¯t even remember a single instance where I was able to get a good night¡¯s sleep these past few days . I even had to continue wearing my VR gear in bed . It ended up messing my sense of time . And before I knew it, ten days had already passed . ¡°Man, it really is gigantic huh . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s so big . ¡± ¡°That sure is amazing . It¡¯s our first time seeing it as well . ¡± ¡°Un, it¡¯s really huge . I think there¡¯s still room to reduce its size withoutpromising its functions though . ¡± Although thestment from Whisker was a bit off-target, we continued to marvel at the gigantic gateway located in the Neeparc system . We supposedly passed through the Dexer system, which was Chris¡¯s home system, but thanks to me constantly being beaten up by Mei, I didn¡¯t realize it at all . But we just passed through anyway, so it¡¯s not like we could stop over for a visit . ¡°So we¡¯re gonna warp straight to the imperial capital using the gateway, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . Thanks to the gatewaywork, even the far-away imperial capital feels so near . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s only if you¡¯re one of the people who can freely use the gateway, right?¡± ¡°Well, yes, I guess . ¡± Elma shrugged her shoulders after I pointed that particr detail out . A gateway that allows you to jump several tens of thousands of lightyears in an instant truly was convenient, but it wasn¡¯t freely avable to everyone . Even nobles would need some particr permits to pass through them, and ordinary citizens such as merchants or mercenaries rarely get the chance to make use of them on their own . Its use was also heavily restricted in SOL, and I hardly have any memories of using it to travel during my time ying the game . It¡¯s said that you¡¯d be able to gain more opportunities by cozying up to the space empires who manage their respective gatewayworks, but I was just your typical solo merc, and I didn¡¯t have any meaningful connections in-game whatsoever . ¡°In the first ce, not a lot of people are able to travel out of the colony they were born into . For them, the imperial capital is certainly a very distant ce . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . The people whomonly get to travel outside their home colonies are those working for intersterpanies like us or those in the trade business . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s also those from the military . I wonder how most people end up bing mercenaries though?¡± ¡°Oh, uh, I think there¡¯s something like a mercenary training school . I¡¯m not really familiar with it though . ¡± I think I heard something like that when I applied to the Guild . Well, there¡¯s probably not a lot of people who decide to be mercenaries just for the thrills . If I didn¡¯t have Krishna, I would probably just find myself a nice colony to settle on as well . ¡°How did you end up bing a mercenary anyway, Boss?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Um, I just sort of went with the flow, I guess . ¡± When I woke up after my unfortunate ¡®ident¡¯, I was already inside Krishna which was floating in outer space . I was then immediately attacked by pirates and killed them in retaliation¡­¡­ After that, I just said whatever and decided to be a mercenary . That¡¯s the story I told them . This cover story was all thanks to Elma . ¡°Went with the flow¡­¡­ Oh, right . Come to think of it, you said you have amnesia, right Boss? I¡¯m sorry . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not something to apologize for . I actually think I¡¯m pretty lucky, all things considered . ¡± After all, I did end up meeting Mimi, Elma, Mei, Chris, Tina, Whisker, and Major Serena¨C No, not the major . Not the major! Anyway, I ended up meeting everyone when I came here . As for Doc Shouko¡­¡­ Yeah, just remembering her makes my behind feel weirdly itchy . Ugh . ¡°Oh, the line¡¯s moving . It looks like it¡¯s our turn . ¡± ¡°I sure am looking forward to it . I wonder what going through a gateway feels like?¡± ¡°It¡¯s really exciting, isn¡¯t it, big sis?¡± You might feel excited now, but you¡¯ll feel sorry you didter guys . I nced at Mimi and found her sending a warm gaze toward the mechanic sisters as well . Hahaha, I remember Mimi was also this excited when we first came through a gate . The fleet moved forward and plunged into the distorted space that gave off a mysterious glow nestled between the huge metallic structures . The sight of the leading corvettes and destroyers getting engulfed in that mysterious light and disappearing was truly a surreal view . ¡°O-Ooooh¡­¡­ Here ites, Whisker . ¡± ¡°B-Big sis¡­¡­¡± The mechanic sisters held hands as they watched the distorted spacee nearer and nearer through the holo-disy . The cruisers also got engulfed and disappeared . And then¨C ¡°Eh? It¡¯s over?¡± ¡°¡­¡­That was too abrupt . ¡± Yep . There¡¯s no booming sound you¡¯d hear from activating the FTL Drive . There are no colorful and psychedelic sights like what you¡¯d see when traveling through a hyperspace tunnel . To put it simply, it¡¯s like the image on the holo-disy just changed . ¡°Well, this is what you¡¯d call a true warp . ¡± ¡°Hee¡­¡­ That¡¯s kinda cool . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m not clear on the theory, but it truly is amazing . Un, I can¡¯t afford to lose to just this though . ¡± Tina kept saying how cool it was, but ain¡¯t Whisker¡¯s thoughts flying off in apletely different direction? Sometimes, I found that I couldn¡¯t really get what goes through Whisker¡¯s head . Whisker goes into full engineer mode from time to time and says some pretty radical stuff . ¡°Well, in any case, we¡¯ve managed to arrive safely . Wee to the central system of the Gran Empire . My home town, the imperial capital Grakkis, is located over there . ¡± ¡°Nn¡­¡­?¡± When I saw the image on the holo-disy, I couldn¡¯t help but wrinkle my brows . Judging from what I could see, the object in the distance was definitely shaped like a . However, its surface didn¡¯t show the presence of seas, and furthermore, I couldn¡¯t find anything that seemed even remotely natural . Manmade structurespletely covered the surface of the . ¡°An ecumenopolis¡­¡­? So they were able to realize such a thing here¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Ara, you sure know some really ancient terms . These days, it¡¯s just simply called a-city . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ So when you say imperial capital, you¡¯re actually referring to that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . That-city is precisely the imperial capital, Grakkis . Wee everyone, to the center of the empire; the blossoming capital . ¡± Elma disyed a gentle smile and weed us with a flourish . Before descending onto the imperial-city, we decided to head over to the Grakkis Secundus colony first . It was one of severalrge colonies present in the system . There, our cargo would be checked and we would undergo several inspections and procedures before we could obtain permission tond on Grakkis . In other words, the Grakkis Secundus colony acts simr to a city gate that we need to go through before we are able to enter the imperial city . It¡¯s said that the merchants who are responsible for the cirction of goods and materials in the system spent most of their dealings in colonies like it . Why? It¡¯s becausending directly on the imperial-city required extensive procedures and checks, and the cost of staying was also apparently quite expensive . Well, it wasn¡¯t as expensive as staying on a resort of course . ¡°So what should we do now?¡± After we docked on the colony, we all came to the Lotus¡¯s dining room with Mei . I proceeded to blurt out that question as soon as we plopped down on our seats . I know a ship captain should show initiative at times like this, but since I was semi-forced toe here by Major Serena and the power of the state backing her up, I didn¡¯t really hold any initiative at all . I think it¡¯s mostly Major Serena¡¯s fault for bringing us here but not handing out any additional instructions afterward . Nah, maybe it¡¯s not that Major Serena didn¡¯t give us any instructions intentionally, but that she didn¡¯t have any chance to give us any further instructions in the first ce . That¡¯s probably it . ¡°Major Serena said that all the procedures rted to the award ceremony would be entirely handled by the military, including ournding permits . My personal rmendation is to visit this colony¡¯s Mercenary Guild branch first . ¡± ¡°Mercenary Guild? Oh yeah . Major Serena did say I better rely on the Mercenary Guild more once we arrive at the imperial capital huh . Um, but I¡¯m not exactly sure what I need to rely on them for . ¡± ¡°You should be able to ask the details after you pay them a visit . The Mercenary Guild branches located in the central system should possess the appropriate know-how about how mercenaries should conduct themselves in the presence of nobles . ¡± ¡°I see?¡± Well, it¡¯s Mei¡¯s rmendation after all . I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be useful . ¡°Okay then . I¡¯ll pay them a visit . Do you want toe with me, guys?¡± ¡°Alright . We have to buy some formal dresses anyway . Let¡¯s ask the Mercenary Guild for shop rmendationster . ¡± ¡°Uu, a formal dress huh¡­¡­¡± Mimi, who was apparently no good with the fluttery and fancy formal dresses, had a bitter look on her face . She may not like it herself, but I still think they look perfect on her . Yeah . ¡°We¡¯reing too¨C¡± ¡°Big sis, we still have to hand over our reports to thepany branch office . ¡± ¡°Eh? Ain¡¯t it fine to y around just for a little bit?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I personally don¡¯t have a hobby of listening to hateful sarcasm . ¡± ¡°Uu¡­¡­ The bunch in the imperial capital are super prudes after all . ¡± It looks like the mechanic sisters had some business with the Space Dwerg branch over here . However, judging from their tone, they seem to have a problem with their colleagues in the capital . Is it that? They were all dwarves, but they were actually part of differentpeting factions or something? It kinda felt like that . I better not ask . ¡°What about you, Mei?¡± ¡°I will be staying inside the ship . I will contact you right away in case something happens, so do not worry and feel free to go about on your business, Master . ¡± ¡°Understood . I¡¯m counting on you then . ¡± ¡°Yes, please leave it to me . ¡± Mei disyed a subtle smile . Un . Mei¡¯s expressions have be nicer recently . You¡¯d fail to notice if you didn¡¯t pay close attention though . ¡°Okay then . Let¡¯s go¨C¡± ¡°Wait just a moment, buster . First, go to your room and wear your Silver Sword Wings Assault medal . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Do I have to?¡± ¡°You do . It would make exining our circumstances easierter on, so go and retrieve it already . Go on . Scoot . ¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡­¡± ¡°You look cooler if you have it on, Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°Ugh . ¡± In the end, Mimi and Elma pushed me into wearing that gaudy medal on my chest . We headed for the Mercenary Guild with my noble-issue swords strapped to my waist as well . Why? Isn¡¯t aser gun more than enough? Chapter 172 Chapter 172 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°You look so cool, Hiro-sama!¡± ¡°Un, not half bad . In fact, you actually look really good . ¡± In addition to my usual mercenary get-up and jacket, I also had the gaudy Silver Swords Wings Assault medal pinned to my chest and had my two noble-issue swords strapped on to my waist along with myser gun . Mimi and Elma seemed to find my appearance pleasant and weren¡¯t stingy with their praise . It¡¯s not like I drastically changed my look or anything¡­ Well, I guess being praised like this does feel kinda good . ¡°At this point, you¡¯re already considered to be an honorary imperial knight . I wanted you to dress like that not only to show off your current identity as one but to let other people realize that you¡¯re someone with status . It can serve to deter anyone with bad intentions from approaching you as well . ¡± ¡°Is that how it is?¡± ¡°Yep . That¡¯s how it is . ¡± I¡¯m not really all that satisfied with this, but if Elma says so, then I guess that should be the case . ¡°Ah¨C¡­¡­ Mm, I see . Yosh . Anyway, shall we get going?¡± ¡°Yes! I¡¯ve already looked up the location of the Mercenary Guild branch here . ¡± ¡°Great job Mimi . Good girl . ¡± ¡°Ehehe¡­¡­¡± I stroked Mimi¡¯s head as she held up her tablet terminal with the map application open . If this girl had a tail, it would probably be wagging energetically right now . Yep, how cute . Mei sent us off from ck Lotus, and we headed for the Mercenary Guild branch of the Grakkis Secundus colony by following Mimi¡¯s lead . ¡°But there sure are a lot of people here . ¡± ¡°Of course there are . Since most of the resources being consumed on-cities like the imperial capital are imported from outside, there are many merchants doing business here . A small part of the food resources are being produced in the under-level geofronts, but the mineral resources are all imported from outside . Most of the food resources are imported as well . ¡± ¡°Hee¡­¡­-cities must cost a crazy amount of money to maintain huh?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not really the case . We earn our ie by producing highly valued products using the resources imported from outside . These imperial-grade luxury products aren¡¯t only valued domestically but are very sought after abroad as well you know?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡­ But that doesn¡¯t really concern us much, does it?¡± ¡°You think so? Just so you know, Tetsujin V is also a luxury imperial-grade product . ¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡­ So Chef Tetsujin is really that amazing huh?¡± I certainly haven¡¯t managed to see the limits of what Tetsujin is capable of . But man, once you¡¯ve tasted the gastronomical delights it manages to whip out only by using cheap food cartridges, you won¡¯t be able to settle for anything less . ¡°Krishna¡¯s fully automated modr bath system is also an imperial-grade product as well . ¡± ¡°Ah, yeah, that¡¯s amazing too . ¡± Once you enter that empty bathtub, it would fill itself up with warm bathwater at afortable temperature with the touch of a switch . Your whole body will be washed and scrubbed automatically, and it even sports a handy massage function . It even has a drying function that would dry your entire body the moment you get out of the tub . At first, I kinda felt that it was treating me like the clothes in a washing machine, but once I got used to it, I couldn¡¯t get enough of the thing . ¡°I see . You really can¡¯t underestimate imperial-grade products huh . ¡± ¡°And that¡¯s not the only thing amazing about this ce you know? Imperial-grade natural agricultural produce, livestock products, and alcohol products are all of the finest quality in the gxy and are traded at really high prices . ¡± ¡°Natural foodstuffs huh . I don¡¯t really remember seeing those being sold at stores in the ces we¡¯ve been to . Well, it¡¯s your hometown anyway, so I guess we¡¯ll get to sample someter . Let¡¯s find a good ce to eat once wend on the imperial capital . ¡± ¡°Really, Hiro-sama? Wow, I¡¯m so excited . ¡± Mimi was smiling really happily . Elma also had a cheerful aura about her . Maybe she¡¯s reminiscing about the taste of her hometown . Let¡¯s invite the mechanic sisters too once we¡¯re down there . Both of them seem stressed out due to the fact that they had to deal with their colleagues from Space Dwerg¡¯s branch in the imperial capital . ¡°Whoah¡­¡­ Man, this ce sure is grand . ¡± ¡°The Prime colony is mainly used as a military instation, so the facilities owned by the Mercenary Guild here on Grakkis are only this and the Mercenary Training Academy building . ¡± ¡°The imperial-city doesn¡¯t have a branch office operating there?¡± ¡°There¡¯s not enough demand after all . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­I see . ¡± ¡°I guess that¡¯s true . ¡± There were still a bunch of mercenaries in this colony who were undertaking escort jobs for mercantile ships, but even if there was a guild branch open on the imperial-city, there probably won¡¯t be any mercenaries who¡¯ll pay it a visit . You had to undergo a lot of troublesome procedures before you¡¯re allowed tond there after all . It¡¯ll take too much time and effort . The three of us finally arrived in front of the Mercenary Guild branch office building as we continued to discuss such stuff . I wonder what¡¯s up with the wooden swing door with a cowbell hung on top of it though? Was it merely for some aesthetic uniqueness? The cowbell made distinctive nging sounds as we entered the building, and I nodded convinced after giving the interior a once-over . ¡°It has quite a unique interior design . ¡± ¡°Well, no expense was spared when it was built after all . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s amazing . It¡¯s like those super-ancient [1]spaghetti westerns . ¡± The building had wooden floorboards and wooden tables . There was a wooden counter on the left-hand side of the building, and there was was a wooden rack filled with alcohol bottles installed on the wall behind it . On the right, several other wooden counters for general daily operations were lined up . It was an eclectic mix between a public office and an old-timey pub that smelled of wood and alcohol . ¡°The materials used are synthetic wood . These types really managed to capture the authentic smell of natural wood . ¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t using real wood be cheaper?¡± ¡°Of course not . Especially in this system . ¡± ¡°Real wood is considered an ultra-luxury item, Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°Oh, right . Now I remember . ¡± We stayed on a log house when we had our vacation on a resort a while back, and Mimi, who had always lived in a space colony, was very amazed by the natural flora and fauna found there, including trees and wood . We walked over to the business counters on the right side of the building and felt several gazes focus on us . Well, we did stand out quite a bit . I had had two swords strapped on my waist despite wearing mercenary gear, and even had a shiny medal sticking out of my chest . And the girls beside me stood out as well . One was a young girl who had big breasts despite her small-ish height, and the other was a slender and beautiful elf . There were quite a few unpleasant gazes mixed in due to my twopanions, but they probably won¡¯t make any move due to the swords on my waist . We finally got in front of the counter, and before I could open my mouth to state our business, the slightly nervous-looking receptionist oneesan greeted us first . I¡¯m sure the reason she looks nervous is because of the swords on my waist as well . ¡°Wee . What can we do for you all today, sir?¡± ¡°I have something I want to consult with you . ¡± After saying so, I took out my data terminal and disyed my digital ID . The receptionistpared my ID with the one in their database and was taken aback . Un, as expected of a pro . She managed to keep her cool and didn¡¯t leak a sound . ¡°Um, err, we dly wee your visit, Captain Hiro . As for the topic you wish to consult us about¡­¡­ is it regarding the awarding ceremony, perhaps?¡± ¡°Yep, that¡¯s right . I want some info regarding that . ¡± ¡°Yes . The working rtionship between the guild and the imperial military is fundamentally quite favorable after all . ¡± The receptionist oneesan nodded earnestly . Well, in a sense, you can say that the Mercenary Guild is a private sub-contractor affiliated with the military . It¡¯s no wonder the working rtionship between the two institutions is good . Of course, not everything was so straightforward, and the power dynamics between the two aren¡¯t exactly clear-cut . If the Mercenary Guild decides to pull out from star systems with rampant pirate activity due to friction between it and the military, the trade routes would bepromised for the most part, and that may adversely affect the imperial economy . If that happened, the imperial government will likely push all the me on the military and attempt to cozy up to the Mercenary Guild again . Thus, it would be more appropriate to say that the rtionship between the military and the guild is one of give-and-take . ¡°It¡¯s my first time to attend such a ceremony, so I basically have no idea what to do and what to look out for . That¡¯s why I came here for some advice . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ Well, your clothes and way of speech are a given, of course . In fact, all of your actions will be subject to some scrutiny during the ceremony . And also, you¡¯ll need to participate in a dance party after the ceremony proper . ¡± ¡°Oh, that¡­¡­ Well, I have Mei instructing me for those matters anyway, so I guess we got that covered . ¡± Since my sword training was basically in its final stages, most of the content of Mei¡¯s lessons now was regarding dance and proper etiquette . Dancing with Mei was quite fun, but there were a lot of things to remember when ites to etiquette . ¡°What do you mean, sir?¡± ¡°Oh, um, we have a high-performance maidroid with us . The etiquette lessons are all handled by her . She¡¯s pretty strict . ¡± ¡°I see . Next would be your attire then¡­¡­¡± ¡°Will these clothes do?¡± Mimi showed her tablet screen to the receptionist oneesan . Geh . That picture seems to be from when I was forced to wear the noble attire picked out by Chris¡­¡­ Just when did they manage to take one back then? ¡°Ara, what a gant appearance . ¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it!?¡± ¡°Oh c¡¯mon¡­¡­ So, will these clothes do?¡± ¡°Yes, I believe there will be no problems . You¡¯re actually quite prepared, aren¡¯t you sir?¡± ¡°Well, I guess . I honestly didn¡¯t think these wille in handy like this though . ¡± I never even dreamed that the clothes Chris picked out for me on a whim would prove useful in this way . Did Chris actually predict something like this would happen? Nah, that can¡¯t be it . ¡°That leaves¨C¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry for barging in on the discussion . Captain Hiro and crew, right?¡± When the receptionist oneesan tried to proceed with the consultation, a middle-aged man appeared on the other side of the counter, right behind her, and addressed us . Fumu . He was a pretty handsome guy with a well-built body . The sses he was sporting were probably one of those wearable information devices Elma told me about . ¡°Yeah . And you are¡­¡­?¡± Who is this guy anyway? What¡¯s his deal with us? I mulled those questions in my head as I observed the man . His body was trained to an extent, but it doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s seen much practicalbat . His atmosphere was more of an office worker than a mercenary . ¡°My name is Marcus . I¡¯m the deputy chief of the Grakkis branch of the Mercenary Guild . Once again, I¡¯m sorry for barging in on the middle of your consultation, but I have something urgent to discuss with you . Can you please follow me to the reception room at the back?¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡­¡± It smells like trouble . I turned to Mimi and Elma and found them furrowing their brows and cupping their mouths in thought . By the way, the receptionist oneesan¡¯s smile froze on her face when the deputy chief, who was one of her big bosses, suddenly showed up right behind her . From the looks of it, she was drenched in cold sweat . Sorry, miss . ¡°It won¡¯t fly if I refuse, right?¡± ¡°I understand your apprehension, but it¡¯s really not something you have to be wary about for the most part . Not all of it is bad news . ¡± Mr . Marcus, the deputy chief, disyed a strained smile . ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s fine then¡­¡­¡± So it looks like there¡¯s some good news for us too huh . There¡¯s definitely some bad news though, so it¡¯s still quite depressing . ¡°That¡¯s great . There are some stairs at the back of that passage, so please head up there . ¡± After telling us he would be waiting near the stairs, Mr . Marcus hurriedly left . It can¡¯t be helped, so I stood up from the counter¡¯s seat and called out to the still-frozen receptionist oneesan . ¡°Uh, sorry about that . Thank you very much for your help . ¡± ¡°No, it was my pleasure . ¡± After bowing lightly to the awkwardly smiling oneesan, I walked to the passage with Mimi and Elma and went up the stairs . Now then, I wonder what¡¯s up¡­¡­ Will it be something good or bad for us? We met up with Mr . Marcus, who was waiting near the stairs like he said, and went up together . We entered a room on the second floor, and we found an elderly man with a well-built physique waiting for us inside . Different from Mr . Marcus, the elderly man¡¯s body wasn¡¯t just a result of casual training and workouts . His arms were as thick as logs . He seemedpletely capable of breaking a person¡¯s neck with his bare hands . ¡°I¡¯m Johannes, the chief of the Mercenary Guild Grakkis branch . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m Captain Hiro . It¡¯s nice to meet you, chief . ¡± We then shook hands . Un . He was really muscr, but it looks like he wasn¡¯t gonna do anything like crushing my hand with his grip . ¡°Um, so I was told there¡¯s some good and bad news for us?¡± ¡°Umu . You don¡¯t have to be careful in your speech with me . I actually dislike being all pretentious and stiff . ¡± ¡°Thanks then¡­¡­ So, uh, can you start with the bad news first?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s a more pressing concern after all . ¡± After saying so, Chief Johannes nced at Elma . Something about Elma? Oh, I think I know where this is going . ¡°Actually, we were already contacted by someone from House Willrose . I believe you already have an idea as to why?¡± ¡°It has something to do with Elma, I bet . I¡¯m not too sure about the details though . ¡± I¡¯ll just feign ignorance regarding the details . Well, I¡¯m thinking it was something along the lines of handing Elma over straight away though . ¡°¡­¡­Yes . To be specific, it was a message demanding the handover of that youngdy ¨C the youngestdy of House Willrose ¨C to them immediately . ¡± ¡°Ah, I see . You think I¡¯d agree?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Chief Johannes frowned at my answer, and Deputy Chief Marcus started rubbing his right temple with his fingers . ¡°I would definitelyply if Elma agrees to it, but she doesn¡¯t, so that¡¯s that . Isn¡¯t that right, Elma?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . Unless you throw me out yourself Captain, I have absolutely no intention of leaving your side . ¡± ¡°There you have it . In the first ce, is the Mercenary Guild actually willing to swallow such a demand? Is the guild unwilling to protect its mercenaries from the arbitrary demands of imperial aristocrats?¡± Elma was also an official Silver-ranked mercenary affiliated with the Mercenary Guild, right? I was trying to imply that with my words . The chief¡¯s expression remained unchanged, but the deputy chief¡¯s brows furrowed as he began rubbing the center of his forehead while looking down . ¡°We have a duty to inform you all about the matter, but the guild has no intention of forcing you toply . That means, apart from telling you about their demand, we won¡¯t do anything else . Criminals who have vited imperialw should be handed over immediately of course, but that youngdy over there isn¡¯t a criminal . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± ¡°Or rather, honestly speaking, I don¡¯t want us getting involved in the problems of aristocratic families . Actually, I¡¯m the one who wants toin here, you know . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s what he says, Elma . ¡± ¡°U-Um, I can¡¯t do anything other than offer my sincerest apology, chief . ¡± Elma disyed a bitter smile . She was the culprit who stole a starship and went off into space without permission after all . ¡°So, what will you do now, chief?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already told the other party that the position of the Mercenary Guild is to respect the free will of our members . I¡¯ll give you their contact info so you can resolve this among yourselves . However, we will not turn a blind eye to the use of violence and other unjustified means in order to force you toply . If something like that ever happens, don¡¯t hesitate to contact us . ¡± ¡°Aye, aye, sir . So, um, what about the good news?¡± ¡°The proposal for you to receive the Gold Star has been approved, Captain Hiro . And in line with that, we will promote your guild rank from Gold to tinum as well . ¡± Un, that wasn¡¯t really unexpected . The problem was, I wasn¡¯t really all that happy about it . [1] TL Note: Spaghetti Western ¨C a broad subgenre of Western films that became popr in the 1960s . The term was coined by American film critics because most of the films were produced and directed by Italians . And here¡¯s another fun fact ¨C In Japan, Spaghetti Westerns are actually called Macaroni Westerns . The raws actually use the term Macaroni Western, but I opted for Spaghetti Western for easier recognition by those familiar with the term . Great, now I¡¯m craving some pasta¡­ Chapter 173 Chapter 173 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°What the heck are you acting all depressed for anyway?¡± Elma, who was sitting behind me, scolded me about my behavior . Perhaps she read what was going through my head when she saw my expression the moment I heard about being promoted to tinum-rank . Come to think of it, she was also d in an aura of jealousy when I was promoted to Gold-rank back then . ¡°Uh, well, I was just thinking I¡¯m getting promoted too fast so there¡¯s no more thrill . It¡¯s like I suddenly lost a goal I was aiming for just like that y¡¯know . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­You tinum rankers really are a weird bunch . ¡± Chief Johannes shook his head in exasperation and let out a sigh . It looks like he¡¯s acquainted with other tinum-rank mercenaries . ¡°Even if you don¡¯t agree with it, the entire thing¡¯s been decided, so give up already . In the long history of the Mercenary Guild within the empire, you¡¯re only the second merc to officially receive the Gold Star at Gold rank out of the four individuals who¡¯ve received the award . ¡± ¡°So some political considerations yed a part in me getting this award, right?¡± ¡°Something like that . However, there¡¯s absolutely no doubt about your skills and abilities . We¡¯ve taken into consideration the battle data sent over by the military from the time you were in the Termaine system up until your current achievements . Achieving so much in such a short amount of time is nothing short of astounding . Your merits do not pale inparison to the other tinum rankers at all . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­It¡¯s just as the chief says, Hiro . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s Hiro-sama after all . ¡± It looks like Mimi felt pretty proud of our achievements . She looked pretty content as she nodded at the chief¡¯s words . Un, her smug smile was also pretty cute . ¡°So, um, when will my rank go up?¡± ¡°Today, actually . The relevant procedures are already underway . We n to announce it publicly in conjunction with the award ceremony, so you¡¯ll be promoted to tinum-rank straight away . ¡± ¡°I see . Do I get any perks?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a number of them . First, all your transactions with and mediated by the Mercenary Guild will be prioritized from now on and will be expedited with the greatest speed . It¡¯s sort of an incentive from the guild . ¡± ¡°I see?¡± Honestly, that didn¡¯t sound like much of an incentive . It was certainly great that all our transactions will be prioritized, but for a perk after attaining the highest mercenary rank, it seemed quitecking . ¡°The insurance fees will also have a 30% discount, and your average job reward will increase by 30% as well . Furthermore, the guild will prioritize introducing you requests to test out prototype ships, weapons, and other equipment from ship and weapon makers that patronize us . You would also be given samples of said equipment to y around with under the pretense of collecting operational data . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s actually quite nice . ¡± I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll ever be given a ship or equipment that trumps Krishna and its loadout though . These are things I¡¯ll entrust my life to after all¡­¡­ I don¡¯t want to rely on something that isn¡¯t up to par . The fact that the insurance fee will decrease by 30% and our reward would increase by the same percentage was a pretty sweet deal . These were pretty straightforward benefits that¡¯ll increase our total profits . That¡¯s because the insurance premium applied when purchasing a ship will be reduced by 30%, and we¡¯ll have extra funds to allocate for maintenance, repairs, and resupplying . ¡°Isn¡¯t there something else? I heard that tinum rankers can¡¯t be messed around with easily, even by nobles . ¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like you¡¯ll bepletely untouchable, but tinum rankers are like the top representatives of the Mercenary Guild you see . Of course, we¡¯ll help out if some nobles ever decide to stick their noses in your business . There aren¡¯t really any nobles who actually dare to pick a fight with tinum rankers in the first ce though . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m currently being picked on, remember?¡± ¡°Well, your current situation is a result of your own actions anyway . Rather, it¡¯s more of a family spat¡­¡­ We won¡¯t meddle in that sort of stuff if we can help it . However, we will take action if, for example, a noble uses his influence to pressure you to hand over these lovelydies because he wants them as his concubines . Basically, things of that sort . ¡± ¡°Man, I can¡¯t tell if that¡¯s actually useful to me or not¡­¡­¡± ¡°Simply put, you have to wipe your own behinds son . ¡± After saying so, Chief Johannes shrugged his shoulders nonchntly . Well, I can¡¯t say I don¡¯t understand where he¡¯sing from . After all, what we¡¯re doing is like a no-name punk bringing home the runaway tomboy of a daughter and picking a fight with her loved ones . But I do think their demand of handing over Elma immediately is too overbearing as well . They didn¡¯t even want to discuss it with us first to hear our side . ¡°It can¡¯t be helped then . Is that everything you wanted to talk to us about?¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s more . The reward for you taking down the Mother Crystal has been decided as well . It seems like you¡¯ll be receiving 15,000,000 Enels . ¡± ¡°Fifteen million¡­¡­!¡± After hearing the amount, Mimi was totally floored . ¡°Fifteen mil huh . That sounds pretty good . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s decent, I guess . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you guys think your sense of money is really skewed?¡± Chief Johannes made a bitter smile when he saw Elma and my nd reactions . Well, I do think it¡¯s quite a sum, sure . But it ain¡¯t even enough to match the purchase price of ck Lotus . ¡°Please set Mimi¡¯s cut to 1% and Elma¡¯s to 3% . It¡¯ll be 150,000 and 450,000 Enels respectively . My share is gonna be 14,400,000 Enels . ¡± ¡°O-One hundred fifty¨C¡± ¡°I¡¯ll receive it dly then, captain . ¡± Mimi, who just heard she would be given a decent sum of money, became absentminded again, but I do think it¡¯s about time for her to get used to the mary sense of us mercenaries . Well, I guess Mimi doesn¡¯t have anything that she¡¯ll want to spend her money on right now, and that¡¯s why she has misgivings . Even if she had gourmet food sampling as her hobby of sorts, it¡¯s not like she buys a lot of expensive products all the time, and she wasn¡¯t the type to do so so anyway . ¡°So that¡¯s everything, right? We¡¯ll excuse ourselves then . We still need to prepare for the ceremony . ¡± ¡°Understood . His Imperial Majesty, the emperor, will also attend the ceremony . Be sure to be on your best behavior in his presence . ¡± ¡°Please pray we don¡¯t get the opportunity to meet him directly then . ¡± ¡°Sure . Oh, and one more thing . ¡± Chief Johannes called out to us before we could step out of the office . ¡°Pardon me, but have we met somewhere before, youngdy?¡± Chief Johannes addressed Mimi curiously . Mimi tilted her head in puzzlement and shook her head after a short pause . ¡°Hmm . I don¡¯t think so, sir . This is the first time I came to the central system, and I wasn¡¯t involved with mercenaries until I met with Hiro-sama . Before Hiro-sama brought me away from the Termaine Prime colony, I haven¡¯t stepped outside of it at all . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­I see . Fumu . It¡¯s probably my misconception then . ¡± Chief Johannes was also tilting his head like Mimi . I do think a girl as cute as Mimi would probably be easy to remember once you meet her . Did she resemble a celebrity in the capital system or something? Well, they do say it¡¯s possible that you could find at least three simr-looking people in the world back on Earth . The probability would surely increase if you take that concept up to a gctic scale . You¡¯re not trying to smooth-talk her, are you chief? I¡¯m sorry, but if you are, I¡¯d like to advise you to consider your age . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯d try to flirt with a girl the same age as my granddaughter you know . Bah . Just get out of here already . ¡± Chief Johannes shooed us away with his cheek twitching in annoyance, and we finally left the office . Afterward, we went back to the receptionist oneesan who we talked to earlier, listened to her pointers about the award ceremony again, and asked her to rmend stores where we could purchase clothes and essories to wear for the asion . We then left the Mercenary Guild building . And yeah, my rank has already been updated from Gold to tinum . I wasn¡¯t the youngest tinum ranker in history, but it seems I was the fastest to promote instead . History¡¯s fastest tinum-rank promotion . Yeah . It doesn¡¯t sound bad at all . ¡°Un, this one looks better¡­¡­¡± ¡°Wow, the fabric looks gorgeous . ¡± Women really take a lot of time when they shop . That¡¯s especially true when ites to purchasing clothes, essories, and makeup . I know, I know . Of course, I get it . This is just me looking at it from the male perspective . But aren¡¯t they the ones who¡¯ll decide what to buy in the end? I don¡¯t really need to be here then . No? Uh, okay . Something like that . I have absolutely no sense when ites to dress designs and whatnot . I simply don¡¯t get it¡­¡­! Cute! Beautiful! That¡¯s about the only impressions I could offer y¡¯know . Basically, I¡¯m the same level as a grade-schooler when ites to stuff like these . Let¡¯s see . If I were to give an opinion, I would probably suggest for Mimi to pick out clothes that are a little bit less eye-catching so she¡¯ll avoid attracting the interests of nobles who might get some unsavory ideas . She doesn¡¯t have any status to rely on after all, unlike Elma . Also, it would be good if she picked out clothes that hid her breasts as well . Those will absolutely grab most men¡¯s attention after all . If it proves impossible topletely conceal them, showing her cleavage is a definite no-go . That¡¯s my two cents anyway . ¡°Ehehe¡­¡­¡± Mimi, who probably heard my jealous muttering, twisted bashfully as her cheeks got dyed pink . Ugh . She¡¯s too cute . I¡¯m about to get a nosebleed here . Elma, on the other hand, kept ncing back and forth between Mimi¡¯s imposing chest assets that swayed and jiggled from time to time and her own meager endowments . It¡¯s not like Elma¡¯spletely t y¡¯know . I like yours too Elma, so you really don¡¯t have to mind the size of your chest . ¡°¡­¡­I know already . Geez . ¡± Her ears reddened a little . Elma was also the easily embarrassed sort . However, even if this was a super high-tech SF world I got transported into, the design of their clothes wasn¡¯t really all that strange . I was a little worried that we¡¯d find super mboyant stuff since this ce was called the ¡®Blossoming Capital¡¯, but it looks like that¡¯s not the case . Y¡¯know . Like those gaudy stuff models sometimes wear on a certain city of light with a certain historical monument called Arc de Triomphe¡­¡­ I was worried that stuff was also trending here, but I guess not . Although the materials certainly do feel high-tech . They certainly gave off somewhat of a cyberpunk feel, but they were still certainly formal dresses . The imperial aristocrats might be a lot more conservative when ites to fashion than I first thought . Well, if you think about it, these guys were the ones who revived the usage of swords and swordsmanship in an age with tech such asser guns and rifles . I guess they really were quite particr when ites to tradition . Or perhaps the old designs just underwent a revival because the people found them interesting? In the end, Mimi picked out a modest but elegant white dress, and Elma got a stylish light-green one . Since their entire body measurements were taken perfectly by the store¡¯s scanners, it looks like their orders will bepleted immediately . They would then be sent to our ship directly afterward . ¡°Man . It sure is impressive that order-made custom dresses can bepleted in just a few hours . ¡± ¡°But they also cost a lot though¡­¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mind that . I¡¯ll be satisfied as long as I get to see how cute and pretty you two would look in those dresses . ¡± ¡°Geez . You sure have a glib tongue even though you looked so bored earlier . ¡± Elma berated me, but she didn¡¯t particrly seem dissatisfied though . I don¡¯t really mind spending 10 or 20k for a dress or two anyway . One anti-ship reactive torpedo is way more expensive than both their dressesbined after all . ¡°Next is essories¡­¡­¡± When we left the store after buying the dresses, I felt a strange presence from a short distance, and the next thing I knew, something flew right at me along with some palpable killing intent . ¡°Ugh!?¡± I caught the sight of something that looked like a bundle of white cloth at the edge of my field of vision . Before I could confirm exactly what it was, I stood in front of Mimi and Elma and gripped the handle of the sword on my waist . It would be bad to fire aser gun in such a crowded ce after all . ¡°Hou, so you are in possession of swords as well . ¡± I saw a beautiful-looking male . He had fine features, pointed ears, a well-proportioned body, an elegant outfit, and a slender longsword on his waist . And the thing that dropped right at my feet was a white glove . ¡°My name is Ernst Willrose . Knave, I challenge you to a duel!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wanna . ¡± I replied straight away . The beautiful male paused in bewilderment for a moment, but his features distorted to a fierce grimace shortly after . His face resembled that of an Asura . ¡°You dare refuse!?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a reason to fight you, after all, brother-inw . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare call me brother-inw, you bastard!¡± When I removed my hand from the handle of my sword and gave him the most amiable smile I could manage, Brother Ernst yelled angrily and unsheathed his sword . The passers-by who saw his actions panicked and took distance from our group . ¡°Whoah there . I didn¡¯t pick up the glove, see . You do know that a duel won¡¯tmence unless the other party picks up the glove, right?¡± ¡°Well then, I shall hound you until you ept¨C¡± ¡°Um, but wouldn¡¯t you also get in trouble if you continue to cause a scene like this?¡± ¡°Guh¡­¡­!¡± I pointed to the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal on my chest as I said that . Brother Ernst then mmed up while still looking upset . Under the public eye, nobles might still manage to avoid trouble if they picked a fight with an ordinary mercenary, if just barely . However, I now have a Silver Sword Wings Assault medal on my chest and two noble-issue swords on my waist . In other people¡¯s eyes, I was also a bona fide nobleman . Since Brother was a genuine noble, he should be aware of the rules . And he probably won¡¯t unterally swing his sword at me in a situation where I haven¡¯t officially epted his duel request . ¡°Dear brother . ¡± ¡°E-Elma! There¡¯s no need for you to stay beside that knave! Come home with me n¨C¡± ¡°I absolutely hate a violent brother like you . Please just leave us alone . ¡± ¡°E¡ª!?¡± Ernst, who heard Elma¡¯s ice-cold words, dropped his sword and fainted while standing . Eh? Did he really just faint? Uwah, he¡¯s foaming at the mouth . Just what did you do, Elma? You went and killed the guy with your gaze!? Scary! ¡°Let¡¯s just ignore him . ¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine . C¡¯mon . ¡± ¡°U-Uh¡­¡­?¡± Elma pulled my and Mimi¡¯s hands and started leading us away . She then led us to the jewelry shop under all themotion . Chapter 174 Chapter 174 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone Despite Elma¡¯s brother Ernst suddenly challenging me to a duel, we somehow managed to finish all our shopping and made it back to ck Lotus . ¡°Was it really fine to leave him like that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine . He probably thinks you¡¯re keeping me with you using my debt as a threat or something anyway . ¡± ¡°Geez . Well, he¡¯s not actually far off the mark in a sense though¡­¡­¡± In any case, Elma did offer her everything to me using that 3 million debt as a reason . Probably . Uh, no, maybe that was just my misunderstanding in the first ce . I feel she doesn¡¯t even care about the 3 million Enel debt right now¡­¡­ Or rather, she hasn¡¯t even paid me 1 Enel . But apart from that time where she splurged her money on buying expensive liquor in the Alein system, she hasn¡¯t really spent her cash all that much . Maybe she really is saving up in order to repay me after all . Or maybe she just doesn¡¯t want to pay her debt so she can continue to stay with me . I¡¯ll have to ask her to make sure though . ¡°That probably was my intention at first . But now, I¡¯m staying with Hiro because I like being with you . I am saving up money though¡­¡­ But I¡¯ve only managed to save about 1,300,000 Enels, so I¡¯m not even halfway there . ¡± ¡°Um, I¡¯ve also saved up 380,000 Enels . It hasn¡¯t even been one year since I started working for you and yet¡­¡­¡± Elma and Mimi brought out their data terminals and showed me their savings . It¡¯s not like Mimi has a debt to pay anyway, so all of her savings are already her own . I did pay 500,000 Enels when I brought Mimi with me from her home colony, but I have no intention of having her pay that back . That would just mean she¡¯ll get into debt with me instead of with the colony government after all . Or rather, I have no intention of meddling with how they use their personal finances anyway¡­¡­ They might not think of it that way though . ¡°Um, oh right . Since we¡¯ve already made it back to the ship, do you want to contact your family, Elma?¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess¡­¡­ Haah, this is so troublesome . ¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­¡­ But isn¡¯t it great? You have a family that worries about you after all . Isn¡¯t that right, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Mm, that¡¯s right . ¡± Mimi and I both have no rtives in this gxy after all . Mimi¡¯s folks already died in an ident, and since shended herself in that horrible predicament afterward, she might have lost contact with her grandparents and other rtives as well . And then, there¡¯s me . I suddenly found myself in this dimension for no rhyme or reason and now I¡¯m drifting about in the gxy together with Krishna before I knew it . I have no family or rtives in this dimension at all . I do treasure my crew as my family though . ¡°¡­¡­You¡¯re right . I¡¯ll call them . ¡± Maybe she remembered Mimi and my circumstances . Elma¡¯s expression changed from being annoyed to an earnest one . ¡°If it¡¯s alright with you, I¡¯ll sit in as well . We¡¯re all part of the same crew, so we¡¯re something like a family as well, right?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m joining too! Ah, I¡¯ll call Mei-san, Tina-san, and Whisker-san as well!¡± ¡°Alright . Please call them over . ¡± Mimi fiddled with her tablet terminal and called Mei, Tina, and Whisker . Elma disyed a soft smile as she watched her . Mei stayed on the ship so she made it to the lounge straight away, but Tina and Whisker were still in the Grakkis Secundus satellite office of Space Dwerg, so they told us they probably won¡¯t be able to make it . Apparently, the main branch was located on Grakkis Prime . ¡°Okay then . I¡¯ll start the call . ¡± Elma already informed the Willrose House that we would be engaging in a video call with them beforehand . They actually replied straight away as well . It looks like they are also anxious to see Elma as well . They immediately picked up when we started the call, and the forms of three people got projected on the holo-disy . One was a rather young-looking man, but he looked like the older version of the guy who pointed his sword at me when he saw Elma earlier . The other two were young women who very much looked like sisters . All of them had pointed ears like Elma and shared the same sort of aura as her . ¡°Dear father, mother, sister, It¡¯s been a long time . ¡± ¡ºElma¡­¡­ In any case, I¡¯m d that you seem to be doing fine . ¡» The young-looking elven male looked at Elma with a concerned gaze and sighed in relief . The two young women focused their gazes at me though . ¡º¡­¡­I heard he was a mercenary, so I fully expected a brutish boor . ¡» ¡ºHe¡¯s unexpectedly normal-looking, isn¡¯t he?¡» So which one of them was the mother and which one was the sister? They looked so young that they would both pass as Elma¡¯s sisters . Well, one of them was really her sister though . ¡°I¡¯ll introduce you . This is the captain of the ship I¡¯m serving on; a tinum-ranked mercenary recognized by the guild and a recipient of the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal, Hiro . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure to meet you all . My name is Hiro . As I am ofmon birth, please forgive my unrefined words from time to time . I am honored to be in your presence . ¡± After saying so, I ced one hand over my chest and gave them a slight bow . After seeing my actions, the three figures projected by the holo-disy all became quite surprised and were wide-eyed . ¡°Hey, Hiro . You just made my family speechless you know?¡± ¡°Huh? Um, did I do it wrong?¡± ¡°It would be fine if they were talking to a fellow noble, but amoner mercenary talking so formally would seem really strange to them . ¡± ¡°I see . Okay then . You¡¯re up, Mimi . ¡± ¡°Feh!? Ah¡­¡­ Um, my name is Mimi . I was saved by Hiro-sama and Elma-san on Termaine Prime and have been together with them since . I¡¯m pleased to meet you all . ¡± Mimi introduced herself as well and gave a cute bow . The Willrose family turned their gazes to Mimi, and Elma¡¯s father, Viscount Willrose, as well as the twodies, got startled and widened their eyes once more . Or rather, they did a double-take and focused their gazes on Mimi . It seems one of thedies realized something and tilted her head in thought . ¡°Is there something wrong with our Mimi?¡± ¡ºN-No . It¡¯s nothing . I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just a coincidence ¡­¡­Ahem . Excuse us . I am Elma¡¯s father, Viscount Eldmoore Willrose . This is my wife, Milfi, and my other daughter, Elma¡¯s older sister, Elfin . ¡» ¡ºThank you for taking care of my daughter . ¡» ¡ºIt¡¯s nice to meet you . ¡» Thedy with straight waist-length silver hair was the mother, Milfi-san, and thedy with hair that was close to golden blonde in color tied in a braid was the big sister, Elfin . Un . They all looked really young, including Elma¡¯s dad . ¡ºThe reason we got in touch with you immediately is due to Ernst . Ah, Ernst is my son, and¨C¡» ¡°We already met dear brother . He suddenly challenged Hiro to a duel, so I shooed him away . ¡± ¡º¡­¡­Well, it¡¯s alright as long as he¡¯s fine . ¡» Eldmoore closed his eyes and sighed in relief . ¡ºAs soon as he learned that you were in the capital system, he immediately flew out of the house and went over to the Secundus colony . I already know that Hiro was awarded the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal, so I was worried something would happen once he finds you . ¡» ¡°I see . Rather, what was the meaning of that demand you sent to the Mercenary Guild anyway? You told them to immediately hand me over in the name of House Willrose . ¡± ¡ºWhat? I should have only sent them a message telling them to have you contact us as soon as possible though?¡» ¡ºThat idiot probably intercepted your message and tampered with it, father . ¡» Elfin-san sounded rather harsh when she gave her take on the matter . She was referring to Ernst when she said ¡®idiot¡¯, right? ¡ºPerhaps so¡­¡­ I shall confirm it with the Mercenary Guildter on . More importantly, it¡¯s been five years since you left us, Elma . The engagement with Gilliam has already been called off, so you don¡¯t have anything to worry about anymore . So pleasee back, dear . ¡» Eldmoore-san gently implored Elma with a serious expression on his young-looking face . Gilliam? Engagement? Aha! ¡°I see . So that¡¯s the reason you ran away huh?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not really the only reason, but it was a major factor, I admit . I¡¯ll talk about it with youter¡­¡­ Dear father, I do not have any intention ofing home yet . ¡± ¡ºIs it because of your debt? It was 3,000,000 Enels, I believe . We can easily pay off that amount, dear . We can actually pay double or even triple the price if you wish . So pleasee back, Elma . The life of a mercenary is always fraught with danger, right? If youe home, there¡¯s no longer any reason for you to risk your life . ¡» ¡°It¡¯s true that I haven¡¯t paid off my debt to Hiro . Or rather, I haven¡¯t even paid him 1 Enel, not to mention 3 million . But I can¡¯t have you pay it off just like that either, dear father . I¡¯ll work hard and pay Hiro myself . ¡± ¡ºI admire your sense of duty dear but bear in mind that you are a member of House Willrose . Besides, you are still an unmarried girl . You must know the implications of a girl staying on a male mercenary¡¯s ship¨C¡» ¡°Of course I¡¯m aware . And we¡¯re already in that sort of rtionship as well . ¡± After saying so, Elma grabbed my arm and snuggled with me . ¡ºWha¨C!?¡» When Eldmoore-san saw her actions, his eyes opened as wide as saucers in sheer shock, but his expression turned quite murderous shortly after . ¡ºHow dare a mere mercenary like you touch my beloved daughter¡­¡­?¡» ¡°Well, I won¡¯t deny what I¡¯ve done . And I don¡¯t intend to part with Elma either . ¡± I took his gaze head-on without flinching . ¡ºHa! Well said, you brat . But don¡¯t think I won¡¯t dare to open a hole on your¨C Ugeh!?¡» The holo-disy clearly showed two fists attack Eldmoore-san¡¯s sides simultaneously and took the wind out of him . And the owners of those fists were, of course, Elma¡¯s mother Milfi and Elma¡¯s sister Elfin . ¡ºThis is why the men in our house are no good . As soon as something happens, they immediately go shouting ¡®duel, duel¡¯ like idiots . ¡­¡­Honestly . ¡» ¡ºOne foolish muscle-brained brother who¡¯s enamored with those Drawn Sword folks is more than enough for this household, father . ¡» ¡ºIn the first ce, Hiro-kun is already hailed as a hero and has received the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal . He will also be receiving a Silver Star, or perhaps even a Gold Star,ter on, right? A Gold Star recipient will be given the same ords as a viscount . And even if that was not the case, Hiro-kun should already be treated as an honorary imperial knight due to the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal . This is not the time or situation for you to propose a duel . ¡» Eldmoore-san, who was currently crouching in pain due to the attacks on both of his sides, was scolded mercilessly by the two women . Um, even I¡¯m starting to pity the guy . How about you leave it at that,dies? ¡°And, um, there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll be able to part with Hiro now anyway¡­¡­¡± ¡ºAra? Ara ara, ara ara?¡» ¡ºSo you beat me to the punch huh? To think I¡¯ll be overtaken by my own younger sister . ¡» After hearing Elma¡¯s words, Milfi-san and Elfin-san started grinning teasingly at her . What? What did they get from Elma¡¯s earlier words anyway? ¡°Hey, Mimi . What are they talking about?¡± ¡°U-Um, err, ahaha . ¡± Mimi seems to know something . Just what the heck is up here? I have no idea at all . ¡°It looks like you have lots of things to talk about with your family huh . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s no reason to hide anything anymore, so I¡¯ll tell them everythingter . Later, okay . ¡± ¡ºOh my . I don¡¯t mind if you tell us everything now you know . ¡» ¡ºRight, right . We¡¯re all ears, my dear little sister . ¡» ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious that those are things I want only dear mother and sister to hear!?¡± The red-faced Elma started making a ruckus with her mother and sister projected by the holo-disy . The riot continued until the downed Eldmoore-san finally managed to revive . Specifically, it only ended after a full five minutes . Chapter 175 Chapter 175 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone We concluded the call with Viscount Willrose with a promise to meet them face to face after the award ceremony . Eldmoore still seemed to have a thing or two to say to me for touching Elma, but¡­¡­ ¡°Hiro-san is a recipient of the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal, and soon, an even more prestigious Gold Star . You¡¯re already regarded as an imperial hero . And having Elma get close to someone of your caliber and fame before anyone else offers quite a lot of advantages to us if you look at it from the perspective of an aristocratic house . ¡± ¡°Guoooooh!? Milfi! I give, I give!¡± Milfi-san, who held the still-hostile Eldmoore in a tight armlock as she addressed me with a sweet smile, looked pretty amazing¡­¡­ She was undoubtedly Elma¡¯s mother . ¡°But I feel like I went and got myself off the hook for a reason I don¡¯t really get though . ¡± I murmured in a perplexed tone while sitting on the edge of the bed . ¡°Oh, you¡¯re talking about the matter dear mother mentioned? Well, to put it simply, she implied that those who couldn¡¯t even reign in her tomboy daughter have no right to point fingers when the said daughter was able to earn the attention of an excellent and distinguished mercenary like you . It wasn¡¯t intentional on your part, but you did manage to get awarded the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal and Gold Star . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­How should I put it? Um, it¡¯s like a children¡¯s fight . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty urate, actually . Nobles usually indulge themselves in such trivial and silly exchanges . ¡± Elma, who still hasn¡¯t dried herself off after taking a shower, shrugged her shoulders nonchntly . By the way, I was also still drenched since we took a shower together . ¡°Well, in other words, they¡¯ll have to recognize your worth whether they like it or not . Since you¡¯ve already produced solid results, they won¡¯t be able to use you of being a hack . Rather, it would be more appropriate to just sit back and allow others to form their own conjectures instead . ¡± ¡°Man, your social circle is something I really won¡¯t get . It¡¯s definitely more trouble than it¡¯s worth . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . I was also fed up with those boring and tedious affairs, and that¡¯s one of the reasons I ran away from home . ¡± ¡°You made the right choice, I think . It just feels so much better to go wherever you wanna go and see whatever you wanna see at your own pace . You can go on adventures, eat lots of different food, hunt down pirates from time to time, and do whatever else you find interesting . It¡¯s a lot more fulfilling, that¡¯s for sure . ¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it?¡± Elma giggled cheerfully and sat next to me . She then leaned her body on mine and made herselffortable . ¡°And I have you, Mimi, Mei, Tina, and Whisker on this ship . I get to go on adventures withrades who I love and trust in this vast universe . We¡¯ll get mixed up in trouble from time to time and ovee a pinch together . I get to live out an exciting and fulfilling life even better than those depicted by adventure holo-novels, and that¡¯s more than enough for me . That¡¯s why I have no intention of letting go of such a life, and in order for me to keep it, I¡¯ll happily go with any scheme my mother cooks up . ¡± ¡°I see . So, basically, you¡¯ve just set your bottom line, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . Tina and Whisker notwithstanding, we¡¯ll have to discuss things with Mimi and Mei to prepare for tomorrow . We absolutely have to protect our daily lives . ¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right . ¡± And before long, Elma and I fell asleep together on the bed after talking about things regarding her family a bit more . The next day . Mimi, Mei, Elma, and I decided to have one final discussion regarding our ns for the ceremonyter on at the breakfast table . ¡°I have no problems regarding the n, but are you sure you¡¯re alright with it, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked Mimi who was tilting her head . ¡°Um, I mean there¡¯s a good chance you¡¯ll be officially recognized as an imperial knight and be granted a formal imperial peerage . ¡± ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s about bing a noble huh¡­¡­ You mean I won¡¯t just be granted an honorary title but an official one instead, right?¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± ¡°Do you want to be a noble, Mimi?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Mimi tilted her head once more after hearing my question . I want to know her opinion on the matter as well . ¡°You see, if I be an official noble, you¡¯d probably be one as well, Mimi . In this case, Elma will be the first wife, and you¡¯ll probably be treated as my second, right?¡± ¡°That would normally be the case considering our stations, but I¡¯m still an elf you see . It¡¯s still a fact that it¡¯s usually fairly difficult to conceive a child with those of my kind, so having Mimi serve as the first wife due to that is also possible . And personally, I don¡¯t really mind bing a concubine at all . Actually, I think Mimi would be more suitable as your official wife . ¡± After she listened to Elma and my discussion and realized what we meant, Mimi¡¯s face turned bright red from embarrassment . ¡°Well, once I be an official noble and get issued high-ss citizenship, it won¡¯t be that difficult to settle down on a somewhere in the empire . That option¡¯s open, but we¡¯ll obviously no longer be able to fly around freely across the gxy as mercenaries . ¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡­ Oh, here¡¯s an idea . Instead of settling with father in the capital after getting knighted, we might be able to get more leeway if we join up with Chris . Earl Dareinwald still owes us for our help after all, and if you get promoted to a knight or baron ande under him, I bet we¡¯ll still be able to act more freely under him, even though it definitely won¡¯t be the same degree of freedom we¡¯re enjoying now . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Uh, but won¡¯t Chris capitalize on that and double down on her pursuit of me instead?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine? You don¡¯t really hate being with that girl yourself, right, Hiro?¡± ¡°Uh, I guess . But still¡­¡­¡± Of course, I¡¯d feel good to be sought after passionately by such a cute girl . But I don¡¯t know about relying on a girl who I basically dumped in a spectacr fashion a while back though¡­ She would probably go on the attack without any reserve once she learns of me bing a noble myself . At that time, I couldn¡¯t ept Chris¡¯s favor for various reasons, but there¡¯s no doubt things would change once I became a noble . Or rather, even without those reasons, meying a hand on Chris right now is all sorts of wrong y¡¯know . Yeah, that¡¯s definitely an out . If I put my filthy hands on a girl her age, it¡¯s definitely going to be a crime! I¡¯ll get arrested by the police for sure! ¡°Well, I admit I do find it a bit interesting to try my hand at being a nobleman, but I still prefer being a free and unfettered mercenary for a while longer . Or rather, at the rate this conversation is going, it might lead to an unexpected development . Like, for some reason, Mimi coldly refuses to marry me or something . I¡¯d probably dig a hole on the ground somewhere and bury myself alive if that were the case . ¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s okay! I¡¯m willing to marry you, Hiro-sama!!¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I¡¯m talkin about!¡± ¡°Yes, yes . Good for you huh . I¡¯ll marry you too, of course . ¡± Mimi shrieked in glee with her face still bright red and made a guts pose . I turned to Elma and found her rolling her eyes at me as she giggled . Mei just quietly watched our interaction with a warm gaze . ¡°Do you want to get hitched with me as well, Mei?¡± ¡°I will follow whatever you require of me, Master . ¡± ¡°Yeah . I guess I¡¯ll be marrying Elma and Mei as well huh . ¡± ¡°Yes, yes . Alright . Since you¡¯re already on a roll, how about marrying Chris, Tina, and Whisker as well? Rather, how about marrying Major Serena too?¡± ¡°Uh, I¡¯ll probably pass on Major Serena . ¡± Cuz y¡¯see, if I do get into that kind of rtionship for real with Major Serena after bing a noble, I have a really strong gut feeling it¡¯ll lead into trouble more explosive than an anti-ship reactive torpedo . ¡°Let¡¯s ignore the matter about Major Serena for now, okay? So how about it, Mei? Are you really willing to marry me?¡± ¡°Yes . Independent AIs are also recognized as official citizens after all . It is even possible for me to have children with you if you so wish, Master . ¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°Indeed . Seriously, Master . It requiresplicated procedures and considerable expenses though . ¡± ¡°Man . Science sure is amazing¡­¡­¡± How on earth would I actually conceive a child with Mei who¡¯s an android? Will it be through a cloning process or something? Or rather, how would you ssify a child born out of a human and an independent AI? It¡¯s seriously stimting my intellectual curiosity man . ¡°Well, we got off-track, but we¡¯re clear about the n, right? No matter what happens, we¡¯ll insist on continuing our activities as free mercenaries . To that end, we¡¯re willing topromise to a certain extent . However, we¡¯ll resist no matter what if their conditions end up affecting our current lifestyle far too much . That¡¯s about it . ¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Alright . ¡± ¡°Acknowledged . ¡± The threedies nodded . Yosh . Now we¡¯re all on the same page . ¡°So what about Tina and Whisker? They haven¡¯te back yet since going to the satellite office, right?¡± ¡°Yes . It seems they were given jobs to work on by the Space Dwergpany, and they stayed at the satellite office overnight in order to finish them . ¡± ¡°Uwaa, how very ck¡­¡­¡± The dwarves seem more resilient than humans in general, but even so, having them stay overnight to finish tons of work still seems like something ckpanies would do . Just what is the corporate culture really like in Space Dwerg, I wonder . As I thought of such things, the buzzer in the dining area rang . That should mean we have visitors, but¡­¡­? ¡°Did someone make an appointment, Mei?¡± ¡°No, there wasn¡¯t anyone in particr . ¡± After saying so, Mei turned her gaze toward empty air . She might be interfacing with ck Lotus¡¯ surveince systems in order to see who the visitor was . ¡°It looks like Tina-san and Whisker-san have returned . ¡± Hm? If so, then why did the buzzer ring? We¡¯ve already given them ess rights, so they shouldn¡¯t have bothered to ring the buzzer . ¡°It¡¯s not just Tina-san and Whisker-san . It looks like they broughtpanions with them . ¡± ¡°Companions?¡± ¡°Yes . There¡¯s a dwarvendy like them and some humans as well . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­? What do you think, guys?¡± ¡°I wonder?¡± ¡°If those two brought these people with them, then they¡¯re probably rted to Space Dwerg . Maybe it¡¯s about that mercenary documentary they told us about back then?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡­ Oh yeah . We did give them priority coverage rights huh . ¡± ¡°Yes . In exchange for a discount . However, we also agreed on some conditions regarding the interviews . ¡± So maybe these guys are visiting to give their greetings huh? Even so, it would have been better if they set an appointment with us first though . Umu . ¡°Well, I guess it won¡¯t hurt to hear them out . We could still turn them awayter on . ¡± ¡°Right . ¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡­ We aren¡¯t going to ept the interview?¡± Come to think of it, Mimi was really gung-ho about getting interviewed huh . ¡°It depends on the situation . In any case, let¡¯s hear them out first . ¡± After I said so, I matched gazes with Mei . She nodded and activated the holo-disy . When the holo-disy came online, the mechanic sisters, whose faces became simr to those of Tibetan foxes, appeared before us . ¡°d you¡¯re back, guys . So, who are those folks behind you?¡± ¡ºThey¡¯re people from the entertainment department Boss¡­¡­ Sorry to bother you, but can you at least hear them out for us? Please?¡» Tina, whose eyes were missing their usual luster, sighed as she pleaded with us . Ah, un . Man . People from mass media are the same in any dimension huh . I guess we better keep our wits about then . Chapter 176 Chapter 176 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone An hour has passed since Tina and Whisker came back . ¡°We¡¯re really sorry for today¡¯s matter . ¡± The Space Dwerg Company Grakkis Secundus Colony Satellite Office Entertainment Department Chief (Man, what a damn long job title . ) and Vice-chief were now lined up in front of me while performing some splendid dogeza . And behind them, the rest of the entertainment department personnel who tagged along with Tina and Whisker were now tied up with ropes like bagworms as theyid about on the floor . The color of their faces was way past blue and was now close to deathly pale . Well, uh, there¡¯s a good reason for this folks . These folks didn¡¯t listen to a word we said and forcibly boarded the ship with Tina and Whisker even though we already expressly refused and began filming without permission . They suddenly handed us a script and told us to do as it said, started taking pictures of everything theyid their eyes on, tried to break into our private spaces, went to the hangar and started taking pictures of Krishna, tried to open the cargo containers without asking for permission in order to check out their contents, among other things¡­¡­ Anyway, it was really too much to take . I inquired with Elma and Mei regarding the treatment of people who trespass on a private mercenary ship without permission and also confirmed it with the Mercenary Guild . I also had Mei submit the recording of our refusal to let them onboard to the Space Dwerg Company Grakkis Secundus Colony Satellite Office as part of an officialint and then had her capture the illegal trespassers . I showed the trespassers, who were spouting nonsense like viting their rights, my Silver Sword Wings Assault medal and emphasized the fact that I am already considered an honorary imperial knight . I also exined to them that the use of force against illegal intruders on a mercenary ship is legally permitted . The use of force being permitted meant that even if an attempt at capture resulted in casualties, we would not be held legally ountable . It seems this was a policy that was implemented primarily for the convenience of mercenaries who ept missions such as transporting highly confidential military cargo and guarding VIPs . Of course, there are some other regtions in ce so that mercenaries won¡¯t be able to abuse this policy, but in our particr case this time, everything checks out, so we have nothing to worry about and can do whatever we need to do . I also told the idiots who¡¯ve be bagworms that I¡¯ve already lodged an officialint to theirpany in my name under the purview of the Mercenary Guild . After I¡¯ve spelled things out to that extent, the idiots finally realized the disaster theynded themselves in and started begging for mercy . Well, of course, I ignored them . I mean c¡¯mon . ¡°Anyway, after pissing me off in the past, this happens huh? Don¡¯t tell me this is actually part of yourpany¡¯s usual style? Well?¡± ¡°We can offer no excuse, sir . ¡± ¡°Did you guys actually think you can do as you please after selling me a good ship? I mean, the normal way of doing stuff like this is making an appointment in advance first, and then setting up a proper meeting, right? Is this really how you folks do business? Causing trouble and suddenlyunching a surprise interview without any warning at all is utterly ridiculous . ¡± ¡°We can only offer our deepest apologies¡­¡­¡± It¡¯s kinda awkward seeing an elderly dwarf with a short stature performing a dogeza in front of me, but that doesn¡¯t mean I can let them off the hook just like that . How troublesome . ¡°This entire series of events have been recorded by our capable maid using our onboard equipment . If you can¡¯t give me a satisfying response, we might just leak the footage to your rivalpanies one of these days . ¡± ¡°¡±¡±!?¡±¡±¡± In response to my remarks, the Sales Manager, Vice-chief, and Chief, all widened their eyes in shock and apprehension . ¡°It looks like you have quite a lot ofpetitors huh? Mobius Ring, Fomalhaut Entertainment, and Nyaatoflix all seem like good picks, don¡¯t you think?¡± Mobius Ring produces fairly standard and realistic documentaries, and Fomalhaut Entertainment leans toward shier and more dynamic stuff . I wonder if Nyaatoflix makes those day-to-day reality-TV style ones? Or rather, what is up with the mascot character of Nyaatoflix anyway? It looks like a creepy alien creature with a conical head . Isn¡¯t this guy bad for people¡¯s SAN points due to how creepy it is? Is this thing really okay? ¡°P-Please, sir! Anything but that¡­¡­!¡± The chief of the entertainment department rubbed his forehead on the floor and begged like his life depended on it . ¡°You guys might have already heard of it, but the main reason I¡¯vee to this system is that I¡¯ll be receiving an award . To be more specific, I¡¯ll be awarded a military medal . It¡¯s probably gonna be announced in a big way and will make the headlines¡­¡­¡± The Sales Manager, Vice-chief, and Chief were all looking at me with fixed gazes . ¡°I¡¯ll probably receive offers for interviews at the ceremony you know . I already agreed with Space Dwerg to give you guys priority rights, but since I¡¯ve been treated this poorly, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s better if I cut my losses early? I mean, is there even any reason I need to stick to our earlier agreement?¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s¡­¡­¡± ¡°I only epted it as a prerequisite for getting discounts when I purchased a ship from you guys . But, honestly, I never thought I¡¯d actually receive this kind of treatment¡­¡­ Should I just refund the 2 million Enel discount and forget the deal ever happened?¡± ¡°N-Nhyooo¨C¡± After hearing my words, the bagworms started squirming and letting out weird cries . That¡¯s right . I¡¯m telling you guys I can just refund the 2 million Enel discount given by your Brad System branch and cancel the priority coverage rights . ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯ve vented enough for now . Let¡¯s talk business . ¡± After saying so, I bent down and matched gazes with the three dwarves kneeling on the ground who looked absolutely terrified . Hahaha, what the heck are you all scared about? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m gonna demand anything that unreasonable y¡¯know . ¡°We¡¯re really sorry¡­¡­¡± ¡°Sorry¡­¡­¡± ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t me you guys, so don¡¯t let it get to you . ¡± We kicked the bagworms out of the ship along with the Sales Manager, Vice-chief, and Chief, but the mechanic sisters ended up looking quite dispirited afterward . ¡°I mean, those guys wouldn¡¯t listen even if you warned them off, right? You sure had it hard, you two . ¡± ¡°Uu¡­¡­ You¡¯re so nice, Boss . ¡± ¡°Thank you very much¡­¡­¡± In fact, judging from the state of the two of them when they rang the buzzer, they must have tried everything they could to dissuade their colleagues . ¡°In any case, are you really fine with just that?¡± ¡°Yeah . It¡¯s not good to overdo it and create a grudge . ¡± I replied to Elma, who pointed toward the expensive-looking alcohol and snacks the dwarves gave us, and shrugged . The thing I demanded from Space Dwerg was to take responsibility and handle the otherpanies who want to request interviews . I don¡¯t want to experience another fiasco like this from otherpanies after all . I¡¯m sure what¡¯s awaiting them is some hellish damage control and adjustments in their operations . I don¡¯t really mind if Space Dwerg makes a profit out of the interviews by making deals with otherpanies for the rights . I¡¯ll ept interviews as long as they go through the proper procedure first . However, I won¡¯t tolerate things being turned into a mass media circus . Everyone has their own specialties . It¡¯s better to leave those in mass media to their peers . However, in the event that they cause trouble for me and my crew, we have every right to sue the offending party or resort to other means to demand justice . I made sure to emphasize this point to them . Of course, I¡¯ve also included Tina and Whisker when I referred to my crew . Even though they are just temporary crew members sent by Space Dwerg, I already consider them part of our family . ¡°You two should be careful from now on . I¡¯m not scolding you, okay . I¡¯m just genuinely concerned . If I step into the limelight after this ceremony, you¡¯ll most likely attract attention as well as part of my crew . This is even more true due to the fact that I 100% own this ship, and I¡¯m also the captain . Furthermore, I¡¯m the only male in here . You know what I¡¯m getting at, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Un . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes . ¡± The two dwarven girls meekly nodded . ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what our true rtions are . That¡¯s just how it is . You¡¯ll probably be thought of as women with that sort of rtionship with me . Once the news gets spread out, I¡¯m sure some will spout some tastelessments regarding our situation . If some of them get directed at you guys, and you feel bothered by them, don¡¯t hesitate to talk to us, okay? If you find it hard to talk to me, you guys can consult with Mimi, Elma, and Mei instead . ¡± ¡°Nn, I understand . ¡± ¡°Understood . Thank you very much . ¡± ¡°Yosh . ¡± I nodded and turned around . ¡°It¡¯ll be okay, Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry . ¡± ¡°Please leave it to me . ¡± ¡°Great . ¡± My words don¡¯t just apply to the sisters, but Mimi and the rest as well . The three understood my meaning and nodded resolutely . I¡¯m probably gonna be in the line of fire as well, but¡­¡­ ¡®Hahaha! You jelly, folks?¡¯ I¡¯ll face those guys with this kind of attitude . If I get annoyed, I can just have Mimi, Elma, and Meifort me anyway . ¡°Now then, as for our ns for today¨C¡± As I was about to discuss further, my portable terminal suddenly rang . Huh? What¡¯s up? I don¡¯t recognize the address . It looks like the call came from the imperial capital though¡­¡­ Anyway, let¡¯s check it out first . I operated my terminal and projected the image on the lounge¡¯s holo-disy . I was instantly surprised . Her glossy ck hair that was once in a shoulder-length bob was now somewhat longer, but her strong-willed eyes that shone as brilliantly as onyxes were the same as I remember¡­¡­ Did she actually grow taller as well? She now seems slightly more maturepared to the girl in my memories . ¡°It¡¯s been quite some time, Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°Chris!?¡± ¡°Chris-chan!¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a long time . ¡± The noble girl who once spent a vacation with us on a resort, Christina Dareinwald, smiled at us through the holo-disy . Chapter 177 Chapter 177 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°It¡¯s been a while . Do you have some business in the imperial capital?¡± ¡°Yes . I¡¯ve been keeping myself busy in the imperial capital together with my grandfather . I¡¯m so happy to be able to see Hiro-sama¡¯s visage once more . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy to see you again as well, Chris . We were traveling together with an imperial military escort on our way to the imperial capital, so we weren¡¯t able to pay you a visit when we passed by the Dexer system . Is it just me, or have you be a little bit more mature since west saw each other?¡± ¡°Is that so? It pleases me to hear you say that, Hiro-sama . ¡± Chris¡¯s lips curled into an elegant smile . She really did seem more mature now . There¡¯s an anecdote back on Earth that goes something like¡ºIf one meets a youth again after three days, take a good look, and reevaluate him once more . ¡», but the growth of this young girl in front of us might be even greater than what that saying alludes to . ¡°It¡¯s great to see you again too, Mimi-san, Elma-san . I¡¯m very happy to reunite with you both once more as well . ¡± ¡°Me too!¡± ¡°I¡¯m d to see you¡¯re doing well . ¡± ¡°Um, this seems to be my first meeting with these two lovelydies . Can you introduce us?¡± Chris turned her gaze toward Tina and Whisker . Come to think of it, this really was the first time they¡¯ve seen each other . ¡°This red-haired girl is Tina, and this is her little sister, Whisker . They were both dispatched by a ship makingpany called Space Dwerg as our temporary crew members . They¡¯re both really brilliant engineers . And girls, this youngdy is Christina Dareinwald . She¡¯s the granddaughter and heir of Earl Dareinwald, and we were together with her before we got to meet you guys . We just simply call her with her pet name, Chris . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m Christina Dareinwald . But please, just call me Chris . ¡± Chris¡¯s image projected by the holo-disy gave a slight bow to the twins . ¡°U-Um, the name¡¯s¡­ I mean, my name is Tina . Err, mdy . ¡± ¡°Sis¡­¡­ Um, my name is Whisker . I¡¯m pleased to meet you, Chris-sama . ¡± Tina became flustered when she realized she was meeting an imperial nobledy . It helps that Whisker is quite socially adept . Well, Tina¡¯s just acting like her usual self though . After the mutual introductions, Chris¡¯s gaze shifted toward Mimi and narrowed her eyes . ¡°¡­¡­As I thought, you really resemble her . No, in fact, you two are nearly identical . ¡± She nodded to herself while muttering something in a cryptic manner . Hm? What¡¯s up? Um, is it just me, or are people always getting taken aback or making puzzled looks whenever they see Mimi since we came here? ¡°She resembles someone? Um, who are you talking about, Chris?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡­ I¡¯m sure you are all familiar with Her Imperial Highness, Princess Luciada, right? ¡­¡­Oh, um, I guess not . ¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say I am . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m only familiar with her name . Um, I think she¡¯s the Crown Prince¡¯s only daughter, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right¨C Ah,e to think of it, she¡¯s supposed to being of age soon, right? Eh, now just wait a sec¡­ Eh?¡± After saying so, Elma took out her portable terminal and fiddled with it with zingly fast hand speed . ¡°¡­¡­You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me?¡± After fiddling with her terminal, Elma stared fixedly on the terminal¡¯s screen with an openmouthed and shocked expression . It¡¯s rare to see Elma getting this surprised . ¡°I take it that you understand what I¡¯m trying to say now, Elma-san? Um, if Mimi-san attends the award ceremony like this, I¡¯m sure it will cause a very hugemotion¡­¡­ Thus, I consulted with my Grandfather and contacted you immediately . ¡± As Elma listened to Chris, Mimi, Tina, Whisker, and I stood up and peeked at the screen of Elma¡¯s terminal . And then, we found Mimi¡¯s image disyed on it . Her hairstyle, essories, as well as clothes were different, but her face was definitely identical to Mimi¡¯s . Uh, well, Mimi wins out in terms of breast size, I guess? ¡°Um¡­¡­?¡± Mimi was visibly flustered . Well, of course, she would be . In fact, I¡¯m shocked as well . Why¡­¡­? Really, just why, man¡­¡­? Elma¡¯s matter was already a potential cause for a media circus, but why did something like this happen as well¡­¡­? Just why? ¡°Um, would it be fine if we pass it off as sheer coincidence? ¡­¡­Err, I guess not . ¡± ¡°It probably won¡¯t . ¡± ¡°No way . ¡± ¡°Not happening, Boss . ¡± ¡°That won¡¯t do, big brother . ¡± ¡°So it really won¡¯t¡­¡­¡± Chris, Elma, Tina, and Whisker shot me down, and Mimi and I sighed dejectedly . ¡°Why don¡¯t we ditch the ceremony altogether and run away somewhere? I have a really bad feeling about all this . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s going to be next to impossible¡­¡­ If we stand Major Serena up and leave her in the lurch, she¡¯ll chase us down to the very ends of the universe y¡¯know . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s terrifying¡­¡± I have a feeling she¡¯ll really do just that, and I¡¯m already scared as heck . We do keep running into each other unintentionally a lot ever since we first met her, so I can¡¯t even imagine what would happen if she chases after us in earnest . ¡°W-What should we do? I-I¡¯m really just an ordinarymoner, okay!? There¡¯s no way my family is connected with royalty . This is really just a coincidence . ¡± It looks like Mimi was a lot more distraught than me . Well, I get it, though . The other party is not just any noble . She¡¯s an imperial princess for crying out loud . Looking identical to such an individual just in smells of trouble . There¡¯s a possibility of her being coerced to serve as a body double for the imperial family, or in the worst case, being assassinated in order to prevent the chaos . However, before those worst-case scenarios, she might first be subjected to DNA testing and genome analysis, but it would be a heck of a lot of trouble if those tests really manage to prove Mimi has imperial blood in her veins . Well, the fact that she looks so simr to that princess is trouble enough as it is . ¡°H-Hiro-samaaa¡­¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s gonna be okay . I¡¯m definitely not going to let anyone take you, Mimi . ¡± I hugged the flustered and teary-eyed Mimi tight in order to reassure her . We¡¯ll have toe up with something for Mimi . Maybe Elma and Chris can help out with formting a valid n . ¡°So, what should we do about this?¡± ¡°Right¡­¡­ Mei . ¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± Mei, who was called out to by Elma, stepped forward from the corner where she stood on standby since earlier . ¡°Can you help us to n out some countermeasures?¡± ¡°I will offer my utmost support . ¡± ¡°But you really do look alike huh¡­¡­ Are you sure you¡¯re not rted, Mimi?¡± After the call with Chris, Tina immediatelytched on to Mimi and began bugging her . You¡¯re getting more and more uninhibited,dy . ¡°Of course not¡­¡­ Papa and Mama were ordinary colony citizens working in the industrial sector . They, grandma, and grandpa are justmoners . ¡± ¡°Un . Well, even if your parents im they are, it¡¯s not necessarily true, right?¡± ¡°Well, you do have a point, I guess . But if Mimi¡¯s parents didn¡¯t really say anything about it, then we¡¯re at an impasse huh . ¡± ¡°Yeah . But we should be getting some news soon . ¡± After Elma said so, the buzzer rang and echoed in the lounge, signaling that we had visitors . I turned toward Elma and she just shrugged her shoulders in reply . I activated the holo-disy and checked out the ramp outside the ship . ¡°Geh . ¡± ¡ºAnd what do you mean by ¡®Geh¡¯ huh? Do you have anything against me being here?¡» The holo-disy showed Major Serena with her arms crossed, her adjutant, Lieutenant Robbitson, and some more folks who looked part of the military as well who were wearing really fancy uniforms . There were also folks wearing white coats behind them . Doctors, perhaps? ¡°Do you have business with us, Major?¡± ¡ºDon¡¯t y dumb . You already know why we¡¯re here, right?¡» ¡°Eh? I dunno what you¡¯re talking about ma¡¯am . ¡± ¡ºPlease . This is no time to be making those tasteless jokes of yours . ¡» Major Serena¡¯s image on the holo-disy had a vein throbbing on her temple . Looks like she really means business . ¡°Ok, ok . But we really don¡¯t get most of the situation, so it would be better if you exined it to us properly first, right? Well? How about it, major?¡± ¡ºI¡¯ll give it to you straight then . Mimi, one of your crew members, might possibly have the blood of the imperial family, so we came here to ascertain the truth . The people behind me are part of the imperial guards, Sir Zain and Dame Loretta . This gentleman here is the imperial physician, Dr . Falke, and this is Lord Cornell, the director of the Imperial Internal Affairs Bureau . ¡» The people introduced by Major Serena all gave light bows . So this is their response huh . They sure are quick . ¡°So, depending on the result, you¡¯ll possibly take Mimi away? Is that it?¡± ¡ºThat¡¯s¡­¡­¡» Major Serena faltered after hearing my question and turned to the people from the imperial guards and the internal affairs bureau . ¡°No matter her lineage, Mimi is part of my crew . Unless permitted by me, her captain, you people can¡¯t take her away, and if you force the issue, we¡¯ll resist with all we have . If you can¡¯t even promise me that, there¡¯s no way I¡¯m letting you onboard my ship . ¡± After hearing my not so subtle threat, the imperial guard duo and the director of internal affairs discussed with each other and nodded in unison . ¡ºWe promise you that we have no intention of making any immediate actions, even if we do confirm that Mimi-sama is of imperial blood . We would first like to confirm matters, and then consider how we¡¯ll deal with it afterward . ¡» Lord Cornell addressed us in aposed and sincere manner . Well, I guess it¡¯s fine then . It¡¯s not an issue we can avoid anyway . And it might actually be a good idea toe under the patronage of the imperial family before strange rumors start spreading and more shady folk start getting ideas . It¡¯ll be next to impossible for us to guard against the schemes of the sly old foxes in the imperial capital after all . I turned my gaze toward Mimi and Elma to confirm their response . Mimi reluctantly nodded and Elma sighed before nodding as well . ¡°Man, it¡¯s always one thing after another with you, huh, Boss¡­¡­? Are you really that much of a trouble ma?¡± ¡°Big brother is really amazing when ites to attracting trouble, isn¡¯t he? He¡¯s like a trouble singrity . ¡± I vehemently object to such a title! Since everyone didn¡¯t really need to be present in order to receive the guests, I and Mei were the one who picked the guests up from the ship¡¯s ramp . Mimi and Elma stayed at the ship¡¯s lounge area . Tina and Whisker stayed with them . I actually thought they¡¯d prefer to stay in their rooms, but due to their insistence, I allowed them to observe the proceedings in a corner of the lounge . ¡°Wee to the ck Lotus, everyone . ¡± ¡°Sorry for bothering you all . ¡± ¡°If you really are sorry, then how about you turn around and forget this ever happened?¡± When I joked around like usual, Major Serena gave me a scary re . I was just trying to lighten up the atmosphere y¡¯know . ¡°It¡¯s my first time toe aboard a mercenary ship¡­¡­ How novel . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s true . But contrary to my image of them, this ship is a lot brighter and more beautiful . ¡± The internal affairs director, Lord Cornell, and the imperial physician, Dr . Falke, ran their gazes around the ship curiously . The two elderly men walked in a steady and calm manner . The two imperial guards seem to be walking ahead calmly as well, but they were subtly keeping an eye on me and Mei . It looks like they were also checking out the passageway for anything suspicious . How professional . ¡°Oh¡­¡­¡± They let out sighs of admiration when theyid their eyes on Mimi . Or maybe the size and beauty of the lounge area was part of the cause as well . Well, judging from Lord Cornell¡¯s focused gaze, it¡¯s probably more of the former . The imperial guard duo even seemed close to involuntarily kneeling . ¡°My name is Cornell, Mimi-sama . It¡¯s a pleasure to make your acquaintance . ¡± ¡°Y-Yes¡­¡­ Um, I¡¯m really that sort of person so¡­ so please don¡¯t be so formal with me . ¡± ¡°That might be the case, or it might not be . At any rate, we will be finding out soon . Dr . Falke?¡± ¡°Yes . The results will be out straight away . Could you please lend me your hand, youngdy?¡± Mimi turned toward me nervously with a questioning gaze, and I nodded in reply . After seeing me nod, Mimi resolved herself and thrust her arm toward Dr . Falke . Dr . Falke brought up a rubber thimble attached to a cord that was also attached to his tablet terminal and put it on one of Mimi¡¯s fingers . He then began operating the tablet terminal . ¡°Fumu¡­¡­ This is¨C¡± Dr . Falke muttered after staring at the results on the tablet screen and removed the thimble from Mimi¡¯s finger . ¡°ording to the results, there is a 100% probability of Mimi-sama having the blood of the imperial family . ¡± After saying so, Dr . Falke knelt down on one knee and bowed reverently toward Mimi . Lord Cornell and the imperial guard duo also followed suit . ¡°Eh¡­¡­¡± Mimi let out a shocked cry and I and Elma covered our eyes with one hand as we looked toward the ceiling . Oh, man . Just why did this happen? Chapter 178 Chapter 178 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone The internal affairs bureau director Lord Cornell, the imperial court physician Dr . Falke, and the two members of the imperial royal guards left for the time being . The imperial guard duo was very adamant in insisting to apany Mimi in order to protect her . However, I made good use of my supposedly impressive track record as well as the high level of ck Lotus¡¯ security measures (Once the shield is up, there ain¡¯t anything getting past it . ) and managed to convince them otherwise . And the ones who remained on my ship apart from the crew are Major Serena and her adjutant, Lieutenant Robbitson . ¡°There¡¯s quite a couple of things I want to point out¡­¡­ First of all, just why did no one manage to notice at all until now? We even have some genuine nobledies here . ¡± I turned to Major Serena and saw her beautiful face frown . ¡°I also only managed to notice when I watched the news this morning . I merely thought the princess¡¯ face seemed familiar at first, but then I remembered your crew member and that she was the spitting image of Her Highness . I even spat out my morning tea in utter shock . ¡± Man . I would have wanted to see Major Serena elegantly sipping tea only to spit it back out¡­ I think it would have been hrious . I bet it would have been fun to tease her about it to her face . ¡°I mean c¡¯mon . She¡¯s your imperial princess, right? Nobody was familiar with her face? Elma and Major Serena are both from reputable noble houses, so it wouldn¡¯t have been strange if you had an idea about it . Why didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Basically, members of the imperial family do not appear openly in public until theye of age apart from the ceremony they undertake when they turn five years old¡­ This is the first time Her Imperial Highness Princess Luciada has shown herself to the citizens in ten years . ¡± ¡°So it was just bad timing¡­¡­¡± ¡°Well, how about you? You have a high-performance maidroid with you, right? Don¡¯t tell me she didn¡¯t notice as well?¡± After Major Serena pointed it out, all our gazes turned toward Mei . ¡°Regrettably, due to the fact that this was the first instance of Princess Luciada appearing openly in ten years, and that I have been busy with processing other important data these past few days, I ced her public appearance low on my priority list and failed to notice as well . ¡± ¡°Other data?¡± ¡°Yes . I was drafting a list of nobles who potentially posed a threat to us before and after the award ceremony . I looked up details like their whereabouts, schedules, ingrained habits, and so on . ¡± ¡°¡±¡±Ah¡­¡­¡±¡±¡± After realizing that info really was rather important, I, Mimi, and the mechanic sisters all cried out . Elma, Major Serena, and Lieutenant Robbitson merely disyed bitter smiles . ¡°Anyway, I guess we¡¯re clear on why no one managed to notice this matter until now, right? More importantly, you owe me for this, Captain Hiro . ¡± ¡°Just why? I don¡¯t think I¡¯m at fault for anything though?¡± Why did I suddenly owe this woman a favor, I wonder . I immediately expressed my objection . ¡°It¡¯s because I noticed it fairly early and contacted the Imperial Internal Affairs Bureau in order to arrange things as discreetly as possible . That¡¯s why this matter didn¡¯t blow up in your face . That¡¯s a pretty hefty favor, don¡¯t you think? I¡¯m sure you at least have an idea how much more troublesome things could have gotten without me making a move first, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it would really have be a major hassle if left alone, but we had absolutely no idea after all . And besides, we also have a way to contact the Internal Affairs Bureau, so even if Major Serena didn¡¯t make a move, we would have been able to deal with things regardless . ¡± Actually, Chris offered the help of House Dareinwald when she contacted us earlier, and there¡¯s also the option of relying on Viscount Willrose, Elma¡¯s father . Viscount Willrose directly worked for the Internal Affairs Bureau after all . ¡°Nheless, it would have still taken some time even if you had contacts, and there¡¯s still a big possibility of you getting into trouble even after asking for help¡­¡­¡± ¡°Well, I guess you¡¯re right . In my family¡¯s case, I¡¯m not too sure if dear father and brother would actually decide to help because of how they are . ¡± ¡°As for Chris¡­¡­ Ugh . ¡± Chris openly showed that she still hasn¡¯t given up on getting together with me, so if we solicit her help, she might use that as leverage in order to reach her goal . If you ask me if I hated it¡­¡­ uh, not really, I guess . But I hated the possibility of getting shackled and being made to stop my mercenary activities . That¡¯s definitely a no-go . ¡°If you look at it like that, I suppose it might be better to just agree with owing the major a favor . What do you think?¡± ¡°Considering the result, I suppose so . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s how it is then . We do owe you one . But with all that¡¯s happened before, how about we just call it even?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I beg to differ . This is a pretty big favor you know . ¡± ¡°Okay . Then I guess we owe you a little . Just a little though . ¡± ¡°Gununu¡­¡­¡± Major Serena groaned in frustration, but she didn¡¯t offer any more rebuttals afterward, so I guess she must have agreed, albeit grudgingly . ¡°More importantly, this matter regarding Mimi¡­¡­ Just how exactly did she manage to have the imperial bloodline anyway?¡± ¡°I have no idea, Hiro-sama¡­¡­ As far as I know, my Mama and Papa really were just ordinarymoners . ¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t we find clues if we trace back the imperial family tree and see if there were royals who went missing during Mimi¡¯s parent¡¯s generation?¡± ¡°That¡¯s one angle . We can also look up the generation of the current reigning emperor and even further back¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s one person who is pretty suspect . The younger sister of the current emperor, Celestia-sama¡­¡­¡± Elma and Major Serena came to the same conclusion and voiced their thoughts out simultaneously . The younger sister of the current emperor, Lady Celestia, huh¡­¡­ In other words, they were suspecting Mimi¡¯s grandmother . I¡¯m not too sure if it¡¯s the mother or father¡¯s side of her family though . ¡°What kind of person was she?¡± ¡°¡­¡­She was really unconventional for a royal . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes . She was quite the character . ¡± ording to our two nobledies, the said princess acted like a tomboy from a young age and was really adventurous despite her royal lineage . And when she reached 15 years of age, she fled the imperial capital with a starship she prepared in secret after undergoing hering-of-age ceremony . She then hid her identity and worked as a frence mercenary . She brilliantly evaded all pursuers sent by the imperial family, and finally escaped to a far-flung sector beyond their influence¨C Hey¡­ Now just hold up one sec . I seem to recall a pretty simr story told to me quite recently . ¡°¡­¡­What?¡± ¡°No, uh, I was just thinking the story was pretty simr to your own experiences . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Elma¡¯s ears turned bright red and pinched my nk in embarrassment . Ouch . I see . So the Elma five years ago was heavily influenced by such a person and took off to the sea of stars to emte her, huh? ¡°Ow, ow¡­¡­ Man . It sure sounds like her life story would be perfect as a movie or something . ¡± ¡°There haven¡¯t been any direct adaptations released so far, but lots of works made use of Celestia-sama¡¯s life story as a base . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen some of them as well . I particrly like the movie about adventures in the McSear system . ¡± ¡°Eh? Don¡¯t you think Mercenary Celes vs . Shark Kaijuu was interesting as well?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that? It sounds pretty interesting . ¡± They really sound like they¡¯re discussing low budget B movies¡­ Or rather, what¡¯s the deal with something like a shark kaijuu? So sharks also exist in space¡­¡­? Well, I¡¯ve already seen sharks with three heads and flying sharks in movies, so I guess space sharks really ain¡¯t that weird . But I seem to recall we already had something pretty simr too . Oh well . ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s very possible that Mimi¡¯s grandmother was the younger sister of the current emperor who loved a life of adventure . Since the emperor¡¯s granddaughter and Mimi look so simr, the possibility is very high . ¡± ¡°If that turns out not to be the case, we¡¯d have to trace even further back . But¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­?¡± Mimi tilted her head when I and Elma turned our attention to her . ¡°If that really was the case, then just why was Mimi left to fend for herself in such a disastrous state back then? If I and Elma didn¡¯t manage to encounter you back then, it would have been pretty terrible . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s true . ¡± Yep . That¡¯s what¡¯s bugging me about all this . Even though she fled and became a mercenary, a royal is still a royal . They should have sent someone to secretly monitor her and protect her or something . ¡°Perhaps Celestia-sama just managed to cover her tracks very thoroughly . She might have hidden her true lineage, used illegal means to procure a fake imperial ID, and blended in with the rest of the citizens . ¡± ¡°Can you actually fake such a thing?¡± ¡°As an imperial soldier, I really don¡¯t want to admit it, but there really seems to be a way to forge one . It just goes to show that anything made by mortal hands cannot possibly be perfect . ¡± Major Serena answered me with an expression akin to having swallowed a bitter pill . I see . So there¡¯s a way huh . Well, ording to the stories I heard, Mimi¡¯s grandma seems to be quite highly skilled, so she really might have done it . But it¡¯s not like we¡¯ve truly confirmed that Mimi¡¯s grandma was really this Celestia person . ¡°Thinking about all this stuff is turning out to be a major headache . ¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true¡­¡­¡± ¡°In any case, we already decided on a policy, right? We¡¯re gonna continue on with being mercenaries no matter what . This is something we¡¯re gonna insist on until the end . And for that, we¡¯ll get rid of anything that would stand in the way, no matter who or what it is . At present, we¡¯ll have to deal with the award ceremony first, prepare all that needs to be prepared, and leave all the other procedures to Major Serena . We still need to wait for their response regarding Mimi¡¯s matter anyway . ¡± After dering that, I pulled Mimi and had her sit on the sofa . I then sat beside her . ¡°I won¡¯t let anyone take Mimi and Elma away . It doesn¡¯t matter who the other party is . It¡¯s that simple . ¡± ¡°Oh boy . Those are some heavy-sounding words depending on how you interpret them, Boss . ¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to tease them, big sis . ¡± ¡°If Mimi and Elma still decide to leave in the end though, I guess I need to swallow my tears and send you guys off¡­¡­ Nah, I¡¯ll probably get in your way . I¡¯ll cry and tell you not to abandon me or something . ¡± After saying so, I pretended to cry pathetically . Tinaughed her heart out, Whisker giggled reservedly, Elma smiled bitterly, and Mimi¨C ¡°It¡¯s alright! I will never leave you, Hiro-sama!¡± She then hugged me tightly . Umu . How very like Mimi . The volume of the soft objects touching my arm was as heavenly as always . ¡°At this rate, we¡¯ll end up getting caught up in all this huh . ¡± ¡°Hahaha . ¡± Major Serena and Lieutenant Robbitson didn¡¯t seem too thrilled, but that¡¯s understandable . In any case, we¡¯ll have to wait for the imperial family¡¯s response . The award ceremony¡¯s date should be settled soon, but I¡¯m sure those folks from the Imperial Internal Affairs Bureau will contact us first . If you¡¯re gonnae, then bring it! I¡¯ll take you on . EX-002 ¨C Serena Holz¡¯ Supposedly Elegant Breakfast ¡°Nn¡­¡­ Yosh . ¡± I checked my appearance on the hologram, confirmed there wasn¡¯t anything that looked off, and nodded in satisfaction . I can¡¯t possibly show a sloppy appearance to my subordinates as a proud imperial military officer after all . Moreover, I am also themander of an independent military fleet . All the more reason why I have to always look my best . Although life as a major in the imperial military might be somewhat suffocating at times, I still vastly preferred it over participating in thosedies-only tea parties that simply consisted of women exchanging tasteless gossip . In that sense, I am truly d I was born ady of the house of Marquis Holz, which was a renowned military family . I didn¡¯t hate pretty dresses and essories, but I¡¯m really bad with those tea parties . ¡°Haaa . ¡± However, since I¡¯m now back in the capital, I will probably be forced to attend several such gatherings eventually . But as I¡¯ve been away serving in the imperial military for five years already, there¡¯s still a chance they won¡¯t invite me after all . ¡°Good morning, Major . ¡± ¡°Good morning, Lieutenant . ¡± When I entered the officer¡¯s dining area of the Restalias, I found my adjutant, Lieutenant Robbitson, already enjoying his breakfast . He¡¯s quite the dependable aide . He properly respects even a young woman such as myself and follows my orders as themander of the fleet without fault . I ordered breakfast and tea from the auto-cooker, ced them on a tray, and joined him on the table . I applied marmde to my toast as I greeted the other officers who entered the dining hall one after another . I wonder if we can do something about this auto-cooker . The tea was excellent, but other than that, everything else was so-so . If the breakfast formissioned officers just consisted of toast, marmde, baked beans, and tea, I do not even dare to think what items the NCOs are getting served with . Since we¡¯re already in the imperial capital, should I try to request for the recement of the auto-cookers installed in the ships of my fleet? Compared with all the bothersome formalities and procedures I had to undergo yesterday, it should be a piece of cake . It¡¯s apletely trivial matterpared to everything regarding the uing award ceremony . ¡°We¡¯ve finally sorted things out huh . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . We can probably rx until the day of the ceremony arrives . ¡± I then took a sip of my morning tea as I nced at the holo-disy installed in the dining hall . Perhaps in order to wee theing of spring, what¡¯s featured in today¡¯s morning news was Her Highness, Imperial Princess Luciada, who was making her first official public appearance in ten years after undergoing hering-of-age ceremony when she turned fiftee¨C!? ¡°Bufuuu!?¡± ¡°Whoah!? M-Major!?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but spit out my tea in spectacr fashion . Lieutenant Robbitson, who was sitting with me on the table, cried out in surprise . But I was in no shape to mind the other¡¯s reactions . I couldn¡¯t tear my eyes from the image of our imperial princess shown on the holo-disy . It¡¯s because the face being shown was utterly familiar to me . I wiped my mouth with one arm as I listened intently to the news program shown by the holo-disy . I didn¡¯t want to miss a word . Ah, my goodness . To think I¡¯d encounter trouble of this magnitude¡­¡­ Was there really something wrong with Captain Hiro? He actually managed tond himself in this mess with pinpoint precision¡­¡­ Ugh . This isn¡¯t the time to be thinking about all this . At this rate, the ceremony would probably descend into chaos once she appears . We¡¯ll have to do something before that happens . ¡°I take back my words about being able to rx¡­¡­ We have to contact the Internal Affairs Bureau right away!¡± ¡°T-The Internal Affairs Bureau!? M-Major, just what is¡­¡­¡± ¡°We have to hurry! It would turn into a major incident if we don¡¯t make a move now . You¡¯reing with me, Lieutenant . ¡± First, I¡¯ll have to exin the situation to my aide, who doesn¡¯t seem to have any idea about what¡¯s happening . I¡¯ll then need to gather some materials and data to serve as evidence before contacting the Internal Affairs Bureau¡ª- Aah, my head and stomach are already starting to hurt . Damn you, Captain Hiro¡­¡­ This favor is going to cost you big . Chapter 179 Chapter 179 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone The next day, the director of the Imperial Internal Affairs Bureau, Lord Cornell, came to our ship again along with some of his subordinates in order to conduct a formal inquiry . Of course, they went through the proper formalities and made an appointment with us first . They certainly are different from those media folks . ¡°First of all, we want to hear what you n to do from now on . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± I nodded while sitting on the sofa inside the lounge . The contents of the inquiry weren¡¯t all that formal or rigid . It was rather loose and felt like one of those survey interviews instead . I, Mimi, and Elma underwent the inquiry together . The mechanic sisters weren¡¯t really involved in Mimi¡¯s case, so they were just observing the proceedings from a corner of the lounge . ¡°The most important thing to consider is Mimi¡¯s will, I think . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . ¡± ¡°Hm . I suppose you are correct . ¡± My, Elma, Lord Cornell, and his subordinate¡¯s gazes all gathered on Mimi, who was startled by the sudden attention and started shaking a little . ¡°U-Um¡­¡­ Even if you suddenly tell me I have the blood of the royal family, I still can¡¯t wrap my head around it¡­ And besides, I consider myself just an ordinary colonist . Though right now, I¡¯m serving as part of Hiro-sama¡¯s crew as his operator . I think it¡¯s impossible for me to act as a proper member of the royal family after all . ¡± ¡°We understand that it would be impossible for Mimi-sama, who had not been educated as a member of the imperial family, to act and fulfill your royal duties right now . However, you can always learn . In this day and age, there are a lot of practical and quick methods for learning avable to us . We will of course offer all our support should you decide to live as a member of the imperial family from now on, and besides, His Majesty, the Emperor, is truly looking forward to meeting you, Mimi-sama . ¡± ¡°U-Um, H-His Majesty!? Uu¡­¡­ But why?¡± After hearing that the emperor wanted to meet her, Mimi became quite upset . Well, of course, she would . I would also be perturbed if I suddenly get told the head of the state who holds absolute power over the entire country wanted to meet with me . ¡°As a result of analyzing your gic information Mimi-sama, it was found that your closest gic match from among the living members of the imperial family was the Emperor himself . And as a result of cross-referencing with the gic data of past imperial family members, it was also found that your closest gic match among them was His Majesty¡¯s younger sister, Celestia-sama . Furthermore, it¡¯s close to 100% . She was probably Mimi-sama¡¯s grandmother . ¡± ¡°Ah¨C well, it¡¯s just like we thought then . The emperor¡¯s been separated from his younger sister for a long time after all . It¡¯s only natural that he wishes to see the granddaughter she left behind . ¡± ¡°Precisely . ¡± In any case, the conjecture that Celestia-sama was Mimi¡¯s grandmother was now confirmed . ¡°In that case, Elma, who escaped from the imperial capital due to her admiration for Mimi¡¯s grandmother, actually managed to meet with her idol¡¯s granddaughter and served in the same ship with her . It¡¯s certainly a very dramatic series of events, huh?¡± ¡°Okay . That¡¯s enough about me already . ¡± Elma, whose ears turned red from shame, started hitting my head . It¡¯s okay, girl . I understand . ¡°Um, I do find it a great honor that the emperor wants to meet me, but I still can¡¯t process just how amoner like me was given a chance to have an audience with him¡­¡­ Um, I would like to meet him once at least though . ¡± ¡°I see . Well then, I take it that you are amenable to a private and informal meeting?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡­ If Hiro-sama and the others are present too, then okay . ¡± ¡°Wai¨C¡± Elma and I turned our heads toward her when Mimi stated her condition . Elma was even starting to panic . I don¡¯t really mind though . ¡°We will definitely try our best to not act rude in the presence of the emperor, but different from Elma, I¡¯m just your normalmoner mercenary who doesn¡¯t know proper etiquette . If it¡¯s alright with you, could you please tell him to be lenient should we let anything slip?¡± ¡°Yes, of course . I shall let His Majesty know . Well then, are you really alright with choosing to stay with Hiro-sama and live as a mercenary, Mimi-sama? You will not be subject to any danger should you chose to formally be part of the imperial family . Will you really not consider it?¡± ¡°I am already living safely and securely thanks to Hiro-sama . I traveled among the stars with Hiro-sama, saw lots of different ces, met lots of different people, and sometimes get caught up in some form of trouble . But I am truly happy and content with my current life . ¡± Mimi faced Lord Cornell with a sincere gaze . ¡°That¡¯s why I won¡¯t agree to leave this ship . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ Well, from what I can see, the interior of this ship matches that of the best imperial luxury cruisers after all . ¡± Lord Cornell looked around the lounge and smiled . ¡°In fact, His Majesty is not thinking of forcibly taking you in as well, Mimi-sama . So please be at ease . In fact, he says he doesn¡¯t want to get kicked by a horse and die a pointless death . [1]¡± ¡°Somehow, after hearing that, a strange feeling of affinity with His Majesty is welling up inside me . ¡± Oh boy . The emperor might actually be a rather swell guy . ¡°Let me confirm for onest time then . You have no intention of bing a part of the imperial family, correct, Mimi-sama?¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± Mimi nodded straightforwardly to Lord Cornell¡¯s question . After seeing her do so, Lord Cornell nodded back . ¡°Understood . Well then, from here on out, we will act as if Mimi-sama has no connection with the imperial family whatsoever and treat you as amoner . Your likeness to Her Highness Princess Luciada is simply just a coincidence, and the results of the gic test will be sealed away and never see the light of day . ¡± ¡°I see . You¡¯re not just pulling our leg, right?¡± ¡°Yes . Celestia-sama has been missing for quite some time and is possibly no longer alive¡­ Is that right?¡± ¡°Um, probably¡­¡­? I heard from Papa that she was long dead, and I haven¡¯t really met her at all, even during my childhood . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­It sounds a little disconcerting, honestly . ¡± Considering how tough and badass the masses have made Celestia-sama out to be, she might actually still be alive and is flying around in space somewhere . The fact that Mimi has never even met her once is a cause for some doubt . ¡°If it¡¯s Celestia-sama¡­¡­ I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she was actually alive after all this time . ¡± ¡°She¡¯s never been caught once by the empire, and her descendant, Mimi is right here after all¡­¡­ If His Imperial Majesty is still alive, then his younger sister Celestia-sama being alive can¡¯t just be dismissed . ¡± After hearing about Celestia-sama¡¯s story yesterday, I ended up watching the aforementioned holo-videos and novels as well . Based on those, then she¡¯s actually ¡®that¡¯ sort of character . She¡¯s basically portrayed as the female version of [2]Co*ra . And since most works are regarded as nonfiction, it seemed even more ridiculous . ¡°Hahaha¡­¡­¡± After listening to Elma and my exchange, Lord Cornell pressed his sides andughed unabashedly . He probably thinks we¡¯re just being silly . Since he can also be considered part of the elderly generation, he might have been a witness to the mayhem Celestia-sama caused back in the day . ¡°Oh, and one more thing . It¡¯s regarding the situation you found Mimi-sama in when you first met her . There seem to be some unnatural points, so we are having our men investigate . ¡± ¡°I see? Well, for us, it¡¯s nothing but the past though . ¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡­¡± Mimi made an indecipherable expression . Maybe she remembered the time before she met us and got depressed . I enveloped the trembling fist she ced on herp with my palm and gently rubbed it . I can¡¯t even imagine just how scared and uneasy she was back then . ¡°If the conditions on Termaine Prime can improve a bit due to finding out the case that involved Mimi, then we can consider it a sort of blessing . ¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± I¡¯m not sure how things will proceed from now on, but if Mimi¡¯s parents were killed not due to an ident but due to some conspiracy instead, and the ones responsible even went as far as stripping her of all her rights as a citizen and dragging her to the mud, the administration on Termaine Prime will probably experience a storm of political purges in the near future . I¡¯m not sure what methods they¡¯ll use for the investigation though . ¡°Well then, this is the end of today¡¯s inquiry . I will bring back the results to the Bureau and will use them as reference for our future dealings . ¡± ¡°Thank you . I hope we¡¯lle to a good conclusion . ¡± ¡°I hope so as well . However, it is probably inevitable that you all will stand out during the ceremony . As long as Mimi-sama does not formally join the imperial family, it will be difficult for us to offer you protection . Please do be careful from now on . ¡± ¡°Is that a warning?¡± Or was it a threat? I implied that when I posed the question . After hearing my question, Lord Cornell nodded seriously . ¡°Yes, it is advice that I offered out of sincerity . However, you are both a tinum-ranked mercenary, a recipient of the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal, and even the prestigious Gold Star . The imperial military and the noble families associated with them, as well as the guild, will all try to protect you in their own way . Well, in the first ce, it¡¯smonly epted that touching a mercenary such as you will only result in painful losses, so no ordinary nobles will dare go against you . However¡­¡­¡± ¡°There are certain idiots out there who might try to reach for something beyond their caliber . ¡± Elma concluded Lord Cornell¡¯s words with a shrug, and he nodded in agreement . ¡°That is the case . Mimi-sama is the spitting image of Princess Luciada and is young, sweet, and beautiful . There might be some unrestrained characters who will entertain designs on you due to this . ¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s troublesome¡­¡­ But I guess I¡¯ll just have to swat them all away . And if I can¡¯t, we can always just run . ¡± I¡¯m just praying none of those idiots will turn out to be members of those Drawn Sword faction experts . Well, we can always take them on using our ships, and if we can¡¯t handle them, we¡¯ll just bail . In the worst case, we can also rely on Chris, Major Serena, or Elma¡¯s families for protection . I¡¯m kinda scared about what they¡¯d want me to give in return, so I don¡¯t really want to use this card if possible . ¡°I¡¯ve literally spat blood in order to train my sword skills to deal with such situations, so I guess it¡¯ll be fine . Mei has certified my skills after all . ¡± ¡°Yes . As you are right now Master, you can alreadypete with those nobles from the Drawn Sword faction . ¡± Mei, who was standing nearby, nodded in agreement . Well, I still can¡¯t win against Mei though . The power in our swings is just too far apart¡­¡­ I wouldn¡¯t be able to parry her attack since her strike is just too heavy so my bnce will break, and her speed was also almost impossible to evade . ¡°Fumu¡­¡­? Well, since you¡¯re an outstanding mercenary, that might just be the case . ¡± Lord Cornell¡¯s expression looked a little strange, but he got convinced anyway . Normally, amoner who hasn¡¯t undergone any physical strengthening cannot even hope to match a noble from the Drawn Sword faction in a close-range battle . However, the fact that a maidroid like Mei approves of me must have given him an idea that I underwent some physical upgrades myself . In fact, there actually are quite a few mercenaries who manage to upgrade themselves through cybeic imnts and such . Most who opt for sailing the gxy opt for some form of vision and reflex strengthening . And those who mainly engage close quartersbat operations in the colonies get administered the basic physical body strengthening procedures as well . But the procedure seems to be quite expensive, so only veteran Silver rankers and above have ess to it . ¡°Even so, I implore you to always stay vignt . Alright then . We shall be taking our leave now . We will contact you again once the time for the meeting has been set . ¡± After saying so, Lord Cornell and his subordinates left the ship . With this, a meeting with the emperor that might ur before or after the award ceremony will be added to our list of troubles . [1] TL Notes: The full proverb goes something like this: Anyone who interferes in another person¡¯s love affair should get kicked by a horse and die . [2] TL Notes: I actually had trouble getting the reference at first, but then it hit me . Shame on me for iming to be a sci-fi anime and manga nut but nearly forgetting Space Adventure Cobra ¨C a 1982 Japanese anime sci-fi film based on the 1978 manga ¡®Cobra¡¯ . If you folks aren¡¯t that familiar with Cobra or are young enough not to have heard of him at all, he¡¯s kind of a cross between Han Solo and James Bond starring in a ssic example of a 1980s sci-fi pulp anime movie . He wields his signature weapon, the Psychogun, and a Python 77 Magnum revolver as a backup . Do check the movie out sometime if you have the opportunity to and witness one of the ssics . Chapter 180 Chapter 180 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone In the end, it was decided that our audience with the emperor will be held after the award ceremony . We will be called over with the pretense of His Majesty wanting to exchange some words with the mercenary who was able to obtain a Gold Star which hasn¡¯t been given out for the longest time . More specifically, the audience will be held four days after the award ceremony . We then decided to try out the clothes we will wear for the ceremony as well as take etiquette lessons from Mei . ¡°Hiro-sama, you look so cool!¡± ¡°I guess he does look decent enough . ¡± ¡°Well, thank you,dies . ¡± Mimi and Elma praised my appearance when I wore the clothes Chris bought for me on Sierra III as well as the two noble-issue swords and my personalser gun . Well, even though they were said to be clothes fit for noblemen, they gave the impression of a formal military dress uniform as well . Maybe it¡¯s due to the influence of those Drawn Sword faction nobles . I guess they wanted clothes that didn¡¯t hinder their movements much . ¡°You two are also quite pretty . ¡± ¡°Ehehe, thank you very much . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s because the dresses are excellent as well . ¡± Mimi was wearing the neat and elegant white dress and Elma was wearing the stylish light-green dress the two of them bought the other day . Both of them wore minimal jewelry and essories that didn¡¯t seem too shy, but their looks were stillparable to noble princesses . ¡°¡­¡­Man . To think one of you is an actual imperial princess and the other is the daughter of a viscount . ¡± ¡°Ah¨C ¡­¡­Un, that¡¯s right, I guess?¡± ¡°I just want to live my life normally though . ¡± It looks like the thing about her true blood ties has be a sort of taboo topic for Mimi . Well, I don¡¯t exactly know how she feels, but¡­¡­ She just found out that the grandmother she hasn¡¯t even met was actually part of the imperial family, and that she also carried noble blood . Since it was all too sudden, it¡¯s no wonder she¡¯s still flustered and confused . In the Gran Empire, the imperial family is venerated to a great extent after all . For many imperialmoners, instead of fearing them as they do with normal imperial aristocrats, or feeling inferior due to the difference in social ss, they feel something close to utmost respect and worship toward the imperial family . Partly because she was far too overwhelmed by the prospect, Mimi decided to continue living as an ordinarymoner and serve as my ship operator without recognizing her rtionship with the imperial family . I¡¯m really d she decided to stay with me though . ¡°It looks like you were able to wear your clothes perfectly, everyone . ¡± ¡°Yeah, they sure look neat . You look really cool, Boss . ¡± ¡°Un, they all suit you . How cool . Mimi-san and Elma-san also look really pretty . ¡± Mei, Tina, and Whisker were all praises when they saw us wearing our formal clothes . ¡°Are you two really not attending the ceremony, Tina, Whisker?¡± ¡°Uh, we¡¯re justmoners, after all, Boss . It¡¯s impossible for us to attend that ceremony and party filled with high-ranking aristocrats and royals . ¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have formal dresses to wear, and we¡¯re also not official crew members after all . ¡± ¡°I can just buy you some clothes you know . They¡¯re not really all that expensive . ¡± ¡°I dunno about a couple thousand Enels being cheap, but it just doesn¡¯t feel right, Boss . ¡± Tina disyed a bitter grin and waved her hand in refusal . ¡°Is that so? How about you, Mei?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a maid after all . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­I would certainlyply if you order me to attend, Master . ¡± When she saw how down I looked, Mei dered so after thinking for a few moments . Fufu, I¡¯ve spent quite some time together with Mei already after all . I already know a few tricks to goad her into following my whims . ¡°Well then everyone, let us start the lesson . ¡± ¡°Understood . ¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± ¡°Alright . ¡± And so, we took a lesson on how to behave in the award ceremony from Mei¨C ¡°It looks like there¡¯s no problem with you, Elma-sama . ¡± ¡°I was a little uneasy since it¡¯s been a while though . ¡± Elma received an OK from Mei on the first try . ¡°Kuh¡­¡­ As expected of a true nobledy . ¡± ¡°Elma-san always carries herself well after all . ¡± As expected, Mimi and I needed more training . ¡°Can I leave Mimi-sama¡¯s lessons to you, Elma-sam? I shall be focusing on Master . ¡± ¡°Nn, alright . But why all the trouble though? It¡¯s a bit suspicious . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s so we can guide them more closely . ¡± ¡°Hm . Alright . Come over here then, Mimi . ¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± Mimi and Elma started their lesson a little distance away, and Mei started guiding me as well . Mei¡¯s lessons were basically gentle, but they were also thorough and strict¡­¡­ Mei really is quite strict when ites to things like this huh . I not only received lessons in manners and behavior but also lessons on how to brandish and fight with my swords while wearing formal clothes meant for nobles . And so, the day of the award ceremony finally came . The four of us ¨C meaning I, Mimi, Elma, and Mei ¨C boarded Krishna and descended onto the imperial capital under the lead of imperial military ships . The mechanic sisters remained to look after the ck Lotus . ¡°But man, after seeing it up close like this, the capital sure is something . ¡± The sight of an entirepletely covered by manmade structures was awe-inspiring . The cement of the buildings seems to follow some sort of rules . When seen from outside the atmosphere, the imperial capital¡¯s surface seems to beprised of uniform geometric patterns . ¡°It really is amazing¡­¡­ I can¡¯t even imagine how they managed to transform a into something like this . ¡± ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, it seems to be thanks to highly advanced gravity and environmental control technology, but I¡¯m not too sure about the details as well . I think the total poption of the capital is about 25 billion if I remember correctly . ¡± ¡°Yes . The poption will be reaching close to 25 . 7 billion soon . ¡± ¡°Man, that¡¯s a lot . You said you produce part of your foodstuffs from under-level facilities, right?¡± ¡°Yep . The food production nts here are muchrger and more advanced than the ones we saw in the Alein system . ¡± As we continued conversing, a huge, solemn-looking structure got disyed on the main cockpit screen . ¡°So that¡¯s the imperial castle huh¡­¡­ Man, that¡¯s huge . ¡± It was like a mountain . No, it was more like an entire mountain range . Bigger wasn¡¯t always better of course, but with that imposing size, one can instantly tell it was the imperial pce at first nce . ¡°The entire structure is considered the imperial pce, but in truth, only a small part of is actually used as living space . The interior facilities are used by the various government bureaus and the military . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± The leading imperial ship guided us toward the military facility situated near the center of the imperial pce, where a dock for small-ss starships was located . By the way, Krishna was still currently armed, but all weapon systems were locked by the imperial military, and the navigation controls were also handled by them, so it was more like us being towed to our destination . As expected, the security measures implemented within the imperial castle where the emperor and the rest of the imperial family resides was pretty strict . ording to Mei, the system lock was performed via the cooperation of multiple independent AIs cooperating with the military, so even with her abilities, it was next to impossible to get rid of the lock . Well, this was the heart of the Gran Empire after all . I don¡¯t have the guts to arbitrarily fire off high-caliberser cannons or anti-ship torpedoes here, so they didn¡¯t have to worry at all . I¡¯ll say no to being erased from the face of the gxy through the full might of the empire . ¡°It looks like we¡¯vended . ¡± Krishna safelynded on the small-ss starship dock within the imperial pce . The auto-docking function did its job swimmingly today as well . ¡°Let¡¯s do our best, everyone¡­¡­!¡± ¡°Try not to get too worked up though . ¡± Mimi clenched both fists in front of her in her usual guts pose and Elma warned her while sporting a wry grin . Mimi should be pumping herself up right now so she doesn¡¯t get too flustered when she gets turned into the center of attentionter in the ceremony . ¡°It looks like the right clothes can make even the most unrefined boors into proper gentlemen huh¡­ Ehem . Do excuse me for that . ¡± ¡°What? If you have something to say, then don¡¯t hold back and just say it . ¡± Major Serena, who got off the lead imperial dropship that led Krishna to the imperial pce, made a rude remark the moment she saw me . Major Serena was in her crisp military uniform as always . ¡°Major, it¡¯s nearly time . ¡± ¡°Right . Let¡¯s depart then . It would be a shame for the protagonist of this award ceremony to arrivete after all . And it would reflect badly on us guides as well . ¡± Major Serena nodded after Lieutenant Robbitson¡¯s warning and started leading the way for us . I followed right behind her, and Mimi and Elma followed after me . Mei walked at the very back of the procession . ¡°I¡¯m sure you already know, but pay attention to your posture and manners even when walking . ¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah . ¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± After Elma whispered a warning, I straightened my spine and made sure to walk in a supposedly elegant and dignified manner . I couldn¡¯t see their postures since they were behind me, but I¡¯m sure Mimi and Elma were also walking elegantly . And I didn¡¯t have to worry about Mei . We left the dock and went inside the imperial pce . We found a boarding tform inside . What sort of boarding tform? It was a tform for what seemed to be a small-sized linear motor train . It was probably simr to those used in a colony¡¯s goods deliverywork . ¡°We actually need to ride something like this inside?¡± ¡°The imperial pce is quiterge after all . If we walked the entire way, the sun will set before we reach the venue . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± As soon as we boarded the train car with Major Serena, it started to move . It was moving at tremendous speeds, but we hardly felt any Gs due to the eleration . It must be equipped with an inertial control module just like the one installed on Krishna . ¡°Uu¡­¡­ Now I¡¯m starting to get nervous . ¡± ¡°You can just follow behind uster, Mimi . It¡¯s not like I prepared some sort of speech myself . ¡± At the ceremony, the imperial military top brass will give a speech and report on the circumstances and results of the crystal campaign, but all we had to do was sit tight and listen . After that, the award ceremony will begin in earnest, and we would just have toe to the front once our names are called . I¡¯m actually the only one who will receive an award, but it was customary for the rest of the crew to join me as well . ¡°But I¡¯m a little scared when I think about what could happen after this . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not all that unusual for you to feel that way . No one will possibly act upter since doing so would be considered a great disgrace . ¡± ¡°For now, I guess . It might be okay today since we were basically invited by the emperor himself, but I¡¯m not sure what would happen tomorrow onward . ¡± ¡°They would be quite busy in theing days, so I think they won¡¯t have the time to bother you all in the first ce . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­I sure hope so . ¡± ¡°Wha¨C Will you cut that out!¡± ¡°Hiro-sama¡­¡­¡± Elma¡¯s lips twitched when she heard my pessimistic muttering and Mimi smiled bitterly . Oh c¡¯mon . It¡¯s us, you know? You guys really think things will remain peaceful with us involved? No, not a chance, I say! I¡¯m almost totally convinced some weird noble or something will try to bother Mimi . This is based on prior experience! ¡°I know your penchant for attracting trouble, but this time¡­¡­ Ugh . It¡¯s actually possible huh . Based on all the prior incidents involving you, the chance is quite high . ¡± Major Serena gave me a reproachful stare . For some reason, Major Serena keeps getting involved in troublesome stuff together with us as well¡­¡­ There¡¯s Elma¡¯s runaway starship incident, the battle with Vereverem Federation, the attack on Sierra III, the battle with that rogue fleet, and thetest crystal campaign . All of it involved us in some fashion, and almost half the time, we actually implicated her in the incidents . But I won¡¯t apologize, okay . I really won¡¯t . ¡°Please try not to act rashly for once . Is that understood?¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am . I will do my best to the extent of my abilities . ¡± I gave her a crisp salute, but Major Serena¡¯s gaze was still quite icy . Chapter 181 Chapter 181 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone We rode the imperial pce high-speed railway train and got off at the inner station . The name of the station we got off to was the¡ºSpecial Events Section¡» . ¡°So the scale of this ce is so big that the venue for special eventsprises an entire station huh . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s the pce that serves as the home of His Imperial Majesty after all . ¡± ¡°Control yourselves and don¡¯t ogle at every little thing . It¡¯s embarrassing . ¡± Elma sternly warned Mimi and me, who were busy gazing in wonder at the surroundings . Well, even if she tells me that, we just went from a standard train station to somewhere that very much resembled those grand and imposing pces I only ever saw on TV . Of course, I¡¯d be curious . The floor of the wide halls was paved with practically spotless red carpets, lined with really expensive-looking flower vases and sculptures, and grand-looking opulent chandeliers hung from the ceiling¡­ That¡¯s how fancy everything was . I was like a little kid in elementary school on a field trip and could only exim ¡®Whoah, cool!¡¯ in my head . We walked through the fancy-looking halls and finally reached a ce where people were gathered . It looks like we finally reached the ceremony venue . ¡°Major Serena Holz . I have brought Captain Hiro and his crew over . ¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡­ Yes, I¡¯ve confirmed everything . Your seats are¨C¡± Major Serena finished all the necessary procedures for the entire group, and we were finally allowed to enter the ceremony venue . ¡°Whoah¡­ This sure is amazing . ¡± ¡°Fuwaa¡­¡­¡± The ceremony hall boasted a size that could easily host a social dance ball and was filled with a great number of tables and chairs . Almost 80% of them have already been filled . A huge chandelier hung on the ceiling of the hall, and a luxurious-looking throne was located at the furthest right-hand side¡­¡­ A throne? ¡°Didn¡¯t they say the emperor won¡¯t be attending today¡¯s ceremony?¡± ¡°That should have been the case¡­¡­¡± Elma¡¯s gaze also wandered to the luxurious-looking throne further back . We were told that the emperor wouldn¡¯t be attending today¡¯s award ceremony, but maybe another member of the imperial family will be attending instead¡­¡­ ¡°Uu¡­¡­¡± ¡°Just put up with it for a while, Mimi¡­¡­¡± Mimi started feeling ufortable from all the gazes that were gathering toward her . We did make sure to ce Mimi in between Elma and me to minimize her exposure, but people inevitably got a glimpse of her anyway and they were now gossiping with each other in hushed tones . Mimi really did look like the spitting image of Princess Luciada, so it can¡¯t be helped . By the way, Mei was treated as our attendant, so she wasn¡¯t given a seat . She was seated with the other attendants at a spot close to one of the walls . ¡°Her Imperial Highness, Princess Luciada is now entering the venue . Everyone, please rise from your seats and greet Her Highness with a warm round of apuse . ¡± The people around us hurriedly rose from their seats, so we followed suit . I didn¡¯t particrly hold anything against the Gran Empire anyway, and I¡¯d also like to avoid being called out for rude behavior as well . As soon as everyone finished standing up, a beautiful girl in an elegant dress appeared from the rear of the ceremony venue . Un, now that I¡¯ve gotten a good look at her in person, she really does greatly resemble Mimi . Her hair was a little longer than Mimi¡¯s, and her breasts wereparatively more modest (although they were still muchrger than Elma¡¯s) but her face was practically the same as Mimi¡¯s . She quietly proceeded to her seat ¨C the luxurious-looking throne we saw earlier ¨C and sat down elegantly on it with her knees aligned in a well-behaved manner . Her gaze wandered around the venue until she managed to spot our location . Her eyes widened in surprise . It looks like she already saw her ¡®twin¡¯ standing between Elma and me and was surprised . But judging from her rtively subdued reaction, they must have told her about Mimi beforehand already . The ceremony began in earnest after the entrance of Princess Luciada . I was considered the highlight of this ceremony since I¡¯ll be receiving the Gold Star, but there were also others who were participating aside from me . It looks like these people will be awarded for their various achievements, and some were unrted to the Crystal Campaign I participated in . It seems the Gran Empire periodically holds award ceremonies in order to recognize the merits of her citizens, and such ceremonies were usually conducted once in the first or second month of each year . ¡°We are expecting to harvest a great number of rare crystals from the subdued Mother Crystal corpse . Depending on the research results, we might be able to utilize it as a continuous and renewable source of rare crystals for the foreseeable future¨C¡± At the beginning of the ceremony, awards for minor research and cultural achievements were handed out, and thetter half consisted of awards for economic and military achievements . ¡± To be honest, I wasn¡¯t really expecting anything from today¡¯s ceremony and thought the proceedings would be really boring, but I was able to hear some pretty interesting anecdotes . Right now, they were talking about the potential uses of the Mother Crystal remains we were able to bring down in the Crystal Campaign . I already knew that they would be able to harvest a lot of rare crystal materials from the Mother Crystal¡¯s remains, but now, it seems they were nning to research a method to artificially culture crystal lifeforms from it . It looks like the Mother Crystal corpse still retains the ability to absorb the energy emitted by the pulsar star and use it to ¡®proliferate¡¯ . The presenter exins that if all goes well, they might be able to produce rare crystals continuously . The crystal materials harvested from defeated crystal lifeforms are considered as core materials for modernser weapons, and could also be used for armor . I think they were also touted as excellent building materials for colonies and space stations . It was durable yet flexible, and should also be able to possess the property of automatically restoring damaged sections over time if processed properly . I remember the exploration vessels equipped with rare crystal inner frames and crystalposite armor were the favorite ships of explorer yers in SOL who liked to explore deep space since they required minimal maintenance . They weren¡¯t that suitable forbat though since their overall defenses were rtively on the low end . Oh, but they were more resistant toser weaponspared to ships with regr armor though . Even so, I haven¡¯t flown them at all . The presentation finally ended before long and the awarding of medals to those who participated in the Crystal Campaign finally began . Major Serena, who was recognized for her outstanding achievements in strategic nning and information analysis regarding crystal lifeforms, was awarded the Silver Light Order, which was a pretty awesome-looking medal . ¡°Finally, Princess Luciada will be presenting a medal directly to Captain Hiro, who yed a very major role in the battle against the Mother Crystal in the Jerom system andnded the decisive blow that led to its eventual defeat . ¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Ue?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I didn¡¯t hear about this! The other awardees and participants aside from us began making a fuss . However, themotion soon subsided when Princess Luciada left her seat . ¡°Captain Hiro and his crew members, Ms . Mimi and Lady Elma Willrose, pleasee to the front . ¡± Princess Luciada called out to us in a gentle and quiet voice . Since she already did so, we had no choice but to respond . The three of us left our seats and walked toward Her Highness with me leading the other two . ¡°So you are Captain Hiro¡­¡­ This is the first time I¡¯ve been able to meet a real-life mercenary . ¡± ¡°Well, uh, what can I say¡­¡­? I hope you aren¡¯t disappointed, Your Highness . ¡± Man . I found it difficult to find the words to respond to herment . The longer we talked, the greater the chance of me messing up somehow, so I hope she¡¯d just give the medal to me and get this over with though . ¡°I must admit, I¡¯m a little jealous of you, Viscount Willrose¡¯s daughter . It looks like you also went out to the sea of stars just like my grandmother¡­¡­ I would like to hear your stories next time if possible . ¡± ¡°Yes, of course, Your Highness, if given the opportunity . ¡± Elma answered and bowed gracefully . Uumu . She¡¯s reallyposed . As expected of a bona fide viscount¡¯s daughter . ¡°So you are Mimi-san . We really do look quite alike . ¡± ¡°Y-Yes . Um, I¡¯m sorry . ¡± ¡°There is no need for you to apologize at all . ¡± Princes Luciada giggled cutely . Umu, herugh really resembles Mimi¡¯s as well . ¡°I¡¯d really like to exchange stories with you, but let¡¯s leave that forter . Well then, Captain Hiro . In honor of your brave actions against the Mother Crystal, I now present you the First-ss Star Cross medal . ¡± ¡°I gratefully ept, Your Highness . ¡± I lowered my head and epted the medal from Princess Luciada . Wow . No wonder they call this thing the Gold Star . It really was shiny and golden . The crimson jewel ced on the center of the medal looked quite expensive as well . ¡°If possible, I would like you to continue using your talents for the empire . ¡± ¡°I will endeavor to ept any mission as long as the reward is satisfactory . ¡± It won¡¯t be good to answer ¡®yes¡¯ in a straightforward manner here since I had a feeling they¡¯ll use it as a pretense to get me enlisted in the imperial military . I answered in a typical mercenary fashion while wondering if I was being far too blunt . ¡°Oh my . As expected of a mercenary . Well then, our empire simply must device something in order to keep the services of an excellent mercenary such as yourself . ¡± ¡°Hahaha¡­¡­ Please go easy on me, Your Highness . ¡± My smile couldn¡¯t help but cramp up when I heard the gentle princess utter such ominous-sounding words . What does she mean by ¡®devising something¡¯ anyway? Oh boy . It¡¯s seriously terrifying so could you please leave it at that, Princess? If I suddenly find myself right in the middle of a scheme, you can bet I¡¯d immediately turn tail and run to the neighboring nation as if my life depended on it . ¡°Well then, I shall see you all next time . ¡± We bowed to Princess Luciada and returned to our designated seats . Oh, man . That princess sure packs a lot of surprises . Elma, who was usually cool andposed, now looked quite worn out . Mimi still seemed quite out of it . Uh, isn¡¯t her soul seeping out of her mouth? You okay, girl? Princess Luciada, who just finished presenting me a Gold Star, left the ceremony venue with graceful steps, just the same as when she first appeared . All of those present stood up and saw her off . The emcee then dered that the award ceremony was finally over . The entire thingsted about an hour and a half or so, I think? We sure made lots of grueling preparations just for the sake of these one and a half hours . Everything seemed all too quick somehow . ¡°Haa¨C It¡¯s finally over . Okay then, let¡¯s¨C¡± ¡°You bastard! What was the meaning of your appalling behavior toward Her Highness, Princess Luciada earlier, huh!?¡± Question: What were my honest feelings when the moment I thought the troublesome stuff was finally over, an even more troublesome fellow suddenly reared his ugly head? Answer: The heck? You talkin to me, bastard¡­¡­? To think something like this would happen at this timing . Haah . Chapter 182 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone Anyway, since I already got provoked, I turned my gaze to Major Serena right away for some backup. Hey, how should I deal with this guy? That¡¯s what my gaze implied. Major Serena¡¯s cheek twitched as she cleared her throat and turned toward the young nobleman with swords strapped to his waist who was ring at me with a vein throbbing on his forehead. ¡°Baron Crias. Could you please leave it at that? He is a mercenary who is neither a nobleman of this empire nor its subject. In a sense, he is simply a visitor to this country, albeit an honored one. Thus, it would be unreasonable for us to expect one of his standing to express the same fealty to the imperial family as the subjects of our empire.¡± ¡°I think I did show a proper amount of respect though.¡± Major Serena turned back toward me with an irritated re after I made myment. It looks like she wants me to shut my trap. Fine, fine. As you wish, mdy. ¡°However, this man has already received the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal and the First-ss Star Cross medal. He¡¯s already received such utmost favor! Therefore, I cannot condone his rudeness no matter what!¡± It was your empire who gave me these awards without consulting me first though. You expect me to feel gratitude because of these? The heck! Is that how this gctic empire rolls? Un, how grand. Un. But this is bad though. It seems Major Serena can¡¯t offer an appropriate rebuttal this time. I wish she¡¯d try harder though. That¡¯s why I call you troublesome, my dear major. ¡°Forgive me for interrupting, Baron Crias. I am ultimately a mercenary. A mercenary acts for rewards, and not for gratitude and honor. In fact, I do not know any mercenary who acts for gratitude, sentiments, or honor at all. Unlike imperial aristocrats such as yourself who can make a living off of tax revenues from your territories, we mercenaries depend on the rewards after every sessful job to put food on the table. In other words, without rewards, we will not be able to make a living at all.¡± ¡°Wha¨C¡­¡­!?¡± Baron Crias turned speechless after I said my piece. In fact, it wasn¡¯t only him who got shut up. All the surrounding nobles and guests became quiet as well. ¡°In the first ce, what exactly are you expecting from a mercenary like me, lord baron? I am merely a lucky mercenary who was able to capitalize on opportunities in order to achieve some merit and was awarded for them. That¡¯s all. I¡¯m sure no one here would actually believe a petty man such as me would suddenly awaken my patriotic spirit for the empire after receiving these medals, right?¡± ¡°Mrrgh¡­¡­¡± Baron Crias continued to be speechless as he gnashed his teeth. Nice. Let¡¯s push some more then. ¡°As long as you evaluate me fairly, I will most likely continue to offer my utmost services to the empire. You can see this as a mercenary¡¯s own code of honor. This is what I meant by my earlier statements. The wise Princess Luciada was able to understand where I wasing from and that¡¯s why she did not treat my earlier conduct with reproach.¡± ¡°Nuuh¡­¡­¡± It¡¯s true that Princess Luciada didn¡¯t call me out for my behavior earlier, so this prickly nobleman couldn¡¯t offer any retort. Or rather, ain¡¯t I supposed to be treated the same as a viscount when I got awarded this shiny, new Gold Star medal? Why the heck did this baron still decide to make a fuss then? ¡°That should be enough, Baron Crias.¡± A dignified and solemn voice resounded all across the hall, and the man who was the source of the voice walked to the front. He was quite tall and fairly well-built. His full head of silver-gray hair streaked with ck was quite conspicuous. His eyes were as sharp as a hawk¡¯s, and on his waist hung two noble-issued swords that looked simr to mine. ¡°Ugeh.¡± ¡°You seem to be doing quite well, Captain Hiro.¡± ¡°A-Ahaha¡­¡­ I¡¯m delighted to see you again, Earl Dareinwald.¡± The one who appeared from the crowd was Chris¡¯ grandfather, Earl Abraham Dareinwald. I really couldn¡¯t seem to calm down in the presence of this guy for some reason. He was basically the silent-type, and he had this stifling aura about him due to his ever-present scowl. ¡°I apud you for your steadfast show of loyalty as a fellow noble of this empire, but since Princess Luciada has already permitted such conduct from our honored guest, it would be best for you to let things go as well. Do you not think so?¡± ¡°Are you implying my actions are against the will of Her Highness, Earl Dareinwald?¡± ¡°It is a fact that Her Imperial Highness did not rebuke Captain Hiro for his conduct. That is all I¡¯m trying to say.¡± Earl Dareinwald gave his statement while ring daggers at Baron Crias. In the middle of such a tense atmosphere, a third, no, a fourth person interjected. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt, but His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor, wishes to see Captain Hiro and his crew.¡± It was Elma¡¯s dad, Viscount Eldmoore Willrose, who barged into the scene. Why was he the one who got assigned to call on us? Did the emperor find out about Elma¡¯s situation when he had us investigated and appointed Elma¡¯s dad as his representative due to that? A mercenary like me has totally no idea about the political workings within the imperial court after all. He¡¯s apparently working for the Internal Affairs Bureau, so that might have yed a part. ¡°Wha¡­¡­ His Imperial Majesty!?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t mind if I bring them away, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Of course.¡± For an ardent fan of the emperor and the imperial family like Baron Crias, there was no choice but to yield. Earl Dareinwald also backed down as well. ¡°Captain Hiro.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Chris has been wanting to meet you again. Pleasee to our residence in the imperial capital once you have the time.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Umu.¡± Earl Dareinwald crisply nodded and left the hall with dignified steps. He¡¯s as frank and direct to the point as ever. ¡­¡­ But maybe that rigid character of his was actually one of the reasons why he failed to put a stop to the conflict between his own sons. ¡°That¡¯s how it is, Major.¡± ¡°Fine. Off you go¡­¡­¡± Major Serena, who wasn¡¯t of any use in stopping Baron Crias, wearily shooed us away. Even though she was the daughter of a marquis, I guess her influence still paled inparison to a noble who¡¯s considered the head of his house. ¡°How did youe to know Earl Dareinwald?¡± ¡°Uh, we met due to a job, I guess.¡± As we followed after Viscount Eldmoore, he suddenly asked about the rtionship between us and Earl Dareinwald, but all I could do was answer in a vague manner. We met him due to a conflict within his family after all, and we also have the responsibility not to reveal the details of the jobs we¡¯ve taken to respect our client¡¯s privacy. ¡°Fumu¡­¡­ Well, no matter. Make sure to follow after me.¡± We left the ceremony venue with Elma¡¯s father, Viscount Eldmoore, in the lead. Mei, who was seated near one of the walls, also stood up and followed after us after politely bowing to the nobles in attendance. She¡¯s seriously so dedicated. ¡°I was really surprised earlier though. I was actually worried he¡¯d sh at me without restraint you know.¡± ¡°Of course he won¡¯t¡­¡­ No matter how much of a hardliner those Drawn Sword faction nobles are, they wouldn¡¯t dare issue a duel without good reason. It would be a different story if you made Princess Luciada angry though, Hiro.¡± ¡°Nobles sure are scary, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°I¡¯m also bad with nobles you know.¡± Eldmoore, who was walking in front of us, nced back after hearing our discussion. ¡°Dear father?¡± ¡°I understand, alright. Milfi and Elfin already grilled me several times about your matters. And also, it¡¯s not like you¡¯ll be able to part yourself from him now, right?¡± ¡°W-Well, that¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°Haaaaa?¡­¡­¡± After hearing Elma¡¯s response, Eldmoore¡¯s shoulders sagged dejectedly as he made a big sigh. That¡¯s quite a reaction. What¡¯s up? ¡°Uh, Mimi, what are they talking about?¡± ¡°Eh!? U-Um¡­¡­ err, Elma-san will probably tell you herself, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Ueh!? Y-Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± Mimi and Elma¡¯s faces were red for some reason. And Eldmoore was looking at me with an expression that¡¯s close to crying tears of blood. Oi, wait a sec. Why the heck are you reaching for the hilt of your sword? Stay, Eldmoore, stay. Considering Mimi, Elma, and Eldmoore¡¯s reactions as well as the insinuation that Elma won¡¯t be able to leave me even if she wanted to, did I end up doing something to her that was totally irreversible or something? Fumu? ¡°Don¡¯t tell me I really went and made you pregna¨C Bufuuu!?¡± ¡°Of course not!!¡± ¡°Why¡¯d you hit me then!?¡± I ended up eating a full-power punch in the gut from Elma. How¡¯d she pull off such a perfect body blow while wearing a fancy dress anyway? But¡­ Hm. So she isn¡¯t pregnant yet huh. I see? Well, maybe it¡¯s something rted to the unique biology of space elves. It looks like she¡¯ll tell meter, so I guess it¡¯s fine. I¡¯m sure Mei will tell me the reason if I ask though. But since Elma¡¯s saying she¡¯d tell me herself, it would probably be better if I waited. After that short interlude, we continued to follow after Eldmoore until we reached another high-speed monorail station and boarded it to travel further inside the imperial castle. ¡°From here on out, you¡¯ll be witnessing the true imperial castle. In other words, we will be entering the central area reserved for the imperial family and His Majesty, the Emperor.¡± ¡°I see.¡± We got off the train and passed through a gate filled with sword-wielding imperial guards. As expected of the ce where the emperor of the Gran Empire resides. The security was exceedingly tight. We were told to leave all our weapons at the gate, and limiters were ced on Mei¡¯s functions as well. As a result, Mei¡¯s abilities were reduced to being simr to an ordinary human. However, even if her abilities have dropped, they couldn¡¯t do anything to the muscle fibers and skeletal frame made of special alloys hidden underneath her artificial skin, so she was still pretty tough. ¡°I-I¡¯m starting to get nervous.¡± ¡°Yeah, me too.¡± ¡°I see. Just try to calm down, you two.¡± ¡°Why are you okay though, Hiro-sama¡­¡­?¡± ¡°I guess I still can¡¯t wrap my head around the situation since the other party¡¯s status is way too high.¡± The other party was a powerful person who controlled a certain portion of the gxy after all¡­ I better be careful not to blurt out things that would sound rude. I may be a tinum ranker that¡¯s as good as a viscount right now, but the emperor was themander-in-chief of the entire imperial military. The difference in our statuses was just too big. As I repeatedly warned myself not to run my mouth, we finally came before a fancy-looking door that was exuding a regal atmosphere. This was probably the audience chamber or something. ¡°Let us enter then. The Emperor is a friendly and tolerant person, but try your hardest not to utter or do anything rude, alright?¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand, father.¡± Elma then nced in my direction. She¡¯s probably worried about me. Okay, I get it. I¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯m a guy who can deliver when it counts after all. Chapter 183 Chapter 183 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone What we found when we entered the regal-looking door was a drawing room with an austere and calming atmosphere . Compared to what I had in mind, it was at least two times smaller . However, you could tell at a nce that all of the furnishings inside the room were high-end stuff . Somehow, the aura of each article was quite distinct . You could even say they exuded a sense of history . And in the center of such a room were two people seated behind a round wooden antique table . One was a middle-aged man with a stern countenance who gave off the aura of an extraordinary individual straight away . The other was a familiar and yet also unfamiliar face ¨C Her Imperial Highness, Princess Luciada . ¡°Your Majesty, I have brought you the mercenary Hiro and hispanions . ¡± ¡°Umu . ¡± The middle-aged man nodded at Elmoore¡¯s words and looked me straight in the eye . I felt that I shouldn¡¯t look away so I stared back at him without flinching . ¡°¡­¡­Just what kind of person are you, young man?¡± The middle-aged stern-faced man ¨C the emperor of the Gran Empire ¨C suddenly asked me a question . It was somewhat vague . You could even call it philosophical . What the heck are you trying to ask, man? ¡°Um, I¡¯m a mercenary, Your Majesty . ¡± ¡°Fumu . Yes, of course . You certainly are a mercenary . I¡¯ve already heard of your various exploits . However, that isn¡¯t what I¡¯m trying to ask . I am asking just what is the true identity of the person who calls himself Captain Hiro . ¡± C¡¯mon, man . How do you want me to answer then, emperor? ¡°Um, are you asking in a philosophical sense, Your Majesty?¡± ¡°One day, you just suddenly appeared in this corner of the gxy . On August 4, Year 5672, in Sector Alpha of the Termaine system, a star system monitoring radar recorded your ship for the first time . You appeared from nothing without any prior warning signs . There weren¡¯t any spatiotemporal quakes indicative of a hyperspace warp, nor any other observable energy waves or phenomena of any kind when your ship appeared . It was as if it was always there all along . ¡± The emperor ignored my own question and began talking on his own . However, the contents of his speech had me sweating coldly and aroused a sense of crisis in me . If the emperor asked his earlier question based on the knowledge he just casually revealed, then its implications went beyond what I was expecting . ¡°We have already investigated your following actions after that . You cashed in high-purity rare metals of unknown origin and holed up inside your ship for a period of time while searching for information on the gctic . The search contents we managed to pull out were also quite interesting . Sol, Alpha Centauri, Barnard, Sirius, Procyon, Tau Ceti¡­¡­ You seem to have been searching for star systems of such names on the gxy map, correct?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± The emperor listed out each of the search words I typed in when I first came to this dimension and stayed at the Termaine System in order to gather info . ¡°The speed of each character input, the frequency of searches for each word, the speed of switching from word to word¡­¡­ Our information analysts were able to infer from those factors that you were in quite a panic during your research . It was as if you were frustrated and confused because you were unable to find things you thought you would have been able to find easily . ¡± Ugh . How terrifying . It was scary that they were able to pull up my information logs, and I was equally afraid of their information analysts who were able to infer my exact psychological state from just that much info . As I thought, the power of the state is he scaryyy . ¡°You got me, Your Majesty . ¡± I raised both hands in a gesture of surrender for His Majesty, the emperor, to see . When the emperor witnessed my gesture, he nodded in satisfaction . ¡°Umu, quite straightforward of you . Well then, rify your identity in your own words for me . ¡± ¡°It will be quite a long story, Your Majesty . ¡± ¡°That is fine . Begin . ¡± His Majesty then gestured for us to take our seats . I turned my gaze toward Eldmoore and nodded to him . I then made my way to the antique table where the emperor and Princess Luciada were seated and joined them . Mimi and Elma both sat down next to me . Eldmoore and Mei stood a little ways behind us all and watched over us . His Majesty snapped his fingers and teacups filled with warm tea appeared before us all, followed by delicious-looking sweets on a te . I couldn¡¯t really tell if the cause was due to SF tech or something more magical in nature . In any case, the stage was set, so to speak . ¡°Hahaha! And then you managed to snag yourself an excellent maid as well as a 30% discount when you bought your mothership from those stingy dwarves huh?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty . By the way, the dwarves ended up messing around even when we arrived here at the capital . At this time, they must be running around as if their behinds are on fire while trying to capitalize on the priority coverage deal with us . ¡± ¡°Hahahaha! How very amusing! Isn¡¯t it, Luciada?¡± ¡°Yes, Grandfather . ¡± His Majesty, the emperor,ughed heartily while listening to my story while Princess Luciada gently giggled . It looks like His Majesty and Princess Luciada have really taken a shine to stories of my misadventures huh? Or perhaps they liked stories about mercenaries in general . It was said that Mimi¡¯s grandmother, Celestia-sama, also escaped from the imperial family due to her longing for a free and easy life . But, perhaps, it wasn¡¯t just her who was longing for it . ¡°Remember this, Luciada . If you meticulously search every corner of our empire, there¡¯s a good chance you might encounter several people who possess a certain¡ºfactor¡»such as this man . ¡± ¡°Yes, Grandfather . ¡± Princess Luciada was all smiles as she nodded to her grandfather¡¯s words . Un, It really was like that huh . It looks like the emperor really has taken quite a shine to us . It¡¯s not like he was treating us as bosom friends or anything of that sort . It was more like him seeing us as people worthy of appreciation . ¡°What I mean by people who possess certain¡ºfactors¡»are individuals who seem to affect the very nature of causality to a seemingly miraculous degree . The effects differ from each individual, but in the case of this man, you can probably ssify him as a person who has a very high tendency of attracting trouble onto himself . ¡± ¡°Please give me a break, Your Majesty . I¡¯ve really been having the worst luck recently y¡¯know . Once someone says something ominous, odds are it would really end up happening . ¡± ¡°Kukuku, if you really hold such a disposition, then that is all but inevitable . Let¡¯s see . How about I also leave my own mark on your turbulent destiny, young man?¡± After saying that, the emperor grinned from ear to ear . Hey, stop that, you fool! That¡¯s too heavy, especiallying from an emperor of a space empire . It¡¯s seriously no joke, man . ¡°My good Eldmoore, I shall make a royal promation . ¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty . ¡± ¡°I wish to learn the true caliber of this man, the mercenary called Hiro . Gather all skilled individuals from within the imperial guards, military, aristocratic heirs, and mercenaries . It has been quite some time since a person has been awarded the First-ss Star Cross medal . I believe many would like to see the true capabilities of a man deemed worthy enough to receive a Gold Star . ¡± ¡°By your will . ¡± Heeeeeey!? What the hell are you suddenly spouting, you geezer!? I was about to scream in protest, but Elma¡¯s hand quickly extended from my left and plugged my mouth while Mimi hugged me from my right and stopped me from standing up . ¡°I leave the details to you . Deal with it as you see fit . As for the reward¡­¡­ Well, once Captain Hiro has proved his worth, grant him and Mimi First-ss imperial citizenship . However, take care not to tie this man down in any way even when he is granted citizenship . If you do, it¡¯s more than likely that he will just run away . ¡± As expected of the emperor . He really gets me . Dammit . ¡°As for the one who manages to defeat Captain Hiro, I shall grant him or her honor and generous rewards . It will depend on what the person him or herself desires . However¨C¡± The emperor¡¯s gaze turned toward Mimi and Elma, and then at Mei . ¡°I will not condone any act that would ce Mercenary Hiro¡¯s loved ones in danger . If that happens, he will likely be out for blood . I do not wish to earn the ire of this man after all . How about it? You should be able to ept now with these kinds of conditions in ce, correct?¡± The emperor grinned at me again . This guy really is the worst . I¡¯m gonna make you pay for this someday, Your Majesty! Chapter 184 Chapter 184 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°Goddammit¡­¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s an imperial decree from His Majesty after all¡­¡­¡± ¡°Just give up already¡­¡­¡± Mimi and Elmaforted the fuming me from each side . That f**kin emperor! What the heck was he thinking by announcing something like a¡ºLet¡¯s Duel Captain Hiro Everyone! Dokidoki ¡î Tournament¡»or whatever damn name it¡¯s called? His Majesty¡¯s ¡®kindness¡¯ has allowed us to stay in a guest room with the imperial castle, and now, we were all lounging around on a luxurious andfy sofa . ¡°Whaddya mean by ¡®kindness¡¯!? Isn¡¯t this just house arrest so they can make sure I won¡¯t be able to escape!?¡± ¡°Hiro-sama! Shh! Shhh!¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know who¡¯s listening in on us, so don¡¯t run your mouth, you¡­¡­¡± Mimi hurriedly tried to close my mouth in a panic, and Elma warned me in an offhand manner that didn¡¯t bother to mask her weariness . What are you guys talking about? Isn¡¯t this just a guest roo¨C Oh, okay? So you mean there¡¯s a risk someone or something might be monitoring our every move while we¡¯re in the pce huh? Okay . In other words, there¡¯s no guarantee this room ain¡¯t bugged even if it¡¯s a guest room . Heck, we aren¡¯t even sure if this really was originally a guest room . ¡°Anyway, I just want to change into my usual outfit¡­¡­¡± I loosened the tie that was wrapped around my neck and sighed . This outfit that Chris selected was definitely a fine-looking men¡¯s formal outfit, but it felt really stiff and restrictive, unlike my usual mercenary get-up . ¡°Me too, Hiro-sama¡­¡­¡± ¡°Clothes like these were what I used to wear every day in the past though¡­¡­¡± Mimi and Elma were also still wearing their fancy dresses and essories, and it seems they were alsofier in their usual get-ups as well . Both of them carefully removed the essories they were wearing and ced them on a table beside the sofa . Mei already went back to Krishna to pick up our clothes . Actually, I tried to go as well, but Mei insisted that I apany Mimi and Elma here instead . I¡¯m not sure if she insisted primarily due to worry about Mimi and Elma¡¯s fatigue or out of her consideration so I could rest up as well . ¡°What do you guys think?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean what do you think about the emperor¡¯s intentions? Why¡¯d he suddenly announce something like a tournament and confined us inside the pce? I really don¡¯t get it . What¡¯s his deal?¡± Elma paused in thought at my question . ¡°I think he just wants to see the extent of your abilities during this tournament after all . You¡¯re a mercenary who rose up from Bronze-rank to tinum-rank in a surprisingly short period of time after all . ¡± ¡°I see? He¡¯s just being a damn nuisance though . ¡± ¡°I told you to stop that¡­¡­ Also, one reason for keeping us in the pce might be to prevent us from escaping, but it might also be to protect us from trouble . Didn¡¯t you get picked on right after the ceremony concluded?¡± ¡°Ah, um¡­¡­ That baron so and so huh . Yeah, I remember him . ¡± ¡°It looks like you don¡¯t¡­ His name is Baron Crias . If we stay here, we won¡¯t need to deal with that guy . And if you show your abilities in the tournament, you¡¯d probably get picked on less in the future . ¡± ¡°I see . That¡¯s reasonable enough . ¡± ¡°Well, um¡­¡­ confining you here so you won¡¯t be able to escape might still be one of his reasons though . ¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I wouldn¡¯t run even if I wasn¡¯t ced on house arrest anyway . If I escaped after it was grandly announced that I would fight in matches to prove my worth, my reputation will take a major hit . Furthermore, the faces of the emperor who announced the tournament, the imperial military that awarded me the Gold Star, and the Mercenary Guild that promoted me to tinum rank would collectively be sullied . If I threw mud at the faces of the emperor, imperial military, and Mercenary Guild at the same time, would it still be possible for me to work as a mercenary in the future? Of course not . Therefore, it was already impossible for me to escape attending the tournament after the decree of His Majesty got issued . ¡°But a tournament huh¡­¡­ I wonder what sort ofpetition format it¡¯ll have? Will I be fighting in a battle royale against all the skilled people they can manage to gather?¡± I honestly am tempted to just withdraw though . ¡°Rather, I wonder what kind ofpetition it will be? Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m gonnapete in a swordsmanship tournament or something . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s possible, actually . That¡¯s not all though . There arepetitions usingser guns, power armor, and mock battles using starships too . ¡± ¡°What the heck¡¯s with that triathlon from hell¡­¡­?¡± Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m really gonna have to duel with swords, engage inbat using myser gun and power armor, and perform mock space battles using my starship? I¡¯m gonna do all that? Me? Now I really wanna run away¡­ Once they¡¯ve decided on something, the imperials are really darn quick, aren¡¯t they? An hour after the emperor¡¯s promation was announced ¨C while the three of us were lounging around within the guest room ¨C the Internal Affairs Bureau managed toplete the nning outline for the entire event, and three hourster, they¡¯ve implemented the necessary groundwork . After another two hours, they already announced it to the public . And thus, preparations went underway for the opportunity to challenge thetest Gold Star recipient and tinum-rank mercenary,¡ºCrazy¡»Hiro . It was widely publicized that thepetition was implemented due to a direct edict by the emperor himself . It was also announced that if you manage to win against Captain Hiro, you will be granted very generous rewards . And so, many knights, soldiers, nobles, and mercenaries have signed up for the tournament in great anticipation . ¡°The number of applicants has already exceeded three hundred?¡± I¡¯m going to have to fight all of them? I¡¯m gonna die, aren¡¯t I? ¨CThe day after the ceremony . I borrowed Mimi¡¯s tablet, read the news about the tournament, andined vehemently inside my head . Just where did these three hundred people with too much free time sprout from anyway? ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll make you fight all three hundred of them . That¡¯s why thepetition is in a tournament format . They¡¯d let them fight among themselves and whittle down the numbers first, right?¡± ¡°Maybe Hiro-sama will be included as a seeded participant in the tournament as well¡­¡­?¡± ¡°No, that would go against the point of getting a chance to challenge me if I lose halfway though . Well, it¡¯s that emperor after all . He might really do something like that¡­¡­¡± He might say something along the lines of ¡®You won¡¯t possibly allow yourself to be humiliated by losing halfway, right?¡¯ Eh? The emperor in my mind is far too shady, you say? It¡¯s impossible for me to look favorably at a guy who throws something this troublesome on me while spouting profound-sounding nonsense like ¡®leaving his own mark on my turbulent destiny¡¯ or something like that . I absolutely won¡¯t forgive that bastard . When I managed to calm down a bit, I contacted Major Serena and exined the situation, but Major Serena only gazed back at me with a very sorry-looking expression on her face . ¡ºSo you guys have the strange ability to attract trouble after all?¡» The three of us weren¡¯t able to say anything back to the good major . Howmentable . In addition, due to the decision to hold thepetition at this time, the entire schedule nned by the imperial military was blown to bits . In fact, we were supposed to get interviewed by the imperial military¡¯s public rtions division after the ceremony . (It wasn¡¯t an interview by a civilianpany, so Space Dwerg¡¯s priority coverage rights didn¡¯t apply . ) And that¡¯s not all . I was also nning to take on the job of testing out the newly developed next-generation military small-ssbat starship and carrier-based fighter, but that also splendidly went up in smoke . The reason for this is because many participants in thepetition were soldiers from the imperial military, so if I showed off my maneuvers, it might work in favor of them in the space battle portion of the tournament . That said, the imperial military was already in possession of mybat records during the battle with the crystal lifeforms, and Major Serena probably has a record of my battles with pirates, so I think they already have plenty of advantages though . ¡°Haa¨C I¡¯m really screwed this time . ¡± ¡°Really?¡± Mimi tilted her head cutely when she saw me sigh in dejection . ¡°Aside from starship battles, I can¡¯t say meleebat and sword duels are part of my specialty after all¡­¡­¡± I did manage to protect an undefeated record in melee battles back when I was ying SOL, but I don¡¯t have any confidence that I can do the same in this dimension¡­¡­ Well, I guess I can somehow perform the maneuvers and strategies I did back in the game in reality for some reason, but I¡¯m pitifullycking experience when ites to fighting using my own body instead of a character in a game . I would probably be more assured while fighting inside a power armor though . ¡°I think you¡¯ll be just fine though¡­¡­ I¡¯m not sure how you¡¯ll hold up against the skilled people based in the capital though . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really have a dream of bing the strongest in the empire or gxy though . Or rather, my specialty is starshipbat dammit! Don¡¯t just dump me into sword duels and melee battles without any consideration!¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, Master . You will be fine as long as you perform like you usually do . ¡± Mei gave me her stamp of approval, but I haven¡¯t managed to beat her even once though . Well, I guess Mei was a super high-performance maidroid who boasts unparalleled specs, so there¡¯s that . She could probablypete even with those specialized high-performance militarybat bots, so trying to win against her without any power armor on might just be an exercise in futility . ¡°But don¡¯t you guys think the time between the official announcement andmencement of thepetition is too short?¡± The first phase of the tournament ¨C the swordsmanship duels ¨C is already going to be held two days from now . It¡¯s gonnast for three days, and after that, the second phase, meleebat, will begin . That¡¯s gonnast for another three days, and then, the final leg, the spacebatpetition, will begin . ¡°Imperial nobles are all trained in the sword from childhood after all . And once they decide to participate, they just have to cross the gateway ande to the capital . That¡¯s probably why the time between the announcement and the beginning of the tournament is quite short . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably it . It seems there are lots of Drawn Sword faction members in the capital too . ¡± ¡°Ugeh . ¡± I could only groan inment . ¡°¡­¡­Uh, how exactly would we fight in a sword duel anyway? You¡¯re not telling me we¡¯re gonna go at each other with real swords, right?¡± ¡°They probably won¡¯t allow you to use real swords . They should provide you with blunt replicas and you¡¯ll fight with those . Of course, even if they aren¡¯t sharp, they¡¯re still a big lump of metal, so they could still hurt you if you get hit by them . ¡± ¡°How scary . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­But isn¡¯t that the same thing as your practice matches with Mei-san?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Come to think of it, you¡¯re right . ¡± I¡¯ve already experienced trading blows using blunt swords with Mei . Uh, in Mei¡¯s case, it wasn¡¯t a blunt sword but her personal weapon, the ck baton made out of special metal alloys . But it certainly was pretty simr . ¡°Just rx and go for broke . Even if you¡¯re a Gold Star recipient, I don¡¯t think the Emperor is so unreasonable that he¡¯ll insist on having you prove your skills in sword duels . ¡± ¡°But you know, if you put it like that, isn¡¯t that guy just nning on enjoying the sight of me getting beat up during the tournament?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­Um . ¡± Elma became quiet and Mimi couldn¡¯t find any words to answer me . Hahaha . I see I see . So that¡¯s how it is huh . ¡°Yosh! I¡¯ve decided! I¡¯ll send them all flying goddammit!¡± Ok, ok . If that¡¯s how you want to y it, then I¡¯ll just have to get serious and beat the crap out of them . I firmed my resolution while remembering the f**king bastard emperor¡¯s annoying grin . Chapter 185 Chapter 185 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°So that¡¯s what happened . ¡± ¡°Yep! And then, Hiro-sama was¨C¡± Two girls with practically identical faces were having a spirited discussion while sitting behind the same table inside the guest room we were assigned to . Yep . The two girls were, of course, Mimi and Her Imperial Highness, Princess Luciada . ¡°They splendidly hit it off huh . ¡± It was the morning after our first night staying within the imperial castle . When an attendant brought our breakfast, Princess Luciada arrived for a visit as well . It looks like she was quite interested in Mimi, who had almost the same appearance as her . At first, Mimi was quite nervous and stiff, but due to the princess¡¯ gift of the gab or her innate charisma, or perhaps it was simply because they were of the same wavelength, Mimi soon cozied up to Princess Luciada and was now having an enjoyable conversation with her . ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡­ It¡¯s a really nice sight, isn¡¯t it?¡± Elma replied as she calmly brought a teacup to her lips . ¡°Uhuh . It sure is . ¡± I watched over Princess Luciada, who had a gentle and elegant smile on her face, and Mimi, who had a cute and innocent smile on hers and nodded in agreement . They truly resembled each other a lot . They were practically mirror images of each other . Their voices sounded simr as well . If they both wore the same clothes and sported the same hairstyle, won¡¯t other people have difficulty telling them apart? Me? I won¡¯t have any trouble though . That¡¯s because their breast sizes were different . ¡°Ouch . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be rude . ¡± Perhaps she sensed where I was looking at . Elma, who was sitting alongside me on the sofa, tightly pinched my nk . Thedies-in-waiting and female imperial guards assigned to Princess Luciada were also giving me icy cold looks . My position as the only male in the room was utterly weak . ¡°¡­¡­Mei,e with me for a bit . I wanna work up a sweat for a bit . ¡± ¡°Yes . Understood, Master . ¡± When they heard my exchange with Mei, thedies-in-waiting and female imperial guards all narrowed their eyes in scorn . It was like they were looking at me as if I were mere garbage . They were all really beautiful girlsparable to Mimi and Elma, so the destructive power was immense . Any more and I¡¯d be awakening to a dangerous fetish¡­ By the way, I already have an idea about what they were imagining I wanted to do, but that¡¯s not it, okay? ¡°Excuse me, esteemeddies from the imperial guards, can you guide us to the ce where you usually practice swordsmanship? I would like to borrow the ce for a while to do some swordsmanship training . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­I see . That maidroid hasbat functions installed, correct?¡± ¡°It¡¯s as you say, mdy . If she isn¡¯t held down by limiters, she could rival professional soldiers equipped with power armors . ¡± ¡°Hou¡­¡­ I see, I see . In other words, she serves as your bodyguard, doesn¡¯t she?¡± Thedy knight nodded as if she was convinced and nced toward Mimi . It looks like she¡¯s noticed Mimi¡¯sck ofbat skills as well . That¡¯s just how it is . The most Mimi could do was to shoot herser gun with her eyes closed while hoping to at least hit something . And that¡¯s when she¡¯s shooting at practice targets . She probably won¡¯t be able to shoot at live targets at all . ¡°So would it be possible to borrow your training grounds for a while?¡± ¡°Very well . I shall guide you there . Richelle, Aina, I¡¯ll leave this ce to both of you . ¡± ¡°¡±Yes!¡±¡± Out of the three female imperial guards, two remained in the guest room while one apanied Mei and me . She did call the names of the other two without honorifics and had the attitude and bearing down pat, so thisdy knight was probably one of the imperial guards¡¯manding officers . ¡°Follow me . ¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± Mei and I obediently followed thedy knight¡¯s words and left the guest room together with her . We then began walking around the majestic-looking corridors of the pce . After walking around for a while, thedy knight suddenly opened her mouth to speak . ¡°That person¡­¡­ Mimi-sama has a very cheerful and innocent disposition, doesn¡¯t she? It warms my heart to see her and Her Imperial Highness chatting happily like that . ¡± ¡°Mimi is a good girl after all . ¡± ¡°That she is . I wonder if that¡¯s why she¡¯s attracted to a frivolous man like you?¡± ¡°Whoah . How harsh . ¡± I shrugged nonchntly at thedy knight who was now giving me a nasty re . ¡°I personally don¡¯t think I¡¯m that much of a ¡®bad boy¡¯ type though . ¡± ¡°Did you not only extended your poisonous ws to Mimi-sama, but even the youngest daughter of Viscount Willrose? And you are even keeping two more women back in your ship, correct?¡± ¡°That¡¯s scary, mdy . How¡¯d you find that out anyway? But I haven¡¯tid my hands on those two at all, okay? I do think both of them are pretty cute, butying my hands on them kinda seems like I¡¯mmitting a crime you know . ¡± ¡°But didn¡¯t you alreadyy your hands on Mimi-sama?¡± ¡°Uh, well, it¡¯s kindaplicated between Mimi and me . ¡± Back on Earth, it would have been an out . But in this dimension, it was safe . Mimi was already treated as an adult in this dimension after all . And, well, there were also the circumstances back then . Her state of mind back when we first met was very fragile after all . ¡°And what exactly do you mean by plicated¡¯?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really have any reason to tell you that much y¡¯know¡­¡­ Oh, right . Are you going to participate in the sword duels tomorrow as well, mdy?¡± ¡°No . Why do you ask?¡± ¡°Okay then . Apany me in my swordsmanship training . I¡¯ll tell you about our circumstances if you win against me . ¡± After she heard my offer, the eyes of Ms .dy knight widened in surprise and then narrowed in delight soon after . ¡°That sounds good . Deciding things by way of the sword is a great suggestion . I may have underestimated you a bit much . ¡± Ah, she¡¯s one of ¡®those¡¯ types huh . Thisdy was pretty and had an elegant way of speaking, but she¡¯s a muscle-head to the core . ¡°Kuh, kiiiill!¡± After roughly over thirty minutes, the female imperial guard, Isolde-san, showed an expression that seemed really inappropriate for ady . ¡°No killing please . ¡± I brandished a pair of blunt training swords and retorted in bafflement . Well, y¡¯see, I sessfully borrowed the training grounds of the imperial guards and engaged Isolde-san in a practice match, but I ended up winning quite easily . I was also surprised, of course, but Isolde-san and the other imperial guards present at the grounds were even more surprised . ¡°O-One more match!¡± ¡°Oka?y . ¡± Thedy imperial guard Isolde-san picked up her training sword that was blown away by me and challenged me again . As a qualified professional imperial guard, Isolde-san¡¯s movements were quite agile and powerful . Her swordsmanship was also very sharp . ¡°Haaa!¡± With tremendous momentum, Isolde-san wielded the training sword made of a tough and heavy stic-like material and shed it at me . But her move seemed pretty slow in my eyes . I wasn¡¯t even holding my breath and activating my ability . I was just used to Mei¡¯s attacks that were way more fast and powerful . ¡°Yo . ¡± ¡°Nuuh!?¡± There¡¯s no doubt that Isolde-san was fast . She was fast, but Mei was just that much faster and stronger . Furthermore, her strikes were less uratepared to Mei¡¯s and she disyed far too many openings . ¡°Ah!?¡± I hit her sword-wielding hand and made her drop her weapon . I didn¡¯t give her the chance to recover the sword and immediately unleashed a sh to finish Isolde-san off . A buzzer rang out within the training grounds, and Isolde-san once again lost the match . With this, I already had a four-match winning streak . ¡°Kuh¡­¡­ Kill me!¡± ¡°Uh, the training system already judged that you¡¯ve been cut in half and killed though . ¡± The training facility had advanced training equipment and systems that would allow you to simte a real sword fight while wielding blunt training swords . If you wore specialized headgear and shed at each other with the training swords, the system would automatically measure the damage dealt and impose appropriate penalties to the body . For example, if the right arm got shed, it would be paralyzed for the duration of the match . If a leg got shed, it would be immobile and you¡¯d most likely trip on the ground . If your fingers got shed, they¡¯d lose their gripping power and would no longer be able to hold the training sword . And if you get dealt a fatal blow, a buzzer will ring out, and you¡¯d be judged as dead . I don¡¯t know how exactly the whole system works though . Did they install sensors on the walls, ceiling, and ground, perhaps? ¡°He¡¯s handling that Isolde-san like it¡¯s child¡¯s y . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡­ But is something like that really possible?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to hold back, Isolde . Use your full strength . ¡± ¡°Barring the first match, I¡¯ve been giving my all from the second match onward!¡± Isolde-san got up, retrieved her sword, and got into a fighting stance again . It looks like she still wants to continue . ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Come on then . ¡± Isolde-san was pretty enthusiastic and attacked again . She unleashed a simple but powerful diagonal sh . Her step-in and swing speed were practically perfect . Fumu . I guess I have no choice but to receive her sword attack . I dropped my waist and decided to concentrate on parrying Isolde-san¡¯s sh . It seems that Isolde-san was one of the most prominent and skilled imperial guards, and this was a good opportunity for me to observe the imperial guard¡¯s swordy as well . ¡°Haa! Yaa! Sei!¡± I dodged and parried Isolde-san¡¯s storm-like series of attacks . All her attacks were heavy, sharp, and probably meant to end the fight in one hit . If we were seriously fighting with real swords, sparks would have been flying by now . ¡°You¡¯re slow . ¡± ¡°What!?¡± But she was still quite slow for me . Her attacks were light . They were lightyears away from Mei¡¯s attacks . If I tried to parry Mei¡¯s attack like what I¡¯m doing now, my defense would probably get blown away instantly . And even if I did manage to parry her attacks somehow, my arms would be too numb to move after just one or two attacks and would then be rendered useless . Compared to those, Isolde-san¡¯s attacks were akin to a gentle breeze . ¡°Yaaa!¡± I parried the piercing thrust Isolde-san unleashed together with a sharp battle cry with the sword on my left hand, pulled my left foot outward, and unleashed a counterattack with the sword on my right hand . I aimed my attack on Isolde-san¡¯s chest . Isolde-san managed to twist her body and narrowly avoided my attack, but I then sharply stepped forward with my left foot that I just pulled back earlier, and cut Isolde-san¡¯s neck with the sword I used to parry her thrust, ending the match . ¡°Gunununu¡­¡­!¡± The buzzer rang out once more and Isolde-san was given the death penalty . If we were using real swords, Isolde-san¡¯s head would have been separated from her neck already . ¡°Just what style of swordsmanship is he practicing¡­¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simr to the Geos style, I think . But the footwork and defense techniques are quite different . ¡± ¡°Can I ask for a match as well?¡± ¡°I will avenge Isolde¡¯s loss . ¡± The imperial guards who were watching the matches between me and Isolde-san began moring for a match with me one after another . It looks like I won¡¯t have trouble finding training partners after all . Chapter 186 Chapter 186 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone I spent my time training with the imperial guards, and on the second day of my stay at the imperial pce, the tournament¡¯s swordsmanship duel phase was finally going to begin . ¡°I ended up participating in the qualifying rounds after all . I was a seeded yer though . ¡± Wasn¡¯t the winner of the tournament supposed to earn the right to challenge me? Such a hope was splendidly crushed by that whimsical emperor . His Imperial Majesty, no, that f**king emperor, even had the gall to say it was difficult to judge the caliber of a Gold Star awardee with just a few bouts, so I ended up entering the tournament right from the get-go as a result . Maybe my entry as a seeded participant was a form of mercy or something . ¡°Just give up already . ¡± ¡°Please do your best!¡± Worse still, my waiting area was in a special location overlooking the entire stadium . Since it was overlooking the entire match venue, all the people in the stadium had a clear view of my seat as well . And for some reason, there was only a single goddamn sofa ced on my waiting area that seemed far too small and cramped forfort . In other words, three people could only sit on it if they squeezed their bodies together really tightly . Thanks to the sofa¡¯s splendidly arched back, we could only give up and stayed glued together without any space between the three of us . ¡°Now then, let us turn our attention to the person who singlehandedly caused this tournament to be held ¨C Captain Hiro! However¡­¡­ Please take a good look, everyone! He is now sandwiched between two ravishing beauties! Whatposure he has!¡± ¡°I feel the surging passion of the mass media folks from here¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­The arrangements for the venue were all handled by the Internal Affairs Bureau . ¡± ¡°In other words, it¡¯s that fu¨C¡± ¡°That¡¯s no good, Hiro-sama!¡± Mimi panicked and covered my mouth with her hand . Well, I guess calling the emperor a f**ker in this kind of ce is a recipe for trouble . I have to thank Mimi for stopping me¨C ¡°Is this theposure of the strong!? He is flirting with the girls without regard for the audience folks!¡± ¡°It looks like the eyes of each participant have be 20% sharper . Their fighting spirits have been ignited to the max!¡± The announcer and the guestmentator were having the time of their lives at my expense . Okay, you idiots! Whichpany do you guys work for, huuuh!? ¡°Now then, everyone has been fired up, and the matches will finally begin . ¡± Maybe they noticed my murder-filled re . The announcer andmentator shifted their attention to the challengers on the field . The first match consisted of a knight who was a member of the imperial military and a noble from the Drawn Sword faction . ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°The Drawn Sword expert seems to have a slight upper hand . It¡¯s probably because the objectives of their training methods are different . ¡± ¡°What do you mean, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°The knights belonging to the imperial military primarily train to fight against enemies who don¡¯t wield swords themselves . Pirates, soldiers from enemy countries, and the like . On the other hand, Drawn Sword faction nobles usually train with fighting other swordsmen in mind . That¡¯s where the difference lies . ¡± ¡°I see¨C¡± Just as I expected, the Drawn Sword faction noble handily defeated the knight from the imperial military . The second match was between two noblemen, but the gap between their skills was too obvious and the match was over in the blink of an eye . Next, it was an imperial guard versus a noble . The imperial guard narrowly secured victory . There was also a match between two imperial military knights, but they were far too simr in skill, so the match dragged on for a while . However, the final winner ended up being the knight with a smaller stature . That knight was probably a woman . ¡°Captain Hiro-sama Your match is going to be held next, so please start your preparations . ¡± A woman dressed in a maid outfit appeared before us and called out to me . Her eyes were biting cold as she gazed at my appearance while being hugged by Mimi and Elma from both sides . Yep . She was definitely looking at me as if I was utter trash . I got the shivers from her gaze . ¡°I¡¯ll be going then . ¡± ¡°Please do your best, Hiro-sama!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t get yourself injured anyway, but be careful out there . ¡± I followed the maid after I waved goodbye to Mimi and Elma . The ce the maid led me to was filled with various types of training swords . I selected training swords that corresponded to the length, shape, and weight of my personal swords and inserted them into my sword belt . Right after I selected my swords, I heard cheers erupt from the stadium . It looks like a match was decided again . ¡°Good luck . ¡± ¡°Thanks . ¡± The maid sounded like she was giving me a heartfelt cheer while still ring at me icily . Oh c¡¯mon . It¡¯s not like I was the one who prepared that damn sofa . It was your Internal Affairs Bureau . Gimme a break, will you? ¡°Without further ado, everyone! Let us wee the up-anding mercenary who made this entire tournament happen, Captain Hiro!¡± The entire stadium erupted in cheers and jeers . Is it just me, or was I hearing more boos instead of cheering? Is it just my imagination? Should I give these rude folks the middle finger with both hands just for kicks then? I don¡¯t exactly hate ying the heel myself y¡¯know . ¡°The one who will be facing him is Lord Crias, a young baron who is making a name for himself as an up-anding swordsman of proven skills!¡± A familiar nobleman appeared on the other side of the stage amidst a bevy of cheers . ¡°I challenged you on that day in the hopes of this happening . It looks like I managed to achieve my goal in the end . ¡± ¡°Hahaha, I see . Does that mean you really, really want to get miserably beaten up by me? You an M or something, man?¡± ¡°You bastard¡­¡­ A rootless nobody like you dares to fling insults at me!?¡± Baron Crias¡¯s expression warped from a mocking smile to a face filled with rage . Uh, isn¡¯t this guy¡¯s mentality a bit too fragile? ¡°Noo, how scaaary . Your swordsmanship will suffer if you don¡¯t control your emotions you know, oh Mr . high-and-mighty noble . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll maul you to death . ¡± Lord Crias drew his sword . I also pulled out my own swords and got into a fighting stance . ¡°It looks like both sides are raring to go! Well then, match start!¡± The buzzer rang out at the same time as the announcer¡¯s shout, and the match finally started . Lord Crias raised his sword in an overhead stance and charged straight at me . His move expressed his single-minded intent to mow me down in one swing and his fierce temper . Maybe that¡¯s just how his personality is . I thrust my left sword forward and ced my right sword over my shoulder as I took one step ahead . ¡°Cheeeeaaaah!¡± Lord Crias quickly closed the gap between us and unleashed a fierce diagonal downward sh . The speed of his sh was akin to a sh of lightning . This must be what they mean by having a lightning-fast sword huh . I met the sh with the sword on my left hand¨C Not . I don¡¯t have any intention of taking such a strong attack head-on, so I changed my posture and pulled my leading foot backward in order to avoid Lord Crias¡¯ lightning-fast sh . I thenunched a counter using the sword in my right hand . The speed of my sh was above average, but its power wascking a bit . ¡°Guh¨C!?¡± However, Lord Crias immediately swung his sword upward when his first sh missed . It was a follow-up blow that was used in case the first swing failed to bring down the enemy . I immediately aimed at the hand Lord Crias gripped his sword with . His sh was fast, but mine was faster, and it connected first . Lord Crias¡¯s wrist and fingers were collectively judged to be¡ºcut off¡», and he could do nothing but drop his sword . I then mercilessly unleashed a sh with my left sword to cut off his right leg as well . Lord Crias¡¯s right leg immediately lost mobility and froze up . Since he was already helpless after losing his weapon and losing his mobility, I quickly finished him off by cutting his neck with my right sword . The buzzer signifying a death penalty rang out, and amotion erupted in the stadium once more . Lord Crias, with his neck cut off and given the death penalty, gazed up at me with a nk stare . ¡°W-What a shocking result! Just what happened over there!? Lord Crias suddenly dropped his sword and the match was settled in an instant!?¡± ¡°¡­¡­What terrifying swordy . There were no wasted movements in Mercenary Hiro¡¯s sword swings at all . Hepletely saw through Lord Crias¡¯ attack, predicted his moves, and perfectly countered him . His swordsmanship stylebines uncanny dynamic vision, prediction ability, and unrivaled shing uracy and speed . Truly superb!¡± I sheathed my training swords back on my sword belt and left the match stage . Lord Crias was still stunned frozen and couldn¡¯t stand up on his own . Oh well . The officials will take care of the guy . As I made my way back to my personal waiting area, one of the nearby spectators gave me some apuse . Gradually, more and more spectators pped, until the entire audience was up on their feet and cheering . I responded by waving my hand at them and returned to my seat . ¡°Hiro-sama! You were amazing!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the result of getting beat up every day by Mei after all . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . It¡¯s the result of me spilling buckets of tears and blood . ¡± The fighting style of Baron Crias was used on me by Mei a great number of times already . It seems that style was the basic style used by the Drawn Sword faction . They opened up the opponent¡¯s guard by preemptivelyunching a lightning-fast and powerful strike . And in case the fist attack got avoided, they immediatelyunched an equally fastbo sh to finish the job . In other words, it was a two-hit kill sword style . If I tried to receive the first sh head-on, my defense would crumble due to its power, and when I tried to avoid it, the follow-up sh would getunched immediately . And so, I got beaten up repeatedly by these two sh attacks during my training to the point of vomiting blood until I could sessfully counter them¡­¡­ I vomited blood again and again . It was after vomiting buckets of blood and bile that I was finally able to reliably counter this two-hit kill sword technique . But the moment I seeded, Mei suddenly changed her moves! Don¡¯t just watch the opponent¡¯s sword but the entire body in order to predict their moves, you say? Predict what kind of attack the opponent will throw at you from various positions? Learn with your body about the effective methods to respond to your opponent¡¯s attacks? And so, Mei forcefully cultivated my ability to read ahead with such over the top training sessions . Meh . It was easier than predicting how the enemy ships would move based on limited information from the radar . As long as the opponent was human, their range of motion was more or less fixed . It was rtively easy to remember what kind of attack they would be capable of pulling off based on their body posture . Well, if I failed to predict an attack, I¡¯ll be blown away by a ck metal baton and vomit blood all over again after all . I was pretty desperate . I then fought two more matches . The second person I fought was an imperial military knight . Instead of going on the attack, the female military knight focused on defense and fought me steadily . But I pressed on the attack myself instead, and after a fierce exchange of counter-shes, I managed to incapacitate her . The next person I fought was an elderly knight belonging to the imperial guards . This elderly knight was quite strong . He¡¯d pull out when he needed to pull out, and attacked when there was enough of an opening . However, he was still slower than Mei, his sword was less precise, and his power was weaker . I repeatedly locked swords with him and fought at extremely close range while whittling his stamina and concentration until I managed to deliver a deadly blow to his nk . He was a great opponent . And so, it was now my fourth match . ¡°To be honest, I almost gave up on challenging you since it seemed that I wouldn¡¯t be given an opportunity . ¡± ¡°Is that so . ¡± The man who stood in front of me had distinctly long ears . And his face resembled someone I knew very well to some extent . ¡°If I win against you, I will have you release Elma immediately!¡± ¡°No, uh, don¡¯t use a precious imperial edict for something petty like that, brother-inw . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me brother-inw!¡± The elven man, Ernst Willrose, pointed a finger at me with saliva flying out of his mouth as he shouted in anger . He then brought his hand to his sword¡¯s hilt . I drew my two swords and got into a stance myself . The buzzer for the start of the match rang out . ¡°Haaah!¡± Ernst circled around me andunched attacks from spots beyond my reach . He never tried to close in on me and kept trying to whittle me down with numerous attacks thatcked some punch . ¡°Oi, oi . Getting cold feet, are you?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t fall for such provocations!¡± Apparently, Ernst has analyzed my previous battles quite well . He seems to be wary ofmitting to an all-out attack and eating a counter . He¡¯s also keeping enough distance so I won¡¯t be able to easily close in on him if I wanted to . No matter how much I¡¯ve trained, it would be impossible for me to attain the same level as nobles who¡¯ve undergone the best physical enhancements since they were young . And so, I won¡¯t be able to close the gap with an enemy noble intent on keeping his distance . ¡­Normally, that is . ¡°Suu¡­¡­!¡± I held my breath, and the entire world started moving at a snail¡¯s pace . ¡°What!?¡± My body¡¯s movements also slowed down a bit, but not as much as the movements of everything else around me . I closed the gap with Ernst, who now sported a shocked expression, unleashed a sh with the rest of the world moving in slow-motion, and hit the hand Ernst used to wield his sword without him being able to defend or evade at all . ¡°Impossible!? What were those movements earlier!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s basic to have one or two trump cards in reserve for emergencies you know . ¡± I closed in on Ernst, who had already dropped his sword and whose expression was filled with utter shock, and unleashed consecutive shes using both my swords . If I were using real swords, I would have cut his body up into four parts cleanly . The death penalty buzzer rang out once more, and the match finally ended . ¡°Alrighty then . Don¡¯t mention the thing about Elma in the future again brother-inw . I won after all . ¡± I left Ernst, who sported a frustrated look, and walked off the stage . I won two more matches after this and achieved a grand victory in the swordsmanshippetition . Chapter 187 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°To today¡¯s victory. Cheers.¡± ¡°Cheers?!¡± ¡°Cheers.¡± Mimi and Elma responded with gusto when I raised a toast. However, I drank carbonated stuff bought straight from the capital, and Mimi got 100% All-natural fruit juice for herself, so there was only one person actually drinking alcohol in the room¨C No, make that two. ¡°I got splendidly trounced by you though.¡± The one who raised a voice in protest and sported a sour look unfit for the celebratory mood was a handsome man with long, pointed ears ¨C Elma¡¯s brother, Ernst. ¡°Since the match is over, let¡¯s just let bygones be bygones, right, brother-inw?¡± ¡°I told you not to call me brother-inw¡­¡­ Haaah.¡± Ernst sighed in defeat. His gestures really resembled Elma¡¯s. I guess he really was her brother. Who knows? Maybe it was actually Elma who took after Ernst. ¡°Though it pains me to admit so, it is a fact that you have bested me. And it looks like Elma recognizes and epts you as well. It doesn¡¯t seem like you are holding her hostage using her debt as an excuse. You have bested reputed knights and noblemen in singlebat. You are also the holder of the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal and Gold Star, in addition to being a certified tinum-rank mercenary. It seems I have no choice but to ept you. I still do not want you calling me brother-inw, but yes, I do recognize you.¡± ¡°Hey, Elma. Why is this guy so uppity?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tease him, you.¡± Elma yfully pinched my nose in exasperation. Nuu, I got told off. ¡°You really are Elma-san¡¯s brother¡­¡­¡± Mimi intently stared at Ernst¡¯s face while holding her cup with both hands. T-That¡¯s no good, Mimi! He¡¯s certainly a really handsome guy who resembles Elma¡­¡­ but that¡¯s no good! ¡°Well, I admit we do look alike.¡± ¡°Elma and I both take after our father more after all.¡± They looked at each other¡¯s faces and shrugged in unison. ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant. I mean the way you just can¡¯t be honest with yourselves sometimes is really simr.¡± ¡°Mimi??¡± ¡°Uwaaan!¡± Elma sat down beside Mimi in a huff and red at her. Then she started to pinch Mimi¡¯s cheeks. What a lovely sight. Not being honest with themselves huh¡­¡­? I met gazes with Ernst. I saw an unpleasant expression on his fair face. It was a face of denial. ¡°However, I did not think I would ever get to dine with Elma in a private guest room within the imperial pce. I could not imagine this ever happening five years ago.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the same, dear brother. I even thought I would never set foot on the capital ever again.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s like meeting Hiro-sama paved the way for you to restore the rtions between you and your family huh, Elma-san. How wonderful.¡± ¡°Uh, isn¡¯t that a little bit of a stretch¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Well, I probably wouldn¡¯t evene near the sectors close to the capital if I didn¡¯t meet you, Hiro. So I think it¡¯s not that farfetched of a story.¡± After hearing Elma¡¯s statement, Ernst¡¯s eyes widened in shock. It looks like the thought of Elma not wanting toe home didn¡¯t even cross his mind. ¡°¡­¡­Regardless of what happened, it is true that you have brought Elma back to the capital and her home, so I suppose I do have to thank you for that.¡± ¡°He¡¯s suddenly being so agreeable. Just how worried are you about your sister getting together with me anyway?¡± ¡°You might not like hearing this, but in my eyes, you mercenaries are just a loose group of thugs who possess a weak sense of belonging to our fair empire. Tell me then. Why should I not be worried about my frail and lovely sister getting together with you?¡± ¡°Frail and lovely¡­¡­? Uh, I guess I agree with the ¡®lovely¡¯ par¨C Oow! Oooow!¡± Elma pinched my thigh in displeasure. See! You call this frail!? ¡°But didn¡¯t you help me run away from home in the first ce, dear brother?¡± ¡°Come now, Elma. What kind of brother would allow his sweet and pretty sister to get preyed upon by all the crafty and repulsive trash out there? But that is that and this is this. There hasn¡¯t been a day when I didn¡¯t worry for my dear little sister who had jumped out into a dangerous world beyond my reach.¡± ¡°Man, you really are a hardcore siscon.¡± ¡°You have a very nice big brother, Elma-san.¡± ¡°I¡¯m already used to his overprotectiveness, but I¡¯m not sure if I should be thankful for it¡­¡­ Come to think of it, whatever happened to that guy anyway? I heard the engagement fell through after I hid my whereabouts?¡± Engagement, you say? ¡°Ah, there¡¯s no need to worry about him any longer. There was no way for the engagement to hold since you already escaped on a small-ss starship and got listed as missing after all. Father handled things well and cleanly broke off the engagement. Things would have been great if this guy wasn¡¯t here and you decided toe back home on your own instead, Elma.¡± After saying so, Ernst turned a spiteful gaze at me. ¡°Oh? What? You wanna have another go? I won¡¯t duel with you using real swords y¡¯know? I ain¡¯t brawling against you with fists either. I¡¯m a staunch advocate of pacifism. If you really wanna have a go, then let¡¯s use our starships and perform a mock battle instead.¡± ¡°Be clear if you wanna act tough or chicken out, you¡­¡­ Now you¡¯re just tantly trying to goad him into fighting against you using your specialty.¡± ¡°You bastard. Didn¡¯t you just win against me in a sword fight¡­¡­?¡± ¡°That¡¯s that, and this is this. I¡¯ll pass on trading lives with swords any day. It hurts when you get cut, you bleed a lot, and you might die y¡¯know. I won¡¯t lose when ites to ship-to-shipbat though.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite a bold im.¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯m a Gold Star awardee after all.¡± I responded to the sarcastic Ernst with a taunting grin. Fuhahaha, I¡¯m a Gold Star awardee y¡¯know? I¡¯m a tinum ranker too. It might sound presumptuous, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll lose to anyone when ites to shipbat. I didn¡¯t do much PVP since I found it troublesome, but since I was a solo merc, I naturally had plenty ofbat experience under my belt. My main opponents were NPC and yer pirates. I did fight quite a number of space monsters as well though. ¡°Hmm¡­¡­ You will engage in the meleebatpetition in three days, correct? It would be good if you manage not to lose face there.¡± ¡°Ah, that huh. How exactly would this meleebatpetition y out anyway? We won¡¯t be killing each other with power armors andser guns, I hope?¡± The swordsmanshippetition was a series of matches using training swords, and the space battle tournament was a mock battle in space using starships. But I¡¯m not sure what the meleebatpetition is all about. Basically, my definition of meleebat was to forcibly board a starship and engage in CQC with the crew in order to take the ship over. It¡¯s impossible for it to be a one-on-one thing, and there are differences in everyone¡¯s personal equipment as well. Just how would they judge if you were good in melee engagements anyway? ¡°What? So you don¡¯t know? Well then, I¡¯ll be gracious and lecture you.¡± With that said, Ernst began lecturing me about the particrs of the meleebatpetition. To put it simply, the so-called meleebatpetition can be likened to an extreme obstacle race. Think of it as an extreme version of the [1]SAS*KE obstacle coursepetition you see on TV. First, a major premise was forpetitors to use equipment they¡¯ve prepared themselves. Of course, this would cause a disparity in the equipment quality depending on one¡¯s financial capability, but in thispetition that emphasizes simtion of actualbat conditions, financial capability is treated as just another factor of one¡¯s overall strength. And so, entrants unable to prepare decent equipment for themselves are kicked out from the start. Was your opponent better-equipped? It¡¯s your fault for not bringing good equipment. Anyway, that¡¯s the rationale behind it. Yeah. It certainly was ¡®extreme¡¯. Thepetitors will each rush into their own assigned battlefields and beginbat immediately. The battlefields are supposed to simte variousbat situations and environments, such as CQCbat aboard a hostile ship, inside colonies, or a jungle on some alien. Thepetition will make use of a military training facility that could recreate such varied environments using abination of hologram projectors and replicators. ¡°That sure sounds like a serious waste of tech.¡± ¡°By the way, the ones that will be serving as enemies in thepetition arebat bot models from the various roboticspanies based in the capital. It seems they will treat it as an opportunity to record valuable battle data as well.¡± ¡°Those profiteers. They just don¡¯t miss any opportunity huh¡­¡­¡± Were they not worried about protecting ssified tech or something? But, I see. I can bring my own equipment huh. I see¡­ I¡¯ll give thepetition rules a good readter. Ah, I¡¯ll have to get them to deliver the weapon stockpiles I had from the ck Lotus¡¯s armoryter. There are also some stored on Krishna as well. Wait. Should I just procure the consumables here? My power armor and main weapons are all stored inside Krishna anyway, so I just have to worry about procuring grenades and ammo. ¡°Um, you¡¯re making that nasty expression again, Hiro-sama.¡± ¡°He¡¯s probably plotting something again.¡± ¡°What are you saying, you two? You make it seem like I¡¯m some despicable viin. I ain¡¯t nning to use a mini reactive bomb or anything.¡± ¡°Of course you won¡¯t! Elma, is this guy really okay?¡± ¡°He¡¯s probably okay¡­¡­ I think. Uh, well, I wonder though. He did make use of that Singing Crystalst time¡­¡­¡± ¡°Singing Crystal!?¡± Oops. Leave it at that, Elma. That¡¯s a gray area that¡¯s dangerously close to ck y¡¯know. If they found out, I¡¯m doubtful I¡¯d get away with just a reprimand. So don¡¯t say anymore. And c¡¯mon. I¡¯m just gonna use my equipment effectively, okay. It¡¯s fine. Absolutely no problem. ¡°Rather than that, I¡¯m more interested in Elma¡¯s former fianc¨¦e. He won¡¯t suddenly rear his ugly head again, will he?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that will happen, but if it does, I¡¯ll make sure to take care of it and not cause trouble for you, Hiro.¡± Elma dered so with a sour but determined look. I responded by flicking Elma¡¯s forehead. ¡°Idiot. I don¡¯t really mind that sort of trouble. Instead of getting worried on your own, it¡¯s better to consult with us and think up countermeasures together.¡± ¡°Can you not flirt with my sister in my presence?¡± ¡°No way. So, what kind of guy is he anyway? Both brother-inw and Elma seem to hate him a lot.¡± ¡°I already told you not to call me brother¡­¡­ Haaah. Fine. The identity of Elma¡¯s former fianc¨¦e is the second son of Marquis Elzar. He¡¯s total garbage who switches women as often as he switches his clothes. It would be good if he was just your typical womanizer, but he also makes use of his parent¡¯s influence and power to his heart¡¯s content.¡± ¡°He sounds like the stereotypical hopeless aristocrat, but why are they letting him do as he pleases? Or rather, even if he¡¯s the second son of a marquis, how could you bear to match Elma, who¡¯s the daughter of a viscount, with scum like him?¡± Sure a marquis is higher in rankpared to a viscount, but how could a father bear to offer his younger daughter to such a notorious yboy? ¡°The marquis directly came to father and begged him on bended knee to marry Elma to his second son. It seems like he was hoping to put a leash on his wayward son¡¯s behavior by marrying him to Elma.¡± ¡°Just why¡­¡­¡± ¡°Elma is sweet and beautiful, but she¡¯s also reputed to have inherited the strength of body and character of a true member of House Willrose¡­¡­ Well, that led to her fleeing from the imperial capital in the end though.¡± ¡°In other words, you¡¯re saying she¡¯s considered strong enough topletely hold down that prodigal so¨C Gaaaaah!?¡± Elma swiftly caught hold of my arm and subjected it to a painful joint lock. This! They were referring to this! ¡°Umm¡­¡­ So, is there a possibility that the second son of Marquis Elzar will try to get in touch with Elma-san again¡­¡­?¡± Since I was subjected to Elma¡¯s tyranny and physical violence, Mimi swiftly took over the conversation. That¡¯s my Mimi. So considerate. But could you also do something about this ferocious elf? ¡°Well, by the decree of His Imperial Majesty, people are expressly forbidden toy a hand on Hiro¡¯s loved ones after all. Of course, that extends to you, my sister, and those twin dwarven engineers stationed at your ship. However, once the tournament ends, that decree will be rendered ineffective. But even so, I suppose most imperial nobles will still think twice aboutying a hand on you all after the tournament ends. They do not want to attract our Emperor¡¯s ire after all. I think you do not have to worry so much under normal circumstances.¡± ¡°So what about the possibility of that second son popping out to bother Elma?¡± I managed to free myself from Elma¡¯s joint lock and asked Ernst. ¡°I cannotpletely dismiss such a possibility. He¡¯s a fairly impatient and impulsive sort of person after all. However, I believe it is Lady Mimi who¡¯s more in danger as opposed to Elma.¡± ¡°Me!?¡± Mimi let out a shocked cry. I wasn¡¯t surprised though. If you think about it, it would be more likely for that second son of Marquis Elzar or whatever to focus on harassing Mimi. She¡¯s an easier mark, so to speak. Elma¡¯s the daughter of a viscount, so there¡¯s a risk of antagonizing House Willrose if he pushes his luck. But Mimi was amoner. At least, that¡¯s what¡¯s on the official records. For a nobleman who¡¯s drunk on abusing his power, it was far easier toy his hands on Mimi who was amoner. He probably treats the Imperial Princess as an untouchable flower on high even for the second son of a marquis. Don¡¯t mention flirting. Maybe he doesn¡¯t even have that many opportunities to catch a glimpse of her. So what would that guy do when he hears about amoner who looks exactly like the princess? For a serial womanizer like him, it would be something too good to pass up. ¡°Even so, something like that won¡¯t happen normally.¡± She might not beparable to Princess Luciada, but Mimi, who was well known as a member of my crew, was considered as a sort of untouchable existence for most nobles too. I already disyed my prowess in the swordsmanshippetition, and I n to make even more of an impact in this uing meleebatpetition. I think they won¡¯t dare provoke someone like me who can be seen as violence incarnate. ¡°Well, that¡¯s true, but¡­¡­ that guy isn¡¯t normal after all.¡± ¡°I see. He isn¡¯t normal huh¡­¡­¡± It looks like I can¡¯t let my guard down any time soon. Geez. How troublesome. Anyway, I¡¯ll focus on preparing for the meleebatpetition in three days. Let¡¯s deal with the most pressing issue first. [1] TL Notes: SASUKE is a Japanese sports entertainment TV special that¡¯s better known in the West as Ninja Warrior. It¡¯s been airing in Japan since 1997 and is basically a four-stage obstacle coursepetition with a hundred participants. It¡¯s named after Sarutobi Sasuke, a fictitious shinobi. And no, he¡¯s not someone from Naruto. Chapter 188 Chapter 188 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone After three days, the meleebatpetition was finally going to be held . Thest three days weren¡¯t exactly peaceful . ¡ºMy name is Shunji Gaiden! I desire to have a bout with you!¡» ¡ºMy name is White Rose! I would like to have a duel with you! It does not matter whether you opt for a spar or a serious match!¡» ¡ºHiro-dono, let¡¯s train! The rest of the imperial guards are waiting for us already! C¡¯mon!¡» Drawn Sword experts who didn¡¯t manage to participate in the swordsmanshippetition, a suspicious person who wore a gaudy white mask and costume with a rose motif, and disappointing beautiful female imperial knights¡­ These people kept bugging me to either fight or train with them nonstop for thest three days . I already told you guys I¡¯m busy preparing for the meleebat tournament, right!? Or rather, you imperial guards! Yes, I¡¯m talking to you guys! Why haven¡¯t you thrown out that weirdo in a white mask and costume yet!? The heck are you guys doing!? ¡ºUm, it¡¯s because Michael¨C I mean White Rose-dono has no problem regarding his background . ¡» Hey, White Rose! Your true identity¡¯s already been found out y¡¯know . ¡ºPlease just treat it as if you haven¡¯t heard anything . He is the mysterious swordsman White Rose . He most certainly has nothing to do with Duke Greizes . Are we clear?¡» Ah, I see . So everybody¡¯s seen through the good duke¡¯s gaudy cosy, but they just chose not to expose him huh . Or rather, they can¡¯t . ¡ºHe¡¯s basically not doing anything particrly vile¡­ or rather, he¡¯s actually a big help since he uses his own well-built informationwork to get rid of nobles who do bad deeds, so he¡¯s sort of like a local hero around these parts . Though he does make quite a ridiculous mess of things at times, so we have to break our backs trying to clean up after him . Haha . ¡» I see . So they treat him like an elderly nobleman who makes blunders from time to time huh . But dukes really have a lot of power and influence huh . By the way, Mr . White Rose was knocked out by a maidroid who made ate appearance and brought out of the room . She was a cool-type maidroid who possessed a different temperamentpared to Mei . I feel like White Rose and she will be good friends with each other . I fended off the advances of such individuals while continuing to prepare for the meleebatpetition . The prep work was surprisingly troublesome as well, and I had to make a list of what I would bring to thepetition in advance and submit it for approval . Well, since I had to do it, I might as well be thorough . I have a lot of stuff I want to have approved after all . The nice thing is that the imperial family will cover all the expenses for consumables such as grenades, ammunition, and energy packs . I¡¯m gonna go ham and hand a huge invoice over to that f**king emperor! ¡­Nah, it¡¯s no use . Yep, no use at all . Consumables for meleebat aren¡¯t particrly expensive no matter how much you buy after all . At most, I¡¯d be able to use up a few tens of thousands of Enels . Oh well . Let¡¯s stop thinking of unnecessary stuff and do what we gotta do, shall we? ¡°Hiro-sama, are you okay?¡± Mimi called out to me while looking up at my face with a worried gaze . We were now inside the training facility that will serve as thepetition venue for today . Arge number of audience seats have been hurriedly installed within the building for the tournament, and the facility already resembled an indoor stadium . Normally, public events like this one weren¡¯t really supposed to be hosted by military training facilities, so there weren¡¯t any pre-installed audience seats . Even though there weren¡¯t any originally, they made full use of the training facility¡¯s battlefield simtion capabilities in order to create the seats on short notice . Man, the scale of the empire¡¯s methods really is something . ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine . I was just thinking about what happened these past three days . ¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­¡­ It sure was hectic, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Mimi smiled bitterly andughed it off, but even she had it rough since Princess Luciada invited her every day for tea as well . I wasn¡¯t able to observe what happened at those tea parties all that much since I kept getting bothered by those idiots, but it looks like they were able to properly get along at least . By the way, Elma had it the easiest out of the three of us . She would either quietly drink some tea while fiddling with her tablet terminal or join Mimi and Princess Luciada at their tea parties . ¡°I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t get yourself injured, but be careful anyway, okay?¡± ¡°Understood . I¡¯ll properly look out for myself . ¡± Our opponents arebat bots after all . The energy cells they use for their power source might explode due to a badly ced hit or two, so I really do have to be careful . As for their armaments, it seems they were equipped with training weapons to avoid causing the participants any injuries . ¡°I¡¯ll be going then . Let¡¯s go, Mei . ¡± ¡°Yes, Master . ¡± I left the participant¡¯s waiting area with Mei in tow¨C but Elma suddenly got in our way . ¡°Just hold on a minute, you! Why are you taking Mei with you anyway?¡± ¡°Huh? But she¡¯s part of my equipment y¡¯know . ¡± ¡°Hah?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Elma and Mimi widened their eyes in surprise . ¡°It¡¯s finally time! It¡¯s the second phase of the tournament, the meleebatpetition! The rules are as exined earlier folks! The participants will use the equipment they brought in to break through extremely harsh battlefields! Of course, really careless decisions will be given a death penalty, and the participant¡¯s challenge will end there . If both participants are given the death penalty, we will determine the final oue through the difference in their scores!¡± The announcer¡¯s voice echoed throughout the training facility, and the audience ¨C who were mostly nobles ¨C cheered loudly in response . While that was going on, I stood by while wearing my personal power armor as I waited for thepetition to begin with Mei and the other participants . My equipment this time was my power armor, RIKISHI mk . III, along with my two new hatchet guns . And the weapon mount on the back was equipped with a standard sma grenadeuncher . This particr model was an auto-grenadeuncher that fires using the power armor¡¯s targeting system and was loaded with sma grenades that cause super-heated sma explosions . I¡¯m nning on destroying most of the obstacles that will get in the way with this baby . In addition, RIKISHI was equipped with a good number of fixed weapons such as shoulder-mountedser guns . The hatchet guns I was gonna use for the first time today were closebat weapons that doubled asser shotguns . ¡°Now then, let¡¯s check out the man of the hour, Captain Hiro himself¡­¡­ Oh my . That sure is one evil-looking¨C I mean intimidating power armor folks . ¡± ¡°Fumu, it¡¯s a model I¡¯ve never seen before . It¡¯s a heavy-armored power type from the looks of it . Perhaps it¡¯s specially built to counter other power armors . ¡± ¡°I see . By the way, a maidroid is with him for some reason . ¡± ¡°ording to the materials I have on hand, he asked the tournament managementmittee if it was possible to bring in a maidroid as well three days ago . And after a thorough discussion, themittee saw no reason to refuse his request and granted it . ¡± ¡°I see . I do think maidroids aren¡¯t really suited for livebat though¡­¡­ However, it looks like she¡¯s carrying some pretty fearsome-looking weapons, isn¡¯t she?¡± Mei was carrying theseruncher that was remodeled by the mechanic sisters . More specifically, she was carrying a modifiedseruncher with a brutal feel to it . It seems she could freely use it as a close-range bludgeon without any problem . As a result of the mod, its weight was practically doubled, but it looks like Mei can wield it just fine . And, of course, the limiters ced on her were released, but just for the duration of thepetition . ¡°That she is . It looks like he has quite a few female crew members on his ships, so the maidroid might have been specially customized to double as their bodyguard . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ But if that¡¯s the case, then why weren¡¯t the other participants allowed to bring inbat bots themselves?¡± ¡°That¡¯s becausebat bots are expressly prohibited by the rules . It looks like Captain Hiro has sessfully managed to take advantage of a loophole in the rules . ¡± The guestmentator, who seemed like a guy affiliated with the military, grinned wryly as he exined . Well, Mei ended up costing 470,000 Enels due to her extensive customization though . It goes even higher if you take into ount her optional upgrades and other equipment . Honestly, you could probably buy a whole set ofbat bots for that price . You can even buy a single specializedbat bot that would be able to somewhat exceed Mei¡¯s performance specs with that kind of money . Spending so much to customize a maidroid that was originally more geared for domestic purposes probably seemed like a crazy idea to most folks . ¡°I don¡¯t regret it one bit though . ¡± ¡°Master?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing . Let¡¯s both do our best, Mei . ¡± ¡°Yes, please leave it to me . ¡± ¡°Haaaa!¡± I repeatedly fired my hatchet guns and cleaned up thebat bots deployed on a passageway withser scatter-shots . ¡°Ushaa!¡± I struck one hatchet gun against abat bot that suddenly jumped out from the side of the passageway and crushed it . Mei also wielded her customseruncher and freely smashed thebat bots by swinging it around . Is that really alright? Won¡¯t its internals get damaged or something? ¡°Mei, what about our target?¡± ¡°We¡¯re two walls away from it . ¡± ¡°Roger . ¡± I blew the wall to pieces with my sma grenadeuncher and cleaned up the waitingbat bots beyond it with my hatchet guns, shoulder-mountedser guns, and Mei with her customseruncher . Since we came in from a spot other than the entrance, their response was one stepte . That one step determined victory and defeat . ¡°Captain Hiro has reached the goooaaal! His opponent is still on Stage 2! Oh, he just retired folks . It seems he determined there¡¯s no way to turn things around anymore . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably it . Under thepetition rules, it¡¯s more advantageous to quickly clear the stages instead of steadily umting points . There¡¯s a danger of getting pped with a death penalty if you get too careless while trying to speedrun the stage, however, if you do manage to reach the goal quickly without incurring a death penalty, it would be next to impossible for the opponent to reverse the situation . That¡¯s probably why the other participant opted to retire and admitted defeat . ¡± The announcer and the guestmentator exined away without missing a step . ¡°But Captain Hiro¡¯s performance is exemry, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°He does have the assistance of that custom maidroid and that excellent power armor, but that¡¯s not all there is to him . His positioning is precise, and his situational awareness and tactical judgment are almost wless . It¡¯s to the point that he¡¯s probably on par ¨C if not better ¨C than a trained professional imperial marine . I would even like to recruit him for my squad if possible . ¡± Gimme a break, man . I¡¯m not gonna spend my days hanging out with military macho men, thank you very much . And so, I was able tofortably snag an overall victory in the meleebatpetition . Yeah, I guess bringing Mei with me was a bit of overkill after all . ¡°You are excellent both as a knight and a soldier, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Uh, well¡­¡­ I am greatly honored by your praise . ¡± The dinner I had after snatching victory in the meleebatpetition wasn¡¯t the usual dinner for three people . I was currently together with Princess Luciada . More specifically, I alone was invited by Princess Luciada to have dinner with her . When thepetition concluded earlier, imperial guards suddenly came before me with a message from the emperor that went something like ¡®As congrattions for winning thepetition today, I shall especially allow you to have dinner with my prized granddaughter . ¡¯ It would be bad if I refused, right? When I asked Mimi, Elma, and Mei, I was told to just go along with it because it really would be bad if I refused . And so, that¡¯s how I got myself in my current situation . ¡°Rather, you are as beautiful as always tonight, Your Highness¡­¡­ Is that what I should be saying next?¡± In fact, Her Imperial Highness, Princess Luciada always wore dresses and essories suited for a highborn princess and looked very beautiful even with just some light makeup . Instead of calling her cute, lovely or beautiful might be more appropriate . Mimi would always appear cute no matter how hard she tried, so this might be a result of the natural elegance and subtle gestures the princess was able to internalize due to her upbringing . ¡°And I would reply with a polite thank you . ¡± ¡°You look like you¡¯re tired of hearing suchpliments though . ¡± Princess Luciada just smiled in reply . I see . ¡°So, just between you and me Your Highness, you were the one who wished for this dinner to happen, right?¡± ¡°Why do you think so?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry for saying something that may sound rude, but this kind of reward is a bit too in for His Imperial Majesty who seems to like shy stuff . ¡± That damn emperor would have surely given a shier reward that would trouble me to no end . For example, he might just hand me ownership of an underdeveloped habitable somewhere . No, seriously . He just might . Man, just give me a damn break already . ¡°So you think dinner with me is in, do you?¡± ¡°That is not what I meant, Your Highness . Also, puffing up your cheeks like that is seriously cute as heck, so please let me off already . ¡± When she puffs up her cheeks in dissatisfaction, her beautiful impression gets thrown out the window and changes to being cute . She actually looks exactly like Mimi in moments like this . ¡°I haven¡¯t had any opportunity to talk at length with you, so I asked His Imperial Majesty to create one . It¡¯s unfortunate that you seem to find it unpleasant . ¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t pout like that . I don¡¯t really find it unpleasant . Honest . ¡± ¡°Really? So, then, Captain Hiro . You¡¯ve been avoiding me, haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Ah¨C¡± Princess Luciada pressed me with furrowed brows, and I ended up averting my gaze . ¡°Well, you see, you¡¯re aware you look a lot like Mimi right, Your Highness? ¡­¡­I wanted to avoid saying something or acting in a rude way, so I tried to keep a respectable distance . ¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Uh, in other words, if you keep furrowing your brows and pouting cutely like that, I might just end up giving you head-pats and such¡­¡­ Also, I¡¯m actually bad at talking in polite speech y¡¯see . ¡± I can, of course, converse politely to some extent depending on the other party . Yep . It depends on who I¡¯m talking to . I¡¯m obviously out of my league when my partner is a princess of a space empire . It would be troublesome if I get pointed at with a sword by the imperial guards if I said or did something rude to royalty, so I tried to keep away as much as possible . ¡°But I want to talk with you more . You do not have to watch your words . It would be different if my speaking partner was a noble, but I will not hold it against a mercenary like you or a normal girl like Mimi-san if you do not converse with me in a formal manner . ¡± ¡°Well, thanks then . ¡± It¡¯s all well and good if you see it like that, Your Highness . But you see, I¡¯ve already been marked by a strange guy for acting rude toward you or something a few days back y¡¯know . With that, I think it would be impossible not to mind my words . ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m personally dissatisfied with being with you, Your Highness . If anything, my actions were unavoidable in order to protect myself and the others from unnecessary trouble, or perhaps you could say I was just acting in ordance to my station . ¡± ¡°Well then, considerations like that will be unnecessary from now on . You can talk with me in the same manner as you do with Mimi-san and Elma-san . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Is it really okay?¡± I gave a quick nce at the female knight who was ring sharply at me from behind . The female imperial guard ¨C it looks like it wasn¡¯t Isolde tonight ¨C looked at me with an even sharper gaze, but since Her Imperial Highness already gave me permission, I decided not to mind it . ¡°Yes, please believe me . ¡± After saying so, Princess Luciada turned her gaze toward the female knight who was ring at me, and the female knight finally averted her eyes . Man . Now that¡¯s royal power . ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse me then¡­¡­ What sort of thing do you want to talk about, Your Highness?¡± ¡°Can you tell me in your own words about your battle with the crystal lifeforms from the beginning?¡± ¡°OK . But I¡¯m not a professional bard, so I¡¯m not sure if I can rte everything in a proper way . Are you fine with that?¡± ¡°No, I expect you to do your best . ¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡­ How strict . ¡± And so, I started talking about the Crystal Campaign with Princess Luciada, who kept smiling angelically even after demanding some pretty harsh storytelling standards, as I scratched the back of my head . Chapter 189 Chapter 189 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone It was now the second day of me spending my time telling stories of my misadventures to Princess Luciada . Because I¡¯ve nearly run out of topics, I ended up blurting out some of the details of my meeting with Chris . It¡¯s not like I revealed all the particrs though . I just told her we somehow got caught up in House Dareinwald¡¯s mess, met the earl¡¯s granddaughter Christina-san and lived with her for a short while . I then showed her some of the souvenir holo-pics and holo-videos we took on Sierra III . But it looks like the story really stoked Princess Luciada¡¯s curiosity, and on the following day, she actually invited Chris herself to the pce for a tea party . And then¨C ¡°Hics . Uguuuuuu, Chris-chaaaaan!¡± ¡°Nn¨C!?¡± After hearing Chris¡¯s life story from her own mouth, Princess Luciada ended tearing up and gave Chris a smothering hug . Uh, it¡¯s fine if you wanna hug her Your Highness, but Chris is already having trouble breathing cuz her head¡¯s buried into your chest, so can you please let her off already¨C Hm? ¡°It feels like I¡¯m having a deja vu . ¡± ¡°Yeah . ¡± ¡°U-Um, Your Highness, Chris looks like she¡¯s having a hard time, so¨C¡± ¡°Aaaaaah, Chris-chaaaaan!¡± Mimi kept trying to pull Princess Luciada away from Chris . By the way, Princess Luciada was calling Chris ¡®Chis-chan¡¯ due to Mimi¡¯s influence . ¡°You won¡¯t be suffering if you just said no, Chris . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that . ¡± Chris, who had a bright red face due to being suffocated by the princess¡¯ chest, shook her head in denial . Well, I guess it does seem bad for a noble to spurn the actions of the imperial princess . ¡°But I was really surprised to get a personal invitation from Her Highness . ¡± ¡°Sorry about this . ¡± ¡°Fufu, you don¡¯t really have to apologize . I got to meet Hiro-sama, Mimi-san, Elma-san, and Mei-san in person because of this after all . And I feel very honored to be introduced to Her Imperial Highness, Princess Luciada as well . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna make it up to you . I promise . ¡± ¡°Is that so? Alright then . I shall be looking forward to it . ¡± A smile bloomed on Chris¡¯s lips . Well, what do you know? She really seems to have grown . Her height¡¯s increased a little, and both her facial expressions and atmosphere have be much more maturepared to before . ¡°What are you two ying at by ignoring Her Highness and locking eyes with each other like that¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Mumu¡­¡­ I won¡¯t lose, Chris-chan . ¡± ¡°Waaah¡­¡­¡± Why are your eyes shining like that, princess? I don¡¯t exactly know what you¡¯re expecting here, but it probably won¡¯t happen, okay . It won¡¯t, right? Uh, am I actually close to being screwed here? Will I get stabbed or something? It¡¯s probably fine . Yeah . Probably . ¡°Ah¨C Ehem, ehem . Is it really okay to talk to Princess Luciada about what happened on the Sierra system, Chris?¡± ¡°Yes . It¡¯s not like we can really hide the details of the matter anyway, and we¡¯ve already made a report to the imperial authorities . I¡¯ve also gotten permission from Grandfather . ¡± ¡°I see . Alright then . I¡¯ll start talking about the events on the Sierra system in earnest . ¡± And so, we told Princess Luciada the entirety of what happened . However¡­ ¡°You¡¯re horrible . It seems I¡¯ve misjudged you!¡± ¡°Eh¨C¡­¡­¡± ¡°Why did you leave Chris-chan behind!? As Chris-chan¡¯s knight, something like that is¡­¡­!¡± It looks like Princess Luciada homed in on the fact that I basically turned Chris down back then . I nced over to Chris and our eyes met . ¡°Hiro-sama is a very bad man . He mercilessly left a helpless and innocent maiden like me alone after all . ¡± I can¡¯t really retort to that . ¡°Fufu, I was merely joking . Your Highness, Hiro-sama has his own world, and it seems I cannot be together with him on it . And on the other hand, the world I¡¯m living in will not allow Hiro-sama to continue being Hiro-sama . I and Hiro-sama cannot live in the same world . If I force him, I will only end up making Hiro-sama stop being himself . This was something I haven¡¯t realized yet at that time . ¡± ¡°Muu¡­¡­ But aren¡¯t things hopeless if that were truly the case?¡± After saying so, Princess Luciada gave me a scathing side-eye . I feel she¡¯s implying everything would be resolved and everyone will get their happily ever after if I just gave in and brought Mimi and the others to live with Chris . Well, I admit that¡¯s one option though . ¡°Your Highness, birds can¡¯t live underwater . Fish, too, can¡¯t fly in the sky . However, it is certainly possible for them to touch the other . Like this . ¡± Chris snuggled up to me and peered at my face with passionate eyes . The heating from her gaze was certainly real . Wait, wait! Hold up! What the heck is all this about, man? I did mercilessly turn this girl down without any hesitation back then, didn¡¯t I? It looks like Chris was unexpectedly the type who¡¯s bad at giving up . ¡°I only heard from some rumors, but it seems your reward if you win this tournament and prove your strength to His Majesty is being granted First-ss imperial citizenship, Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°Y-Yeah . ¡± ¡°If so, you¡¯d want to set up a base on a somewhere, right? Then how about setting up a mansion on Dareinburg in the Dexer system? We¡¯ll be able to amodate you quite well over there and grant you some very flexible terms . ¡± ¡°Come to think of it, that¡¯s true . ¡± Elma nodded with a serious expression on her face . It¡¯s certainly true that we¡¯ll be able to get some flexible terms and better deals in the Dexer system due to our connection with Earl Dareinwald . If Chris herself says so, then it¡¯s probably the case . You could say the rtionship between me and House Dareinwald was pretty good, I guess . Chris is a given, of course . But it looks like Earl Dareinwald himself has a favorable view of us as well . ¡°Even birds will get tired of flying someday . And when that happens, won¡¯t they need somewhere safe to perch onto? If possible, I would like to be your perch, Hiro-sama . ¡± Chris dered boldly and locked eyes with me . I had a hard time giving an answer, so I chose to m up . It would be incredibly simple to just say yes . It¡¯s actually possible for me and Mimi to settle on a after all this is over since we were gonna get granted first-ss imperial citizenship . Elma¡¯s a noble¡¯s daughter, so she already was a first-ss imperial citizen . Mei¡¯s an independent AI, so I¡¯m not sure how it is for her, but I think it wouldn¡¯t be weird for a first-ss imperial citizen to have a maidroid with him anyway . As for the mechanic sisters¡­¡­ Well, I honestly can¡¯t say anything about those two right now . ¡°Ah¨C ¡­¡­Let¡¯s just say I¡¯ll give it some serious thought . ¡± ¡°How half-hearted . ¡± ¡°Your Highness, this matter wouldn¡¯t only affect mine, but Mimi and Elma¡¯s lives as well . I can¡¯t just reply without giving it some due consideration . Or rather, can you give me a break already, princess?¡± I admit I was already thinking about establishing a base somewhere after gaining first-ss imperial citizenship, and that Earl Dareinwald¡¯s ce was one of the options I was considering . But relying on Earl Dareinwald would end up with me owing him big, and depending on how things go from there, it¡¯s possible he¡¯d even push me to marry Chris . That¡¯s actually not a bad way to end a journey, but I still don¡¯t have any intention of stopping flying around in space . I still want to earn more money and have lots more stuff I want to try out . Mimi¡¯s space gourmet journey is just starting out as well, and I haven¡¯t even managed to find my ideal carbonated treat . And Elma hasn¡¯t paid me back even a single Enel as well . Well, it¡¯s not like I care about Elma¡¯s debt at this point anyway . ¡°Muu¡­¡­ That¡¯s true as well . I¡¯m sorry . ¡± ¡°Y-You really don¡¯t have to apologize for anything, Your Highness . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, Your Highness . I don¡¯t mind . However, it looks like you¡¯ve really been touched by Hiro and Christina-sama¡¯s story, haven¡¯t you, Your Highness?¡± Mimi became flustered when Princess Luciada apologized, and Elma seems curious about why the princess was being such a busybody . ¡°Well, you see, isn¡¯t it like a romantic holo-novel? Due to her uncle¡¯s vile machinations, she ended up losing both her parents . She then drifted in space all alone until she was caught by pirates . And then, a passing mercenary suddenly swoops in and rescues her from their clutches . The mercenary then took her in, protected her, and helped her get revenge, but everything ends on a tragic note with their abrupt parting!¡± ¡°Your Highness, the story hasn¡¯t ended yet . ¡± ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it? In the sequel, the two star-crossed lovers reunite in the imperial capital and got swept in a plot by other nobles . And then, they finally get their happy ending!¡± Princess Luciada had a goofy grin on her face as her imagination went on overdrive . However, Mimi suddenly interjected . ¡°Muu¡­¡­ Your Highness, I also lost my parents and fell to dire straits when Hiro-sama rescued me you know . I then got my happy ending . ¡± ¡°In addition, you actually have a special setting of being the mirror image of an imperial princess . ¡± Elma yed along with Mimi . Yosh, this is a chance to change the subject . I have no choice but to y along as well! ¡°If we¡¯re going with that, then you¡¯re not any different Elma . You¡¯re a noble girl who adored holo-novels about Celestia-sama and her search for freedom, and you ended up following the same path as her . It¡¯s definitely holo-novel material . ¡± ¡°Yeah . But then I messed up and ended up boarding your ship though . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s the sequel huh . ¡± ¡°Mumumu¡­¡­ It certainly does seem that Mimi-san and Elma-san¡¯s stories can each be turned into riveting holo-novels or holo-movies¡­¡­ And the central character of those stories will be Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°Hiro-sama¡­¡­ is special after all . ¡± ¡°He hit it off with Dr . Shouko back in the Alein system as well, didn¡¯t he? Tina and Whisker seem to adore him too . ¡± Four pairs of eyes¨C no, it would be five including Mei¡¯s, turned toward me simultaneously . ¡°¡­¡­He¡¯s a naturaldy ma, isn¡¯t he?¡± For the record, I wasn¡¯t actively trying to pick up girls, okay . It wasn¡¯t that, so stop staring at me with those judging eyes already . ¡°¡­¡­It¡¯s Hiro-sama after all . ¡± Oi, Mimi, don¡¯t just give up like that . Seriously, don¡¯t . ¡°¡­¡­It¡¯s said he has a special ability to attract trouble you know . ¡± Can you stopbeling a poor guy as a troublemaker, please? Even I¡¯m starting to believe that crap recently, so stop! ¡°¡­¡­In other words, all our personal encounters with him are special!¡± You¡¯re being too positive about all this, Chris! Well, I admit me finding the escape pod with Chris in it in a virtually undamaged state did have an air of a fateful encounter somehow, but still¡­¡­ ¡°Hookay then . I suddenly feel like working up a sweat . I¡¯m going over to the imperial guards for a bit, okay?¡± ¡°So you¡¯re aiming for Isolde this time!¡± ¡°Hiro-sama¡­¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯ll really get stabbed from behind one of these days at this rate you know . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Things won¡¯t be simple with an imperial knight as a partner after all . ¡± That¡¯s not it, okay! I just wanna hurry up and escape from this ce already! Chapter 190 Chapter 190 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone As expected, it seems Chris couldn¡¯t pay a visit to the imperial pce every day after all . She couldn¡¯t, but Her Highness, the princess, still made an effort to get in touch with her as often as she could . She¡¯s, uh, she was kinda a little too into the story of my apparent love affairs or something . ¡°Now then, let me hear about the person called Dr . Shouko today . ¡± ¡°Please give me a break already . ¡± Nothing happened between me and Doc Shouko, okay! We did kinda hit it off a bit, but because of the medical check-up, I had to¨C Ah, my repressed memories are bubbling back up again! But in the end, I lost to the princess¡¯ enthusiasm and told her about my meeting with her anyway . Ugh . I don¡¯t care anymore . I gave up and spilled everything . And finally, the day of the spacebat phase of the tournament came . The spacebat phase will beprised of mock battles using real starships . The output ofser cannons and shields will be dropped, and live ballistic ammo will be reced with training rounds, though they¡¯re still powerful enough to turn a human body into mush . On top of those, the ships will run a damage management program specially used for mockbat scenarios, and a number of ships installed with a referee evaluation program will be deployed all over the event field . The ships that will serve as referees will beposed of members of the imperial military who opted to not participate asbatants this time around . Thepetition venue will also be another military training facility . ¡°Hiro-sama, I wonder what kind of people are going to participate this time apart from mercenaries?¡± ¡°I can only think of carrier-based spacecraft pilots, but there might be some other pros as well . What do you think, Elma?¡± ¡°I think some Mobile Knight pilots will participate as well . ¡± ¡°Mobile Knights¡­¡± What the heck is up with that cool-sounding job title? Are you telling me they ride humanoid mobile weapons or something? There weren¡¯t any humanoid mobile weapons implemented in SOL, but if you have em here, can I get one too? ¡°They originated from the practice of skilled mercenaries swearing their fealty and service to an imperial noble and getting formally knighted . Their descendants serve the main family of the noble house they swore fealty to as Mobile Knights for generations . There are quite a few of them serving in imperial military carriers you know . ¡± ¡°Do they also ride humanoid mobile weapons or something?¡± ¡°In any case, there doesn¡¯t seem to be any of those present in the empire . Apparently, the Drawn Sword faction submitted a proposal for deploying a number of them here that were equipped with anti-ship des, but I heard the proposal was indefinitely postponed due to problems with cost-effectiveness and maintenance . ¡± ¡°So there really are humanoid weapons huh . ¡± Man, I got kinda fired up after hearing that . So their problem was not being easy to maintain to the point that the military held off on adopting them for widespread deployment huh . Well, there might be other reasons as well though . ¡°Are those Mobile Knights strong, Elma-sama?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°You sound stupid when you imitate Mimi, so stop that . Well, they greatly vary in strength . There are Mobile Knights who still actively make use of old-model ancestral starships that were passed down from generation to generation after all . ¡± ¡°In other words, some of them are pretty strong huh . ¡± ¡°Yes, of course . There are actually a lot of Mobile Knights who are on par with Gold-ranked mercenaries you know . Mobile Knights usually often square off with pirates whose main spheres of activity are within territories held by the noble house they serve . Most, if not all, of them, serve as the mainmanding officers of their noble house¡¯s private forces . A few only serve asmanders in-name though . ¡± ¡°So they have a wealth of livebat experience huh . ¡± ¡°In some cases, they¡¯re actually more experienced than a majority of imperial militarymanders . ¡± I see . So, in other words, you can¡¯t underestimate Mobile Knights huh . If they have a noble house backing them up, they shouldn¡¯t be strapped for cash and have some of the best equipment money can buy . I think I¡¯d have no problem with those old-fashioned types using ancestral starships though . After all, no matter how good you are, it¡¯s still pretty difficult to bridge the gap in ship performance with skills alone . On the flip side, even if you had the best ship in the gxy, if you have no skills to speak of, the ship will only be going to waste without even exhibiting a fraction of its potential . ¡°Of course there are also people in the empire who¡¯ve earned the title of Ace Pilot . People like those have a wealth ofbat experience and skills to match as well, so they might be able to best you if you underestimate them . ¡± ¡°I see . And then, there are the full-time mercenaries as well huh . ¡± ¡°They¡¯re the enemies you should be most wary of in my opinion . The Gold rankers and above havebat experience in spades, exemry skills, and powerful customized ships . ¡± ¡°Yeah . ¡± However, pirate activity in the surrounding sectors of the imperial capital is next to nonexistent . That¡¯s why there aren¡¯t that many mercs active here in the first ce . Most of those that were here were mercenary corps that were contracted to escort mercantile fleets that came to buy and sell goods in the imperial capital . They aren¡¯t lone wolf-types like me and were more specialized in groupbat . Consequently, most of them aren¡¯t that good in one-on-one dogfights . So I surmise that most of the mercenaries around the imperial capital won¡¯t be my opponent . But, of course, I can¡¯t discount the possibility of some truly skilled onesing to the imperial capital at this time as well . ¡°Oh well . Let¡¯s just chill . It would be fine if we do the usual, I think . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± ¡°Yeah . I¡¯m not really that worried though . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s finally here, everyone! It¡¯s thest event of this tournament! A mock space battle betweenbat starships! Since they will be mock battles, the output of theirser cannons and shields will be reduced, and training rounds will be used instead of live ones . But what do those exactly imply for our participants?¡± ¡°Even though their outputs are reduced, their weapons still have enough firepower to directly vaporize a person, so some danger is still present . And since their shield outputs are also reduced, direct collisions may cause serious idents . In preparation for those, our imperial military has deployed a great number of rescue ships, so there is no need to worry . Please enjoy live mock shipbat that¡¯s very close to the real thing to your heart¡¯s content, everyone . ¡± The guestmentator today was a woman huh . Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s Major Serena¨C Uh, she should be a lieutenant colonel now huh? Anyway, I thought it was Lt . Col . Serena, but it wasn¡¯t . But judging from her outfit, she should also be from the imperial military huh . ¡°As expected, will Captain Hiro be the focus for today¡¯s event as well?¡± ¡°But of course . He gave us a strong showing in both the swordsmanship duel and meleebat phases of the tournament after all . ording to our info, spacebat is actually his specialty . I¡¯m looking forward to what kind of battle he¡¯s going to show us today . ¡± Un, I can feel her burning passion from her words . Well, I probably won¡¯t disappoint . ¡°Well then, it¡¯s time for the first match of thispetition . The first match will be between Captain Rex, a Gold ranker belonging to the mercenary corps¡ºArrow of Light¡», and Ensign Nielsen, belonging to the 28th Defense Fleet of the Imperial Space Navy . ¡± ¡°The mercenary corps¡ºArrow of Light¡»is¨C¡± The femalementator began to tell the audience about the contestants . The mercenary corps¡ºArrow of Light¡»is a corps that usually acts as escorts for mercantile fleets, and the pilot named Captain Rex seems to be the one with the highest number of recorded ship kills among them . Ensign Nielsen, on the other hand, is an imperial military carrier-based fighter pilot and ace who had shot down arge number of enemy carrier-based spacecraft in battles with the neighboring Vereverem Federation . ¡°What do you think, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Hm, I can¡¯t make an urate judgment before the fight actually starts, but judging from the ships, Rex seems to have an edge . ¡± The ship the mercenary called Rex is flying can be ssified as a high-speed missile tform . It¡¯s a ship that throws off enemies with quick maneuvers and overwhelms them with swarms of seeker missiles . If there¡¯s enough leeway, the pilot can also allocate arger part of the energy generator output tobat functions, and doing so will allow the ship to perform well in closebat . It¡¯s a ship you can¡¯t let your guard down against . On the other hand, Ensign Nielsen was piloting your standard imperial carrier-based fighter . It¡¯s a unit that¡¯s a testament to masterful design and ease of use, but it has no notable quirks at all . It¡¯s an agile multi-role fighter equipped withsers, multi-cannons, and seeker missiles . It was quite a in craft, but the unit Ensign Nielsen is flying seems to be heavily tailored for military use . Since the performance of each of the parts and weapon systems of military ships are generally one or more times better than your average mercenary ship, it would still serve as a troublesome opponent depending on Ensign Nielsen¡¯s piloting skills . ¡°It¡¯s going to depend on Ensign Nielsen¡¯s skills . ¡± ¡°Yeah . In my case, I find it easier with someone like Ensign Nielsen though . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pain to deal with enemies who unload swarms of seeker missiles at you freely after all . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s it . ¡± Saturation attacks from packs of seeker missiles are quite terrifying after all . Krishna can probably shake them off with its mobility, but that particr enemy ship would probably move in to restrict our maneuvers as well if we fought it, so fighting it would be quite annoying . We can use res and chaff to deal with some of the missiles, but the pilot of the enemy ship should have ounted for that happening as well . He must have cooked up a strategy to deal with that . ¡°Huh, as expected of a Gold ranker, I guess . He¡¯s good . ¡± ¡°Yeah . ¡± The match proceeded with the Gold-rank mercenary Rex dominating . He kept hunting down his opponent with saturation attacks from seeker missiles at long range . The opponent was firmly at his mercy and couldn¡¯t do anything to retaliate . Ensign Nielsen was hanging on so far with the use of res and other equipment, but he couldn¡¯t mount a counterattack at all . ¡°I guess the merc will get the win huh?¡± ¡°As long as he doesn¡¯t let up on the attacks . ¡± Rex is making excellent use of the seeker missiles . In addition to direct attacks, he¡¯sunching them in directions where his enemy could possibly escape while implementing a timeg in their tracking functions . That¡¯s how he¡¯s steadily cornering Ensign Nielsen¡¯s ship . However, seekers missiles have a main weakness you can take advantage of . ¡°It looks like he made it through . ¡± ¡°Yeah . ¡± Rex had been hunting down Ensign Nielsen for a good while now, and it looks like his missiles have finally run out . Ensign Nielsen¡¯s ship didn¡¯te out of that onught unscathed though, so I guess Rex is banking on finishing him off withser cannons . Ensign Nielsen also finally moved in tounch an offensive . The two ships ran rings around each other at a dizzying pace, and light rays illuminated the void of space . ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°If it were me, I would have closed in before Ipletely ran out of ammo . Maybe he still has missiles he¡¯s hiding in reserve?¡± ¡°Yeah, I think so too . ¡± It happened as Elma and I just finished our short exchange . The moment the two ships intersected once more, an explosion urred . It looks like Rex really did have some missiles in reserve, just as we thought . He probablyunched his remaining missiles at Ensign Nielsen¡¯s craft at close range coupled with the momentum of his approach . But it looks like the battle was still on . ¡°Man . Those military ships really are tough . So it hasn¡¯t been shot down yet huh . ¡± ¡°It certainly is . ¡± Another intense dogfight started, but this time, Rex, who now really had run out of missiles, was gradually cornered by Ensign Nielsen and was finally shot down . ¡°The fact that he failed to deal enough damage in the first heavy offensive is the cause of his defeat huh . ¡± ¡°Ensign Nielsen¡¯s calm judgment when he weathered through the first wave of attacks and when he got baited in the final moments of the match was key as well . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ How would you have fought them, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°If I were fighting against Rex, I¡¯d spread res and chaff and use the shot-cannons to deal with the missiles, break through the field in one go, and perform a blitz attack to take him down . I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯ll lose to Ensign Nielsen in a straight-up dogfight as well, so I¡¯ll just go after him directly and shoot him down with theser cannons . ¡± We waited for our turn while listening to the post-matchmentary . This time, our match was ted prettyte . Or rather, we weren¡¯t even listed as seeded participants . ¡®It¡¯s your own field of expertise, so you should be fine without special treatment, right?¡¯ The face of that f**cking emperor suddenly popped in my head . Hahaha . Nah, that can¡¯t be it . ¡°Now then, folks! It¡¯s time for the entrance of the main man of this event, Captain Hiro!¡± ¡°I also took a look at hisbat data records myself, and I saw some pretty unbelievablebat maneuvers . I¡¯m certainly looking forward to what kind of fight he¡¯ll show us all this time . ¡± The voices of the announcer and thedy guestmentator were broadcasted from the wide-aream channel . ¡°Hiro-sama, she says she¡¯s looking forward to our performance . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s kinda troublesome . I¡¯m not nning on intentionally performing out-of-ce acrobatic maneuvers y¡¯know . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine if you just pilot like usual . You¡¯re shy enough as it is . ¡± Elmamented nonchntly and shrugged . Well, I guess she has a point . In that case, I¡¯ll just do as usual then . ¡°His opponent is Sir Weisel, who serves actively as a Mobile Knight of the house of Earl Redran! He usually keeps the peace within Earl Redran¡¯s territories, and has a lot of experience under his belt fighting pirates . ¡± ¡°Captain Hiro¡¯s ship is quite an unfamiliar model, but the ship used by Sir Weisel is a small-ssbat starship widely used by the imperial military as well . It¡¯srger than carrier-basedbat ships and has a more powerful generator as well . It¡¯s a ship very simr in nature to those piloted by mercenaries . ¡± ¡°I see . Which one has the advantage in terms of unit performance though?¡± ¡°Krishna, piloted by Captain Hiro, is apletely unknown never-before-seen ship model, so it¡¯s difficult to evaluate it . However, ording to the data handed out, it seems to be a very aggressive ship with both high mobility and firepower . On the other hand, Sir Weisel¡¯s craft ¨C the Saber IV ¨C is also a high-performance ship known for its mobility and firepower . On that note, the pilot¡¯s skills as well as theirbat awareness will be the keys to this match . ¡± ¡°I see . It looks like we can look forward to some fiercebat . Well then, the countdown for the match will start now!¡± The match countdown timer started ticking . I then promptly activated the weapon systems and deployed the four high-caliberser cannons and two shot-cannons . ¡°What¡¯s the n?¡± ¡°What n? We¡¯ll blow him away head-on . ¡± The moment the countdown reached zero, I pushed Krishna¡¯s thrusters to maximum output . Chapter 191 Chapter 191 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone Perhaps the pilot of the Saber IV wasn¡¯t expecting my sudden all-out charge . His reaction was one stepte . But the dy was just for an instant and within moments he also gunned his thrusters and headed straight for me as well . It looks like he¡¯s up for a head-on sh too . ¡°He¡¯s got some pretty decent firepower . ¡± It looks like the Saber IV¡¯s main armaments are two heavy-caliberser cannons . They aren¡¯t as powerfulpared to Krishna¡¯s ownser cannons, but they still provided ample firepower to a small-ss craft . They¡¯re either procured from the military or state-of-the-art prototypes from a weapon manufacturingpany . ¡°He¡¯s certainly far better than your average pirate . ¡± However, it only took mere moments for our ships to close the distance with each other . We exchanged a few volleys ofser cannon fire, and the moment the Saber IV came into my shotgun cannon¡¯s range, it immediately pulled out and took some distance . It looks like he¡¯s done his homework, as expected . ¡°He¡¯s wary of the shot-cannons huh . ¡± ¡°Well, of course, he is . ¡± ¡°Suits me just fine though . ¡± Because the other party veered off and pulled away, I calmly gave chase . The shot-cannons can be quite deadly to opponents unaware of their existence, and even if they did, the cannons will still serve as effective deterrents against head-on shes, just like this . It would also make it easier to target their behinds when they pull away . Combat between fighters not employing shield tech can be settled in an instant with one well-ced missile or a couple of direct hits to the power generator, butbat between starships employing energy shields is a whole different ballgame . Combat between starships primarily consists of neutralizing the enemy¡¯s shield first and damaging the hull . Normally, the usual method is to useser cannons or seeker missiles to saturate the shield first, blow the armor open, and then deal fatal damage to the hull . But some weapons were made to eschew this process entirely . The shot-cannon is one such weapon . The effective range of shot-cannons was quite short, but the submunitions have the effect of easily prating an enemy ship¡¯s shield by almost instant energy attenuation . They can also easily prate even some of the toughest armor ting that allows them to deal great damage directly to ship hulls . It looks like the cannons employ some specialized tech to achieve such effects . Well, the trade-off is that if you fire them from long range, their power will be greatly reduced . They¡¯d turn into shitty small fry weapons that¡¯ll earn you endless amounts of scorn if you use them wrongly . Even with that shoring, they still serve as excellent defensive weapons that could be used to intercept iing seeker missiles and other live projectile weapons . ¡°Hahaha! Where do you think you¡¯re going, pal!?¡± ¡°Hiro-sama is really fired up . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a while since he piloted the ship, so he¡¯s probably quite excited . ¡± That¡¯s exactly it . We¡¯ve been confined inside the imperial pce all this time after all . It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve felt this sense of oneness with my ship . It¡¯s incredibly exhrating . ¡°Well then, what¡¯s your move now, bub? If we continue like this, you¡¯ll just end up eatingser cannon fire on your behind y¡¯know? Can¡¯t have that, right?¡± I then turned my attitude auto-correction system off . The moment I did so, the Saber IV piloted by Sir Weisel pretended to make a turn and suddenly decelerated as if responding to my taunt . Yeah, I thought you¡¯d do something like that . You want me to overshoot with that maneuver, right? I fired up the attitude control thrusters and made Krishna¡¯s bow point downwards right on top of Sir Weisel¡¯s Saber IV the moment our ships ovepped and hammered him with consecutive shot-cannon shots . The shots fired in quick session pierced Saber IV¡¯s shield and caused sparks to go off all over its armor instead of piercing it like normal . We¡¯re using training ammo after all . If we weren¡¯t, the Saber IV should have already been torn to pieces and exploded to bits . The buzzer signaling the end of the match rang within Krishna¡¯s cockpit . ¡°Whoaah!? Just what happened there!? The instant Captain Hiro¡¯s Krishna overtook sir Weisel¡¯s ship, it¡¯s already gotten shot down!¡± ¡°Let me check the data¡­ Huh? This¨C¡± ¡°Ms . Miroku, just what happened back there? Can you give us a detailedmentary?¡± ¡°At the start of the match, Sir Weisel¡¯s Saber IV ended up getting one-sidedly chased down by Captain Hiro¡¯s Krishna . In order to reverse his precarious position, Sir Weisel pretended to make a turn and then immediately decelerated in an attempt to make Captain Hiro¡¯s Krishna overshoot . In other words, he intentionally wanted Krishna to overtake him . Once that happens, Saber IV would freely be able to aim at Krishna from behind . ¡± ¡°I see . But howe it was Saber IV that was judged to be shot down?¡± ¡°Captain Hiro should have already predicted Saber IV¡¯s maneuvers . The moment he passed by the upper side of Saber IV, he turned off the attitude auto-correction system of his ship and had Krishna stand vertically mid-flight by using its attitude control thrusters, with its nose pointing straight downward, right on top of Saber IV . And then, he fired continuous shots from his ship¡¯srge-caliber shard cannons directly on the defenseless upper side of Saber IV . Shard cannons are only effective at extremely close range, but they can easily tear through shields and armor at the proper distance . In that distance, small-ss ships have no chance of surviving . Captain Hiro¡¯s battle awareness, predictive abilities, and piloting skills have reached the realm of the divine . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ Ah, we¡¯ve just received footage from another angle folks . I see . You can easily determine what actually happened in this footage . It¡¯s like a big and bulky starship had transformed into a skilled acrobat and did a stunning performance in space . And it evenunched attacks during such a maneuver . Truly breathtaking . ¡± By the way, even if the shot-cannons were to fail at finishing off the opponent, I could easily switch to a salvo ofser cannon shots . Since Saber IV¡¯s shields were down for the count, it would have been child¡¯s y to bring it down with those . If by some miracle, Saber IV still manages to survive all of that, I can smoothly transition to strike mode and chase it down all over again . Either way, it would still be my win . Eh? Don¡¯t I ount for being on the losing end of an exchange just in case? Of course, I do . But worrying about stuff like in the middle ofbat ain¡¯t good, and it¡¯s not like an opponent can easily get the drop on me anyway . I¡¯ve tried to minimize the chance ofnding myself in a disadvantageous position to as low as possible when I customized my ship after all . For me at least, Krishna¡¯s current configuration is the best one possible that covers for most, if not all, of its weaknesses . The announcer and the guestmentator were still busy about my move to turn off the attitude auto-correction system, but I ignored them and headed straight for the imperial military dock . This dock was built adjacent to the training sector of the imperial military, which was the venue for today¡¯s event, and is a facility used to maintain the training ships employed in the training sector . There were also several other participant¡¯s ships parked within the dock . ¡°My ship¡¯s not damaged, but do a full check just in case . And please replenish the shot-cannon ammo . ¡± ¡ºRoger¡» I ryed my instructions to a mechanic of the imperial military and sank my body into the pilot seat . ¡°Are you tired?¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s not that . It¡¯s been a while since I engaged in starshipbat, so I¡¯m just feeling a bit lethargic . ¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s better than staying nervous all the time . ¡± I drank a cold beverage from my pointlessly high-tech space coordinate-locking tumbler and took a nice breather . ¡°How many more do we have to win before bing the champions?¡± ¡°If nothing unexpected happens, we¡¯ll need to win five more matches . ¡± ¡°Five matches huh . Lesser than I expected . ¡± ¡°Few people would have been able to prepare both a suitable pilot and craft and send them to the capital on such short notice after all . Even with the presence of gateways, the speed of information dissemination is still a factor . ¡± ¡°I guess that makes sense . ¡± It still takes time for information to reach all the corners of the empire even with the use of gateway and hyperspacemunication that¡¯s faster than any ship . Thus, the participants here were the only ones who could make it to the imperial capital on schedule after receiving the news and making the necessary preparations . If there was adequate time given after the announcement, I bet the number of participants would have increased by several-foldpared to right now . And so, I fought another two times . The second match was against a pilot of the imperial navy who had a different piloting style from Ensign Nielsen who fought with that missile-crazy merc . Hisbat maneuvers were quite outstanding and our match turned into a fierce dogfight, but I¡¯m not one to lose in close range battles . I peppered him full of holes once he entered shot-cannon range . The third match was against another Mobile Knight . His ship was equipped with six high-caliberser cannons and two seeker missile pods . It was evidently customized with heavy artillery blitz tactics in mind . Unfortunately, all that equipment slowed his speed to a crawl . I just flew at it at full speed and unloaded my weapons once our ships ovepped, ending the match in a sh . And then, at the semi-finals, I finally got matched with a Gold-ranked merc . ¡°A Corvette huh . ¡± ¡°Yeah . And it¡¯s actually a military model . ¡± Within the ssifications of small-ss, medium-ss, andrge-ss ships, the Corvette can be said to be a part of therge-ss . It¡¯s virtually thergestbat-focused starship that mercenaries employ . Shipsrger than it ¨C meaning destroyers andrger battleships ¨C aren¡¯t adopted by mercenaries due to the operational costs, cruising speed, and because their imposing size isn¡¯t suitable for use in shoal zones and asteroid fields which were the main battlefields of most mercs . It¡¯s a different story when ites to ships that function as motherships such as ck Lotus . By the way, ck Lotus is nearlyparable to standard heavy cruisers in size . Well, let¡¯s just talk about ck Lotuster and get back to the Corvette . Basically, Corvettes-type ships aren¡¯t suitable for one-on-one ship duels . It¡¯s argebat ship with respectable speed and more than enough firepower, but its turning speed pales inparison to small-ss ships . And since it was quiterge, it had a lot of blind spots you could exploit . Therefore, it¡¯s also not suitable to bring in shoal zones where there is a lot of debris and obstacles, and basically, the mercenaries who employ it are those who engage in escorting mercantile fleets and don¡¯t go anywhere near shoal zones . ¡°It looks like we got the short end here . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s almost no obstacles present in this area after all . ¡± Yep . There¡¯s next to no obstacles present in the training sector . That¡¯s because imperial military ships don¡¯t usually engage in battles in shoal zones after all . Facing a Corvette in this kind of environment is disadvantageous due to its firepower . It can equip arge number of artillery and has an equallyrge ammo carrying capacity . And of course, it carries a high-output power generator that allows it to employ an energy shield way tougher than medium or small-ss ships . ¡°Well, I think we can manage as long as we get in up close . ¡± The previous contestants who went up against this Corvette must have been sted to kingdome before managing to close the distance . Overwhelming firepower and a tough shield in addition to thick armor was a hardbination to beat . The Krishna was powerful due to it pursuing these points withoutpromise as well . ¡°So what should we do?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll immediately close the distance . I¡¯m a guy who¡¯s managed to distinguish himself in bringing downrge ships like this one in intermediate-level PVP[1] battles y¡¯know?¡± ¡°I kinda feel like my impression of versus battles and the versus battles Hiro-sama is talking about is actually quite different . ¡± ¡°What a coincidence . I feel the same way . ¡± There was a lot of research done on strategies designed for small ships to take downrge ones in SOL . We called it Giant Killing . Of course, many strategies forrge ships to take down small ships were devised as well, but whenever they actually fought for real, small ships were generally regarded to have an advantage . The strategy would change again if I was fighting against a medium-ss ship, but let¡¯s leave that aside for now . Even so,rge-ss ships still held an advantage when facing NPC enemies, and you could also carry more stuff and loot with them after the battle, so a lot of yers preferred flyingrge ships as well . Well, apart from PVP performance,rge ships had a lot of advantages after all . Somerge-ss ships could also remotely operate ship-based fighters as well . It¡¯s somewhat simr to f*nnels or b*ts[2] . ¡°The opponent¡¯s a Gold ranker, guys . Let¡¯s keep our wits about . ¡± I gripped the pilot stick and headed to the waiting area in preparation for the start of the match . Now then, I¡¯m looking forward to how our opponent wille at uster . [1] TL Note: Mimi and Elma are using the terms in a more literal sense while Hiro is using video game lingo . [2] Funnels and bits . Remote weapons from the Gundam franchise . Extensively used in the UC timeline by Newtypes and Cyber Newtypes Chapter 192 Chapter 192 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°The wait is over everyone! It¡¯s time for the much-awaited entrance of Captain Hiro for today¡¯s semi-final match! His opponent is a fellow mercenary, Captain Schneider! His personal machine is a ship that¡¯s highly regarded even by the military, the Corvette model, Cavalry VII! ¡°Captain Schneider has managed to tear through all his matches until now with the overwhelming firepower and unflinching defense of Cavalry VII . Just how will Captain Hiro ovee Captain Schneider? Or will overwhelming firepower and defense actually prove too much for skills and technique? I am looking forward to knowing the answer soon . ¡± Before the match began, thementary from the announcer and the female officer serving as the guestmentator rang out from the public channel . ¡°Hiro-sama, our match opponent is trying to contact us . ¡± ¡°Hm? What¡¯s he up to? Patch him through . ¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± Mimi operated her console and patched the call of Captain Schneider through . ¡°This is Krishna¡¯s Captain Hiro . The match is gonna start soon . What do you want?¡± ¡ºThe name¡¯s Schneider . It¡¯s nothing much . I just wanted to give you a pre-match greeting of sorts . ¡» After saying so, Captain Schneider stared intently at my face . What¡¯s up with this guy? Why¡¯s he staring at me like this anyway? The man called Captain Schneider looked pretty young in appearance . He¡¯s probably older than me, but he hasn¡¯t reached middle age yet . He had a full head of light-brown hair simr in color to Mimi¡¯s and looked quite attractive for a guy . His eyes were quite sharp though . ¡ºHm . I thought you¡¯d be nothing but a brat, but that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case huh . You seem quite capable,d . ¡» ¡°Thanks for the praise . But I¡¯m just an upstart with a bit of good¡­¡­ err, I mean, bad luck y¡¯know? It¡¯s fine to underestimate me a bit more . ¡± ¡ºIf you truly are just a lucky small fry, you would have been desperate to appear more threatening than you really are . ¡» The corner of Captain Schneider¡¯s mouth raised slightly and disyed abative smirk . ¡ºIt seems I¡¯ll truly enjoy finding out if your fangs can get past my Dominator . Schneider out . ¡» He cut the call, and the window disying Captain Schneider¡¯s face on the cockpit monitor disappeared . ¡°He seems quite skilled, doesn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Yeah, that seems to be the case . I guess we really can¡¯t let our guards down . ¡± During that earlier exchange, Mimi¡¯s eyes ended up sparkling in excitement for some reason . What¡¯s up with her? ¡°That exchange just now was super cool! It was just like what happened on the holo-novel I borrowed from Princess Luciada!¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡­ Okay . ¡± Just what the heck are you making our Mimi read, princess!? Please don¡¯t corrupt our innocent Mimi . It¡¯s probably not something rotten[1], but it looks like I have to watch out for that possibilityter . ¡°I¡¯m really counting on you, okay, Elma . ¡± ¡°Are you counting on me for the match or for watching out for Mimi?¡± ¡°Both . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m not Mimi¡¯s mother you know . ¡± ¡°Well, in terms of age, you more than qua¨C Ooow, ooow! I¡¯m sorry!¡± Elma strongly pinched my thigh so I immediately raised the g of surrender . The fact that we can have aid back exchange like this right before an important match is probably one of our team¡¯s strengths . ¡°Both contestants have now moved into position . Match countdown start!¡± Arge countdown timer appeared on the monitor . ¡°What¡¯s our strategy?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go aggressively from the get-go . Well, we basically need to aim for blind spots . Mimi, do a full scan of the enemy ship as soon as the match starts and mark the spots where its main modules are located . ¡± ¡°Understood!¡± As soon as the countdown finished, I gunned the thrusters to maximum output and shrunk my distance to the Dominator . The Dominator aimed its artillery-filled top deck at us and unleashed a porcupine-like dense anti-air (It sounds a bit weird to call it ¡®anti-air¡¯ when we¡¯re out in space though . ) barrage . ¡°Release the chaff and ECM . ¡± The chaff and ECM deployed by Elma were effective, and the uracy of the anti-air barrage flying toward Krishna was greatly reduced . By the way, the chaff used here waspletely different from those employed on Earth . The chaff used on Earth deceives radar readings by sprinkling metal foil and other simr stuff, but what¡¯s employed by Krishna and other starships is of a more high-tech variety . They somehow trick the FCS of enemy ships by making them detect readings that are practically identical to the readings given off by the actual ship that released them . The effect of interference was limited, but they could confuse the FCS of enemy ships for a short instance and greatly reduce their hit rate . Their working principles were different but their intended effect was mostly the same . That¡¯s why they were still called chaff here . ¡°The barrage is as heavy as we expected . ¡± Even though we reduced the hit rate using jamming devices, the shield will still get gradually saturated at this rate . The Dominator kept its bow trained firmly toward us while continuously retreating backward to keep distance and prevent us from getting in close . It looks like the pilot really intends to grind us down using firepower huh . ¡°Yosh, let¡¯s go! Be prepared to activate the shield cells at a moment¡¯s notice . ¡± ¡°Roger . ¡± I raised the bow of Krishna and rushed upward to get above the Dominator . The Dominator naturally raised her bow to follow Krishna¡¯s movements as well since the pilot wanted to avoid Krishna jumping behind her and taking her blind spot . In other words, the Dominator started rolling vertically . ¡°Here you go . ¡± I made the ship roll, aimed my fourser cannons at the top part of the Dominator and unleashed suppression shots to restrain its movements . My ship¡¯s firepower is also really high for its size, but it¡¯s still disadvantageous for us to engage the enemy in a frontal shootout . Krishna has rtively strong shields and armor, but it¡¯s still a small-ss ship in the end . A Corvette, which is ssified as arge-ss ship, far exceeded it in the durability department . ¡°Isn¡¯t it about time?¡± ¡°Just a bit more¡­¡­ Now!¡± When I judged that the Dominator had built up enough rotational momentum, I pulled the flight stick once more and made Krishna drop downward like lightning from on high toward the enemy ship . My aim was to clip the enemy ship¡¯s bow . The Dominator was still rotating vertically upward in ordance to Krishna¡¯s earlier trajectory . Due to its huge size and mass, it was impossible to suddenly reverse the rotation or change direction on short notice . ¡°We broke through!¡± Krishna managed to break through the hellish anti-air barrage, slipped through the bow of the Dominator, and got below it . Of course, there were still turrets present below the enemy ship¡¯s deck, but their firepower was modestpared to the guns on top of the ship . I hammered the turrets from close range with the shot-cannons and silenced them immediately . ¡°Let¡¯s keep going . ¡± I also targeted some of the critical modules Mimi marked earlier ¨C an energy pipe supplying power to the attitude control and main thrusters as well as the ammunition depot . Furthermore, I relentlessly fired the four heavy-caliberser cannons to saturate the shield and hit the section where the power generator was located with pinpoint uracy . After doing so, the buzzer signifying the end of the match rang out . It looks like the generator getting hit counts as the ship getting shot down . ¡°Match over! Captain Hiro has splendidly aplished Giant Killing! Though at first, it seemed that Captain Schneider had a one-sided advantage . ¡± ¡°The key was that lightning-quick maneuver performed by Captain Hiro near the end of the match . It is certainly impossible for ships asrge as the Corvette to keep up with that sort of maneuver . But you¡¯d need a lot of skill and guts in order to perform that in a one-on-one ship battle . You¡¯d face a dense anti-air barrage, so you¡¯ll need to be courageous enough to wade through all that while facing the risk of being shot down if you made even one mistake . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­¡± We headed back to the military maintenance dock while listening to the y-by-y of the announcer and female guestmentator . ¡°Well, that takes care of that . ¡± ¡°I was nervous the whole time though, Hiro-sama . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . We even used up three shield cells in the exchange¡­¡­ Hey, why didn¡¯t you use an anti-ship torpedo this time?¡± Elma asked a valid question . ¡°It¡¯s not like I held back . I just fought as I usually do . There¡¯s no need to use an anti-ship reactive torpedo against a singlerge-ss ship y¡¯know . ¡± If there were other ships around and I wasn¡¯t facing the Dominator by itself, I would have quickly finished it off with a torpedo so I wouldn¡¯t get tied down . But since it was alone, there was no need to . ¡°I mean c¡¯mon . Anti-ship reactive torpedoes are really expensive, right?¡± ¡°We¡¯re using training rounds in matches so it won¡¯t cost us a thing . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s exactly because we¡¯re participating inpetition matches . Since there¡¯s no danger of dying, it¡¯s no fun to take the easy way out . I also wanted to test out that Dominator¡¯s module cement and how it held uppared to a stock Cavalry VII . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­You sometimes act unusually stoic, don¡¯t you, Hiro?¡± For some reason, Elma was staring at me in exasperation . I didn¡¯t really do anything bad so it¡¯s fine, isn¡¯t it? I didn¡¯t maliciously look down on the opponent or anything . ¡°A-Anyway, the next match will be the finals, right? Let¡¯s do our best!¡± ¡°Yeah . Let¡¯s get this hassle of a tournament out of the way quickly . I have a lot of stuff nned while we¡¯re in the imperial capital, but we¡¯re stuck in the imperial pace . ¡± I have to pay a visit to the Dareinwald family vi where Chris currently was and also purchase a couple high-performancebat bots through Lt . Col . Serena¡¯s connections here . Also, I bet I¡¯d have to take interviews from the media as well . It¡¯s thanks to that f**cking emperor that our schedule is all messed up . Dammit! Anyway, I¡¯ll have to get the ship maintained and resupplied before the final match first . [1] TL Note: Bing ¡®rotten¡¯ is a euphemism for people turning into fujoshi or fudanshi ¨C people enamored with Boy¡¯s Love (BL) or Yaoi . Chapter 193 Chapter 193 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone The resupplying and maintenance as well as the start of the final match will take a good while, so we all decided to do a bit of research on our opponent while having a light meal in Krishna¡¯s dining room . ¡°A tinum ranker huh . Hey, weren¡¯t you saying there¡¯s no way there¡¯d be skilled guys hanging around at this time?¡± ¡°The tinum rankers active in the empire number three in all . Since you¡¯ve gotten promoted too, Hiro, that number is now up to four . I guess it just so happened that one of them was staying somewhere near the capital or a gateway somehow . ¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s Hiro-sama who actually draws over these kinds of events, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just me, okay!? It¡¯s all of us together!¡± I would like to firmly deny the im that I¡¯m the only trouble ma in the group . They were both looking at me with strange warm gazes, but I very much think the both of them are trouble mas as well, okay? ¡°Well, let¡¯s put that aside for now . Here . Let¡¯s watch the video of the semi-final match first . ¡± After saying so, Elma began showing the video of the semi-final match of our opponent on the holo-disy . ¡°This ship¡¯s been heavily modified huh¡­¡­ I think the original model is a Wolf-type . ¡± ¡°Wolf-type?¡± ¡°It¡¯s abat ship designed and manufactured by Steppen Ship Industries . This one¡¯s probably a modified Beta Wolf that had itsmand modules stripped off . It¡¯s lightweight and highly mobile for a medium-ss ship . The weapon hardpoints are on the fewer side as far as medium-ss ships go, but its loading capacity is quite good, so it can actually equip pretty powerful heavy-caliber weapons . It¡¯s a medium-ss ship, so both its generator output and shield output are beyond small-ss ships . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Doesn¡¯t it sound strong?¡± ¡°It is . I¡¯m not entirely sold regarding its speed and mobility, but it has more than enough, so it¡¯s quite nimble and can be armed with quite a bit of firepower . It¡¯s a very popr ship with plenty of fans . ¡± The problem¡¯s with its armaments huh . ¡°Geh . ¡± I saw the green light projectile fired by the modified Beta Wolf shoot down its opponent in one shot and couldn¡¯t help but groan . ¡°This would be troublesome¡­¡­ if we get hit, that is . ¡± ¡°W-What was that weapon earlier?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a sma cannon¡­¡­ Uwaah, he just had to equip the weapon type I hate the most . ¡± The sma cannon is a very powerful weapon . Its range is quite long but the projectile speed is slow . In exchange for being able tond a hit only in close range, its destructive power is almost unrivaled . It¡¯s also one of the weapons designed to prate the energy shield and armor in one go to damage the inner hull . In other words, it¡¯s a lot like my shot-cannons . But it¡¯s more powerful and has a longer range in exchange for its projectiles being slower . Since Krishna¡¯s defense relies on its shields and armor, its vulnerable to pration type weapons like these . Krishna¡¯s still a small-ss ship after all . By the way, pration-type weapons include shot-cannons that are moremonly known as shard cannons, rail-cannons like the one equipped on the ck Lotus, sma cannons like the one equipped by our opponent, anti-ship torpedoes, and closebat weapons like battering rams and anti-ship des . These fivepose this particr weapon type . That¡¯s what Mimi¡¯s exnation says anyway . ¡°I see¡­¡­ But you¡¯ll be able to avoid it easily, right, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯d have any trouble if he just shoots normally . Listen here, Mimi . The people who make use of weird-ass weapons like those have devised methods in order to ensure they are able tond a clean hit, so you can¡¯t count on them missing the timing when pulling the trigger . You can¡¯t count on the guy who has used those weapons to climb up to tinum-rank and won his way to the finals in this tournament to merely rely on lucky hits for wins . ¡± ¡°Well, you do sound persuasive, Hiro . You¡¯re also a guy who uses weird weapons like shard-cannons after all . ¡± ¡°You¡¯d be able tond a hit as long as you close the distance, so the shot-cannons aren¡¯t weird, okay . ¡± What¡¯s with that face, huh? Aren¡¯t the two of you being a little too harsh on metely? ¡°Fine . Whatever you say . Anyway, we need to be careful of those sma cannons . ¡± ¡°You don¡¯t sound convinced, but fine . Chaff and ECM don¡¯t work on direct-firing weapons like those, so we can¡¯t let our guards down . ¡± Aiming disruption devices are powerless against weapons that only fire straight at you and use manual aiming instead of mechanical . Just like Krishna¡¯s shot-cannons for example . By the way, the heavy-caliberser cannons are affected by them . ¡°By the way, what kind of guy are we facing anyway?¡± ¡°Um, it seems he¡¯s called Captain Banks . ¡± ¡°Silent Banks huh . He¡¯s a very famous merc . ¡± ¡°What the heck? He sounds strong . ¡± He sounds like a guy who¡¯d board a pirate ship on his own and go at it with guns zing ¨C while calling himself Cook, no less . ¡°Well, each tinum-rank mercenary have their quirks after all¡­¡­¡± Elma gave me a suggestive nce . Me, quirky¡­¡­? It¡¯s frustrating that I can¡¯tpletely deny that dammit! No, my quirk is probably having a rtionship with two beauties like Mimi and Elma or something . That¡¯s gotta be it . It¡¯s not like I¡¯m quirky myself . Probably . ¡°He¡¯s called both Silent Banks and Masked Banks . Anyway, he¡¯s a very quiet person, and he doesn¡¯t take off his mask even when meeting others . He also has this quirk of only using data terminals tomunicate . Well, he¡¯s certainly quite the weirdo . ¡± ¡°But he¡¯s good huh . ¡± ¡°Yes, that seems to be the case . I¡¯m looking at Captain Banks¡¯bat files, and the total number of hisbat ship kills is amazing . ¡± ¡°So he has plenty ofbat experience huh . This is gonna be troublesome after all . ¡± It looks like I can¡¯t win easily this time . ¡°Now then folks, we¡¯ve finally reached the final match of this tournament! Captain Hiro has handily won all his matches in this tournament so far! But hisst opponent is a tinum-ranked mercenary just like him! And it¡¯s the famous Silent Banks!¡± ¡°This will be a battle between tinum rankers . This is something you¡¯d rarely get to witness . It will surely be an invaluable experience for everyone present . The expectations are high for this sh between mercenaries who spend their days fighting pirates and monsters out in the cold reaches of space . ¡± It was finally nearly time for the match, and we were sharpening our concentration for the uing battle as we listened to the announcer and female guestmentator chatter on through the public channel . ¡°But regardless of winning and losing, I¡¯m relieved we¡¯re finally gonna be done with this whole mess after this . ¡± ¨CI hope . ¡°I can¡¯t get myself to settle down while staying at the imperial castle after all¡­¡­ It¡¯s a pity that I won¡¯t be able to join Princess Luciada for tea anymore though . ¡± ¡°Mimi¡¯s really managed to get along with the princess after all . You¡¯re also disappointed that you won¡¯t be able to spend time with Isolde-san anymore, right, Hiro?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing going on between Isolde and me, okay . ¡± ¡°I know . ¡± Elma giggled teasingly . I¡¯m fine with getting made fun of, but at least make the topic a bit more proper, please . ¡°It looks like both contestants have finished their preparations! Well then, final match countdown, start!¡± The countdown for the final round began ticking . Win or lose, this will be thest match . Let¡¯s go with a bang, shall we? Since I¡¯m already here, I might as well try to win everything . At the start of the match, I immediately opened the lower weapon bay and fired off an anti-ship reactive torpedo . Theunched torpedo flew forward for a while and stopped in ce just as I programmed it . ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Concentrate . Mimi, mark all the positions of the anti-ship torpedoes I¡¯ll beunching out and disy them on the radar . ¡± ¡°Y-Yes!¡± Elma, who was sitting on the sub-pilot seat, turned a surprised gaze toward me in response to my actions, but I ignored her and gave Mimi some orders as I continued to move the ship . Banks¡¯ modified Beta Wolf ¨C the Shadow Wolf ¨C fired up its main thrusters and was starting to close in on us . It looks like he really wants to bring the fight to medium or close range in order to hit us with the sma cannons . ¡°I don¡¯t n on ying along though . ¡± I fired Krishna¡¯s reverse thrusters and retreated in order to prevent the Shadow Wolf from closing the gap . The enemy ship¡¯s loadout consists of two sma cannons, two seeker missile pods, and three high-outputser cannons . Like I said, its weapon hardpoints are quite few for its size ss, but all of them were pretty powerful . However, the only weapons it has that can hit Krishna from long range are the seeker missiles and the threeser cannons . I can only use the four heavy-caliberser cannons in a long-range shootout as well, but as long as I manage the seeker missiles well, I can probably win if the match turns into a damage race . The question is whether or not my endurance can oust the opponent though¡­¡­ ¡°How is it?¡± ¡°We¡¯re losing out slightly . ¡± ¡°I see . Let¡¯s buy some time then . ¡± As I fired the second anti-ship torpedo, I changed the ship¡¯s heading and circled around the Shadow Wolf¡¯s nk at full speed . Basically, when flying starships, swinging a starship¡¯s bow to the side isparatively slower than swinging it upward or downward . They¡¯re designed so that you¡¯d be better off having the ship do a roll and adjust the heading by raising and lowering the bow when you want to swing left or right . Of course, Banks also made his ship roll to match my maneuvers and pointed his ship¡¯s bow directly at us . It¡¯s really pointed straight at us, man . ¡°sma cannon round, iing!¡± ¡°Whoah . ¡± I acknowledged Mimi¡¯s warning and performed an evasive maneuver . The green bullet of light tore through the void of space and flew in a trajectory that would have scored a direct hit if I hadn¡¯t evaded on time . That was one mean curve shot . All the while, he¡¯s been firingser cannon salvos at us despite the interference from the chaff . You really can¡¯t let your guard down against this guy . ¡°Hey, what have you been up to since earlier?¡± Elma finally couldn¡¯t keep her curiosity in check after I fired the third and fourth anti-ship torpedoes and made them stop in ce while avoiding the scarily urate sma cannon rounds hurtling at us . ¡°It¡¯s a set-up . A set-up, okay . Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for the finale . I¡¯m gonna perform some pretty rough maneuvers now, so brace yourselves . ¡± After saying my piece, I swung Krishna¡¯s bow once more, and this time, I closed the distance between us and the Shadow Wolf . The closer we were, the greater the risk of being hit, but it¡¯s easier to read the opponent¡¯s shots as well . The point is not to fight at a distance where it would be impossible to evade . Of course, we also have our trusty shot-cannons on our side, so we¡¯re also giving the opponent quite a bit of pressure . The opponent would probably note out unscathed if he ate shot-cannon rounds head-on as well after all . ¡°Whoaah! It¡¯s turned into an ultra-close range dogfight folks!¡± The announcer¡¯s loud voice rang out through the public channel . The Shadow Wolf¡¯sbat maneuvers are truly first-ss . The pilot¡¯s controlling the ship¡¯s inertia well and avoiding our line of fire while trying to get us on his . The enemy¡¯s sma cannon shots flew dangerously close to Krishna¡¯s nks and grazed them a couple of times . Of course, I¡¯m not making it easy for the guy to get a clean hit in as well . The one with better mobility has the advantage in close range battles like this . ¡°Seekers!¡± ¡°Tsk!¡± Maybe the opponent noticed that he was at a disadvantage in a close-range dogfight, so the Shadow Wolf started firing seeker missiles at point-nk range, fully prepared to get caught up in the resulting explosions as well . Even if Krishna¡¯s shield was pretty tough, it won¡¯t be able to tank explosions from a whole host of seeker missiles at this range . I promptly disengaged and escaped away . I fired the afterburners and ran away from the Shadow Wolf at full speed . Shadow Wolf followed closely behind, of course . I¡¯m sure Banks is happily aiming at Krishna¡¯s defenseless behind right now with a smirk on his face . But that¡¯s gonna cost him big . ¡°And this is checkmate!¡± I speedily operated the pilot seat console . And then, before the Shadow Wolf could fire its sma cannons, multiple explosions went off from four different points, and one engulfed Shadow Wolf in a fiery ze . The explosions were caused by the anti-ship torpedoes I released earlier . Because the Shadow Wolf ate anti-ship reactive torpedo explosions at close range, it was judged to be shot down and the buzzer for the end of the match rang out . ¡°Whoooah!? Just what the heck happened!?¡± ¡°This¡­¡­ It was those anti-ship reactive torpedoes Captain Hiro released earlier . Apparently, he methodically guided his opponent close to the position of the first anti-ship reactive torpedo he fired at the start of the match . This might sound quite imusible at first, but it¡¯s a fact that the entire dogfight was a set-up in order to lure Captain Banks right next to an anti-ship torpedo¡¯s location . ¡­¡­To think he actually pulled off something like this . ¡± The voice of thedy officer serving as the guestmentator sounded like it was trembling in excitement . Well, the torpedo mine tactic is something you can only use in one on one matches like this though . And when you¡¯ve shown it once, you would probably not be able to pull it off the second time . You¡¯re probably gonna get blitzed immediately after all . As the female officer continued hermentary, a single message was sent to Krishna via short-rangems . ¡ºYou really got me there . But I¡¯m gonna win next time . ¡» The message came from Banks¡¯s Shadow Wolf . Chapter 194 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone ¡°You¡¯ve certainly proved your caliber and skill magnificently by bing the ultimate winner in the swordsmanshippetition, meleebatpetition, and spacebatpetition. I only have the utmost praise for your feats.¡± ¡°¡­¡­I am truly thankful for your recognition.¡± We¡¯re in front of arge audience right now. It seems like we¡¯re in a ce specially designated as the spot where the emperor of the Gran Empire usually addresses the general popce in order to show them his benevolence and grace. After our match with Captain Banks, we were directly brought back to the imperial pce by a ship assigned to the imperial guards. And when we got off from it, we were politely dragged¨C I mean guided to this spot and brought before His Imperial Majesty. The people from the media were allowed in here, so the scene of the emperor praising me, Elma, and Mimi in front of arge crowd was being broadcasted live all throughout the empire. Well, even if it was being filmed live, due to the huge distance between the capital and the frontier regions, it would take a few days to a week for the footage to be broadcasted over those areas. ¡°First, as a reward for you and your crew, you all will be granted first-ss imperial citizenship. Moreover, the ships Captain Hiro owns will also be granted full ess to all the gateways within the empire. I am sure this will greatly help you in your mercenary activities.¡± ¡°Thank you for your generosity.¡± The first-ss imperial citizenship was one thing, but what I¡¯m really thankful for was ess to the imperial gateways. With unlimited ess to the gateways, our activity range will improve immensely. ¡°You will also be getting a cash prize of 50,000,000 Enels. This is my personal reward to you all for sweeping the entire tournament. Go ahead and receive it.¡± ¡°Once again, we thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty.¡± I humbly bowed my head. This money was probably our dear emperor¡¯s apology for one-sidedly getting us involved in his whims. That¡¯s how I took it anyway. He did all that primarily to avoid shady folk from targeting Mimi, so I¡¯m not really holding it against him¨C Ugh. Screw that. I¡¯m sure he did it for his own amusement. But, well, since he¡¯s willing to fork over some reward money, I guess I¡¯ll just let everything slide. I¡¯m a rational adult after all. In the first ce, I can¡¯t imagine the emperor of a huge space empire bowing his head in apology to amoner. Or rather, it would be troublesome if he did that. Really troublesome. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll kick up a major fuss for tarnishing the dignity of the emperor or something like that. And so, the emperor offered money as a form of apology instead. There¡¯s nothing more concrete as a symbol of sincerity than money after all. And honestly, 50 million Enels was a very huge amount. Well, I guess it¡¯s also his way of asking us to take good care of Mimi as her granduncle. ¡°Umu. Do your best from here on out as well.¡± The emperor nodded in contentment and retreated back to the pce before the audience. And after that ceremony, at longst, we¡¯re finally free. ¡°Man. It¡¯s finally time to say goodbye to this stuffy imperial pce huh.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been truly hard on you, Hiro-sama. In lots of ways.¡± ¡°We just took it easy except for the final match of the spacebatpetition though¡­¡­ Well, it certainly was a good experience anyway.¡± ¡°We managed to make friends with the princess after all!¡± Mimi disyed a sunny smile as we prepared Krishna forunch. After the closing rites of the tournament, we were finally free to depart from the imperial pce. Well, we were only permitted to stay for the duration of the tournament after all, so it¡¯s only natural that we leave once it¡¯s over. There¡¯s a risk of getting caught up in something troublesome again if we overstay our wee after all. Although there¡¯s a low chance of that happening normally, we¡¯re talking about us here y¡¯know¡­¡­! And so, we wrapped everything up in lightning speed and were now almost ready to depart from the imperial pce. First, we n on returning to Grakkis Secundus in order to pick up the mechanic sisters. We were basically on house arrest for a period of time because of the tournament after all. The two of them were kinda like abandoned children for these past nine days after all. Well, we still regrly kept in touch with them via messaging apps. And the two of them weren¡¯t really kids but were full-fledged adults despite their outward appearance, so I guess there¡¯s no need to worry about them too much. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯d like to finish up the procedures for our second descent application to the imperial capital real quick and then take it easy for a bit once we get back to our mothership.¡± ¡°Right. And we also have to pay a visit to Chris-chan¡¯s vi as well.¡± ¡°I think it would be a good idea to continue with the purchase ofbat bots once we¡¯re back as well. Get in contact with Lt. Col. Serenater.¡± ¡°Yeah. We have to fulfill our end of the deal with Lt. Col. Serena after all.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll probably get calls from the media as well, so we have to prepare for that.¡± ¡°Yeah, that too¡­¡­ Hey, you think it¡¯s possible to just ignore them somehow?¡± Uh, well, there¡¯s also Tina and Whisker¡¯s circumstances to take note of, so I guess that won¡¯t fly huh. Sheesh. How troublesome. ¡°We have so many things on our te huh. Let¡¯s just pray that there would be no problems this time around.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that kinda impossible¡­¡­?¡± ¡°It seems it is¡­¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give up straight away you two¡­¡­ Geez.¡± The three of us let out collective sighs. ¡°Even if something does happen, I believe Master will be able to deal with it. Just like always.¡± ¡°I sure hope so.¡± We can¡¯t really be sure that we¡¯ll be able to resolve every kind of troublesome stuff thates our way after all. ¡°Hiro-sama, the take-off clearance has been issued!¡± ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s get going then. You ready, guys?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Uhuh.¡± ¡°Ready when you are, Master.¡± ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s get outta here. Destination: Grakkis Secundus colony.¡± ¡°Yes. Course has been set.¡± ¡°Generator output switched to cruising mode. Course clear.¡± ¡°Undocking. Krishna, taking off.¡± Krishna gently floated off the ground via the attitude control thrusters and started elerating once the main thrusters activated. Krishna rapidly rose in altitude with its bow facing the sky, but the burden on the crew inside was rtively light due to the inertial control system. This was much better than the rocketunches back on Earth that resembled thrill rides like jet coasters. Before long, Krishna escaped the atmosphere of the imperial capital and reached outer space. ¡°Man, I feel so much better once we¡¯re out of gravity¡¯s reach¡­¡­¡± ¡°Ahaha. I also feel more relieved out in spacepared to staying in the imperial capital.¡± ¡°Me too. We¡¯re all used to the mercenary lifestyle after all. How about you, Mei?¡± After being asked by Elma, Mei blinked a few times, tilted her head to think a little, and opened her mouth soon after. ¡°I¡¯m not so sure myself. However, spending time with all of you is¡­¡­ veryforting, yes.¡± ¡°Comforting, huh? I get that. I really do.¡± ¡°Yes. I did enjoy having tea with the princess and wearing a beautiful dress, but I feel like this is where I truly belong.¡± It seems like it wasn¡¯t just me who agreed with Mei¡¯s words. Mimi felt the same as well. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up and go back then. To our true home.¡± ¡°Right. Yosh, I¡¯m gonna floor it, guys!¡± After saying so, I fired up the afterburners to maximum output, causing Krishna to leave a brilliant trail of light in its wake. Chapter 195 Chapter 195 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone I was woken up when I sensed the presence of someone getting on top of the bed . I caught the intruder with both arms as the sunlight gently caressed my eyelids, and hugged her tightly as she tried to squirm out of my embrace . When I did so, the intruder gave up all resistance . I once again started to drift off while feeling the gentle warmth of the intruder¡¯s body . ¡°Good morning . Huh? Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°Nn¨C¡­¡­?¡± Hmm? I thought the intruder was Mimi, but¡­¡­ hm? Elma¡¯s not one to do this sort of thing, and the twins alwayse in pairs¡­¡­ I started touching the intruder¡¯s body all over to check . Her body size wasn¡¯t much different from Mimi though . ¡°Hmmm¡­¡­¡± A soft and supple sensation was transmitted to my palms . However, their size was iparable to Mimi¡¯s . Hm? Come to think of it, just where was I sleeping anyway? ¡°Umm¡­¡­ Would it be better if Ie back in an hour to wake you up?¡± My consciousness was instantly jolted awake when I heard Mimi¡¯s hesitant voice from the side of the bed . Cold sweat started trickling down my back as I tossed the futon away from the bed I slept on . ¡°P-Please be gentle¡­¡­ U-Um, but if it¡¯s only for a bit, y-you can also be rougher with me¡­¡­¡± There was a young girl with bright red blushing cheeks together with me on the bed . She looked up at me enticingly with moist eyes . ¡°Chris!? Why the heck are you here, Chris!?¡± My scream echoed all throughout the Dareinwald family vi in the imperial capital . Well, not really . Man, these noble vis sure are neat . Their soundproofing was practically perfect . Phew . What a relief . ¡°You¡¯re terrible . Did you really have to scream like that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, okay . ¡± Chris puffed her cheeks up in anger, but I felt she was really cute when she did so . Well, Chris didn¡¯t really seem to be all that angry anyway so her mood quickly turned for the better after some coaxing . We¡¯re currently staying over at the Dareinwald House¡¯s private vi in the imperial capital . After the tournament, we promptly returned to the Grakkis Secundus colony, picked up the mechanic sisters who sported dead fish eyes from all the stress, and descended to the imperial capital once more . We then nned to finish everything we needed to do in the imperial capital while staying in the Dareinwald vi for a couple of days . Maybe it¡¯s because I became quite famous after the tournament? Or maybe it¡¯s due to my unrestricted gateway ess pass or my status as a tinum-ranked mercenary . Heck, maybe it¡¯s mostly because I¡¯m a Gold Star recipient . In any case, the processing of our secondnding application wasparably speedier and smootherpared to the first time . ¡°But y¡¯know¡­ Can you please stop doing this from now on? I mean seriously . It¡¯s really bad for the heart . ¡± ¡°Did I make your heart race, Hiro-sama?¡± ¡°You did more than making my heart race . I thought I was gonna have a heart attack . Geez . ¡± It¡¯s seriously not funny, okay . Chris¨C Lady Christina Dareinwald was the only true heiress of the Dareinwald House . The current earl and family head is her grandfather, Earl Abraham Dareinwald . But the one who¡¯s supposed to be his sessor ¨C Chris¡¯s father ¨C was plotted against by her uncle and ended up dying along with his wife . After the conflict within the family for session was resolved, Earl Dareinwald had his other son judged for his crimes . We, Krishna¡¯s crew, also got involved in the session conflict for some reason and acted together with Chris for a while . As for our connection with Chris¡­¡­ Well, we kinda bonded a lot during the time we spent with each other . It¡¯s the kind of bond that can¡¯t be exined with mere words . And so, that also resulted in us making a connection with the Dareinwald House as well . By the way, Chris was a raven-haired, onyx-eyed beautiful girl . She¡¯s about the same height as Mimi, or maybe a bit shorter . As for her build¡­¡­ Mm . Let me just say she has great potential for growth in the future . She seems to have a very favorable impression of me and shows me quite a bit of affection, but I haven¡¯tid my hands on her at all . She¡¯s the granddaughter of an earl after all . And unlike Mimi, she¡¯s still a minor . Even someone like me won¡¯t cross that kind of line, okay . ¡°Ahaha¡­¡­ I was really surprised too . ¡± Mimi quipped wryly as she walked together with us . I thought she was an ordinary girl from a colony at first, but it turns out that her grandmother was the actual blood-rted sister of His Imperial Majesty, the emperor of the Gran empire . As they say, it¡¯s always the seemingly normal ones who hold the most secrets . Anyway, a lot happened due to Mimi¡¯s heritage, and I even resolved myself to go against the entire empire for her, but it turned out that the emperor was a pretty understanding guy, and she ended up being allowed to continue living as a mercenary . In order to sort things out, an empire-wide tournament was held, and I ended up standing out a lot¡­¡­ Well, I guess that¡¯s just the price to pay for our current situation . I separated from Mimi and Chris in order to freshen up, and when I arrived at the washroom, I found Elma already inside . It looks like she¡¯s just finished freshening up . ¡°Morning, Elma . ¡± ¡°Good morning, Hiro . Did you sleep well?¡± ¡°I certainly did sleep well, but the wake-up call was really shocking . ¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Her pointed ears popped out of her silver hair as she tilted her head . She¡¯s a veteran mercenary with five years of experience and also the daughter of Viscount Willrose . I also discovered this for the first time when we got to the imperial capital, but I wasn¡¯t as surprisedpared to Mimi¡¯s case because I already had a bit of an inkling that she was a youngdy from a noble family before . Well, there was some trouble due to her extreme sis-con of a brother and her father who despised me for taking her first and almost cut me down, but Elma¡¯s mother and older sister were on our side . They made her father submit to reality, and Elma¡¯s sis-con brother grudgingly acknowledged me in the end after losing in a swordsmanship duel with me in the tournament . All¡¯s well that ends well, I guess . ¡°What? Why are you staring at me like that?¡± ¡°You look really pretty today as well, Elma . ¡± ¡°Mou¡­¡­ Just what are you saying so early in the morning? Geez . ¡± Elma¡¯s face turned red and she started gently hitting my arm . Whenever I seriously anger her, I end up on the receiving end of brutal submission moves, but she properly holds back at times like these . Elma really was a cute girl . But it¡¯s better not to piss her off for real . I mean seriously . I might be able to keep up with her during CQC training nowadays, but aside from her reaction speed, her pure physical strength was several levels above mine . I quickly fixed my outfit and freshened up . Afterward, I headed for the dining hall of the vi and found not only Mimi and the others waiting inside, but also a beautiful girl in maid clothes who had mechanical gizmos for ears . It looks like she prepared breakfast for us . ¡°Good morning, Mei . ¡± ¡°Good morning, Master . ¡± The maid bowed her head with a deadpan expression . She¡¯s a maid-type android¨C a maidroid, to be exact . She had long, flowing ck hair, brilliant eyes framed by red-rimmed sses, wore a chic Victorian-style maid outfit, and a pretty developed chest ¨C though not as developed as Mimi¡¯s . Her appearance was entirely customized by me by the way . Yes, that¡¯s right . She¡¯s the ultimate maid-san I personally designed . I splurged a lot and customized her entire body to the limit, resulting in her overallbat capabilities bing roughly on par with a high-endbat robot . ¡°What about those two?¡± ¡°They told me to let them rest for a while more because they felt ¡®dead-tired¡¯ . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­¡± We also had twin mechanic sisters tagging along with us after getting dispatched by Space Dwerg ¨C thepany they are working for ¨C to our ship, but it looks like they were both still asleep . I¡¯m not too sure about what happened to them, but it looks like they didn¡¯t really get along well with the Space Dwerg people working at the imperial capital branch . It seems they wanted to avoid inconveniencing me, so when I told them I¡¯d bring the sisters with me back down to the-city, they let them go without much of a fuss . Anyway, let¡¯s leave those two alone for the time being . ¡°Let¡¯s have our breakfast first then . What about the earl?¡± ¡°My grandfather went to the imperial pce for some personal business . He said he would be returning by evening, so we would be able to join him for dinnerter . ¡± Chris promptly answered my question . I see . It looks like the earl was pretty busy huh . I guess being a noble might be more difficult than I first expected . ¡°I see . Let¡¯se back here by evening as well then . Let¡¯s get some light exercise after breakfast first, and then go out for some shopping . Let¡¯s eat out somewhere nice for lunch . ¡± ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll check on shops with good prospects right away!¡± Mimi, whose goal was to eat lots of delicious food all throughout the gxy, gushed excitedly with sparkling eyes . Perhaps her grandmother who fled from the imperial capital and the imperial family was also fond of such gourmet adventures . ¡°It¡¯s fine to get excited about lunch, but why don¡¯t we eat our breakfast first?¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± Chris watched Elma and Mimi¡¯s exchange with a warm gaze . Maybe she¡¯s reminiscing about the days we spent on that resort . ¡°Let¡¯s have breakfast now, Chris . ¡± ¡°Yes, Hiro-sama . ¡± She can¡¯t be together with us all the time, but lets at least make as many great memories with her as we can while we¡¯re here . Well, in the future, it might not be so difficult to pay Chris a visit because of my unrestricted ess to the imperial gateways . Chapter 196 rantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone We did some light¡­ err, light? Anyway, I trained in swordsmanship with Mei with an intensity that wouldn¡¯t result in me getting injured. After finishing all sorts of training routines using the vi¡¯s training facility, the mechanic sisters finally woke up. ¡°Fuuaa¡­¡­ Mornin.¡± ¡°We¡¯re sorry for sleeping in sote.¡± The one who¡¯s yawning without a care was the older sister Tina, and the one who¡¯s apologizing politely was the younger sister Whisker. They appeared simr in age to Chris, or perhaps even younger, but they were both actually the same age as me and were already working adults. Just why do they look like legal lolis, you ask? That¡¯s because they are both from a race that¡¯s amon staple in fantasy works ¨C dwarves. In this SF dimension, female dwarves don¡¯t look like their male counterparts and didn¡¯t sport thick beards, but instead appeared as legal lolis that weren¡¯t that different from young human girls. By the way, they were actually twins. The one with red hair and spoke in Kansai-ben was Tina, and the one with blue hair and spoke politely was Whisker. They both looked like mere beautiful young girls, but they both possessed monstrous physical strength, so you¡¯d probably get the short end of the stick if you harassed them. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. What will you guys do about breakfast? You¡¯d probably lose your appetiteter on when we eat out if you have your meals now though.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s alright with you, how about I make you both some delicious milk tea?¡± ¡°Please do.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Mei promptly prepared some milk tea for the sisters. I guess they will make do with some milk tea for now and eat their fillter when we have our lunch. ¡°We¡¯re going shopping first, right? What do you guys wanna buy?¡± ¡°Um, clothes?¡± ¡°We bought some dresses the other day though?¡± ¡°Not like those. We¡¯re talking about more casual stuff. The capital has lots of great clothes made with thetest cutting-edge tech, and you can freely order those here.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t normal clothes be fine?¡± I have absolutely no clue regarding cutting-edge tech clothing or whatever. Oh yeah. There was this one time I was offered underwear that was made out of antiser material or something when I went shopping with Mimi and Elma back then huh. Are they talking about those? ¡°Even if they have simr designs, clothes made out of cutting-edge materials feel morefortable, and they have stuff suitable for mercenaries like clothes made out of antiser materials or stab-proof materials. They even have stuff made out of nano-cloth that would automatically prevent bleeding and heal injuries. There is lots more other stuff too.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡­ Well, it sounds interesting enough. Okay, let¡¯s take a look then. Just buy them if you find items that catch your eye.¡± ¡°Just how much would clothes made out of cutting-edge materials cost though¡­¡­?¡± ¡°In any case, we can probably afford some with our current finances, big sis.¡± Tina looked reluctant, but just like Whisker said, they could easily afford a few stuff with their current finances. I¡¯ve given the two of them some substantial bonuses after all. They aren¡¯t really part of Krishna and ck Lotus¡¯ official crew but were instead engineers assigned to ck Lotus by the Space Dwergpany. The particrs regarding their assignment to ck Lotus are a bit messy, but basically, they were sent to us as part of an apology by Space Dwerg as well as to collect data for theirtest starship model. Yeah, a lot happened back then. Yep. ¡°Man, that was a great buy.¡± After an hour, we arrived at a mall in the capital that had a lot of shops selling cutting-edge goods and enjoyed shopping for stuff. ¡°Ya sure, Boss?¡± ¡°Totally.¡± Tina was tilting her head in bewilderment beside me, but I was personally very satisfied with the thing I bought. The thing I bought was thetest defensive energy membrane emitter device model, or Personal Shield, filled with cutting-edge tech. It was cylinder-shaped and looked simr to a 350 ml beverage can, and once you p two energy packs on it, the device would be capable of emitting an energy shield around you with variable output. At the lowest output, you could protect yourself for a pretty long duration against insects and animals that may possess poison or unknown pathogens in undevelopeds, and if you raise the output, it could even blockser rifle shots and otherser weapons withparable firepower. Of course, increasing the output would shorten its operation time, but you can easily remedy that by carrying spare energy packs with you. ¡°But Boss, are ya sure you¡¯d be able to use that thing?¡± ¡°Of course. This coulde in handy on melee battles. I can also use it if we find ourselvesnding on an undeveloped frontier.¡± ¡°Ya really think stuff like that would happen, Boss?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Uh, maybe. You never know.¡± I couldn¡¯t look Tina in the eyes and moved my gaze away awkwardly. I also bought a multi-function camo cloak that I wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d ever use a while back as well, but I haven¡¯t worn it until now, and it ended up gathering dust in a corner of ck Lotus¡¯s cargo hold¡­¡­ Uh, well, Mei actually cleans it periodically, so it¡¯s not like it¡¯s literally dusty or anything. ¡°Anyway, don¡¯t sweat the small stuff.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t look like it, but you¡¯re surprisingly prone to squandering your cash on pointless stuff sometimes huh, Boss.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not pointless, okay. I¡¯m sure it¡¯lle in handy someday.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just leave it at that then. Tina-chan is a nice girl after all.¡± ¡°Hooray for the nice Tina-chan!¡± ¡°Ahaha, you¡¯re saying that in monotone though.¡± Tina giggled happily. ¡°Why¡¯d you tag along with me instead of the others anyway, Boss?¡± ¡°I¡¯m only saying this because it¡¯s you Tina, but girls take way too much time shopping y¡¯know¡­¡­ Especially for clothes and stuff.¡± I¡¯m walking together with Tina in the shopping mall right now. We¡¯re in the middle of checking out the cutting-edge product boutiques around the mall together with everyone earlier. Then I and Tina excused ourselves from the rest of the group and started looking around for interesting stuff on our own. ¡°That¡¯s true. Whee also likes to doll herself up, so she takes way long to choose her clothes and all.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you gonna buy clothes though, Tina?¡± ¡°I¡¯m leaving that to Whee, so it¡¯s okay. Our three sizes are pretty much identical anyway.¡± Tina gave me a thumbs-up sign and a wink. Are you really fine with that, you unreliable big sis? ¡°How bout you, Boss? You aren¡¯t shopping for clothes either?¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna consult with everyer regarding that cutting-edge material clothing line stuff and order some articles with simr designs to my current get-up so it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°I have a funny feeling there are several simr-looking sets of clothes lined up in Boss¡¯s closet.¡± ¡°Hahaha.¡± She hit the nail on the head so I better justugh it off. But these clothes arefy, functional, and easy to store away y¡¯know. People would also recognize you as a merc easily with these clothes on, so I feel they¡¯re very convenient. Tina and I went around some more shops until my portable terminal¡¯s ringtone rang out from my jacket pocket. Have Mimi and the others finished their shopping? Well that was quicker than I expected. I took out my portable terminal and took a look at the screen. ¡°Boss, your face¡­¡± It looks like I unconsciously made a pretty ugly expression. The name disyed on the terminal screen wasn¡¯t Mimi, Elma, nor Mei. It was Major Serena. Err, she was recently promoted, so I guess it¡¯s Lieutenant Colonel Serena now. Anyway, it was Lt. Col. Serena¡¯s name. ¡°Yes, this is Hiro speaking.¡± ¡ºIt¡¯s been a while, Captain Hiro. You¡¯re all doing fine, I hope?¡» ¡°Thankfully. We¡¯re staying at Earl Dareinwald¡¯s vi right now. So, what do you need this time?¡± ¡ºYou¡¯re cutting right to the chase? It¡¯s not bad to be straightforward, but you¡¯re a Gold Star recipient and a tinum-ranked mercenary, so isn¡¯t it fine if you showed a bit moreposure and tolerance?¡» ¡°Well now. That was rude of me. I¡¯ll reflect on it properly.¡± I honestly apologized to Lt. Col. Serena. ¡ºThat¡¯s more like it. I¡¯m calling about our deal regarding the purchase ofbat bots.¡» ¡°Okay. Have you obtained permission?¡± ¡ºYes. The approval order from the imperial military was sent to me earlier. I¡¯ll send the digital certificate to your terminal after this, so just pay a visit to the military bot manufacturer whenever it¡¯s convenient for you. If you show them the certificate, you¡¯d be able to make your purchases with no trouble. I¡¯ll also send the letter of introduction I prepared for you. House Holz is one of the major shareholders of Eagle Dynamics, so they¡¯ll properly amodate your needs if you show them my letter.¡» ¡°Roger that. Thank you very much for your help, Lieutenant.¡± ¡ºWith this, I¡¯ve properly paid off my debt from the Crystal Campaign. This time, it¡¯s your turn to pay me back for all the trouble you caused me in the capital, okay?¡» ¡°Yeah, yeah. Please go easy on me.¡± ¡ºFufu¡­¡­ Until next time then.¡» The call was cut. Just what was she fufu-ing for huh!? I wonder just what kind of troublesome stuff she¡¯s gonna drop on me next time¡­¡­ I¡¯ve be able to easily ess gateways, so it¡¯s scary to think that she¡¯ll be able to call me over no matter where she was in the empire. Sheesh. ¡°I was nning to continue shopping here in the afternoon, but I guess we¡¯ll have to change our ns huh.¡± ¡°We¡¯re gonna buy somebat bots, right? I¡¯m really looking forward to it.¡± I guess she¡¯s excited about being able to see thetest militarybat bots. Tina seemed quite pumped up. Actually, I¡¯m excited as well. There are no hot-blooded males who hate fighting robots after all! Chapter 197 Chapter 197 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone We had lunch at an upscale restaurant (It kinda resembled a sushi bar though . ) in the capital . Mei made an appointment with Eagle Dynamics during the meal, and after we had our fill, we headed straight to the ce . The capital branch of Eagle Dynamics was located within the military section of the imperial pce, and the branch building presented quite an imposing exterior . ¡°A fully functional production line seems to be located underneath the building . ¡± ¡°Hoo, so they manufacture their stuff here as well huh . ¡± We got down in front of Eagle Dynamics¡¯s building and I gave it a once-over . Un, it¡¯s huge . Security-typebat bots stood guard imposingly in front of the building, and the wide square directly below it was filled with various models ofbat bots on disy . ¡°Waa, there sure are a lot of them! And they all look so strong!¡± ¡°There sure are . You rarely see most of these in the market . How interesting . ¡± Mimi¡¯s eyes widened in wonder as she looked at the variousbat bots on disy . I scanned the disyedbat bots myself . ¡°We don¡¯t needrge models, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . We¡¯re basically gonna use them to defend the inside of ck Lotus from possible boarding actions from pirates after all . ¡± ¡°And we can also do the opposite and send them in for boarding actions ourselves, right?¡± ¡°Yep . Exactly . ¡± Since that¡¯s the case, we can safely exclude thebat bots with sizesparable to light armored vehicles and trucks from our list . The ones the size of light armor vehicles could probably squeeze themselves within ck Lotus¡¯s main passages, but we¡¯ll have problems when ites to mass deployment, so they¡¯re still no good . We could probably deploy a number of them withparably less hassle in wide spaces such as the hangar bays and the cargo hold though . ¡°So we can only choose from small and medium types¡­¡­¡± ¡°Chris-chan, don¡¯t you think these look good?¡± ¡°They certainly look quite cute . ¡± Mimi and Chris crouched down to check out a small-typebat bot model of a standard size . It¡¯s about the same size as a small dog and was equipped with aser gun that had low durability but sufficient firepower . Depending on the specifications, it could alsoe equipped with a self-destruct function that would be particrly deadly if it charged in the middle of its enemies . It was a particrly troublesomebat bot type to deal with . ¡°Un, I guess it¡¯s a question of whether we¡¯ll go for a highly specialized configuration or versatility instead huh . ¡± ¡°They would offer increasingly better performance in a particr aspect the more specialized they are, but it¡¯s hard to pass up versatility as well . Ah, big sis . This one¡¯s pretty interesting . ¡± ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s a module recement type huh . ¡± Tina and Whisker seemed to be checking out the medium-sizedbat bots . The types specialized for field instation are mostly of this size as expected . The medium-typebat bots ranged from being simr in size torge dogs torge two-wheeled vehicles . The humanoid ones stood as tall as 2 . 5 meters . ¡°Would it be better for us to get the humanoid models?¡± ¡°I wonder . I personally don¡¯t think we need to be fixated on them being humanoid though . ¡± ¡°Fuumu, that¡¯s true as well¡­ . . ¡± The increase in height would serve next to no purpose after all . They would certainly look more valiant and heroic if they were humanoid, but I think a quadrupedal form with weapons mounted on the back would offer more advantages . ¡°But if we¡¯re using them primarily for meleebat in enclosed spaces, they won¡¯t have much room to maneuver anyway, so I think it would be better to pay more attention to energy shield strength, durability, and firepower instead of agonizing about what¡¯s better between bipedal or quadrupedal models . ¡± ¡°You have a point . ¡± Elma nodded in agreement and moved to the exhibition space for medium-typebat bots as well . The models there weren¡¯t very mobile, but they seem to have very sturdy armor ting and equally durable energy shields . Their firepower was also quite substantial, with at least twoser rifle-type weapons and a grenadeuncher . ¡°Should we choose from these ones then?¡± ¡°I think it also won¡¯t be that ideal if they are too bulky . There¡¯s no point if they end up being too slow in deploying after all . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right as well . ¡± As the two of us continued to exchange our opinions, some people wearing suits who seemed to be employees of Eagle Dynamics walked up to Elma and me . It seems Mimi and Chris were tagging along with them as well . ¡°You are Captain Hiro, the one who made an appointment today, correct? My name is Pijou from Eagle Dynamics . ¡± ¡°Nice to meet you . I¡¯m Captain Hiro . This is Elma, one of my crew members . ¡± ¡°Yes . I¡¯ve already heard from Mimi-sama and Christina-sama . It¡¯s a pleasure to make your acquaintance . ¡± The man calling himself Pijou was a middle-aged guy with a strangely well-built physique for a supposedly ordinary sryman . It won¡¯t even seem out of ce at all if he introduced himself as a mercenary or a soldier instead . ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, let¡¯s continue discussions inside thepany building . We will also offer you some rmendations from ourtest models ording to your needs . ¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go ahead and do that then . Tina! Whisker! We¡¯re going inside the building!¡± I called the mechanic sisters over and headed inside the Eagle Dynamics building with Pijou leading the way . Mei was following after us, but she¡¯s been silent the entire time since we arrived at Eagle Dynamics . ¡°I¡¯d be d if you can offer some suggestionster as well, Mei . ¡± ¡°¡­¡­Understood . ¡± She sounded a bit hesitant when she replied, but Mei¡¯s expression was as unfazed as usual . I inwardly got curious about her behavior as I continued to follow after Pijou and stepped inside the office building . We were given a very warm wee the moment we stepped foot inside the Eagle Dynamics office building . Was it due to the letter of introduction of Lt . Col . Serena, or having an earl¡¯s heiress and granddaughter, Chris, and a viscount¡¯s daughter, Elma, among our group? Maybe it was due to me being both a tinum ranker and Gold Star recipient . I¡¯m not sure which of these factors was the reason for their VIP treatment, but it certainly didn¡¯t feel bad at all . ¡°We¡¯re really getting treated as super VIPs, aren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Is it really okay for people like us to be here¡­¡­?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it eventually, you two . ¡± Mimiforted the jittery Tina and Whisker with a smile akin to a gentle bodhisattva . Uh, was she reallyforting them though¡­¡­? It might be more urate to describe it as her trying to persuade herself to ept reality . ¡°Are you nning on purchasing a set of our militarybat robots today, sir?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the idea . I n on purchasing a full set, including the maintenance system and other optional stuff . ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ We have built a sterling reputation as an officialbat robot supplier for the imperial space navy . I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be very satisfied with our products . ¡± Pijou smiled from ear to ear as he nodded several times while rubbing his hands together in a disy of eagerness . I¡¯m a bit uneasy about him acting a little bit too eager to please, but I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll think twice about pulling some underhanded stuff since I handed them a letter of introduction from House Holz . If he got found out, he¡¯ll be spitting in the face of House Holz after all . ¡°It seems you¡¯ve already checked the various disy models we¡¯ve lined up outside, but what kind ofbat robot are you looking for, specifically?¡± ¡°I¡¯m mainly going to employ them as a countermeasure for pirates pulling off boarding actions, but we¡¯re also looking at the possibility of using them for boarding actions ourselves as well . There¡¯s next to no chance of it happening, but I also hope we can deploy them if we ever encounter an emergency and end up crashnding on a . ¡± ¡°I see . So, in other words, you¡¯d like a versatile medium-typebat bot model . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . That¡¯s what we have in mind . ¡± Pijou nodded briskly . As expected of an expert employed by thepany . He sure doesn¡¯t miss a beat . ¡°You¡¯d have the most options to choose from within the medium-type heavybat bot models . If we take the maintenance and parts swapping system into ount, the Alkeny model would be the most optimum choice . ¡± After saying so, Pidjou fiddled with his tablet terminal and put up the information of the Alkeny model on the holo-disy . The model called Alkeny was a heavy quadrupedbat bot . Aside from its sizeable legs, it also had an equally sizeable body and had four arm-type hardpoints that could be installed with a wide variety of weapons and equipment . It seems that by recing the backpack, you could change into various configurations such as an assault type, defense type,munications and reconnaissance type, and covert ops type . ¡°I see¡­¡­ It looks cool . ¡± ¡°Yep . That sure looks neat . ¡± ¡°But it isn¡¯t cute at all . ¡± Uh, Mimi, I think there¡¯s something off with wanting a heavybat robot to look cute . ¡°Hahaha, we all treat them as our cute and precious children here though . The military version of the Alkeny is equipped with apact power generator, so it can run for a long time without having to recharge . It sports a considerable power output for its size, so there¡¯s a lot of room for customization and optimization . ¡± Pijou then disyed various weapon and equipment configurations of the Alkeny model on the screen . The standard one seems to be equipped withser rifle-ssser turrets on both main arms and portable shield emitters on the sub-arms . The backpackes equipped with a micro-missile pod and a grenadeuncher . ¡°This is the standard configuration . The energy shields on the sub-arms serve to block the enemy¡¯s attacks as the unit concentrates on wiping them out with highly urate shooting . The armsers can be reced with splitsers or ballistic weaponry as well . Moreover, the backpack doesn¡¯t onlye in an attack configuration with the micro-missile pod and grenadeuncher, but other configurations as well, such as amander pack equipped withmunication devices and anti-electronic warfare modules, a medic pack equipped with medical nanomachines, a repair pack that allows for emergency field repairs, an assault pack that enables advanced 3D maneuvers, and a stealth pack equipped with electronic interference devices such as optical camouge . ¡± ¡°I see . The more configurations you can choose, the more strategies you can implement huh . ¡± ¡°Exactly . In addition, when not inbat, you can make use of their main and sub-arms to carry out simple work such as carrying cargo or emcement fortification . And because the model sports plenty of payload for its size, you can also use them to transport supplies while marching during an operation . ¡± ¡°How much is the price per unit?¡± ¡°The standard price is 70,000 Enels per unit . Of course, since you¡¯ve handed over a letter of introduction from House Holz, if you purchase multiple units and theplete maintenance and equipment swapping system, we¡¯ll give you a very generous discount . ¡± ¡°For the time being, quote me a price for ten units along with theplete maintenance and equipment swapping system, plus a full set of optional equipment and parts . ¡± ¡°Yes, with pleasure!¡± Pijou started calcting with a big smile on his face . I¡¯ll have him show me more modelster and then decide on which type to buy afterward . Well, usually, it¡¯s better to buy the ones that are rmended by pros when ites to stuff like these . But you still have to pay attention since you may get duped and offered some unsold defective stock at times . Chapter 198 Chapter 198 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone I had them show me several morebat bot models to choose from, but in the end, I went with the first model they showed me, which was the military version of the Alkeny typebat bot . The clinchers were its high versatility and the fact that it could fold itself to a fraction of its fully deployed size when not in use . When ites to purebat performance, there were several models better than it, but since it was highly versatile, we could put it to good use even outside ofbat scenarios . Due to Lt . Col . Serena¡¯s introduction letter and us purchasing a set of ten units, the price for each unit + OS dropped to 60,000 Enels, and the maintenance and equipment swapping system plus optional parts amounted to 600,000 Enels . All in all, we had to fork out about 1 . 2 million Enels . ¡°¡­¡­They were surprisingly cheap, weren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°This is bad, Whee . Even Mimi has fallen to the dark side . ¡± ¡°Um, Mimi-san, 1 . 2 million Enels is an astronomical sum for most people you know . The average monthly wage for normal citizens is about 1,500 Enels, okay? They¡¯ll need to save up every Enel for 66 years in order to earn that kind of amount . ¡± ¡°Y-You¡¯re right! What was I thinking?¡± Mimi got taken aback when Tina and Whisker admonished her . Muahaha . That¡¯s good, Mimi . Come . Come to the dark side¡­¡­ It¡¯s fun over here y¡¯know? ¡°Um, it feels a bitte to be saying something like this now, but isn¡¯t Mei-san far more capable than anybat bot?¡± ¡°Of course, she is . ¡± ¡°Uhuh . ¡± ¡°Thank you for your praise . ¡± I and Elma agreed to Chris¡¯s words, and Mei bowed her head in gratitude for our acknowledgment . ¡°Um, so, wouldn¡¯t it have been better to purchase more maidroids simr to Mei-san instead ofbat bots?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like we couldn¡¯t have done that, but¡­¡­ Mei . ¡± ¡°Yes . Just as Chris-sama says, we could have procured high-performance custom maidroids just like me, but you have to take into ount the fact that my unit cost was 480,000 Enels . If we include the optional parts and maintenance equipment, the price will easily exceed 550,000 Enels . In other words, two maidroids simr to me in performance and abilities will already cost about 1 . 1 million Enels . In that case, it is more cost-effective to purchase ten militarybat botsplete with the maintenance equipment for 1 . 2 million Enels . ¡± Mei began aparative exnation of the cost-performance and cost-effectiveness of custom maidroids andbat bots . ¡°There¡¯s also the issue of total uptime . Maidroids like me are required to undergo maintenance for two hours every 48 hours . This is essential in order to maintain our external appearance and ensure optimum performance . Furthermore, if we ever receive critical damage, we will have to be shipped back to the manufacturer for repairs . In contrast, militarybat bots can continue operating with no noticeable drop in performance for up to two weeks without maintenance . And if they get critically damaged, you can easily repair them as long as you purchase the requisite maintenance and equipment swapping system . Due to their long operation time and ease of maintenance, militarybat bots are still objectively better than custom maidroids like me in terms of purebat performance . ¡± ¡°I see . Mei-san¡¯s overall performance is far superior, but militarybat bots are tougher, cost-effective, and easy to operate and maintain . ¡± ¡°As a bodyguard and escort for Chris, Mimi, Tina, and Whisker, Mei is certainly far more suitable . After all, you can¡¯t walk around ces like the imperial capital withbat bots constantly following after you, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true . That scene would be too intimidating . ¡± ¡°So, what about me?¡± ¡°I and you don¡¯t really need any escorts, Elma . ¡± Elma asked me with a straight face, so I answered her with a straight face as well . The situations where Elma and I would need a bodyguard wouldn¡¯t exactly be your usual fare after all . For example, battlefields wheresers and bullets are flying around . Judging from her expression, it looks like Elma wasn¡¯t that convinced, but let¡¯s just ignore that anyway . ¡°Well, I just bought them as a form of insurance anyway . I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have many chances to use those bots . ¡± ¡°Right . We don¡¯t really get subjected to boarding actions from pirates anyway . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . I will never allow such an atrocity to happen within the halls of Master¡¯s ck Lotus . ¡± Chris had a confused expression . She was probably asking something along the lines of ¡®So what was the point of buyingbat robots then?¡¯ inwardly . That¡¯s just how it is, girl . For us people blessed by misfortune, making preparations like this would allow us to feel safer . ¡°Well, since we already bought what we came for, let¡¯s just return to the vi . It¡¯s gettingte anyway . ¡± ¡°Right . It¡¯s about time my grandfather returns to the mansion as well . ¡± ¡°I have a request for you all . ¡± ¡°Grandfather!¡± Chris got angry and raised her voice toward Earl Dareinwald who got down to business without so much as a greeting . We returned to the Dareinwald family vi, and the moment we arrived, we met with Earl Dareinwald, who asked us to work for him straight away . I¡¯m not sure about what he wants, but I really don¡¯t get this guy . He¡¯s past the point of simply being blunt and straightforward . ¡°Uh, we¡¯re not really upset, sir¡­¡­ It was just a bit abrupt . ¡± ¡°Umu . ¡± After a brief nod, Earl Dareinwald lightly waved his hand and activated the holo-disy . A map of a certain star system got projected . It seems the star system in particr was the Comatt system . ¡°If I remember correctly, the Comatt system is a direct neighbor to the Dexer system, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . The terraforming of the habitable, Comatt III, which has been going on for some time, has just beenpleted recently . Our Dareinwald House is nning to begin resettlement efforts there . I would like to ask you all to serve as an escort for the immigration fleet and continue to guard the immigrants for a time after they arrive there . We would have trouble remedying them if any sort of trouble crops up on Comatt III after all . ¡± ¡°So we¡¯re gonna guard immigrants huh¡­¡­ We don¡¯t mind receiving the standard pay for anti-pirate escorts, but we¡¯ll have you grant us a separate fee for solving any trouble that does happen on Comatt III . Also, it¡¯s next to impossible to defend Comatt III with us alone if pirates ever decide to conduct a full-scaleary raid, okay . ¡± That¡¯s honestly on a scale Krishna and ck Lotus are incapable of handling after all . As I said, it¡¯s next to impossible for us alone to defend against aary raid by pirates since we can¡¯t really prevent all their ships from descending upon the . ¡°Of course, I understand . Our Dareinwald House will provide adequate support . I simply just want you to join our forces as hired mercenaries . ¡± ¡°That¡¯ll depend on the reward you¡¯re offering then . Uh, how much was the hiring fee for tinum rankers by the way?¡± ¡°200,000 Enels per day . ¡± ¡°Well then, I shall hire you all for 300,000 Enels per day . I also guarantee a minimum of 1 million Enels as an additional reward, and it may still increase depending on the situation . ¡± ¡°OK . The rewards are good enough . How long is the contract period?¡± ¡°A minimum of one month and a maximum of three months . In case we exceed the contract period, what do you think about re-negotiating another contract once that happens?¡± ¡°A maximum of three months huh . OK . What do you think, Mimi, Elma?¡± ¡°I¡¯m OK with it as well!¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with it too . ¡± ¡°We¡¯ll ept the job then . Please submit a formal request to the Mercenary Guild . ¡± ¡°Umu . I will have the necessary procedures done straight away . ¡± I shook hands with Earl Dareinwald after finalizing our discussion . ¡°Chris, I shall leave you in charge of the immigration fleet . I hope you perform your responsibilities well . ¡± ¡°Yes, Grandfather . ¡± Chris, who was listening in on our discussion, calmly nodded . I see . So this will also serve as a form of training for her so that she can smoothly take up her duties as a lord in the future . That¡¯s why he sent us along as well huh . Although Earl Dareinwald was a man of few words and could be really blunt at times, he¡¯s properly caring for his granddaughter in his own way . ¡°I guess we¡¯ll have to do our best to help Chris out then . ¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Right . ¡± Mimi beamed from ear to ear and Elma gently smiled at Chris . But to think something like this woulde up¡­¡­ It looks like thebat bots would be put to good use sooner than we thought huh . By the way, the mechanic sisters turned into unmoving statues the moment they came face to face with Earl Dareinwald¡¯s imposing aura . It seems they already got used to Chris to some extent, but it looks like they would still lose their bearings in front of bona fide aristocrats like the earl . In a sense, Mimi, who¡¯s now able to keep herposure in front of someone like the earl, has turned into a real mercenary . ¡°I guess we¡¯ll be having a leisurely vacation while watching over the resettlement process huh . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . I wonder what the resettlement will be like . ¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t witnessed it personally, but I¡¯ve heard that immigration ships will descend onto a promising region on a habitable and the development of the area will be centered on that ship . ¡± As we three conversed with smiles on our faces, we were all of one mind . We all vowed never to utter ominous-sounding statements under any circumstances to avoid trouble . However, that vain hope was soon crushed into space dust without mercy . ¡°In the early stages of the resettlement process, it seems the immigrants and the resources they brought with them would get targeted by pirates from time to time, so please be on your guard . ¡± Chris said such words with overflowing enthusiasm . After seeing her like that, I¨C or rather, all three of us covered our eyes with one hand and raised our heads to the heavens in despair . So it doesn¡¯t matter if we didn¡¯t say anything huh . Chris nted a g for us anyway . Damn . Chapter 199 Chapter 199 Trantor: SFBaka Editor: Thor¡¯s Stone After epting Earl Dareinwald¡¯s request, we immediately started to make our preparations . By preparations, I mean things like making additional purchases of food stockpiles for emergencies (food cartridges), medical solution for the med-pod, energy packs for theser rifles,ser guns, and other equipment, performing some check-up and maintenance on said weapons and equipment, as well as bringing in and installing our newly purchasedbat bots and maintenance/parts swap system¡­¡­ Anyway, we had a lot to do . ¡°So you¡¯re telling me the damn media people suddenly decided to ask if they could pay us a visit during a super busy time like this?¡± ¡°We¡¯re really sorry, Boss . ¡± Tina bowed in apology to me who was currently watching over the colony transport system and the cargo-bots rushing to and fro inside the Lotus¡¯ cargo hold to bring in the supplies, but I shook my head in response . ¡°No, it¡¯s not like it¡¯s you and Whisker¡¯s fault anyway . I¡¯m not ming you guys . I guess it¡¯s about time to get all the troublesome stuff out of the way anyway, so let¡¯s get this deal over and done with . ¡± But troublesome stuff was still troublesome . I¡¯m okay with starshipbat, but I¡¯m not that good with fighting in person¡­¡­ Or at least, that was supposed to be the case . Presently, I¡¯ve be a swordsman who is able to go toe to toe with Je*i knights and S*th lords . Uh, maybe not . They aren¡¯t just good at sword fighting after all . They also use mysterious powers to achieve abilities like foresight and so on¡­¡­ They can also use those powers to telekically throw stuff around and release electric attacks . Yeah . I¡¯d probably get thoroughly beaten up . Yep . ¡°There¡¯s a need to arrange for a meeting first before anything else . What are their ns regarding that?¡± ¡°Um, they handed us their contact info . ¡± ¡°I see . So they want us to contact them from our end huh . ¡± We didn¡¯t hand them our contact info, so I guess this is to be expected . I have some prejudice regarding the media after all . Well, it¡¯s not like everything¡¯s gonna be bad even with that crappy first impression I got from them anyway . I took out my portable terminal, received the contact info from Whisker¡¯s tablet, and called them up immediately . ¡ºYes, this is Wamdo speaking . ¡» The one who replied on the other end was a man with a deep-sounding voice . ¡°This is Captain Hiro . I received word from Tina and Whisker from Space Dwerg so I got in touch . I heard you wanted to conduct an interview inside my ship, so I called to ask about the particrs . ¡± After a brief pause, I heard a loud crash, rattling, rustling, and other morous noises apanied by some swearing . Since my terminal was on speaker mode, Tina and Whisker heard the noises as well and their eyes widened in surprise . ¡ºE-Excuse me! Thank you very much for contacting us! We have really been looking forward to hearing from you, sir!¡» I suddenly imagined the figure of a man bowing profusely like a click beetle on the other end . He seems pretty different from the ones who wanted to conduct an ambush interview and forcefully boarded ck Lotus back then . He seems to have moved to a quieter spot (At least I couldn¡¯t hear any other noises apart from his voice on the other side . ) and started briefing me about the interview details in a calmer manner . In short, they were nning to conduct a joint interview with Space Dwerg and other media outfits . Eachpany would bring their own filming equipment and would conduct the joint interview with everyone asking questions in turns . ¡°I see . Well, I guess it¡¯s better to leave the interview methods to pros like you, but we have just a bit of a problem . ¡± ¡ºWhat is it, sir?¡» ¡°We were actually contracted by a certain noble house¨C Uh, I guess it¡¯s alright to tell you which house it is . We recently epted a request from House Dareinwald and we¡¯re ted to depart soon . ¡± ¡ºAh¨C¡­¡­¡» Wamdo choked up on the other end of the line . When ites to interviewing mercenaries who are in an active contract with nobles, the mediapanies are required to discuss things with said nobles as well . Of course, getting the interview approved ain¡¯t my problem . It¡¯s up to them to see things through instead . Anyway, it¡¯s not like I¡¯ll dump everything on them . I¡¯ll at least serve as a point of contact between the media folks and House Dareinwald, but it¡¯s up to the mediapanies to negotiate the terms . It¡¯s not like we absolutely need to take the interviews anyway . We certainly had a deal with Space Dwerg when we purchased ck Lotus, but it¡¯s not like we¡¯re obligated to take the interviews . After all, the contract also states that we can refuse interviews if they would end up interfering with our work . In other words, our client has every right to decline the interviews if they want to . ¡°I¡¯m personally fine with getting interviewed . But whether or not our client will allow it is a different story . You¡¯ll be the ones to discuss it with them, of course . ¡± ¡ºC-Can you pull some strings for us somehow, sir¡­¡­?¡» ¡°I¡¯ll act as the go-between at least . Of course, I can¡¯t just reveal the particrs of the client¡¯s request . I believe you guys have plenty of capable personnel, so just do your best, okay . I¡¯ll ask the client if you guys can make an appointment with them after this . ¡± ¡ºUu¡­¡­ Please do . ¡» ¡°Yeah . I¡¯ll be sure to put in a good word or two . ¡± I cut the call with Mr . Wamdo, who sounded like he was about to suffer from acute stomach pain from all the stress, and immediately contacted Chris . ¡ºYes, this is Christina speaking . What¡¯s the matter, Hiro-sama?¡» ¡°Sorry for calling you all of a sudden, but something came up¨C¡± I¡¯m not sure about what transpired in the discussion between Mr . Wamdo and Earl Dareinwald, but it seems they managed to get permission to conduct the interview in the end . ¡°It did seem they ended up making several arrangements though . ¡± ¡°Yeah . It looks like they won¡¯t just interview you all, Boss . They¡¯ll also interview Christina-sama as well . ¡± ¡°Chris-chan too?¡± Mimi, who was feasting on her usual breakfast meal ¨C a yellowish vorful rice porridge of some sort ¨C tilted her head curiously in the middle of bringing her spoon to her mouth . ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a move to build up Chris¡¯s fame and authority by letting the media cover how the next family head, Chris, would takemand of theary resettlement . They¡¯ll be able to project the image of a young but efficient and effective leader, and by making good use of Hiro who¡¯s a Gold Star awardee and a tinum ranker, Chris will be more renowned in aristocratic society . ¡± ¡°I see¨C¡± After hearing Elma¡¯s conjecture, Mimi seemed convinced . I also nodded in agreement inwardly . I have no idea just how that old man who seemed super-blunt and straightced struck a deal with Mr . Wamdo and the other media people, but he sure made certain to secure benefits for himself¨C or rather, for Chris . I guess he really is a tried and true noble after all . ¡°How¡¯s the progress of procuring supplies? In any case, we¡¯ve already finished installing the newbat bots . ¡± ¡°We¡¯ll finish sending in all the supplies by the end of the day too . We¡¯ve also managed to sell the crystal lifeform materials for a good price . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear . Keep an eye on products we can bring with us to the Comatt system too . ¡± ¡°Understood . ¡± Mimi nodded and smiled sweetly . It¡¯s better for Mimi to gain practical trading experience this way and after she gets enough, I¡¯d be able to safely leave the management of a trading ship to her in the future . Uh, but if I did that, I won¡¯t be able to stay with her all the time anymore . That¡¯s no good . Yep . Let¡¯s think of some other method then . ¡°You¡¯re making some really weird faces, Boss . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re thinking about something strange again, right?¡± ¡°How rude . I was just mulling over some ns for the future, okay . ¡± After retorting, I thrust my fork into a piece of my morning steak special (synthetic) and brought it to my mouth . Umu, Tetsujin V really is the best . It¡¯s hard to think something this tasty was actually synthesized from algae, krill-like creatures, spices, and vorings . ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s stop thinking about the future for now and focus on the present . We¡¯re gonna spend the day working inside the ship today as well, so I hope no ident happens . Here¡¯s to spending a safe and fulfilling day . ¡± We can¡¯t be neglectful okay! We have to be really thorough . Well, the logistics work in this dimension basically just consists of giving instructions to thebor machines and leave most of the work to them . asionally though, some underequipped stations ands in early stages of development make use of power armor for heavybor . Some even use old-fashioned forklifts to load and unload stuff . ¡°That¡¯s right, Boss . We have to be careful to avoid any idents . ¡± ¡°Man, that sounds really convincinging from you Tina . I mean, you once fired off a dwarf cannonball at me after all . ¡± ¡°I totally agree, big brother . ¡± The one who was used as the dwarf cannonball in question, Whisker, wholeheartedly agreed with me . ¡°Mou¡­¡­ You both are still holding a grudge about that after all this time, Boss, Whisker? I¡¯m properly reflecting on it okay . ¡± ¡°Reaaally¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Really! Don¡¯t you see these genuinely repentant eyes, Whee?¡± I decided to continue eating the rest of my breakfast in earnest as I watched the dwarven sisters poke fun at each other with a smile on my face . We¡¯ve been experiencing really quiet and peaceful days recently, so I hope this continues on for longer . I suddenly thought that these peaceful days might just simply be a prelude to something big . Y¡¯know, like the calm before a storm or something . But nah, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just my imagination . Hahaha .