I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship, so I Became a Space Mercenary

564 「U-Useless…!?」

「I’ll be in your care starting today!」

Riding the tram from the Imperial Castle back to the Black Lotus, we were greeted by the crew—and in front of them all, Her Imperial Highness Princess Luciada declared that, looking thoroughly satisfied.

Behind her stood four lady knights of the Imperial Guard with sour looks on their faces. And behind them were the four of us wearing pretty much the same expression.

「Um… Hiro-sama?」

Princess Luciada was all sparkling royal smile, while Mimi, watching that smile, was all confused.

Their faces were so similar they could’ve passed for twins, and yet their expressions couldn’t have been more opposite.

「That’s how things ended up… Ah, right. Your Highness Princess Luciada, could I see that imperial decree from earlier properly this time？」

「I do not mind, but…」

Princess Luciada’s reaction was oddly lukewarm, but she still took the decree from the pouch at her waist and handed it over. I took it and went through the contents carefully.

The wording is dense and old-fashioned, but I can read it.

There were various supplementary clauses about how all expenses for Her Highness Luciada and her escort would be reimbursed later by the Imperial Household, and how additional rewards would be granted according to services rendered, and so on.

But to sum it up, it amounted to:

‘Take care of Luciada. We will absolutely make good on compensation later. Should something happen to Luciada, we will more or less forgive you so long as it’s not anything too outrageous. As for the four Imperial Guard knights assigned as her escort, they may die if that is what it takes to keep Luciada alive.’

「Isn’t that kind of rough on the Imperial Guard knights?」

「To lay down our lives for Her Highness is our duty as Imperial Guard knights. More importantly, you can actually read that…?」

「I can, yeah？」

One of the female Imperial Guard knights—someone I’d met several times before and even had mock battles with, Isolde—looked at me in bafflement and asked that weird question, so I answered her with a baffled look of my own.

Sure, it was difficult and used a bunch of slightly archaic phrasing, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.

「For you to be able to read the Old Imperial tongue… Hiro-sama, you are quite well educated! The translation implants don’t support it, so even among nobles there are few who can read it, you know?」

「O-Oh… well, you know, I’m a clean, respectable, new-wave mercenary. A guy’s gotta have some education, right?」

…Screwed up.

My weird powers aren’t limited to just over-the-top psionic abilities. I also have this inexplicable ability to understand any language or script without a translation implant.

I completely forgot about that.

The only people who know about this particular ability are Mimi, Elma, and Doc. Shouko—aside from me. Tina and Whiska don’t know. Neither do Serena or Chris. Neve, of course, doesn’t either.

Kugi and Tamamo might be aware of it as a basic ability ‘Visitors’ have, but I’ve never actually talked to them about it.

「Anyway, setting my education aside… The point is that for this trip, Luciada and the four extras attached to her are coming along. That’s how it is. There’s an imperial decree backing it, so our hands are tied.」

「You are going to start addressing me by name so abruptly?」

「Yeah. You’re incognito. In fact, continuing to use ‘Luciada’ as-is when your name and face are unchanged isn’t great for an undercover trip. From now on I’ll call you ‘Lucia’. Luckily we’ve got five spare private cabins ready, so your privacy is covered. They’re guest rooms and all in the same area. So, do you four have any luggage?」

「Luggage???」

Her Imperial Highness Princess Luciada—no, Lucia—tilted her head as if to say, ‘What is that?’.

Right. Princess.

Up until now, all of that kind of thing has probably been handled entirely by the people around her.

「Don’t tell me you need assistance to change clothes and take a bath, too, right?」

「Hmph. I can at least manage changing and bathing by myself. What do you take me for, Captain Hiro?」

「I take you for a sheltered little princess who doesn’t know the ways of the world. Not that I’m in any position to talk when it comes to being clueless about common sense… Hey, you four extras. What’s the situation with your stuff?」

Ignoring Lucia as she puffed her cheeks out, I turned my gaze to Isolde of the Imperial Guard.

「Calling us extras is disrespectful, is it not? Also, stop treating Her Highness so roughly at once.」

「If you don’t like being called extras, then hurry up and at least tell me your names. Aside from you, Isolde, I don’t even know the others’ names. What else am I supposed to call you but ‘Her Highness’s extras’? Anyway, what about your luggage? And don’t tell me you plan to follow Lucia around dressed like that, right？」

「…We have brought nothing.」

It wasn’t just Isolde—every one of the Imperial Guard knights grimaced like they’d just bitten into something incredibly bitter.

「Let me just check: when did this assignment get decided and when did you receive your orders？」

「…An hour and a half ago.」

「Okay. In that case, none of you are at fault here.」

Most likely this was all decided in a rush and they barely had time to dash over here.

They’d had to strip off their gaudy ceremonial uniforms, get into Imperial Space Navy combat armor, and grab the standard-issue Imperial Guard swords instead of their own personal blades.

Of course they wouldn’t have had time to pack luggage.

「Do you at least have a personal terminal, Lucia? Any balance in your Enel account?」

「I don’t!」

「Thought so… What about you lot? Ah, you four do have yours, huh. Even so… man.」

We are going to have to put together everyday necessities for five people.

On top of that, Lucia needs a personal terminal issued and a new Enel account opened.

And for Lucia’s ID… Huh? That dagger? It has ID functions? I… don’t get how that works, but it’s legit, right? I’m trusting you on this, okay?

「First, we’ll head to the Grakkius Secundus Colony as planned. We’ve got to prepare clothes and gear for our useless princess and her four pitiful sacrifices. Plus weapons and armor. We’ll need swords for everyone.」

「U-u-useless…!?」

「Hiro-dono, these swords are the proof of our status as Imperial Guards—and our pride…」

Lucia was making an expression of shock the likes of which I’d never seen before at being called useless, but I ignored her for now and answered Isolde.

「A flashy gold sword that anyone can tell isn’t a normal blade at a glance stands out way too much. Stow them in your rooms. You’re undercover. Lucia, your big sword is also off-limits.」

「Eeeh…? But this is my beloved sword…」

「Did the Rampaging Emperor you love so much walk around all the time swinging some obvious, flashy sword that anyone can tell isn’t normal without even drawing it?」

「Ugh… T-that is…」

Lucia flinched like I’d hit a sore spot.

I spoke half on a hunch, but sure enough, even that Rampaging Emperor probably spent most of his time calling himself some impoverished knight—like the third son of a baron at best.

Or maybe he introduces himself as the owner of some provincial chirimen-wholesaler or something.

「Anyway, if you’re planning to accompany us on a covert journey as mercenaries, your current weapons and outfits are a big fat fail. Flat-out flunked. We’ll pick up what you need at Grakkius Secundus Colony. I’ll front the money for now.」

His Majesty the Emperor has explicitly stated in the decree that he would definitely reimburse us, so there is no issue with me paying out of pocket for the time being.

One way or another, Grakkius Secundus Colony has good stock. It’s a very convenient place to buy all sorts of odds and ends.

Ah, but when it comes to actual gear, maybe it’s better to outfit them in the Windas system…

After this we have to head to the Windas system anyway to receive the drone carrier His Majesty is granting to Serena. Their selection of weapons and armor over there is better and cheaper.

「Mei, start preparing for departure. Mimi, Elma, Tina, and Whiska—get Lucia and the others’ rooms ready and show them around. Doc, please prepare medical checks for them just in case. Neve, assist her.」

「Um, my lord. What about me…?」

「Kugi, I’d like you to hear me out on something. Let’s talk in the mess hall.」

「…? Very well. If I can be of use, I will gladly listen.」

Kugi’s fox ears on top of her head twitched as she nodded.

Everyone else seemed a bit puzzled, but since the one I’d called over was Kugi, they apparently guessed it was something psionic-related, and no one tried to pry into what we were going to discuss.

☆★☆

Leaving the others to scatter through the ship to handle their respective tasks, Kugi and I settled down in the mess hall.

I pulled a chilled bottle of water from the cooler, took a sip of the cold water, and let out a sigh.

「There’s a lot I should probably say, but… First off, thanks for watching over the wedding between me and Chris and the others. I know it probably wasn’t the most pleasant thing in the world for you.」

「Not at all, my lord. It is a good thing for you to be joined with many women… Though I did feel, just a little, a twinge of envy.」

Kugi smiled wryly as she said that.

Yeah. If the situation were reversed, I’d probably be driven mad with jealousy. I really do need to make it up to everyone properly.

「I’ll definitely make it up to you, so bear with it a little longer. Sorry.」

「Fufu, I shall look forward to it. So then… what did you wish to consult me about?」

「Ah, right. It’s about Her Highness Princess Luciada… This is gonna be a super vague question, but—what do you think of her?」

「What I think…」

Kugi made a serious face and thought for a moment at my question.

「Speaking frankly, I do not sense any malice at all. You feel the same, do you not, my lord?」

「Yeah. If anything, I get a sense of goodwill from her… At the same time, though, I feel this overwhelming self-interest as well. It’s like she’s cleverly making her own self-interest and the interests of others, and even the public good, overlap.」

I don’t think she’s a pure, thoroughbred egotist.

Her own benefit, other people’s benefit, and the common good—she gives off the vibe of someone who’s skillfully stacking those things together.

If she felt like someone who skewed too hard toward self-interest, I could just reject her outright. But my instincts are whispering to me that I shouldn’t push her away.

And those instincts of mine aren’t just normal gut feelings.

Nine times out of ten, that’s one facet of my fate-manipulation ability.

Instinctively sensing countless branching streams of possible futures, and concluding that things will go better if Her Highness Luciada is around—that’s what it feels like.

「That one is a prodigy. Simply by being there, she doth greatly stir the fates of those around her. Thou couldst say she beareth the aspect of a conqueror—or a hero.」

Before I realized it, Kugi’s hair and eyes had turned gold. Red markings like makeup—or maybe like kabuki paint—had appeared at the corners of her eyes and across her brow.

「Tamamo, huh… So that’s the kind of read you’re getting too? I mean, when I’m near Her Highness Luciada or His Majesty the Emperor, I do feel like the flow of fate gets way more turbulent.」

「Folk who wield great power in many senses of the word tend to be like that. Even if I call her a conqueror, that princess leans to the side of the righteous, mind ye. Every now and then ye get the other sort—the walking tragedies. The kind who do naught but drag everyone around them into ruin. She does not seem to be that breed, so worry not.」

「That’s terrifying… Well, if the two of you say so, she’s probably fine. That helps. Thanks.」

「Think nothing of it. ’Tis a trifle. So, master… Doth thou mean to bed that princess as well?」

Tamamo asked that with a huge grin. I shook my head and crossed my arms in an X for good measure.

「That is the one thing that is absolutely off the table. I’ll twist fate itself with every power I’ve got if I have to, but that I’m going to avoid.」

「How boring. If thou’rt going to the trouble of bending fate with all thy might, say thou’lt do it to claim her instead. And while thou’rt at it, devour those four extras too. Thou art a man, art thou not? Hast thou no balls?」

「Don’t say ‘balls’. And if things expand any further at this rate, mine are going to get rubbed raw or just plain explode. Cut me some slack.」

Just imagining getting involved with Her Highness Luciada and her Imperial Guard knights makes my stomach twist in knots.

That is never happening.

And no, that’s not foreshadowing—this is not a flag, got it.