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ăThereâs a saying that if a dog wanders about, it might get hit with a stick, butâŠâŠă
âWoof.â
I let out a bark as I faced the stunned Captain Serena on the holo-screen.
ăOriginally, that saying warns one not to take unnecessary actions in order to avoid misfortune, butâŠâŠ Well, I was the one who ordered you to move out in the fist place, I suppose. In any case, you sure do tend to attract trouble.ă
âWell, regarding my unusual propensity to encounter trouble, just picture it like this â Instead of the dog getting hit with a stick by chance when itâs walking about, the dog actually exerts some sort of mysterious force that causes other stuff apart from the stick to come flying towards it. Itâs not something to brag about though.â
ăThat truly isnât something you can be proud of. For now, please put off restoring the ship you captured and leave it anchored at Volks Secundus. Weâll investigate the interior as soon as we join up with you.ă
âRoger that. Iâll compile the data storage devices we managed to collect before handing them over to you. Oh, I can also have Mei analyze them directly. How about it?â
ăThereâs no problem with handing them over, but if you can proceed with the analysis yourselves, then it would be a big help.ă
âAye aye, maâam. Iâll do as you instructed.â
ăPlease do. Weâll finish reorganizing as soon as possible and head over there. Well then, transmission over.ă
I returned a salute to the saluting Captain Serena on the other side of the line, and the transmission was cut.
âYou heard all that, right? Sorry, but please inform Tina and Wiska of Captain Serenaâs instructions.â
âUnderstood! Iâll contact Mei-san as well.â
âYeah, thanks. I think Iâll go with ElmaâŠâŠ Right, you come with us as well, Kugi. Weâll pay a visit to the local Mercenary Guild branch.â
âYes, My Lord. I shall be glad to accompany you.â
Dr. Shouko was probably holed up inside the lab again conducting her beloved research, but I gave her a call just in case. Sheâd probably think thereâd be nothing thatâll satisfy her intellectual curiosity at the Mercenary Guild, but I better give her a call anyway.
âSo this is the Mercenary Guild! Wow, itâs like Iâm in an amusement park. How exciting!â
ââŠâŠâ
âSorry.â
After seeing Dr. Shouko behave like an excited child the moment we entered the Mercenary Guild building, Elma gave me a reproachful gaze. Uh, I didnât think Dr. Shouko would get this excitedâŠâŠ There just are some stuff even I canât anticipate, okay?
âAhem. Dr. Shouko?â
âNn? Ah, my apologies. Researchers like me donât get many chances to come to the Mercenary Guild. I did have some interactions with the Security Department and Foreign Businesses Department though. I mean, one of the biggest reasons why I agreed to board your ship was my admiration for the mercenary lifestyle, remember? Until recently, Iâve only ever seen it through holo-movies and novels, okay? And now, Iâm finally here in person! You understand where Iâm coming from, right?â
âYou sure are talkative todayâŠâŠ Okay, I get it. I get it already, so please donât overdo it.â
âMmhm. I understand.â
Dr. Shouko responded and displayed an innocent-looking smile. The expression was quite rare for her, who usually had a cheeky grin on her face. Be that as it may, I do hope she tones down the excitement a bit. Right now, so-called space pirates with unusually high-performance weapons and equipment have been running rampant within this star system. Due to that, her lighthearted attitude might seem provocative to some.
âTsk. Whatâs with that womanâŠâŠ? Acting all carefree.â
âThey should be new faces. Those pretty girls will probably end up as playthings of those damned space pirates before though. What a waste.â
The was a lounge-like area near the entrance, which was a fair distance from the office counters.
Whether or not such a space was set up depended on the Guild branch in question, and this particular branch apparently chose to implement it. But, as expected, it doesnât have a bar counter attached to it like those adventurerâs guilds that appeared in fantasy novels. Piloting a combat ship while drunk was absolutely not allowed after all.
Anyway, the mercenaries who were hanging around that area were saying some rude stuff regarding us.
âHiro-kun, what are those guysââ
âOkay, letâs keep our mouth shut, shall we? Hello guys. Just passing through.â
I sensed that Dr. Shouko was about to blurt out something bad, so I decided to cover her mouth with my hand, secured her firmly, and slowly pulled her toward the reception counter. Letâs not get into trouble now, okay?
âYouâre getting pretty used to it, arenât you? Dealing with trouble, I mean.â
âI sure wish I shouldnât have had to thoughâŠâŠ Anyway, Iâm not sure what you were trying to say back there Doc, but due to those pirates equipped with unusually powerful weapons running rampant, those guys back there who are lazing around without doing any work probably got beaten up so bad that their ships are in bad need of repairs. Either that or there were too many casualties among their ranks, and they canât continue working without filling the vacancies. Or perhaps they are simply just waiting around until the storm passes. They probably also have a lot of pent-up frustration and resentment. One wrong word, and theyâll likely snap. Thatâs gonna be more trouble than itâs worth.â
âOh, I see. I was only gonna ask why they are grumbling around here like that even though they appear to be mercenaries.â
âAre you a genius at provoking others, Doc?â
Those guys were already feeling a lot of resentment, and then three unfamiliar beauties suddenly appeared, and one of them suddenly asked why they were only sitting around without doing any work. Once that happens, an outburst is inevitable. Itâs practically Muka chakka fire (outdated millennial humor).
âGuess your judgment was correctâŠâŠâ
âIâm sorry, but please, you two? Iâm also gonna do my best, but please?â
âOh câmon, Hiro-kun. Iâm not a child, so I can also read the room and be considerate.â
When Dr. Shouko saw Elma breaking in cold sweat and me seriously begging the smiling Kugi with her tails swaying behind her for help, she puffed her cheeks and got mad. No, I mean, didnât you almost cause a mess earlier? That kind of reaction was only suited for folks who donât show any signs of making trouble in the first place. đ»đđŠđŠđžđŠđ·đđđŁđŠđ.đđđ
And so, we were able to successfully smash the event flag where weâd provoke disgruntled fellow mercenaries who were down in the dumps. We headed to the counter where a Guild staff member who seemed to have a lot of free time on her hands was stationed.
âAra, such lovely company. Welcome to the Volks star system branch of the Mercenary Guild. ThisâŠâŠ isnât about a request, isnât it?â free webno vel
The Guild staff oneesan who greeted us at the counter tilted her head to the side as she inquired. At first, the fact that I came to the Mercenary Guild with swords strapped to my waist and under the company of several beautiful women must have given her an impression that I was some sort of noble young masterâŠâŠ However, one of the women accompanying me appeared to be a mercenary, and upon closer inspection, I wasnât just equipped with swords, but also a laser gun. âIn that case, is he actually a mercenary?â was probably what she thought inwardly.
âItâs not about a request. I just wanted to pay a visit and gather some information. Iâm supposed to clean this place up by order of the higher-ups.â
âThe higher-ups? The Mercenary Guild didnât receive any word aboutâŠâŠ Hold on. Come to think of it, the recent movements of the military areââ
The Guild staff member repeatedly tapped the counter with her fingertip, and she was about to blurt out something she probably shouldnât before raising her finger and putting it before her lips. Itâs a bit interesting that little gestures like these were so similar to the ones on Earth, even though this was a completely different dimension.
âWell, thatâs how it is. I want info on the coordinates of the recorded attacks that occurred within this star system and the surrounding systems along with the data about the estimated routes of the merchant ships that have gone missing.â
âI understand the situation, but I donât think itâs alright to simply hand over that data so easilyâŠâŠâ
âThe request related to this matter already went through the Guild officially. If you look up my ID, youâll get info about the request Iâm currently working on, right? As you know, this situation isnât exactly a regular one. Thatâs why I want to handle things carefully.â
âThis isâŠâŠ? â!? H-Hold on, please. I will call my superior, so please give us a little more time.â
After confirming my ID, the Guild staff oneesan retreated behind the counter in panic. It seemed that I was becoming pretty well-known already. Apparently, there werenât that many Platinum rankers out there, so itâs no wonder she was so rattled.
âMy Lord, did we need to come all the way to this place? Isnât it possible to obtain the relevant data remotely?â
âThereâs always a risk of the network getting hacked and monitored. Space pirates are good at that kind of stuff, and considering the importance of this matter, thereâs a high chance of information getting leaked. More old-school analog methods of data exchange are safer.â
âBut you know, itâs kinda improbable for other parties to intercept info from within the Mercenary Guild.â
âReally? The staff are just regular people, so isnât it possible for some to succumb to temptation?â
âI donât think that applies to Mercenary Guild employees in particular. They say the moment a staff member commits a breach of trust, theyâll be hunted down to the ends of the known universe.â
âHow scary.â
Iâm not sure about how exactly Imperial Law treated the issue, but I do sometimes see dead or alive bounties offered for Guild employees whoâve committed acts of betrayal. They were often quite hefty sums, even for someone like me. Naturally, the mercenaries drawn to such bounties chased after those former Guild employees in a dogged manner. The employees were often just ordinary civilians, so it was pretty hard for them to successfully escape.
âThatâs why thereâs no need to be wary of betrayal by Guild staff. Oh, it looks like sheâs back.â
The Guild staff oneesan from earlier came back with another woman who seemed to be her manager. Now then, I wonder what weâll get to learn from them.