ăâŠâŠă
ăâŠâŠWhat is it?ă
ăEek!? N-nothing⊠really?ă
ăI-I-I certainly have nothing to say?ă
The next day, when I returned to the Black Lotus with Mei, Chris and Edeltrud were still there. ⊠As soon as they saw my face, they began to stare intently at me. And when I spoke to them, this was their reaction. They were clearly hiding something, and Edeltrudâs speech was even strange. You didnât use such stereotypical lady-like language as if from an anime.
ă⊠You showed âthatâ to them, didnât you?ă
ăBoss, why are you asking us?ă
ăYou know what Iâm talking about. If someone did record âthatâ itâs probably you twoâŠă
When I looked at them with an accusatory gaze, both Tina and Wiska started whistling and looking at the ceiling or deliberately averting their eyes. Iâm sure the culprits are these two, theyâre the only ones who would enjoy recording âdocumentary footageâ of certain activities. I donât have that kind of hobby, so I never record it. Mei might have, but sheâd never show it to anyone. Well, in Meiâs case, whether she records our activities or not, she definitely creates a log. Whether she keeps that log⊠no, she probably does. Definitely. Because sheâs a maid droid.
ăMimi?ă
ăUh, um⊠haha.ă
ăYouâre blatantly trying to laugh it off.ă
ăWell, it was useful as a reference.ă
ăUseful as a reference? Isnât it impossible for you, Elma?ă
ăShut up!ă
ăThat hurtsâŠă
Elma looked so serious when she said, âIt was useful as a referenceâ with a straight face, that I had to tease her a little. You donât have to give me a full-force low kick like thatâŠ
I doubt she would have the presence of mind to use what she learned from the video. Elmaâs sensitivity is on a whole different level so⊠well you can imagine the rest.
ăMy lord.ă
ăWhat is it?ă
ăI wish to strive harder than ever before.ă
ăI seeâŠă
I didnât ask Kugi what she meant as she stared at me seriously. Itâs fine already. Iâm a person whoâs mindful of the TPO, to some extent, at least. For now, I need to change the subject of the conversation somehow.
ăAhem, ahem. Letâs set that topic aside for now, okay? I want to discuss our future plans a bit.ă
ăFuture plans?ă
ăYeah. We need to plan what we will do after the upcoming award ceremony or whatever it is. Normally, we should visit Marquis Holzâs territory or Earl Dareinwaldâs territory, but Iâm thinking it could be interesting to visit the Holy Vuelzarus Empire. Alternatively, we could procure a bigger mothership to replace the Black Lotus.ă
ăH-Hiro-samaâŠ? Are you leaving the EmpireâŠ?ă
Chrisâs eyes widened in shock.
ăNo, no, I plan to keep the Empire as our main base of operations. Iâm just thinking there might be information about my origin in Kugiâs homeland, the Holy Vuelzarus Empire. Plus, I have a bit of interest in psionic abilities. According to Kugi, I might get some VIP treatment there. There might even be psionic-related technology and equipment for our ship that we havenât seen before.ă
ăâŠSo, itâs just a temporary stay, and youâll come back soon?ă
ăYes. Think of it as more like a sightseeing trip.ă
ăIâm relieved⊠I was worried that perhaps, because of this situation, you had come to dislike usâŠă
Chris said this while patting her chest in relief.
ăOh, you thought I got fed up with the engagement and the marriage talks and wanted to run away? No, it would be too scummy of me to flee after all this. I wouldnât do that to you, Chris.ă
If things were different and I would only marry Serena, then? I might have run away. If Earl Dareinwaldâs House hadnât been involved in the engagement and marriage talks through Chris, that person might have made some move to control me. If he does something I canât accept. In that situation, fleeing the country could have been a possible option.
However, from the way Laurenz talks, it doesnât seem like he would do anything to make an enemy of me. He mentioned that throughout the long history of the Marquis Holz House, there have been records of encounters with individuals who had unusual fates like mine. The nuance was that they understood it would be dangerous to turn me into an enemy.
ăIâm very relieved⊠truly.ă
ăIâm glad. So, what do you think of this idea, Kugi?ă
ăYes, my Lord. If I could invite you to our country, it would be my greatest joy. If that is what you have decided, I will contact our cathedral to prepare for your arrival. Is that okay with you?ă
ăAh, we should probably wait until everything is confirmed. Even if we decide to go to the Holy Vuelzarus Empire, it might be better to stop by Earl Dareinwaldâs territory first to secure some land in a planetary settlement.ă
ăSecuring land means that your objective will be finally complete, right?ă
ăYes, finally.ă
We were about to finally get a single-family home with a garden, which had been my short-term goal until now. To gain residency and purchase land in a planetary settlement, you needed first-class citizenship of the Empire. Both Mimi and I were granted first-class citizenship as a reward from the Emperor during our last visit to the Imperial Capital. Elma was born a daughter of a viscount, so she had first-class citizenship from the start. A citizen with first-class citizenship had the right to bring two⊠no, was it three? I canât remember, they could bring a certain number of people without first-class citizenship to live in a planetary settlement with them. Therefore, Tina, Wiska, Kugi, Dr. Shouko, and Neve, who didnât have first-class citizenship, can live in the planetary settlement with us. What about Mei? Since Mei was a maidroid, she was considered my property. You might think itâs strange she was treated that way since mechanical intelligence also holds human? rights, but apparently, mechanical intelligenceâs rights were a little different in some things.
ăI hope it goes smoothlyâŠă
ăWait, is there a problem?ă
ăThere shouldnât be. We have no issues with citizenship, and if the Earl Dareinwaldâs House cooperates, securing land and constructing the structure shouldnât be a problem. But considering everything thatâs happened so farâŠă
ăDonât jinx itâŠă
Considering that something might go wrong due to some trouble, I had been trying my best not to jinx it by mentioning it out loud⊠But itâs entirely possible, given my track record. Itâs not out of the realm of possibility that something strange happens and blows up the nearly completed house.
ăAre you also planning to replace the mothership?ă
ăYeah, Itâs a pain to have Elmaâs Antlion docked to an external docking port, right? I was thinking of switching to a mothership with a hangar that can accommodate medium-sized ships. Fortunately, we have enough budget.ă
We should have enough budget if we trade in the Black Lotus and reuse as many modules as we can. Most of the weapons we have installed should be usable as is.
ăI see. Iâll look for a few options that might suit our needs.ă
ăIâll leave it to you. Itâs better to have professionals make the selection.ă
Given that these two used to work for a shipbuilding company, thereâs no way theyâll pick something completely unsuitable. Especially since theyâve seen how we operate the Black Lotus firsthand. We havenât decided what will we do yet, but itâs always a good idea to start considering it now.
As we were discussing this, my small communication device rang. Serena, huh?
ăItâs a message from Serena. Apparently, thereâs going to be a ceremony three days from now, before noon. It looks like Iâll be receiving another medal. The dress code is semi-formal. I guess the outfit I wore last time should be fineâŠ?ă
ăLetâs have a new one tailored!ă
ăThatâs a good idea.ă freewŃbnoÎœel.com
ăI agree, itâs better to have a new one made.ă
ăYes.ă
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Mimi, Elma, and Chris all insisted in quick succession that I should have a new outfit tailored. Itâs not like weâre short on money, so I donât mind having one made, but itâs a hassle⊠Well, if the three of them say so, then Iâll go with it.