Without any particular interference or accidents, the Black Lotus departed from the Imperial Capital and soared into space, where it docked with the Antlion and then headed straight for the Grakkius Secundus Colony. This was to restock supplies before departing from the Grakkius star system, the capital star system.
What? You want to ask why didnât we stock up on supplies at the Imperial Capital? The market prices and distribution in the Imperial Capital were a bit unique. Some goods produced in the capitalâlike certain foods and agricultural productsâwere unbelievably cheap, but other goods that had to be imported from outside the star system were significantly more expensive than the market price. Also, there was a lack of supplies that spacefarers like us would use in the first place. That was because the Imperial Capital strictly controlled the entry and exit of starships. There wasnât enough demand, so those goods werenât stocked.
Thatâs why, when leaving the Imperial Capital, it was necessary to prepare for the journey at the Grakkius Secundus Colony. Of course, the supplies we had on board the Black Lotus were ample enough that we could depart as is without any issues. But either way, we needed to retrieve Chrisâs ship and store it on the Black Lotus. Apparently, thereâs someone staying on that ship, so we canât just leave them behind.
And so, the person staying in Chrisâs ship joined us at the Black Lotus when we docked at the Grakkius Secundus Colony.
ăSo you are⊠I see. My name is Marion. Itâs a pleasure to meet you, Captain Hiro.ă
The person waiting in Chrisâs ship introduced herself and bowed respectfully towards me. She was probably around my age, maybe a little older. A tall, slender woman. She might even be taller than me. Her hair was blonde, like Serenaâs, but with a slightly different texture. She wore a maid outfit and had an overall unhealthy lookâher eyes were shifty, and she had dark circles under them. Is she okay?
ăNice to meet you, Marion-san. You can feel free to call me something more casual. Calling me âCaptain Hiroâ every time seems a bit too formal.ă
ăNo, Iâm afraid that would not be appropriate for someone who will become Lady Christinaâs partner in the future. I would prefer if you called me simply Marion, without any honorifics. As Lady Christinaâs partner, your station is clearly above mine.ă
ăThat may be true, but I havenât even been formally recognized as her fiancĂ© by Earl Dareinwald yet. Until that time comes, Iâd like you to accept my suggestion.ă
ăâŠUnderstood.ă
Though she seemed somewhat reluctant, Marion-san accepted my proposal. I decided to have the crew guide her while unloading her luggage from their ship. At the same time, I contacted Dr. Shouko, who should currently be conducting medical checks on Chris and Edeltrud.
ăYes? What is it?ă
ăThe woman who just boarded, Marion-san, is one of Chrisâs attendants. Could you run a medical check on her as soon as possible?ă
ăOf course, but is there something wrong?ă
Follđw current novâŻls on ÆrÄewebnoŃ”Ńl.cÏm.
ăIâm not a professional, so I donât want to make assumptions, but she looks quite unwell⊠Iâve got Mimi guiding her to her room now, so could you contact Mimi and perform the check soon?ă
ăGot it. Iâll get in touch right away.ă
Dr. Shouko is always quick to respond, which is incredibly helpful. If it turns out that this is just a baseless concern from an amateurâs perspective and sheâs actually perfectly healthy, that would be ideal, butâŠ
ăWell, I guess all I can do now is leave it to them.ă
Either way, all I can do is give orders⊠If thereâs nothing wrong, thatâs good enough.
ââ â
ăSheâs extremely sleep-deprived,ă
ăSleep-deprived?ă
ăIt seems sheâs been so worried about Chris-kun that she hasnât been able to sleep much⊠For now, sheâs resting.ă
ăI see⊠Got it.ă
While I was inspecting Chrisâs ship with the mechanic sisters in the hangar, Dr. Shouko sent back the results of Marion-sanâs medical check. Itâs only been a few days, yet sheâs been so worried that she couldnât sleep and ended up in poor health. It seems like she might need some proper mental care.
ăWhatâs up? Ya lookinâ a bit beat, huh?ă
ăDonât worry about it. Itâs nothing serious.ă
Tina noticed my sigh so she asked a little worried, but I quickly tried to dispel her worries. This isnât really a problem that I need to get heavily involved in. Once she understands the situation, Chris will probably handle it herself. Iâll just make sure to let Chris know later.
ăSo, um⊠about Chrisâs ship.ă
ăItâs a high-speed, small-class ship from two generations ago, made by Ideal. From the exterior, there doesnât seem to be anything odd or out of the ordinary.ă
ăWe canât exactly check the interior, after all. Itâs probably a decommissioned ship from the Imperial Space Force, so I imagine itâs got decent performance.ă
ăIâm not planning to use it for combat, but⊠Itâs a little underwhelming for a ship used by the next Countess for official business. Iâve seen Earl Dareinwaldâs fleet before, and their equipment looked pretty outdated as well.ă
ăI wouldnât know much about that, but back when we were in the Comatt star system, didnât seem like they had much of a military presence or anythinâ.ă
If Chris and I end up getting married, and if I eventually get involved in maintaining security in Count Dareinwaldâs territory, this could become a significant issue. Well, this ship does have some decent equipment on board, giving it better combat capabilities than a typical pirate ship.
Hmm, I doubt I could just decide on my own to upgrade all of Earl Dareinwaldâs warships to the latest models. It might be a good idea to think about some alternatives.
ăAlright, I get it. Go ahead with the scans, but donât start any maintenance or modifications without Chrisâs permission.ă
ăGotcha!ă
ăUnderstood.ă
ăGreat, Iâll leave it to you. Iâm going to check on Chris and the others.ă
I waved goodbye leaving the hangar after giving instructions to the mechanic sisters.
ââ â
In any case, the first thing I need to do when we arrive is have a conversation with Earl Dareinwald. I canât simply ask him, âPlease give me your granddaughter.ââmore like heâs the one taking me. Honestly, Iâm not entirely sure what he thinks about this whole situation. To be fair, I havenât spoken with Earl Dareinwald that many times.
Given whatâs happened so far, I doubt he dislikes me, and it doesnât seem like heâs outright opposed to my relationship with Chris. If he were against it, he probably wouldnât have offered me the job in the Comatt star system, and he wouldnât have allowed us to exchange messages or Chris to come alone to the Imperial Capital.
ăAnyway, Iâve been mulling over all these things⊠but wouldnât it be nice if there was some sort of quick, decisive solution that could just solve everything?ă
ăIâm grateful you are sharing your worries with me, Captain, but wouldnât Mei or Elma-neesan be better suited to help you?ă
ăTrue, but both of them seem pretty busy. You seemed like the only one with some free time, Neve.ă
ăCaptain, do you think of me as some sort of pet?ă
ă???ă
ăWhatâs with that âOf course, what else would you be?â look? Maybe I should bite you to show how much of a pet I am. Not that I can right now.ă
Neve threatened me while using her pod to bump into my knee. Can you stop doing that? Itâs surprisingly painful.
ăWell, joking aside, thereâs really no one else with free time except you, Neve.ă
Mimi, Elma, and Kugi are busy preparing rooms for Chris and her two attendants, helping with unpacking, and arranging supplies. The mechanic sisters are running around conducting various checks and securing materials for departure. Dr. Shouko is looking after Marion. And Mei may be able to multitask no matter what sheâs doing, but I know sheâs busy, so I donât want to bother her.
ăIâd like to be assigned some work soon, Iâm also part of the crew.ă
ăAt least wait until you can walk around freely on your own before saying stuff like that.ă
It was only recently that Neve had gained some mobility by using something like a floating wheelchair âmore like a self-sustaining medical pod. Even at the moment, her body was still undergoing treatment under Dr. Shoukoâs care, so taking on any work would be impossible in her current state. Although, given her strengths lay in electronic warfare, hacking, and cracking, itâs questionable how much work she could do to in times of peace.
ăWell, for now, think of yourself as the one in charge of hearing the crewâs problems or a consultant.ă
ăYou donât have to dress it up, thatâs the same role a pet does. I donât mind being a pet. Maybe I should start introducing myself as your beloved pet, saying something like, âIâm the Captainâs little pussy, meow!âă
ăPlease donât. That would ruin my reputation.ă
Neveâs appearance, thanks to Dr. Shoukoâs care and the grooming of the girls, was that of a genuinely delicate and charming young girl. If she introduced herself like that, it would likely deal a fatal blow to my social standing.
ăWell, things will turn out how they turn out. If youâd like, I can look into the Dareinwald House.ă
ăPlease do. But donât take any unnecessary risks.ă
ăDonât worry. Mei is keeping an eye on me.ă
If Mei looks after her it should be fine. Mei should have control over Neveâs network access, after all. Still, Iâm beginning to think that maybe we are overworking Mei too much. Maybe I should consider an upgrade for her.
ăI just hope we can wrap up the discussion or negotiation with Earl Dareinwald peacefully and head off to the Holy Vuelzarus Empire soonâŠă
ăFrom what Iâve heard, itâs probably impossible.ă
ăWhy would you say that?ă I
I was struck by the realization that even the newest member of the crew, Neve, had given up on the idea of our journey being a peaceful one. Who did she hear that from, anyway? Could be anyone, theyâd all say the same thing. Yeah, that makes sense. And theyâre probably right, too.
ăThis is going to be a pain for sureâŠă
ăIâm actually looking forward to it a little, Captain.ă
Seeing Neveâs smirk, I couldnât help but think, âEnjoy it while you canâ, as I glanced up at the ceiling, resigned to whatever chaos awaited us next.