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

After a long bout of superluminal travel, the Black Lotus and the escort fleet from the Holy Vuelzarus Empire finally arrived at the only gateway owned by the Holy Empire.

「No matter how many times I see it, that thing’s huge… Wonder how much it cost to build.」

「It’s a nation-scale project, y’know. Gotta be tens of billions, maybe even trillions of Enel, easy.」

「Mom once told me there was a huge gateway boom in some star system back when she was young.」

「I’ve seen project reports in the Federation before. I think the Federation one was said to cost around fifteen trillion Enel.」

The four of us—me, the mechanic sisters, and Neve—stared blankly at the colossal shadow of the gateway projected on the massive holodisplay. Tina and Wiska flanked me on both sides, while Neve sat in my lap—or more precisely, nestled between my thighs—in full-armored legal-loli mode. To any outside observer, I probably like a suspicious person surrounded by little girls. But the truth is that every one of them is a grown woman. How did my life turn out like this?

「Still, Captain… is this really okay? I feel like this position is a little off.」

「You’re just the right size, honestly. Though I think you’d be better with a little more flesh on your bones… But hey, you’re warm, so it’s all good.」

Also, she smells really nice. I’m not about to sniff her openly or anything—that’d definitely earn me a punch.

Neve puffed out her cheeks slightly in protest, but made no move to escape from my arms. Not long ago, she’d been so fragile it felt like she’d shatter from a single touch, but now, thanks to Shouko-sensei’s miraculous tech and Neve’s own effort, she’d grown strong enough that I could hold her like this without worry. Her expressions have become more animated too—definitely a good sign.

「Boss’s just feelin’ a bit down, what with the whole marriage—or rather, engagement—thing comin’ up. Let him have his cuddle time.」

「Is that so? I figured the Captain would be more like, ‘Woohoo! I get to do whatever I want with a noble princess!’ kinda vibe.」

「How much of a lust demon am I in your head, Neve? Not gonna lie, there is a bit of that feeling, but more than that, the whole thing just feels like a pain. Doesn’t mean I dislike Chris or Serena, though. Honestly, I think it’s a good thing to be formally engaged to both of them.」

「But even so, you’re still not thrilled about all the baggage that comes with it, huh, Big Brother?」

「Pretty much. In the end, I’ve got to take responsibility for my own choices.」

This all started because I couldn’t abandon Serena. No matter how many times time rewound, I don’t think I’d ever be capable of choosing to let her die in that situation—the one where she’d been poisoned with some weird drug made by pirates and would’ve died if I hadn’t slept with her. Once Earl Ixamal drugged me and I lost consciousness, my fate was probably sealed.

☆★☆

Under normal circumstances, the preparation for passing through a gateway—even at best—takes a few hours, and at worst, days. But this time, we were allowed through in under thirty minutes. I guess there weren’t any other ships waiting on the Holy Vuelzarus Empire’s side, so they only had to coordinate with the Grakkan Empire’s schedule.

Still, we’re headed for Grakkius—the imperial capital—a place that sees a lot of traffic. Normally we’d be waiting in line forever. Maybe the two sides worked something out in advance? I wouldn’t put it past the Holy Vuelzarus Empire to arrange something like that.

「Once we’re through the gateway, we’ll finally be back. You ready for it?」

「At this point, I’ve already made peace with it. No sense in moping around. I’ll figure something out.」

Elma settled down next to me, replacing the three legal-loli brigade members who’d headed to the hangar. I shrugged in reply. Honestly, I know chaos is coming. I don’t know exactly what, but something is definitely brewing. No doubt about it.

「We will now proceed through the gateway.」

Following behind the portion of the Holy Empire’s escort fleet that wasn’t staying behind, the Black Lotus passed through the gateway. Unsurprisingly, everything went smoothly, and we arrived at the Grakkan Empire’s capital system. Far off in the distance stood the ecumenopolis that was the capital itself—Grakkius—its entire surface covered in massive structures. Countless ships orbited around it.

「Still as crowded as ever.」

「It’s the capital, after all. All roads really do lead to Grakkius.」

The capital served as a major consumption hub, churning through massive amounts of goods, and also functioned as a trade center for high-end food and tech exports. It was a military stronghold, too, with a nearby star system packed with shipyards. In other words, it made perfect sense that the area saw tons of traffic.

「Either way, looks like we’ll be parting ways with the Holy Empire’s fleet here.」

「You should at least say goodbye, you know?」

「Yeah. Mei, get me a line to the escort fleet’s flagship.」

「Yes, Master.」

Mei connected the comms, and I thanked the captain commanding the escort fleet. Apparently, they were planning to remain in the Grakkan Empire for a while, traveling around various stations where citizens of the Holy Empire lived, to handle personnel transfers and withdrawals. Sounds like a long mission.

「Take care out there. Stay safe.」

「You as well. Should you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to call on our homeland.」

「Thanks. I’ll take you up on that if things get really dire.」

The Holy Empire’s fleet deployed their Maneuvering Light Wings and glided away with eerie grace. Seriously, the way they move using those things always weirds me out. The acceleration and inertia feels all wrong—like my brain can’t quite process it.

「Alright, guess we’ll head for the Grakkius Secundus Colony for now. If we’re going to make contact with the Dareinwalds or the Holz family, that’s the place to start.」

The Grakkius Secundus Colony handled descent authorization procedures for the capital, and it thrived as a trade hub in its own right. No matter who we needed to contact, it was a convenient place to be.

「Exactly. Mei, please set course for the Grakkius Secundus Colony.」

「Yes, Elma-sama. Plotting course to Grakkius Secundus Colony now.」

The Black Lotus slowly rotated and changed course. Before long, the superluminal drive kicked in. DOOOM!—the kind of sound that resonates deep in your gut rang out. I wonder what causes that noise anyway. Probably the hull or space itself vibrating and producing sound. I can hear it on this ship, but how about on others? I think I’ve heard it before… or maybe not? I usually don’t pay attention.

「So, who should we contact first? The Willroses would be the safest bet, right?」

「Yeah, they’re a sure connection. And they’ve probably already set up hotlines with both the Dareinwalds and the Holz family. Still, we should probably reach out to all of them at once to avoid any friction. If it looks like you’re favoring one over the others, it could cause unnecessary drama.」

「Wait, seriously? Just the order I call people in can cause that much trouble…?」

I couldn’t help but groan and stick out my tongue. Come on, people, get along already…

「That’s the kind of world you’re stepping into now. But don’t worry, Chris, Serena, and I will have your back.」

「Thanks. I’d definitely screw something up if I had to handle all this on my own.」

Elma really is the dependable type. I owe her more than I can say.