Obvious Landmine

"Well then, now that we're done with the business talk… I'd like to take

this opportunity to ask a few questions now that you've personally managed

to pay a visit to our ship. May I?"

"Well... as long as I can answer them."

Major Serena thought for a bit and then nodded.

"Pardon me then. It's not really a big deal– is what I'd wanted to say. But

there's just a matter I'm concerned about. You remember the incident of a

mercenary ship crashing against a military vessel during the pirate

subjugation operation on the Termaine system, don't you?"

"Yes, of course, I remember. It's the matter regarding the military imposing

a large fine regardless of the fact that I've already specified not to pursue

the matter too harshly, correct? I think Elma-san over there is the one

involved in the incident."

"If you know of it, then it'll make things easier. I'm just putting this out just

in case, but didn't you guys make a mistake regarding that imposed

penalty?"

"Yes. I've already confirmed things with the relevant departments, so

there's no denying it. There was indeed a mishap regarding the specified

deadline, but that and the compensation amount is a different matter

altogether. We won't be able to amend the amount now that it's come to this

point, nor will we be able to make some sort of refund. I do feel sorry about

it, but the person involved in causing the mishap has already been dealt

with. To be honest, that incident was probably a form of harassment aimed

towards me. It sounds awkward for me to say this, considering what I've

put you through, but the incident did end up helping me deal with a

troublesome insect, so I'm grateful to you in a sense."

Major Serena nonchalantly declared with a straight face.

"You don't seem all that sorry for almost ruining a person's entire life huh."

"Well, yes. It's not like I made a mistake in ordering a fine to be

implemented. There's no denying that it's her fault that she crashed into a

military vessel after all. Honestly speaking, there was a good chance she

would have been pinned with a harsher crime you know? Even if it was an

unintended accident, she did end up crashing into and damaging an imperial

military starship, rendering it mostly inoperable. She also injured quite a

number of imperial soldiers."

'Mm... I see."

"I do feel sorry that the deadline that was given was too short due to one of

our people's mistakes. In truth, the space forces have the right to determine

how long the deadline would be. The shortest would be several months, and

the longest would be up to a year. But that time frame isn't fixed. If the

incident is of a high enough magnitude, the deadline may end up shorter

than normal, like in this case. It's a case by case basis, and I actually

ordered them to prolong the deadline as much as possible. However,

someone interfered and the incident was escalated. My prior orders were

ignored. But, as I said, the ones responsible have already been dealt with, so

I believe we've shown enough good faith regarding this matter."

Hmm... There are some parts I find hard to accept, but I guess we

unfortunately just got caught up in the dog-eat-dog social system of the

military and the nobility.

"It's fine already, Hiro. I accept that it was my stupid mistake that caused

the accident. And it did lead to me getting together with you Hiro, so... I

don't really think it's all that bad."

Elma softly pulled my sleeve and gave me a faint smile. Un... Well, the

one directly involved says it's okay, so I guess it won't do any good to keep

dwelling on the matter.

"Fufu, you sure care a lot for your comrades, don't you Captain Hiro? I

actually have some good news for you."

Major Serena flashed me a sweet smile. I have a bad feeling about this.

"Once you've completed my request, I also plan on officially designating

you as my personal contracted mercenary."

"..."

"This is my first time being gazed at with a look of such utter contempt you

know."

Major Serena's cheeks twitched as she gave me a bitter smile. My

expression must have looked really unpleasant. Well, you understand, right?

It screams nothing but trouble.

"I'm gonna ask just in case, but what merits do we gain from that?"

"That's a good question. First, if you become a contracted mercenary under

me, it would make it so it would be unlikely for you to be involved in

trouble with both the Graccan empire's military and noble circle. I'm a

major of the imperial space forces as well as the daughter of the house of

Marquis Holz after all. Messing with you as my contracted mercenary

would mean messing with me and House Holz."

"I see. But it'll also make the ones who already consider you as an enemy

target me as well, right?"

"I can't say there isn't a chance of that happening, but I believe such

incidents would be rare at best. If you do get into some sort of trouble,

immediately inform me and I'll swiftly deal with it for you. I promise I will

do all that I can to aid you."

"All that you can huh."

"Yes. Is there something you are dissatisfied with."

"Nah. So let's hear about the demerits."

I tried my best to make a neutral smile. It'll be over if I step back here.

Major Serena smiled back at me. We were both smiling 'pleasantly'

towards each other. Just like the best of friends. I noticed Mimi shivering

beside me. You don't have to be all that scared you know?

"There's no such thing."

"Hahaha! Great joke, Major. I'm gonna say this upfront. I don't have the

slightest desire to be made use of. In fact, you already owe us one. Haven't

you heard of the saying it's not good to increase your debts before paying

off your previous one?"

"Really now. Wouldn't I be able to pay that debt once you agree to be my

official contracted mercenary?"

"That's just one of the methods for you to get me within your grasp, right?

Saying that would make us even isn't even funny. The reason we're

accepting this request of yours this time is due to you making certain

concessions for us, so we want to properly pay you back and avoid any

further trouble. Just like what Elma said earlier, the remuneration isn't

nearly enough for the work we'll be doing. Normally, we would just refuse

such a request. That's why I said you owe us."

Major Serena gritted her teeth in frustration.

"Regarding the trouble with imperial nobles and the military, we can just

easily choose to escape once things aren't looking too good. Considering

that, the thing about shielding us from trouble doesn't seem to be all that

useful, honestly. And if I do become your personal contracted mercenary,

those against both you and the Holz house would most probably put me

under their radar, so that's already a big enough demerit in my book.

And also, becoming your contracted mercenary will limit how much

freedom we and our ship have. That's another huge demerit. As you already

know, my methods are kinda unorthodox. Wouldn't it be bad for you if I did

something reckless while being your contracted mercenary? Are you just

gonna cut me off if that happens? If you plan on cutting me off just like

that, there's practically no merit for me, is there? In other words, there's

little to no merit in becoming your contracted mercenary. Conversely,

there's a ton of demerits attached to it. Do you have any objections to this

conclusion, milady?"

Major Serena's face turned bright red in frustration after hearing my tirade.

Did I make her angry? Well, I've bottled up a lot of frustration myself.

Apart from sending me spam recruitment mail, she pushed an unprofitable

request on my face for no good reason. It's just reaping what she'd sown.

"H-Hey, isn't that going a little overboard—"

"Fufufu... This is the first time someone dared to scold a daughter of

House Holz like me."

With her face still red from anger, Major Serena moved her gaze towards

me with the corners of her mouth slightly twitching. I just wanted to get

back at her a little. Did I really go too far?

"However, it's fine. I shall forgive you. It's not like I cannot understand

where you're coming from. There are things in this world that would break

if you use too much force. There's a big difference between a pet cat and a

stray one after all."

"Just who the hell is a cat!?"

You want me to scratch you, lady?

"It's not possible to tame and feed one without first putting on a collar you

see. So I shall feed and thoroughly tame it once I've successfully put a

collar on it."

"So you're still aiming at collaring me someday?"

"Yes. As I said, I'm not the type who lets the prey I already aimed at to

escape my grasp."

Major Serena put one finger on top of her luscious lips and gave me a

flirtatious gaze. The feeling of cold sweat running down my spine is just my

imagination, right? Please make it so.

Mimi and Elma felt some sort of danger after seeing Major Serena like that

and the two of them grabbed both my arms again. Major Serena giggled in

amusement after seeing their actions.

"For now, let's just be satisfied with you agreeing to my request. I shall

make an official request to the Guild. We will be in your care then. I shall

also send the relevant data to the Guild as well."

"Yeah, okay. I'll try to be as polite as I can when addressing you during

work hours, so please pardon me if I ever slip up somehow."

"Yes, please do so. I don't mind if you talk to me in a more casual way

when we're alone in private you know."

"Hahaha, alright."

I have no intention of meeting up in private with you though.

* * *

"You got some nerve talking down to a senior imperial military officer and

a lady of a marquis house like that... I was sweating buckets the whole

time."

Elma suddenly opened while we were having lunch after Major Serena left

the ship. Elma's lunch this time consisted of something resembling

Japanese-style pasta and a salad with chicken meat cooked with Szechuanstyle sauce.

"If she threw a fit and gave up after that level of provocation, then it meant

she wasn't all that serious about the deal. But since she didn't, and even

laughed it off while claiming to forgive me, I guess she really is pretty set

on roping me in. If I let my guard down even a little bit, there's a good

chance she'll spring a trap on me, so I can't relax against her at all and can't

make any hasty promises either."

The meal I'm having consists of a hamburger, french fries and some sort of

shake. The shake has a faint grassy aftertaste but is still tasty. Just what kind

of shake is this anyway?

"That person won't do. She's dangerous."

Mimi was unusually wary of Major Serena. She gave me a hard stare as she

kept chowing down on her omelet rice slathered with plenty of ketchup.

No, no. Major Serena's certainly a bombshell beauty with a nice body and

large breasts, but I'm not the kind of guy who'll be swayed by a woman like

that who seems like the living embodiment of a destructive landmine.

There's no need to worry, girls.

"Well, let's get in some training for now. I'll focus on the request. I want

Mimi to continue with your Operator training. Please support both of us as

you see fit, Elma."

"Alright. That's all we can do for now. Well, we mercenaries don't always

have to spend days living dangerously anyway. There are times like this as

well. But be sure to train regularly so your skills don't get rusty, okay

Hiro."

"I'll do my best. Well, it's not like I don't have a plan."

Teaching only through oral discussion would just lead to my charges

learning mere armchair tactics. They should also experience some actual

combat along the way. I could play the role of the aggressor if need be and

face off against the military folks in a mock battle. We should make ample

use of the simulators.

"Well, since I took the job, I need to do it properly. I won't be risking my

life, plus I also get to have that noble lady officer owe me one in addition to

earning a bit of cash. Since Mimi can also get some training in, it's not all

that bad."

"Hiro-sama."

"Hm?"

"Please be careful, okay?"

"Yeah."

I don't know if Mimi was just particularly wary of Major Serena or she

actually doesn't trust me much when it comes to things like this... It's the

former, right? Please tell me it's the former.

"Don't get yourself ensnared by that noble lady, okay."

"Can't you trust me for once!?"

"Well, you're guilty of previous offenses after all."

"Can't really deny that, yeah."

I'm weak to this sort of guilt-tripping. And so, I spent the latter part of the

day trying to butter up Elma and the strangely sulky Mimi. The three of us

didn't take a single step out of Krishna and spent the entire time holed up

inside the ship. It's nice to have days like this from time to time. Things are

gonna get busy in the following days after all.