Interlude

"…I am truly thankful for your recognition."

We're in front of a large audience right now. It seems like we're in a place

specially designated as the spot where the emperor of the Graccan Empire

usually addresses the general populace in order to show them his

benevolence and grace.

After our match with Captain Banks, we were directly brought back to the

imperial palace by a ship assigned to the imperial guards. And when we got

off from it, we were politely dragged– I mean guided to this spot and

brought before His Imperial Majesty. The people from the media were

allowed in here, so the scene of the emperor praising me, Elma, and Mimi

in front of a large crowd was being broadcasted live all throughout the

empire. Well, even if it was being filmed live, due to the huge distance

between the capital and the frontier regions, it would take a few days to a

week for the footage to be broadcasted over those areas.

"First, as a reward for you and your crew, you all will be granted first-class

imperial citizenship. Moreover, the ships Captain Hiro owns will also be

granted full access to all the gateways within the empire. I am sure this will

greatly help you in your mercenary activities."

"Thank you for your generosity."

The first-class imperial citizenship was one thing, but what I'm really

thankful for was access to the imperial gateways. With unlimited access to

the gateways, our activity range will improve immensely.

"You will also be getting a cash prize of 50,000,000 Enels. This is my

personal reward to you all for sweeping the entire tournament. Go ahead

and receive it."

"Once again, we thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty."

I humbly bowed my head. This money was probably our dear emperor's

apology for one-sidedly getting us involved in his whims. That's how I took

it anyway. He did all that primarily to avoid shady folk from targeting

Mimi, so I'm not really holding it against him– Ugh. Screw that. I'm sure

he did it for his own amusement. But, well, since he's willing to fork over

some reward money, I guess I'll just let everything slide. I'm a rational

adult after all.

In the first place, I can't imagine the emperor of a huge space empire

bowing his head in apology to a commoner. Or rather, it would be

troublesome if he did that. Really troublesome. I'm sure it'll kick up a

major fuss for tarnishing the dignity of the emperor or something like that.

And so, the emperor offered money as a form of apology instead. There's

nothing more concrete as a symbol of sincerity than money after all. And

honestly, 50 million Enels was a very huge amount. Well, I guess it's also

his way of asking us to take good care of Mimi as her granduncle.

"Umu. Do your best from here on out as well."

The emperor nodded in contentment and retreated back to the palace before

the audience. And after that ceremony, at long last, we're finally free.

"Man. It's finally time to say goodbye to this stuffy imperial palace huh."

"It's been truly hard on you, Hiro-sama. In lots of ways."

"We just took it easy except for the final match of the space combat

competition though… Well, it certainly was a good experience anyway."

"We managed to make friends with the princess after all!"

Mimi displayed a sunny smile as we prepared Krishna for launch.

After the closing rites of the tournament, we were finally free to depart

from the imperial palace. Well, we were only permitted to stay for the

duration of the tournament after all, so it's only natural that we leave once

it's over.

There's a risk of getting caught up in something troublesome again if we

overstay our welcome after all. Although there's a low chance of that

happening normally, we're talking about us here y'know…!

And so, we wrapped everything up in lightning speed and were now almost

ready to depart from the imperial palace. First, we plan on returning to

Grakkis Secundus in order to pick up the mechanic sisters. We were

basically on house arrest for a period of time because of the tournament

after all. The two of them were kinda like abandoned children for these past

nine days after all. Well, we still regularly kept in touch with them via

messaging apps. And the two of them weren't really kids but were fullfledged adults despite their outward appearance, so I guess there's no need

to worry about them too much.

"Anyway, I'd like to finish up the procedures for our second descent

application to the imperial capital real quick and then take it easy for a bit

once we get back to our mothership."

"Right. And we also have to pay a visit to Chris-chan's villa as well."

"I think it would be a good idea to continue with the purchase of combat

bots once we're back as well. Get in contact with Lt. Col. Serena later."

"Yeah. We have to fulfill our end of the deal with Lt. Col. Serena after all."

"We'll probably get calls from the media as well, so we have to prepare for

that."

"Yeah, that too… Hey, you think it's possible to just ignore them

somehow?"

Uh, well, there's also Tina and Whisker's circumstances to take note of, so I

guess that won't fly huh. Sheesh. How troublesome.

"We have so many things on our plate huh. Let's just pray that there would

be no problems this time around."

"Isn't that kinda impossible…?"

"It seems it is…"

"Don't give up straight away you two… Geez."

The three of us let out collective sighs.

"Even if something does happen, I believe Master will be able to deal with

it. Just like always."

"I sure hope so."

We can't really be sure that we'll be able to resolve every kind of

troublesome stuff that comes our way after all.

"Hiro-sama, the take-off clearance has been issued!"

"Alright. Let's get going then. You ready, guys?"

"Yes!"

"Uhuh."

"Ready when you are, Master."

"Okay. Let's get outta here. Destination: Grakkis Secundus colony."

"Yes. Course has been set."

"Generator output switched to cruising mode. Course clear."

"Undocking. Krishna, taking off."

Krishna gently floated off the ground via the attitude control thrusters and

started accelerating once the main thrusters activated. Krishna rapidly rose

in altitude with its bow facing the sky, but the burden on the crew inside

was relatively light due to the inertial control system. This was much better

than the rocket launches back on Earth that resembled thrill rides like jet

coasters.

Before long, Krishna escaped the atmosphere of the imperial capital and

reached outer space.

"Man, I feel so much better once we're out of gravity's reach…"

"Ahaha. I also feel more relieved out in space compared to staying in the

imperial capital."

"Me too. We're all used to the mercenary lifestyle after all. How about you,

Mei?"

After being asked by Elma, Mei blinked a few times, tilted her head to think

a little, and opened her mouth soon after.

"I'm not so sure myself. However, spending time with all of you is… very

comforting, yes."

"Comforting, huh? I get that. I really do."

"Yes. I did enjoy having tea with the princess and wearing a beautiful dress,

but I feel like this is where I truly belong."

It seems like it wasn't just me who agreed with Mei's words. Mimi felt the

same as well.

"Let's hurry up and go back then. To our true home."

"Right. Yosh, I'm gonna floor it, guys!"

After saying so, I fired up the afterburners to maximum output, causing

Krishna to leave a brilliant trail of light in its wake.