Morning of the Second Day

We immediately met with some troublesome stuff the moment we

stepped into the Refill system yesterday, but the morning of the second

day of our stay, which was spent lounging around the Refill Prime

colony, was as tranquil as can be.

"Good morning..."

"Yeah, morning."

I got out of the bed together with Mimi, went to the bathroom with her

in tow to wash our faces and fix ourselves up, and headed for Black

Lotus' dining hall. We met with Elma, the mechanic sisters, and Mei

when we got to the dining hall and exchanged morning greetings with

them. After having our meals, we all went to Black Lotus' training room

and did some light workouts. Afterward, we washed up to get rid of the

sweat and officially started the day's business.

"So I, Mimi, and Elma are all free today huh."

"Yep. I already finished selling off all the loot and trade goods

yesterday."

"I also finished sending the planetary descent application yesterday as

well. Now we'll just have to wait until the local government unit gives

us the go-ahead."

"As for us, we'll be starting on the repairs and modifications today."

"The work's gonna be a lot easier this time though."

It looks like Tina and Whisker are gonna start repairing and modifying

the large-class pirate ship we captured by using the parts they ordered

and the ones they created using the replicator. It looks like they won't

just be using the maintenance bots this time. They also planned to swap

the loadout of the combat bots into general-purpose work equipment in

order to finish the repairs and modifications as soon as possible.

They got official maintenance bot software from Eagle Dynamics and

will work together later to install it in the combat bots as a subroutine.

That would make it possible for the combat bots to serve as

maintenance bots as well.

"It would be dangerous if something goes wrong with the combat bots

when it counts, so make sure you're careful in tinkering with them, you

two."

"It's okay, Boss. All of them are from the same manufacturer so the

compatibility is close to perfect."

"We'll install the program as a completely independent subroutine, so

you don't have to worry, big brother."

It looks like I just gotta trust that they know what they're doing. Well,

Mei is also involved in the periodic maintenance of the combat bots, so

I'm sure she'll intervene if things don't seem right. Since Mei gave them

the go-ahead, I guess it will be alright after all.

"What are you going to do today though, big brother?"

"Let's see... First, we'll go to the Mercenary Guild branch and the

system garrison base in order to cash in our rewards for yesterday's

incident. After that, I guess we'll just go around the city for a bit. If we

manage to see some rare alcohol or something, I'll buy it as a souvenir

for you guys."

"Waa, really? This is the home system of the elves, so I'm sure there are

lots of tasty drinks out there."

"Yeah. Although we each have our quirks when it comes to drinking, the

elves also love alcohol just like us."

"That's for sure."

"What?"

I nodded in agreement at the mechanic sister's words and glanced

toward Elma. She came up close and glared at me in response. She

sounded angry, but judging from the angle of her ears, it looks like

that's not the case after all. She's just putting up a front.

"How about you, Mei?"

"I'll remain onboard and finish up the remaining chores."

"Okay. I'll leave Black Lotus to you then."

"Yes, please leave it to me."

And so, it was decided that I, Mimi, and Elma will go out together to

tour the city.

We were supposed to individually prepare ourselves and go out

together afterward, but I've already finished my preparations myself.

All I had to do was go back to my room and equip my laser gun and

swords after all. I waited inside the break room for a bit until Mimi and

Elma came in together. Afterward, we finally headed out.

"Since this is the home system of the elves, there really are a lot more of

them here compared to other colonies huh."

"That's true. There really are more of them here compared to the other

colonies."

You could probably spot about one or two among the crowd in the

other colonies, but here, they were more numerous. I wasn't clear on

the exact percentage, but I guess the elves comprised approximately

around ten percent of the crowd around us.

"But why are we getting a lot of attention though?"

"It's cause we stand out a lot."

"Right."

After saying so, Elma and Mimi's gazes turned toward me.

Fumu? Well, Mimi and Elma were beauties after all. I guess I really

would stand out walking around with the both of them.

"Judging from your expression, I'm sure you're thinking about

something completely off the mark. Let me spell it out. The one who's

getting all the attention is you, okay. I mean, a mercenary sporting

noble-issue swords would definitely stand out a lot, don't you think?"

"Also, Hiro-sama's face is already well known throughout the empire

after the broadcast of the tournament. That tournament was

broadcasted practically nationwide after all."

"Ah, I see... So you guys are saying I've become a pretty famous celeb

now or something?"

"Pretty famous huh... Frankly, I think calling you just 'pretty famous'

isn't nearly enough."

"You're currently the hottest thing in the mercenary scene, after all,

Hiro-sama."

"Eh...?"

Even if you tell me that, it still hasn't sunk in for me. I was merely a

somewhat affluent and violent nouveau rich guy... Uh, that doesn't

make much sense huh.

"Uh, in any case, I understand that I've turned into some sort of largerthan-life legendary character now."

"If that wasn't the case, do you think the general would welcome you

that warmly yesterday...? Sheesh. You're pretty dull sometimes you

know."

"But that's just your typical Hiro-sama."

"Are you guys actually complimenting me or putting me down?"

We walked around and chatted among ourselves as we basked in the

public's collective gaze for a couple of minutes. We arrived at the local

Mercenary Guild branch without a hitch. Refill system's Mercenary

Guild branch didn't have any special features and looked decidedly par

for the course. Uh, well, maybe the size of their plants was a bit on the

bigger side, I guess? But overall, the atmosphere wasn't all that

different from the branches in other star systems.

"It doesn't seem to have anything particularly special huh."

"Yeah."

"Let's head to the counter."

We headed for the counter at Mimi's prompting. The one manning the

counter we went to was a young woman, and when she noticed our

approach, her expression turned somewhat miserable.

"Uh... Hey there. Um, sorry for scaring you, but you don't really need

to be so nervous."

"Auee... I-I'm sorry– Hiuu!?"

A hand grabbed her shoulder from behind which made her go all stiff.

She was already on the verge of tears. How pitiful.

"You can go ahead and take a break. I'll handle things here."

"Y-Yesh..."

The young receptionist lady nodded like a rickety robot and left the

counter. The person who replaced her – a young-looking elven male –

stood confidently in front of us.

"Welcome to Refill Prime. We're glad to have you here, Captain Hiro."

"Thanks. It seems I made the staff pretty nervous. Sorry about that."

"No, please pay it no mind. She was one of our new hires, so she still

hasn't gotten a hang of the job yet. Rather, we should be the ones

apologizing. Sorry for the inconvenience."

The elven male's lips curved into a bitter smile as he shook his head

slightly and bowed toward us in apology.

"So what is your business with us today, sir? Are you here to accept a

job request?"

"No. We'll be staying in Refill Prime for a while, so we're here to give

you guys a heads up. It would save us both some trouble if we made

acquaintances as soon as we can, right?"

"That's true. It would help us a lot if we're familiar with your general

disposition as well."

"Hee? And what's your verdict after seeing me in person?"

"I'd say you're what I'd expect from the current number one hottest

Platinum ranker; a person of great integrity, I guess?"

"I see."

A person of great integrity huh. To think they'd rate me so highly. Well, I

guess it does make some sense after factoring in all my recent

accomplishments. I haven't really undertaken any particularly shady

jobs either.

"A person of great integrity huh...?"

Elma gave me a scornful look. Hahaha, I'd get embarrassed if you look

at me like that. See, even Mimi's giving me a complicated look. I'm an

honest and upstanding mercenary you know?

"Your work is flawless, your piloting skills are sublime, and your

personal prowess is also of the highest caliber. You not only hunt down

pirates unceasingly. You've also built a tight connection with the

imperial military. You do not accept any questionable jobs and do not

show even a hint of collusion with pirates for personal gain. According

to the standards of the Mercenary Guild, there are no other mercenaries

as upstanding and trustworthy as you. Your conduct has been nothing

short of impeccable."

"Well... I guess. Hiro really isn't your typical mercenary after all. He's a

unique case."

"I'm just acting according to my beliefs you know."

If you put it in a good way, I'm a person with good morals. If you put it

in a bad way, I'm just a person heavily influenced by Earth's social

norms.

I've already spent quite some time in this dimension, so I already have a

good idea of the typical behavior and thought processes of the average

mercenary. They just don't really fit my style.

Alcohol! Violence! S*x! It's a bit too much for a guy like me. Uh, it's not

like I don't indulge in the third one, but I'd like to think I do it in proper

moderation regardless. Besides, I'm not really fond of a life filled with

anarchy like that. It's not like I don't have any ambition or greed, but

since I've been dragged into so much troublesome stuff, I didn't have

the leeway to care about anything else for the most part.

"Okay, enough about me. Let's go ahead and plan our activities in the

Refill system."

"Yes."

"We came to the Refill system for leisure. I've heard of some interesting

things from my crew members, so we applied to descend onto Refill IV.

In other words, we're going to spend our vacation touring Refill IV."

"I see. Refill IV is rich in nature after all. So you're going there for rest

and relaxation, I guess."

"Something like that."

Actually, I merely wanted to find cola or stuff related to cola there

instead of sightseeing.

"In other words, you will not be performing any mercenary work

during your stay, correct?"

"We'll be looking around this colony while waiting for our descent

application to be processed. And if we still have some time, we'd

probably hunt a few pirates for some pocket money. Or maybe we'll

take some escort jobs as long as it doesn't require us to go somewhere

far away from this system."

"I see. How unfortunate. Well, you've already managed to take down

some big fish for us anyway, so that's alright."

"Big fish...? Oh, you're talking about that ship huh. It was merely a

coincidence, but it looks like I managed to save some pretty important

people huh."

The elven male nodded briskly and continued the conversation.

"That's right. Those pirates specialize in elven slave-trading you see.

We've been searching for their base for a long time, and we've finally

managed to pinpoint its location just recently. We organized a

subjugation operation, but their lead ship managed to slip away in the

heat of battle. And that's when you managed to spot and capture them.

The casualties incurred when those guys kidnapped the esteemed

individuals you rescued were also quite severe. The clan leaders were

so incensed, we were afraid they would suffer a stroke and die of anger."

"I see... Oh yeah. I think we managed to capture a few of those guys

alive."

"It looks like they've been causing quite a mess. They're probably

shaking in terror right about now huh?"

"They're just getting their just desserts."

After hearing the story, Mimi gave an unusually dry response. Mimi saw

the condition of the prisoners inside that ship after all. It's no wonder

she didn't have any sympathy for the pirates.

"If there's anything you're curious about regarding that incident, please

refer to this file. This is the latest edition of the incident report."

"You sure? Won't this be considered an information leak?"

"The information will also be released to the media, so there's no

problem. It's basically just a more detailed summary."

"I see. I'll give it a read later. By the way, has there been any contact

regarding our reward for the capture and rescue?"

"I'll take a look. Let's see... Hm. It seems there's nothing yet. I think

it'll take a bit more time for the system garrison, the imperial space

navy, and the clan leader union to discuss the particulars. Perhaps we'll

get some news tomorrow… no, the day after tomorrow."

The elven male checked the counter's holo display and shook his head

as he explained the situation. It seems the incident this time's pretty

unique, considering they're taking quite a bit of time deciding on our

reward. And there's also that clan leader union thing.

"They're probably still in the middle of discussing how much each party

will contribute, so it'll take some more time. The system garrison's

budget is a bit thin, and the imperial navy isn't that better off either.

And it's not like all the clan leaders get along swimmingly either."

"Hee? That sounds quite troublesome, doesn't it?"

"Compared to the mother system of other races, the influence of the

local governing body here in the Refill system is a bit more entrenched

after all. So please just wait patiently. The clan leaders might be a bit

miserly, but they aren't narrow-minded. I think they'll take their time to

squeeze out every possible Enel from the system garrison and the space

navy since they were the ones that allowed the ship to escape.

Conversely, they all feel really grateful to you, Captain Hiro. Once you

get captured by pirates, your survival or rescue would normally be next

to hopeless after all. There aren't that many people who would risk

their lives to take control of a pirate ship instead of just destroying it

outright."

"It was just a whim though."

"Being able to resolve the incident in the most optimal manner while

acting on a whim is also proof of your competence. You Platinumranker really do have what it takes, huh. Like a certain X-factor or

something."

"Please don't bring something like that up. We're kinda allergic to the

term already."

I turned toward Mimi and Elma and found them displaying bitter smiles

as expected. I was also smiling bitterly of course. The ones who

understand what having 'a certain factor' means the most are none

other than ourselves after all.