The Calm Before The Storm– Or Not

The day following our dinner with Tinia and the others from the Grado

clan, a letter arrived at our doorstep. This time, it was from a guy

named Nect from the Minfa clan. The contents of the letter basically

said that he would like to express his gratitude for rescuing him from

the hands of the pirates and for saving his life. Nect said he would have

liked to express his gratitude personally, and apologized that he wasn't

able to do so since he was still undergoing medical treatment. And he

also said that once we arrive at Theta, we can present this letter to the

Minfa clan. He would then do his utmost to accommodate us as the

second son of the Minfa clan leader.

"Get a load of this, guys. It's a letter, man. An honest to goodness letter.

Isn't it kinda neat to receive an old-fashioned paper letter in this day

and age?"

"Well, paper is considered a luxury item, after all, Hiro-sama."

"Yeah. It's a luxury item among luxury items too."

I waved the letter sent by Mr. Nect around, and Mimi and Elma nodded

back to acknowledge it. In this dimension, paper was no longer used in

everyday life, and it's no exaggeration to say that absolutely everything

was now completely digitized. In fact, I don't remember seeing paper

being used as a writing medium – not even small paper notes – ever

since coming to this dimension. Well, until now that is. Almost all

product packages are made of synthetic materials such as plastic, and

labels are directly printed on the packaging itself.

"But it sure looks elegant, doesn't it, Boss?"

"Paper letters do give you that impression compared to digital

messages."

"I wonder what kind of person this guy is. I only saw him when I was

treating his injuries, so I didn't really get a read on him."

By the way, Grado clan's Tinia also offered to show us around if we go

for a visit to the Grado clan once we arrive on Theta. She said the Grado

clan will give us the best welcome.

"I don't really dig things being all formal, but them being this

enthusiastic does seem pretty convenient for us huh."

Our objective for heading to Theta was mainly for sightseeing, and my

personal reason was searching for cola or things related to it. I'll use the

topic regarding medical infusions as a hook in order to ask if they have

a beverage that's similar to cola available. Honestly, I believe it's okay to

take on some hardships in order to get my hands on cola, and I won't

hesitate to use some forceful means if the situation calls for it. I'm

almost at my limit drinking cola substitutes.

"Anyway, we have to be really careful not to involve ourselves in any

power struggles. We're immediately going to escape out of this star

system in case of an emergency. It'll be a problem concerning this star

system alone, after all, so we should be able to avoid any repercussions

once we get ourselves a few star systems away."

"Somehow, I really doubt we're gonna make it, Boss."

"Big brother is a trouble magnet after all."

"Or rather, it feels like we won't be able to avoid it no matter how

careful we are."

"Don't say any further, Whisker."

Nobody would benefit even if you blurt out the truth like that you know.

If you start giving up this early, then there would be no point in

discussing countermeasures. People should never give up easily.

Destiny is never something that's set in stone. It's something to surpass.

I mean, even manga, anime, and game protagonists say such things all

the time. I'm not sure if that actually counts for something though.

[Master.]

As we kept talking about stupid stuff like that, Mei's voice rang out

within the break room where we were currently spending our time

leisurely, and an image of her standing inside the cockpit block of Black

Lotus got projected through the holo-display.

"What's up?"

[I was just informed that the Refill system's Planetary Administration

Bureau has approved our descent application. We can descend on the

planet anytime as long as we inform them of our descent schedule

first.]

"Eh? Isn't it a bit too early? I thought they'd take longer to issue an

approval though?"

[Yes. Apparently, there was a push from the system garrison as well as

the Grado clan and the Minfa clan. Or rather, it was the Clan Leader

Union.]

"I see."

"It's something we already expected."

I'm not clear about the details regarding the exact power structure of

the Refill system, but both the system garrison and the clan leader

union ended up owing us. It wasn't so difficult to assume that these two

organizations carry a lot of clout in the system, so it was certainly

within reason if they used their influence to have the relevant

government departments speed up the approval process for us.

"That said, we still have to repair and modify the pirate ship we

captured a few days back, so we can't just go ahead and start the trip

immediately."

"That's right. We still need three days… No, two days to finish

everything, Boss."

"But it's possible to complete the sale procedures early though. The

specs are more or less set in stone after all. And besides, we can still

complete the sale procedures even while we're in the middle of touring

the planet, so it's not like we need to fast track the repairs so much,

right?"

"It's also an option to finish the repair work after we finish our business

on Theta, but it would be more costly for us because it would remain

anchored at the dock for several days. Even if we finish the repairs

before descending, it would still need to remain anchored until we

manage to sell it off. So that's why it's better to get rid of it before

anything else."

Tina, Mimi, and Whisker each gave their own points regarding the

handling of the large-class pirate ship we captured.

"Alright then. We'll schedule our descent after three days. Sorry about

this Tina, Whisker. But if it's possible, I want you guys to finish the

repair work in two days. You can go ahead with the sale procedures

now Mimi, and I want you to work together with Tina and Whisker so

you can go about it more efficiently."

"Yes!"

"Roger!"

"Understood."

"I'll adjust our descent schedule. We need to tell the authorities about

our planetary entry course among other things after all."

"Please do. We'll be descending with Black Lotus, so you need to

arrange a suitable landing spot as well. Consult with Mei and work out

a plan."

"Roger."

[Understood.]

"And as for me... Uh, actually, what should I do anyway?"

I've allocated the work to my crew members, leaving me with

practically nothing to do.

"We'll consult with you if anything unexpected happens, so just sit

around like a lazy boss for the meantime. But don't wander around

outside the ship if you can help it. You might attract even more trouble

after all."

"Okay…"

I decided to just obey what Elma said. I'm a good boy after all.

"Hmm, hmhm, hmmm♪"

I was a good boy, so I decided not to go out of the ship like I was told.

What Elma was probably worried about was me meeting up with Tinia,

Nect, or some of the other elves we rescued if I walked around the

colony and got into another round of unnecessary trouble.

Therefore, the best solution was to not go out of the ship. Umu. It makes

a lot of sense, actually.

That's why I'm staying put inside the ship. But wouldn't it be safe to go

out along with a ship instead? Specifically, I think it would be fine to

sortie with Krishna and hunt down pirates a little bit, right?

Yep. I'll go out with Krishna, round up some pirates, and kill time in the

process. I'll be able to earn some money too. And the people of the Refill

system can rest easier once the number of pirates decreases. It's

perfect. Since I'll only be active in outer space where there are only

pirates flying around, I won't get caught up in any more strange

incidents involving the elves. Yeah, it's perfect, alright.

I was completely convinced of the theory from the bottom of my heart

and headed for Krishna's cockpit straight away.

"Good morning. You sure are up early."

"Morning. Actually, I just remembered something important."

I greeted Elma, who was actually lying in an ambush near Krishna's

cockpit, and turned around. Yosh. I didn't see anything. I didn't meet

anyone either. I'm an honest and well-behaved boy, so I'll just keep

quiet inside Black Lotus' break room. Cuz I'm a good boy, you see.

Um, I'm a good boy, so can you, like, let go of my arm already? M-My

shoulder! T-That hurts! Please forgive me, Elma-san! Mercy!

"That's the gist of the dream I had."

I relayed the contents of my weird dream while holding my aching

shoulder. Tina and Whisker, who just returned inside the ship for lunch,

glared at me in admonishment.

"Big brother, can you not try to increase our workload at the last

minute?"

"Or rather, it looks like it ain't just a dream. You're really being

monitored, y'know."

Mei silently stood behind me. She wasn't exactly keeping an eye on me

guys. She was just doing her usual routine and following after me.

"Or rather, this isn't really like you, big brother. Just where is all that

overflowing passion coming from anyway?"

"The coercive force of the universe?"

"You're not actually thinking you want something interesting to happen,

are you?"

"Haha. Of course not… Probably."

Actually, instead of worrying about all that 'trouble magnet' stuff, I just

wanna kick some pirate and space monster behind! That's all! But

judging from the flow of the conversation, I should probably just keep

my mouth shut. Yeah. Even if I have that 'trouble magnet' quality or

something, doesn't a hundred percent proc rate sound rather

unreasonable?

Eh? In the first place, basing our actions on metaphysical or occultsounding stuff is already quite ridiculous, you say? No, just think about

it guys. After getting thrown into this dimension, it's been trouble after

trouble. It's like trouble's always hounding me y'know. We're not

talking about something that happened just once or twice. It's

happened four or five times already. Mimi and Elma, who have been

together with me the longest, must have the same impression.

"Just obediently stay put, Boss. In any case, I'm sure something will

happen once we get to the planet anyway."

"Ah, you feel like that too huh, Tina."

"Well, ever since we left the Brad system, you've gotten yourself

involved with stuff like battles with crystal monsters, the imperial

family, and power struggles between nobles, big brother..."

"Even if we managed to pull through with your skills every time, don't

ya think it's still a bit too much, Boss...?"

The dwarven sisters gave me sympathetic gazes from the left and right.

Hahaha, please stop looking at me with eyes like that guys. It kinda

hurts y'see. But as long as you guys are with me, we're in the same lot.

So let's do our best together eh? Right? I ain't gonna run away from

anything! I say bring it!

And I spent my time together with the mechanic sisters while being

watched over by Mei.