Time to Decide on Our Next Stop– Or Not

"And so, I want to discuss our next destination with you guys now."

"Waa–"

After I confidently announced my plan, Mimi generously gave a round

of applause while displaying her sunny smile. I told our hosts we

needed to discuss some mercenary-related business so we'd have an

excuse to return to Black Lotus. Man, I really feel calmer and more

secure in the Lotus. Although staying in a classy hotel or traditional inn

does have its good points as well.

"You guys are really gonna let this slide just like that?"

"It's the same as usual, Big Sis. Don't think about it too much."

Thank you for clapping even though you have a sour look on your face,

Elma. You really are a good woman.

"Would it be alright for me to state my opinion about all this?"

"Of course. If you have any good suggestions, then go right ahead and

share them."

Of course, we'll decide on whether or not to accept the suggestion

depending on how the discussion goes from here, but the more options

on the table, the better.

"First, I have a rough idea about what our possible next course of action

should be. To put it simply, I want to upgrade our overall combat

capabilities."

"Combat capability upgrades huh... What do you have in mind

specifically, Hiro?"

"Honestly, I think upgrading Krishna itself would be difficult. There are

a lot of unknown technological black boxes crammed into it after all."

"That's true. We checked it out, but even the heavy laser cannons are

unique, so we'd face compatibility issues if we attempt to upgrade them

with parts currently available on the market. The only stuff we can

possibly upgrade would be the shard cannons and the reactive

torpedoes."

"We can only do stuff like replacin' the torpedo launcher on the lower

weapon bay to a seeker missile pod. Improvements to the shard

cannons depends on Boss's preferences. Upgradin' stuff like the shield

generator and chassis is a bit of a tall order fer us right now though."

"I don't think it's necessary to replace the torpedo launch tubes. There

would definitely be times where they'd be really useful after all."

We wouldn't be using them often, but those torpedoes are our ace in

the hole for going up against large-class ships after all. A seeker missile

pod would be pretty effective against small and medium-class targets,

but I can just deal with those using the shot cannons and heavy laser

cannons.

"So I guess it's better to focus on upgrading the Black Lotus?"

"It would be difficult to find a better model to replace its EML, but I

want to at least upgrade the laser cannons and the shield generator to

military-grade ones."

"That really would increase Black Lotus's overall firepower. The power

generator's output can still take it anyway, so we can probably make it

work, Boss."

"It's all well and good to upgrade our mothership's firepower, but...

don't you guys think you'd be overspeccing it already if you did all of

that?"

"Eh? What did you say? Sorry, but I couldn't hear you."

So what if my ship's overspec'd? That's just how we gamers are, okay.

Well, I'm in reality instead of a game right now, but it's only natural for

a guy to want the best for his ship, right? Upgrade maniac? Sorry, but

those words aren't in my dictionary.

"Sure, it might be overspec'd against pirates, but it's not like our

opponents are limited to pirates."

"Well, I guess that's true. I'd had enough of fighting crystal lifeforms

though."

"We won't just be going up against space monsters you know. We might

also participate in conflicts with other nations."

"Will we?"

"It depends on the circumstances."

In fact, we already went up against the neighboring Vereverem

Federation in the Termaine system where I first met with Mimi and

Elma. We could have chosen to escape, of course. But at that time, we

were pretty desperate for cash. Now though... Well, if the star system

we find ourselves in is right in the middle of the conflict zone, it would

be quite dicey if we choose to escape on our own. I'm a Gold Star

recipient after all.

"Also, I'd like to buy a lightweight power armor that would allow me to

swing my swords around freely even while wearing it."

"...I thought you said you didn't want to fight in person anymore."

"I don't like it. But I'd probably die otherwise. I still don't like it one bit,

okay!"

This point was important, so I had to say it twice. There's been a rising

trend of me fighting in person lately. I absolutely don't wish for these

situations to happen, but they're happening anyway, so I had no choice

but to prepare countermeasures.

"In that case, shouldn't you have accepted Miriam-san's offer, Hirosama?"

"Magic training huh. Now, look here, Mimi. Just try picturing this."

Mimi inclined her head toward me.

"Fine. Let's suppose I learned and mastered how to use magic. She said

I had the potential to blow away an entire mountain, you know."

"Yes?"

"What would happen if that fact gets spread to the public?"

"Eh? Umm..."

Mimi pondered my question with wrinkled brows.

"If that happens, it's possible that the imperial military would go after

you?"

"Not just the military, Mimi. It's possible that the entire empire itself

would come after me. They might classify me as an extremely

dangerous element, and who knows what kind of shady stuff they'd pull

off to get me. Right now, they might recognize my combat capabilities as

extraordinary, but it's still within the range of common sense. Emphasis

on the 'still'. But what if I'm now able to blow away entire mountains

with my own power? In other words, I can actually blow up a colony on

my own if I wanted to. That's clearly way too abnormal already, right?"

If I demonstrated a power that rivals an anti-ship reactive torpedo

using my magic, then that would mean it was even possible for me to

take down a starship on my own, without using any weapons except my

mysterious powers. That means I could even sneak inside the imperial

palace to blow it up as well. I'm sure the empire would never allow such

a dangerous existence to drift around its territories like a stray dog. If I

was one of the empire's higher-ups, I'd use means to place a tight leash

on the said individual, and if that wasn't possible, I'd make sure to finish

him off no matter the cost.

"It does sound quite dangerous."

"That's the fate that's gonna befall me if I accept that special-grade

cursed item. That's why I'm desperately rejecting the thing."

While saying so, I glanced at the said special-grade cursed item that was

shining in a corner of the dining hall where we were currently having a

meeting. Could you stop flashing like crazy already? It's annoying.

"The power to blow away an entire mountain is too crazy, but

lightweight power armor's still within the bounds of common sense. At

the very least, it's an additional layer of safety whenever I fight in

person. I don't really wanna personally fight with unknown biological

weapons again though."

"But didn't you come out of that uninjured, Boss?"

"I didn't want to die and didn't even want to get injured, so I

desperately avoided their attacks. If I ever ate one attack from those

things, I'd get turned to minced meat."

I really wanna give myself a pat on the back for surviving that hellish

place. I really don't wanna go through something like that again.

"Well, that's how it is. Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is us heading to

a star system with highly developed tech next; preferably somewhere

specialized in military tech or a commercial hub where we can more

easily get our hands on cutting edge stuff."

"I see. Well, the nearest one would be the Garei system. It's exactly a

system with highly developed tech and specializes in military

technology. As for a commercial hub... It's a bit far from here, but

there's the Mira system."

"What if we used a gateway?"

If you made use of a gateway, you can move to a pretty distant star

system in practically an instant. The Graccan empire has built a highly

developed gateway network using a large number of gateways in their

vast territory. So if we use that, we'll be able to quickly reach distant

star system that normally require long travel times using hyperlanes.

"Ah, that's right. Um, in that case..."

In the middle of operating her tablet terminal, Mimi displayed a bitter

smile. What? What's wrong?

"In that case, what?"

"Um, if that's the case, then the imperial capital is the best choice."

"Absolutely no way!"

I don't wanna even come close to the imperial capital since I'd probably

get involved in something troublesome again if I do. Maybe I'd get

caught up in an assassination attempt on the emperor. Or maybe

Princess Luciada would get kidnapped and I'd be ordered to rescue her

or something. Anyway, I definitely don't want to get involved in

troublesome stuff like that.

"In that case, the Garei and Mira systems are the closest to us."

"I see. So we have two possible destinations now. Any other

suggestions?"

"We could head for a border conflict zone or a star system with

rampant pirate activity to earn more Enels, but we can do that after

upgrading our equipment first."

"I don't really have anythin' for ya Boss. How 'bout you, Whee?"

"Un, I also don't have any place in mind. And we can get to see plenty of

stuff if we head to a system specialized in high-end military tech."

It looks like Elma and the mechanic sisters didn't have any other

suggestions.

"Um, I'm kind of interested in going to a commercial hub... We can

probably find a lot of rare foodstuffs there after all."

"Fumu, that's true."

There's also a possibility of finding carbonated drinks if we head to a

commercial hub where various goods from all over the galaxy are

gathered and sold. Since we were able to find some carbonated stuff in

the Sierra system last time, it doesn't seem like they aren't being

distributed in the market at all. I'm not counting on finding some too

much though.

"Well then, I wonder where we should head over to."

We'd probably be able to get stuff for a cheaper price in the Garei

system since it specializes in developing and producing military tech.

We would find more options in the commercial hub, but the shipping

costs would increase the prices of the products accordingly. However,

we probably won't be able to find a lot of military-grade stuff in a

commercial hub. Individual merchants rarely get their hands on

military-grade products since companies sell them off to the military

directly.

"So if we want quality and reasonable prices, the Garei system would be

best. And if we want a wider selection, we should head for the Mira

system instead."

"Wouldn't it be fine if we just headed for the Mira system after finishing

our business in the Garei system?"

"Hm, that's true. It would be more efficient if we looked for things that

weren't available in the Garei system in the Mira system. It would also

be easier to gather some useful info in a commercial hub."

"Wow. You really sound like a mercenary operator now, Mimi."

"I'm constantly developing myself after all."

Mimi proudly stuck out her chest. Yep. They certainly are developing

well alright.

"Alright then. It looks like our next stop would be the Garei system–"

The moment I started wrapping the meeting up, my data terminal's

ringtone went off. Deden! It was a ringtone reminiscent of someone

eating a full-body kick or being hit with a baseball bat.

"T-This ringtone..."

I took out my data terminal from my jacket pocket and looked at the

screen in trepidation.

Yes. A name I absolutely didn't want to see was displayed on it.

"What's wrong, Hiro-sama?"

"Rather, what's up with that weird ringtone anyway...? Who is it?"

Since Elma asked, I held up my data terminal so everyone could have a

good look at the screen.

"Geh."

The moment Elma saw the name displayed on the screen, her

expression turned blatantly disgusted. Mimi also displayed a complex

expression. You couldn't tell what emotion she was feeling just by

looking at her face. The mechanic sisters made bitter smiles as they

looked up at the ceiling.

Yeah. Of course, she'd be here. A large-scale pirate group was currently

rampaging around these parts after all. I almost decided to ignore the

call altogether, but I was afraid of what she'd do if I did, so I gave up all

resistance and pressed the 'accept call' icon.

When I did so, the holo-display installed in the dining hall was

activated, and a hologram of a blonde beauty in a crisp, white military

uniform was projected from it. The ornate sword strapped to her dainty

waist clearly displayed her status as an imperial noble.

[Why, hello there, Captain Hiro. It's lovely to see you again.]

She displayed a beaming smile as she gave her greeting.

"...Ah, yes, right. Hello, Lt. Col. Serena."

This is gonna be something troublesome again. I'm sure of it. There's no

mistake.