This Ain’t an Interrogation Okay

After unpacking our stuff, we went to the living room to relax. A short

while after, Mei and Kugi-chan arrived at the penthouse through the

private elevator.

"Welcome back. Your room is beyond that door over there, so unpack

your things inside first."

"Yes, My Lord. Thank you very much."

Kugi-chan politely bowed to me before entering the room i pointed to.

The luggage she brought with her only consisted of a single clothwrapped parcel. It was quite small. It's like she was traveling with

almost no other possessions other than the clothes on her back.

"Mei?"

"Yes, I shall now give my report. In conclusion, the probability of her

being a genuine citizen and official priestess of the Holy Vuelzarus

Empire is almost 100%."

"You do have enough of a basis for that evaluation, right?"

If Mei says it's almost 100%, then she should have a solid basis.

"Yes. First of all, she downplayed the matter earlier by saying that the

place she lodged in was merely a small embassy of the holy empire, but

it was actually what you'd call a temple or cathedral. I checked the

facility's construction records and confirmed that it is officially

registered as property of the Holy Vuelzarus Empire's main governing

body. At the very least, the Graccan Empire recognizes their claim on it."

"In other words, the chances of her being an unscrupulous scammer or

a collaborator of outlaws are slim."

"That appears to be the case."

"I see… So I suppose we should treat her as the genuine article huh."

I expected that about 70 or 80% of it was BS, but to think it was most

likely real. Well, this sure is awkward… Now I wasn't sure just how far I

should entertain her. Given what she said about her duty, she's probably

planning to be with me for life huh? Don't you think that's too heavy a

responsibility?

I glanced at Mimi who was sitting next to me. She seemed to be thinking

about something with a troubled expression on her face. Un, how cute.

No, that's not it dammit!

'Nn–…"

Now that we've confirmed her claims, I didn't know how to react except

for groaning in worry. I mean, that girl just suddenly offered her entire

body, heart, and soul to me y'know. It's true that Kugi-chan was cute,

but I honestly already had my hands full. There's Mimi, Elma, Mei, and

recently, Tina and Whisker. I think I'm already way over my head by

laying my hands on five girls, but… Well, I've already gone and done it,

so I guess worrying was just natural. I suppose I'll just go with the flow

like always then.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. It was a very beautiful room… I

honestly feel it's a bit too much for someone like me."

"Just try to get used to it. We're almost always going around like this

after all."

"If that is your wish, My Lord."

After saying so, Kugi-chan let her gaze wander around with an

embarrassed expression on her face. I was currently sitting in the

middle of the sofa in the living room with Mimi to my right. Elma was to

my left. There were no longer any spaces where she could squeeze

herself in.

"Over here, Kugi-chan."

"Go ahead and sit here."

When the mechanic sisters, who were sitting on another sofa right

across from us, made some space and called her over, Kugi-chan went

and sat down between them with a grateful expression.

"First, let's work on establishing a mutual understanding of one

another, Kugi-chan. So let's do some quick introductions. I'm Hiro. I

often introduce myself as Captain Hiro. I'm a mercenary affiliated with

the Mercenary Guild and am ranked Platinum, which is basically the

highest rank you can achieve as a mercenary. I played an active role in

several high-profile jobs for the Graccan Empire and was awarded a

medal of honor as a result, along with getting recognized as a FirstClass citizen. Also… Err, was there anything else I missed?"

"Master has gained peerage as an honorary viscount of this empire and

was awarded the prestigious First-class Star Cross medal."

"I see. As expected of My Lord."

I'm not sure what exactly she'd supposedly understood from all that,

but it did look like she already gained her own personal impression of

my various achievements and was impressed.

"I'll go next then. I'm Elma. As you can see, I'm an elf. I'm also a

mercenary affiliated with the Guild like Hiro. I'm a Silver ranker. Due to

a number of reasons, I'm now working together with Hiro here. I'm his

partner, basically."

"Partners in both a public and private sense, mind you."

"Now look here… No, I suppose that's true. Since we're gonna be living

together from now on, I guess there's no point in hiding it. Just like Hiro

said, we're partners. Not just as fellow mercenaries but as lovers as

well."

It looked like Elma got embarrassed by openly saying we were lovers.

Her ears became bright red. I was getting an impulse to touch them, but

I'm sure she'll give my flank a killer pinch if I did so, so I held myself

back.

"I see. I understand."

It was quite a bold and straightforward introduction, yet Kugi-chan still

nodded in response without even batting an eyelid.

Hmm? It's kinda different from what I was expecting her reaction to be

like. I expected her to at least act somewhat more perplexed after

hearing about the stuff regarding male-female relationships.

"I'll go next then. I'm Mimi. I owe Hiro-sama my life and am now staying

by his side as a ship operator. I also handle trading and procuring loot

and supplies. Also, I'm officially Hiro-sama's legally-wedded wife. His

wife, okay."

It's important so she said it twice eh? I get that. And then, Mimi

proceeded to press closely onto me and hug my arm tightly. Un, my

right arm is experiencing pure bliss. But it looks like Mimi's acting all

wary of Kugi-chan huh. Her reaction this time is kinda similar to how

she acted when we first met Mei.

"Yes, I shall address you as Mimi-sama then. I will be in your care."

Kugi-chan acted quite calmly again and took Mimi's self-introduction in

stride with a gentle smile on her lips. Un, I don't get it. I really don't get

it. Apparently, Mimi felt much the same way I did and displayed a

somewhat disappointed expression on her face.

"Hm, it should be Mei-san next, right?"

"I am Master's exclusive maidroid. Nothing more and nothing less.

Therefore, I think there is no need to give a lengthy introduction."

"Is that so? We'll be goin' next then. Sup, I'm Tina. This is my twin sister,

Whisker. I'm the older sister by the way. We're employed by Space

Dwerg, and due to company orders, we're working as mechanics for

Boss right now. Me and Whee here are also Boss's mistresses!"

"B-Big Sis…!"

Whisker's face turned red as a ripe tomato after hearing Tina's rather

bold and open introduction, and the latter only laughed nonchalantly in

response.

"I see. In other words, all of you are receiving the favor and affection of

My Lord."

"F-Favor… Well, I suppose you can put it that way, yeah."

Now that Kugi-chan pointed it out, I really went and did quite an

outrageous thing, didn't I? It would take one heck of a miracle to pull

something like this off back on Earth without any resulting messy

complications. Was it due to that peculiar sense of values that applied

to those living long-term inside starships that I wasn't really clear on? It

all does feel kinda strange and mysterious, doesn't it?

"How wonderful. The balance of this world is being kept stable thanks

to all of you. I hope I will be able to partake in those efforts in the future

as well."

Kugi-chan said some incomprehensible stuff and clasped her hands

together, as if in prayer. She then bowed her head.

"""???"""

We all tilted our heads to the side because we just couldn't make sense

of her recent words and actions. What do Mimi and the other's

relationships with me have to do with keeping the world in balance or

whatever? Just what the heck was this girl saying?

"In other words, thanks to all of you, My Lord has not fallen to a

negative state, so the current situation is preserved."

"I don't get it at all. I honestly didn't understand a word you've said."

"Simply put, everyone's existence has become essential for My Lord. It

is because everyone is with you that you are able to be your current

self, My Lord. And it is because of My Lord they were able to become

their current selves as well."

"Basically, you're saying our relationship with Hiro was something

predestined, am I correct? Are the teachings of the Holy Vuelzarus

Empire's faith system centered around fatalism?"

Elma furrowed her brows as she analyzed Kugi-chan's words. Fatalism

huh… I didn't really like it since it kinda felt like people would just look

at the results and simply dismiss everything as fate or something. If

there really was some sort of uber-mystical scroll that records all past,

present, and future events, then I suppose that would fly somehow, but

if something as ridiculous as that doesn't exist in the first place, then it's

gonna be like the chicken or the egg dilemma huh?

"It's not like I'm not interested at all in all this philosophical and

metaphysical talk, but let's shelve those for now. I suppose that should

be about it for introductions, right? So let's move on to a simple

question session next. Just a casual chat."

"I see. So you are going to interrogate a newcomer like me now, are

you? I do not mind. I have nothing to hide."

I shook my head in denial and looked straight at Kugi-chan who was

displaying a completely obedient attitude.

"It's not an interrogation, okay? We're just gonna have a chat. We're not

all that familiar with the Holy Vuelzarus Empire, so I was thinking or

asking you all about it. Since we're gonna be living with you from now

on Kugi-chan, it's an existence we can't possibly ignore, right?"

"I see. That really might be the case. We do not require anything from

you My Lord, but if knowing more about us will be of help to you, then,

by all means, feel free to ask. And My Lord, please address me simply as

Kugi. I'm not that young anymore, so being called 'chan' is a bit–"

"That so? Well, if that's what you want, Kugi. Now then, can you tell us

more about the Holy Vuelzarus Empire?"

"Of course. Please ask away."

Kugi nodded confidently in response. Her confident look was pretty

cute.

"I've only heard this in passing, but they say the Holy Vuelzarus Empire

places great importance on being pure-blooded, and other races that

aren't deemed as pureblooded citizens are treated as slaves. If that's

true, then I believe we would have trouble getting along."

"That's just a big misunderstanding. There are certainly some who

value lineage among us, but we have no policy of rejecting other races

at all."

Kugi replied with a very serious expression. I see. Well, it was a pretty

distant country, so the rumors about it might really have been distorted

along the way and became removed from the actual reality of the

situation.

"Then what about slavery?"

"I think this misconception originated from others witnessing our

handling of prisoners who are undergoing the indoctrination program."

"Indoctrination program huh… It practically gives off dangerous vibes,

doesn't it?"

"U-Um, can you elaborate more about that…?"

Elma and Mimi started drawing away from Kugi as they nervously

asked questions. Un, I'd like to hear more about that as well. Depending

on how things go, I might find myself on the receiving end of such an

indoctrination program after all.

"I've heard that the participants of this program are taken from

problematic elements who commit unilateral incursion and aggression

against our country, such as terrorists and pirates. We inform them

about our great mission so they would not make such grave mistakes

again, and also offer them a chance at redemption by allowing them to

participate in our undertakings."

"Err, isn't that no different from brainwashing…?"

"In a sense, that might be the case, and it can't be helped. However,

sinning requires punishment. I think it is just proper for them to atone

for hindering our mission through their own actions. At the same time,

it is also important to impress upon them the importance of our

mission so that they will not make the same mistakes."

"It… does make some sense, I guess?"

Whisker tilted her head as she reacted to Kugi's assertions.

Well, they were just being made to take responsibility for getting in the

way and causing damages after all. And at the same time, they were also

being made to understand and eventually sympathize with the thoughts

of their captors. It does seem somewhat appropriate for dealing with

problematic elements like hostile parties and pirates, I guess? It feels

like I'm just trying to convince myself here.

"In the case of this empire, captured pirates are either sentenced to life

imprisonment or subjected to human experimentation, so Vuelzarus

does seem comparatively more humane, right…?"

"Pirates are fine… but what about the prisoners from other countries?"

"I guess that would depend on the treaties between countries fer the

handlin' of war prisoners or somethin'."

"According to what we've heard, it doesn't seem to be as scary a country

as what the rumors paint it out to be, don't you think?"

"It's probably due to the differences in racial and national customs… It's

a nation that apparently has no intention of expanding its territory and

actively supports other nations in dealing with threats and disasters

such as space monster attacks. It can be said to be a fairly mildmannered nation, but it also places emphasis on pure lineages and

racial exclusivity. Its reputation regarding dealing with other races is

that of a very rigid and strict country. Actually, apart from our usual

notion of a country, it can also be regarded as a nation completely led

by a single sovereign race."

"We do not place as much importance on pure bloodedness as others

might think, and we also do not subscribe to the idea of exclusionism.

However, we have a solemn and important mission to fulfill and are

united in working toward it, but other races, unfortunately, do not

possess such a sense of duty toward our cause."

After hearing Elma's summary, Kugi reasserted her viewpoints with a

resolute attitude. In the end, I suppose the reason why the citizens of

the Holy Vuelzarus Empire like Kugi were seen as a closed and exclusive

race was due to this so-called mission and the single-minded attitude of

the populace toward it.

"I think I've gained some understanding regarding your home country

now, so let's leave it at this. Anyway, let's take a break for today. I'm

rather tired, so I'll just rest up while looking up info on lightweight

power armor models to decide which shop we'll visit tomorrow. Either

way, it would take some time for them to prep the Antlion for delivery

and complete the refurbishment of Black Lotus, so let's take it easy for

now guys."

"Right. Kugi… Can I call you that?"

"Yes. Please call me anything you'd like."

"Thank you. Anyway, since we'll be living and working together from

now on, I believe we should work on getting to know each other better,

and I also agree on taking it easy for now. You're fine with that, right,

everyone?"

Mimi and the mechanic sisters nodded in agreement to Elma's words.

Mei remained silent, but that just meant she had no objections either.

"That's it then. Let's get some grub first, shall we? It should be about

time for lunch, right?"

The colony has no proper day and night cycles, but it's been a while

since I ate my last meal in the Lotus, so I was getting quite hungry. It's

not exactly like the proverb 'eating rice from the same pot', but having

meals together is still a nice way to facilitate communication between

our group.