Encounter

"Uu–… My clothes…"

"You'll just spread the stains even more if you fiddle with it like that, Big

Sis…"

In the end, the soup of the curry udon-like meal splattered onto Tina's

clothes, and she was now fiddling with it with teary eyes. That mess

will be really difficult to clean up normally. Well, this world does have

high-tech washing machines, so I suppose there won't be a problem.

And if it still doesn't come off, she can always cry to Mei for help. Mei

will probably find a way.

「Since Tina's clothes are already like that, shall we go back now?」

"Right. I wanted to look around the entertainment facilities too, but I

can just do that next time. There's no need to hurry anyway. I guess it's

better to head back for today."

I think we've done more than enough sightseeing for the day since

we've already visited shops selling interesting wares and ate at the

large food court. We'll be staying inside the supply mothership

Dauntless for a while, so we'd naturally be able to familiarize ourselves

with its interior layout eventually.

"Here are some shots I took today."

"Oh–…"

As I discussed about going back with Elma, Kugi's eyes sparkled as

Mimi showed her the pictures the latter took. It looks like she snapped

some shots using her tablet terminal while we were eating. Mimi has a

habit of snapping pictures of the food she eats for the first time and

collecting said pictures. Apparently, she took pictures of Tina slurping

up curry udon and Kugi eating inari sushi this time around. She also

gave up of taking a picture of Elma because the latter ordered a ton of

food.

"Did you not take a picture of My Lord as well?"

"Hiro-sama was eating ordinary fast-food meals so…"

Sorry for choosing a safe menu. I'll choose something more interesting

next time, so please forgive me, Ms. Gourmet.

We left the large food court and entered the commercial block again.

"Somehow, the atmosphere is…"

"It's become pretty tense."

Just like Elma said, you could cut the sense of tension within the

commercial block with a knife. Lots of fully armed imperial marines

were roaming all over the place.

I caught sight of military police just like the ones who I encountered in

the armor shop sporting light combat armors and laser rifles, or rather,

laser carbines. However, they can be considered as the most lightly

equipped among the military guys present. There were also a lot of

marines wearing more standard combat armor and laser rifles. A good

half of them were sporting heavy power armor and weapons.

"Oi, oi, don't tell me there's been a mutiny or a coup d'etat…"

"Will ya quit saying stuff like that, Boss. It might actually come true…"

"Yeah. It's no joke if you're the one saying that stuff, Big Brother."

"How cruel. Well, it really doesn't feel like it's a coup."

Even though the military guys were heavily armed, they weren't giving

off any hostility. A battle probably hasn't broken out. But if that's the

case, just what exactly was going on?

"Master, I believe it would be best if we made our way out of this place

as soon as possible."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's get out of here."

After saying so, I started walking ahead of the others, but some soldiers

quickly approached me.

"Excuse me, but are you Captain Hiro?"

"Ah, yes."

It was over the moment I halted in place. Stocky military guys covered

from head to toe in power armor soon surrounded us. Uh, actually, it

was possible that there were females inside the power armors too, but

you really can't tell from their current outer appearances.

Or rather, what the heck is going on? What's up with those bulkylooking mace-like weapons? They were mounted on the waist hard

points of the soldier's power armors, but they seemed like they were

put together in a hurry. But even so, they were plenty intimidating. If

those things got swung with the strength of power armors, they could

easily turn someone into meat paste in one blow.

"What's your business with me? I don't remember doing something that

warrants being surrounded like this–"

"You simply passed by at a good time."

I was just about to protest, but Col. Serena suddenly appeared. Now, I

really wanna run away from here. It's definitely going to be something

really troublesome.

"…What brings you here, Colonel?"

"Oh, we're just conducting a crackdown operation. We're trying to

check if dangerous artifacts are being hidden around the area."

"I see. That sounds rough. Please do your best."

"You managed to cut down something quite interesting in the Windas

Tertius colony, didn't you?"

I wanted to just cut the conversation off and leave, but Col. Serena

quickly interjected. I had an idea about what she was referring to. It's

probably that killer metallic spider.

Ah, I see? The dangerous artifact was probably that metallic spider huh.

Well, that thing certainly was troublesome. Laser and plasma weapons

didn't seem to be particularly effective against it, so it can be regarded

as the nemesis of the imperial marines who mainly employed such

weapons.

"You're well-informed as always, Colonel. Well, I did openly introduce

myself to those guys, so I guess it's natural."

Because we were in front of her subordinates, I responded to her in a

more polite manner. Since I'm already an honorary noble now, I actually

didn't need to mind stuff like this as much, but she's still my current

employer. And she's a colonel after all.

"I was able to make my own guesses regarding the matter, but I actually

didn't get anything significant out of those guys I encountered. They

kept harping on about the matter being classified. So I didn't withhold

information from you in bad faith, Colonel. I had no choice but to keep

my mouth shut."

"I know. Well, that's fine. How was it? I already looked up the relevant

data, but I'd like to hear from you directly."

"Oh, you wanna know about my experience cutting that thing down? It

was hard, but probably not as hard as super-heavy metals. It felt more

like cutting through a battleship's standard armor plate. It was

incredibly resistant to laser and plasma attacks, so I think physical

weapons might be more effective against it compared to thermo-optical

weapons. I told those guys I encountered as much."

"I see… Then, do you think this thing will be useful against it?"

After saying so, Col. Serena pointed toward the crude-looking blunt

weapon mounted on a power armor's waist.

"I think most things would get scrapped if you hit them with those

chunky rods using power armors… How did you guys come up with

something like that anyway?"

"We analyzed the remains of that thing and hastily prepared these as an

immediate countermeasure. Just like you said, it was less resistant to

physical attacks compared to laser and plasma. However, I didn't think

I'd actually need to equip my subordinates with something as primitive

as a metal pole in this interstellar era…"

After saying so, Col. Serena rubbed her brows as if she was having a

headache. The soldiers around her chuckled dryly. Yeah, I get that. It did

seem awkward for soldiers used to fighting with laser and plasma

weapons to suddenly get provided with blunt weapons made out of

battleship armor material instead.

"You didn't consider providing them with blades similar to this?"

I slapped the hilt of the sword hanging on my waist, but Col. Serena

shook her head in response.

"They might seem relatively simple, but swords like ours are still

products infused with the latest cutting-edge technology and precious

materials. Procuring a dozen might be doable, but hundreds or

thousands are another story altogether. Besides, swords can't be used

effectively without corresponding sword skills and training. You should

be aware of this already, correct?"

"That's true."

The swords wielded by nobles and I are edged weapons, so you can't

just cut stuff with them without any proper training. They are certainly

tremendously sharp, but if you don't wield them properly, they might

chip or even break if you mess up. I haven't personally experienced

breaking my sword though.

"With laser and plasma weapons, soldiers seldom engage in close

quarters combat after all… And now, they suddenly got provided with

melee weapons."

"Right. And with power armors, we don't even need any weapons to

deal with flesh-and-blood opponents."

The force generated by a full-power blow from a power armor's limb is

more than enough to kill a person. It's like getting slammed head-on by

a speeding car.

"That's about all that I can say about the matter. We'll get going then,

Colonel."

"Are you not going to help out?"

"I'm sorry, but I'd like to excuse ourselves from this."

Colonel Serena brightly smiled in a teasing manner. There's no way I'd

wanna encounter another murderous metallic spider. Just what the

heck is she on about? Besides, I'm not even wearing my ninja power

armor right now. I do think I'd be able to win against that sort of

opponent even without power armor, but I have no intention of taking

such a risk. I mean, what would I do if my flawless skin gets scratched

or something?

"Tsk… Well, that's fine. But you're going to have to properly deal with

pirates from tomorrow onward, alright?"

"Aye, ma'am!"

I gave her a crisp salute. I'll just pretend that the tongue-click didn't

happen. Or rather, just what did she expect? The contract was for

dealing with space pirates with my ships. Dealing with unknown

artifacts or hostile aliens wasn't part of the job scope.

"Well then, we'll excuse ourselves now–"

The moment I tried to leave, red and green flashes suddenly lit up the

commercial block. At the same time, explosive sounds generated by

high-power lasers impacting objects and heat particular to plasma

weapons surged forth.

"G*ddammit!"

"That was quite vulgar, Captain Hiro."

"Excuse me."

Someone's terrified shriek and smashing sounds echoed out. Before

long, a familiar killer metallic spider appeared from behind a store a

little further away from our position.

And there were three of them.

"Sh*t!"

"Mind your language, Colonel Serena."

"Excuse me."

As I bantered with Col. Serena, I quickly drew the swords from my

waist. This was outside the contract, but it wasn't good to leave Col.

Serena to her own devices in this situation. It would leave a bad taste

on my mouth.

"Mei, please support us. Take care of the others, Elma."

"Understood."

"Roger."

It would be nice if I didn't need to fight. But I suppose that's an

impossible wish at this point. The moment I tried to get away from Col.

Serena, this situation happens. As usual, my destiny is playing a

dangerous prank on me again.