"Master, may I enquire as to what is wrong? You seem lethargic."
"...Nah, it's good. We're on track. That's already good enough progress for today. It's fine..." Milanor apathetically replied as he leaned against the headrest.
They were inside the personal shuttle that was stored inside Helios' hangar. Unlike the ship itself, it wasn't custom-made, but rather a mass-produced variant popular in the Empire's market.
The shuttle was already there in that huge storage area when he picked up the ship. Evidently, his parents were the ones who put it there. The Enterprise Type-4 Royce Flyer, as its model was named.
Built by the megacorporation Enterprise based on the inner world of Edinburg, it was the newest and most advanced interplanetary shuttle at the time Helios was built.
Capable of seating a maximum of twelve—pilot and co-pilot included—it was compact, lightweight, fast, and most importantly, sturdy.
Shaped like a long symmetrical trapezoid, it featured a rather sharp nose and small stabilizer wings on its sides (which can be folded for easier storage). It had a durable carbon-composite plating and extreme heat-resistant alloy to protect itself in the event of emergency planetary entry.
But the most baffling thing about this piece of aerospace technology wasn't even part of its original design.
For some reason, there was a 30mm Phaser rotary cannon installed under the nose. The kind of armament that would not be out of place in a military dogfighter launched from a carrier.
Why it was put there Milanor had no tiniest clue. Miledi said it was something his father arbitrarily decided.
Apparently, Madame Milestone wasn't the only maniac in the family. Both of them were birds of a feather. Perhaps that was the reason why they were attracted to each other in the first place.
Fortunately or unfortunately, their kid didn't have as much disposition toward eccentricity as themselves.
Or maybe that was something only Milanor believed. Couldn't very well ask the others who knew himself about how weird was he in their eyes, either.
All that said, dealing with that fraudulent port manager took a lot out of him. Mentally and financially. He had to reassure Naya several times that it was a necessary expense but… He was starting to doubt himself after several additional card-givings.
"Hah… At least we got solid clues for all of that," Milanor said as he took the key card that the giant bloke gave him before they left the port. The letters said it was for storage area B.
"We are heading to the central port, correct? Master, sir, what exactly will we be doing there?" Miledi asked. Just like in Helios, she piloted the shuttlecraft from the small cockpit on the front.
"I'm not too sure myself… He said the professor left him something. I'd place a bet that it'll lead us to learn what the professor was up to here."
"I see. I understand the situation. That is why you said to bring out the shuttle?"
"Yeah. Better than relying on those shady transport services they have here…" He peeked from a side window outside.
The local buses were all looking quite derelict and frankly ready to break apart at any moment. Milanor wasn't sure whether they were even air-worthy anymore. And it wasn't in his nature to want to find that out personally.
"Looking at them makes me feel like that awful relay bus back in Runanthor was a luxury ride… You agree with me right, Naya?" he called out to her.
She was sitting across from his seat and herself looking through the passing view outside.
So engrossed in the act that she didn't seem to hear him calling at first. "Naya? What got you so hooked up?" Milanor moved next to her and tried to see the same view himself.
It was nothing different than the one from the other side. The downtrodden residents went about their days in this suffocating-looking, reddish city.
The whole planet was rated Class D, and that meant all of the city gave the same atmosphere as the worst kind of slums on any of the other habitable planets.
"...Weird view, huh? I didn't expect you would find this that shocking… Lots worse than Runanthor, sure, but… Similar theme, I think?" the freelancer said.
If she came directly from the likes of Avalon, this would be like comparing the lives of a king and a homeless beggar. But though Runanthor had some semblance of luxury, it wasn't devoid of the struggles of the, uh… peasants.
Milanor didn't think this would be that much of an eye-opener.
"…Huh? Ah, no… I'm just wondering what she was searching for in this place…" Naya finally responded.
"She? The professor?" He wasn't sure why he needed to ask that. It was obvious who she was talking about.
"Mm. Just like me, she came from Avalon. What's more, she went straight here only after just three months of living in Runanthor," she said. "What was she thinking, when she first landed here…? I've been wondering about that."
"Ah…" Milanor could understand where she was getting at. He didn't grow up as a rich, spoiled kid, but his parents were successful enough that he was living the good life back then, even as a family of spacers.
You could say he was part of the lucky portion of the vast galactic population.
He couldn't remember clearly when was the first time he went into a Class D planet. Probably at one of the times when his dad brought him all over the place as part of his freelancing work.
Milanor was sure that he was quite stunned by some kind of culture shock, perhaps a very overwhelming experience for a little brat like him.
What she said made him realize something.
The professor… Naya never told them why they moved to Runanthor in the first place. It was hard to imagine any reasons involving lifestyle.
Avalon was several atmospheres higher in quality than somewhere like that asteroid colony. Heaven and earth, as some portion of the populace would say.
The only reason he could think of would be… money issue. But Milanor quickly dismissed such speculation when he reminded himself that he had that exact problem now and she was the one currently solving it.
'But then why…?' he wondered. For that matter, how did she know a high-profile individual like the daughter of the President of the Imperial Society? What was their relationship? And most importantly…
'Just who is she…?'
The person he'd been speculating about in his mind kept staring at the passing view, completely unaware of his musings.
Seemed like it would take a while to reach their destination in this congested traffic. Milanor decided to take the plunge and broached the subject, with the excuse of killing the time ready to be issued at any moment.
"Can I ask something?" he began.
"…Hm?" Naya turned her head when she was poked in her shoulder. "What?"
"What made you come here? Runanthor, I mean," he asked her straight. "I'm pretty sure that place… uh, these places got some issues you won't find in the imperial capital. Why took the trouble?"
Naya narrowed her eyes as soon as he finished. Milanor expected that response, however. She had been quite secretive ever since they met just yesterday.
"Hmm… Don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Just slight curiosity, that's all."
He turned away and again rested his head against the headrest. As he was about to close my eyes to relax, she said, "You ever heard of the Last Treasure?"