"Ahahahaha! You sure caused a big mess the night before yesterday and this morning huh."
The next day. What greeted me when I visited Dr. Shouko in the lab was her laughing in my face.
"It's no laughing matter y'know... Were you okay last night, Dr. Shouko?"
"I was running tests on the prototype psionic displacer at the time y'see. Me and Mr. Wells were too absorbed in the research so we didn't even notice the big fuss going on outside."
"Thankfully, we managed to make sure that the prototype works as intended as a result."
After saying so, Mr. Wells shrugged his shoulders. I couldn't sense any feeling of regret emanating from him. Was Mr. Wells not interested in Dr. Shouko in that way? I think Dr. Shouko was plenty beautiful though.
Someone came inside the lab while the three of us were chatting. Oh, it was actually Capt. Serena and Lt. Robbitson. I see. So their presence feels like this huh? I've taken note of it. By the way, why was Capt. Serena giving off such a ferocious aura? Not only did she look like she would pull her sword at any moment, but veins also popped up on her forehead. Hey, smile Captain. Smile.
"If you say something unnecessary, I'm gonna jam a plasma grenade inside your mouth and sew it shut."
"Aye, aye, ma'am!"
It really looked like she would attack me if I fooled around, so I just saluted obediently. What was she so angry about? Well, I guess there's only one possible reason huh?
"If you have an excuse, then out with it."
"About what, exactly? –Uh, I also had a hard time during the incident the night before yesterday and this morning you know."
I wasn't lying. I had to deal with Kugi the night before yesterday and then had to take on everyone except for Mei afterward. I was 'fighting it out' with Elma and the others until early this morning.
"...So, you're saying you didn't cause that incident?"
"I'm not a criminal, and it's unthinkable for me to intentionally cause an incident like that."
I spoke with a very serious and sincere expression. I didn't lie. I just didn't tell the whole truth.
Capt. Serena stared at my face in suspicion but eventually sighed as if she'd given up.
"Right, of course, you wouldn't go that far... I'm sorry. I was just too worked up due to the incident."
"...You guys in the Restalias, or rather, the Independent Mobile Anti-pirate Fleet sure had a lot to deal with huh."
"Indeed... Fortunately, everything was settled as mere incidents. They didn't escalate to the level of a serious case... Yes, indeed."
I wasn't really sure about the criteria they use to classify stuff as incidents and serious cases though. Did they differentiate them through the inclusion of criminal intent or inherent risk? In any case, good for them.
Now, I just need to make sure not to admit that we were the cause. At worst, I'd probably get detained as a result. It was something akin to hypnotic terrorism after all. I wouldn't have had to worry if it was contained within my ship, but I'd be lucky if I just get slapped with a fine since we made a mess of the entire interior of the Dauntless.
"Oya? What's wrong, Kugi-kun? You're sweating buckets y'know?"
"N-No, it is nothing."
Kugi's complexion was pale as she got drenched in cold sweat. Kugi-san? Can you tone down your reaction, please? You completely look like the guilty party y'know?
"..."
Capt. Serena's gaze turned suspicious once more. No, no, no, we don't know anything.
"Sorry, Kugi. I talked so openly about it... I need to dispel the suspicions toward us after all."
"I-It's fine, My Lord."
It was a delicate topic, so I signaled Capt. Serena with my eyes so she wouldn't pry too much. She glared back at me in a displeased manner, but Capt. Serena still had no business prying into the personal affairs of me, Kugi, and the other crew members. It was quite personal after all. So I didn't care no matter how much she glared at me.
By the way, my companion today was only Kugi. The mechanic sisters were exhausted and felt lazy due to yesterday's stuff. Mimi and Elma had no business in the lab in the first place, and Mei needs to stay and manage the Lotus.
"...Alright, fine. We've managed to completely quell the uproar, so we'll be leaving in 12 hours. The Screech Owls will be accompanying us as guides."
"Roger. Well, we better prepare for departure then. Let's go back to the ship, Kugi."
"Yes, My Lord."
I actually wanted to ask if the spheres were affected by the pink-colored mental waves that I and Kugi unleashed and whether or not they displayed some abnormal behavior afterward, but I missed my chance. Well, neither Dr. Shouko nor Mr. Wells mentioned anything about it, so I suppose there weren't any notable changes. I'll ask them properly next time.
"So, we're finally going huh."
Elma muttered while displaying a slightly languid atmosphere, perhaps because she still hasn't completely recovered from yesterday's 'exercises'. However, her skin was smooth and shiny though. It didn't really look like she was sick at all.
"Um, why is Kugi-chan getting smaller and smaller over there, Hiro-sama?"
Mimi, who was sitting in a corner of the break space, asked worriedly as she looked at Kugi who was sitting on the floor while holding her knees in front of the terrarium.
"Oh, uh–... Y'know. It's about what happened the night before yesterday."
"The pink-colored poisonous mental waves?"
"Can you stop calling it that already? But yeah, it's about that. It leaked out there because we didn't put up any countermeasures, right?"
"Right."
"That stuff is treated as an embarrassing thing in the Holy Vuelzarus Empire too, but basically, you can get away with it if you can properly justify yourself, and you wouldn't get ostracized for it."
"Oh–... I see."
Elma, who realized what was going on with Kugi, displayed a bitter smile.
"And, well, it's actually treated as an act of terrorism here in the Graccan Empire. So, on top of doing that without considering the consequences too much, she's feeling down because it could have led to me getting in trouble with the authorities here."
"I see... It does seem like a bit of a terrorist act."
Kugi's ears, which were drooping down, suddenly stood up. Maybe it was due to Whisker's comment.
"It's alright, Kugi. There's no evidence anyway, and even if they're suspicious of us, it's impossible to prove our guilt. It's a different story if they have an interrogation method that can directly pry into what's in our heads, but they won't do anything drastic with just some unfounded suspicions."
Unless you were a dangerous criminal such as a space pirate, you won't be subjected to methods that can directly hack into your brain and dredge your memories. And after all, the Dauntless apparently doesn't have any equipment related to psionics, so our crime – if it can really be called a crime – probably won't get found out.
"But y'know, you'd get in trouble sooner or later if you keep doing stuff like that."
"It's probably fine already. I think."
I should be able to control it if I trained properly with Kugi for a bit. She did say the amount of potential that's flowing out of me has sharply decreased after my 『eye』 was opened.
"Anyway, we'll be heading out soon, so make sure you're in your best physical condition, everyone."
"I understand that, but... Come to think of it, you sure look pretty energetic huh."
"Yeah. I'm somehow full of energy today."
Elma, Mimi, Tina, and Wiska seemed to be quite tired after yesterday's romp, but I seemed to be fine for some reason. I wonder if this was also due to me taking control of my psionic powers. Did it also have an effect on physical strength and stamina?
"We need to prepare for leaving port, but we've already finished replenishing our supplies and performing maintenance on our ships, so there's basically nothing left to do. If you have that much energy, then go comfort Kugi and spend time with Mei. We'll be fine here."
"Roger that."
Lifting up the mood of one's maidroid partner might seem like a strange concept to a lot of the people in this world, but I owe a lot to Mei after all. That's why I make sure not to make light of her company. In any case, I'll cheer Kugi up first, then go and see Mei.
Recently, I accompanied Kugi and the others to the lab while Mei had to stay behind, so I wasn't able to spend much time with the latter. She also needed to look after Black Lotus these past two days, so she wasn't able to join the rest of us. That's why I have to make it up to Mei.