"Uh, in other words, I'm the mysterious enigma, Captain Hiro! Or something like that."
After giving my answer with a quick thumbs-up, I noticed Captain Serena's eyes narrowing. Hoh boy. I have a bad feeling about this.
"You're still acting like that after all this time? Fine. I'm gonna cry. I'm gonna cry, okay? I'm gonna cry, scream, and roll around on the ground, alright? I'm gonna cry so hard that some of my crew members will probably hear me, and then they'll come to check the situation out, you know? Are you fine with that?"
After saying her piece, Captain Serena sat in a seiza position on the training room floor in one smooth motion. Hey, stop that, you idiot. You're really gonna do it, aren't you?
"Isn't it extremely cruel to hold not only my reputation but also my dignity hostage just in order to get me to fess up???"
This woman played quite a terrifying hand. Oh, Chris. What you said back then was true after all. I shouldn't let myself get stuck alone with a woman from a noble family.
However, telling my situation to Captain Serena huh...? I don't think she'll go around blabbering all over the place, and she's also an extremely stubborn woman. As you can see, she's a woman who wouldn't hesitate to do whatever it takes to get what she wants depending on the situation.
"Wait, wait. Calm down. Why do you want to know about it so much anyway? No matter what circumstances I'm under, it's not like we wouldn't be able to work together if you don't know about it, right? We've been working well together for a good while now, so there's really no need for you to force it."
"Are you seriously saying that? Really? Are you really not aware of my feelings and why I'm doing this?"
Captain Serena asked in a voice that sounded like it was coming from the very depths of hell, with her shoulders shaking pitifully.
Uh, well, there's no way one wouldn't figure it out when confronted with something like that... right?
"I mean, please understand my position as well. I've said this many times before, right? That it's impossible for you and I to enter into that kind of relationship. That's why it's better for the two of us to keep a good sense of distance from each other."
"..."
Don't just puff out your cheeks silently. It's a little cute though.
"It's nothing particularly interesting... Err, maybe not exactly that uninteresting, but nothing in particular will come out of you knowing about it, y'know? That's why there's no need for you to insist on finding out, okay?"
"Isn't it only natural to want to know more about the person you love?"
"Oh... You're giving it to me straight now, aren't you? Uh–... Hah."
I squatted down in front of the captain, who was still sitting in seiza, and let out a sigh while staring straight at her red pupils. It's troubling if she expresses her favor so directly like that. I'm weak to beautiful women y'know? But it's Captain Serena, see? There's a lot of troublesome baggage.
"You'll probably find a lot of men who are better than me out there, Captain."
"There may be as many men as the stars, but there's only one of you, right?"
"Quite the romantic, are we...? Well, I suppose I'm fine with telling you about me if it's just that much. However, I think you'll find a lot of it really absurd and nonsensical, y'know?"
After saying so, I stood up and led Captain Serena toward a bench set up against the wall of the training room.
The two of us sat down next to each other, and I wondered about where to begin my story.
"First, let's get the main point out of the way. I myself don't know who I truly am... Or rather, I don't fully understand my true identity and origin. However, Kugi, one of my crew members– Uh, she's from the Holy Vuelzarus Empire and is apparently a miko... Well, a priestess of sorts. Anyway, according to her, I'm actually a visitor from a completely different universe and dimension she calls the 'Upper World'."
"...?"
"Your expression is saying 'What the heck is this fellow talking about?' right now. Yeah, I get that. But it appears that those from the Holy Vuelzarus Empire have come into contact with multiple people in a situation similar to mine in the past. In fact, it seems that there are still people similar to me out there even now. I've even encountered one I suspect to be like me a while back."
The face of that red-haired b*tch flashed through my mind. No matter what happens, I probably wouldn't be able to get along with that damnable woman, but I wonder what she's up to these days? I don't wanna get involved with her at all, so it would be nice if her ship exploded in some faraway corner of the galaxy.
"...Well, alright. I understand. So? What's the deal with these visitors from another dimension?"
"According to Kugi, they seem to be beings housing incredible powers within them. Specifically, psionic powers. Actually, I do have them myself. Those powers are the reason why I can pull off crazy stuff without undergoing any enhancements."
"I see... Is it the same for your abnormal piloting techniques?"
"Nah. That's all skill."
"I actually find that more surprising though?"
"Why? Anyone can pull those off with enough practice."
Why are you looking at me like that? You can! Anyone can do them with enough hard work! Don't just give up without giving it a try!
"Anyway, I've been receiving psionic power training under Kugi lately. It's increased my hidden cards quite a bit."
While saying so, I took out my portable data terminal from my pocket, concentrated, and held it up. Then, the portable info terminal started floating out of my hand and began to slowly spin in midair. It took a lot of work for me to be able to do something like this.
"...In other words, you weren't even giving your all earlier?"
"There's no idiot who'd bring a laser gun or plasma grenade to a spar, right? True trump cards should be saved for critical moments."
I shrugged my shoulders and grabbed the portable info terminal floating in the air.
"Well, that's true, but..."
Captain Serena's expression still appeared displeased. If I fought Captain Serena using all my abilities, it wouldn't even be a fight in the first place. That's if I ended it in one move. Well, even Captain Serena should have a trump card or two. If that's the case, then I'd probably lose if I got hit with them first.
If both parties were using weapons capable of ending the fight in one hit, it would all come down to whoever could land the critical blow first. A fight in real life doesn't go like how action movies often portray them, where both sides keep trading blows for an extended period.
"Right. Let's get back to the story then. I first woke up in an empty sector within the Termaine system. Inside a Krishna with the generator powered down. I'm not sure how it happened. I possess memories of my original world, but I could barely recall what exactly I was doing right before finding myself in this one. Maybe I even died suddenly in my original world."
I believe I came back from work, ate a quick meal, played some SOL, and fell asleep or something. But I don't have any clear memories of that time. I thought I was dreaming at first after all.
"I remember being an avid player of a game very similar to this world. That's why at first, I thought I was dreaming, but as soon as I regained clarity, I was attacked by space pirates. So, I fought back and proceeded to make my way to Termaine Prime. I got held up in immigration, and that's when you came in and helped me out, Captain. I then spent several days holed up inside my ship, and I finally accepted that everything wasn't a mere dream. I was very troubled at first, but fortunately, I still had my starship piloting skills. That's why I decided to start working as a mercenary in this world. You're familiar with the rest, right?"
"I am. But do you seriously want me to believe that story?"
Captain Serena stared straight at me. Well, if I were in her shoes, I'd probably also suspect that the other party was only making a random story up. However, I had a trump card I could use as proof.
"According to His Imperial Majesty the Emperor himself, there were absolutely no traces of my existence before I appeared at the Termaine star system. And he could only think that I suddenly appeared in this world without any warning."
"His Imperial Majesty really said something like that?"
"Yeah. I had the chance to have an audience with him while we were staying at the imperial capital. Even if you can't believe my words, you can believe His Majesty's words, right?"
"It's not that I don't believe your words, but..."
Even though I already used my card, she still seemed not to be quite convinced. I do get her though.
"That's why I told you that it would only sound absurd and nonsensical earlier. Anyway, that's my secret. My info about the Mother Crystal was also from the game I played back in the dimension I came from. It was surprisingly on point. Now that you know the source, it doesn't sound particularly special, right?"
"No, that's not the case. In fact, I'm quite curious if you have any other similar information."
"Dammit. I slipped."
"However, I see... The matter regarding the Mother Crystal certainly does serve as proof. At the very least, you have knowledge about something that even the best imperial scientists were unaware of. That's an undeniable fact."
Captain Serena pondered silently for a bit, then raised her head and stared at me again. Her expression was quite serious.
"Hiro, would you consider becoming mine after all?"
"No."
"An instant rejection!? Why won't you even consider it!?"
Her serious expression crumbled in an instant, and she became all teary-eyed. Mm. It kinda makes me feel guilty to say this, but that sort of expression suited the captain better. It made her seem cuter. The facial deviation value resulting from her serious expression was too high, making her seem unapproachable.
"I've said this many times before, but I love the carefree mercenary life. You have no intention of quitting the imperial military, right, Captain? Then that's the end of the story. Neither of us are willing to abandon our current way of life. So, it can't be helped, right?"
"You mostly run around hunting space pirates as a mercenary anyway, so what's the difference if you join the Imperial Space Force? Why are you so stubborn about that?"
"It's not the same at all. How much is your salary by the way?"
Captain Serena backed down after hearing my rebuttal.
"T-That's... No, but, well... If you become mine, you'd become a member of House Holz as well, and you'd at least inherit the title of baron, you know? You'd be able to manage one or two star systems."
"Not interested. In the first place, I already have a wife."
"I haven't heard anything about that though!?!?"
Captain Serena cried out while sporting a shocked expression. Or right. I haven't told her yet.
"I'm already married to Mimi. Well, that doesn't mean anything in particular's changed between our relationships though."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You sure calmed down pretty quickly."
Captain Serena instantly turned all serious again, and I couldn't help but draw back. It's true that we're not doing anything that was typical between a married couple, so I couldn't help but wonder if Mimi herself wasn't interested in such things. Or rather, she seemed pretty satisfied regarding our current relationship dynamic. In the first place, led by Mei, all my partners colluded... or rather, collaborated? Agreed to share me? Everything seemed fine... Or rather, all of them appeared to be getting along quite well.
"Our situation's a bit special. Anyway, in that sense, it's impossible for me to be yours, Captain."
"Gununu..."
Captain Serena groaned in frustration. Well, to be honest, I'm rather flattered by her straightforward affection... But we both had our issues, and our respective outlooks were too different. There were some things that we both just couldn't give up on. Even if two people were meant to meet each other and were fond of one another, it didn't mean that everything would turn out well between them. That's just how the world works.