The place the middle-aged butler brought us to resembled a mansion's dining hall with a calming atmosphere. A fairly large table with a pure white tablecloth laid on top was placed within a moderately sized room, and two men who appeared to be nobles, Captain Serena, and the female adjutant were already seated around it.
"Daybit-sama, I have brought the mercenary Hiro-dono and his companions."
"Good work. Hiro-dono, please go ahead and take a seat. You lovely ladies as well. Please."
Of the two noblemen present, it was the middle-aged man who urged us to take our seats. Since there was no particular reason to refuse, we all went ahead and did as he asked.
"What truly lovely company. I have been so busy lately that I haven't found the time to admire the flowers myself. Ah, no, no. Please do pardon me. I did not mean any disrespect, so please rest assured. It's just that all the recent happenings have made me quite anxious."
As soon as we got seated, the middle-aged gentleman started making small talk with a refreshing smile plastered on his face. Uh, I think that was a pretty rude statement, actually. I mean, he basically said they were a sight for sore eyes or something to that effect. However, the reason why I didn't feel too uncomfortable with it was perhaps due to the charismatic aura the man radiated.
"Ah, forgive my impoliteness. I have yet to introduce myself, no? I am Daybit. Daybit Ixamal. An earl and the current head of House Ixamal. And the one sitting next to me is–"
"Vincent Ixamal... This guy's son."
The nobleman who called himself Vincent, who appeared to be the same age or just a bit younger than me, lightly shrugged. His eyes were quite sharp and he seemed to be someone you couldn't afford to underestimate.
"My, my... To think you'd address your father, the head of the house, so crassly. I wonder if he's simply undergoing a rebellious phase. Well, no matter. Hiro-dono, if you don't mind, could you introduce your lovely companions as well?"
"Okay. However, let me say this first. Don't expect me to behave too politely in the presence of nobles like you."
"That is fine. There is no need to be too formal in this place."
"Much appreciated. Firstly, this girl is Mimi. She's from the Termaine system and is my wife. She serves as my ship's operator and our mercenary group's supply officer."
"I-I am his wife, Mimi."
Mimi appeared extremely nervous, with her face bright red. She introduced herself with a faint voice and meekly bowed her head. Come to think of it, this might be the first time I introduced Mimi as my wife to others. Did I manage to sound natural?
"Next is Elma, a Silver rank mercenary. She's also the daughter of the imperial capital's Viscount Willrose, as well as my partner. She acts as the advisor who supports the overall operations of our mercenary group, and the second-in-command."
"Much obliged."
Unlike Mimi, Elma greeted the two House Ixamal members in a curt, business-like manner.
"And finally, this girl is Kugi. Due to various circumstances, she has become my attendant. She also provides psychological support to the rest of our mercenary group's members."
"I am called Kugi. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Kugi bowed gracefully as she introduced herself. Hmm. Each of them truly was quite different from one another, or rather, had pretty distinctive personalities. My companions, that is. I wonder how Tina, Wiska, and Dr. Shouko would introduce themselves if they were present. But I could already imagine how Mei's self-introduction would go.
"A wife, partner, and attendant huh? I suppose this is to be expected of a hero who was given the Silver Wing and Gold Star while he was still alive. Considering that he's also a Platinum ranker, whose ranks consist of quite the eccentrics, this much is still reasonable, and is within the realm of understanding."
Vincent quipped while displaying a sarcastic smile.
I had no choice but to accept a reputation as a lewd guy who keeps lots of women by my side, but didn't he say something pretty curious as well?
"Are you familiar with other Platinum rankers besides me?"
"Just one. A weird fellow who only communicates with me through messages and never shows their face."
It felt like I fought someone like that during that tournament in the capital a while back... I already forgot that guy's name though. Come to think of it, I haven't done much research on other Platinum rankers. I'd never met them in the first place, and I had no plans to meet them either.
"I see. Are the other Platinum rankers really that eccentric?"
"I don't think you're that far behind as far as eccentricity goes though... Look, I'd love to chat more, but isn't it about time to partake in some refreshments?"
"You're right, son. Make preparations."
At Daybit's behest, the maids and butlers who were standing by near the walls moved quickly and began bringing out what appeared to be an aperitif. A golden-colored liquid was poured from an expensive-looking bottle into a glass that seemed to be made of crystal.
"I'm not that good with alcohol though..."
"Is that so? Well, it's not that strong of an alcoholic drink, so if you aren't allergic to it, then please accompany us for at least one toast. Now then, what should we toast to? Let's see... Though trite, let us toast to these new and wonderful encounters. Now then, to our new acquaintances."
After saying so, Daybit raised his glass and drank the golden liquid. The rest of us, including myself, followed his lead, raised our glasses, and downed the golden liquid. It was a refreshing drink with little bitterness. It had stronger acidity compared to sweetness and was quite easy to drink. However, I could definitely taste the alcohol. It felt like you'd go down quickly if you downed this without a care just because it was easy to drink. Ugh. I felt like my face was already getting flushed.
"In any case, I offer sincere apologies, Captain. We recalled you and assigned you to this supply depot even though you were in the middle of an operation. However, considering the worst-case scenario, the reality is that we simply do not have enough reserve forces. Our current strength is more than enough to repel the Federation forces, and reinforcements from the main imperial forces will also be arriving in a few days, so I do not think there will be any problems."
"It's fine, Commander. I might have made the same choice if I were in your position, so please do not worry. I will simply do what is required of me as His Imperial Majesty's sword."
"I'm glad that you think so."
It seemed that Daybit was planning to talk with Captain Serena regarding Imperial Space Force matters. Judging from the fact that Daybit was completely focused on her, I suppose that Vincent was our host instead.
"I took a look at the data, and I must say, your combat results are pretty unique. And it's also unusual that you're always focused on hunting space pirates. Do you have some sort of obsession regarding the subjugation of space pirates?"
"It's not that I'm obsessed with them or anything, but those guys are practically everywhere after all. If you're familiar with how to hunt them down, you'd make good money. Also, you can take them down and loot them as much as you want without any burden on your conscience, and you'd even receive universal praise. Aren't they just the perfect prey?"
"I see. Just for reference, may I ask just how much your earnings are?"
"It varies depending on the hunting area, but it's usually more than a million Enels a week. Now that we've increased the number of our ships, I believe we'd be able to earn a bit more. We haven't worked on our coordination much yet, you see."
"Hou? As expected, Platinum rankers do earn a lot of money. Well, if you're going to surround yourself with that many women, I suppose you do have to be at least that reliable."
"That's how it is. If there's a job offered by a big client, I usually focus on that, and I also take advantage of our mothership's cargo capacity to engage in a little trading on the side. I can't exactly tell you about those big clients and the nature of the jobs I take on though."
Vincent was listening to my story with great interest.
Hm? I was a bit cautious of him, but now that I've talked with him, he seemed no different from your typical nobleman. Was he that good at keeping up appearances, or was there actually no need to keep up appearances? As of now, I don't sense any feelings of hostility or malicious intent from him, but it would be bad if he was the type of guy who could harm others as easily as breathing without feeling anything in particular.
"Your glass is already empty."
"Yes, but..."
"You are not very keen on alcohol, correct? We do have other drinks available besides alcohol. Food will also be brought out soon."
Vincent signaled with his hand, and a maid brought us a drink. Judging from the color, I wonder if it's some kind of fruit juice. It was so vividly pink that it kinda made me hesitate to drink it a bit.
"In any case, a toast to our new bond."
"Thanks."
I think it's a bond that would be severed pretty quickly though. No matter how friendly they acted here, I won't ever forget how they tried to lay their hands on Chris. No way.