"Even though we don't have time for something like this right now..."
"I mean, you can't go back until Dr. Shouko makes that antidote, right? So, ain't it fine to take it easy fer a bit?"
"I believe it's important to get an adequate amount of rest as well, Serena-sama."
A glum Captain Serena was sitting between two certified drunkards while being served alcohol. Elma, who was sitting in the same seat, was watching the scene with a grin on her face. Mimi and Kugi were also watching while sporting sunny smiles.
Me? I was watching the girls from a distance as I checked and performed maintenance on the weapons that we confiscated when we captured the Majestic. Also, Captain Serena's men retrieved and handed over the scabbards of Vincent's and that unknown nobleman's swords, so I was performing maintenance on those swords as well.
Even though the scabbards were already equipped with an automatic maintenance function, it was still better to properly take care of the swords after heavy use. Well, monoswords like these were peculiar weapons that were thought up and created by imperial nobles with a zeal bordering fanaticism. As long as they didn't break in two, they could retain peak performance with just simple maintenance.
But what should I do with these swords?
The first pair of noble swords I got my hands on were obtained after defeating Balthazar – the one who killed Chris's parents and her mortal enemy. They were pretty slender swords, and even though their durability was a bit lacking, the pair of short and long swords were light and easy to handle. I've been using that pair for quite some time now.
On the other hand, the sword I snagged from Vincent was slightly longer compared to Balthazar's swords, had a thicker blade, and was more durable. No matter how sharp Balthazar's swords were, I was still apprehensive when using them to cut down soldiers wearing power armor or combat bots. However, that wasn't an issue with Vincent's sword. However, since the blade was long and hefty, it was relatively more difficult to handle.
The sword of that unknown noble, on the other hand, had excellent balance. It was more durable than the long sword among Balthazar's sword pair, but it was about the same length. However, it was still shorter than Vincent's sword. Its blade was also not as thick. You could say it was half-baked, but, to its credit, it was pretty easy to handle.
If I wanted to attack with a continuous flurry of moves and perform counters, Balthazar's sword pair was the way to go. And if I wanted impact strength, striking power, and durability, go with Vincent's sword. The unknown nobleman's sword was the midpoint between those two extremes.
With Balthazar's sword pair, it was possible to parry and reflect laser attacks. However, that wasn't the case with Vincent's sword. And even if I wielded the unknown nobleman's sword on your other hand to force a two-sword style, parrying laser fire was still impossible. The speed and precision of counters would also be affected. I could probably force it by holding my breath and entering bullet time though.
Maybe I could barely make things work if I paired the unknown nobleman's sword with one of Balthazar's swords... Yeah, that'll probably work. How troublesome. I suppose it's safe to use Balthazar's sword pair against thinly armored opponents, and Vincent's sword against heavy power armor-equipped soldiers and combat bots. The unknown nobleman's sword would be kept as a spare, just in case.
That should be it.
By the way, Captain Serena's sword was slightly longer than Vincent's sword, and its blade was even thicker and wider. Rather than a standard long sword, it would be more appropriate to call it a great sword or claymore. It should be possible to easily cut power armor-equipped soldiers cleanly in half with that thing.
"In any case, I suppose yer now a member of our sisterhood, Serena."
"Sisterhood?"
"I mean one of Boss's... y'know?"
"T-That sounds a bit questionable... W-Well, I suppose it's true though."
"Took a really long time, didn't it? But now yer wish has finally come true eh?"
"For the record, I was the very first one to encounter him..."
Those girls sure were having fun... Uh, they were having a fun chat, weren't they? As I thought so, I suddenly heard Captain Serena's portable data terminal ring.
"It's me. Mm, I see. Let us go with that then. What about the front lines? I see. If that's the case, then gather the forces and prepare to move out at a moment's notice. Yes, I'm fine. My treatment should be finished by then."
After a short exchange, Captain Serena approached me while I was busy maintaining my swords. I sort of had an idea regarding what she was about to say already, but I suppose I'll hear her out anyway.
"We've finished taking full control of the base and have grasped the current situation. It seems that the local imperial forces are unable to deal with the gateway on their own, but it also seems unlikely that the front lines would be able to withstand a full offensive from the Vereverem Federation. Therefore, we need to deploy as a reserve force before the front lines get overwhelmed."
"I see. We have to deploy our ships too then. We're gonna go up against the Federation's regular forces huh...? The Black Lotus can participate in the long-range bombardment, but what should the Krishna and Antlion do?"
Basically, engagements between two regular space forces tended to be long-range bombardment battles while in formation. So, when small and medium-class mercenary ships encounter an ambush at a hyperlane entryway, they could either decide to engage in a melee, gradually take distance while exchanging fire, instantly close in on the rear of large-class ships to make it more of a short-range battle, or bite the bullet and rely on numbers to launch a head-on assault while fully expecting to take losses.
A mercenary as skilled as yours truly could probably get close enough to the enemy ships to launch a solo assault using thermal stealth, but I'd probably get crushed pretty quickly if I seriously tried to take on the full might of the invading force by myself. I don't have a trump card like the Singing Crystal this time around after all.
"Please don't attempt to launch a foolhardy assault only to die in the end, okay? Especially now that we've finally... Um, anyway, just make sure you don't die. Are we clear?"
"Aye, aye, ma'am. I will properly prioritize my survival while earning my keep."
Be that as it may, taking on a regular space force could be very profitable. There's the loot, but depending on how many we manage to shoot down, we'd probably make a killing from the rewards that the Imperial Space Force would hand down. In fact, we're already set to receive rewards for every enemy ship we managed to down in our present contract.
"Well, it should be fine if we launch an assault with appropriate numbers after scoping out the situation first."
"We'll do just that. Until then... Um, what do you do to spend time in situations like this?"
"Nothing in particular. Other than collecting info on the star system that will serve as the battlefield and checking the condition of our ships, we simply relax to pass the time."
"I-Is that so...? I normally have a lot of things to do, but I've left everything to my subordinates this time, so... I am feeling rather restless."
After saying so, Captain Serena sat next to me and looked at the items I'd laid out inside the break space.
"Oh? Are you changing up your style?"
She quickly caught sight of Vincent's sword and tilted her head to the side curiously. It was completely different from the swords I'd been using before after all.
"It's part of my spoils. Well, it's a pretty good sword. More importantly, is your body okay?"
"H-Huh...? P-Pervert!"
"Why!?"
I was simply worried about her condition, but why did I suddenly get labeled as a pervert? I don't get it.
"O-Of course, you are! You are fully aware of my current condition, aren't you!? I-If I was not feeling fine, then it would definitely lead to, um... Anyway, you get it, don't you!?"
"Ah–... Right. You're right. That definitely is the case. Sorry. I was only trying to express my concern, but that really wasn't all that tactful."
I sincerely offered an apology while scratching my head.
The drugs and the nanomachine formulation that were injected into Captain Serena have already been nullified by Dr. Shouko, so we're now only dealing with the aftereffects of the said shameless and perverted nanomachine formulation on her body. She was rather calm at present, but since her body had been tampered with, she'd suffer from the effects again eventually... And that meant one thing. I had to take action again to relieve her urges. I rather welcomed such an event though.
"My bad. I didn't consider my words. But I really was just worried about your condition, okay?"
"I know that, but... Uuu, why did it turn out like this?"
Captain Serena turned red up to her ears and covered her face with both hands. There, there. If you got any more emotional, there's a chance you'd have another attack. I know this sounded stupid because I'm the one who caused you to get embarrassed in the first place, but please calm down.
"A-Anyway, once this matter has been dealt with, I'm going to have you accompany me to the imperial capital, okay!? I have to go back home to pay a visit, and you're coming with me, alright!?"
"Eh–...?"
"Why do you look so disgusted by the idea!? We may have been forced by the circumstances, but do you think I'll let you get away with laying your hands on me without taking responsibility!? There's no way that's going to be the case, you hear me!?"
Well, I'm not planning on getting away scot-free in the first place. I'm gonna take responsibility in my own way, and I had no problem with accompanying her to visit her parents. But it's no fun to just honestly go along with this though.
"What should I do, I wonder... Should I just run away...?"
"If you run away, I'm going to chase you to the ends of the universe and kill you, then I'll kill myself too. You hear me?"
"It's getting hot and humid all of a sudden..."
Captain Serena, who was making a fuss, suddenly turned all serious, and the light in her eyes quickly disappeared. That's a bit too scary, okay? Well, with my current abilities, I think I could deal with Captain Serena even if she turned all violent on me.
"Okay, I got it. I'm gonna accompany you to the capital. I have something to say to His Imperial Majesty anyway, and even though it couldn't be helped due to the circumstances, I still ended up cutting down a lot of House Ixamal's private troops. It's not good for me to take the fall without them conducting any proper procedures and investigations into the matter, right?"
"I do not think it will pose much of a problem, given that our action's legitimacy should get recognized. We were able to prevent House Ixamal from committing a treasonous act that could have led to the collapse of the Empire's borders, so I believe us being commended rather than punished is more likely. As long as everything goes well from here on out, that is."
"I'm not gonna get my hopes up too much anyway. So, are you sure you don't wanna go for another round?"
"N-No! You shameless pervert!"
"Ouch!?"
Captain Serena slapped me on the shoulder. I thought my bones would break. It was just a joke y'know?