After completing the search, retrieval, and capture of the Vereverem Federation survivors scattered around the battle site, the second-tier Imperial Space Force squadrons centered around the star system garrison forces proceeded to conduct a counteroffensive to deal with the scavengers who came to the battle site to take advantage of the situation. They managed to regain control over all the territories that the Empire lost during the current conflict.
Although there were several instances of engaging in skirmishes with Vereverem Federation supply fleets and their escort ships, the Imperial Space Force managed to overcome them easily. Just when a temporary defense line was established, the reinforcements from the main force finally arrived through the repaired gateway, and we were relieved of our duties.
No, we weren't fired or anything like that. We were simply told to retreat to the rear for repairs and resupplies.
『Could you help me with my work?』
"No way. That ain't part of my contract."
Captain Serena, who had apprehended Earl Ixamal and taken control of the Creon system supply base, was put in charge of resupplying the Imperial Space Force forces dispatched to the front lines, and was now swamped with work. Our contract only specified stuff related to combat, so helping with resupply work was outside of the terms. Well, earning money while simply idling around wasn't really my style, so I decided to go on patrol missions around the Creon star system instead.
『You demon! Devil! Cold-blooded beast! Aren't you being too indifferent to your beloved spouse!?』
"I don't make a habit of mixing my public and private lives..."
Also, I don't think calling herself my spouse was appropriate. At least, not yet.
I heard from Captain Serena that the heavily armed pirates who were causing chaos in the rear seemed to have disappeared completely. I'm not sure if they either went into hiding after the failure of the last operation, straight up returned to the Vereverem Federation, or were betrayed by the actual pirates they were using as pawns, but since they've completely ceased their activities, pursuing them would be difficult.
By the way, Earl Ixamal was taken to the imperial capital by the military police along with the gathered evidence regarding his treason. No matter how powerful and influential House Ixamal and the earl himself were, considering all the evidence against him and the severity of what he tried to pull off, it was probably the end for him.
At the very least, the earl would probably get sentenced to the death penalty. There's a possibility that the house itself would be spared, but many of its assets would probably be seized and confiscated by the Empire, and their future heirs would either have to live with a practically empty noble title or serve as puppets of the imperial throne... Well, according to Captain Serena, a dark future awaited them regardless.
"We made a lot of profit this time."
"We made great achievements! Hiro-sama might even get awarded with another medal!"
"I'm not too keen on those stuffy ceremonies though."
Krishna's kill score not only consisted of ships it shot down completely, but also those it did medium to heavy damage to, resulting in the loss of combat ability. To be exact, we managed to bag 4 battleships including the flagship, 7 cruisers, 12 destroyers, 3 corvettes, and 18 carrier-based fighters.
The Antlion destroyed 7 corvettes and 22 carrier-based fighters, and the Black Lotus got 3 cruisers. Including all the so-called pirate ships we hunted down before and our regular pay of 10 million, our total earnings went all the way up to 80 million Enels. I've now become filthy rich, or rather, a multimillionaire.
"We haven't even counted the estimated profits from selling off looted supplies and equipment and it's already that big... Regular folk prob'ly won't be able to use all of it up in their lifetimes."
"It feels like a dream."
"What will you do with all of this wealth, My Lord?"
"Hm... Maybe I'll purchase land on a planet somewhere and build a mansion."
My dream of having a detached house with a garden was finally within reach. But maybe buying a mothership bigger and stronger than the Lotus and converting it to a mobile base of operations was also a good option. Having this much money sure opened up a lot more possibilities.
"How is she?"
"Her brain activity will be minimal until the treatment is finished, so she won't wake up just yet. But still, those guys sure did a number on her. Honestly."
Dr. Shouko answered while displaying a bitter grin. In front of us was a completely naked pale-white young girl lying inside a med pod, with multiple tubes and cords stuck to various places on her body.
"Instead of treating her current body, would it be possible to create a replacement body and transfer her consciousness or brain into it? Something like a spare cultivated using her genes or a completely bionic one."
"You sometimes blurt out some really outrageous stuff, don't you, Hiro-kun...? First of all, it's illegal to manufacture those so-called spare bodies or clones without the required permissions. And replacing the consciousness or brains of said clones can be regarded as murder you know? The Empire still hasn't developed tech to create a completely bionic body apart from the brain, and it also doesn't have tech to copy over a person's consciousness to an android with a positronic brain. From the viewpoint of the Empire's genetics and bioengineering circle, using nanomachine formulations to restore or rebuild damaged organs or ones whose functions have significantly deteriorated presented lower risks and is much more reliable."
"I see... Are you guys really unable to digitize a person's consciousness, Mei?"
"Yes, Master. My apologies, but I am unaware of the existence of such a method."
Mei apologized to me and bowed her head. Uh, there's actually no need for an apology y'know?
"Well, it's just the words of a complete amateur. I'll leave everything related to her to you guys, so let me know if something happens."
"Mm, I got it."
"Yes, Master."
And so, we've safely completed our job this time around... Err, was that actually safe? Anyway, we didn't suffer any injuries, and the ships were unscathed as well. In that case, even though we encountered some hiccups, it's fair to say that we completed the job safely. That's right!
"Hey, are you listening?"
"I am. You sure are cute, Serena-chan."
"Ee... R-Really? Ehehe."
Captain Serena's face blushed red after she heard my half-hearted flattery and she giggled in glee. Her red face wasn't just due to embarrassment though. She was also pretty drunk.
Ever since I began a relationship with Captain Serena, she would come over to the Lotus whenever she had free time to get drunk, fawn over me, and chat, or rather, party with the rest of the crew.
However, I do cooperate by taking the Lotus back to port whenever it was Captain Serena's time off. Even the most dedicated soldier won't be on duty 24 hours a day. As long as she gave me her schedule in advance, I could at least be that flexible.
"Maybe it's not really my business, but is it okay for you to waltz in here so blatantly every time?"
"There's nothing to worry about. My subordinates do say stuff like my feelings have finally been recognized or that I now had the face of someone who finally got to know a man for real though."
"Isn't that actually something you should be concerned about...?"
I held some doubts, but Captain Serena herself didn't seem all that worried. Well, since she herself insisted that there was no problem, it was probably fine.
"A〜ny〜way... You get it, right?"
"Get what?"
"I'm saying that once we've sorted out the mess here and my replacement arrives, we'll go back to the imperial capital together. You're coming with me, okay?"
"Yes, yes, I will. I'll go with you."
Since we managed to gain merits–great merits at that–during the battle against the Vereverem Federation Space Forces as hired Imperial mercenaries, I'd likely receive yet another shiny medal for my troubles. There's also the matter of me cutting down House Ixamal's men like crazy. I also ended up cutting off the head of Vincent, who was Earl Ixamal's eldest son. Literally. So I'm gonna have to face trials, hearings, court-martials, and the like. That's why I had no choice but to accompany Captain Serena and return to the imperial capital.
"It's fine as long as you understand. You sure have become more honest lately."
Captain Serena was all smiles, but it's not like going into a relationship with her was what led to me being agreeable this time around. It was out of necessity. Well, I'd be lying if I said it was absolutely a non-factor though.
"Nya? Waht〜ish〜wid〜yuu?"
"You're cute, so I just felt like poking you."
Her smile was adorable with a hint of smugness, but it was also a bit irritating, so I poked her cheek in retaliation. I wouldn't have thought of touching Captain Serena's face so casually before, so I guess some things did change even though it also felt like things were mostly the same as usual.
"Ehe, ehehe... It can't be helped then."
It was honestly worrying just how easily placated Captain Serena was by simply calling her cute. Well, I suppose she wouldn't turn out this way if it was said by someone else though. Damn, that's cute.
"Gununu..."
"There, there. I do understand the feeling though."
"We seniors need ta show our magnanimity here, Mimi."
"Um, Sis? The reinforced glass is creaking..."
I could feel the strong gazes of Mimi and the others from a table a bit further away. Elma and Wiska appeared to be holding the other two back, but y'know... they seemed calm for now, but the backlash would probably be intense later. From both of them. I'll refrain from elaborating on what exactly that backlash would be.
"..."
Kugi, on the other hand, appeared to be in a good mood and was smiling as she looked at the two of us. Her tails were swaying happily, so she must really be in a good mood. Kugi seemed to have taken a step back for my sake, so I should spoil her later as well.
Dr. Shouko and Mei were still taking care of the albino girl, who was apparently a biological command unit of the Vereverem Federation. For now, it didn't seem like her condition would suddenly deteriorate if she wasn't looked after closely, but she also served as a good specimen in order to study and gauge the Federation's genetics and biotechnology know-how, so Dr. Shouko and Mei were quite taken with her.
Mei accessed the biological command unit's brain chip in order to glean info from it, as well as to tell the girl about her current situation and about us through something akin to a dream.
Although the biological command unit's brain activity was intentionally lowered by Dr. Shouko, that didn't mean that her brain had ceased functioning. It seemed that Mei was able to perform such a method thanks to the chip implanted in the girl's brain.
Eh? The explanation was quite vague? I mean, what did you expect? They explained it to me, but I really didn't get a lot of what they told me. The most I got was that her body was asleep, but her brain and the chip were still active, and that Mei was merely accessing them.
"Please rest assured. I will educate her properly so she doesn't misbehave later."
"O-Okay."
What the heck did she mean by educating her? I refrained from openly voicing out such a question though. It was kinda scary, y'see.
"Her vitals sometimes fluctuate whenever you're connecting with her, Mei-kun. It's a bit troubling, so can't you give me the details, at least?"
"It's Mei, so what she's doing is probably necessary. That's why please just let it go."
"Mm... Well, if you say so."
Dr. Shouko had an unconvinced look on her face, but I didn't wanna mince words either, so I just told her to bear with it. At the very least, Mei wouldn't do something disadvantageous to me.
We spent days as usual like this until Captain Serena's replacement finally arrived from the imperial capital. I didn't get to directly meet the guy, but it seemed that he was some heir to a noble house who was sent out to earn merits or something to that effect.
We left the rest to him, and we finally departed for the imperial capital along with Captain Serena's Independent Mobile Anti-pirate Fleet.
"Uh, Hiro. I sent Chris a holo-message and told her about this incident. Good luck."
"Why'd you go and do something like that???"
"We have a ladies' agreement after all."
"Where'd this ladies' agreement come from all of a sudden...?"
Actually, I was faintly aware that such a thing was established between the girls. If that's the case, then I suppose Chris will be coming to the imperial capital as well. If I mess up, I'd probably get stuck between House Holz and House Dareinwald, right?
My stomach hurts...!!