I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship, so I Became a Space Mercenary Chapter 469: 「Isn’t That a Bit Too Convenient for Me?」

i, Tina, and Wiska, who had been watching over the Black Lotus while I was away, joined Chris, , and the others for a tea party. Well, it wasn’t anything as grand as that, but we did take a break together. We had plenty to talk about with Chris, from sharing recent news on both sides to catching up on events, though the conversation never entered into serious topics.

「It’s quite tricky, isn’t it? There are a lot of things that are difficult to talk about due to our positions.」

「That’s inevitable because of our respective status… But once we get married, I think those issues will mostly go away.」

「Marriage with Chris, huh… Tell the truth, is the Earl really in favor of it?」

「Yes, Grandfather is supportive of my marriage to you, Hiro-sama. After my parents passed away, and my uncle… well, died from illness. Since Grandfather decided to pass his title to , there have been countless marriage proposals. However, Grandfather didn’t entreat any of them, he said that all of them had the ulterior motive of exploiting the Earl Dareinwald House.」

「So rather than giving Chris to such people, he thinks it would be better to have Chris marry Hiro, who has no strings attached, and support Chris until she becos independent?」

「Although he didn’t say it outright, I think that’s probably the case. There is so concern that Hiro-sama’s ties with Marquis Holz are stronger than we expected, but since Serena-sama did not object to Princess Luciada’s ranking, we should be able to co to an agreent… Besides, Lord Laurenz didn’t seem interested in excessively ddling with the Earl Dareinwald House. At least, not openly.」

「Um, if we’re talking about nobility, isn’t Elma-san’s family also part of it?」

「My family? We’re fine. We don’t hold any territory. While we’re not completely free from power struggles, those are confined to the court. We’re on a different playing field compared to the landed nobility, who wield significant influence over people, resources, and money outside the court. Well, if the Earl Dareinwald House wants to interfere with the court or the central governnt in the future, my family might be able to offer so support, but don’t expect to get involved in that…」

Elma shrugged her shoulders as she said this. Indeed, if she were a lady who participated in tea parties and balls in the imperial capital’s social circles, it might be different. But asking Elma, who left the capital when she was young to beco a rcenary, to play court politics…

「That’s true. Well, we’ll probably end up discussing this further when we visit the Willrose family tomorrow… Chris, you’re coming too, right?」

「Is it alright if I co along as well?」

「Of course, it’s fine. I want to introduce you to my parents. And of course, Tina and the rest of you as well.」

「We were quite busy at that ti…」

「Ahaha… Looking back now… it’s not really a fond mory.」

The light seed to vanish from Tina and Wiska’s eyes. Back then, they were literally swamped with work given to them by the Imperial Capital branch of Space Dwerg Corporation.

「I’m looking forward to eting your family, Elma-san. What kind of people are they, my Lord?」

「I’ve only talked to them a little myself… This ti, there won’t be any annoying events like those trial matches, so I’d like to take my ti and get to know them. I owe a lot to Elma’s brother.」

Elma’s brother, Ernst, had helped get in touch with a specialized armor shop when I was acquiring my ninja armor. He might not think too highly of , but despite everything, he always responds kindly when I seek his help.

We wrapped up today’s tea party with plans to et Elma’s family tomorrow, and I made arrangents with Chris for our eting ti. Today was ntally exhausting…I just want to take a bath and relax thoroughly.

☆★☆

After filling my stomach with the dinner prepared by Tetsujin and taking a bath, I decided to spend a relaxing evening with Tina and Wiska. Since they had been left behind on the Lotus today, it was a way of making it up to them.

「Good job today, Boss.」

「It’s more of a ntal exhaustion than a physical one… But I guess it’s my own doing, so I can’t complain.」

「I don’t think it’s as bad as you say, Big Brother. You haven’t done anything wrong, after all. I think that Chris-sama and Serena-sama fell for your kindness, character, and bravery.」

Wiska, who was lying beside on the bed, chid in to reassure . I was lying on my bed in the captain’s quarters—my room—flanked on either side by Tina and Wiska. Thanks to their small sizes, there was still plenty of space on the bed even with the three of us lying there.

「True, I wasn’t actively trying to seduce anyone, so maybe saying it’s my own doing is too harsh. Still, I’m feeling a little defeated. I tried to avoid getting romantically involved with them, but it seems I got caught in the end.」

「But Serena-sama didn’t seem like she was gonna let you escape from the start.」

「I felt her determination alright. She felt like a predator hunting its prey.」

「So, you finally got caught, huh, Boss? Or maybe it’s more like you gave in to her feelings and let her in?」

「In the aning that your kindness backfired, then maybe it really is your own doing, Big Brother.」

Don’t analyze it so calmly. That hits a bit too close to ho. Well, it is what it is. If I have a weakness, it’s that I can’t be heartless, especially to those close to . Of course, there was an option to abandon Serena, but whether I could have taken that option is another matter… I guess it’s just fate. I don’t believe in destiny or anything like that, but maybe it’s just how the stars aligned. Let’s just leave it at that.

「I’ll make sure not to let things drag on and increase the number of won involved with … The thing is… there are already two candidates who want to join us.」

「Linda and Neve, right? It’s pretty much a sure thing with Neve, but what about Linda? Maybe fifty-fifty?」

「You think so, sis? Despite everything, she seems like the type to stick to her commitnts.」

「She’s still young and will et a lot of people, so who knows what might happen. Her feelings might change.」

「I agree with Tina about Linda, but as for Neve… it’s pretty much a done deal, huh?」

「You can’t just abandon soone in a situation like hers, right Big Brother?」

「If you’re able to do it with us, then you should be able to do Neve as well.」

「Alright, I give up. Please, stop attacking both emotionally and physically… So, while we’re at it, do you two have any issues with this whole situation? It would help if you told any grievances you have.」

When I posed the question, both of them fell silent, deep in thought. They are really cute when they close their eyes and hum contemplatively. The fact that they are so similar even when doing these small gestures makes them even cuter.

「Ultimately, it looks like Chris-sama will be the primary wife, with Serena-sama and Elma-neesan as the second and third wives. And we, including Mimi, will be considered further down the line, right?」

「I don’t like the idea of ranking people as higher or lower, but for appearances’ sake, I guess it has to be that way.」

「We’re commoners, so we don’t really mind. We don’t have any desire to compete with them. We just want to have your children.」

「Honestly, we don’t care about official marriage papers as long as we can be with you. But like Wee said, we do want to have children.」

「Isn’t that a bit too convenient for ?」

「I think I’ve said this before, but we’re fine being convenient won for you. Even if you were to abandon us after we had children, as long as we’re together, we can live anywhere.」

「I would never do that.」

I replied, feeling a bit offended by her words. The thought that they might think I would abandon them after having children was truly hurtful.

「We know. You wouldn’t do that. It was just an example. What I’m trying to say is that we have plenty of money saved up from the rewards we’ve received from you, and we have plenty of skills to rely on. We could even depend on our mother if needed. So you don’t need to worry about us. As long as you need us, we’ll stay by your side.」

Tina explained with a smile, snuggling closer to . Wiska did the sa.

「Please do as you like, Big Brother. We’ll follow you. We’re satisfied just being cared for like this from ti to ti.」

「It feels more like I’m the one being cared for by you two rather than the other way around…」

I looked up at the ceiling while feeling their warm bodies pressed against .

Co to think of it, these two have pretty intense emotions. There’s sothing… heavy about their feelings, or rather, there is sothing clingy about them. No, it’s just my imagination. Definitely. I’m overthinking it. Yeah, that’s it.

In any case, it’s a joy and a source of pride that they feel this strongly about . I just need to make sure I never betray their trust.