I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship, so I Became a Space Mercenary Chapter 475: 「In the End, Violence Is the Best Solution. Eve

The dal awarding ceremony concluded without any issues. This ti, there were no mbers of the imperial family in attendance, so it proceeded quietly. Eh? The dal I received? I was awarded my second Silver Sword Wings Assault dal. Considering the results, it was expected… Four battleship-class vessels including the flagship, seven cruiser-class ships, twelve destroyers, three corvettes, and eighteen fighters were an exceptional achievent for a small ship. Not only did we surpass the achievents of the other small ships that participated in the battle, we blew them out of the water.

By the way, Elma also destroyed around thirty enemy corvettes and fighters with just the Antlion, so she was awarded the Bronze Sword Wings Assault dal. She looked composed, but her ears were perked up more than usual, so I think she was happy about it.

「Still, it ended quickly, didn’t it?」

「That’s because of the scandal.」

Serena shrugged her shoulders, on her hand she held a small glass filled with a golden, sparkling drink. Why is there no cola when they have sparkling wine? Why? I don’t understand.

「Scandal?」

「A noble entrusted with territory and with a secure position by His Majesty the Emperor attempted a rebellion. That’s quite a scandal.」

「I see.」

Now that she ntions it, that’s true. As Serena said, the betrayal and treasonous activities of Earl Ixamal House must have severely damaged the authority of the Imperial Family. Fortunately, their plans were thwarted by our intervention before they could be fully realized. When I think that the one who intervened so we were in a position to thwart their plans was that fucking Emperor, it makes realize once again that he is no ordinary man. As expected of an Emperor who controls thousands of star systems.

「Everything is within His Majesty the Emperor’s grasp, huh?」

「Oh, even soone like you, Hiro, feels the Emperor’s influence?」

「Thinking about how he placed Serena and in that location, at that ti, knowing my bad luck and tendency to get into trouble, it makes sense. Well, it might be a coincidence… but it’s too perfect to be just a coincidence. Both the process and the outco. Of course, I can’t help but be a bit impressed.」

There must have been sothing behind those arrangents—whether it was the experience accumulated due to the long history of the Empire or the support of artificial intelligence—but there’s no doubt it was an extraordinary maneuver. When you see sothing so impressive, there is no other way than to acknowledge it.

「Besides, he even arranged such a great party.」

I said this as I put a piece of roast beef-like dish on my small plate into my mouth. Hmm, delicious. Although it looks like beef, the taste and texture… is this seared bonito? No, well, it’s delicious, but it’s kind of unexpected.

After the awarding ceremony ended, it was party ti. Although it was a party, it was in standing buffet style so it didn’t seem particularly high-class. There were more soldiers here than nobles. In addition to the dal ceremony, the aim might be to boost morale by letting us eat and drink delicious food.

「By the way, your crew is very popular.」

「So it seems. Also, I’ve just realized now that there are more female soldiers than I expected.」

「Won are surprisingly suited to be sailors. When you use power armor, the physical strength difference between n and won almost disappears. Although the ratio still leans more towards n.」

「I see. Thanks to that, the girls don’t have to be too tense.」

Mimi and the others, dressed in sothing similar to military outfits, as well as Dr. Shouko, Tina, and Wiska in their dresses, and Kugi in her exotic shrine maiden outfit, were all chatting happily surrounded by female soldiers. Dr. Shouko, in particular, perhaps due to her being tall and with an outstanding figure, was popular and looked a bit flustered surrounded by female soldiers, which was adorable. Her elegant style combined with her shy reactions made her really popular.

The male soldiers were just glancing sideways at my crew and the female soldiers, not making any moves to approach them. Well, it would take a lot of courage to break into that atmosphere and strike up a conversation.

「I have a general idea of what you’re thinking, but the reason no one’s approaching them is because they know they’re your won, you know?」

「Huh? Why would that stop them? Well, I guess that makes things easier for .」

「Listen, everyone here was involved in resolving the rebellion, you know? Do you realize how many enemy soldiers you brutally took down on your own while unard? Think about it from their perspective. They’d be too terrified to make a move.」

「Eh…? Well, if you put it that way…」

I didn’t keep count of how many I took down, but I definitely killed more than ten or twenty. It might have even exceeded fifty. I don’t think it reached a hundred, though. Let’s see… would I try to make a move on the won of a ruthless rcenary who is able to fight back after being drugged unconscious and fully restrained, and not only fight back but also steal enemy equipnt and kill dozens of fully ard soldiers while doing so… Yeah, I wouldn’t dare ss with them either. Absolutely impossible.

「I just hope my reputation doesn’t change in a weird way…」

「rcenaries are ant to be feared. You’re as odd as ever, aren’t you?」

The one who spoke to was… who is this big guy? He looks familiar. Oh, I rember now. He’s the head of the Grakkius branch of the rcenary Guild. His na was…?

「Branch Chief Johannes.」

「Yes, Branch Chief Johannes.」

「You know, you could at least pretend you rembered my na. Well, considering you don’t usually operate out of the Imperial Capital, I suppose it’s understandable.」

Branch Chief Johannes gave a wry smile as he lightly tapped my chest with his fist. I was able to rember him after Serena quietly reminded of his na, but I must have been too obvious.

「My apologies. If you were a beautiful lady, I’d definitely rember your na.」

「Oh dear. A man who has bedded three noblewon sure has his priorities set.」

「Still only two. I haven’t touched the third one yet.」

「That sounds like just a matter of ti.」

Branch Chief Johannes glanced briefly at Serena as he said this. Serena maintained a composed and aloof expression. Yes, I have already made a move on her. Anyway, it’s probably best to change the subject.

「So, Branch Chief, I didn’t expect to see you here. Chasing after free drinks?」

「You’re the face of our guild, after all. When the face of the guild achieves such remarkable feats and gets awarded, it’s only proper for the branch chief to attend.」

「I see. Well, thank you for your efforts. So, how’s business? Any interesting news?」

「Business is good. To be honest, the response to the docuntary covering your daily life has been trendous.」

「Seriously…?」

「It’s true. rcenaries were often seen as rough thugs, drunks, addicts, or n who bring won onto their dirty ships and do as they please with them. But your docuntary is changing that image. People are starting to see that so rcenaries are clean, celebrity-like, stoic, and gentlemanly.」

「Sure, I do try to maintain a good living environnt and take care of the welfare of my crew, but stoic and gentlemanly? That’s not really .」

The clean and celebrity-like feel is because i manages the ship well, and the won, starting with Mimi, voice their opinions about improving the living environnt. I just nod along and provide the funds. The stoic and gentlemanly evaluation makes no sense to . If I have free ti, I’m always flirting with everyone.

「No, compared to the average rcenary, you are quite stoic and gentlemanly.」

「Yeah… you’re remarkably stoic. I don’t know about gentlemanly, but at least you don’t indulge in alcohol or drugs, and you don’t force yourself on the won you’ve brought aboard. You don’t cause trouble in the colonies either. From my experience with various rcenaries, you’re incredibly upstanding.」

「Maybe it’s not that I’m special, but that the average rcenary is just that bad?」

「As I said before, the bad behavior I described is the usual behavior of a rcenary. The best thing is that while you live an upstanding life, you’re still rciless to space pirates. You show your good sides that dispel the bad image of rcenaries while maintaining the fearso image that a rcenary should have. Plus, your docuntary, showing your kindness towards won, is really popular. You might not be thrilled about it, but thanks to that, people who never approached the rcenary Guild are now bringing jobs to us, which is why business is booming. So rcenaries criticize you as being soft, though…」

「I don’t recall being hassled by any rcenary lately.」

「That’s because you’ve built up a solid track record, and you’re an honorary noble. Plus, you’re too skilled in lee combat.」

「In the end, violence is the best solution. Everything is solved with violence.」

「Well, we are rcenaries.」

Serena gave Johannes and a cold look as we nodded at each other. What can you do? rcenaries trade in violence. The strong are respected, and the weak can’t complain about the strong. This is the basic principle in our world. Of course, if things go too far, the guild will intervene.

Well, I had my share of food and drinks, it’s ti to retreat.