I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship, so I Became a Space Mercenary Chapter 499: 「Really? Love, Courage, and Hope, Huh…」

「This is sothing a little different from the bustling colonies I’ve seen up until now.」

After landing on the Neeparc Pri Colony and walking around for a bit, I couldn’t help but mutter that to myself. How should I put it? It’s not really the clientele… the people walking around just seem different. The ones who looked like the new settlers seed excited, their eyes brimming with life. anwhile, the rchants’ eyes were gleaming with thoughts of profit. That energy they’re giving off is likely what’s making the entire colony feel so lively.

「What’s goin’ on? Feels like there’s a lotta rich-lookin’ people around, huh?」

「Now that you ntion it, maybe? Why is that, though?」

「The planets are usually reserved for top taxpayers or holders of first-class citizenship, those who’ve contributed greatly to the Empire. Other than that, only a small number of selected lucky people can settle on planetside residential areas.」

Wiska’s response to Tina and Mimi’s innocent question showed a hint of dissatisfaction at the state of the Empire’s society. Ah, I see. First-class citizenship, huh? That makes sense. The prerequisite for living in a planetside residential area is first-class citizenship. I don’t know the exact conditions to acquire that status, but as Wiska pointed out, it’s probably reserved for the wealthy or people who’ve made significant contributions to the Empire, like through military or public service. No wonder most people here look well off.

「What kind of people are in that lucky handful?」

「There are a few slots for people without first-class citizenship to be selected as settlers in planetside residential areas. It seems like only a few people from each colony can be selected, though.」

「I see… You know quite a bit, don’t you?」

「Um, well… you were planning on building a house in a planetside residential area, so I looked into it a little.」

Without thinking, I found myself patting Wiska on the head as she fidgeted nervously. She’s a proper adult woman, around my age, but her height just makes her head easy to pat… I don’t usually end up doing that with soone of Mimi’s height, though.

「As expected of my little sister, you really know how to play the cute card…」

「I-It’s not like I’m doing this on purpose, you know!?」

Tina gave her sister a look of suspicion, despite her protests. Honestly, I thought the sa for a second, but well, she’s cute, so I can’t help it.

「The ones with the gleaming eyes are the rchants. If they can afford to use the gateway, they’re probably from a large enough trading company.」

「I see. I guess situations like this create a special demand, which makes it easier to make a profit, but it also feels like a bit of a risky ga. Like ordering a large supply of materials thinking they’ll sell, only for soone else to beat them to the punch, turning it into dead stock.」

Lately, Mimi has started talking about things from a rchant’s perspective more and more. It must be the result of not just managing our supply goods, but also taking charge of trading using the cargo space of the Black Lotus. I really hope she keeps developing those skills, maybe even enough to beco a fully-fledged rchant in her own right.

「Yeah, that would be a nightmare for a rchant. That’s why they’re so desperate for information. If they ss up, the rumors will spread like wildfire.」

「Life can be harsh, huh? I wonder if I’ll ever have to deal with that kind of harshness myself soday.」

「Well, who knows? As long as you are with Hiro-kun, you might be free from that particular kind of hardship… but you’ll probably end up facing greater danger to your life instead.」

「I can’t argue with that…」

I responded to the exchange between Dr. Shouko and Neve with a wry smile. For better or worse, as long as they stick with , they’re unlikely to encounter the usual harshness of life. Most issues can probably be resolved through money, brute force, my status as a Platinum Ranker, or even my title as an honorary viscount of the Empire. However, relying too much on those solutions might eventually co back to bite , so I’ll need to exercise so restraint.

「Oh? Isn’t that them? The people here to et us?」

「Yes, my Lord. I believe you’re correct.」

Kugi nodded as she confird the people I had pointed out. We weren’t just aimlessly people-watching in the busy port area; we were waiting for soone. That ‘soone’ was the welcoming party from the Holy Vuelzarus Empire. When we arrived at Neeparc Pri Colony, Kugi had contacted the Vuelzarus Empire’s embassy, and they told us to wait for soone to et us here.

「The ones that have co look a little like samurai…」

There were three people who appeared to be our welcoming party. One was a man about my height with what looked like horns sprouting from his hairline. The second was a woman with sharp animal ears, similar to Kugi’s, on top of her head. The last one was another woman, but the animal ears on her head were rounder. The horned man stood in the center, with the two won walking behind him, suggesting he was the leader or superior among them.

They were all dressed in sothing resembling traditional Japanese attire, each carrying what appeared to be a katana at their waist. However, unlike samurai, they didn’t carry both a long sword and a short sword. Each of them had only one blade at their side.

「I humbly greet you. My na is Ranshin, and I serve as the head guard of the Holy Vuelzarus Empire’s cathedral here in Neeparc Pri Colony. Am I correct in addressing Captain Hiro, the shrine maiden Seijo-dono, and your esteed companions?」

「Ah, that’s correct. I’m Captain Hiro. Sorry to trouble you with coming all the way here.」

「This is part of my duty as a guard, so please don’t concern yourself. Rather, I apologize for keeping you waiting and not eting you directly at the port. The two behind are my subordinates, Moegi and Konoha. You two, introduce yourselves.」

「Understood, I am Moegi. It’s a pleasure to et you.」

「I’m Konoha. Nice to et you.」

The two behind Ranshin introduced themselves with a polite bow, so I returned the gesture. Since we were on introductions, I briefly introduced the rest of my crew as well.

「It’s not ideal to continue standing around here. Allow to escort you to our cathedral. There’s a vehicle waiting for us nearby.」

「Understood. But are you sure it’s alright for such a large group to just drop in like this?」

「There’s no problem at all. Please, this way.」

With that, Ranshin turned and began leading the way, so we all followed behind him in a loose line.

「Huh?」

As I walked, I noticed sothing odd. Despite the fact that more than ten of us, including Ranshin’s group, were walking together—and, besides , everyone was either an eye-catching beauty, a cute girl, or dressed in so rather unusual outfits—we weren’t drawing any attention from the people around us. I couldn’t help but voice my surprise.

「Is sothing wrong?」

「Well, sothing feels a bit off… Ah, I see.」

Konoha, the round-eared samurai girl walking near , seed to overhear my muttering and asked what was wrong. But now that I was paying closer attention, I quickly figured out the source of the odd feeling. Moegi, the fox-eared samurai beauty, was emitting so sort of ntal wave. She was probably using the so-called second power of law—a kind of telepathic psionic power, to ntally interfere with the passersby. It must be useful for avoiding attention, stealth, or perception-blocking.

「You realized, of course. It’s to be expected from soone trained under the shrine maiden.」

Moegi said with a slight laugh. Yep, she’s definitely beautiful. But… Kugi-san, could you stop quietly tugging at my sleeve in protest? I get it, I shouldn’t have those thoughts, but that doesn’t an you need to make a scene. And now Mimi’s joined in too. Ah! The two Dwarven sisters there, stop! Tugging from behind is making it hard to walk! Please stop, making a scene already!

「You all seem… quite close.」

「Well, yes. They are more than I deserve honestly.」

Konoha comnted on our antics while giving a look that was almost exasperated. From an outsider’s perspective, I probably look like a bad man playing with multiple girls, the thing is that I can’t bla anyone for thinking like that. If I were in her shoes, I’d probably be giving myself the sa kind of look.

「Considering Hiro-dono’s position, it’s not a bad thing. In fact, it should be greatly welcod.」

「Really? I thought it might be seen as a risk factor,」

I thought that from the perspective of the Holy Vuelzarus Empire, they wouldn’t be too thrilled about the number of people like Mimi around —people who could easily beco a ‘detonation switch’ for , a human bomb.

「Not at all. After all, what strengthens people and gives them the power to resist despair has always been love, courage, and hope. That’s the way of the world.」

「Really? Love, courage, and hope, huh…?」

Without even looking back, Ranshin said this with a calm deanor as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and continued to lead us forward. Love, courage, and hope, huh…? Well maybe from the point of view of a civilization based on psionic technology, this kind of spiritual thing is more important than it seems. This man’s words have piqued my curiosity about the Holy Vuelzarus Empire and its beliefs.