I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship, so I Became a Space Mercenary Chapter 504: 「If It Doesn’t Hurt, You Won’t Learn」

After finishing our preparations, we headed to the cathedral. This ti, no one stayed on the Black Lotus—we were all setting out together. Though I said ‘setting out’ it’s not like we’re heading off to battle or anything.

「We’ve been expecting you. Welco.」

「She looks so annoyed…」

And so, at the entrance to the cathedral of the Holy Vuelzarus Empire, we were greeted by Konoha—the samurai girl with round animal ears—who wore an incredibly displeased expression. Why, though?

「If you’re that bothered by our presence, we can just leave, you know…」

「That’s not what I ant… Fushin-dono is waiting for you all. Please, follow .」

With those words, Konoha turned on her heel and began quietly leading us. The ntal waves she was giving off were minimal, making it hard to gauge her emotions. Most likely, she’s been trained to suppress such feelings from leaking out.

Still, I don’t get it. Why is Konoha being so cold? Not just to us in general, but especially to . I don’t rember doing anything to make her dislike .

「Why do you think she’s being so cold?」

「Who knows? Maybe she’s just a neat freak.」

「She probably thinks you’re a scumbag for keeping all these won around.」

「Yeah, there’s no talking my way out of that one…」

I want to say in my defense that it’s not like I’m actively gathering won or that I’m not indiscriminate, but objectively speaking, it’s true that the number of won I’m involved with is quite high. And considering the fact that I spent last night entangled with all of them—although I hardly rember any of it—I can’t really deny I like won, so if that’s the reason she dislikes , I can do little to change her opinion.

We all removed our shoes and made our way to the inner room we were shown yesterday. Inside the room was Fushin waiting for us.

「Oh, we’ve been expecting you. I’m glad to see you’re all looking well today.」

「Thanks. We ca because you invited us, but I feel a bit guilty about taking up your ti like this.」

「Oh, no need to worry about that. This is part of our duty, after all. I hope you enjoy your ti here to the fullest.」

☆★☆

「So, you’ve decided to observe the training of the guards?」

「Well, the main reason I contacted the Holy Vuelzarus Empire is to learn more about the power of law and how to use it, so it only makes sense, right?」

「I see…」

Konoha was guiding to the cathedral training grounds, but looked really annoyed and was clearly displeased about having to guide .

Seriously, why are you so cold to ? What did I do to you? Well, since the opportunity has presented itself, I might as well ask. Fortunately, only and Konoha are heading to the training grounds. No one else is with us.

「I’m not one for beating around the bush, so I’ll ask directly—did I do sothing to upset you?」

「…No.」

「Yeah, that’s a lie…」

That pause at the start tells everything. The problem is, I have no idea what it could be. Hmm, could it really be, as Elma suggested, that she’s just a neat freak?

「Is it because you’re not happy with how close I am with several won, or sothing like that?」

「…That’s not entirely unrelated, sigh…」

She sighed and glanced back at briefly.

「Why are you involved with other won when you already enjoy the affection of the priestess?」

「Huh? What kind of question is that? By the ti I t Kugi, there were already five other won in my life. Should I have neglected them just because she showed up? That’d make an even bigger scumbag, don’t you think?」

Well, Dr. Shouko and Neve joined my crew after Kugi had already joined us, but there were reasons. Shouko was not just soone I had personal feelings for—having a doctor on board is necessary to protect everyone. And as for Neve, it was pretty much a given that if I didn’t take her in, she’d have died on the streets. Well, maybe not that extre. It’s possible so noble would have picked her up, to use her as a political pawn.

「T-that may be true, but…」

「From your perspective, I’m probably just a no-good playboy for being involved with other won besides Kugi, and I won’t deny it. But I’m serious about all of them. I’m doing my best to treat them with respect and face them honestly. I’m not perfect, and I know I probably can’t make everyone perfectly happy all the ti, but I’m making an effort. And it’s not just —it’s all of us, working together, supporting each other.」

In fact, I think I’m the one being supported by everyone more than the other way around. I’ve completely left things like organizing the rotation for sharing to the girls. I think i is mainly the one handling that. I really can’t thank everyone enough for following her arrangents without fighting between themselves, and still care for .

「That said, I don’t plan on pushing my way of thinking onto you. Anyway, I understand now why you dislike . If you get a chance, could you try talking to Kugi? She might have so concerns she can only share with soone from her holand. And if hear any complaints about , I’d appreciate it if you let know.」

「…I’ll think about it.」

It seed like my words had reached her, even if only slightly, as Konoha’s attitude softened a little. Communication really is important, after all.

☆★☆

「Alright, let’s fight!」

Ranshin bead as he declared this when he saw arrive at the training grounds guided by Konoha.

Is his brain made of muscle too?

「Uh, I’m actually just here to observe the training… And not for sword-fighting, I ca to see power of law training.」

「Ah, that’s a bit difficult, Hiro-dono.」

「Why?」

「This colony is too fragile for us to use our power of law in battle. If we had the right facilities, it would be a different story.」

「Facilities, huh? What kind of setup would that take?」

I knew how much damage the first power of law—telekinetic-based psionic power—could do in battle, so I was curious about what sort of equipnt could withstand an attack of that magnitude.

「We have a specialized facility that deploys a type of ntal space where you can train without worrying about bodily harm or damage to your surroundings. Unfortunately, such advanced facilities are only available in the holand.」

Ranshin sighed with a look of genuine regret after answering my question. Wait, what?! They have facilities that allow them to train at full strength, and even simulate a life-or-death battle? Are these guys even more muscle-brained than I thought?

「Isn’t there a more… I don’t know, peaceful way to train? Kugi taught so basic telekinesis exercises that I could do in my room.」

「Ah, I must admit, I’m not very good with such slow and steady training.」

「Commander Ranshin excels in enhancing his own abilities with the first power of law. On the other hand, he’s not as proficient in projecting power of law outside of his body.」

Besides the slightly embarrassed Ranshin, Moegi explained with a wry smile on her face.

I see… so he’s the type who enhances his own body rather than firing off attacks.

「What exactly is first power of law enhancent? What can it do?」

「My specialty lies in improving my physical abilities, enhancing self-healing, and reinforcing the durability of my body and weapons.」

「I’m still not quite getting it… How effective are those body enhancents compared to the enhancents received by the nobles from the Grakkan Empire?

「Ah, I’ve sparred with so nobles before using mock swords. Their reaction speed was decent, but their strength and speed were lacking. And, frankly, they were far too fragile.」

「Okay, I think I get it now.」

It’s probably safe to assu Ranshin’s body reinforcent is strong enough to treat Grakkan nobles like children. He might even rival i in terms of physical ability, or maybe he surpasses her. The fact that he casually described this colony as ‘fragile’ suggests his power is well beyond that. If he can destroy the colony with his bare hands, those enhancents must give him power on the level of a Titan-class combat bot or worse. That’s terrifying.

「Sigh… Let’s do it. A mock battle. But just so you know, I’m only slightly above average in terms of physical strength. If you hit with a mock sword, I’ll definitely end up with broken bones and coughing up blood.」

「Haha, in that case, let teach you how to use self-enhancent power of law. The best way to learn how to use it is a real battle.」

「Will it hurt?」

「If it doesn’t hurt, you won’t learn.」

「Soone stop this guy!」

Ranshin tossed a mock sword—or rather, a mock katana—and began closing the distance with a terrifyingly cheerful smile.

Help!