I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship, so I Became a Space Mercenary Chapter 57 – Morning of Departure

Translator: SFBaka

“Uh……”

“You got too carried away and drank too much, idiot.”

It’s been an hour since I shoved Major Serena inside the d pod. Our poor elf princess, who got carried away and opened one bottle another, ended up dead drunk and passed out in the end.

I just like what I did an hour ago, I carried the passed out Elma to the dical bay. It’s been an hour already, so I guess the alcohol has already been taken out of Major Serena’s system. I planned to wake the major up and place Elma inside the d pod.

When I ca inside the d bay, I saw Major Serena sleeping peacefully within the d pod. The vital check ca out clean, so I operated the d pod in order to wake Major Serena up. After a short while, Major Serena finally started regaining consciousness.

After a bit, she started looking around the room in mild confusion until she finally fully opened her eyes, which displayed so mild surprise. She hurriedly got up-

“-!?”

With a thud, she ended up hitting the transparent glass-like cover of the d pod and beca all teary-eyed. My dear major, you’re still acting like a ditz even if you’re no longer under the influence of alcohol huh. Are you really a major?

I operated the console and opened up the d pod’s hatch. The hatch can also be opened from inside without my intervention, but I bet our ditzy major would have so trouble even with that.

“Anyway, can you get up first? I’m gonna put her in next.”

“O-Okay……”

Major Serena got up from the d pod while massaging her forehead. I then put Elma inside next, operated the console again, and closed the hatch once more.

“Um……?”

“Major had one too many drinks and ended up venting all her frustrations from work to , then completely passed out afterward. While presumptuous, I took the liberty to put you inside the d pod in order to relieve you of the alcohol from your system. I hope you took no offense ma’am.”

“……”

Major Serena’s face turned bright red and awkwardly averted her gaze from mine. Well, of course she’d feel awkward. She sothing like barging in on a person’s private ship just to have an outlet to vent her frustrations after all. She then drank alcohol like crazy, acted like an unreasonable drunk, and had to be shoved inside the d pod in the end. Anybody with even a modicum of common sense would feel sha from these kinds of actions at least.

“U-Um, I’m sorry.”

“Nah, it’s fine. One really needs to let out all the stress that’s built up like this sotis. It seems you’ve piled up quite a lot after all.”

“Uu……”

Major Serena hid her blushing face with both hands. Looks like I really hit the nail on the head.

“And this is the second ti this happened anyway.”

“Uguu……!”

It was just a repeat of what happened last ti.

“I suggest bringing so dical nanomachines that would help out with drunkenness the next ti you go out for so alcohol ma’am. Or rather, don’t you think you’re just too damn defenseless? I an, not only did you board the ship of a male rc like . You also drank like there was no tomorrow and even ended up passing out. Be more mindful, alright. You’re a noble lady after all.”

I’m sure there are more than one or two thods to manipulate one’s consciousness in a technologically advanced society like this. If they only wanted to remove a person’s ability to move freely, they also had the option to resort to more ‘primitive’ things like cutting up the limbs and such. And there’s also the thod of taking Major Serena to god-knows-where while she’s passed out as well.

It would have been totally possible to do a thing like selling off Major Serena to the guys from the Vereverem Federation if I ever had the mind to. Major Serena was a young and beautiful noblewoman with a nice pedigree after all. I bet there are guys who would pay any price to procure such a fine specin in order to do whatever they liked to her out there.

“I’ll reflect on my actions.”

Major Serena shriveled up and got a bit dispirited. Cute- No, no! Don’t get fooled! Just who was the person in front of ? Major Serena. A completely sober Major Serena. Is there really any chance such a Major Serena would feel down after hearing my lecture? Well, I guess there is. But it might not be the case as well. I still have my doubts.

“Well, since you say you’re reflecting, I won’t lecture you any further. I’m not a guy who’s in any position to scold soone like you anyway.”

I picked up Major Serena’s sword I propped up on the wall earlier and gave it back to her.

“I guess it’s ti for you to go back to your own ship already. You’d get in trouble if any strange rumors about this got spread around, right? Actually, too.”

“Y-You’re right. Exactly.”

Major Serena received the sword and slowly got up.

What about Mimi? She woke up in the middle of my drinking session with Elma and was now busy tidying up the dining room. In the end, it was the youngest of the girls, Mimi, who had the most self-control among the three.

I opened the main hatch of the ship and assisted Major Serena down the ramp. Major Serena turned back toward in the middle of the steps.

“Will I ever see you again?”

“I’m sure you’ll get to et us again if you continue hunting pirates. Those guys are one of our main sources of inco after all. And you also owe , rember?”

If you think about it like that, I was like a predator who thrives in devouring the flesh and blood of pirates in order to live. Yeah, it’s an apt description, in a sense. But I’d like to think I’m a bit more decent of a person than that. There’s no real pirate worth pitying after all.

“I see…… You’re right. I’ll be seeing you then.”

“Yeah. Later, major.”

Major Serena flashed a pretty smile one last ti and turned away. After seeing her off, I returned inside the Krishna and let out a sigh.

“I’ll be seeing you, huh.”

It’s unfair for you to say a thing like that with those abandoned puppy eyes, lady. What the heck should I do? I really feel soone like Major Serena is a little bit too much for soone like .

Well, I guess we’ll still get to et up if there really was so sort of connection between us. I better just turn my attention to our departure tomorrow instead.

Then ca the next day.

The actual reserve supplies used up during yesterday’s drinking party was fairly little (the alcohol was Elma’s and the food was Mimi’s), so we could launch anyti.

Since the girls were drunk from alcohol last night, we didn’t have the chance to do so nightly activities, so I just did so training first thing in the morning, took a bath, and did a bit of info gathering while sipping so warm coffee.

The info I searched for was not about the resort planet we were going to go next or the things to look out for while traveling there. It was about the bioterrorism incident that occurred a few days ago.

The cause of that incident has finally co to light.

Those pale white monsters were, as expected, variants of the ones we saw being bred at the cultured at factory. The auto-apoptosis feature that was a security asure in case a specin ever escaped from a at plant was removed via genetic manipulation, and their aggressive instincts were instead enhanced to dangerous levels.

It seems a certain organization has already claid responsibility for causing the bioterrorism incident this ti, and the imperial governnt has already given an order to the military for the organization’s extermination.

The na of the terrorist organization was the Artificial Life Protection Association.

They were a group that was dedicated to protecting the rights and promoting the release of artificial life forms born and bred for the people’s convenience. So they were like the futuristic extremist version of conservationists or animal rights groups huh? They sound like a group I didn’t ever want to get mixed up with.

“Good morning, Hiro-sama.”

“Morning.”

Mimi and Elma entered the dining room just after I finished reading the article.

“Morning, you two. Let’s have breakfast and prepare to head out.”

“I hope there are no more interruptions this ti.”

“Um, doing it two tis in a row should be unlikely, even for soone like Major Serena…”

Mimi replied to Elma’s statent while sporting a wry grin. I’m sure Mimi has already classified Major Serena as『that type』inside her heart. You know. That type. A troublemaker, I an.

“Well, I guess it’ll be fine. But let’s depart straight away, just in case. Being delayed for a day or two is already too much.”

I’m sure it’ll cost us quite a bit once we got to our destination, but we have a budget of over 17 mil, so we still have a fair bit of leeway available. That’s a whopping 1.7 billion if forcibly converted into Yen after all.

“Anyway, let’s eat up first. I wonder what today’s daily specials are?”

“I’m famished, so I want sothing that’s a little on the heavy side today.”

“I’m fine with sothing light. I don’t have much of an appetite during mornings anyway.”

We made a lively fuss as we started to order our als from the auto-cooker.

We’re going to a new place later on. But first, we spent our morning doing our usual routine as always.