Chapter 62: Real Big Trouble

The black-haired young girl still hasn’t woken up.  When you’re put into cold sleep, you’re not actually asleep, but rather, you’re in a state of suspended animation, and it takes quite some time for your body to readjust once you’ve been brought out of the cold sleep state, according to what I’ve heard anyway.  

In other words, that’s why the young girl still hasn’t regained consciousness until now. 

“N, Nn……”

The girl’s face scrunched up cutely.  Is she having a bad dream or something? Her little hand is still gripping mine tightly, and it looks like she isn’t letting go anytime soon. I lightly squeezed the young girl’s hand. She squeezed back, and her expression turned for the better. 

“I’m not really all that good at babysitting y’know……”

I let out a small sigh as I challenged something I wasn’t particularly used to.  I wonder what I should do once she wakes up? If she ends waking up to find her hand being gripped by an unfamiliar uncle, would it turn into a “Hello, FBI?” development or something?  

Nah, the port administration staff knows what’s up anyway, and the control AI of the facility is keeping tabs on us constantly as well, so I guess there’s nothing to worry about on that front.   But just who would be the one to explain exactly what’s going on to her once she wakes up?

Me? Am I the one who needs to explain this mess? 

Judging from her apparent age, it doesn’t seem likely that she was traveling alone.   She probably boarded the passenger cruiser together with her family.  But she ended up the only one who drifted into outer space and got picked up by pirates.  What happened to the rest of her family? Just what kind of situation happened which prompted her to utter “Don’t go, father.” earlier?  

No matter how I think about it, the situation sounded quite dire.

It looks like the port administration bureau has already looked up her identity, the ship she was on, as well as the current whereabouts of the other passengers, but judging from their expressions earlier, it seems that they ran into some trouble.   That sure puts a damper in my mood, especially considering what’s to come from here on out. 

“Haa……”

I let out another sigh. I guess the only saving grace so far is one female port admin staff bringing me a stool chair to sit on as an act of kindness after noticing my situation. 

『I’m going to the Mercenary Guild for a bit.』

That was the contents of the message Elma sent me just now. Looks like she’s finished all the required paperwork. 

『Kay. Our little princess still isn’t showing any signs of waking up.』

『How old do you think she is?』

Mimi suddenly asked about our little sleeping beauty in the message app’s group chat.   It looks like Mimi’s also curious about our sleeping princess. 

『I’m not too sure, but it looks like she’s definitely younger than you, Mimi.  I guess she’s about ten to twelve, give or take.』

『But she’s the same height as Mimi though.』

『Please don’t bring up my height into this!』

Elma sent a sticker of a one-eyed alien with a teasing grin, and Mimi responded with a sticker of a creature that looked like a cross between a squirrel and a cat looking all angry in a cartoonish way.   You guys sure are having fun. 

Speaking of which, this message app also had the function of uploading pictures taken by the terminal camera, so I took a picture of the sleeping princess and uploaded it to the chat. 

『As you can see, our sleeping princess is currently immersed in dreamland.』

『So cute!』

『It’s bad manners to take pictures of people’s faces when they’re asleep y’know… But I do admit she’s cute.』

Mimi sent a sticker of the cat/squirrel creature with heart shaped eyes, while Elma sent an admonishing message. 

『I’m gonna take pictures of your sleeping faces next time too. Bet they’ll turn out really cute.』

『Just try it if you wanna see me really get pissed.』

『W-Well, if you promise to make it look cute, then……』

Stickers of an angry one-eyed alien and a cat/squirrel creature fidgeting bashfully were sent my way. Should I send a sticker as well…? This dimension’s messaging app doesn’t use any of the characters I’m familiar with though.  Well, since we’re technically on vacation, I should find some time to hold a 24-hour holo-movie viewing marathon or something, to familiarize myself with the sub-culture. 

“Nn……?”

As I was busy fiddling with my portable terminal with my left hand as I continued to grip the young girl’s hand with my right, she finally woke up.  Her vacant-looking gaze wandered around the room until she finally found me, and we started exchanging stares. She tightened her grip on my hand for some reason, so I kinda went with the flow and gripped back.  

“……Father?”

“Sorry, but I’m not your father.”

The absentminded gaze of the little princess started wandering around the room again. 

“Father… What about father…?”

“I’m sorry, but the only one I found was you.”

After hearing my words, the girl muttered her understanding and closed her eyes.  She gripped my hand tightly again. 

“Your hand……”

The young girl’s eyes opened once more, and her gaze moved to our hands that were currently clasped together. 

“Thank you for holding my hand like this.”

“No, um…”

I gently relaxed my grip on the young girl’s hand. She squeezed my hand one final time, and then let go. She tried to get up from the pod, so I supported her back and helped her up. 

The eyes of the young girl gazed straight at me once I finished helping her up and she started talking.  

“Thank you very much. I am… My name is Christina Daleinwald.  I am the daughter of Friedrich Daleinwald, who is the eldest son and heir apparent of the current Earl Daleinwald.”  

That’s some crucial info right there! Um, in other words, this girl’s name is Christina. Her grandpa is the current head of an earldom, and her father, Friedrich, is the next head of the house.  

“I’m Captain Hiro. I’m a Silver rank mercenary affiliated with the Mercenary Guild, and I own the high-speed combat ship, Krishna.  Please just call me Hiro.”

“Yes, Hiro-sama. Please call me Chris as well.”

After saying that, Chris gave me a slightly uneasy smile.  I already thought she was quite the little beauty when I got a good look at her sleeping face earlier, but she’s honestly way damn cute.   Her features were quite refined of course, but it was her eyes, which shined like bright onyxes, that really brought out her beauty.   In Japan, she would be the so-called “once-in-a-hundred-year beauty”.  Her body was… well, on the slender side, obviously. 

“For now, let me explain the situation to you first. You can ask everything else you want to know afterward. And, um, is my way of speaking acceptable? Do you want me to sound more formal?”

“No, it’s fine. Even if I’m the granddaughter of an earl, I’m still just a young girl with little to no authority.”  

Chris answered as she lightly shook her head.  I was worried she was your typical bratty princess earlier, but it looks like she’s actually a humble and gentle soul.  What a relief. 

“I’ll do as you wish then. First, let’s talk about exactly how I found you. Simply put, I picked you up as part of the loot as I was going through the wreckage of a pirate ship I shot down. You were inside a cold sleep pod and was part of the cargo of said ship.  After picking up your cold sleep pod, I immediately headed to this colony, Sierra Prime, brought your cold sleep pod to the colony’s port administration bureau, and had them open it up. And so, we found you inside said pod.  We’re currently inside the cold sleep pod unlocking facility of the port administration bureau of this colony, Sierra Prime.  

“……I see.”

She seemed to mull over my words a bit and nodded softly after a short while.

“The rescuer who picks up a cold sleep pod in outer space has an obligation to protect the person found inside it for a short period of time.  Generally, it’ll be for a week or so. In other words, I’m tasked with taking care of you for the time being. I have two female crew members on my ship, so I was thinking of having them take care of you for most of your stay.  Unfortunately, we don’t have any available rooms left, but the rooms my female crew are currently using were originally double rooms fit for two persons, so you can just share a room with one of them… but, if you don’t think it’s proper for a lady such as yourself to board a man’s private ship, I can just arrange for accommodations inside the colony.” 

“No, you don’t really have to go so far for me. Staying on your ship should be fine, given the situation.”

Chris answered and shook her head lightly once again.  So she’s saying she’s fine with boarding a guy’s private ship in this situation huh. But, seeing as she’s knowledgeable with the usual implication of such a thing, that custom really was treated as common sense huh.  

“Is that so? Well, I still think you should make your final decision once you’ve seen the ship personally. So, I’ll be taking custody of you for the time being, but you won’t have anything more to worry about once we successfully get in touch with your grandfather, Earl Daleinwald.   In the meantime, I will guarantee your safety, at least until the earl’s people come to pick you up.” 

“I see… So you… so Hiro-sama will protect me?”

“……? Yeah, I will. It will only be for a short period of time, but I guess I can play the role of the loyal knight of our dear princess.”

Facing the uneasy-looking eyes of Chris, I went down on one knee at the side of the cold sleep pod and put one hand on top of my chest in a theatrical flourish.  She was suddenly attacked by pirates, got thrown inside an escape pod, and once she woke up, only I was by her side. I’m sure she’s feeling really anxious right now. 

“Fufu, to think a mercenary piloting a combat starship will serve as my personal knight. It feels like I’ve become the heroine of a holo-novel.”

Chris smiled at my exaggerated gestures, but her expression turned serious moments after. 

“Oh, my knight, Hiro-sama. Please lend me your strength and protect me.”

“……What is it that ails you, my princess?”

Chris seemed to have played along with my joke, so I continued to follow up. It was an impromptu game of make-believe, but she’s a girl who’s younger than Mimi, so it didn’t feel awkward at all.  

“My father, Freidrich Daleinwald, was murdered.  And it was at the hands of my uncle, Balthazar Daleinwald, no less.  The ones who attacked the ship weren’t pirates.  They were most likely my uncle’s private troops.  My uncle aimed at my father, who was the next heir, and myself, and had his men attack the passenger ship we boarded.” 

……WHAT!?

“I am planning to tell my grandfather everything, but even so, I have no definite proof. But it is clear to me that the so-called ‘pirates’ who boarded the ship were obviously aiming for father, mother, and myself.  My mother was shot when she protected me, but my father managed to let me escape. However… The reason why the rescue beacon of the cold sleep pod didn’t activate was probably because my father purposefully deactivated or destroyed the transmitter.  My uncle is surely aware that I have escaped. I’m sure my uncle’s men are still actively searching for my whereabouts in the Sierra star system even now.”

“Oh my goodness……”

I looked up to the ceiling while covering my face with one hand as I blurted out a complaint in English.   So this really turned out to be one hell of a troublesome matter after all.  And it’s even a domestic squabble between nobles. That’s way more trouble than I signed up for.   How should I put it? The moment I was thrown into this dimension, I’ve gotten involved with one crazy thing after another almost nonstop. Ain’t it just too much? All I wanted was to hunt some pirates small fry, save lots of money, and finally purchase a detached house with a garden on a residential planet while drinking as much cola as I want. 

“It’s far too much trouble, isn’t it?”

Chris made a bitter smile. Trouble huh. Well, yeah, it certainly is troublesome. In fact, I can’t call it anything but. 

“Please just forget everything I said to you earlier.”

However… However, so what? Am I supposed to give up without even trying and abandon a powerless young girl who needs help? Me? The pilot of the high-performance combat craft Krishna? The one who helped Mimi and rescued her? The one who couldn’t leave Elma alone?

No damn way. I’m the kind of guy who can’t leave a cute girl asking for help alone folks.

Heroic delusions? Acting cool? So what? I’m of the opinion that the creatures called men will have to face something like this head on at least once in their lives if they encounter it, or they wouldn’t even be fit to call themselves men. 

“I’ll need a reward.”

“Eh?”

“I’m temporarily your ladyship’s personal knight as well as a mercenary. And a knight fighting for the princess, just like a mercenary, needs an appropriate reward for his service. Don’t you think so, milady?”

Chris went wide-eyed after my declaration. Then, the corners of her mouth jerked up. 

“Uh… Um……”

“Anything’s fine. Now’s the time for negotiations, my princess. What are you going to reward me with?”

Chris looked troubled for some moments. Her eyes then brightened up, as if she remembered something, and she proceeded to take off the necklace she was wearing and presented it to me. It was a necklace decorated with a brightly shining light purple gem. 

It certainly looked expensive, but I’m not sure how valuable it is exactly.  Well, it was something a noble lady like Chris was in possession of, so I’m sure it wasn’t cheap at least.  

“This is my most prized treasure.”

Chris stared at the necklace longingly.  This necklace decorated with a light purple gem was most likely something that held great importance to her. 

“This shall be placed in my care for now then.  The actual reward will be given by your grandfather.  Once I’ve successfully protected you from all danger, I shall return the necklace without fail.  My princess.”

I placed the necklace inside my jacket pocket. Chris then held out the back of her hand to me while smiling softly.   Am I supposed to kiss the back of her hand or something? Man, that’s kinda embarrassing… but since I’ve come this far, then what the heck, let’s do this.  I’m a Japanese guy who can read the mood y’know.  Yeah, let’s go. I’m doing this guys. 

I suppressed my feelings of embarrassment and kissed the back of Chris’ hand.

“Fufu, it really is like those holo-novels.”

“It seems my princess is an avid reader…… Am I really doing a good job playing the part of an imperial knight?”

“I wonder? I have not yet seen the real thing after all.”

Chris held the hand I kissed close to her chest as she answered me with a bright smile.  So I guess this is just one of the things a girl born to imperial nobility fantasizes about huh.  Kinda like the naked shirt and naked apron fantasies for men.  And that’s just my attempt at an easy-to-understand analogy okay.

“Anyway, there you have it. It might only be for a limited time, but I am pleased to be in your service, my dear Princess Chris.”

“Yes! I shall be in your care, my knight.” 

Chris made a smile akin to that of a blooming flower. 

OK, since everything’s been decided, let’s start working on countermeasures.  The enemies have most likely deduced that their target escaped via cold sleep pod by now, so I’m pretty sure they’ll try to scope out the port administration bureau. It’s been three months since the attack, so there’s a chance they’ve cancelled the search, but we can’t take things optimistically like that. 

Now then, the first move is important for this kind of stuff. What should I do now?