Chapter 108: Departure

“First, let’s finish deciding on the ship we’re going to buy.”

“Agreed.”

“Okay.”

Mimi and Elma nodded at my suggestion. May also nodded quietly.

“My main aim for buying a mothership is to earn more money. And what’s hindering us from increasing our earnings right now is our very limited cargo space.”

“Krishna is primarily a combat ship after all.”

May nodded in agreement.

Yep. Krishna is a technically small-sized combat craft. It has great firepower for its class, but its size is basically on the smaller end. The cargo hold is small so it can’t carry much inside. That hinders us from collecting all possible loot from downed pirate ships as well.

“That’s why the goal for buying a mothership this time is to obtain that much needed cargo space. And from these three, the one that satisfies that condition the most is the Skizbrazunil.”

“That’s right.”

“Uhuh.”

“Great. After saying this much, I’m sure you already get the picture. If we consider that point alone, the Skizbrazunil is the perfect choice, but Night Hawk specializes in speed and will leave Skizbrazunil in the dust. Speed and maneuverability are also important factors. It would be easier to escape from sticky situations with a fast ship after all.”

“Yes, that’s right. Exactly.”

“Is that really the case?”

Elma and May’s opinions differ on this point.

“Running away when attacked means we will not try engaging the enemies with Krishna at all. That will not make good use of Krishna’s high firepower and combat abilities. And in cases where we have no choice but to engage with Krishna, a mothership will not have enough maneuverability to evade all incoming attacks. That will in turn hinder Krishna’s performance. With that said, it seems the only advantage the Night Hawk offers is its higher FTL Drive speeds.”

May’s points were concise and logical.

“I acknowledge your points, but I wonder if you’ve taken the crew’s safety into account as well. With Skizbrazunil’s size and limited maneuverability, avoiding laser cannons, multi-cannons, ballistic cannons, and ship torpedoes would be a tall order. It does have powerful shields and armor, but it still wouldn’t be possible to block all attacks. It’s true that Night Hawk won’t be able to avoid some enemy fire with its size, but if Krishna buys enough time, we’ll be able to activate its FTL Drive and have a high chance of escaping.”

“Our enemies will mostly be space pirates, so I highly doubt they have powerful laser cannons or anti-ship reactive torpedoes. They also always try to capture medium-sized ships instead of shooting them down in order to repurpose them, so that’s all the more reason not to be concerned much about taking fatal damage. And Night Hawk is also comparably more difficult to customize.”

May shook her head after expressing her points. It looks like she doesn’t really think Night Hawk is up to par.

“In conclusion, if Master’s personal ship wasn’t Krishna, Night Hawk may have been a good choice, but in terms of synergy with Krishna, Skizbrazunil is, by far, the better of the two.”

After saying so, May turned her gaze toward me. After receiving her gaze, I cupped my chin and paused to think.

According to May’s impeccable presentation, Skizbrazunil was, hands down, the best choice. But was it really? The best thing about Night Hawk is its mobility after all. High mobility means less stress for the pilot. And it can also escape from danger zones at a relatively fast speed.

When it comes to piloting the mothership, I’d probably leave it to Elma most of the time. If Elma was the pilot, Night Hawk would better fit her piloting style and habits.

“I’m thinking of having Elma pilot the mothership, so wouldn’t Night Hawk be a better fit for her?”

“Yes, that’s right. That’s also a factor.”

“I also think so as well.”

Elma nodded with a smile and Mimi also seconded her opinion. Elma did formerly pilot a high-speed ship after all. I think she’ll have an easier time getting used to Night Hawk compared to Skizbrazunil.

“Oh? Were you planning on having Elma-sama pilot the mothership, Master? I thought you were actually going to designate me as the pilot.”

“Hm?”

“Eh?”

I and Elma raised our voices after May’s statement.

Eh? May? I didn’t actually expect that.

“Yes. Elma-sama’s role as Krishna’s sub-pilot is indispensable, and so is Mimi-sama’s role as the operator. In that case, it would be more efficient for me to be left with piloting the mothership. In case the pirates do manage to board the ship, I will be able to deal with them adequately with my abilities. If they come equipped with space suits or power armor, I can also opt to rapidly depressurize the interior of the ship to deal with them.”

“That’s one scary method.”

May is a maidroid. She looks like a raven-haired bespectacled beauty, but she wasn’t an organic lifeform in the end. And so, she will be able to function normally even within an airless vacuum. I can just imagine the gruesome fate of those pirates hit by her strategy. They’d have body fluids and other stuff spilling out of every hole possible… Oh, it’s just too cruel to describe. The clean-up work will be horrendous too.

“Of course I don’t intend to get defeated, but in case I do get destroyed, I should be fine since I can just transfer my data over to an available terminal.”

May hit her ample chest with her fist in a show of absolute confidence. I exchanged gazes with Mimi and Elma. It looks like we’ve finally settled on a ship.

“And so, we’ll be heading for the Brad system soon.”

I turned on the holo-display inside my bedroom and faced the person on the other side of the screen.

『Is that so… Can’t you stay for just a little bit longer?』

The person on the other side gave me a forlorn look.

“Nah, the sooner we leave, the better. There are not many mercenary jobs in the Dexer system after all.”

『I see……』

Yep. I was talking to Chris. I thought about leaving without saying goodbye to her, but I decided against it in the end, and so, here we are.

“Well, yeah. That’s about it…… Goodb–”

『I’ll see you next time.』

I was about to say goodbye, but she interrupted me. Chris then made a lovely smile. It seems like she’s matured a bit compared to before.

『Next time, okay? Please come see me again. If possible, I would like you to visit once a month.』

“……Uh, visiting once a month might be a bit unreasonable. We can visit every six months though.”

『It can’t be helped. Half a year it is then. I will be waiting for you, my knight.』

“Uh, the job’s already finished, so I’m actually not your knight anymore, right?”

『I haven’t relieved you from your duties yet though, Hiro-sama. Hence, you are still my personal knight.』

Chris’s smile widened after saying that. It’s like she possesses an aura of coerciveness and confidence she didn’t have before.

“……Haha. You’re really much more assertive now huh?”

『I am also a proud daughter of the Daleinwald house, as well as its current heiress. I cannot always stay as a pampered princess.』

She laughed joyfully after saying so. Chris then straightened her posture, as if to assert her newfound confidence. I see. So she doesn’t want to stay as a pampered princess huh.

『Let us meet again, Hiro-sama. I will be waiting for you.』

“I’ll see what I can do.”

『If you don’t come, I’ll chase after you, okay. I’m even prepared to use the full might and influence of the Daleinwald house if need be.』

“That’s scary. I’ll try my best not to let it come to that then.”

It looks like the sleeping princess inside the cold-sleep pod has grown a bit after going on adventures with us for a while. May might have given her a little bit too much encouragement though.

“I’ll be seeing you then.”

『Yes.』

We smiled at each other and cut off the call. With this, there are no regrets left.

“Alright. Time to depart. Start the final checks.”

I sat down on the main pilot seat and gave my command to the crew.

“Systems are all green. Weapon ammo, check. Fuel, check. We can launch any time.”

Elma operated her console on the adjacent sub-pilot seat and ran a quick diagnostics check. Krishna’s automatic diagnostics program showed everything to be all green, but it might be better if the ship underwent an overhaul once we get the chance. The problem is that I haven’t seen any similar model in any of the sites I looked up…… Well, I guess I can just place an order for custom parts after having a ship-making company analyze Krishna.

“Our food, water, medicine, and other supplies are also fine.”

May rechecked our inventory and gave a report. It was now May’s job to manage our essential supplies. I had Mimi look after them originally, but May strongly asserted that it was a job for a maid like herself instead.

“Okay. Mimi, apply for clearance.”

“Yes!”

Mimi operated her console and contacted the Dexer Prime colony’s port administration. We received clearance after a short while, and I uncoupled Krishna from the hangar.

“The excitement of leaving port never fades no matter how many times you experience it.”

“That’s right. I always feel very excited too!”

“Yes, you’re right. I understand that feeling.”

We finally flew out of the dock and plunged into the sea of stars once more.

“Yosh. Set the route, Mimi.”

“Yes. Setting the route now.”

Mimi operated her console and our next destination was displayed on the ship’s HUD. I pointed the bow toward that direction and made Krishna accelerate.

“FTL Drive, charging start.”

“Ok. FTL Drive, countdown start.”

Elma started the countdown for FTL Drive activation.

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1…… FTL Drive, activate.”

In the wake of an explosive sound akin to roaring thunder, Krishna left behind a trail of light and started cruising at lightspeed. The stationary stars in the distance turned into light trails as well. It was a really moving sight, no matter how much I go through it.

“We’ll begin connecting with the hyperlane. Hyperdrive, charging start. Countdown. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1– Hyperdrive, activate.”

Space was warped and the light started getting distorted. In the next moment, we plunged into a hyperspace tunnel of multi-colored lights.

“Now then, I hope everything will be peaceful in our next destination…”

“That would be nice……”

“……Somehow, I highly doubt it.”

“Don’t jinx it, you!”

Krishna continued plowing through the hyperspace tunnel as Elma displayed a pessimistic attitude.

Our next stop was the Brad star system. It was an industrial star system where the ship making company, Space Dwerg Co. Ltd., was located.