Chapter 196: Cutting-edge Tech

We did some light… err, light? Anyway, I trained in swordsmanship with Mei with an intensity that wouldn’t result in me getting injured. After finishing all sorts of training routines using the villa’s training facility, the mechanic sisters finally woke up.

“Fuuaa…… Mornin.”

“We’re sorry for sleeping in so late.”

The one who’s yawning without a care was the older sister Tina, and the one who’s apologizing politely was the younger sister Whisker. They appeared similar in age to Chris, or perhaps even younger, but they were both actually the same age as me and were already working adults.

Just why do they look like legal lolis, you ask? That’s because they are both from a race that’s a common staple in fantasy works – dwarves. In this SF dimension, female dwarves don’t look like their male counterparts and didn’t sport thick beards, but instead appeared as legal lolis that weren’t that different from young human girls.

By the way, they were actually twins. The one with red hair and spoke in Kansai-ben was Tina, and the one with blue hair and spoke politely was Whisker. They both looked like mere beautiful young girls, but they both possessed monstrous physical strength, so you’d probably get the short end of the stick if you harassed them.

“Don’t worry about it. What will you guys do about breakfast? You’d probably lose your appetite later on when we eat out if you have your meals now though.”

“If it’s alright with you, how about I make you both some delicious milk tea?”

“Please do.”

“Thank you very much.”

Mei promptly prepared some milk tea for the sisters. I guess they will make do with some milk tea for now and eat their fill later when we have our lunch.

“We’re going shopping first, right? What do you guys wanna buy?”

“Um, clothes?”

“We bought some dresses the other day though?”

“Not like those. We’re talking about more casual stuff. The capital has lots of great clothes made with the latest cutting-edge tech, and you can freely order those here.”

“Wouldn’t normal clothes be fine?”

I have absolutely no clue regarding cutting-edge tech clothing or whatever. Oh yeah. There was this one time I was offered underwear that was made out of anti-laser material or something when I went shopping with Mimi and Elma back then huh. Are they talking about those?

“Even if they have similar designs, clothes made out of cutting-edge materials feel more comfortable, and they have stuff suitable for mercenaries like clothes made out of anti-laser materials or stab-proof materials. They even have stuff made out of nano-cloth that would automatically prevent bleeding and heal injuries. There is lots more other stuff too.”

“Hmm…… Well, it sounds interesting enough. Okay, let’s take a look then. Just buy them if you find items that catch your eye.”

“Just how much would clothes made out of cutting-edge materials cost though……?”

“In any case, we can probably afford some with our current finances, big sis.”

Tina looked reluctant, but just like Whisker said, they could easily afford a few stuff with their current finances. I’ve given the two of them some substantial bonuses after all.

They aren’t really part of Krishna and Black Lotus’ official crew but were instead engineers assigned to Black Lotus by the Space Dwerg company. The particulars regarding their assignment to Black Lotus are a bit messy, but basically, they were sent to us as part of an apology by Space Dwerg as well as to collect data for their latest starship model. Yeah, a lot happened back then. Yep.

“Man, that was a great buy.”

After an hour, we arrived at a mall in the capital that had a lot of shops selling cutting-edge goods and enjoyed shopping for stuff.

“Ya sure, Boss?”

“Totally.”

Tina was tilting her head in bewilderment beside me, but I was personally very satisfied with the thing I bought. The thing I bought was the latest defensive energy membrane emitter device model, or Personal Shield, filled with cutting-edge tech. It was cylinder-shaped and looked similar to a 350 ml beverage can, and once you slap two energy packs on it, the device would be capable of emitting an energy shield around you with variable output.

At the lowest output, you could protect yourself for a pretty long duration against insects and animals that may possess poison or unknown pathogens in undeveloped planets, and if you raise the output, it could even block laser rifle shots and other laser weapons with comparable firepower. Of course, increasing the output would shorten its operation time, but you can easily remedy that by carrying spare energy packs with you.

“But Boss, are ya sure you’d be able to use that thing?”

“Of course. This could come in handy on melee battles. I can also use it if we find ourselves landing on an undeveloped frontier planet.”

“Ya really think stuff like that would happen, Boss?”

“……Uh, maybe. You never know.”

I couldn’t look Tina in the eyes and moved my gaze away awkwardly. I also bought a multi-function camo cloak that I wasn’t sure I’d ever use a while back as well, but I haven’t worn it until now, and it ended up gathering dust in a corner of Black Lotus’s cargo hold…… Uh, well, Mei actually cleans it periodically, so it’s not like it’s literally dusty or anything.

“Anyway, don’t sweat the small stuff.”

“You don’t look like it, but you’re surprisingly prone to squandering your cash on pointless stuff sometimes huh, Boss.”

“It’s not pointless, okay. I’m sure it’ll come in handy someday.”

“Let’s just leave it at that then. Tina-chan is a nice girl after all.”

“Hooray for the nice Tina-chan!”

“Ahaha, you’re saying that in monotone though.”

Tina giggled happily.

“Why’d you tag along with me instead of the others anyway, Boss?”

“I’m only saying this because it’s you Tina, but girls take way too much time shopping y’know…… Especially for clothes and stuff.”

I’m walking together with Tina in the shopping mall right now. We’re in the middle of checking out the cutting-edge product boutiques around the mall together with everyone earlier. Then I and Tina excused ourselves from the rest of the group and started looking around for interesting stuff on our own.

“That’s true. Whee also likes to doll herself up, so she takes way long to choose her clothes and all.”

“Aren’t you gonna buy clothes though, Tina?”

“I’m leaving that to Whee, so it’s okay. Our three sizes are pretty much identical anyway.”

Tina gave me a thumbs-up sign and a wink. Are you really fine with that, you unreliable big sis?

“How bout you, Boss? You aren’t shopping for clothes either?”

“I’m gonna consult with everyone later regarding that cutting-edge material clothing line stuff and order some articles with similar designs to my current get-up so it’s fine.”

“I have a funny feeling there are several similar-looking sets of clothes lined up in Boss’s closet.”

“Hahaha.”

She hit the nail on the head so I better just laugh it off. But these clothes are comfy, functional, and easy to store away y’know. People would also recognize you as a merc easily with these clothes on, so I feel they’re very convenient.

Tina and I went around some more shops until my portable terminal’s ringtone rang out from my jacket pocket. Have Mimi and the others finished their shopping? Well that was quicker than I expected. I took out my portable terminal and took a look at the screen.

“Boss, your face…”

It looks like I unconsciously made a pretty ugly expression. The name displayed on the terminal screen wasn’t Mimi, Elma, nor Mei. It was Major Serena. Err, she was recently promoted, so I guess it’s Lieutenant Colonel Serena now. Anyway, it was Lt. Col. Serena’s name.

“Yes, this is Hiro speaking.”

『It’s been a while, Captain Hiro. You’re all doing fine, I hope?』

“Thankfully. We’re staying at Earl Dareinwald’s villa right now. So, what do you need this time?”

『You’re cutting right to the chase? It’s not bad to be straightforward, but you’re a Gold Star recipient and a Platinum-ranked mercenary, so isn’t it fine if you showed a bit more composure and tolerance?』

“Well now. That was rude of me. I’ll reflect on it properly.”

I honestly apologized to Lt. Col. Serena.

『That’s more like it. I’m calling about our deal regarding the purchase of combat bots.』

“Okay. Have you obtained permission?”

『Yes. The approval order from the imperial military was sent to me earlier. I’ll send the digital certificate to your terminal after this, so just pay a visit to the military bot manufacturer whenever it’s convenient for you. If you show them the certificate, you’d be able to make your purchases with no trouble. I’ll also send the letter of introduction I prepared for you. House Holz is one of the major shareholders of Eagle Dynamics, so they’ll properly accommodate your needs if you show them my letter.』

“Roger that. Thank you very much for your help, Lieutenant.”

『With this, I’ve properly paid off my debt from the Crystal Campaign. This time, it’s your turn to pay me back for all the trouble you caused me in the capital, okay?』

“Yeah, yeah. Please go easy on me.”

『Fufu…… Until next time then.』

The call was cut. Just what was she fufu-ing for huh!? I wonder just what kind of troublesome stuff she’s gonna drop on me next time…… I’ve become able to easily access gateways, so it’s scary to think that she’ll be able to call me over no matter where she was in the empire. Sheesh.

“I was planning to continue shopping here in the afternoon, but I guess we’ll have to change our plans huh.”

“We’re gonna buy some combat bots, right? I’m really looking forward to it.”

I guess she’s excited about being able to see the latest military combat bots. Tina seemed quite pumped up.

Actually, I’m excited as well. There are no hot-blooded males who hate fighting robots after all!