Chapter 284: Lucky Looter Marie

『We welcome your arrival to our port, Captain Hiro.』

“Thank you.”

While giving out an appropriate response to the transmission from the Port Administration Bureau, I operated Krishna’s console to check out the situation inside the port area of the Refill Prime colony.

“There are a lot of unfamiliar ships parked around huh.”

“Unfamiliar?”

Mimi curiously tilted her head to the side after hearing my comment.

Mimi’s confusion about my comment was certainly reasonable. For those of us who didn’t have a fixed home colony, almost all the ships moored inside port areas of colonies are basically ‘unfamiliar’ ships. It was unusual to encounter ships you knew like Lt. Col. Serena’s Restalias while traveling from colony to colony.

“Ah, you mean models you aren’t familiar with? There certainly are ship models I don’t recognize out there.”

“Are they mercenaries or maybe a deep space exploration fleet?”

“I can’t say for sure because there are a good number of models I don’t recognize, but it seems like their combat ability is a little too high for an exploration fleet or a standard armed convoy. If I had to say, they kinda look like a mercenary fleet.”

What caught my eye the most was the bright red small-class starship anchored in the middle of the unfamiliar ships. It was a small-class ship on the larger end. It was probably on par with Krishna when it came to size. That meant it was scraping the upper limit of small-class starship size. As for its armaments…… I’m actually not sure. At first glance, you could only spot something that looked like a large-caliber cannon mounted on top of the ship’s fuselage.

“That starship sure stands out.”

“Uhuh. I feel like it kinda resembles Krishna a bit.”

It kinda had the same design aesthetic, so to speak. The overall shape was different due to the large-caliber cannon mounted on its fuselage, but there was definitely a resemblance.

“What do you think?”

Elma asked while looking at the unfamiliar fleet lined up inside the port area. What do I think of this? In other words, do I think they have some sort of relation to the Red Flag pirates huh? I suppose that’s what she’s asking.

“Not sure. Maybe I’m just being too sensitive y’know. But it’s still better to be vigilant. As they say, it’s always the darkest under the lighthouse.”

“It’s always the darkest under the lighthouse…… If that’s really the case, then they’ve gone and done something pretty bold, Hiro-sama.”

“Well, they’re the type to pick fights with the imperial military after all. I’m sure they’ve got the balls to pull off at least this much.”

The Refill system was the first system where we wiped out Red Flag pirate influence during the large-scale subjugation operation spearheaded by the imperial military. It’s usually unthinkable that pirates would dare to just boldly waltz into the port of a star system’s main colony, but the brain circuits of space pirates are generally fried anyway, so I wouldn’t put it past them. It wouldn’t be strange no matter what absurd plan they come up with.

“Mei.”

“Yes. I’ve checked the security-related information of Refill Prime for the last two weeks, but there don’t seem to be any major problems. No evidence of deception has been found so far. Due to the recent subjugation operation, public order and security appear to have improved as well.”

“I see.”

There wasn’t any suspicious info, huh. Absolutely nothing. But I just can’t shake the feeling that something’s definitely up.

“Your face says it all. Do you think there really is something going on here?”

“I just have a very bad feeling about all this. It’s like a really strong premonition of loads of troublesome stuff coming our way.”

“Ah– ……So that means they really are bad news.”

“Definitely. Let’s act more carefully than usual guys.”

Mimi laughed bitterly while Elma sighed in resignation. It’s not like I got this bad feeling because I wanted to y’know?

Mimi decided to remain on the ship and continue processing the planetary descent application to Refill IV, or Theta as per the locals.

We’re going to be heading to the large starport located in the Rose clan’s territory later on. Unfortunately, there won’t be enough space for Black Lotus to land, but Krishna can do so without any problem. We could go to the integrated port facility that we used before, but there was a good chance we’d get swamped and pestered by the Minfa and Grado clans. The purpose of our descent this time around was to pay a visit to the Willrose clan, which was one of the subordinate clans of the Rose clan, so I’d like to keep a good distance from the Grado and Minfa clans.

“Would those girls be fine?”

“I don’t think they’d face any trouble as long as they stayed inside the ship. We activated the energy shield before we left anyway. And even if some hostiles manage to breach it and the hull, there are still the combat bots to handle them.”

“I’m constantly monitoring the condition of Black Lotus, Master. So there’s no need to worry so much.”

The security measures of Black Lotus were perfect today as well. They were especially tighter now that there’s a danger of being targeted by those Red Flag guys. I made sure to act 50% more carefully than usual. It wasn’t just me and Elma who headed to the Mercenary Guild this time. Mei also tagged along as well.

“The situation in the colony doesn’t seem to have changed that much.”

“You’re right.”

We carefully observed the surroundings as we walked out of the port area where Black Lotus was parked and made our way to the Mercenary Guild branch. A lot more ships were parked inside the port area than the last time we were here, but overall, there doesn’t seem to have been a lot of changes to the overall situation, and the port area operated like usual. But, as expected, that strange fleet didn’t seem to be a commercial one that could haul a lot of goods for trade.

“They look pretty disciplined. They remind me of soldiers.”

“It’s as you say, Elma-sama. A good number of them are keeping a watchful eye on our group, but they are making sure not to be too obvious about it.”

“They resemble soldiers eh. They’re practically oozing with suspicious vibes.”

That mysterious squad that made full use of military-style combat tactics crossed my mind. I absolutely didn’t want to be too involved in any shady military stuff. That goes for both the imperial military and the Vereverem forces.

“It looks like they contacted someone. It was just for an instant so I couldn’t intercept it properly, but it looks like they gave a sign of some sort to another party.”

“Ugh…… This is getting more and more fishy by the moment. Let’s go and finish what we came here for and get out of here fast.”

The reason why we exposed ourselves so openly in this manner was to see the reaction of the people from that unknown fleet. Was this move too risky after all? But unless we know how the other party would react, it would be difficult to decide on what further countermeasures to employ.

“Should we have just holed up inside Black Lotus after all?”

“I wonder. Well, at least we’re now sure that they’re interested in us, right?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

After walking for a while more, we finally managed to arrive at the Mercenary Guild branch building and promptly entered the place without anyone, in particular, bothering us. The guild seems to be more relaxed than usual, which was probably due to the recently concluded pirate subjugation that wiped out a lot of pirates from the system.

The eyes of the female elven receptionist, who seemed a little bit too free, shone when she spotted our group.

“Welcome!”

“Uh, what’s with that super plucky welcome? Did we actually come to a diner or something?”

“This is probably my first time getting welcomed like this in a Mercenary Guild branch……”

I and Elma grinned at each other in amusement and headed straight for the reception desk where the cheery female elven staff member was waiting for us. By the way, Mei was silently following after us with her usual stoic expression. She didn’t seem to have any comments regarding the guild staff’s behavior.

“Ahaha. Sorry about that. No one’s paid a visit to our branch these past few days you see.”

“Is this branch really okay?”

“This place serves half as a guild affairs office anyway, so I guess it’d be fine. Or rather, hasn’t there been any work lately, Miss?”

“None whatsoever. About four days ago, all the trading ships that got stranded here due to the pirate mop-up operation left all at once. They didn’t even hire any escorts. And pirate activity has almost gone completely silent as well.”

After saying so, the female guild staff shrugged her shoulders.

“The pirates in the surrounding star systems have basically also been wiped out, so it’s only natural that there won’t be any work left huh.”

“In a little while more, new trading ships will probably arrive at this place, so it’ll become lively once again.”

“I see. So, uh, is the fleet currently parked inside the port area some sort of mercenary corps waiting for those commercial trading ships to arrive?”

“Right. It’s a mercenary corps named Crimson Lance. Their leader is a Gold-ranker.”

“Gold-ranker huh. So they’re higher ranked than Elma.”

“Well, excuse me for being a mere Silver ranker.”

Elma kicked my shin as she rolled her eyes at me. That really hurts y’know. Well, it’s only natural that the leader of an entire mercenary corps rose the ranks faster than Elma who’s always acted as a lone wolf previously.

Uh, it’s not like I know the exact evaluation percentages of the achievements earned through more normal means anyway.

Eh? Am I suspicious of Crimson Lance, you ask? Well, yeah. I don’t have any evidence, but I do feel there’s something up with those guys. Because the timing of their appearance was just too perfect. They had an excuse to sit around in the colony, and their leader was even a Gold-ranker. It was way too clean and perfect. Of course, I’d be suspicious if such a group happened to cross my path since I have this supposedly strong tendency to attract trouble. I might sound a bit too paranoid here, but judging from all my previous experiences, I just can’t help it y’know……

“Oh, it looks like the rumored Gold-ranker has just arrived.”

When I turned around to follow the gaze of the female elven staff, I saw a beautiful woman giving off an intense impression who was flanked by two burly and strong-looking men.

She was quite the flashy woman. She had bright magenta pink hair that really stood out. Her attire was also quite eye-catching. She sported a blouse, corset, and skirt, with two laser guns strapped on her slim waist. Uh, how should I put this? While everyone around her was sporting attire fit for an SF setting, only she was wearing something relatively normal. Or rather, it was more of a medieval fantasy-style attire than anything else. The laser guns strapped on both sides of her waist were the sole exceptions though.

“Hmmm……?”

The woman also gave me a once-over, as if she was evaluating me. It kinda felt like a snake determining if the one before it was suitable prey or not.

“To think I’d be able to meet a famous celebrity in such a place. You’re Captain Hiro, aren’t you?”

“Indeed. I’m not that familiar with you though.”

“Haha, I’m also quite well-known around these parts you know? Well, I suppose I really am not as famous as you though.”

The woman confidently took a step forward and gave me her name.

“I’m Captain Marie. Just like you, I’m a mercenary who made her name by hunting down pirates. I’m also known by the moniker Lucky Looter Marie.”

“Thanks for that polite introduction. You already know of me, but let me introduce myself in kind. I’m Captain Hiro. We don’t really need to exchange handshakes, do we?”

I was hit by a strong hunch when I exchanged gazes with the grinning Captain Marie.

This woman was definitely my enemy.