CH 337

We’re really standing out. Well, I suppose it can’t be helped. After all, we were a group composed of a single man being followed by six beautiful ladies. Of course, we’re gonna stand out. Moreover, Mei was in her maid uniform and Kugi was wearing her miko-like outfit.

But it wasn’t like there were only males staying inside the Dauntless. There were a lot of people in military uniform, of course. And the number of males was just a bit higher than the females. Even so, our group still stood out like a sore thumb. More than 70% of the people were wearing uniforms, or rather, plain-looking but durable shirts and pants after all.

“We are being stared at a lot.”

“Our outfits stand out from the rest after all. But I think it’s nothing to worry about.”

Kugi and Mei, whose outfits stood out the most among all of us, chatted with each other. I had Mei stick to Kugi with the intention of keeping an eye on her, but it looks like Kugi has opened up a lot to Mei. I was worried that Kugi’s serious belief in psionics and Mei being an advance autonomous AI would make them clash somehow, but it seems that Kugi didn’t show any signs of rejecting Mei’s existence.

“Ah, the atmosphere of this ship is kinda comfy.”

“The height of the ceiling is just like a dwarven-style colony after all. And the aged look kind of makes you remember Brad Prime.”

Tina and Whisker seemed to be having fun as they looked around the scenery while walking. Certainly, the ceiling of this block doesn’t seem to be that high just as they said. Generally, the residential blocks of most colonies had pretty high ceilings. That’s in order to significantly reduce the stress felt by the residents. But this was a military ship after all, so they’d rather focus on space-saving measures than comfort.

“It’s kind of interesting that they have tourist sightseeing guides here even though it’s a ship.”

“It’s probably often used as a frontline base toward the Edge World just like this time. Maybe that’s why there’s a need to cater toward the merchants, mercenaries, and adventurers that are gathering here.”

Even though this place had a tourist guide, it was a lot more modest compared to that of a colony. Only essential things like the locations of eateries, goods exchange shops, and where to complete the necessary procedures and obtain permits were indicated in the guide.

“I was surprised that there was an entertainment district inside the ship though.”

“Soldiers are still people after all. It’s necessary for them to have a place to de-stress themselves.”

“It already feels like a colony. Or rather, this ship even feels a bit safer than ordinary colonies.”

“That does seem to be the case.”

There were slum-like areas in a lot of colonies, and in some cases, they were the haunt of a lot of dangerous criminal elements. However, this ship – the Dauntless – didn’t seem to have such an area inside it. The public order and discipline seemed perfect in every corner. The commander of this ship must have incredible charisma.

“Would you like to go shopping first?”

“We might find some unexpected bargains. Shall we then? We’ll have a meal after.”

After deciding on our plan, we first went to the commercial area near the dock area where Black Lotus and Antlion were parked. There were many private stores in the area, and it seemed to be very bustling. There were a lot of people too. There were quite a few who looked like mercenaries, so it seems that the mercenaries who came together with us to this place have also gone out for some R&R.

“There is a lot of military police keeping watch.”

“That’s only natural since there are a lot of people coming in from other places.”

The probability of trouble occurring in the area where many people are likely to gather was high, especially when you had mercenaries who were always risking their lives and fighting in the mix. So, this arrangement was reasonable.

“Ah, Big Brother. Can we take a look at that shop over there?”

Whisker called out and pulled at the hem of my jacket, so I turned toward the place she was pointing at. That’s…… What? What is that shop selling anyway? It kinda looks like it was only selling some mysterious-looking junk though.

“I don’t mind, but what kind of shop is it anyway?”

“It’s a shop that deals with artifacts brought back from adventurers.”

“Artifacts huh?”

The artifacts brought back by adventurers were, in other words, remnants of unknown civilizations. In fact, those who played as adventurers in SOL primarily made money by finding and surveying unexplored planets in order to nab and sell artifacts, but I haven’t really done anything like that in the game or in this world, so I only knew stuff like that existed but wasn’t familiar with them as all.

“It’s fine to just take a look, but don’t buy any of that stuff, okay? I’ve heard of cases where things like that ended up being carriers of weird diseases.”

“Eh…… That’s scary.”

Elma warned Whisker with a serious look, and Mimi recoiled in fear after hearing her words. This is the first time I’ve heard of something like that as well. Man, artifacts sure are scary.

“It seems that some aren’t exactly diseases but stuff that directly mess with the mind. You guys are familiar with singing crystals that make sound directly echo out inside your head instead of your ears, right? It’s something similar to that.”

“I’m kinda scared of going there now.”

Whisker, who initially suggested checking out the shop, also got frightened by Elma’s story. However, such a shop could only be found in Edge World, and we might be able to find some interesting stuff, so we decided to check it out anyway.

“Welcome.”

A short young man sat behind the counter of the small shop. It seemed that his eyes were replaced with cybernetic lenses that shone a faint green. Mm. This place was brimming with a suspicious atmosphere alright.

“This thing’s got an interestin’ form. What the heck is it though?”

“Un, I can’t imagine what it’s for at all. It does look like some sort of figurine.”

Tina and Whisker began to check out a mysterious object that was inside a transparent display case. I followed suit and checked it out together with the girls, but even I couldn’t tell what it was. It kinda resembled a yagen, which was an ingredient crushing tool composed of a wheel and a receptacle used in Japan, and was made of some sort of shiny material. It’s common in this world for materials to be unidentifiable if judged solely on their outer appearance, but the material the artifact was made of felt more like an organic substance than an inorganic one. It kinda resembles white porcelain, but it really didn’t feel like an inorganic substance. Well, it was certainly strange.

“Wow, how is this glowing?”

“How mysterious. It looks like some sort of green flame is swaying inside it, but…… is it some sort of dangerous substance?”

“Its energy signature isn’t that strong. It’s about the same as one energy pack’s worth.”

“It’s kind of pretty.”

Mimi and the others gathered around some kind of green jewel displayed on top of a golden pedestal. Energy equivalent to one energy pack? That thing ain’t some sort of elaborate fake, right?

“Isn’t there anything you’re curious about, Kugi?”

“None, My Lord. Let’s see. I don’t see any items with unusually high potential or emit mental waves.”

“I see.”

In that case, I suppose there weren’t any mysterious objects that got sent over from another world like me or dangerous objects that messed with the mind here.

“I guess it’s fine to buy some stuff if you guys really find them interesting. I don’t really hate mysterious objects anyway.”

“Come to think of it, you did keep that inert crystal lifeform core, didn’t you?”

“I kinda like it because it’s so shiny.”

That thing shines in seven colors even in the dark and was pretty beautiful. I was still afraid of something happening, so I sealed it inside a sturdy shield case. I didn’t want to touch that thing with my bare hands even though it was already inactive.

“Un, I do kind of want this…… How about it?”

“Where are we gonna put somethin’ like that? Choose somethin’ a bit smaller.”

Whisker pointed to a twisted triangular pyramid that was as tall as herself, but Tina immediately objected. Just what the heck was it anyway? It’s made of black metal-like material, and there were some red streaks that glowed from time to time on its surface. It kinda felt like some sort of cursed item. It probably wouldn’t look out of place if it was put inside a demon king’s castle.

We continued chilling inside the shop and eventually left without buying anything. To be honest, I wasn’t exactly fascinated by the prospect of buying junk with unknown uses…… Well, there seemed to be other similar shops, so it wouldn’t hurt to take a quick peek at them too.