CH 387

“Talk about acting out of line.”

“Sorry.”

After that really enjoyable fashion show, we went to a high-end restaurant next with the security personnel following closely behind us, and I now found myself getting pinched in the cheek by Elma as we sat around our table. It hurts.

“I get ya neesan, but Boss is our captain after all, yeah?”

“That’s true, but…… Well, alright. It’s not like he’s let his guard down.”

After saying so, Elma let out a brief sigh. Of course, I haven’t let my guard down. It would be premature to do so even if the other party has displayed a willingness to have a discussion with us.

It would be a massive joke if I suddenly found myself getting stabbed in the back the moment I lost all vigilance. So we won’t be absolutely safe until we actually have a discussion with the other party and work things out, and we shouldn’t feel that we’re safe until then.

That’s actually why I didn’t cancel the plan to have lunch at this high-end restaurant. This follows the itinerary I submitted to Igasek yesterday.

“I wonder who the other party actually is?”

“I don’t have a damn clue……”

We’ve brainstormed about this topic several times, but we haven’t come up with a single satisfactory theory. The fact that they were able to preemptively set up a surveillance net in the Alein system meant that they knew that we were gonna stop by or were tipped off by someone who did.

“I don’t remember making an enemy who would go as far as putting up a net in the Alein system during our time hopping from Termaine, Alein, and the Sierra system back then……”

“That’s true……”

Mimi and I tilted our heads to the side.

Was it due to the whims of fate or the intervention of some higher being we were unaware of? I wasn’t sure about what exactly led to it, but I did first appear in this universe in the Termaine system.

I woke up inside the Krishna that was drifting in an area of outer space within the Termaine system. I shot down the space pirates that tried to rob me and arrived at the Termaine Prime colony where I was interrogated by the authorities, helped out by Capt. Serena (who was still a lieutenant back then), and met Elma and Mimi.

I then fought with space pirates and the invading Vereverem Federation forces. After that, I went to the Alein system together with Elma and Mimi. As soon as I arrived, I ended up rescuing an Inagawa Technology ship that was being attacked by pirates, made an appointment for a physical examination, and met Dr. Shouko.

I then got reunited with Capt. Serena, who was newly promoted to lieutenant commander back then, and put in charge of the Independent Mobile Anti-pirate Fleet. She hired me to teach them the ins and outs of pirate hunting. I then got involved in a bioterrorism incident perpetrated by some artificial lifeform rights advocate group. After routing the disgusting bio-weapon monsters unleashed by that group using power armor, we set off for the Sierra system.

“Based on what you said, we can narrow it down to three possible candidates. First is, of course, pirates. In other words, those who were formerly based in this system or the Termaine system. The second one is the Vereverem Federation. And the last one would be that bioterrorism group. But the problem is……”

“If any of those three would actually be able to hire Kouga Service, correct?”

“It ain’t possible, right?”

“I also think it is not plausible, My Lord.”

I also think so.

That’s because they were respectively a criminal group, operatives of a hostile nation, and a terrorist organization. I don’t think a proper security service company like Kouga Service would accept getting hired by such people.

Igasek easily agreed to offer their services to me precisely because I was a Platinum-rank mercenary and an honorary viscount of the empire who also received a Gold Star. If not for that, there was a good chance that my request wouldn’t have been accepted no matter how much money I threw at them.

“As soon as we hired Igasek, the other party immediately countered by hiring their rival company, Kouga Service. That means that the other party has both the financial strength and reputation to successfully hire them, right?”

“Hmm…… Realistically, it can only be a fairly high-ranked mercenary based on that criteria.”

Nonetheless, they still stationed personnel here on Alein Tertius in order to find and monitor us even if us returning here wasn’t exactly a sure thing. Just who would actually go through all that trouble? I still can’t figure this matter out.

“Well, it looks like you’re unconvinced. Then, how about we reverse our thinking? It’s not that the other party particularly chose to cast a net here on Alein Tertius, but rather, they had no choice but to cast a net here.”

“They had no choice huh?”

Elma’s eyebrows wrinkled as she pondered the information we currently had. I was also thinking hard about the situation, but nothing, in particular, comes to mind.

“I really can’t figure it out. Anyway, let’s just eat delicious food and forget about that stuff for now.”

“We’ll be meetin’ em tomorrow anyway. Can we have some booze, Boss?”

“Just make sure you guys don’t get overly drunk.”

“Yay!”

Tina operated the holo-display installed on the table and began to check out the restaurant’s alcohol selection. As for food, I’ve already ordered a new type of dish that’s recently become popular in the capital for everyone to try.

“I wonder what kind of dish will get served. I’m really looking forward to it.”

“It’s apparently quite the popular item in the capital.”

It’s not like I don’t have some guesses, but I wonder if it’s something that can be easily reproduced? Before long, the dishes were finally brought over and served to us. The dish was a pure white cuboid served on a plate.

“This is……!」”

“It’s that huh.”

“It’s definitely that.”

Mimi and I, who have eaten this dish before, and Elma all matched gazes. The dish looked quite simple. It was a pure white rectangular cube after all. Specifically, it kinda resembled silken tofu or milk agar.

“What the heck is this?”

“It’s quite a simple dish.”

“Is this tofu, perchance?”

“Oh, so this is the rumored item.”

It looks like Dr. Shouko was familiar with the dish. Or rather, Kugi actually knew about that kind of tofu dish? Now I’m even more curious about the food culture of the Holy Vuelzarus empire.

“Tina, Wiska, Kugi…… Go ahead and try it. It’s gonna blow it all away.”

“Eh, that’s kinda scary Boss…… Is it laced with some kinda fishy drug or somethin’?”

“What exactly is gonna get blown away?”

“Your thoughts…… I guess.”

“Isn’t that dangerous……?”

Tina and Wiska were at a loss.

The technical name of the dish in front of us was the fully-functional food item. It was said to be a dish that perfectly harmonizes both functionality and taste, and I had the chance to sample it in the imperial capital back then. Before I knew it, I had finished the dish and even licked the plate clean. It led to me only thinking about the fully-functional food item for a while after that.

“Mmm…… This is–”

After cutting off a piece of the fully-functional food item dish and putting it in her mouth, Kugi was at a loss for words. And then, she silently continued to eat with gusto. Her tails seem to be wagging in joy. It looks like she found it quite delicious as well. Dr. Shouko was silently moving her knife and fork to eat as well.

“Let’s go ahead and eat up too.”

“Okay.”

“Right.”

I cut off a piece of the white rectangular cube that was neither too firm nor too soft and brought it to my mouth with my fork. The next moment, a torrent of complex flavors and aromas exploded inside my mouth. Yeah, it’s damn amazing. It didn’t have as much impact compared to when I first ate it, but I still couldn’t stop moving my knife and fork. I’m not sure if I’ve simply become more accustomed to it, but I found the dish served to be slightly inferior to the one I had in the imperial capital. However, it was still delicious enough that I nearly lost myself.

After the dinner, we witnessed a rare case of Tina and Wiska only taking one sip of the alcohol they ordered before pushing their glasses away, and when we got back to the hotel, they came to their senses and wallowed in frustration.

The next day.

I was completely drained.

“I already told you guys that taking you all on at the same time is unreasonable……”

As I groaned in bed, Dr. Shouko clung to me and whispered near my ear.

“Should I prepare a performance enhancer for you next time?”

“Please don’t. I’ll die. Seriously.”

It felt like the girls were glossy and healthy-looking while I was the only one who was weak. Dr. Shouko was also practically glowing, of course.

Last night, Dr. Shouko, who was dead drunk, suggested something that led to this disaster. Other than Mei and I, everyone more or less had alcohol in their systems. Thanks to that, this kind of thing happened.

“Skinship is important in fostering relationships.”

“That’s a saying that only applies when taking communal baths, and it definitely doesn’t apply to what happened last night.”

“Did you hate it?”

“It was freaking awesome.”

Dr. Shouko smiled in amusement at my honest response. Surprisingly, Dr. Shouko was the most proactive among all the crew members when it comes to stuff like this.

“I’m not familiar with the concept of a family after all. I suppose I’m simply indulging in the warmth of another person’s skin.”

I’m not sure if she’s actually serious or not when she’s grinning like that, but…… Well, I suppose that can be counted as a good thing since it does lead to better relations between the crew members. Though I’m not sure if it was entirely healthy.

“Well, I suppose it’s fine as long as you’re happy Doc. I’m pretty satisfied myself.”

“It’s a win-win, right? Shall we get up then?”

“Right.”

The others have already gotten out of bed one after another and finished taking their morning baths earlier. There was still some time before the face-to-face meeting with our mysterious party, but it’s probably better to get dressed early and eat something light first.

“Carry me, Hiro-kun.”

“Eh……? Oh well, it can’t be helped.”

I picked up Dr. Shouko who had stuck her hands out and was begging to be spoiled and headed straight for the bathroom. I was feeling hungry, but we should take a bath and get dressed first.