CH 406

“The situation’s worse than we expected.”

“Right.”

As I read through the information provided by the female guild staff, I couldn’t help but frown. Elma seemed to be feeling the same as me, and her eyebrows were slightly wrinkled.

First of all, there was no doubt that there was a pandemic spreading within the colony. However, the ratio of those afflicted among the colony’s population was highly skewed.

“This is a colony with a particularly large disparity between social classes huh?”

“Right. There’s a clear divide between those on top and those at the bottom.”

Approximately 95% of the colony’s inhabitants were deemed as『lower-class』citizens, so I suppose they’re equivalent to the working class. Well, there were still distinctions among the lower-class citizens, but all in all, the quality of life didn’t seem to differ much between them. A majority of those infected were among the lower class. They also suffered the most casualties.

On the other hand, the remaining 5% consisted of the『upper-class』citizens, comprised of people such as corporate elites and government officials. In other words, the rich and famous. However, the disparity between these two major social classes was particularly pronounced in this colony. The latter group received the most advanced treatment immediately even after getting infected, and there were almost no casualties among them.

The Reemay Prime colony was a large colony with a population of approximately 500,000 people. Of that half-million, 95% were highly exposed to the risk of infection, and deaths were mounting day by day, making the situation quite precarious.

“At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if riots occurred eventually.”

“There’s certainly a high chance of that happening…… There might even be people who would try to stow away on ships if given the chance.”

“Guess we have to watch out for that as well huh?”

The situation was further exacerbated by the fact that the use of the dangerous drug that caused this entire disaster was actually quite prevalent among lower-class citizens. The colony’s local government has identified it as the source of the problem and issued warnings about the dangers of taking the drug to the entire colony, but so far, there were no signs of the drug’s spread stopping any time soon. In other words, this pandemic will only grow even worse.

In addition to its psychotropic effect, the drug made out of the pandemic-causing mushroom also had a strong analgesic effect that eases pain and induces a feeling of euphoria when taken, so its use was quite rampant among the majority of the populace.

“No, no, no…… This ain’t right.”

“Humans will grasp any straw when cornered. Besides, there will always be people who’ll act contrary to reason and common sense in these types of extreme situations, people who’ll spread conspiracy theories, and so on.”

“Even an outsider like me is already having a headache after seeing this stuff. Is the lord of this colony also at his wits end?”

“I suppose so.”

No matter how advanced science and technology become, people will always be people. Even if tools became increasingly more convenient, and even if people managed to leave their home planets and started exploring space, their nature as people fundamentally wouldn’t change, I suppose. Yeah. At the very least, my own mentality didn’t seem to have changed much since I came to this world.

Well, I suppose being mostly okay with taking lives when necessary was already a big change. But maybe I actually hadn’t changed at all, and I already had such a mentality, to begin with. Japan was mostly peaceful, so there weren’t many opportunities to take the lives of others there. I suppose I have no way of verifying my nature any longer.

“According to Dr. Shouko, the fatality rate without proper treatment is about 70%. A death toll of just roughly 10,000 people so far means they’re doing surprisingly well huh?”

“It looks like they are spending quite a lot of money in order to control the spread of the pandemic. However, it seems that not everyone is getting proper treatment. It also seems that people don’t actually develop any immunity toward the disease, so there are many who end up getting re-infected.”

“This is too messed up…… Can we actually do something about this?”

“I wonder. You have to ask Dr. Shouko about something like that.”

Elma shrugged her shoulders in response. She was acting like the matter wasn’t actually her problem. Well, I suppose it really wasn’t huh? I guess all we can do was to drop off the medical supplies and pray that the local lord and his administration will be able to resolve the situation eventually. It’s basically impossible for mercenaries like us to actually resolve this sort of situation, and we weren’t in a position to do so in the first place.

“Let’s consolidate the info we managed to gather for now.”

We shared the information we obtained from the Mercenary Guild with the others.

In hindsight, our actions at this time were still pretty careless. But the regrets will come later.

“So, you really want to check the safety of your acquaintances in the colony?”

“Mm……”

Tina, who was standing in front of me, nodded shyly. When I shared the info I got from the Mercenary Guild with the rest of the crew, Tina found that the situation was a lot direr than she expected, so she couldn’t help but worry and wanted to head to the colony herself.

“Denied. It’s already risky for you to roam around the colony even without factoring in the pandemic in the first place, and now, there’s also the drug matter to consider. That’s why I can’t grant you permission to head out.”

“I agree with Hiro.”

“I’m of the same opinion. Well, actually getting infected is one thing, but the stress one will experience from the constant threat of dying from an epidemic shouldn’t be discounted. The public order inside the colony should have deteriorated quite a bit.”

I, Elma, and Dr. Shouko all denied Tina’s request. I mean, of course we would. After all, it was just too risky. Besides, there really wasn’t anything much Tina can do after confirming the safety of her acquaintances. Aside from providing them with some medical aid, there was nothing else we can do for them.

I suppose Tina can spend her own money to take some kind of action for their sakes as well. I believe her funds have increased quite a bit compared to when she was working for Space Dwergr. But even if she spent all her earnings until now, she wouldn’t be able to help them all move from the colony on her own. She’ll probably manage five or so people at most.

“Mumumu……”

“……”

Mimi seemed to be wracking her brain trying to come up with something to help Tina. Kugi, on the other hand, was simply content with observing how the situation develops. It seemed that Wiska was also trying to come up with some plans just like Mimi.

“Well, I suppose you’re not the type to back down even if we tell you that it’s dangerous, Tina. You’re planning to sneak out anyway, aren’t you?”

“Uu……”

“That’s why it’s better for me to head out there instead. Just link up with my helmet’s comm system so you can see and communicate with your acquaintances remotely. This is as far as I’m willing to compromise when it comes to this matter, okay?”

“It’s gonna be dangerous to head out there on your own. I’ll accompany you.”

“Master, I’m coming with you as well.”

“In this situation, wouldn’t it be better to take a doctor with you?”

“My Lord, I shall accompany you as well.”

“Stop, stop. Let me continue first!”

The girls started volunteering one after another, but as expected, I can’t afford to bring everyone with me this time around. Or rather, heading out in a large group was just getting our priorities backward.

“I also wanna go……! I wanna go, but……!”

Mimi, who was well aware of her weakness when it comes to fighting, was shaking in frustration. Mm. As expected of the clever Mimi. She was able to objectively evaluate the situation and herself. Good, good.

“First of all, Dr. Shouko and Kugi can’t come. I want you to perfect the ship’s disease prevention systems just in case, Doc. And you don’t have protective equipment that can fit your body type in the first place, Kugi.”

“Muu, how regrettable.”

“To think my tails will actually get in the way…… How frustrating.”

The two openly displayed their disappointment. It will certainly feel reassuring if they accompanied me, but Dr. Shouko will be a complete liability if we ever got ourselves into a sticky situation, and Kugi couldn’t even meet the conditions in order to safely get off the ship in the first place. Well, she can also just wear a protective mask and then thoroughly sterilize her entire body and clothes whenever she comes back to the ship, but that’s just too troublesome.

“You need to take charge of controlling and supervising the Lotus, Mei. So, you’re also rejected. You’re the only one I can rely on to keep things running smoothly and make sure nothing’s wrong with our mothership.”

“Understood. Please leave the ship to me.”

Mei puffed out her chest and nodded briskly. Mei wasn’t in any danger of getting infected by the pathogens due to her nature as a maidroid, so she was completely safe, and she was also dependable in all aspects, including combat, so she was perfect for guarding our ships. Also, Tina wouldn’t be able to sneak out of the Lotus on Mei’s watch.

“And so, I’ll be counting on you, Elma.”

“I kinda have a problem with the elimination process, but this is still the most reasonable decision.”

Elma outwardly pouted, but her twitching elven ears gave away how she really felt. It was pretty obvious that she was quite happy.

Elma had a lot of practical experience as a mercenary under her belt, a sharp intuition, and was quite skilled in combat. Her skill with a laser gun was only inferior to me and Mei, and I was no match for her when it comes to barehanded fighting. However, as expected, even the highly skilled and agile Elma was no match for Mei’s speed and strength.

“Alright then. I’ll make an appointment with the local ruling lord first before paying him a visit. After that, I’ll check on the safety of Tina’s acquaintances. But I’ll have to confirm the location of those acquaintances first.”

“Un, I got it…… Thanks a bunch, Boss.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Considering the risks, it would be better for us to simply sell off all our goods and leave as quickly as possible, but I also couldn’t turn a blind eye to Tina’s request, especially in the state she’s currently in. Well, I already resolved myself for the most part anyway. Since I was gonna swallow poison anyway, I better just swallow the plate as well.