I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship, so I Became a Space Mercenary

ping it.
That’s just how it is.

『Is that so? Then I pray you would be reborn as anything other than a pirate in your next life.』

There’s no choice but to kill them while saying so in our hearts.
Because, well, they only knew such a life, so they’re able to attack innocent civilian ships, steal cargo, ‘process’ the kidnapped crew and passengers, and then sell them to customers without feeling even an ounce of remorse.
In the Graccan empire, at least, piracy is a felony that immediately warrants death.

“Un.
That’s right.
That’s right, isn’t it?”

“If you don’t have at least that much resolve, you can’t live as a mercenary.
That’s why mercs like us are really careful when it comes to dealing with pirates.”

“Is that so?”

Whisker tilted her head to the side.

“Yup.
That’s why Hiro-sama and Elma basically don’t walk around alone when they’re outside.
They at least take Mei with them whenever they step inside colonies whenever we come to port.
That’s also the reason why the main priority when we first visit a Mercenary Guild branch or military garrison is to ask about the public order situation of the colony we’re visiting.”

“It’s true that it’s a bit more dangerous when you get off the ship than when you’re on board.
We’re in a business that pirates highly loathe after all.
We also need to be careful around the local colony gangs and the space mafia that might have ties to pirates as well.
They might suddenly jump you in a secluded alley or something after all.”

After saying so, Elma displayed a slicing gesture with her index finger and ran it over her neck.

“That’s scary…… Now that you guys mentioned it, Mei-han does tag along whenever Boss or neesan goes out of the ship huh.”

“Since we’re all staying in the same ship, you guys might get targeted as well.
That’s why Hiro’s always tried to shore up security whenever he has the chance.
He bought Mei and the combat bots primarily for that purpose after all.”

“Come to think of it, whenever we go out lately, you always tell us to take some combat bots along as escorts and luggage carriers.”

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“……Ain’t that bein’ a tad bit overprotective?”

The sister’s gazes focused on me.
Overprotective? No, no, of course not.
I mean, you guys wouldn’t want to get caught by strange people and experience cruel stuff, right? That’s why I’m doing all I can to prevent that from happening.
Isn’t that natural?

“Oh, Boss.
And here we thought you didn’t care about us, but you’ve always had our safety in mind, huh?”

“Yep.”

“Big Brother……”

Tina was grinning happily for some reason, and Whisker’s gaze was filled with passion.
What the heck? What’s with this awkward atmosphere all of a sudden?

“Right, that’s about enough.
This topic is over.
Let’s talk about our next plans instead.”

“You just blatantly forced us to change topics huh.”

“He’s trying to push things aside again, Elma-san.”

“I can’t hear you.
Anyway, let’s grab our rewards as soon as this job is finished and head back to the Refill system.
We need to return this guy after all.”

After saying so, I grabbed the Sacred Tree seed that was leaning against my chair and lifted it up.
The crystal tips glowed in protest, but I ignored that.

“I can’t just bring away the object of worship of the elves after all.
I’m not sure what exactly happened to this guy, but I’ll return it for the time being.
And then let’s try to stay away until the heat’s died down.”

“That should be appropriate.
The Minfa clan chief seems really interested in you, after all, Hiro.”

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“Well, we need to visit the Rose clan territory first before going on our way.
Since we have the opportunity, let’s go and see Elma’s family’s roots.”

“That sounds really fun, Hiro-sama.”

For some reason, we’ve enjoyed hospitality from the Grado and Minfa clans but rarely came in contact with people from the Rose clan.
We haven’t talked about it much with our guide Lilium either.

“After that, let’s look for a suitable high-tech star system so we can find a lightweight power armor for me and a new ship for Elma.
If you have any further suggestions, let’s hear it now, guys.”

“Mm, if you haven’t decided where to go next, I’d like to come to a place where there’s a Space Dwerg branch office please.”

“That’s right.
There are a lot of things to do, such as handing over the restored ship and various other procedures…… You wouldn’t mind, right, Big Brother?”

“Sure thing.
I was actually planning on letting Elma have the ship instead if its performance specs are reasonably outstanding.
But it doesn’t look like that’s the case huh.”

It seemed to be a pretty high-performance ship compared to what pirates usually use, but it was a bit lacking as a professional mercenary combat ship.
And since it was a ship model from a hostile nation, there might be a limit to customizing it with parts available in the Graccan empire alone.

“Alright then.
You can consult with Tina and Whisker about our possible target destinations, Mimi.”

“Understood!”

“Right.
This meeting is over.
We’ll stay on standby for the time being just in case there’s an emergency sortie.
Please continue to manage and pilot Black Lotus, as usual, Mei.”

“Aye, aye, sir.”

“Understood, Master.”

With this, the pirate fiasco should be coming to a close.
Afterward, we’ll be returning to our usual leisurely ways.