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

said pod.  We’re currently inside the cold sleep pod unlocking facility of the port administration bureau of this colony, Sierra Prime.  

“……I see.”

She seemed to mull over my words a bit and nodded softly after a short while.

“The rescuer who picks up a cold sleep pod in outer space has an obligation to protect the person found inside it for a short period of time.  Generally, it’ll be for a week or so.
In other words, I’m tasked with taking care of you for the time being.
I have two female crew members on my ship, so I was thinking of having them take care of you for most of your stay.  Unfortunately, we don’t have any available rooms left, but the rooms my female crew are currently using were originally double rooms fit for two persons, so you can just share a room with one of them… but, if you don’t think it’s proper for a lady such as yourself to board a man’s private ship, I can just arrange for accommodations inside the colony.” 

“No, you don’t really have to go so far for me.
Staying on your ship should be fine, given the situation.”

Chris answered and shook her head lightly once again.  So she’s saying she’s fine with boarding a guy’s private ship in this situation huh.
But, seeing as she’s knowledgeable with the usual implication of such a thing, that custom really was treated as common sense huh.  

“Is that so? Well, I still think you should make your final decision once you’ve seen the ship personally.
So, I’ll be taking custody of you for the time being, but you won’t have anything more to worry about once we successfully get in touch with your grandfather, Earl Daleinwald.
  In the meantime, I will guarantee your safety, at least until the earl’s people come to pick you up.” 

“I see… So you… so Hiro-sama will protect me?”

“……? Yeah, I will.
It will only be for a short period of time, but I guess I can play the role of the loyal knight of our dear princess.”

Facing the uneasy-looking eyes of Chris, I went down on one knee at the side of the cold sleep pod and put one hand on top of my chest in a theatrical flourish.  She was suddenly attacked by pirates, got thrown inside an escape pod, and once she woke up, only I was by her side.
I’m sure she’s feeling really anxious right now. 

“Fufu, to think a mercenary piloting a combat starship will serve as my personal knight.
It feels like I’ve become the heroine of a holo-novel.”

Chris smiled at my exaggerated gestures, but her expression turned serious moments after. 

“Oh, my knight, Hiro-sama.
Please lend me your strength and protect me.”

“……What is it that ails you, my princess?”

Chris seemed to have played along with my joke, so I continued to follow up.
It was an impromptu game of make-believe, but she’s a girl who’s younger than Mimi, so it didn’t feel awkward at all.  

“My father, Freidrich Daleinwald, was murdered.  And it was at the hands of my uncle, Balthazar Daleinwald, no less.  The ones who attacked the ship weren’t pirates.  They were most likely my uncle’s private troops.  My uncle aimed at my father, who was the next heir, and myself, and had his men attack the passenger ship we boarded.” 

……WHAT!?

“I am planning to tell my grandfather everything, but even so, I have no definite proof.
But it is clear to me that the so-called ‘pirates’ who boarded the ship were obviously aiming for father, mother, and myself.  My mother was shot when she protected me, but my father managed to let me escape.
However… The reason why the rescue beacon of the cold sleep pod didn’t activate was probably because my father purposefully deactivated or destroyed the transmitter.  My uncle is surely aware that I have escaped.
I’m sure my uncle’s men are still actively searching for my whereabouts in the Sierra star system even now.”

“Oh my goodness……”

I looked up to the ceiling while covering my face with one hand as I blurted out a complaint in English.
  So this really turned out to be one hell of a troublesome matter after all.  And it’s even a domestic squabble between nobles.
That’s way more trouble than I signed up for.
  How should I put it? The moment I was thrown into this dimension, I’ve gotten involved with one crazy thing after another almost nonstop.
Ain’t it just too much? All I wanted was to hunt some pirates small fry, save lots of money, and finally purchase a detached house with a garden on a residential planet while drinking as much cola as I want. 

“It’s far too much trouble, isn’t it?”

Chris made a bitter smile.
Trouble huh.
Well, yeah, it certainly is troublesome.
In fact, I can’t call it anything but. 

“Please just forget everything I said to you earlier.”

However… However, so what? Am I supposed to give up without even trying and abandon a powerless young girl who needs help? Me? The pilot of the high-performance combat craft Krishna? The one who helped Mimi and rescued her? The one who couldn’t leave Elma alone?

No damn way.
I’m the kind of guy who can’t leave a cute girl asking for help alone folks.

Heroic delusions? Acting cool? So what? I’m of the opinion that the creatures called men will have to face something like this head on at least once in their lives if they encounter it, or they wouldn’t even be fit to call themselves men. 

“I’ll need a reward.”

“Eh?”

“I’m temporarily your ladyship’s personal knight as well as a mercenary.
And a knight fighting for the princess, just like a mercenary, needs an appropriate reward for his service.
Don’t you think so, milady?”

Chris went wide-eyed after my declaration.
Then, the corners of her mouth jerked up. 

“Uh… Um……”

“Anything’s fine.
Now’s the time for negotiations, my princess.
What are you going to reward me with?”

Chris looked troubled for some moments.
Her eyes then brightened up, as if she remembered something, and she proceeded to take off the necklace she was wearing and presented it to me.
It was a necklace decorated with a brightly shining light purple gem. 

It certainly looked expensive, but I’m not sure how valuable it is exactly.  Well, it was something a noble lady like Chris was in possession of, so I’m sure it wasn’t cheap at least.  

“This is my most prized treasure.”

Chris stared at the necklace longingly.  This necklace decorated with a light purple gem was most likely something that held great importance to her. 

“This shall be placed in my care for now then.  The actual reward will be given by your grandfather.  Once I’ve successfully protected you from all danger, I shall return the necklace without fail.  My princess.”

I placed the necklace inside my jacket pocket.
Chris then held out the back of her hand to me while smiling softly.
  Am I supposed to kiss the back of her hand or something? Man, that’s kinda embarrassing… but since I’ve come this far, then what the heck, let’s do this.  I’m a Japanese guy who can read the mood y’know.  Yeah, let’s go.
I’m doing this guys. 

I suppressed my feelings of embarrassment and kissed the back of Chris’ hand.

“Fufu, it really is like those holo-novels.”

“It seems my princess is an avid reader…… Am I really doing a good job playing the part of an imperial knight?”

“I wonder? I have not yet seen the real thing after all.”

Chris held the hand I kissed close to her chest as she answered me with a bright smile.  So I guess this is just one of the things a girl born to imperial nobility fantasizes about huh.  Kinda like the naked shirt and naked apron fantasies for men.  And that’s just my attempt at an easy-to-understand analogy okay.

“Anyway, there you have it.
It might only be for a limited time, but I am pleased to be in your service, my dear Princess Chris.”

“Yes! I shall be in your care, my knight.” 

Chris made a smile akin to that of a blooming flower. 

OK, since everything’s been decided, let’s start working on countermeasures.  The enemies have most likely deduced that their target escaped via cold sleep pod by now, so I’m pretty sure they’ll try to scope out the port administration bureau.
It’s been three months since the attack, so there’s a chance they’ve cancelled the search, but we can’t take things optimistically like that. 

Now then, the first move is important for this kind of stuff.
What should I do now?