/
“So, Hiro. Captain f*cking Hiro-san. Just what the heck is going on here?”
It’s been thirty minutes since I contacted, or rather, reported to Col. Serena. We and the Screech Owls crew made our way to where the Screech Owls fleet was parked inside the docking area of the Dauntless.
The two medium-class ships that served as the mother ships of the Screech Owls fleet were already surrounded by the military and was now under compulsory inspection. Their cargo hatches were thrown open and all their cargo containers were being carried outside in order to get checked.
“From what I’m seeing, soldiers are occupying my beloved ships and are carrying out all our precious cargo. What the heck is happening here?”
Perhaps it was due to the alcohol, or perhaps he was just that angry. Or maybe it was both. The face of Captain Souls was already red. He looks just about ready to burst at any moment

 Now then, what should I do? If I was a heavy smoker, I would have already lit one cigarette and taken a puff, but I wasn’t good with either alcohol or tobacco.
Well, smoking was strictly forbidden inside colonies and starships due to the air pollution hazard, so there basically weren’t a lot of heavy smokers in this world in the first place.
“It’s gonna be a long story.”
“If you don’t start talking now, I’ll ventilate your face. Using this laser gun.”
Captain Souls pointed to the laser gun strapped to his waist. Stop, stop! If you attempt to fire at me from this range, Mei will probably clobber you before you do.
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t talk. I just said it’s a long story. This matter actually started in the Windas system. You’re familiar with that system, right?”
“It houses the empire’s largest shipyards. What of it?”
“Before we came here, we stayed there for some business. And one day, I got involved in a certain incident. I got attacked by something that looked like a murder machine. Fortunately, I’m able to hold my own in a fight, and that thing was already being chased down by the military. While I was fighting with it, the military caught up and we managed to get rid of it. But it seemed that there were already casualties before I fought that thing.”
“I can’t see the connection. What does that story have to do with my ships being raided by the imperial military?”
Captain Souls urged me to hurry up and explain further with his arms crossed in front of his chest. As expected, battle-hardened veteran explorers were capable of quickly regaining their cool. No, maybe he just decided that threats of violence wouldn’t work on someone like me.
“I already said it was gonna be a long story, right? In other words, the problem lies in those casualties and the thing I first thought was a killer robot. The casualties were the clerk of a shop that sells rare articles in the Windas Tertius colony and the customers who happened to be present when the incident happened. The initial form of that killer ‘robot’ was actually a large metallic sphere. A pretty mysterious one. And the subsequent military investigation found that it was originally brought out from the Edge World. You might not be aware of this recent incident, but shortly after we arrived and docked inside the Dauntless, an artifact shop operating here was raided by the military. They found spheres similar to the one in the Windas Tertius colony inside the shop, but they ended up going on a rampage.”
And I was actually there when it happened as well

 But there’s no need to tell him that. I’ll just keep quiet about it.
“I just didn’t want to see you guys featured in the news tomorrow as the latest victims of those killer spheres. That’s why I immediately reported it to the military. Believe it or not, I didn’t have any malicious intent at all.”
“We’re not wet-behind-the-ears rookies. We’ve always faced all sorts of danger in our job. We know the risks.”
“Unfortunately, the opponent is just too dangerous this time around. Are you sure you can deal with a murder machine that can tank direct hits from military-grade plasma launchers and high-output lasers without taking any damage? It’s an opponent that even marines equipped with heavy power armor, laser launchers, and plasma launchers had lots of trouble dealing with you know. Even I would have died if I didn’t have these.”
I patted the hilts of the swords strapped to my waist. I’ll keep quiet about the marines getting supplied with crudely made maces for the sake of their honor.
“

Damn. I understand what this is all about now, but it doesn’t change the fact that they’re messing up my ships. Dammit!”
“Uh, captain? What’s gonna happen to our earnings this time around?”
“The military is confiscating all of our stuff so there’s no helping it. Well, all we can do is negotiate with them and make them pay for at least some of them. I’m also gonna charge them for messing up the interior of my ships. Let’s go, you lot.”
“””Aye, aye, sir!”””
Captain Souls and his crew headed straight for the Screech Owls ships that were being raided.
“So, what about us?”
“We don’t have any business outside anymore. Let’s just head back to the ship. Colonel Serena will probably contact us sooner or later anyway–”
“Hey Boss. I kinda still wanna drink.”
When I suggested going back, a spoiled (drunk) Tina pulled my arm while making a pitiful expression. Ow, oww. My arm’s gonna get dislocated. She’s small but she sure is strong. Wiska also pinched my jacket’s hem and gently pulled at it. This one’s reserved and cute.
“But you guys can just continue drinking when we get back to the ship, right?”
“Huh? No! Drinkin’ in the ship ain’t the same as drinkin’ in a proper bar!”
“Eeh

?”
Tina started acting bolder and stomped her feet in protest. Uh, please don’t step on my foot, okay? My bones would probably break. I surveyed Wiska, Elma, Mimi, and Kugi’s expressions.
Mm. Well, the party did get cut short after I made my report, so I understand where they’re coming from.
“Mimi, can you find out if there’s any other nice bar we can go to? I don’t mind if it’s more expensive than the last one.”
“Please leave it to me!”
Mimi smiled and patted her chest. Un, how lively! After seeing Mimi being so full of cheer, my mood was lifted a little bit. And you don’t have to look at your own chest with such a serious expression, Kugi. I’m fine with all sizes, big or small. They are all precious in my eyes. Uh, I ended up blurting it out. Well, I guess that’s fine.
“Alright then. Let’s go eat and drink our fill today. After all, we’re probably gonna be really busy starting tomorrow.” So let’s go all out. All out.”
It’s nice to spend money without a care like a typical mercenary from time to time. Well, it’s not like we’ll be able to spend all the money we managed to earn today anyway.