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Chapter 282 - Life Doesn’t need Dramatic Twists

Of course, a system blockade was still conducted. Lt. Col. Serena expected the reaction of the pirates would be much quicker this time, blockaded the target star systems with the help of the imperial military forces and the local system garrisons much earlier than the planned arrival of the main force. However, the Red Flag pirates somehow managed to disappear from under everyone’s noses despite the tight and swift blockade. No useful information about their whereabouts was found in the pirate bases we recently raided. The data storage devices and terminals were first completely reformatted and then physically destroyed. It was pretty thorough.

“It’s kind of anti-climactic, isn’t it, Hiro-sama? I was expecting a decisive battle or something.”

Mimi muttered listlessly while slumped on top of a table inside the dining hall of Black Lotus. It seems she was pretty disappointed because this was supposed to be her first crack at being a sub-pilot.

“This is fine. Well, it’s a bit underwhelming, sure. But this is still a reasonable ending.”

After saying so, I took a sip of tea that had already turned a bit lukewarm.

In the first place, the pirates didn’t have the ability to fight with our forces head-on. The quality of ships, equipment, and personnel are several leagues apart. There’s absolutely no contest. After all, their modus operandi was to attack private civilian ships that were, for the most part, unarmed. They’re aware that they’d lose badly if they went head to head with a military fleet.

“I wonder where those guys from the Red Flags escaped to?”

“They didn’t get caught in the system blockade, right?”

The mechanic sisters were also taking a break while still wearing their work jumpsuits. Well, it seems the maintenance bots and drones were still busy working even if their masters were here on break. In fact, the sisters were checking out their tablet terminals from time to time in order to supervise the work’s progress remotely.

“They must have escaped to deep space.”

“Deep space? So does that mean they’re planning on spending time locked in FTL cruise until they spot a chance to escape to the neighboring star system?”

“Maybe. Or maybe they plan on hiding all the way until the heat finally dies down. Either way, we probably won’t get even a peep from those guys for quite some time.”

Deep space. It does sound rather vague. It actually refers to the regions of space located outside a star system where there are no hyperlanes. Previous studies had shown that hyperlanes nodes only existed with a certain range from a star, and space beyond that range was called ‘deep space’. At least, that’s according to SOL lore. But it should be practically the same in this dimension as well.

“Lt. Col. Serena might find this result a little lacking since she was aiming to completely crush the Red Flags, but the fact that she was able to chase away a considerably large pirate organization from the surrounding star systems is still a big enough achievement. After all, there’s no precedent to an operation like this that was able to successfully damage a large pirate organization to this degree.”

Mei, who was sitting at an angle just behind me, said so in a soft tone while pouring a new helping of tea to my now-empty cup.

“Lt. Col. Serena, the imperial space navy, and the local star system garrisons have successfully achieved a dazzling military victory, and we’ll be receiving ample rewards for a job well done. Everyone’s happy, so all’s well that ends well.”

“A happy endin’ huh…… The only guys who should be unhappy are the pirates.”

While saying so, Tina displayed a subtle expression. Well, even though some of the parties involved are happy, the pirates did end up with a lot of casualties and were even chased out of their lairs. It’s true that not everyone’s happy in that sense, I suppose.

“You don’t like how things went down?”

“It’s not like I can do anythin’ about it. Y’know I’ve been on the other side of the fence for a bit a while back, Boss. Even villains have certain circumstances that led to them doin’ bad stuff. I’ve seen lots of decent folks turn to crime back in the day after all.”

“Big Sis……”

“But that and this are different matters, right? There’s no reason to grant mercy ta pirates, was it?”

“Yep. Well, if you think of it from a moral standpoint, we’re still on the side of justice for protecting the people from their clutches. As for whether or not killing pirates with no questions asked is just…… Well, I suppose it is.”

“But that just leaves ‘em with no way out, Boss.”

“Uh, they’re pirates after all……”

“Uhuh. They’re pirates, so yeah……”

Tina retorted, but I and Elma are pretty set on our ways y’see. There would be no end to the discussion if we started talking about how cruel and merciless pirates actually were. And for those who were born into a life of piracy, it’s the only way they knew how to live, so they can only act as pirates for the rest of their lives. There’s no helping 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.”

“……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.”

“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.