I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship, so I Became a Space Mercenary
Chapter 552 「…You’ve Completely Stopped Being Human Since I Last Saw You, Huh?」

After finishing our meeting with His Excellency the Marquis, we decided to relax for a while at his ‘villa’. Originally, I’d thought about wandering around Grakkius Secundus colony for some sightseeing, but the Marquis gently dissuaded me. According to him, he didn’t want me getting mixed up in any unnecessary trouble at this time. That said… with my kind of luck, trouble might just find me even if I’m not looking for it.

「You really can’t say you wouldn’t, huh…」

「You really can’t, right…」

「Hey, knock it off. Sometimes, the truth hurts, you know.」

As I said that, I sat on the sofa, feeling quite pleased with myself as Mei and Shouko-sensei sat on either side of me. Even Shouko-sensei, who usually buries herself in her research, had nothing to work on here at this villa — which was really more like a high-rise hotel suite House Holz lent us — so she was lounging with us. Together with Mei, they were humoring me in my little role-play of a ‘lecherous noble with beautiful maids at his sides’.

「You do like these weird little games sometimes, don’t you, Hiro-kun?」

「I figured I might as well get used to proper noble pastimes while I can.」

「I seriously wonder what kind of image of nobility you’ve got in your head…」

「Sitting all high and mighty, flashing money! Violence! Lust! That sort of thing, honestly.」

While replying to Elma, I happily bounced the breasts on either side of me. Ah, to be alive is truly wonderful. Mei’s perfectly balanced volume and shape, and Shouko-sensei’s impressive size that defied any need for explanation — both were absolutely magnificent.

「Honestly, that’s more like your typical pervy merc behavior than anythin’ else, ya know…」

「So does that mean you’ve finally started acting like a proper mercenary since coming here, Big Brother…?」

「No, Captain’s always been mercenary-like enough… Or rather, was he? Has he really…?」

The legal lolis kept glancing over and whispering amongst themselves. I can hear every word, you know. You girls clearly aren’t trying to keep it secret.

「I kind of get what Hiro-sama’s saying though. The evil nobles in Rampaging Emperor give off exactly that vibe.」

「My Lord, I daresay there’s no need for you to mimic corrupt nobles for sport…」

「Saying it like that makes it sound childish somehow, so please don’t. That one actually stings.」

Honestly, I’m bored, after my plans to go out were spoiled, there’s not much to do besides stupid little games like this. And only Mei and, surprisingly, Shouko-sensei, are willing to humor me in these kinds of antics.

Well, I suppose the others would probably go along with it if I asked, but doing something like this with pure girls like Mimi or Kugi would make me feel guilty. And if I did it with the legal lolis, the scene would be… let’s just say, extremely bad.

As for Elma, if I tried this with her, I’d likely end up with torn side flesh or bent fingers and arms that shouldn’t bend that way. Terrifying.

「That said, we really don’t have anything to do… This is practically house arrest, isn’t it?」

「You threw away all your ceremony prep work and went off to play in another country. Deal with it. It’s not like you’ll die if you’re not constantly moving with some purpose, you know.」

「Still, not knowing anything about how this whole ceremony prep is going leaves me feeling uneasy…」

How exactly is the ceremony going to be conducted? What’s the date? How many guests? Who are they? What’s the status on ordering the necessary outfits? The budget? Where is it even being held? None of this information has trickled down to me.

「Hahaha! Leave all those tedious details to us, won’t you?」

The Marquis had laughed as he said that, but I can’t help but feel like he’s scheming something. I have this creeping suspicion that I’m being led straight into some grand trap.

「In any case, I need to make contact with Serena and Chris… Where are they right now?」

「Chris-chan is probably busy in the Comatt system. She said she’s handling her duties as governor while coordinating with Earl Dareinwald to prepare for the ceremony.」

「So she’s not in the Imperial Capital after all. What about Serena? She can’t exactly abandon her military duties, can she?」

「Hard to say. If she’s getting married, I wouldn’t be surprised if she retired early and was personally overseeing preparations. I mean, her subordinates should be fully trained by now.」

Her successor in the Anti-Pirate Independent Fleet, huh? I don’t know if her deputy would simply be promoted or if there’s a number two I’ve never heard of waiting to step up. Could she actually stay on after marriage, continue leading the fleet while also being my wife? Doesn’t seem likely. Unless Black Lotus permanently attaches itself to the fleet, married life would be impossible.

Chris, on the other hand, would likely remain in the Comatt system where she governs, or in the Dexer system which is Earl Dareinwald’s capital. In that case, if we chose either system as our future base of operations, we’d get to see each other regularly.

Wait—if the fleet establishes a base in one of those systems, Serena might be able to stay in the military while living as my wife? Hmm, no use overthinking it. I’ve got no clue how the Imperial Navy handles these situations anyway. Retirement upon marriage seems like the most probable outcome.

If that’s the case… where is Serena right now? What is she doing?

As I mulled that over, still happily enjoying the breasts to my left and right, I heard the elevator on our floor ding—the floor we were using as our lodging. My sixth sense immediately picked up on a familiar presence rushing out of the elevator at breakneck speed.

That presence made a beeline straight for our room, threw open the door without knocking, and something golden shot toward me like a bullet.

「Whoa whoa, that’s terrifying.」

「Wait, what’s happening?! Why am I suspended in midair!?」

The golden object—which, of course, was Serena—was caught by my telekinesis, her momentum neutralized as I gently floated her before me.

「You come barreling in like that and you’ll get someone killed, seriously.」

Right now, Mei was sitting on this sofa, so if Serena had slammed into me at that speed, I would’ve been crushed between her and the unmoving sofa. Honestly, I could’ve died.Serena seems to forget this sometimes, but physically, my body’s still just that of a normal human. Probably.

「This is our reunion after so long! Shouldn’t you show a little more emotion or something? That’s normal, right?」

「Well, if you had made a normal entrance, maybe I would have.」

As we spoke, Mei stood up from her seat beside me and gave me a glance. I nodded in thanks, then used my telekinesis to gently lower Serena onto the now vacant spot.

「…You’ve completely stopped being human since I last saw you, huh?」

「If only I could deny that outright…」

I can easily control things with telekinesis, can sense the presence of unseen minds, and I’ve started awakening powers that distort space, time, and fate itself. I can’t pretend to be ‘just an ordinary human’ anymore. To be honest, not only can I control things with telekinesis, I’ve also started discharging lightning-like energy from my hands and body, and I can even cleave distant objects in two, ignoring physical limitations.

「Well, let’s set aside the fact that I’ve become some kind of bizarre surprise package of a human. I’m back, Serena. I’m glad to see you looking well.」

「Ah… yes. Welcome home, Hiro. I missed you.」

With that, Serena smiled and embraced me.

Yep. She’s adorable.

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