I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship, so I Became a Space Mercenary
Chapter 554 「Hm? Fufufu, It’s A Maiden’s Secret」

「As her attending physician—or rather, as one of the Empire’s body enhancement specialists—it’s not exactly surprising, is it?」

The following day. Shouko-sensei, her hair done up and currently waiting in light clothing for her turn in the dress fitting, commented on the matter of Neve.

「No matter how much the Federation tries to play dumb and claim it’s all fabricated by the Empire, any specialist can tell at a glance that the body modification tech used on Neve-kun is Federation-made. If it were us, we’d have done it far better. Even if you were developing personnel specialized for fleet combat or control systems, we wouldn’t have made those miserable little cans to shove them into.」

Shouko-sensei shrugged as she spoke. Honestly, keeping my eyes from being drawn to the great mountain ranges swaying with the motion feels like a trial in itself. I expected her outfit to be revealing, but is she not even wearing a bra?

「To begin with, if the Empire wanted to enhance its ships along the same lines as the concept that gave birth to Neve-san, they could just deploy us.」

Standing quietly beside me, Mei added her own commentary. Right, exactly. If you’re talking about controlling a combat ship, it’s much faster—and stronger—to just install machine intelligence directly into the ship rather than cyberizing and enhancing a human to connect them.

「……」

Elma, Serena, and the other nobles—presumably Serena’s family or relatives—grimaced like they’d bitten into something sour after hearing Mei’s statement. I still don’t quite understand what emotions those expressions represent. The nobility of the Grakkan Empire doesn’t exactly hate machine intelligence, but whenever the topic comes up, they always make those kinds of faces.

「I’ve been wondering for a while… Is there some kind of deep-rooted conflict between machine intelligences and Imperial nobility?」

I whispered the question to Mei, since I was about to really become part of the Imperial aristocracy myself. It seemed like a good idea to start learning the inner workings of these relationships.

「No, Master. Our relationship with the Imperial nobility is extremely amicable.」

Mei declared this with her usual expressionless face and without a trace of hesitation. Meanwhile, the nobles’ expressions had gone beyond grimaces and turned completely vacant—void of any emotion. Yeah, there’s definitely something going on here. I’ll have to have a more in-depth conversation with Mei sometime when we’re alone.

「Still, you nobles sure are something else. Calling over multiple dressmakers like this. A commoner like me wouldn’t know, but I bet they’re all renowned ateliers known only to those in the know.」

「Honestly, I don’t see the point of calling them here in person. Couldn’t they just use holoscreens and get it done quickly?」

「Ya just don’t get it, Boss. There’s a kinda vibe ya can’t catch unless ya see it with your own eyes — or in this case, meet up face-to-face.」

As she spoke, Tina approached in one of the dresses. That’s quite the dress. The design is cute, yet also sexy, with an exposed neckline and form-fitting lines emphasizing her hips. It kind of looks like a slightly more grown-up magical girl outfit… somewhere around a borderline R-15 rating?

「That’s an amazing dress. It really suits you.」

「You think so? If ya say so, then I reckon it’s good. Though I can’t help but feel your eyes wanderin’ a bit.」

「Well, you just look… very attractive, is all.」

「I’m wearin’ this for the real event, y’know? So no funny business, okay?」

Tina stepped back and crossed her arms in mock defense. No, I’m not about to pounce on you right here. I’d probably hesitate even after the ceremony. The price tag of that thing is brutal… I doubt it costs as much as a starship, but it’s easily worth several tens of thousands of Enel… Maybe even enough to buy a worn-down ship.

「Even Big Brother wouldn’t go that far, sis.」

Wiska, dressed in a similar pretty-and-sexy dress, chimed in while smiling wryly. Again, it really does have that magical girl vibe. This world’s fashion sense is sometimes a bit… off by my standards.

「Wiska, you look great too. Though that ‘even Big Brother’ bit was unnecessary.」

「Ahaha… It’s a little embarrassing, but I’m glad you said it suits me.」

「All that exercise paid off, huh, Wee?」

「That goes for you too, sis.」

Tina grinned while Wiska gave her a side-eye glare. It’s true that everyone stays in shape thanks to regular exercise. Although, honestly, how Shouko-sensei maintains her stunning figure with so little exercise remains a mystery.

「Hm? Fufufu, it’s a maiden’s secret.」

「I didn’t even say anything…」

A maiden’s secret, huh… Given that Shouko-sensei is a literal expert in human biology, she might be using some trick or borderline cheating method to maintain her figure.

Well, better not to pry too deeply. Nothing good ever comes from a guy poking into women’s beauty routines.

While I was thinking that, Shouko-sensei was called in for her fitting, and Mimi, Kugi, and Neve came back fitted in their dresses.

All three of them looked fantastic in their dresses. Kugi, with her natural grace, wore the Empire-style dress perfectly. As for Mimi—her chest looked about ready to burst out, but somehow everything remained perfectly balanced without seeming unnatural.

And then—

「Wow… You’ve really transformed… You look like a fairy.」

「Is that supposed to be a compliment, Captain?」

「Of course it is. I mean it in the sense that you look ethereal, almost unreal.」

While there weren’t actual wings or anything, the pale blue fabric and ribbons suited Neve perfectly. It’s only natural, since the dress has been made specifically for her.

「As long as that’s what you mean. I enjoy wearing pretty dresses, but the thought of becoming a spectacle is a bit discouraging.」

「Well, you’re gonna have to endure it. After all, it’s the perfect way to provoke the Bereverem Federation.」

「Sigh… I suppose you’re right. When you put it that way, it does make me feel more willing to tolerate it.」

With that, Neve sat down next to me. I was worried whether the delicate-looking dress could handle sitting on a sofa, but apparently the fabric was surprisingly durable despite its fragile appearance.

「Where are Elma and Serena?」

「Unlike us side characters, the two of them are the stars of the ceremony. Their fittings are taking more time.」

「I see. Still, you say ‘side characters,’ but I have no intention of neglecting anyone here.」

「Yes. We know that very well, Hiro-sama.」

With a bright, dazzling smile, Mimi sat down on my other side and snuggled up to me.

「That said, it does feel like things are going to change quite a bit going forward, doesn’t it?」

「Hmm, yeah… Ideally, I’d like to keep things mostly the same as before, but realistically, that might not be possible.」

We still don’t know how Serena’s situation is going to unfold. And then there is Chris, who—whether she likes it or not—is tied to the Dareinwald domain.

Even if we move our base of operations to the Dareinwald territory, we’ll have to figure out how to continue our mercenary work from there.

Not to mention deciding exactly how we’d set up base there. Should we rent or build a dock in one of the colonies? Or construct a facility with its own dock on the planet’s surface?

And even assuming I would still be allowed to roam around like before after we got married, I doubt we’ll be completely free. Chris understands me well enough that I doubt she’d object, but it’s not just about Chris. There’s also Earl Dareinwald, his vassals, and Marquis Holz to consider.

I’d like to properly discuss these things with everyone involved, but that would require having a full conversation with Chris present as well. For now, I guess we’ll just have to see how the situation develops.

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