542 – 「Why Can’t I Wiiiiin?!」
「Do I, as the newbie, and someone who hasn’t even officially become the Captain’s woman, really have the right to monopolize the Captain’s time?」
Leaning against me in a room at the inn prepared for our stay near the Grand Shrine’s affiliated research facility, Neve murmured these words. Today was her designated day, so we decided to spend it lounging around at the inn. However, as you can see, she was caught up in a conflict about whether it was okay to enjoy such a privilege.
「I don’t think you need to worry about that, if someone had a problem with it, they’d probably say something. And Mei would mediate anyway.」
「Do you think so…? Yeah, that maidroid would probably handle it somehow.」
Seemingly convinced by my words, Neve nodded as she rubbed her cheek against my left shoulder, leaning into me even more. She shifted her weight onto me completely, as if she wanted to surrender herself entirely. On top of that, for some reason, she was fiddling with my left hand, kneading it gently between both of hers. What is this? Some kind of grooming ritual?
「Captain, I feel… anxious.」
「Anxious?」
「Yes, anxious. I mean, as it stands now, I’m just a useless freeloader, right?」
「Calling yourself a freeloader is a bit much… but I see what you mean.」
In essence, she feels insecure. Not only does she think she’s been more of a burden than a help to our mercenary business, but she’s also worried I haven’t touched her yet. Regarding that… well, her recovery has reached a point where her body is functional enough to live without any major issues, but her physique is still very petite. Her height is comparable to Tina and Wiska’s, but her frame is delicate, and she lacks much muscle or body fat. Dr. Shouko told me that while Neve’s growth in height might not improve significantly, she could gain a healthier physique with proper nutrition and exercise. My main hope is that she becomes physically fit first and foremost.
Honestly, given her current condition, it feels way too early to even consider a romantic or physical relationship. I’m concerned that such strain on her heart or body could lead to serious complications. Dr. Shouko assured me that as long as we didn’t push things too far, she should be fine. After all, her body has been enhanced during its regeneration process.
Neve’s body had been almost entirely reconstructed by Dr. Shouko, using her expertise in genetic engineering and nanotechnology. Essentially, the techniques employed were nearly identical—if not identical—to the body enhancement technology used on Imperial nobility. In terms of physical specifications, Neve’s body surpassed my own completely.
What? You think it’s highly doubtful that my body—the body of an almighty ‘visitor’— has the same specs as an ordinary human? Fair enough. But let’s set that aside for now. The point I’m making is that Neve’s body is far sturdier than it appears. According to Dr. Shouko, her body is capable of withstanding such activities, even though it might not seem that way at first glance.
The real issue here is that Neve is aware of her body’s durability, and I haven’t made a move on her yet. That’s making her feel uneasy.
「I don’t want to just keep telling you, ‘Don’t worry about it’, I know saying that doesn’t solve anything. But even so, I’m not planning to do anything with you right now. At the very least, I’d like to wait until you can confidently walk on your own. Otherwise, I’m afraid I might break you.」
As I spoke, I took her right hand with my left—the one she had been kneading—and intertwined our fingers, holding hands like lovers. Her hand was soft and small, fitting delicately in mine.
「You really don’t need to rush into anything like that, even just holding hands like this, being close to each other… it may not fully satisfy you, but I hope it’s enough for now.」
「I wouldn’t mind if you went all in on me, you know?」
「That’ll come in time. In time. Now, about work… Well, for now, you’re more or less a floating piece on the board. Mei has total control over the Black Lotus, so I’d personally appreciate it if you could assist Elma with the Antlion. But in your current condition, working on a combat ship seems a bit out of reach.」
「It’s because I can’t respond quickly to emergency launches, right?」
Both Krishna and the Antlion occasionally need to transition into combat mode at a moment’s notice. In situations like that, Neve’s current physical state makes swift responses difficult. After all, she’s only recently regained the ability to walk. Even if she uses a wheelchair—or more precisely, a hovering pod—her speed is still limited.
「In the end, the only real solution is for you to continue building up your strength.」
「That’s what it comes down to, huh…」
Neve sighed, her tone tinged with melancholy. Yet, as she gently squeezed my hand, still held in a lover’s grip, it seemed like she had grown fond of this simple connection.
「Your hands are so warm, Captain…」
「For some reason, they’ve always been like that… Sorry I can’t completely ease your worries.」
「No, it’s fine. It makes me happy you’re being considerate of my condition. But, if I may be a little selfish…」
「Go ahead.」
「Even if we can’t have sex yet, I’d be glad if you showed a bit more physical affection. Like this.」
As she said that, Neve released her hand from mine. Moving slowly, she repositioned herself to sit on my lap, facing me. She wrapped her delicate arms around the back of my neck, pulling herself closer. Then, gently, she pressed her small lips against mine.
「…Like this. I figure if we keep building our connection through moments like these, maybe one day, Captain, you’ll feel like doing it with me.」
「Yeah… I can’t deny this is… pretty effective.」
「Is that so? Then, how about one more…?」
Her pale skin flushed a deep red as she leaned in for another kiss. I have to admit, I’m pretty susceptible to this kind of thing. If she keeps this up, I might just fall completely without much resistance.
☆★☆
「So, you spent the whole day flirting with Neve?」
「Yes.」
「Reeeaaaally now… Well, fine then!」
「Whoa, hey!」
She said it was fine, but Elma came at me with an intense speed, her hand reaching out like a predator’s strike. I barely managed to dodge and parry her attack by slowing down my perception of time. Hold on a second. Even with time slowed, she’s still fast. Insanely fast. What’s worse, her movements were calculated enough to bypass my defense entirely.
「Guweh—?!」
Elma’s arms, having slipped past my defenses, latched onto my clothes and wrapped around me like a snake, squeezing me mercilessly. Before I knew it, she had me completely immobilized. Grappling is my absolute weak spot—once I’m caught, there’s no escape. What’s worse, her movements were so fast that even with my time-slowing ability, she managed to adapt to my counters in real-time. How is her body even capable of this?!
「Fufun. My win.」
「Guhhh… I can’t breathe… too tight… mercy…」
Once she gets ahold of me, it’s over. I can’t even figure out how to resist, and before long, she had me in a joint lock that left me completely incapacitated.
「They told me I can’t use flashy, offensive psionic abilities, you know. So instead, I focused on enhancing my physical abilities, senses, and reaction speed with psionics. It works amazingly well with the Empire’s body-enhancement techniques.」
Elma finally released me from her chokehold and looked down at me with a triumphant grin.
And me? I was left face-down on the floor, utterly defeated, licking the metaphorical dust. Damn those military instructors—what were they thinking? As if Elma’s gorilla-like physical capabilities weren’t already terrifying, now they’ve supercharged her? Are they insane? Honestly, she might even stand a chance against Mei in hand-to-hand combat at this rate.
「Just so you know, there’s no way I’d win against Mei, the difference in weight and physical durability is too much for it to even be a contest.」
「Ah… yeah, that does make sense.」
Mei’s body is made entirely of reinforced special alloys, down to her bones and muscles. No matter how enhanced Elma’s body is, sheer mass and structural integrity are insurmountable obstacles.
「First, you spent time with Mimi. Then Tina and Wiska. And yesterday, it was Neve for an entire day. So today, you’re spending the whole day with me. Lots of skinship! Skinship, skinship♡」
「Please stop… I’ll die…」
Even if you give me such a radiant smile, I can’t spend an entire day sparring with you, that would kill me for sure.
Sure, I could overpower her by using not just time-slowing but also telekinetic abilities, but doing so would defeat the entire purpose of sparring. Still, if she keeps locking me up and throwing me around, I’m seriously going to die. My legs will give out, and I’ll be reduced to a broken mess. Sure, entangling my body with Elma’s all day might sound fun, but her skinship is so intense that it’s long gone past the point of skinship.
「You’re so pathetic… Fine, I’ll let you off the hook for sparring. Next, we’re heading to the simulator. I feel like I could beat you right now.」
「Oh, really?」
「Yep. And if I lose, I’ll do anything you ask. One thing—anything at all.」
「Anything, you say? You just said anything, didn’t you? All right then.」
This is my chance. I’ll absolutely crush her on the simulator and change the battlefield to the top of my bed. Just you wait, Elma.
「Why can’t I wiiiiin?!」
Elma roared toward the ceiling, her fists clenched tightly, as we stepped out of the simulator.
「You see, space combat isn’t as simple as just reaction speed.」
While quick reactions and fast reflexes are certainly advantageous in space combat, they’re just one part of the equation. Strategy, tactics, and the ability to manipulate the situation in your favor while forcing your opponent into a disadvantageous position—those are the real keys to victory. And in a mirror match, where the machines are evenly matched, these factors become even more critical.
Now, what shall I have her do? Oh, the possibilities! Hahaha.
There is a glitch here which lets you to like as much as you like lol. I don’t know if it shows it to other or not but for me it’s showing, and it didn’t even reset after refreshing. And guys is there any story related to this LN..? Like other member’s POVa..?
There is a glitch here which lets you to like as much as you like lol. I don’t know if it shows it to other or not but for me it’s showing, and it didn’t even reset after refreshing. And guys is there any story related to this LN..? Like other member’s POVa..?
How do we report this..?
Here have 1000 likes
Aww man we are up to date… Thanks for chapters!
I am in middle of rereading and will eventually check out ln soon…
These last chapters were more about the girls, and how Hiro is way too weak towards women (and the less adult-ish ones). Sadly there haven’t been any new chapters (raw) in some time now, and that makes me sad.
Thanks for the multiple release! Awesome translation! May God bless you!
I forgot to ask, who the heck bought three chapters in advance???
Thanks for the translation
Now that we caught up, let’s speculate about the next arc.
Do you think they will be able to implement a system into the black lotus that allows it to utilize the light wings of the Krishna? (only in docked mode) If the twins learned psionic technology well enough, they might be able to implement it into their next, bigger mothership that they have been talking about buying. The question is what comes first his marriage or the buying of a new mothership. I do not remember if it was LN only but they mentioned that the holy Vuelzarus Empire is about half a year by hyperlane travel away. If they can implement such a system they will be back before the wedding and have time to look for a new mothership. On the other side the gateway might have cut down on the travel time.
I suspect the marriage will happen first, with a capital ship (well, capital ship size for a civilian… maybe a cruiser or small battleship) “gifted” by the military. I mean, Serena knows Mimi’s real identity… and so does her father, most likely. And Chris is super important, too. There’s no way they aren’t provided a current generation military vessel: too many VIPs and the king would certainly green light such a gift.
That said, I suspect we’ve still got significant portions of this arc to go. Kugi’s got a potential rediscoverable past and is possessed by something she doesn’t like. Among other possible plot threads.
the author sprinkled the knowledge that Mai is been helped by older/more powerful AI’s and keeps them informed about Hiro. With all the changes to himself and his ship… the AI’s might get more involved. Its chance we get that in a subplot together with the new ship, or he might cramp that all together in one book with the wedding.
I’m sure there is more to this arc, even if it is just another vacation/sightseeing one like the Elf homeworld arc. Not much has happened really yet so this arc is still going.
And I’m sure the wedding will happen first, with either Serena’s dad or the Emperor himself gifting Hiro with a new capital ship as a wedding present considering he will be married to four noblewomen. Extra security and firepower is needed.
And I’m sure there are 2-3 more arcs before the wedding actually takes place, I’m personally hoping for another vacation arc on the vacation planet for Hiro and his entire harem. Neve is also still in physical recovery so the story needs a few more arcs for her to reach full physical capacity, and a few more after to actually pull her own weight as part of Hiro’s crew.
Thanks for the treat.
Now that this is caught up I feel a sense of loss.
🙁