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575 「I’m Not Interested, So Let’s Not Say Anything More About That」

「M-my maidenly dignity was in grave danger…!」

Exactly two hours later, Lucia—finally released from her seiza punishment—sprinted to the bathroom and somehow escaped disaster at the last moment.

I mean, at the point where you’re forced into an emergency dash by sheer bladder pressure, I’d argue your maidenly dignity is already half-collapsed, but I’ll refrain from pointing that out. Samurai mercy.

More importantly, for enhanced humans like Lucia—whose muscles, circulatory system, and nervous system have been reinforced—the punishment itself had no effect beyond ‘you can’t move and you’re bored.’ It’s kind of funny that even with all that physical augmentation, you still can’t overpower the urge to pee.

「So you two ended up joining her, huh?」

「If Her Highness is being punished, we guards cannot simply stand by and do nothing…」

「And half of this situation was caused by my own unilateral actions.」

Isolde and Mei stood up as well, looking perfectly composed. Seiza hasn’t done anything to them either, for the same reason as Lucia. Mei is a maidroid to begin with, so there is no way sitting like that would ‘get to her legs’ in the first place.

「So… you’re not going to hit me, Isolde? I feel like I said some pretty nasty things.」

「No… what you said is largely true. Claiming there was interference by machine intelligence does not excuse it.」

「I see… well, if you say so. But I’ll consider it a debt. If you ever want something, tell me—if it’s within my power, I’ll make it happen.」

What I said to them was, frankly, the kind of abuse that tramples straight over the dignity and pride of their identity as Imperial Guard Knights. Even if it was an emergency, it all started because Mei interfered with them in the first place—and I, as the one responsible for managing Mei, hadn’t even grasped what she was doing.

On top of that, I insulted them to their faces without even knowing the full situation. They have every right to be furious.

…but if Isolde says it’s fine, then I’ll accept that on the surface. On the inside, though, I’m still counting it as a ‘loan’ from their side and a ‘debt’ on mine. Otherwise I won’t be able to sleep at night. I slandered them unfairly.

「If you insist… then yes. I’ll think of something.」

「The fact you’re going to think about it carefully is what scares me… but hey, I reap what I sow. I’ll take it. More importantly—are you fine taking your time talking like this?」

「We sometimes stand guard for more than half a day straight. This is nothing. But if you’re concerned for us… we’ll gladly accept your consideration.」

With that, Isolde smiled, and the four of them left at an unhurried pace—no running, no fuss.

As I watched their backs, Mei drifted in close and whispered at my ear.

「…If that kind of play interests you—」

「I’m not interested, so let’s not say anything more about that.」

I know some people have certain… inclinations, and it’s not that rare of a ‘preference,’ I get it, really. But I’m not into that. I’m not. Not at all.

Actually, can Mei even—no, she can. She absolutely can. I’m pretty sure she has mechanisms for it. Yeah. She has.

Not that I’m doing it.

☆★☆

So, we successfully repelled the pirates’ ambush—but this time wasn’t a simple ‘welp, we won, sell the salvage rights to scavengers and call it a day, dismissed!’ situation.

「We are truly sorry for this incident…」

「It’s true we eliminated them unusually quickly… but your response was awfully slow, wasn’t it? Our route and schedule should have been exactly as planned.」

「A-about that—there was, um, another attack incident elsewhere, and our patrol forces were—」

For a noble ruling a star system, having pirates attack people related to other nobles—or worse, a noble heir—inside their territory is the height of disgrace.

And in this case, it wasn’t some unannounced, incognito passage. House Dareinwald sent official notice in advance.

The moment we passed through the gateway, Chris pulled strings and informed each system along the way of our flight plan all the way to the Dexer System.

She is the Dareinwald heir, after all—and Serena and Elma were aboard too. More than that, Lucia was on the Black Lotus as well, even if it was unofficial. Chris couldn’t allow even the slightest chance of something happening, so she took action.

Apparently, because this is travel for an official event—a wedding reception—there are limits to how ‘secret’ we can be.

I only learned today that nobles even have customs like this.

I’m technically an honorary viscount of the Empire—and I’ve been flying around wherever I please without knowing anything about that. Half the time, when I worked as a mercenary, I didn’t even bother greeting the local lord, unless I had direct business. I think the only time I did something like that was when I intervened in the pandemic on Reemay Prime Colony.

「We won’t press you on whether that explanation is true, since we’re in a hurry. But if security on the Gateway Trade Route is poor, that creates problems for us as well. We will be reporting this matter to the Ministry of Territorial Preservation, so be prepared.」

「W-wait! That’s—」

「We’re in a hurry. Goodbye.」

Chris cut the line unilaterally, ignoring whatever they were trying to say.

「They sounded pretty panicked. What’s the deal?」

Serena answered smoothly.

「The Ministry of Territorial Preservation is the government body responsible for the comprehensive and systematic use, development, and preservation of Imperial territory, as well as securing safety and public order for territorial traffic. It’s quite powerful. If a report reaches them and they determine proper governance hasn’t been carried out regarding security and public order, guidance or disciplinary action will follow depending on severity. In some cases, a ruler can even lose the right to govern the system and be reassigned to a different fief.
They were deeply involved in the establishment and operation of my Independent Anti-Pirate Fleet as well. Because of their jurisdiction, their ties to the Imperial Space Forces are fairly strong. They also have a deep connection to the Mercenary Guild. The Guild operates across multiple nations, so it isn’t a subordinate organization, but still.」

「So if Chris reports it, worst case the noble loses their territory and gets shipped off somewhere else… and the system forces might all get fired and replaced top to bottom?」

「If it came to light that the attack happened while that person was aboard this ship, it would’ve been worse than that—worst case, heads would have literally rolled. This time she’s incognito, so I don’t think it’ll go that far… but she is aboard, unofficially. And given how late their response was, it’s possible pirates have their claws in the system forces. If an audit comes in, then maybe…」

「Terrifying… though I gotta say, I personally find systems like this pretty comfortable.」

「Of course you do. A system with plenty of prey is comfortable for you. But for the Empire, it’s a problem, you know? And this is part of the Gateway Trade Route.」

A ‘Gateway Trade Route,’ Serena explained, meant the trade lane network that connected the gateway to the nearest fief of viscount rank or higher.

In this case, it refers to the hyperlane network connecting Dareinwald territory to the gateway.

If even one system along the route has weak security, the entire route’s reputation will be judged by that weakest link.

Meaning: no matter how hard House Dareinwald works to keep order in their own territory, if the Wellick System’s security is bad, fewer merchants might travel between the capital and Dareinwald territory—because the trade route will be rated poorly overall.

Naturally, House Dareinwald would want to tell the noble governing the system to get their act together. Worst case, they could even ask for the Wellick System to be under their control due to the poor management of the current lord.

「And that’s how you get petty clashes between noble houses inside the Empire, to the lord governing a system, the right to govern it is their livelihood—even if security is terrible. But to the noble whose trade is being disrupted because of that, it’s nothing but a nuisance.」

「Even with external enemies out there…」

「For nobles bordering other nations, they’d probably rather say, ‘If you have time to fight each other, send me even a single warship as reinforcements.’ But for inland nobles, it’s a matter of survival.」

「When a country’s huge, you get problems on every scale, huh. As a mercenary making a living off trouble… I don’t even know what to say.」

I specialize in hunting pirates, so I rarely get involved in those kinds of disputes. But for ‘proper’ mercenaries, clashes between nobles are probably exactly where they shine.

The world really doesn’t go the way you want it to.

「Of all times, they had to mess up now! I’m allowed to be angry, right!?」

Chris charged at me, and I caught her, patting her back.

「Yeah… you’re definitely allowed to be angry, Chris. Good work out there.」

Serena, don’t look at me like that—if you want a hug, I’ll give you one too.

In order. In order.