Trade-off

We finally finished collecting all the pirate starship wrecks, and the

mechanic sisters started repair and restoration work while displaying

troubled expressions from time to time.

"Man, I don't get any of this."

"Me too."

"Of course, you don't, guys. Sheesh."

We were overlooking the ship wreckage being repaired by Tina and

Whisker from on top of Krishna's gangway. The sisters were busily

operating the drones and maintenance bots while doing something or

other, but I didn't get what they were doing at all.

By the way, the pirates inside the base seemed to have put up quite a

decent fight this time around, so it was taking some time for the

imperial marines to completely secure it.

Things seemed to be proceeding smoothly now though, and they were

in the middle of mopping up the remaining pockets of resistance. We're

staying on standby just in case pirate reinforcements arrive.

"This operation is a lot more laid back than I expected. Don't you feel so

too, Hiro-sama?"

"It's pretty standard. The larger the force, the more adjustments, and

preparations are needed to be made before everything's ready. Look,

even though we're in the mop-up phase now, the marines are still busy

fighting inside the asteroid base. We can't just leave them behind to

attack the next pirate base."

"If we don't keep a unified pace, we'll end up with a lot of holes in our

troop formation. Going up against a hundred enemies with a hundred of

your own makes a load of difference compared to taking them on with

just five or twenty, right?"

"That's true. Others would definitely have trouble if they're ganged up

by a hundred enemies, but if it's Hiro-sama, it kinda feels like he can

actually deal with those numbers if they fought him one at a time. I'm

not so sure if they went at him all at once though."

"Uh, I think it's kinda overdoing it if I went up against a hundred

enemies at the same time..."

Well, maybe I could actually manage it, but I sure as heck don't ever

wanna try it out for real. In the first place, I don't like engaging in melee

combat all that much. It won't end well if I ate a laser directly to my face

after all.

The mercenary gear and underclothes I always wear seem to be made

of special synthetic fibers that are treated with anti-laser protection,

but I'm not sure how effective that treatment actually is. And I definitely

don't want to try it firsthand.

"Well, anyway, that's how it is. The bigger the scale, the less light-footed

a fleet is. There are some definite advantages when mobilizing on such

a large scale though. In other words, it's a trade-off."

"I see. The more ships you have, the more loot you can collect, and you

can cover each other in a pinch as well."

"Right. For example, if Krishna gets shot down, we're basically screwed.

Black Lotus is also an excellent ship, but it can't really perform quick

and tight turns."

"That's true. I suppose it's about time to get a ship for Elma huh."

When she heard my words, Elma turned to me with a surprised

expression on her face. Wow, she got really surprised by that huh.

"Eh, um, but that's..."

"I'm the owner of all our ships. I'm also your captain. And since I'm the

owner, anything that would make our jobs go more efficiently will

benefit me in the long run."

"Um..."

"Are you thinking about that bit where you're gonna leave us once you

get your hands on a ship? I personally don't want to let you go, but you

do have the right."

Elma's ended up owing me a lot since I first met her after coming to this

dimension, and conversely, I owe her a lot too. In other words, we've

been supporting each other all this time. At least, that's how I

personally feel. No, maybe I'm the one relying on her more and more?

Elma does tend to spoil me a lot after all.

"O-Of course, I don't plan on going anywhere at this point..."

"So think about it. If it's you Elma, I feel like I can definitely leave my

back in your care."

"Okay, I understand."

Elma's lips curled into a pretty smile. She looked really happy. I felt a

fervent gaze directed to my back. When I turned around, I saw Mimi's

expectant expression.

"You're gonna get promoted to sub-pilot as well, Mimi. Can you do it?"

"I'll do my very best!"

Mimi made fists in front of her chest as she breathed out roughly in

excitement. Mimi's experience as an operator should be more than

enough by now. It's about time for her to step up a notch. By the way, I

and Elma can also perfectly serve as ship operators. Or rather, while I

was playing SOL, I did everything basically on my own. I controlled all

of a ship's sensors and sub-systems. I could have hired an NPC to do the

job, but I ultimately chose not to and did it all manually. That's because

I could perform far more precise operations if I did them personally.

"Let's proceed with that in mind from now on then. We'll have to start

browsing for a good starship model as well."

We might have hunted down a lot more prey if there was another ship

supporting Krishna that could have prevented the rest of the pirates

from escaping. After all, if our only mobile combat craft was Krishna,

we'll inevitably expose gaps. There have been other instances in the

past where the prey escaped because we couldn't pursue them in time

after all.

"I want a Swan!"

"Rejected. Don't tell me you still haven't learned your lesson...?"

"Gununu..."

The starship that Elma used to pilot – the Galactic Swan – was a

machine with very high specs. But it had the fatal flaw of going out of

control and exploding in a blaze of glory if you pushed it past a certain

point. It was obviously a defective machine that should have been

recalled, but for some reason, it's being distributed without any reserve

in this dimension... No, maybe it actually isn't being sold openly. I

mean, I personally haven't encountered any shops selling the thing until

now. Perhaps it's actually a pretty rare ship. Just what kind of back

channels did Elma use to buy that thing anyway?

"I'm going to be the new ship's owner as well, you know. So I have the

right to decide which model to purchase."

"It can't be helped. I'll just follow your lead, Boss. But is this really okay?

You'll be set back from your goal again if you purchase a ship for me,

you know?"

"It's fine. I and Mimi already obtained first-class imperial citizenship

anyway, and you've been one since childhood, right, Elma? We'll have to

think up something when it comes to the sisters, but we have some

pretty influential backers to lean on anyway."

"Well, that's true."

We can rely on Earl Dareinwald for help, and even though I don't wanna

rely on her all that much, there's also Lt. Col. Serena. We can even ask

for His Imperial Majesty's help through Mimi. Though that's kind of illadvised.

In any case, if we keep earning at our current pace, we'll be able to reearn the money we'll be using to purchase Elma's new ship in no time.

Being able to operate a ship apart from Krishna and Black Lotus will

expand our options by quite a bit. We'll be able to take on a wider

variety of jobs too.

"Anyway, let's shop around for Elma's ship after we're finished with our

current job. It's perfect timing since I plan on going to a system with

advanced tech industries to purchase lightweight power armor as well."

"That's true. Since we can use the gates, it's also possible for us to come

directly to a ship-making company's main headquarters to purchase a

ship."

If you go to a system with a highly developed tech industry, it would be

easier to obtain info regarding the latest cutting-edge tech. In other

words, it would be easier to get info on the latest ship models as well.

There would be plenty of ship-makers and dealers after all.

"Now I'm really looking forward to finishing this job and heading to our

next destination."

"We'll have to do our best so we can finish our current job quicker

then."

"Right. Well, at this rate, we'll be done after crushing one or two more

bases. Let's get this done, you two."

"Yes!"

"Mm."

The two ladies seem to be really motivated as well. Great. It's always

nice to have high morale. What about my morale? Mine is always

clocked at a hundred percent y'know. I'm not kidding.

There's Mimi, Elma, Mei, and now there's Tina and Whisker as well.

There's no guy in existence who won't get fired up when surrounded by

such breathtaking beauties. Men are simple creatures after all.

WAHAHAHA!

I'll have to work hard to make sure I live up to their expectations.