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“I see.”

Kugi, who was walking beside me, nodded in understanding. Perhaps she was still paying attention to her surroundings even as we walked because her animal ears twitched from time to time. It was pretty cute.

“Even so, it’s rare to be specifically summoned by a major general of the imperial space forces though……”

Elma, who was walking opposite of Kugi, shrugged as she commented. I was being accompanied by Kugi and Elma today. Mimi was with Tina and Wiska. They were busy selling off the loot in the Dauntless and procuring supplies.

Mimi handled those jobs mostly by herself before, but if Tina and Wiska learned to do them as well, it will lighten the burden on Mimi quite a bit. This meant that Mimi was now in a position to teach others about mercenary-related work. Mei was keeping an eye on them. Mei could have accompanied me as well, but just in case those spheres end up attacking the Black Lotus for some reason, she’d be able to handle them. I also think I’m being a bit paranoid here, but…… well, considering my penchant for attracting trouble, it can’t hurt to be extra careful. After all, there’s no telling when troublesome stuff would happen.

“As expected of you, My Lord.”

“Err, I don’t think something like this is particularly praiseworthy…… It’s just a bother. And I don’t find being summoned by some high-ranking commanding officer that much of an honor anyway.”

“C’mon. Being able to meet up with a person of authority can’t be that bad…… Well, it’s not exactly good either.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s how it is. I think you can already imagine how things will turn out after Colonel Serena got us wrapped up in this kind of troublesome stuff.”

“That might be the case. But I think this is also a result of your ability to influence fate, My Lord.”

“That might be the case, but I really don’t wanna acknowledge it though……”

It doesn’t feel right to me to chalk everything up to fate.

Saying it’s just bad luck is one thing…… But saying everything was fated to happen or, in other words, predestined just rubs me the wrong way. I’ve been doing my best to avoid trouble but trouble still keeps coming after me. It’s pretty messed up that my fate was apparently tied to trouble.

“Save the metaphysical for tonight, guys. Look, we’re about to reach the restricted block.”

After being called out by Elma, I put aside my misgivings for the meantime and focused on the matter at hand. Well, even if this place was normally off-limits to unrelated personnel, I’ve been given a temporary ID. I’ve also informed them that I’ll be joined by two companions, so we were allowed in without any problem. We passed through the gate protected by guards without incident and headed for the bridge while being guided by an imperial soldier.

“Hee, it’s pretty spacious.”

“It is.”

Before long, we reached the Dauntless’ bridge which was quite spacious. The cockpit of the Lotus was spacious already, but the one on the Dauntless was on another level. It wasn’t just the size of one floor but maybe an entire office building. The central part of the bridge was raised and many holo-screens were deployed around it. That’s probably the control center huh? Oh, I see Col. Serena over there so I should be right on the money. She stands out a lot even when seen from a distance.

“Over there, right?”

“Yes. I’ll bring you and your companions over, sir.”

An imperial soldier with a macho build wrapped in a tight military uniform led the way to the control center of the bridge. I tried to check out the information being displayed on the holo-screens as we passed them by but I couldn’t make head or tails out of them. The Dauntless was a colony-sized mothership after all, so the information being handled by its bridge should be completely different from that of my combat ship’s bridge. It might be possible for me to understand the workings if I analyzed them for a good while, but this was no time to test that out.

“So, you’ve arrived.”

Col. Serena squinted her eyes as she gazed at us while we were climbing up the stairs to the control center. Somehow, she seemed a bit fatigued. Her tone sounded somewhat listless.

“Allow me to introduce you. This is the captain of the supply mothership Dauntless, Major General Anselm Esreben. General Esreben, this is Captain Hiro. He’s a Platinum ranker affiliated with the Mercenary Guild and the troublemaker who somehow managed to find critical pieces of information for us.”

“That sure was a sloppy introduction…… Pleased to make your acquaintance, Your Excellency. I’m Captain Hiro. These ladies are two of my crew members, Elma and Kugi.”

“Anselm Esreben. There’s no need to call me ‘Your Excellency’. Just address me using my military rank.”

Maj. Gen. Esreben stretched his arm for a handshake so I obliged.

He was a middle-aged man with silver-gray irises. They were a deeper shade compared to Captain Souls’ irises, and his steely gaze made him seem quite cold. His hair was in the same silver-gray shade as his irises, and his slightly long hair was tied in a small ponytail behind his head. He had quite the presence. Like Col. Serena, he also had a sword strapped to his waist, and his overall impression suggested that this major general was also a noble.

“So, why did you call us over?”

“I asked her to.”

After declaring so, Maj. Gen. Esreben glared at me with his silver-gray irises.

“Fumu……”

Next, he turned his attention to Elma and Kugi. Elma glared back at him while Kugi just politely smiled.

“I still find the notion of them obtaining such crucial information so quickly by chance ridiculous, but it seems they aren’t hiding anything just like you said, Colonel.”

“I’m glad you think so, General.”

“Huh. What the heck? Wait, was I actually under suspicion?”

“The colonel did not suspect you in the least. She did get quite taken aback though. I was the one who was suspecting you. Unfortunately, I personally do not have any reason to believe you unconditionally.”

The major general’s silver-gray irises focused on me once more. It was like his gaze was capable of seeing through all pretenses. Did his eyes function as lie detectors or something?

“Humans will definitely show a reaction no matter how much they try to suppress it if they’re hiding something. Be it through one’s pulse, blood pressure, breathing, facial muscle contraction, and so on. At the very least, you and your companions did not show any such reaction. That’s how it is.”

“I see…… Nobles sure are scary.”

In other words, the major general was capable of judging someone thoroughly by just gazing at them. He probably utilizes his brain’s enhanced processing power coupled with enhanced senses such as sight, hearing, and smell in order to do so. That sounds pretty inconvenient during daily life though.

“I can consciously turn my enhanced senses on and off, so it’s not a problem.”

“I see…… E-Eeeeh!?”

“I can also tell things like that using my abilities, young man.”

Maj. Gen. Esreben lightly shrugged. In other words, he was able to sense my feelings of sympathy for him as well? Damn. That’s outrageous.

“Since we’re done with the introductions, let’s move on to the main point of today’s meeting. We’ll be discussing anti-pirate countermeasures.”

Col. Serena waited for the right timing and interjected in order to advance the discussion. Well, uh, thanks, but…… Man, I really can’t underestimate nobles. Let’s try not to get involved too much with them in the future.