Chapter 173: Chapter 170 – Enlightenment (Forced)

Translator: SFBaka

After exiting the cockpit where Mei was, I contacted Elma using the messaging app and said I had something to talk about with her and will be visiting her room soon. With this, the appointment is set. I mulled over how convenient technology was and headed straight for Elma’s room.

Mimi stayed in the cockpit and said she’d like to talk to Mei about various things, but she was probably just giving me and Elma some space. The way to the living area from the cockpit was quite long. So Mimi chose to stay in the cockpit to give me some time to sort out my thoughts.

“I don’t even have to think about it though.”

I’ve long since reached a conclusion. I have no intention of letting Elma go.

Un, I can’t deny that part of it is because of a somewhat unwholesome desire to monopolize her. However, it’s not just that. If, after everything we’ve been through together, I still decided to throw her under the bus just because I was afraid of getting into trouble with her family and circumstances, I’d feel like the lowest of the low. I’m not that heartless of a person.

I thought about such things until I finally reached the door to Elma’s room.

“Hey there, gorgeous. Just knocking to say hello.”

『It’s open.』

I knocked on the door and heard Elma’s exasperated voice through the speaker. Sorry. I had this chronic habit of making a joke out of serious situations to balance it out.

While apologizing in my heart, I touched the panel next to the door to open it and entered Elma’s room.

The interior of Elma’s room was surprisingly cute. There were plush toys of that comical one-eyed alien and the cat-squirrel hybrid creature she and Mimi keep using on the messaging app scattered all over the room, so those were the ones that caught my eye first.

But there was also some fancy stuff, like a wine rack that perfectly controls the humidity and temperature inside it to simulate ideal storage conditions installed on the wall, and a mini-ref filled to the brim with cold beer cans.

“What are you doing? You enter someone’s room and the first thing you do is ogle it? …You said you have something to talk about with me.”

“Yeah, about that…”

Elma was sitting on her bed, so I sat down on a chair placed a little ways away from it. It was pretty comfy. Did you know this chair actually gets stored beneath the floor during combat?

Ah, don’t let your thoughts wander, me. Focus, focus. When it comes to stuff like this, it’s best to be direct.

“I asked Mei about your family circumstances.”

“Ah…… I see. No wonder. It’s Mei, so she probably investigated a fair bit huh.”

Elma nodded, convinced, and then smiled bitterly. It looks like all of us didn’t find it surprising that Mei actually engages in that kind of stuff behind our backs.

“She told me your dad was an administrative viscount.”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not sure what you’re apologizing for, but it matters not, my dear. I shall forgive you!”

“Fufu, what’s with that?”

When I puffed up my chest and declared that I forgave her with an arrogant tone, Elma found it strange and softly laughed. Well, at least I got her to relax a bit.

“Well, at this point, I no longer care if you and your family are high-ranking nobles. I don’t have any intention of abandoning you for such a reason.”

“I’m really happy to hear those words, but it would probably bring you tons of trouble you know?”

“Well, if you say so Elma, then it would probably be quite troublesome. And you know I hate getting into trouble. I hate it, but that’s not reason enough to let you go. Do you understand what I’m getting at here?”

“I wonder? I’d like you to be more clear about it, actually.”

Elma gazed at my face intently. Wasn’t I already clear enough? Sheesh.

“Like I said, I have no intention of ever letting you go. If it’s for your sake, I’ll take on whatever troublesome stuff comes my way, to a certain extent. If I really can’t handle it in the end, I’d even abandon everything and run away with you somewhere. Was that clear enough for you, milady?”

“……Yes. Loud and clear. My dear captain.”

And then, Elma opened her arms as if inviting me.

“After a confession, isn’t it a common trope for two lovers to lock into an embrace and give each other a kiss?”

“Aren’t you watching a little too much holo-video dramas?”

Even after saying so, I got up from the chair, sat next to Elma, and hugged her delicate body. Yeah. This feels just right. I really have no intention of losing her.

After that, we didn’t really do anything particularly naughty. I just laid on the bed together with Elma and listened to her talk about her family.

“My father is an official affiliated with the Imperial Household Administration Bureau.”

“Un, I have no idea what that is.”

“I thought so. The Imperial Household Administration Bureau is a government bureau that handles everything related to the imperial palace. One of their duties is being responsible for managing the imperial palace where the emperor resides, and every place related to it. For example, periodic maintenance of the palace, related facilities, and vehicles used by the imperial family.”

I see? I’m kinda forming an appropriate image in my head now.

“Isn’t the range of their duties a bit too broad?”

“Yeah. It has many responsibilities and has equally many personnel as a result. My father belongs to the department that handles the maintenance of the imperial gardens. That’s a position of great honor, okay?”

“Un, I see? I guess directly managing stuff related to imperial families usually are like that huh.”

Basically, her father was the official court gardener or something like that, right? It kinda sounds a bit underwhelming, but considering that the head of their house has been granted the title of viscount, they probably are a heck of a lot more prestigious than a mere commoner like me.

“So what’s his personality like?”

“Let’s see…… He’s gentle but stubborn. My biggest reason for running away from the house is due to a fight with that stubborn father of mine, actually.”

“I see…… And I’m like the gangster from who-knows-where who actually brought their tomboy princess home huh. Yeah… I really don’t think the first meeting will go well!”

The runaway tomboy daughter actually comes back home while bringing some random mercenary along with her. And she’s already had a physical relationship with the said mercenary. If I were her father, I would immediately bring out my shotgun and pepper the bastard full of holes!

“Ahaha, I guess. But I wonder if that would really be the case?”

“Nn? Why do you think so?”

“I mean, you’re a hero who received the prestigious Silver Sword Wings Assault medal, you know? And the reason you’re heading to the imperial capital is to receive another award. And that award will either be the First-class Star Cross medal (Gold Star) or the Second-class Star Cross medal (Silver Star). My father may be stubborn, but he also highly respects the authority of the imperial family.”

“Oh, so that means my previous achievements may offer me a way out of this pickle huh.”

“That’s right. In the empire, mercenaries with the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal are treated as honorary knights, but those with the Gold Star are treated as honorary viscounts, and those with the Silver Star are honorary barons. Once you receive the Gold Star, you’d pretty much be the same rank as my father, so he won’t be able to act all high-handed and ignore you easily. Even if you only receive the Silver Star, you’re still an honorary baron, so the same thing applies. That’s because if he did so, it would be the same as insulting the honor of the imperial family and the emperor himself.”

“I see, I see. So what you mean is I don’t really have a lot to worry about, right?”

I felt like a weight just got removed from my shoulders. So my former feats will end up saving my life huh. No, it’s misfortune turning into fortune, isn’t it? To think the award I thought was troublesome would end up saving my sorry behind in the end.

“Um, it’s a bit early to say that, actually.”

“What!?”

“My mother and sister would probably accept you right away, but my brother is……”

Elma displayed a far-away look on her face.

“Brother…”

I’m getting a really bad premonition. My back just suddenly started oozing cold sweat. What the heck?

“Um, err…… in other words, he suffers from the so-called ‘extreme sis-con’ complex and…”

“No, stop, don’t say another word.”

“…he’s also an ardent supporter of the Drawn Sword faction.”

Oh…… Well, damn.

“Didn’t you say our schedule for today was canceled, Master?”

“Sometimes, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do in order to survive.”

“Hmm.”

As I looked at Mei’s bewildered reaction as she tilted her head, I vowed once again to do everything I can to survive the upcoming crisis. Yep. I promised Elma after all. I’ll take on whatever trouble comes my way, provided I don’t lose my life in the process. I’m a guy who keeps his promises! Hahaha…… Haaah.

“It’s great that your motivation is high, Master. High motivation will allow you to absorb the lessons better and faster.”

“Yeah, that’s right, isn’t it?”

“Yes. And so, why don’t we bring the training intensity up a notch?”

“Heh?”

And thus, the training from hell began.

It’s been three days since my heart to heart talk with Elma.

“H-Hiro-sama, are you okay?”

Mimi called out to me in worry as I slumped powerlessly on top of a table in the dining room with my spirit coming out of my mouth. Mimi sure is a nice girl. I was brought to tears.

“Yeah…… I’m fine…… I’ll live.”

It was just some cracked bones, getting blown away across the room while spitting blood, and some internal bleeding. There’s this saying back on Earth: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Hahaha, sometimes, I feel that the world really is a crappy place.

“……There’s this thing in hero comics where the protagonist senses danger in advance and actively avoids it, right?”

“Hm? Ah, yes, there certainly is.”

Mimi was visibly confused by my sudden remark, but I droned on.

“I thought that was just something made up, but now I know firsthand that it really exists…… Or rather, I actually ended up learning the damn thing without even realizing it.”

“I-Is that so?”

“Yep…… I learned it by sacrificing my body and soul.”

Where and how an attack was coming. The ability to sense and read such things from your opponent’s slightest body movements was probably what you’d call bloodlust sense.

It’s a kind of pseudo-future sight that is based on tons of experience and a thorough understanding of the body, coupled with high information-processing capabilities. Probably.

I came up with such a theory after training with Mei.

The ability has already seeped deep into my bones. It’s just like the skills I gained while playing FPS games back on Earth, or my accumulated experience playing SOL, which I polished even further ever since coming to this dimension.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

I am able to recreate a comprehensive picture of the entire battlefield in my head by taking into account the information displayed on the radar, the visually confirmed movement patterns of the enemy ships, the impact warnings displayed on the hologram of my own ship whenever an attack hits the shield, the ringing alert warnings, among other things. Using that, I am able to minimize the damage to my ship while firing off attacks that would prove fatal to my enemies.

It was the same for swordsmanship. I take note of the vibrations on the floor, the flow of the air on my skin, the foot and eye movements of the enemy I see with my eyes, the sound of the rustling of clothes and footsteps I take in with my ears, and other information I pick up with my senses to gain an accurate picture of the enemy’s possible moves. And then, I would be able to avoid my enemy’s attack and unleash a deadly counterattack.

Thanks to Mei’s hellish daily training where I’m constantly beaten to near-death, I was able to obtain the bloodlust-sense ability. Or perhaps you could even call it enhanced spatial awareness. Anyway, it’s something like that. And I was able to apply that very ability to my swordsmanship. I used to vomit blood dozens of times whenever I fought with Mei, but I was able to limit it to seven times today.

“By the way Mimi, can I ask you something……?”

“Yes?”

“Uh, you’re not suddenly going to come up and tell me you’re a young lady from a ducal or baronial house, are you?”

Y’see, Major Serena is the daughter of a marquis, Chris is the granddaughter of an earl, and Elma was actually the daughter of a viscount. ‘At this rate, would Mimi actually be…?’ was what kept going through my head recently, so it’s better to ask now.

“Eh? I don’t think so. I’m a genuine imperial commoner, and my grandparents were ordinary space colonists as well.”

“Hahaha, that’s right, isn’t it? There’s no way that can happen huh.”

Anyway, Mimi should be fine. If she was from a powerful family, she wouldn’t have found herself at the very bottom of society after losing her parents in an accident. She even incurred a huge amount of debt.

“Well, of course, it won’t. Geez. Do I look like some noble lady to you, Hiro-sama?”

“Mm, Mimi’s really cute after all…… You can totally pull off the noble young lady look if you dress up a little, y’know?”

“I’d probably just end up getting worn by the clothes instead of the other way around even if I changed into something so fancy. I don’t have Elma-san’s crisp aura, Serena-sama’s dignified bearing, or Chris-chan’s grace.”

“Is that so? I think you pulled it off quite well when you wore those goth loli dresses I bought for you a while back. I kinda want to see you in them again.”

“Eh? M-Mm, I don’t really think those kinds of clothes suit me though.”

Mimi’s face suddenly turned bright red as she shyly murmured a reply. How cute.

I managed to convince the shy Mimi to wear the goth loli costumes I bought previously in order to heal my heart that was worn down from May’s daily training.