Chapter 426: Chapter 421: That’s Not It. Please Believe Me.

“Well then, let’s toast to our victory.”

“Cheers!”

“Cheers–!”

About an hour has passed since the raid on the Bloodies hideout and the handover of the data storage devices and other stuff to Hartmut’s men. I returned to the orphanage facility along with Heinz and Sieg, and we held a little celebration party together with Airia and the children. Or rather, it was more of a dinner party.

“Whoah! This stuff’s really good!”

“Delicious!”

The food served at the dinner party was brought over from the Black Lotus, and all of the dishes were made by good old Tetsujin. The orphanage facility didn’t have an auto-cooker, and they’ve been making do with eating pre-cooked meals packed in microwavable retort pouches. The many dishes prepared by Tetsujin V won the hearts and taste buds of not only the children but Sieg and the rest as well.

“Looks like you’re really enjoying them. I guess it was worth bringing food from the Lotus.”

“I think you’re about the only guy who’d use military-grade combat bots for food delivery, Bro.”

The ones that brought the food over were the military-grade combat bots that participated in the hideout raid. After returning to the Lotus with Mei, they replaced their plasma grenade launcher backpacks with cargo packs and proceeded to deliver food to the orphanage.

After the hideout raid, I came up with the idea of having this dinner party and immediately contacted Mei to have her make the necessary arrangements. Even if Mei was away from the Lotus, she could still remotely access the maintenance and equipment replacement systems for both Tetsujin and the combat bots, as well as safely contact the crew members who were left on the ship.

“Thank you so much, Hiro-san. The children look very happy…… They’ve only been experiencing hardship after hardship recently.”

“S’all good. This is nothin’, so no worries.”

Actually, I originally meant to take Heinz and Sieg to a slightly more upscale restaurant to treat them. But then I thought that it would be nice if I also got the children at the orphanage some delicious food. And so, we decided to hold a dinner party at the orphanage instead.

“Fufu…… The way you talk really resembles that girl.”

“It’s not like I’m doing it on purpose y’know.”

I think that Tina and I get along rather well. We felt comfortable spending time with each other because we had a lot of stuff in common. There were times when she acted a bit unconventional, but you could say the same for me too. Yes, I’m rather self-aware. But I only managed to notice this when others pointed it out to me later on and I thought back to my earlier actions.

“For now, we managed to bring down what seemed to be the main hideout of the people who attacked this place, rendered most of them unable to fight, and forced the rest to retreat, so I think you guys with be safe for a while. However, it doesn’t hurt to be careful.”

“Yes. Thank you very much for everything.”

“Oh, and sorry for changing the topic abruptly, but I actually asked the newly appointed governor to look after this facility.”

“Eh?”

Airia’s eyes widened in surprise. Right. Come to think of it, I just went ahead and made arrangements for the orphanage facility without consulting Airia first.

“The organization that was supporting this facility has lost its power after all. And they were probably an underworld gang or something, right? The new governor has taken advantage of the chaotic situation caused by the pandemic to investigate the shadier elements in this colony. The plan is to wipe them out, and if that happens, you’ll lose potential backers even after the pandemic subsides. And that’s why I acted presumptuously and decided to make some arrangements.”

“Eh…… But is that really okay? After all, just like you said, the one previously sponsoring this colony was among those shady organizations, so……”

“I’ve made sure to give Hartmut various benefits in return for taking care of this place, so there’s no need to worry. If necessary, I’ll seize the rights to this building and officially place it under the care of the local government. I’m sure they’ll do all they can to accommodate you guys.”

Airia began sweating nervously after hearing my declaration. Sorry. I ended up leaving one of the relevant parties out of the loop and proceeded with the talks to the point where things are mostly a done deal already. Everything’s gonna be fine though! Honest!

“U-Um, the governor is a nobleman…… isn’t he?”

“Well, yeah. Quite the handsome gentleman too.”

Technically, I was a nobleman too. But if I revealed that fact, it might only worsen Airia’s apprehensions, so I’ll just do the smart thing and keep quiet about it. If you really were smart, then you shouldn’t have put Airia in a situation that made her get flustered in the first place, you say. Sorry, but I’m just gonna ignore that.

“A-Are you really sure it’s gonna be okay? He wouldn’t suddenly stop supporting us for some reason or another or cut us all down because he finds us to be eyesores, would he?”

“Just how unreasonable are the nobles in your eyes, Airia……? Hartmut seemed like a pretty nice and sincere young man, so I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. If you’re really that worried about him breaking his promise to me and treating you guys harshly, I’ll just make sure to tell him he’d be facing terrible retribution from me if that ever happens.”

“W-Will doing something like that be alright……?”

“It’s okay. No problem at all. I’m a Platinum-ranker after all. Most nobles avoid making enemies of Platinum-ranked mercenaries like me, or rather, the Mercenary Guild behind us. And I’m sure he’s even more wary of making an enemy of me in particular.”

However, in the event that Hartmut really breaks his promise, I have some countermeasures prepared. I could make use of the Mercenary Guild, other nobles, or worst of all, the imperial family to attack Hartmut socially by saying he wasn’t someone trustworthy. I could even directly challenge him to a duel. If I could draw him into a space battle, it’d be my win for sure. And I could also settle things with a sword duel. Either way, I’ll give him a thorough social death.

“I see…… But even if you treat us so well, there’s nothing we can offer to pay you back……”

Airia looked down glumly. Hmm. Pay me back, huh? Airia was a certified beauty, and her body shape was…… pretty good. She was quite attractive. So, I couldn’t help but think of a one-night stand. Airia was a proper adult who was pretty sensible and had enough social experience, so I’m sure she’d be able to enjoy that sort of stuff without any trouble.

However, I’m sure my crew members would give me blank death stares if I ever did something like that with her. It might also give Heinz and Sieg a bad impression. In the first place, she might already be quite close to either of them. So that sort of thing was a no-go after all. Well, thinking about that stuff was a part of a healthy man’s nature, so please just let it slide.

“Don’t worry. I’ll have Tina pay me back plenty later.”

“Tina will……? Um, err…… Are Tina and you…… an item?”

“Yeah, basically. It’s an intimate relationship between man and woman.”

“You and Tina…… Um, do you really have that kind of preference……? And that’s why you brought Linda back with you……?”

Somehow, it felt like Airia was moving to block my line of sight and prevent me from eyeing the children. Okay, okay. First, let’s clear things up. Be calm, me.

“That’s not it. I do have an intimate relationship with Tina and her sister Wiska, but I definitely ain’t a lolicon. It took me a long while before I decided to lay my hands on those two, you know? I’m a normal guy with normal preferences, okay? It just so happens that the ones I like have that kind of build. I swear I’m not looking at Linda in a funny way.”

“Come to think of it, all your crew members are girls, right, Hiro-san?”

“……”

“……”

It felt like Airia’s opinion of me changed from a respectable and kind mercenary to an outrageous womanizer. Well, it was technically true, but it still felt kinda wrong.

“It looks like it’ll be useless no matter how I justify myself, so let’s just drop the topic. Let’s drop it now.”

“……Right.”

Even though she nodded, Airia still continued to give me a critical gaze. How lamentable. Oh, right. I might be able to clear up the misunderstandings (which may or may not be actual misunderstandings) if I give her Tina’s contact info. I’ll call Tina later and ask her if I can give Airia her number.