Chapter 417: Progress and Sudden Raid

I was planning to sell off the spoils we got from the pirates at Reemay Prime, which was currently short of essential supplies, and stockpile the starship parts and equipment, which should be in low demand, in Black Lotus for the time being. However–

『Can you please sell some starship parts to me?』

Apparently, Hartmut had heard that Mimi and the others asked around to find out whether or not we could sell off starship parts at Reemay Prime for a good price, so he quickly got in touch.

“I don’t really mind, but why?”

『Because we prioritized securing food and medical supplies first, we are now experiencing a shortage of machine components……』

“I see. Alright then. We’d get to dispose of some of our goods early, so it’s fine.”

In other words, they want to buy some scrap parts from us. Tina and Wiska did mention that starship equipment could be used as spare parts for colony maintenance when disassembled.

“If you’re going to use them as spare parts, there’s no need for us to perform an overhaul on them, right?”

『I believe that will indeed save both of us from some trouble.』

“You’re gonna have to pay a reasonable price for them though.”

『I wouldn’t dare to be stingy when it comes to something like this.』

Hartmut laughed heartily on the other side of the holo-screen. Umu. He really was quite the handsome guy…… Well, most imperial nobles were relatively good-looking. I suppose it’s the result of unbroken, longstanding lineages mostly composed of beautiful men and women.

『By the way, what is the progress regarding the effective countermeasure against the pandemic that you mentioned a few days ago? Is there any result?』

“Oh, that? Our resident expert has already finished the analysis, and she’s currently conducting simulations to see if the countermeasure she developed can be safely applied to humans and other races. From what I’ve heard, she’ll likely be done with it today.”

『I’m not really a specialist on the matter. What would be next after she is done with the simulations?』

“I believe we’ll skip clinical trials since the simulations can provide highly accurate results anyway, so we’ll immediately proceed with manufacturing a cure, but…… Shall I get our ship doctor to participate in the call?”

『I’m sorry, but can you please do so?』

At Hartmut’s request, I connected the call to Dr. Shouko who was currently busy in the lab so she can participate in the conversation. Anyway, what Hartmut wanted to know was how feasible and safe Dr. Shouko’s findings were.

『Since the accuracy of the results will be comparable to what we’d get from my old employer’s lab, I don’t think there will be any problems with using the cure right away. The vaccine will let the body exhibit an extremely high immunity against the infection source, so there will be no symptoms even if a person gets infected, and it will also prevent the infection source from spreading further.』

『Is mass production possible?』

『It is, with suitable equipment and facilities. We can also manufacture it in our lab, albeit on a small scale.』

『How much can you make?』

『As long as we have the materials, we can produce enough vaccines for 200 people per hour at full capacity – meaning a daily output of 4,800 if we manufacture nonstop.』

『I’d like you to proceed with manufacturing it right away but at that rate……』

Hartmut displayed a troubled expression. The population of the colony is said to be about 500,000 individuals, so it would take over three months to cover all of them if we manufactured the vaccine inside our lab alone. And I definitely won’t be staying here for that long.

『Well, the pharmaceutical plant in our lab is just a small-scale one after all. Manufacturing the vaccine isn’t that difficult as long as there are appropriate equipment and facilities, so why not try looking for a company within the colony that has them?』

『Let’s try that then. Can you send me the data regarding what equipment will be required?』

『That’s what he said. What do you think, captain?』

“I’ll be rewarding our excellent doctor on my end, so you’ll also provide us with the appropriate reward for offering our personnel and services, right?”

『As long as it’s within my power, then…… I see. So, that’s your angle.』

“Yep. Exactly. We’ll be counting on you regarding the matter with the orphanage, Mr. Governor.”

『Understood.』

For the time being, it looks like we’ve come to an understanding with the local administration. It’s just a verbal promise, but I’ve recorded this call in the logs, just in case. In the unlikely event that they feign ignorance and act that this conversation never happened, I’m prepared to go against them and use the records as evidence. If legal means don’t work, then we’ll just resort to force. I’ll utilize whatever I can – money, connections, or straightforward use of force. I’m even prepared to resort to a starship or sword duel if need be.

『So, you’ll be rewarding me huh, captain? I wonder how you’ll be rewarding me exactly, hmm?』

Anyway, I better drop the call with Hartmut first and satisfy the request of the good doctor who was currently smiling from ear to ear. Will she be satisfied with a monetary reward? No? Err, I suppose not.

My peculiar constitution, or rather, my body itself, has been of particular interest to Dr. Shouko, so she made me cooperate in her research until she was satisfied. It’s been hard physically and mentally. Thanks to Kugi’s guidance, I’ve polished my psionic abilities, and I’ve been able to do quite a few interesting stuff recently. Dr. Shouko sniffed it out and she subjected me to a thorough interrogation. Even though I was supposed to keep it secret before I properly mastered my abilities……

“Are you tired, Hiro-sama?”

“Yeah. Very.”

Mimi called out to me while I was plopped down on the break space’s sofa, and I replied in a listless manner. Mimi proceeded to sit down next to me and pulled me toward her. I didn’t put up any resistance and my head landed on top of Mimi’s thighs. Umu. The view of Mimi’s breasts was superb, as always. In fact, I kinda wanted to touch them a bit. It’s the best. It felt like my mental strength was gradually recovering.

“……I was beaten to the punch.”

“Fufu. It’s my turn today.”

As Mimi’s lap pillow was soothing me, I heard Kugi’s voice. Did she feel my weakened mental state? But Mimi’s luck seemed to have triumphed over Kugi’s telepathy powers this time around. Honestly, it’s hard to choose between squishy and fluffy. But I suppose I’ll stick with Mimi for today.

“How’s Linda?”

“Good, My Lord. She seems to be learning about maintenance work from Tina-san and Wiska-san.”

“I see. It will be difficult to learn everything in a short period, but it would be nice if she can grasp something from the experience.”

I suppose it’s better to leave Linda under the care of those two. It won’t be good if I carelessly got involved with her and end up giving her some unrealistic expectations. Well, I’m not really sure if Linda finds the mercenary lifestyle attractive. We don’t even have the leeway to have Linda join us in the first place…… Oh, wait. We do, huh? But there’s no need for that.

“Oh, right. Could you please tell Tina and Wiska to stop overhauling the equipment we stripped from the pirate ships? They can finish working on the ones they already got their hands on, but our client seems to want to use the equipment as scrap parts.”

“Understood. I’ll message them.”

With my head still on top of her lap, Mimi started operating her tablet terminal. Umu. Nice. Very nice. I’m not gonna elaborate, but anyway, it’s nice. This is happiness itself…… Nay, this is the truth of the universe……!

“……Mimi-san, would you like to cooperate with me in caring for My Lord?”

Perhaps mentally sensing something from me, Kugi suddenly made a wonderful proposal. What a great suggestion. However, how is Mimi gonna respond? She sometimes seems to be competing with Kugi.

“Sounds good!”

Looks like we got the go-ahead. In other words, I’ll be taking on two people. Alright then. I won’t run or hide. Come at me, you two. What? Wasn’t I exhausted; you ask? Well, I am, but if the two of them are gonna service me, then I’m sure I can surpass my physical limits with sheer willpower.

As I got healed by Mimi and Kugi’s passionate care, Elma relaxed while having a drink as usual, Dr. Shouko fussed over the data samples she managed to collect from me, and Tina and Wiska performed maintenance on the stripped starship parts and sorted them together with Linda. However, something unexpected happened.

It made me get up in a flash.

“Master, an attack was launched on the facility in the lower block.”

“What!?”

After enjoying a shower with Mimi and Kugi, Mei suddenly reported something shocking, and I couldn’t help but do a double-take. Well, we did expect something like that to an extent, and that’s why we left some combat bots to guard the place, but I didn’t really think they would actually go through with it. After all, even I’d hesitate to attack a place that was guarded by four military-grade combat bots.

“There was indeed an attack on the facility where we stationed combat robots. However, the attackers were successfully repulsed by the combat robots and the local guards we hired, so please rest assured.”

“Yeah, but……”

“The children weren’t hurt, were they?”

“No, Mimi-sama. No one was injured, including the local guards.”

“I don’t get their motive…… Well, maybe they simply wanted to plunder supplies.”

I can’t really think of a possible motive apart from that. They did say that the mafia gang that was running the facility in the shadows was mostly destroyed, so I don’t think the attack was related to them, but…… Wait. What about the ones who weren’t supporting the orphanage facility? Was it possible for them to have launched the attack? I suppose that apart from them, no one else would have dared to attack the facility under such heavy guard. If the mafia gang that was managing the facility made a comeback, they’d probably try to settle things with the attackers the first chance they got after all.

“Can we get in touch with them?”

“Yes. It’s possible to contact them through the combat bots.”

“I see. Then ask them about their situation and the details of the attack first……”

I was finally in a great mood, and something like this happened. Are we going to get caught up in something troublesome again……? What to do, I wonder. Since it’ll be troublesome either way, why not just clean everything up? Literally.

I headed for the break space together with Mimi and Kugi while mulling over the situation.

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