566 「I’m Your Wife Too」

Grakkius Secundus Colony was one of the premier—no, probably the premier—trade colonies in the Grakkan Empire. Goods, specialty products, and resources from every corner of imperial space flowed through here on their way to the capital, and it was also the first place where all sorts of so-called imperial-quality products made in the capital hit the market.

The stuff stamped as imperial quality and made in the capital had great specs, elegant design, and despite their delicate looks they were tough and long-lasting, so they were all the rage. They were the kind of luxury items every citizen dreamed of owning someday.

「Still, they’re pricey as hell though.」

「Even if they are tough and long-lasting, if the price is almost four times higher the cost performance is pretty bad, huh.」

「It’s not like they’re gonna last literally four times as long either…… but I guess it depends on the situation? If it’s something your life might depend on, that toughness really could be the difference between life and death.」

「In that case, wouldn’t it be better to use the same budget to buy two spares of the normal product?」

「The upside is you can cut down on how much you carry.」

「Ahh, true. We tend to forget since we live on the Black Lotus, but a ship’s payload is limited.」

While the girls—or rather, everyone except me, Neve, and Dr. Shouko—had gone down to Grakkius Secundus Colony to buy all the daily necessities they needed, Neve and I were enjoying some window-shopping from the Black Lotus’s break space. Even if you don’t go down to the colony, you can access the online mall from the ship. Once you project the products into a holo-display, it’s not that different from seeing them in a storefront.

What’s that, you’re asking if I ended up not going shopping with them after all? They all kind of told me in a roundabout way, you know. Like, ‘If you come along, we might get dragged into unnecessary trouble, so stay on the ship.’ Oof…… talking like I’m some kind of disaster magnet…… I mean, it does happen. I can’t deny a single thing based on my track record so far, that’s the worst part.

For the record, Dr. Shouko had holed herself up in her lab again. She’d managed to restock research materials and reagents in bulk back on the capital and here on Grakkius Secundus Colony. It couldn’t be helped.

「Even so, Captain.」

「What?」

「Nothing… I just wonder if there’s really nothing going on with you. Like, you don’t get all hot and bothered or anything? You’ve got a girl who adores you sprawled all over you like this, you know?」

Neve said that and rolled over on my lap, ending up on her back and looking up at me. I was sitting on the sofa with Neve lying across my lap, but feelings like that toward her… Yeah, nope. Don’t got ’em.

「I do think you’re cute.」

「That’s the sort of affection you direct at a small animal or a pet, not a woman, isn’t it?」

「No, I’m treating you like a person properly…… Just give me a bit more time before I can see you as a woman, okay.」

I soothed Neve—who was puffing out her cheeks at me—by petting her head. If you ask whether it’s weird to hesitate to go after Neve now after I’ve already put my hands on Tina and Wiska, well, yeah, you’d have a point. But she’s so slender that calling her ‘delicate’ feels way too mild. Dr. Shouko did say that with how her body’s been reinforced, she’s tougher than she looks, but I just can’t bring myself to cross that line.

「And who knows when that ‘bit more time’ of yours is going to end, right. Captain, we’re going on our honeymoon after this, aren’t we?」

「U-uh…… well, yeah, that’s the plan.」

「I’m your wife too, you know. Make a move on me during the honeymoon. Promise me, Captain.」

Neve reached up, stroked my cheek, and gave me this fragile, wistful smile as she said that. Man, the emotional humidity in here.

「……I’ll do my best.」

No matter how thin and narrow her body looks, so delicate it feels like she might break if I touched her, Neve is a fully fledged adult woman. An adult. She’s a lot older than Mimi, even. She’s actually closer to my age than Mimi is. I do understand that, in my head… it’s just, my brain keeps getting dragged around by what my eyes see.

☆★☆

By the time I’d finished lazing around and flirting with Neve, the Mimi-led shopping squad had made it back to the ship.

「Well? How do I look, Hiro-sama? Don’t I look like a proper mercenary now?」

「Hmm…… you’re still giving off total newbie vibes.」

「I am a newbie…… but that still means I look like a mercenary, right?」

Lucia snorted through her nose with a triumphant ‘That’s good enough!’ look. What an impressive bit of positive thinking. She definitely doesn’t look like a princess anymore, so in that sense I guess you could call it a success.

Compared to Mimi and Elma she wasn’t showing as much skin, but she’d ended up with an outfit that screamed ‘rookie merc.’ If there was one thing that felt off, it was the fact that she had not only a laser gun at her hip, but also what was basically a big dagger hanging there. Normally mercs don’t walk around with something like that on their belts. A laser gun alone is plenty.

「So, Isolde and company…… why are you still wearing my jackets?」

Isolde and the others had also changed into merc-style gear, but somehow they’d coordinated it around my jacket. Like, why? Honestly, you’re pulling off the mercenary look way better than Lucia… but you went out of your way to incorporate my jacket into your outfit?

「Well, uh…… how should I put it. It’s just really comfortable to wear, you know?」

「Eeh……? Well, if you three are fine with it, I guess I’m fine with it. It is comfy, right? That’s why I practically live in that thing.」

「Y-yeah. It feels… good.」

The way Isolde and the others all suddenly relaxed in relief bothers me. You’re acting super suspicious, you know that? Like you’re hiding something—or up to something weird. When I look over at Lucia, she just smiles at me. When I look at Mimi and the others, they either avert their eyes just a little or give me these meaningful little grins.

Also, Isolde and her buddies had not only laser guns on their hips, but also these gaudy, ornate swords hanging at their sides, which made them total failures at ‘passing as mercs.’ In a sense, it was worse than Lucia. Well, it isn’t like former nobles never become mercenaries. The third son and down in some impoverished noble families who can’t inherit the house apparently end up as mercs instead of soldiers sometimes. In those cases they end up in a mismatched getup just like Isolde and her friends.

People see me that way too—quite a lot, in fact. To them, it’s obvious: there’s no way a commoner could cross blades with a noble and win. The gap in physical ability is just too big; normally it’s not even a contest. So if I can cross blades with nobles, the obvious thing to think is that I must be a noble who got physical enhancement from the start.

「If everyone’s done shopping, we’re heading for the Windas system. We need to get Isolde and the others’ swords sorted out too. Mei, get in touch with the ship manufacturer over there… what was their name again?」

「Yes, Master. That would be Hazel Starship. Shall I make an appointment?」

「Please. As for the sword maker… I wanna go to that one too. Think they’d do maintenance and stuff?」

「Of course. If you like, I can introduce you to the workshop I frequent.」

「I’m counting on you. That all right with you too, Isolde and extras?」

If it was one of Serena’s regular workshops, there was no way it’d be a bad pick. That’s what I thought as I turned to check with Isolde and the others—but.

「It feels kind of… presumptuous of us, or something.」

「You’re really hedging your words there……?」

「If it’s the sort of place the daughter of House Holz— a marquis’s family—frequents, um, wouldn’t it be, you know… very expensive……?」

「Oh… I hadn’t even thought of that angle. How bad is it, actually?」

「Um… sorry, I’ve never really paid attention to that…… The Holz family just puts it all on their tab.」

Serena looked away with an awkward expression. There it is: noble ojou-sama mode.

「What is that look supposed to mean? When it comes to money sense, are you really in any position to talk, Hiro?」

「Hey now, that’s not true. My sense of money is perfectly normal.」

「That’s a lie, Boss.」

「That’s a lie, Big Brother.」

「You two jumped in way too fast! I know it was a stretch even as I said it, okay!? But I at least look at price tags!」

Tina and Wiska shot me down in perfect sync. Sure, I’m a sloppy, toss-it-all-in-one-pot kind of guy when it comes to money, but I’m not so far gone that I don’t even know what things cost.

「I-I do usually pay attention to that sort of thing too, you know!?」

「You suuure about that……? Anyway, thanks for the introduction. It really helps.」

「Muu…… fine. I’ll let that slide. I’ll get in touch with them right away.」

Even while she was puffing her cheeks in a huff, Serena pulled out her mini-terminal and started making arrangements. How cute. I still have no idea why she reveals these hopelessly airheaded sides of herself whenever it comes to everyday life stuff. On the surface she looks like a flawless superhuman.

「I feel like you’re looking at me the way you’d look at something disappointing.」

「I was just thinking how cute you are, Serena.」

「Wh—!? Honestly… stop blindsiding me like that.」

Watching her get all flustered like that was cute too—at least until a sudden impact hit my side, followed by a squeeze.

「……Chris-san? Why exactly did you butt in just now?」

「I just suddenly felt the urge to hug my husband. My husband.」

「He’s my husband too, you know???」

「Stop it, don’t fight over me for my sake—」

「You say that, but you’re enjoying this a little, aren’t you?」

「C’mon, who doesn’t want to say ‘Don’t fight over me!’ at least once in their life?」

「I can’t say I don’t get it……」

On the other side of a very exasperated-looking Elma, the Imperial Guards were all staring at me like, ‘Is this guy for real?’

Later on, when I asked Isolde about it, she said this:

「The guts it takes to sit there grinning while you’re getting tug-of-warred over by noble ladies who could literally tear a person apart with their bare hands if they felt like it is honestly impressive, I think. Really.」

Once she said that, it suddenly got a lot scarier. Okay, from now on I’m going to put a stop to that kind of situation before it happens. If I let them keep pulling on me from both sides like that, I really might end up with both arms ripped clean off.

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