“Hello. My name is Christina. But please feel free to call me Chris.”

“My name’s Mimi! Nice to meet you, Chris-chan!”

“I’m Elma. Best regards, Chris.”

I took Chris along and brought her back to Krishna. We found both Mimi, who was left to mind the ship, and Elma, who seems to have just gotten back from the Mercenary Guild branch.

They did the introductions in the dining room. Mimi, who was close to Chris in age, seemed really happy and had a bright smile on her pretty face. Age-wise, both me and Elma were poles apart from the two young ladies. That’s especially true for Elma though. In Elma’s case, don’t mention being close in age. She’s actually a generation apart. Though that’s only considering the number of years she’s spent living her life.

“……What?”

“Oh, nothing.”

Elma gave me an annoyed stare. She might have sensed my somewhat rude thoughts. Do her elven ears not only pick up sounds but even the wicked thoughts of other people? How scary.

“Um…… What’s wrong with those two? Are they alright?”

“They’re fine. They get along really well actually. Elma-san is just feeling complicated since Hiro-sama has just attained Gold rank.”

Chris seemed worried after seeing the weird atmosphere between me and Elma. Mimi pacified her worries while displaying a bright smile.

“……I ain’t really feeling complicated or anything.”

Elma turned her head to the side with slightly puffed up cheeks. It just makes me wanna poke them. She would probably break my fingers if I did, so I’ll just pass.

“Um, just what does Gold rank signify……?”

Chris cutely tilted her head as she inquired. So it seems our little noble lady isn’t familiar with mercenary ranks huh. Can’t be helped. I’ll just explain everything to her then… or maybe not.

Elma turned around and faced Chris with such amazing momentum after hearing her question. Oh boy. Guess I’ll have to leave it to her.

“The official Mercenary Guild rankings are split into five grades. Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. So, five in total.”

Elma made her slender fingers straighten up one by one until her hand transitioned to an open-palm state.

“Iron rankers are basically your standard rookies. They have next to no real combat experience, and their starships are bottom-of-the-barrel as well. In any case, they usually serve to make up the numbers during escort missions and such. Cargo transport missions are quite common in this line of work after all. When a merc’s assigned this rank, they are basically expected to pile up experience by flying around space, staying on various stations and colonies, and tagging along with their senior cohorts during missions.”

“I see…”

Chris started listening to Elma’s explanation with a serious expression.

By the way, I haven’t managed to explain Chris’ circumstances to Mimi and Elma yet. I couldn’t find the right timing earlier y’see. Well, I guess I’ll just tell both of them after Elma’s mercenary rank explanations. I had Chris, who was listening to the explanation with great focus, sit on a chair in front of the dining table while I prepared a light meal. I’m not sure if Chris’ bodily functions have all normalized by now, so I opted for food that’s easily digestible.

Un, I guess I’ll go with custard pudding. Our amazing auto-cooker extraordinaire Tetsujin V also makes excellent desserts after all. After keying in an order of tea and custard pudding for each of us, I also sat in front of the table in order to listen in on Elma’s explanation.

“Once you attain Bronze rank, it means you’re starting to get proper recognition. Most folks who get promoted to Bronze rank also upgrade their ship’s combat capabilities as well. So they can finally be considered as an asset in battle. But even so, taking on multiple pirate ships solo will still be hard for them, so normally, several Bronze rankers form unofficial fleets of their own. You will see quite a number of these unofficial fleets during subjugation missions.”

“But Hiro-sama was able to take down multiple pirate ships even when he was just a Bronze ranker, right?”

“In his case, his ranking just serves as a scam.”

Elma gave me a harsh glare. I just shrugged it off. Calling my rank a scam is just a bit too harsh, don’t you think? It’s all thanks to Krishna’s overwhelming performance. Nothing’s come close to depleting its energy shield even now. Well, it’s not like I give enemies any chance of saturating the shield during battles anyway, so I guess it’s to be expected.

“So, let’s talk about Silver rank next. Becoming a Silver ranker means you’re already part of the elite. After piling up experience as a Bronze ranker, mercenaries who managed to earn enough achievements to their names finally get promoted to Silver rank. However, there’s a huge difference between Silver rank veterans and mercs who’ve just been promoted to the said rank. Experience is a given of course, but most veteran mercs have also more than likely managed to build up a rather respectable armory of quality weapons and equipment, as well as a high-performance ship to match. Opinions like having unofficial skill rankings for Silver rankers or that the conditions for promoting to the next rank become really harsh once you get to Silver are actually quite common.”

“Elma-san is also a Silver ranker, right?”

“That’s right. I’m a veteran Silver ranker.”

Elma looked really smug as she said so while puffing up her meagre chest.

“Well, she’s actually lost her ship, so she’s just my crew member right now though.”

“……There’s that too. I’m just glad I didn’t end up dead.”

Elma diverted her gaze for a moment. Well, I guess so huh.

“So, what about Gold rank?”

At Chris’ urging, Elma pulled herself together and continued her explanation.

“Gold rank mercenaries are ones who’ve transcended being veterans. It’s assigned to mercenaries who’ve piled up tons of experience, killed more than their fair share of pirates, amassed large amounts of bounties and rewards, and cleared the most difficult simulator courses. They’re the elite among the elite. Gold rank is only granted to a select handful among all active mercenaries. They make up only about five percent of the total mercenary numbers.”

“Hou, five percent you say? It looks like I’m actually quite a big-shot huh.”

But even if she says five percent, I totally have no idea how many active mercenaries are out there, so I don’t have a proper sense of scale about it at all.

“……Well, yes. You really are something. Gold rankers are basically mercs who have been officially recognized as elites among elites by the Mercenary Guild itself. The standing of mercenaries in the present society is by no means low, however, becoming a Gold ranker will allow for recognition even among the likes of imperial nobility, the military, and important government officials. Generally speaking, Gold rankers are evaluated as having enough firepower and equipment to destroy a large group of thirty or more enemy ships with a single combat craft.”

“Oh my. So they need to be able to do that much?”

“Actually, I believe Hiro-sama can beat fifty or more with no trouble, right?”

“That depends. I’ll only be able to do so if I don’t go against them head-on and use other tactics.”

Even if Krishna’s shield is extra tough, there’s also a thing called ‘limits’ after all. It would be dangerous to exchange direct fire with over fifty ships, even for Krishna. So it would be better to steadily bring down medium-sized ships while simultaneously whittling down the numbers of the small ones.

“And lastly, there’s Platinum rank. There are currently thirteen active Platinum rankers at present. They are people who have produced particularly outstanding results and achievements even within the Gold rankers. It’s mostly the same with Gold rank, but the conditions for promotion to Platinum rank are even more stringent. In fact, most of it is undisclosed. But it’s said that only mercenaries who can charge into any type of battlefield, no matter how brutal, and return to tell the tale after having raised hell have the qualifications for becoming Platinum rank.”

“I believe Hiro-sama can achieve that as well. You can, right?”

“In time, my dear. In time.”

“When one becomes a Platinum ranker, his or her influence will shoot up to unprecedented heights. I’m not sure if this is actually true or not, but there’s a rumor that a noble tried to use his influence in order to place a Platinum ranked mercenary under his command, only to be crushed by that mercenary instead.”

“Now that’s just unbelievable.”

Even if it’s the highest rank achievable in the Mercenary Guild, can a mere merc really attain such power and influence? I can’t really imagine it.

“You…… Whatever. Anyway, as of right now, you’ve officially been promoted to Gold rank, mister. Congratulations.”

“But aren’t you angry enough to send an alien to torch an entire city?”

“I’m not really angry, okay! I just feel it’s a bit mortifying!”

“Oh c’mon. Even if my rank outstrips yours now, that doesn’t change the fact that you’re still my senior in this business. Isn’t that right? S-E-N-P-A-I?”

“Are you picking a fight with me, buster? You are, right? You’ve got some balls.”

“Gaaaaaaaah!?”

Elma’s arm wrapped around mine like a snake, and she placed me in an armlock within moments. She’s too fast… I wasn’t even able to react.

“Elma-san, anything more than that is……”

“They do get along, right? Right?”

Mimi was pacifying the angry Elma as Chris displayed a strained smile. Save me, you guys!

“Tch! Don’t get too full of yourself! You may have the upper hand when it comes to piloting a ship and operating a power armor, but you absolutely suck in unarmed CQC!”

“I shall bear that in mind…… By the way, I have prepared a modest serving of sweets for us to partake in. Do you wish to have some, Elma-sama?”

“Fine then. Serve it right away.”

“Of course, milady.”

Fufu. Revel in your victory for now. But know this! I shall take my sweet revenge on you tonight, elf… I nursed such spiteful thoughts as I prepared to serve the custard pudding and tea.

“It’s a bit early for a full meal, so I opted for snacks instead. I’ll also tell you all about Chris’ current circumstances as we eat.”

“Yes.”

“Circumstances?”

“???”

Elma had a peculiar expression on her face while Mimi seemed to have question marks floating on top of her head when I made my vague announcement. Hm. It’s actually a whole heap of trouble guys. Do prepare yourselves.

“Uuh… Uguuuuuh! Chris-chaaaan!”

“Nn!?”

After hearing about Chris’ circumstances, Mimi cried out and hugged Chris to her chest. Well, it’s fine to hug her, but it looks like Chris is being suffocated by being sandwiched between your breasts, Mimi.

“Well, that certainly is a great big load of trouble……”

“Aaaaauuu! Chris-chaaaaan!”

Elma rescued Chris from Mimi’s loving clutches while making a big sigh. Mimi, who has been deprived of her Chris-chan plushie, had her face pushed away further by Elma, making her let out a pitiable cry.

“So, two weeks at most, was it? We’ll have to take care of this child during that period, right?”

“That’s right. We’ll have to protect her.”

“You’re really raring to get involved in all this huh.”

“I don’t see why not.”

If I were Chris’ uncle, I would do everything in my power to ensure she dies. He’s already taken care of Chris’ parents after all. He’s already gone that far, so he’ll have to follow through all the way if he doesn’t want his plans to go up in smoke.

“I have something I want to entrust to Elma, actually.”

“What is it?”

Elma nodded in assent. I then turned to Chris.

“Chris, you still have the storage device containing the video we recorded earlier, right?”

“Yes. Do you mean this?”

Chris took out a small crystal from within her pocket. So this is the memory storage medium in this dimension huh. It sure is pretty.

“Can you make copies of this?”

“Eh? Well, yes, I think I can reproduce this just fine. Why?”

“I want to send this video message to Chris’ grandfather via multiple routes. The port admin bureau has already sent a message to the earl, but there’s no guarantee her uncle will not be able to intercept it.”

“I see. You certainly can’t discount the possibility. I understand. I’ll make copies of it and use all the routes and means at my disposal to send the recording crystal to Earl Daleinwald.”

“Yeah, I’m counting on you. I’ll handle the costs. Don’t hold back and use every means available.”

“You’re going all out as usual huh?”

“Well, that’s not entirely it. I’m doing a huge favor for both an earl and his granddaughter, so we can certainly expect a nice, hefty reward, right?”

“Fine, fine. We’ll just leave it at that.”

Elma laughed as she dismissed my explanation. Am I really that easy to read? Guess so, huh. But that’s just how I am, so it can’t be helped. I don’t want to abandon such a cute child after all.

“So, I’m assuming you already have some means in mind?”

“Yes, of course. Quite a few actually. But they’ll take some time.”

“That can’t be helped. It’ll be our win if even one of them reaches the earl.”

“It’s a stellar first move, all things considered. But I’m not quite sure if it’s the best we could take.”

“Well, let’s try it out first. If this move proves ineffective, I’ll think of some other ways.”

Well, the most simple and straightforward way was to crush all pursuers though. It would be much better if we could crush Chris’ uncle along with them too. Oh well. Things shouldn’t be that convenient anyway.

“Well, since our first move is decided, do you already have ideas about our next one?”

In any case, our princess will be safe as long as she’s staying inside the Krishna. Well, it would be easier for us if we could somehow manage to contact the earl in real-time though. I wasn’t expecting trouble with real-time communication on a dimension well into the interstellar age. Haven’t they developed tech that can allow folks to contact each other in real-time even if they’re hundreds or thousands of light-years away from each other?

“You know, staying cooped up inside Krishna doesn’t absolutely guarantee her safety. The possibility of them sneaking poison into the food and supplies we order isn’t zero. They can also sneak in a bomb or two using the same method.”

“Would they really go that far…?”

“Well, there’s no reason not to, in any case. In fact, the loot we confiscated from pirate ships might be the safer alternative instead of goods procured from the colony.”

“Man, there’s something new. To think we’ll be hunting pirates for food and supplies instead of bounties……”

But do pirate ships really have a good stock of food and supplies in their cargo holds…? It might actually be better to just buy our supplies on another star system altogether.

“Anyway, let’s just start with what we first discussed. I’ll be off then. I’ll be taking that memory device, Chris.”

“Yes, please go ahead.”

After taking the memory device off Chris’ hands, Elma left the ship. I’ll try to come up with some other countermeasures in the meantime. But first……

“Mimi, would you please prepare a bed for Chris?”

“Yes.”

I guess I’ll leave Chris in Mimi’s care while I think about our next moves. Hm…… I don’t really plan on being one-sidedly harassed by her pursuers. But even so, things like barehanded CQC, plotting, and watching out for assassination attempts really aren’t my fields of expertise.

So what am I good at, you ask? Isn’t it already obvious?

“Now then, just how would we lure them out, I wonder……”

While I was wracking my head for ideas, my gaze shifted toward the tablet terminal Mimi left on the table. An advertisement for Sierra star system’s resort planet was displayed on it. I had a sudden spark of inspiration as I stared at the ad.

And I think it’s not such a bad idea.

“Let’s reverse the process. How about we proactively lure them out ourselves instead of waiting for them to make a move?”

I muttered my ideas to no one in particular and couldn’t help but make a grin.