I was nervous about contacting the Earl, but it went smoother than expected.

『Well then, a vehicle will come to pick you all up after fifteen minutes. The Earl is looking forward to seeing you all.』

Yep. We were prepared for a formal talk with the Earl, but instead, his secretary arranged an appointment for us and the call ended with that.

“I guess he didn’t want to simply meet up via holo-display and wanted to see us in person.”

“Is that really the case……?”

“Hm. I don’t quite understand what grandfather is thinking either.”

The three girls were mulling over the arrangements made by the Earl with puzzled looks on their faces. May stood quietly on the side. She stood all prim and proper, with both hands resting on top of each other in front of her maid dress’s skirt. After getting upgraded, May acted even more elegant and refined compared to before. Has something fundamental changed within her, I wonder. But maybe it’s just me.

And by the way, we had Chris confirm that the person we got in contact with was unmistakably her grandfather’s secretary. You can never be too careful after all. We also did a bit of information gathering on our end.

As for the results, we ended up not finding much about the secretary, but we did confirm that a ship that’s owned by House Daleinwald was currently docked inside Sierra Prime. And it wasn’t just a civilian cruiser or luxury ship. It was actually a battleship. It looks like Chris’s grandfather, Earl Abraham Daleinwald, was actually quite wary of his very own son, Balthazar Daleinwald.

“In any case, I guess this does indicate that he believes your uncle is aiming for your life, Chris. I think there’s a low chance of this being your uncle’s trap.”

“Yes. I also think it’s alright. I clearly remember seeing that secretary every time we paid grandfather a visit.”

“But even so, we still can’t let our guards down.”

“Yes. Even if it’s true that we got in contact with Earl Daleinwald, it doesn’t mean that Christina-sama’s safety is already 100% guaranteed.”

May agreed with Elma’s warning. Mimi was still mulling over the situation with furrowed brows.

“Anyway, they should be arriving soon. Shall we go ahead? Just in case, make sure to have your laser guns with you. That goes for you too, Mimi.”

“Yes.”

Mimi positively replied as she tapped the laser gun that was holstered to her hip. I do hope Mimi can improve her shooting ability soon…… She should aim to at least be able to hit a stationary enemy with her gun. I better accompany her for some target practice after this matter is over.

After getting down from Krishna, the macho onii-sans standing guard gave crisp salutes when they saw Chris with us. Chris exchanged some words with them, and the men looked quite moved as they replied with ‘We are unworthy of such words, milady.’ and ‘We will ensure your safety with our lives if need be, princess!’ enthusiastically. Un. It’s a scene far removed from what I’m used to.

“Seeing you like this really brings home the fact that Chris-chan is actually a noble princess, doesn’t it?”

“I’m not royalty though……”

Mimi was acting moved by the scene while Chris displayed a strained smile in response. Before long, a vehicle resembling a jeep stopped in front of Krishna. It’s just like those RVs used to survey distant planets back on Earth.

You’re not familiar with RVs? It ain’t those recreational vehicles used by families to go on a long trip, but recon vehicles used to survey the lay of the land. They’re used to explore the surface of distant planets. It was smaller than an average power armor, but it was equipped with an energy shield, so it was a considerably tough vehicle. Unfortunately, I don’t have one parked inside Krishna.

Hm. But maybe I can purchase one through Mercenary Guild channels. It should be useful for work as well. We can use it to search for relics of past civilizations on unexplored planets and whatnot, and sell the gathered data for a good price to willing buyers. But the problem is that it would take up too much space inside Krishna’s cargo bay.

We all boarded the RV along with the macho onii-sans, and speedily drove out of the port area. The port area was bustling with activity today. There were several industrial use power armors unloading cargo from ships, a family wearing fancy clothes that probably came here for a vacation, people who looked like they were from the same trade as us, some weird-looking alien creatures that actually seemed like merchants out on business…… Anyway, lots of different people were out and about inside the port area.

Of course, there were also Imperial soldiers walking about. Oh, and I think I saw Lieutenant Commander Serena too. Well, she shouldn’t have noticed my stare– Huh? She turned my way? So she actually noticed? How’d she do that? Scary.

After driving for a while, the RV finally arrived in front of an imposing-looking ship. It wasn’t exactly the latest model, but it was still sufficiently intimidating. It looked quite powerful. You can actually kind of tell the personality and quirks of a fleet commander to a certain extent based on the composition of his or her fleet. And based on this battleship here, I reckon the commander is someone who values a sure and steady approach when engaged in battle.

Its basic strategy was to steadily bring down the fast vanguard ships while weathering attacks with tight defenses, and exchanging fire with enemy battleships in the rear in a battle of attrition. This ship looked like it could take quite a beating and still come out with guns blazing. Looks like the commander prioritizes safety and stability above all. If you take a fleet like this head-on without a plan, chances are you’d have to expend a considerable amount of effort.

“We have been waiting for you all. And I am truly glad that you are safe, Christina-sama. It truly is a relief.”

The RV drove inside the ship’s hangar. After we got off from the vehicle, we met the secretary guy who we talked with earlier via the holo-display, as well as a woman who seemed to be a maid. Now that I got a good look at them, the personnel walking around busily inside the hangar were all dressed like butlers or maids. Talk about eccentricity.

“It is all thanks to father, mother, and this gentleman, Captain Hiro. What about my grandfather?”

“He is waiting for you all inside his private quarters. Please come with me. This lady will be the one to guide the rest of you, Captain Hiro.”

“Please come with me. I shall lead you to the ship’s parlor.”

The smart-looking maid-san invited us to follow her. Now then, would it really be okay to let Chris meet with her grandfather alone? I exchanged gazes with Chris, and she nodded back to say it was fine. Guess there’s no problem then. I exchanged gazes with Elma just in case, but she also nodded in assent. Okay then.

“Understood. We’ll see you later, Chris.”

“Yes, Hiro-sama.”

After waving goodbye to a smiling Chris, we followed after the maid from earlier.

But man, the interior of this ship sure looks quite fancy. Elma compared Krishna’s interior with that of a first class luxury cruiser, but this ship easily exceeded Krishna by several leagues. The outside appearance was that of an intimidating battleship, but the interior rivaled that of a five star hotel or an affluent noble’s mansion. Oh boy. As expected of nobles. Even their ships served as impressive status symbols.

So this ship served both as House Daleinwald’s flagship as well as a mobile holiday villa. How fancy. So that’s why the crew were all dressed as maids and butlers. Un. I actually quite like it.

“What’s wrong with you? Why are you all starry-eyed?”

“No, I was just thinking the owner of this ship has such good taste.”

“Isn’t your ship basically the same?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It has an interior rivalling a luxury cruiser, and you even have a maidroid now. Isn’t it following the same basic style as this ship?”

“Come to think of it, you’re right……”

She does have a point. Umu. So should I also purchase a mothership that has a similar vibe as this ship to match Krishna? I’m sure it wouldn’t be cheap, but it would probably be more than a few times cheaper than purchasing a detached house with a garden on a residential planet and official citizenship.

And once we get a mothership, we’d be able to carry significantly more cargo. It would increase our business options as well as our income by several fold. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say. I should really start thinking seriously about purchasing a mothership. I found Krishna spacious before, but now that the crew has increased in number, it’s starting to feel a bit cramped.

And no, I have no plans of increasing my crew any further guys. I said no. I’m serious.

“It feels like a noble’s mansion, so I can’t seem to settle down……”

“I sort of get where you’re coming from, Mimi. But it looks great, doesn’t it? If you keep thinking about how much it costs, you’d just stress yourself out needlessly. Just don’t mind the furnishings much.”

“I understand what you’re getting at, Elma-san. But the entire atmosphere of this ship just exudes fanciness, so, well…”

“Well, you’ll get used to it soon, Mimi.”

It seems Mimi’s aesthetic taste leaned more on the punkish side, so the neat and elegant feeling of this ship’s interior doesn’t seem to sit well with her. But it can’t be helped, so she’ll just have to cope.

“Please wait here, everyone.”

The room we were brought to was a wide and luxurious parlor for receiving guests. One side of the walls was composed of a large glass sheet, and through it, we could see a grand-looking garden. Well, it’s probably just a large holo-display and not a real garden though.

“Thank you.”

“I will prepare some drinks. Would you be fine with tea, everyone? If you want something else, don’t hesitate to tell me.”

“I’m fine with tea. How about you, girls?”

“I’ll have tea as well.”

“Me too.”

“Understood. Please wait while I prepare your drinks.”

The maid who guided us here made an elegant bow and left the parlor. After seeing her off with my gaze, I sank comfortably in one of the sofas inside the parlor. Oooh. Now that’s what I call comfy. The sofa’s incredibly soft and fluffy, but it can still fully support my weight. The table also looked to be made of high-quality natural wood exuding a black sheen. At least, it seemed just like natural wood when I touched it earlier. If it really was genuine natural wood, then just this one table would cost a heck of a lot of Enels.

After a short while, the maid came back with our drinks. It was a steaming beverage with a deep red hue.

“What’s wrong?”

“What is it, Hiro-sama?”

“……No, it’s nothing.”

It was different from the tea I was familiar with, but I didn’t want to sound rude, so I kept my thoughts to myself. Thankfully, the aroma and taste were that of normal tea. But what’s with this? Did they add some food coloring while brewing the tea or something? How curious. Maybe it was because of the tea leaves used.

We enjoyed the overly red tea and waited at the parlor for about an hour. Then, finally, the one we were waiting for arrived.

“The lord is here. Please stand and offer him your sincerest greetings.”

We followed the words of the maid-san and waited for Earl Daleinwald to enter.

Before long, the large double door leading to the parlor opened, and an elderly man with a stately bearing entered the room. Following after him was Chris, who now wore a stylish white dress that made her look like a fairytale princess.

The elderly man was tall in stature, and has a very sturdy-looking physique despite his advanced age. Strapped on his waist were two swords – one of regular length and one with a short blade. His originally black hair was peppered with streaks of white, but it still looked well-maintained.

But what stood out the most was the man’s eyes. He had deep black eyes that resembled those of a hawk. They were filled with strength and dignity, and one without sufficient courage would find him or herself cowering before their sharp gaze. I was half-expecting a weak-looking geezer earlier, but it turned out to be a strong old man.

“My name is Earl Abraham Daleinwald, and I am the current head of House Daleinwald.”

Chris’s grandfather, Earl Abraham Daleinwald, introduced himself and turned a sharp gaze toward me. Man. This old man sure is intimidating. Looks like I have to tread carefully around this guy. Now then, how should I go about this, I wonder.