Ira-1428M

The next day, the representatives from Saikouji Industry and the mechanics arrived with the ordered Gatling gun loaded onto a large trailer.

I had expected them to perform repairs and installation at the company's work dock, but since the Cerberus unit uses a modular design allowing easy weapon swaps, the mechanics themselves came instead.

Moreover, it seems the repair and installation work will be completed today.

"This XD-F00 is a military vessel, after all. In the event of damage during emergencies, it must be repaired quickly and returned to active duty. That's why it's built this way."

The representative proudly explaining their own product.

Given this situation, work could resume immediately.

Next on the schedule is a transaction involving rare metals in the Damura Star Cluster Commonwealth, requiring a long solo voyage through a route where communication is impossible.

Sorry, but could I possibly request the resupply of the missiles for the missile launcher we temporarily put on hold?

Although the rare metal trade isn't guaranteed to succeed, I'd like to be fully equipped when traveling all the way to the Damura Star Cluster Commonwealth with such valuable rare metals onboard.

The duty officer's eyes sparkled upon hearing Shinosuke's words.

"I'll arrange it right away. In fact, I prepared even small missiles just in case something like this might happen, and we're ready to deliver at any moment."

"Just in case something like this might happen?"

"Yes. Since Captain Kashimura used to be part of the space fleet, I anticipated that someone with a military background would ensure their vessel is fully equipped, so I prepared accordingly."

The officer spoke while contacting other staff members who were waiting at the company.

This handler certainly seems quite capable.

With that decision made, Shinosuke left the inspection to Marks and headed off to the guild to begin his new task.

Upon arriving at the guild, he found it already bustling with free merchants and people seeking jobs from the guild, even though it was still early in the day.

The reception desk was crowded, so he first glanced at the list of available jobs displayed on the large monitor.

Since he was already going all the way to the Damura Cluster Republic, he checked to see if there were any cargo transport jobs besides rare metal trading, but most of the jobs listed on the monitor were for at least 100 tons—and some even exceeded 1,000 tons.

"Still, there aren't any small-scale transport requests around..."

"Wait a minute!"

Syunosuke's Cerberus was originally a warship, so it had little room for extra payload.

It could originally carry only about thirty tons, and already five tons of rare metals were loaded.

"I should've asked at the reception desk..."

"Hey! You there! Don't ignore me!"

Startled by a voice from behind, Syunosuke turned around to see a young woman in a red captain's uniform standing there.

Even if she said he ignored her, Syunosuke couldn't think of any reason why a young woman would be calling out to him.

"Eh? Me?"

"Who else would it be!"

If asked who else could be there, the floor was bustling with many people, but if that woman had called out to Syunosuke, then there was no one else but Syunosuke.

"Is there something you need?"

Though clearly younger than Syunosuke, and since it was their first meeting, he didn't feel like bothering with polite formalities, so he responded using professional, work-appropriate language.

"You're the one with the escort ship, right? I don't recognize you—new recruit?"

"Yes, I'm Shinnosuke Kashimura. I just registered with the guild recently."

The woman who spoke to Shinnosuke was sizing him up with a critical eye.

"Such stiff manners. Well, never mind—I'm Ira, Unit 1428M."

The woman who introduced herself as Ira—her family name a string of numbers and symbols—was likely from the 6325 Star Union.

Though criticized for being stiff in speech, the 6325 Star Federation is a galactic nation with many long-lived species, making me appear younger than Shinosuke, though my actual age remains unknown—so in the end, it was the correct answer.

By the way, you seem to be looking for work, but that monitor is for cargo transport requests. The escort vessel assignments are over there.

Saying that, Ira pointed to another monitor.

It seems Ira thought Shinosuke had misunderstood and kindly explained it to him.

"Yeah, sorry. Thanks for the clarification. But I was actually looking for cargo transport work."

Ira stared at Shinosuke's reply with disbelief.

"Escort vessel crew doing cargo transport? Do you really have a ship that big?"

"No, my vessel has a payload capacity of only about thirty tons."

"Thirty tons? That wouldn't even be profitable. Taking on escort work would make way more sense."

He couldn't possibly mention that he'd already loaded five tons onto a thirty-ton payload.

"Well, I do have some business at the Damura Star Cluster Commonwealth. Since I'm already heading that way, I figured I might as well pick up a job or two. It'd be a waste to travel empty, after all."

Ira stares at Shinnosuke with a skeptical, narrowed gaze.

"Hmm, well, alright then. Guess I was just being nosy. Sorry about that."

"No, thank you for your concern."

If there's no ill intent, Shinnosuke returns the courtesy.

Ira smiles at Shinnosuke's polite reply.

"Shinnosuke, you really are such a formal one. Well, as long as I wasn't a bother, that's fine. See you later."

Ira waved her hand playfully as she walked toward the monitor displaying the escort request.

She couldn't find anything suitable on the monitor showing the requests.

At that moment, Rena passed by behind Shinnosuke.

"Oh, Ms. Kashimura. Looking for work? Just in time."

Though she thought it was a day when she'd usually be ignored, it was convenient to be approached by the guild staff member Rena.

"Yes, I received rare metals from Mr. Glenn for my previous job, so I'm planning to head to the Damura Star Alliance Republic to trade them. Since I'm already going that way, I thought I might as well take on a cargo transport request."

"A transport request? But your ship, Mr. Kasimura, doesn't have much payload capacity, does it?"

"Yes, it's only about 30 tons. However, since I already have five tons of rare metals from Mr. Glenn, I'm essentially looking for transport work that can handle around 20 tons."

"Rare metals? That's impressive. Indeed, I believe a deal could be made with the Damura Star Cluster Commonwealth. But those monitors are only showing large-scale transport requests. Since I happen to have something I wanted to tell Mr. Kashimura, I'll take the opportunity to look for a job. Please, come this way."

Lina invited him to a reception room within the guild hall.

Lina sat across from Shinnosuke, placing a cup of tea in front of him.

"You said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes, I'll take care of that first. We've completed analyzing the data submitted by Kasimura earlier, and the records confirming the destruction of the six pirate ships have now been officially recognized. As a result, Kasimura will receive the reward for eliminating them, along with the bounties attached to each vessel."

Lina sent the detailed report to Shinno's terminal as she spoke.

Upon checking the data, it turned out to be just a small amount left over after covering the losses from this job.

In addition to losing the rapid-fire cannon and twelve missiles, expenses were incurred for Kerberos's energy and other necessary costs. However, after combining the request fee, bounty rewards, and the rewards, it barely broke even—just barely profitable.

Not only did he avoid a loss on his first job, but thanks to the rare metal he received from Glenn—though unexpected—it should yield a substantial profit.

Shin nosuke sent back confirmation data regarding the amount shown to Rina.

"Yes, thank you. The reward and bounty payments will be credited to Mr. Kasimura's personal account by today, so please check it later."

"Understood."

"So, this is the delivery job to the Damura Cluster Republic, right? Um... deliveries under twenty tons are... "

Rina searched through the terminal for requests that matched Shinnosuke's conditions.

"Found a few... but... do you think you could handle this one...?"

Rina muttered to herself while operating the terminal, then paused and looked up at Shinnosuke with a slightly upward gaze.

"In truth, the reward is low, but there's a job I'd like to ask you to take on."

"I'll hear you out for now."

Rina spoke with a hint of reservation, but ShinnoSuke knew he couldn't even begin unless he listened.

Actually, I need someone to transport grain seeds to the Damura Star Cluster Commonwealth—15 tons worth. However, this is just a small-scale request, and the costs would likely outweigh the profits if taken on as a standalone job. That’s why there’s no sailor willing to take on this job alone. Previously, I’ve relied on surplus space on ships going to the Damura Star Cluster Commonwealth, or asked sailors returning from there if they had extra capacity. But this time, I’ve been having trouble finding anyone willing to take it on.

Shinnosuke looked at the request shown to him by Lina.

Indeed, for specialized medium or large freight ships, the costs would exceed the payment for this volume of cargo.

However, Shinnosuke's Cerberus was smaller and consumed less energy than those vessels.

After a rough calculation, he figured that as long as he could navigate without engaging space pirates or other conflicts along the way, he might still turn a small profit.

Moreover, since the primary objective this time is trading rare metals, there should be no issue accepting this request, which is somewhat like a volunteer task.

Every experience is a lesson.

Understood. I'll take on this request.

Rina's expression brightened up instantly at Shinnosuke's answer.

Not a business-like smile, but an unconscious, genuine smile.

Thank you, Shinosuke-san.

Rina had unintentionally called out Shinnosuke instead of Kasimura, but because she did so with such natural ease, Shinnosuke himself didn't even notice.

In just ten chapters since the start of serialization, the story has already surpassed 2,000 total points, securing first place in both the daily and weekly rankings within its genre.

I've received a rocket-start launch and high praise—something unimaginable in my previous works.

I'm truly happy that so many people are reading this story.

I'll keep striving to meet the expectations of everyone who continues to read my work.