Shinnosuke's Day Off

Shinnosuke and Marks returned to the Central Colony of the Salius Star Province and visited the Merchant Ship Guild to report their findings.

"Welcome back, Shinnosuke-san, Marks-san!"

Upon seeing the two, Lina greeted them with a smile from the reception counter.

Though there were other available counters, they chose to head to Lina's since she had called out to them directly.

"We're back. There are several matters to report."

"Yes, I've heard about it. You handled the transportation duties, and it seems the trade mission achieved its goals. Then, rescuing the passenger ship attacked by pirates—truly impressive work. Now, please, have a seat. Let me hear your report."

Saying this, Lina gestures to the chair in front of the counter.

To an outsider, it might look like a familiar exchange between a front desk attendant and a free merchant, but this is nothing out of the ordinary.

Various requests entrusted to free merchants are published on the network, and contracts can be made through network communication alone. However, many free merchants still visit the guild hall to conduct procedures face-to-face with staff.

This is because they attempt to discern the requester's intentions and hidden information through casual conversation with the staff, and the presence or absence of such information can significantly influence the outcome of a free merchant's work.

It's only natural that the front-desk staff, too, would want the free merchant they've personally arranged to successfully complete their task and return safely.

As the staff and the free merchant exchange information and maintain a shared understanding, trust naturally develops, often leading to a close, personal relationship—so much so that it's not uncommon for the merchant to become closely associated with a specific front-desk officer.

"These are the data from this round."

"Yes, thank you. I'll take a look."

Rina checking the data submitted by Shinosuke.

"The main focus this time was the trade of rare metals.... Yes, it seems the transaction was successfully completed. Since this transaction is not mediated by our merchant guild, the record will be counted toward Shinosuke's personal trading history. However, all profits from this transaction belong entirely to Shinosuke and his team. As for the additional transportation tasks, emergency rescue missions, and the subsequent pirate eradication operations, rewards, gratitude payments, and necessary expenses will be distributed by our merchant guild and relevant parties after data analysis. If you agree, we can immediately proceed with the necessary procedures. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes, please."

Upon hearing Shinnosuke's reply, Lina smiled contentedly and continued with the procedures.

For this job, Shinnosuke had achieved considerable results, and he was scheduled to receive compensation. However, considering necessary expenses and the replenishment of consumables, the total amount was far from substantial—aside from profits earned through rare metal transactions.

Nevertheless, there was no doubt that this was a successful first transaction for Shinnosuke as a merchant.

"Yes, the procedure is complete. Well done."

"Thank you."

Having finished his report, Shinnosuke stood up.

"Shinnosuke-san, do you have any plans for the future? If you have any specific jobs in mind, I can look into them for you?"

Facing Linna's professional smile as a receptionist, Shinnosuke shrugged his shoulders.

"For now, I need to take care of ship supply and other duties, and since I've been working nonstop ever since becoming a freelance trader, I'm planning to take a break for four or five days."

"Is that so. Please take care, and I look forward to working with you again."

Shinnosuke and Marks left the guild, waving goodbye to Linna's cheerful smile.

The next day after returning, Shinnosuke was cleaning the bathroom and shower facilities aboard the Kerberos, which was docked inside the shipyard.

Marks was cleaning the bridge and the ship's interior corridors.

"Master, I'll take care of cleaning the entire ship. Unlike you, I don't require rest."

"Don't be ridiculous. Marks doesn't use the restroom, does he? I'll handle the cleaning. Don't underestimate my military-grade cleaning skills."

Shin nosuke, obsessed with keeping the bathroom and other water facilities spotless.

Today is day one of rest—supplies, replenishment, and cleaning the Kerberos.

Today, Shin Nosuke wore an apron with a puppy patch over his work uniform, while Marks had an apron with a "piyopiyo" chick patch over his usual clothes, wrapping a white towel around his head.

This oddly dressed duo spent an entire day polishing the inside of Kerberos until it gleamed.

And then came the fateful second day.

Shin nosuke woke up at his usual time, cleaning and disassembling his trusted Lagza VX67 automatic pistol while sipping synthetic fruit tea.

Marks was performing a system check on Kerberos.

"Master, you really seem to like that synthetic fruit tea, don't you?"

"Hmm?...Not really."

"..."

At the moment Shinosuke was assembling his pistol while engaging in senseless, trivial conversation, an alarm signaling a visitor arrived at Shinosuke's dock.

"Master, Mr. Glenn and Miss Karen have arrived."

"Hm? What could it be? For now, bring them here."

Saying this, Shinosuke switched the monitor in the pilot's seat.

On the screen was Glenn's face, filling the entire display.

"Hey, Shinosuke! Let's go mining!"

Shinosuke recoiled in surprise at the sudden invitation.

"What's with 'let's go mining' all of a sudden...?"

He greeted Glenn and the others with a sigh.

"Hey, let's get going already!"

"What's with this sudden arrival? You're acting like a kid dragging you to the playground..."

Glenn cheerfully replied to Shinosuke's exasperated tone.

"I heard you just returned from the Damura Star Cluster Commonwealth. That's why I came to invite you."

"Invite me...? That's sudden. It's hard to respond to something like that out of the blue. If it's a job request, please go through the guild."

Shinosuke protested, but Glenn seemed completely unfazed.

"I did submit a request to the guild for you specifically. The lady at the front desk told me, 'Shinosuke is on break,' so I decided to come and invite you myself."

Glen just wouldn't listen at all.

Shinosuke looked to Karen, standing behind Glen, seeking her help.

"I'm sorry, but when I told Glen you'd returned, he just wouldn't budge—he insisted on taking Shinosuke as his guard on a mining expedition. Honestly, he's acting like a child."

Karen spoke with a look of exasperation, as if scolding a child, yet she wasn't actually stopping Glen, so she couldn't truly play the role of a guardian.

"But I'm on break, so I was thinking of taking it easy for four or five days..."

"If you want to take it easy, just do it at the site. It's fine this time—this isn't a dangerous location like last time. We're operating in our usual patrol zone, where pirates hardly ever show up, so you can relax. That said, it never hurts to stay cautious. We can't feel secure without escort ships, which is why Shinnosuke's needed."

KAREN, standing behind GLEN, wore a smile as if she had just come to a firm conclusion.

Seeing Karen's expression, SHINNOSUKE understood everything.

Karen appeared to be admonishing GLEN, but in truth, she was GLEN's accomplice.

If SHINNUSKE now refused, GLEN's gang would come after him en masse—luring him, dragging him away, or even abducting him.

In short, SHINNOSUKE had no real choice.

Shinnosuke broke.

"I understand. I'll bring out Cerberus. Let's get the paperwork done through the guild."

"Great! That's the way it should be!"

"Sorry about this, Shinnosuke, really."

Shinnosuke's holiday ended after just one day, thanks to Glen and Karen's visit.

When he went to the guild with Glen and Karen, Reina at the front desk looked shocked.

"Wait? Glen-san, you really went and invited Shinosuke-san and the others?"

Rina's expression was genuinely shocked, and at least it seemed Rina wasn't involved with Glen's actions—certainly not a conspirator or accomplice.

That fact was, at the very least, a small relief to Shinosuke.