What comes before repair?

Thank you for letting me ride along, Shinosuke. Please take care of the escort ship estimate, then.

Shin nosuke and Marks watch the back of Lina as she returns to the union office, having thanked her for letting her ride along to Shin nosuke's dock.

Ceyla was tidying up the room that Milina and the others had used.

Rina-san, you're truly impressive.

Markus mutters softly to himself.

What is it?

"No, regarding the matter of Cerberus's compensation, in the end, Rina-san didn't personally make any promises, yet she still took care not to upset the Master."

"Well, the principle for free merchants is that damage during escort missions is borne by the individual. Otherwise, someone might deliberately damage an old ship just to get a new escort vessel in return. That's why escort crew members carefully evaluate the job's requirements against their own abilities and their ship's performance before accepting a task, and they also pay close attention to the weapons they use during the mission. As the old saying goes: accidents and bento boxes are your own responsibility."

"I don't know any such saying. But it's true—frigates can't be insured, you know."

"I suppose. Still, since this job was a mandatory request from the union, I was hoping they'd offer some compensation, at least a little."

"That's exactly it. She's just a union employee, after all—she can't decide on her own how to cover the repair costs of a damaged escort vessel. Normally, her standard response to a question from the Master would be something like 'I can't make that judgment,' but she deliberately said she could offer 'some compensation' and that she'd 'talk to my superior.' The union probably expected 'some compensation' as a possibility, but Linha must have been worried that if the Master felt the union was drifting away—or if her own relationship with the Master started to fray—then the Master might not accept even a small amount of compensation. If she says it like that, the Master would probably be satisfied even if the compensation amount is small, wouldn't he?"

"Indeed. I didn't really expect much in terms of compensation anyway... However, Marks, your insight is impressive."

"It's simply because I understand the Master's personality well. I remember clearly—when we first met, you were visibly disappointed that I wasn't a female-type doll, weren't you?"

"N-No, that's not true at all!"

"There's no point in lying. I pride myself on understanding Master almost as well as I do Empiria in this universe. If Master so desires, shall I transfer my memory into a female-type body and serve you as a female doll?"

"Absolutely not. If you go through with that, I'll start calling you Mark's sister!"

"…Let's not. Whether human or doll, one must cherish the body they were born with."

"That's right."

The two, having drifted into a rather pointless conversation, headed back toward the bridge.

They needed to get started on the procedures for repairing Cerberus.

When Shinosuke returned to the bridge and contacted Psychoj Industries, a representative arrived immediately.

Usually, only a sales representative would come, but this time, the atmosphere was different from usual.

Several unfamiliar employees, resembling researchers, accompanied them, carefully examining the damage on Cerberus while reviewing the combat data Shinnosuke had provided.

"...I wonder if I'll get in trouble for wrecking the engine?"

"I'm not sure that's quite the issue..."

Shinosuke, watching the work alongside Marks at the dock's corner, felt a faint unease.

Eventually, the sales representative approached the two.

"We've confirmed it. This is quite valuable data."

Apparently, the combat data from this instance of Cerberus and the damaged engine are valuable samples to them.

"The second engine is completely beyond repair, though."

"No, this engine is an unparalleled sample. We've cross-referenced the combat data, and the way it rolled the hull to avoid a long-range beam attack—truly a split-second decision made under real combat conditions."

"Even so, we couldn't dodge it entirely and still took a hit."

No, we can gather various valuable data from this engine damage. Since the hull was capsized, the engine was penetrated diagonally from the bottom, and this real-world damage data can be applied to future engine development. Engineers are thrilled when they get to study a completely destroyed engine that didn't explode.

Not only the developers, but the sales team is also excited.

However, the problem Shinosuke is facing is urgent.

"But what about the second engine... can it be repaired?"

The technician responded with a serious expression to Shinosuke's question.

"Repair is possible, but given how severely damaged it is, it would be faster to replace it with a new engine."

As he said this, the technician presented cost estimates for both repairing the engine and replacing it with a new one.

Either option costs roughly the same, but the time required differs significantly.

Engine replacement will take about two to three weeks, including the time to receive the new engine, whereas repairs could take several months.

However, the biggest issue is that the cost is extremely high.

No matter which option he chose, Shinnosuke couldn't possibly afford it from his savings, and even with compensation from the union, the amount might still leave him in debt.

"This... I expected it to be tough, but this is really harsh."

Shinnosuke is at a loss, but the representative has another suggestion.

"May I ask you a favor? Could we take back your damaged second engine as a trade-in?"

"Eh? A trade-in?"

"Yes. We at our end would also like to acquire that second engine as research material."

Shin nosuke stared in astonishment at the new quotation.

The new engine was undeniably expensive, but the trade-in value for the damaged second engine was in a completely different league.

Combined with the payment for the navigation data, the total seemed manageable.

"Markus, what do you think?"

"There's nothing to think about—there's no other option."

"Yeah, that's right."

Shin nosuke urgently instructed the responsible personnel to proceed with the replacement of the Cerberus's engine, as well as other repairs and resupply.

There was no need to check with the Merchant Fleet.

Repairs had to begin immediately.

The next day, Shin nosuke visited the Merchant Fleet with the estimate data and showed it to Lina, who was at the counter.

"Yes, I've confirmed it. Please wait a moment while I get approval from my supervisor."

Lina, leaving those words behind, enters the office room.

Shinnosuke is left behind at the counter.

It took only a few minutes for Lina to return.

When Rin returned, she showed Shinnosuke her usual smile.

We have obtained approval and authorization from our superior. The repair costs for Mr. Shinosuke's vessel this time will be fully covered by the association.

"Wait? Full reimbursement?"

"Yes, full compensation for the entire amount listed in the quote you provided."

Rina laughed even harder, watching Shinosuke's stunned expression.

"Kusukusu... I'm sorry, I couldn't give you a clear explanation yesterday, but actually, 'a certain amount of compensation' was planned to be quite a substantial sum. However, since the budget supervisor in charge of approval didn't know Mr. Shinosuke well, I was told not to make any hasty explanations until I'd verified the quote."

Indeed, even though a considerable sum had been budgeted, it was hardly reasonable to simply buy an entire new escort vessel to replace it, and since we couldn't predict what Shinosuke might demand, we couldn't just agree to cover the costs without verification.

However, in the end, thanks to the proposal from Skyward Industry, the repair costs for Cerberus turned out to be significantly lower than expected, so the decision was made to fully compensate the amount without hesitation.

Shinnosuke let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, good. At least we avoided a loss."

Relieved, Shinnosuke was interrupted by Lina's words.

"What are you talking about? I only explained the compensation part just now, didn't I? There's something much more important, isn't there?"

"Huh?"

"It's not compensation—it's payment! You went out of your way, so please accept it properly!"

With that, Lina presented the payment for this job.

The amount was vastly higher than usual for a bodyguard mission.

In the end, this job for Shinonosuke wasn't just profitable—it was a significant profit.

She had made quite a substantial gain.