The Beginning of the Waves

"Please hire me as an official crew member of Captain Shinnosuke's ship."

When Seira returned to Shinnosuke's dock, she bowed deeply before Shinnosuke and Marks.

"What's this about, Master?"

Marks, unaware of the situation, asked Shinnosuke.

"Actually..."

Shinnosuke explained Seira's qualifications as a sailor and what had happened afterward.

"That's... your fault, Master."

"What? I just said that getting a license opens up all kinds of possibilities—nothing more!"

"It's how you said it. From your explanation, serious Seira interpreted it as 'get off the Cerberus.'"

Seira nodded in agreement with Marks' words.

"But I never said anything about 'get off the Cerberus'..."

"It's just a matter of phrasing. Even if you didn't say 'get off,' you didn't present the option of 'staying as is,' did you? If you don't communicate something important from the start, Seira gets anxious."

Seira nodded vigorously several times.

"Maybe you're right... but..."

"That's exactly what's missing, Master."

"Mark, don't look so disappointed."

"I truly am astonished right now. I've just come to realize something. At first, I thought the discomfort I felt toward your actions was a system bug, but now I understand this feeling is truly astonishment."

"You actually learned something like that?"

"I've learned it in every sense from you. Especially, I'm astonished by your impulsive behavior without considering your thoughts first."

"Hey, aren't you being a bit harsh? You don't have to put it so negatively..."

"You haven't fully learned yet, so you haven't established the right way to express yourself. That aside! Please clearly convey your feelings to Seyra. That takes priority above all."

Seyra nodding earnestly in response to Marks' words.

"Ah, Seyra. Sorry I didn't explain properly. There's no need for you to get off our ship. If you really want to officially join our crew, we'll accept you. That's one of the options available."

Seyla's expression brightens instantly.

"Please take care of me. I'll do my best!"

"Yeah, it'll help us out having you around. Take care."

Markus nodded, seemingly satisfied, watching Seyla and Shinnosuke's exchange.

"That's the problem—you should've said something like that from the start. Seyla-san, Master is always like this. He's a handful, but please understand."

"Yes!"

Shin nosuke suddenly felt alienated.

"What's going on... Am I being scolded, or is this just idle gossip?"

"Both, really."

Shin nosuke couldn't utter a single word in reply to Marks.

Thus, Seyla officially became a crew member of the escort carrier Cerberus.

At the very same moment Seyla was formally inducted, a major incident erupted within the Lymria Galactic Empire's court.

The succession crisis began when the Emperor suddenly passed away, leading to a series of mysterious deaths among those claiming the right to the throne.

Five individuals who held claims to the imperial succession perished.

This included the second-ranked prince and the fourth-ranked princess, as well as others from both direct and more distant lines of succession.

Amidst the chaos, William Al Rilmya, the third in line to the imperial throne, ascended to the position of emperor, declaring his succession in a forceful move that bypassed the first prince.

It was obvious to everyone that this ascension resulted from the scheming intrigues of the court, yet within the Rilmya Galaxy Empire, there was no movement to condemn it.

In reality, there were multiple voices raised both within the court and among the citizens, but each individual involved either died in accidents or under suspicious circumstances, or simply vanished—prompting such movements to quickly go silent.

Thus, the dramatic change of emperors unfolded within the Rilmya Galaxy Empire, but this was still confined to internal matters within the Rilmya Galaxy Empire, and its impact on other galactic nations would come later.

Moreover, as long as the First Prince and other imperial heirs remain alive, the struggle over the throne has not yet concluded.

The Third Prince's proclamation of ascension, under such circumstances.

Even so, it was still just a minor ripple, not yet enough to cause any significant wave.

The news of the new emperor's ascension in the Rimuria Galactic Empire reached the Akneria Galactic Federation as well, and Shinnosuke became aware of it, though he wasn't particularly interested.

"If a conflict were to break out, it might affect our work, but for now, it hasn't come to that. Then, we'll simply do our own work."

Shin nosuke, having finished repairing Cerberus, was about to start on a new task.

Just as he was considering striking a deal with the Layered Trading Company of the Damura Star Cluster Commonwealth,

...Pico!

The notification chime rang from Shin nosuke's information terminal.

"Hmm? What's this?"

Upon checking, it was a job application history data from someone who had just officially been hired by Seira, despite no crew recruitment having been posted yet—clearly a job application directed toward Shin nosuke.

"What's this?"

It was a notification signaling that Shin nosuke's fate had just begun to shift in ways he hadn't intended.