Kashimura Company Activation

"Destination is the Seigul Holy Kingdom? While I can handle escort duties, I'm unable to take on transport operations—my current business licenses don't cover that."

Shin nosuke shook his head in response to Rina's explanation.

Shin nosuke's business license as a free merchant included "Escort Vessel Operations Level C," "Passenger and Cargo Transport Operations Level E," and "Trade Operations Level E."

Escort Vessel Operations Level C, which permits single-ship escort duties and anti-piracy operations, is a higher-tier qualification with no restrictions on operational areas. In contrast, the Passenger and Cargo Transport Operations Level E and Trade Operations Level E are the lowest-tier qualifications, with limited scope of operations and restricted to the Aknelia Galactic Federation, Damura Star Cluster Commonwealth, and the 6325 Galactic Union States.

In other words, while he can operate within the Seigul Sacred Nation's territory for escort duties, he lacks the necessary qualification for transportation missions.

Although Shinnosuke assumes that his assigned liaison, Lina, would never overlook such a basic point, Shinnosuke still declines, yet neither Glen nor Milena react in the slightest to his words.

Amidst this, Lina gives a slightly troubled expression as she explains.

"Actually, there's no issue regarding your qualifications..."

"Huh?"

Shinnosuke instinctively lets out a bewildered sound.

"Although we hadn't formally informed you yet, Shinnosuke-san has been approved for promotion to Level B in security operations, and has been granted direct advancement to Level C in both passenger and cargo transportation, as well as trade operations."

"Huh?"

"Although Shinosuke had already met the promotion criteria based on his performance since joining the union, the decision was finalized due to the addition of a new vessel with a payload exceeding 100 tons, and also because Miliena recently completed the paperwork to establish the trading company. I was planning to inform Shinosuke by today, so I explained the situation to you, Glen... but..."

Lina glares at Glen with a resentful look, but Glen acts as if nothing happened.

"It's fine, isn't it? We won't even be heading out to work for a few days at best. If the promotion's already decided, let's just get the paperwork done already!"

"That's not the point. Since this promotion is happening, I wanted to formally inform Shinosuke myself. After all, I'm his assigned contact. Announcing a promotion is a special kind of... you know, between a sailor and their assigned contact..."

I couldn’t catch the last part, but it seems Shinosuke is being promoted.

He looked utterly bewildered—apparently, he was the only one unaware, and the announcement was made casually during the conversation.

"So, does that mean I’m being promoted?"

"Yes, but that’s not all."

"Huh?"

Currently, several merchant firms are registered with the Sirius Stellar District Free Merchant Fleet Association, but all of them are primarily engaged in trade or passenger and cargo transportation. Although each firm has at least two vessels, only Mr. Shinonosuke's firm can handle all three types of operations. Moreover, no other firm has all three operations rated at C-level or higher, so Mr. Shinonosuke now joins the ranks of the association's top-tier sailors. You'll likely see more designated requests coming your way from now on. As your assigned representative, I'm truly happy for you.

"That's exactly why! This job was specifically designed around Shinnosuke, so we secured him before anyone else could."

To Shinnosuke, he had simply done his current task with unwavering dedication, unaware that the accumulated experience and achievements from his efforts were precisely what earned him recognition.

Shinnosuke made up his mind.

"I understand. Let me hear more details about Glen-san's request."

It seems Glen's request will be Kasimura Company's first assignment.

Glen's request involves escorting Glen's team to mine rare metal No. 548.

This time, they need to extract over 1,000 tons of rare metal, which exceeds the capacity of Glen's Big Bear, so Kasimura Company's Tsukikage will also carry the mined rare metal.

Then, the rare metal will be transported to the Seigul Holy Kingdom.

Glen has indicated a fairly substantial reward, but a small doubt arises.

"Is No. 548 a rare metal? While over 1,000 tons of rare metal is a significant amount, is it worth the mining costs and the expenses and risks involved in transporting it all the way to the distant Seigul Holy Kingdom?"

Glen nods in response to Shinnosuke's question.

No. 548 is a mineral that can be utilized as an energy resource, known for its high energy efficiency when processed. While No. 548 itself isn't particularly rare, it's difficult to mine in large quantities, and even more so to process—making it a fairly unpopular mineral. However, the Seigul Holy Kingdom appears to possess the technology to process No. 548, and they actively buy it at high prices, often purchasing it directly as a nation. We've known of a rich deposit of No. 548 before and have traded with them on multiple occasions, but due to poor security along the route to the Seigul Holy Kingdom, hiring separate independent merchants for transportation and escort has made the costs and risks far outweigh the potential returns.

Apparently, they've approached Shinnosuke, who operates a transport ship-based escort vessel, to consolidate the costs of escort and transportation.

Moreover, it seems they're aiming for a quick profit this time, loading 800 tons onto Tsukikage, 300 tons onto Glen's mining mother ship, and a full 100 tons of payload onto Shinnosuke's Fubuki.

The target is a total of 1,200 tons, and after mining, the three ships will head toward the Seiguru Holy Empire.

Shinnosuke pondered.

The one-way journey to the Seiguru Holy Empire takes about a month, and along the way, the international space lanes—known as the "Pirate Route"—are notoriously dangerous.

Depending on the size of the pirate force, Fubuki should be able to fend off an attack and reach the Seiguru Holy Empire safely.

Even if Fubuki were to escort Big Bear, the same applies, but the real issue lies with Tsukikage.

Tsukikage's performance is not a concern, but the crew's capabilities are questionable.

Andy and Ellen have previously served as opposing forces during escort vessel training, and have worked together before, so their skills as novice escort vessel crew members could be considered quite competent.

However, that was merely an evaluation based on their past performance as rookie escort vessel crew members. As for their current capabilities as regular escort vessel crew members, there is only the data provided by the union to judge from.

According to the supplied data, their current performance is roughly average for an escort vessel crew member.

Given that, wouldn't their first assignment with Tsukikage be rather challenging?

When Shinosuke saw Milena operating a terminal beside him,

"Milena?"

"I've contacted everyone. Of course, Marks and Sera, and Andy and the others are eager too. Naturally, I'm fully ready as well."

Milena had anticipated Shinosuke by confirming Andy's team's intentions.

After a moment of thought, Shinosuke made his decision.

"We'll take on this job. Kasimura Corporation will handle it."

"Alright! That's the spirit! I'm counting on you, Shinosuke!"

The first job for Kasimura Corporation.

Kasimura Corporation was finally in motion.