Return. What awaited them?

Three armed vessels escorting the Psykouji Transport fleet were private security ships belonging to Psykouji Company.

Two of them were corvette-class ships identical to those used by the Akeria Galactic Federation, but the third bore a striking resemblance to a Kerberos-class vessel.

"Shin nosuke-san, is that ship the same as a Kerberos?"

Shiela's question earned a shrug from Shin nosuke.

"Well, not exactly the same, but more like a sister ship. If Kerberos is the prototype first vessel, then that ship—Fenrir—is the second vessel built for the military competition. It reduces costs compared to Kerberos and omits the bow cannon deployment mechanism, but it's still an operational corvette with capabilities similar to Kerberos. Though, it failed to meet the performance requirements needed to survive the new destroyer deployment program's competition, so development was canceled for both Kerberos and Fenrir."

"Although it's treated as a notorious ship at Psychoj Industries, its performance far surpasses other corvettes deployed by the military. Of course, that comes at a high construction cost, making mass production impossible. That's why the company uses it as a护卫 ship."

Howard added, explaining further.

Incidentally, Howard isn't aboard a护卫 ship—he's on a large cargo vessel serving as the fleet's command ship.

"By the way, there are eighteen pirate ships lying in wait ahead in space. We're being targeted."

"Wasn't that what I expected? There's been a pesky ship following us like a fly for quite some time now."

"It looks like we might not even be needed. I was planning to initiate escort operations, but it seems we're not required after all."

"Hahaha, thank you for the offer, but I'll pass. While having Shinosuke-kun as our guard would certainly be reassuring, I do have to weigh the risks and costs as a businessperson. Still, we should be fine on our own. It looks like you've just finished your work and are on your way back to Akneria, right? Don't worry about us—just be careful on your journey."

Shin nosuke salutes in response to Howard's words.

"Understood. Please be careful as well."

"Leave it to us. Shin nosuke, you should visit home once in a while. Emilia would be happy. Next time, let's drink together."

"I'd rather not. Whenever I drink with my brother-in-law, I end up getting lectured by my sister-in-law alongside him."

"Ha ha, that's for sure. Well then, take care—see you later."

After ending the communication, the convoy headed toward the space region where space pirates were lying in wait.

Having seen the convoy off, Shinnosuke and the others resumed their journey toward the Salius Province.

They detected an unidentified ship far away on their radar, following the convoy, but it was likely a pirate scout.

"Master Shinnosuke, are you certain you'll be alright? Even though you have escorts, there are many pirates. Three escort ships may not be enough..."

Seyla nodded in agreement with Milina's words, but Shinnosuke remained unfazed.

"There's absolutely nothing to worry about. In fact, I feel sorry for the space pirates. They've picked the wrong target."

"「Eh?」"

"Sure, the escort ships are impressive, but that's not all. Each cargo ship in the convoy is heavily fortified with defensive weapons of its own. It's not something a mere twenty average space pirates could handle."

With that, Shinosuke pushed the throttle lever forward, accelerating the ship and rushing ahead.

One week after parting ways with the Saikouji convoy.

Without encountering any particular trouble, Fubuki and Tsukikage finally reached the control zone of the central colony in the Salius Province.

"Good, we're finally back. This time, there were no losses, and the outcome is..."

...Beep.

"Hmm? A message?"

A notification chime sounded on Shinosuke's terminal.

...Beep... Beep...

Messages that had been queued up during his absence from the Salius Province began arriving one after another.

"Hmm? This time there are quite a few... W-what?!"

...Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep.

"Hey, this can't be right..."

...Beep... Beep...

Shinosuke checked the screen of his device, overwhelmed by an abnormal number of incoming calls, and his expression quickly turned pale.

Beep... beep...

Every message was from Rina.

Overall, the content is

I have something I'd like to ask—please come to the union as soon as you return.

That is what it is.

What on earth is this? Did I mess up somehow?

...beep...beep.

Shinosuke felt terror as the endless stream of incoming calls overwhelmed him.

"Ah!"

At that moment, Milena remembered something.

The casual words Shinosuke had said to Iris just before heading toward Wesley.

"…I'm being targeted for assassination…."

There was no doubt this was the cause.

If that was the case, this was far from something that could be easily resolved.

Milena decided, for this one time, not to follow Shinosuke to the guild.