Major General Langlitt

Headquarters of the 2nd Fleet, located on the Central Colony of the Salius Stellar Province, Allied Galaxy Federation of Akneria.

In a room within the grounds of the 2nd Fleet's Supply Department—the Supply Department Chief's office—Major General Langlitt listened without expression to a report from his subordinate, a lieutenant colonel.

"The investigation by the Military Police into the improper use of supply materials has concluded."

Major General Langlitt nodded quietly upon hearing the report.

"Unauthorized stockpiling and resale of consumables. Quite cleverly executed, it seems. The Intelligence Division had caught wind of it as well, but our internal investigation was faster—thankfully. We were able to report to the Fleet Command before the Intelligence Division could."

"Still, I believe the Intelligence Division should be focusing on other priorities rather than digging into internal matters like this."

"Don't say that. The Intelligence Division has various responsibilities. In fact, the information they uncovered was true. Isn't the Intelligence Division excellent and reliable?...By the way, how many people are being disciplined for this mess?"

"Five people. The second lieutenant in charge of Base 8's unmanned resupply operations is the main perpetrator, and three non-commissioned officers under his command were arrested as accomplices by the military police. Additionally, the captain who served as their superior officer, though not involved in the crime itself, is being demoted and fined for failure in supervision."

Langlitt glanced over the list of disciplined personnel.

"Few perpetrators, a subtle yet unremarkable crime—could this have been the reason the offense went undetected for so long?"

"That's right. While the scale of each diversion is small, the number of incidents is high... As the saying goes, small amounts accumulate over time."

"What happened to the diverted supplies?"

"All were food and consumables, but they were secretly exchanged through back channels for rare metals and jewelry. A significant quantity was seized, but even so, it's still a small fraction compared to the total amount diverted. They must have been watching the back channels closely."

"Did you manage to track down that route?"

Major Langlitt's question was met with a shake of the colonel's head.

Langlitt nodded.

"The issue lies in the management system, which could at least be reused on a single occasion. From now on, tighten control thoroughly."

"Understood!"

"Also, submit one more disciplinary action to headquarters. I bear responsibility for this incident as well. I will accept a one-year pay cut."

"Major, it's truly unnecessary for you to take responsibility personally like this..."

"Never mind, just do it. As long as organizations are run by people, internal corruption is unavoidable. We can't turn away from this reality, and it's the duty of leaders to take responsibility. However, no one outside the six of us—including myself—should be affected!"

"Y-Yes, I understand!"

After dismissing his subordinate, Lieutenant General Langlitt took a sip from the coffee placed on his desk.

The report from his subordinate had taken so long that the coffee on his desk had gone cold, but this coffee too was military supplies.

As supply chief, he couldn’t afford to waste it.

"…Useless fools. Well, whatever. When no longer needed, just discard it and replace it."

Lieutenant General Langlitt muttered to himself bitterly.

Repairs to Fubuki and Marks were complete, and both Fubuki and Tsukikage were gradually returning to normal operations.

Although the threat surrounding Shinnosuke had not yet been fully eliminated, thanks to Captain Cruize's arrest of Velvet, peace was gradually being restored. Thus, Shinnosuke and the others decided to keep a close eye on the situation while continuing their work.

On one such day, while looking for something to do at the union, Shinnosuke spotted a particular request.

"Transportation service to the Duchy of Polruke? Eight mining heavy machines, total weight 400 tons. The pay isn't high, but it's a decent job. Still, the route to the duchy remains the issue."

The Duchy of Polruke is a small nation located beyond the Damura Stellar Federation, adjacent to both the Federation and the Rimlia Galactic Empire.

A weak nation with little military strength and no distinctive industries, sustained by support from the Rimlia Galactic Empire and the export of mineral resources.

Though it functions as a vassal state of the Rimlia Galactic Empire, it maintains its independence and engages in trade with the Damura Stellar Federation, among others, as well as the distant Acneria Galactic Federation.

"But this mining equipment is expensive, isn't it? It's a common machine produced by manufacturers in other countries too. Transporting it all the way from distant Akneria seems inefficient to me."

Celia tilts her head, looking at Shinosuke.

"It's due to the war between Lymria and Damura. Originally, Poluks had weak industrial capacity and couldn't build military vessels on its own, so it's been barely maintaining its defense forces with secondhand warships handed down from Lymria. Its industrial machinery is basically reliant on imports. Lymria's manufacturers charge more for this kind of equipment than those in other countries, and imports from the Damura Star Union Kingdom have likely stalled. Meanwhile, Akneria's manufacturers offer machines that are both cheaper and more powerful. It's worth paying the high shipping costs."

"Are Akneria's manufacturers top-tier?"

"Unfortunately, no. When it comes to industrial heavy machinery, it's the Kelin Heavy products that are unmatched."

While saying this, Shinnosuke thinks.

With Andi's Tsukikage alone, transporting a 400-ton load is possible.

However, since the destination is the Duchy of Poluks, a C-level or higher license for passenger and cargo transportation is required. Andi only holds an E-level license, so Andi's Tsukikage alone cannot take on this job.

While there are certainly some independent merchants affiliated with the Sirius Stellar Federation's Free Merchant Guild who hold C-level or higher qualifications for passenger and cargo transport, few are willing to take on the job when the destination lies beyond the war-torn Damra Star Union. As a result, the request has remained unaccepted for quite some time now.

It will likely be processed as an unaccepted request within a month.

Accepting this request means Shinosuke, who holds a Class C license for passenger and cargo transportation, must go, and due to payload constraints, two ships—Fubuki and Tsukikage—must be used.

"Well, the profit won't be high, but it might open up a new business opportunity."

Sinosuke decided to take on the delivery request to the Duchy of Poluks.

Sinosuke and Seira visit the reception counter to complete the necessary procedures.

Since the incident the other day, my relationship with Rina has been strained, but today she happened to be off duty, so Iris handled the request instead.

"Yes, the procedure for accepting your request has been completed. I'm truly grateful. This request was about to be rejected by everyone, and would have been marked as unclaimed. That would have affected the guild's reputation, so thank you for taking it on. Please be careful on your journey."

With Iris seeing them off, Shinnosuke and the others left the guild.

Departure is scheduled for five days after completing the cargo shipment procedures.

Before I knew it, I had advanced to the final selection round after passing the second round of judging for the "123 Prize 4" entry.

For me, this is an incredible achievement, but I owe it all to everyone who has read this work.

Thank you.