Direct request from the guild

Shin nosuke and Marks visited the Free Merchant Guild to report the completion of their escort mission to the Rymuria Galactic Empire.

"Shin nosuke-san, Marks-san, welcome back. It must have been quite a ordeal."

The outbreak of civil war between the Rymuria Galactic Empire and the Holy Rymuria Empire, being caught in the conflict, and losing Tsukikage had already been reported through prior data transmission.

"Yes, it was quite a rough journey, but I managed to come back safely after all."

"Seeing everyone return unharmed is what matters most."

The loss of Tsukikage was significant, but the fact that there were no casualties was a silver lining, and Rina greeted them with a bright smile, clearly understanding that.

"Well, yes. I do tend to pull off the unexpected sometimes, but this time, I managed to complete the mission despite everything."

Submitting the completed job data file, received from Villet Imperial Trading, to Rinna with a self-deprecating laugh.

"Yes, confirmed. I'll transfer the reward payment now."

The procedure was now complete.

Just as I was about to head out to find a new ship to replace Tsukikage, Rinna called out to Shinnosuke and the others.

"Wait a moment. I have something special to tell you, Shinnosuke—actually, a small request."

Turning around, I saw Rinna smiling mischievously up at Shinnosuke.

A slight unease stirred in me upon seeing her expression, but then I realized: if this were truly a troublesome request, Rinna wouldn't be smiling like that.

Shinnosuke and Marks made the exact same assessment.

Then, at least listening to her story wouldn't be a problem.

Shinnosuke and Marks decided to hear what Rinna had to say.

"Is this about a job request?"

Rinna smiled and nodded in response to Shinnosuke's question.

Yes. It's a direct request from the Union. We need someone to transport the Union's rare metals to the Free Merchant Fleet's headquarters on the Colonia colony, the capital of the Aknelia Stellar District. We've been looking for a sailor with a护卫 ship who's willing to take on the job.

Apparently, the cargo in question is a highly rare metal known as Metal No. 4528, so valuable that free merchants possessing cargo ships have all refused to take on the job without escort protection.

However, the entire route from the Sirius Stellar Province to the capital, the Aknelia Stellar Province, lies within the Aknelia Galactic Federation's territory.

Although it is within our territory, the vastness of space means there's still a possibility of being attacked by space pirates, though it's extremely low.

Still, if freight ships can't be entrusted to independent merchants without escorts, then it makes more sense to simply hire independent merchants who already have escort vessels.

Indeed, arranging both a freight ship and an escort vessel is far more cost-effective than relying solely on an escort vessel.

The reward offered to Rina isn't particularly high, but considering the risks involved, it's still a fairly good deal.

"How much total cargo are we talking about?"

"25 tons."

Twenty-five tons is well within the capacity of the Yatagarasu.

At a normal cruising speed, it would take five or six days to reach Aknelia Stellar Province, the capital.

With two weeks for the round trip, there'd be more than enough time to return.

Shinnosuke looked at Marks.

"Markus, what do you think?"

"That's a good job. Wouldn't it be alright to take it on?"

"Yeah, that's true. But they've just returned from Rymria, and everyone's exhausted. I'd like to let them rest a bit."

"That's also valid. But I don't need rest....Master, if you were to rest, you'd just be at a loss for what to do, wouldn't you? Then, wouldn't it be fine for the two of us to take it on?"

He says it bluntly, but it's true—there's no counterargument.

"Miss Rina, if you're taking on this job, when would be the estimated departure time?"

Rina immediately checks her terminal.

"Departure is possible as soon as tomorrow's loading, but since there's no rush, we can take it a bit slower. We still have preparations to make, so how about loading the day after tomorrow and departing the following day?"

With that schedule, Shinosuke will have some leeway, and everyone else can rest comfortably until Shinosuke and Marks return.

Also, if we can identify the successor ship for Tsukikage by tomorrow, we might be able to advance the necessary arrangements before they come back.

"Understood. Mark and I will handle it. Please arrange for the cargo to be loaded onto my Yatagarasu the day after tomorrow."

Upon hearing Shinosuke's reply, Lina suddenly brightened with a warm smile.

"Good. Thank you."

No matter how safe a job it might seem, there was no way Shinosuke's path would remain completely peaceful.

He would come to realize this in due time.