The new ship was handled with care.

"…So, we’ve been assigned a last-minute job by the guild, so Mark and I are heading out for a bit. It won’t take more than two weeks, so everyone else can take a break in the meantime."

After explaining to everyone that they’d received a direct request from the guild upon returning to the dock, Ash and Andy accepted it, but Milina and Celia remained unconvinced.

"Commander Shinnosuke! Why aren't you taking me along as co-pilot when you deploy the Yatagarasu with Marks? I'm your second pilot, after all!"

"That's right. I'm also the communications and navigation officer on Shinnosuke's ship!"

Both of them are making various complaints, but in the end, they're just upset about not being allowed to go.

"No, this time we're just passing through Akneria's territory and returning, so we don't need extra hands. Since the area is under watch not only by the space fleet and coast guard but also by the Stellar Province Police, the chance of being attacked by space pirates is almost nonexistent. Mark and I will take it easy and head out. Of course, since it's the transport of ultra-rare metals, the union will assign one transport supervisor to accompany us, but since it's not passenger transport, there's no need to provide any special services."

"That 'almost never' is actually the most dangerous part!" Wow!

The two speak in unison, but Shinnosuke just shrugs and smiles.

"Think about it. Sure, there's no guarantee that criminal ships like space pirates won't show up within the zone, but if they do, they'll just be minor thugs at best. If they cause too much trouble inside the zone, they'll be caught right away. Even if a proper space pirate attacked, all we'd have to do is disable their radar and communication equipment. Just Mark and I are enough for this one."

As Shinosuke said, ordinary space pirates couldn't stand a chance against the Yatagarasu.

Before combat even began, they'd be blinded and deafened by jamming, and if things went badly, their communication systems and radar—along with other equipment—could be destroyed, leaving them lost in space without any idea of their ship's position or direction. That would be a truly hellish fate.

"Bu—"

"And besides, even if you're taking a break, it's fine to train using Fuuki. You both have qualifications you need to obtain, don't you?"

"..."

"Ask Ash and the others to take a look. You'll learn a lot from their unique perspective, being ex-coastal patrol. Ash, can you help out?"

"Leave it to me!"

Having been told as much, the two had no choice but to agree.

In the end, the mission to Akneria's capital was assigned to Shinnosuke and Marks alone, but Milina and Seira had missed an important part of Shinnosuke's words, unwilling to let him go, and thus tuned him out completely.

The next day, Shinnosuke set out with Andy and Ellen to inspect a new escort vessel.

Normally I'd head straight to Psycho-J Industries, but the escort vessel I'm after is a transport ship-based model, similar to Tsukikage.

While Soukouji Industries does build military transport vessels, this time we've decided to consider ships from other companies as well.

That said, I still owe a favor to Soukouji Industries, so I first asked Hankus to relay my preferences for a new escort vessel and have him compile a list of candidates, before heading to another manufacturer—Pireni FC.

Pireni FC primarily specializes in constructing and selling large vessels, offering a wide range of ships from civilian cargo ships to military battleships and even space carriers.

It is also a company that sold the wreckage of a stealth ship acquired by Shinosuke during the previous incident.

Upon arriving at Pireni FC, we were promptly led to a negotiation lounge, apparently because we had contacted them in advance.

"Yes, so previously you operated the Sai Kouji Industry's Gekkou-class vessels, and now you're seeking a transport ship with even better performance than those, correct?"

The sales representative handling the case is young but efficient in their responses.

"That's right. Since we plan to operate it as an escort vessel, it'll need a certain level of armament."

"By the way, how many crew members will be operating it?"

"Two here and three support-type DOLLS, for a total of five. These two are young, but they're skilled sailors, as I said."

The two mentioned blush at Shinnosuke's words, but it's a fair and honest assessment.

"Understood....In that case, the model we can promptly propose is this one."

The representative operates the terminal and displays the data to Shinnozuke and the others.

"An Orca-class vessel?"

"Yes, the 85th ship of the Orca-class high-speed transport, a newly launched vessel just rolled out."

The Orca-class is a transport ship currently in active service with the Akneria Space Fleet, capable of carrying a payload of 1,000 tons.

It's a high-speed transport vessel equipped with powerful engines.

It was an active-duty transport vessel, and furthermore a newly built one, making its price significantly higher than Shinosuke had anticipated—so high that Andy was stunned into silence upon seeing the figure.

"From what we observed, your company, Cassimura, operates prototype Yukikaze-class vessels and experimental ships of the Sai Kouji class. Our Orca-class vessels should be capable of accompanying both types without issue."

Indeed, the Orca-class's speed was certainly on par with that of the Yatagarasu and Fubuki.

"Wait... this ship hasn't been armed yet, has it?"

Shinosuke noticed that the presented Orca-class vessel had no weapons installed.

"Yes, it hasn't been armed yet since it's just been rolled out. However, we at our company recommend delivering it in its current state, without any weapons installed."

"What do you mean by that?"

As you may know, our company primarily focuses on large vessels such as battleships and space carriers, and we offer a full range of equipment designed for such large ships. However, our armaments for medium and smaller vessels are not competitive compared to those offered by other companies. Since mounts and control systems follow military standard specifications, we recommend using weapons from other manufacturers for medium and smaller vessels.

Honestly straightforward, but sincere in its approach.

The Orcan-class is quite appealing, but I'm also curious about Psychoj Industries, so I'll hold off for now and head over to Psychoj Industries first.