5: The Tsunebakei No.

Today is the fifth installment.

"Then, we'll be counting on you for the next three days."

"Hmm. As captain, I hope you'll be able to write some excellent articles."

First, we were escorted to the captain's cabin.

There, we met the captain of the Tsunebakei No. and received a reminder of the guidelines and other important details once again.

To sum it up, the main points were basically, 'Let's get along for three days,' 'Don't do anything strange—otherwise, the worst-case scenario is a spacewalk tour,' and 'Please limit your filming to the pre-approved areas.' Nothing out of the ordinary, really.

"Now, this is our mess hall. Crew members use this place. What's served depends on the time of day and the cook assigned. As for this, it's an eight-meal voucher for the public dining hall, intended only for Satā-sama and Virijiani-ra-sama. For Memokushi-sama, it's three days' worth of energy packs."

Next came the mess hall itself.

A dining area large enough to accommodate about twenty people at once, with two staff members working in the kitchen.

Large windows in the walls allow a view of the outside of the ship, but right now they only show the interior of the colony's doghouse.

Then I was handed an eight-meal voucher for the mess hall.

"Just checking—what if I wanted meals beyond the ninth one?"

"In that case, I'll have to charge extra. Of course, even if you pay, I can't feed you if there's no food, so I can only serve a maximum of two or three times. Oh, water is free as long as it's not an unusual amount."

I see.

Incidentally, the price quoted is about 15 Vanilla Pounds per additional meal.

A meal at a family-style restaurant operated by a major corporation in a typical colony costs a bit more than a regular restaurant outing.

It'd cost around ten vanilla pounds to eat until full at the famous affordable and delicious 'Jasmine Ideus' restaurant.

"Yeah, and that. Since there wasn't prior approval, we can't have that. No exceptions—no getting around it. And no special accommodations for allergies either. After all, we're still on the ship, so even if we wanted to adjust things, we can't."

"Of course. I can eat anything, so I'm fine."

"I'm fine too."

What's being cooked in the kitchen right now... judging by the smell and appearance, it looks like a large domesticated bird typical of the Hiratratuzugmi system, roasted whole?

It won't be edible until after the ship departs.

Yeah, it smells amazing, and it'll be just the right time for lunch when the *Tsumebakei* sets sail. Let's head over.

"Then next up. This way is the game room."

Walking a bit further through the *Tsumebakei*.

We arrived at a room directly opposite the cafeteria.

Just as the crew member had said, it was set up as a game room, featuring several room racers, three FPS titles, and even a card game where a simple AI acted as dealer.

There were also windows allowing a view outside.

As for people—apparently it was off-duty hours, judging by the few crew members playing games here.

Still, what stood out the most in this game room was….

"This is quite an impressive Nine Cubic board here."

"It's the captain's hobby. A serious game board that supports six-player matches."

Nine Cubic is a type of holographic board game that represents a 9×9×9 grid.

Nine Cubic is a board game similar to chess or shogi, where players select, place, and move their own 27 pieces with the goal of defeating the opponent's commander piece. The board is usually less than one cubic meter in size… but the version installed in the game room aboard the *Tsumebakei* is an extra-large version, nearly three meters on each side.

It's convenient for spectators, but yeah, it's definitely a size only someone with a personal hobby could justify.

Definitely not a standard-sized board.

"Is the captain strong?"

"At least I've never seen them lose to an amateur. Depending on the situation, they've even won comfortably against two opponents alone."

"That's... really impressive. Being at a numerical disadvantage should make the situation much tougher, after all."

Incidentally, Nine Cubic was originally designed for fleet battles in outer space, and with random elements added, it's even used as a simplified simulation exercise at the Vanilla Galactic Empire's military academy.

This board... wow, random elements can be added, minor rules can be included, and custom pieces can be incorporated as well.

As expected from its appearance, it's definitely not your average game.

"If you're interested, try challenging the captain during his off-hours. We operate on a three-shift system—eight hours of work followed by sixteen hours off—so if you ask during his break, I'm sure he'd be happy to join."

"Then, if you're serious about it..."

Vilijanira smiles at the crew member's words.

It seems Vilijanira has a fair amount of confidence in her skills with Nine Cubic.

Indeed, Vilijanira appears to be someone from noble circles.

"Whispering (By the way, Sat. If you're confident, even a small bet is possible.)"

"Whispering (No way, no way. There are over 700 types of pieces just in the official game. Can you really fight someone who's been honing their skills with a large board for such a game? I'm barely familiar with the basic openings.)"

"Muttering softly (Yeah, you're right. I don't really know much beyond the usual moves preferred by the players I usually play against, and the standard openings are all pretty similar. I couldn't possibly handle a real expert.)

"Hahahaha, that's for sure!"

"Huh?"

The crew member, making sure not to be seen by Vilijanira and the others, formed a circle with their hand and smiled warmly.

Yeah, in these kinds of games played aboard ships, betting usually goes hand in hand. Right now, I'm being subtly invited to join in, but not outright.

It's probably because Vilijanira—clearly a noble—is around, so they can't openly invite me.

Of course, I decline.

Nine Cubic isn't that strong, so I can only foresee a future where I'd get taken advantage of.

By the way, Nine Cubic tends to take several hours just to settle matters when dealing with competent individuals, so I don’t have the time for that kind of delay.

"Then there are the individual rooms. Lady Virijianira and Lady Memokushi have been assigned a room together, as requested. It's a bit cramped, but you'll just have to make do."

"Oh, what a cute little room."

"No problem at all."

"Hmm, I see. Separate toilets and baths, one for each room, right?"

Finally, each private room was shown to them, bringing the ship tour to an end.

Of course, since the *Tsumebakei* is a cargo-passenger vessel, there are other areas such as the bridge, engine room, cargo holds, crew quarters, and even combat-related facilities for emergencies—but those are not guest areas, so naturally there was no need to show them around.

Well, let me summarize the previous section into a brief article.

Since the 'Tsumebakei' is intended to be among the top-tier passenger and cargo ships, I need to write accordingly.

Next update is scheduled for 00:00.