171: Briefly stepping away from the ship

"We will take good care of your belongings."

"Thank you for your patronage. We will proceed in accordance with regulations."

"Arriving for refit. Please take care."

The day after arriving at the Third Primal Colony in the Shibra Smith System.

In the morning, I watched as movers and buyout personnel successively carried away the contents of the 'Carnival Viper.' In the afternoon, I saw repair workers arrive, bringing tools including large ones.

Yeah, I'm just a layperson, a guard for Viridiana, not someone involved in the work.

If I notice someone making odd moves, I'll keep an eye on them—but I won't help with the work.

Even if I helped, I'd just be in the way against professional contractors.

"I see. If we stick to the schedule, the renovation will be completed ten days from now."

"Yes, exactly. It might be slightly shortened, but given that safety comes first, we can't cut it down more than a day at most."

"I understand. Please take care of it then."

"Yes, I'll put my full skill into it and deliver the interior exactly as you've envisioned."

The renovation specialists enter the ship.

Moreover, the contractors who have just come aboard are specialists who routinely handle vessels belonging to the imperial family and noble houses, and they are aware that we are part of the intelligence unit.

In other words, they are among the top-tier contractors in the empire.

Therefore, if we entrust them with the task, the interior of the 'Carnival Viper' will undoubtedly be transformed exactly as we envisioned.

Incidentally, they're not an intelligence unit.

In fact, they have no connections to any organization handling information.

They never leak details about what work they've done or who their clients were.

Apparently, they're extremely discreet and trustworthy craftsmen.

Yeah, that's reassuring from that standpoint too.

"Then, Memo, Sata, Johalis. Shall we head to the hotel?"

"Understood."

"Got it."

"Roger that."

Well, we might find something interesting if we stay here indefinitely, but we’d just be in the way of the workers.

With that in mind, after leaving the dock where the 'Carnival Viper' is moored, we head toward the hotel where we’ll be staying until the repairs are finished, carrying only the bare essentials.

We’ve chosen to walk, making our way through the city while sightseeing along the way.

"Is this really the third primal colony of the Shibrausmis system...? It's kind of extreme, isn't it?"

"Yeah. The side we're on now is clean and orderly, but over there it's a mess. And from what we can see of the core... isn't the far end looking more like a slum?"

"There's really no other way to describe it—this is just how the Shibrausmis system's culture is."

The third primal colony of the Shibrausmis system is a massive cylindrical colony.

On the outermost layer are various docks, defensive armaments, and facilities that are more convenient to place on the outside—right now, we're standing on a section that serves as the floor for these installations.

And in this area, buildings from different companies, shops, residences, parks, and other facilities are mixed together.

But even though the area is mixed, there does seem to be a general trend—what we're currently in appears to be a neatly maintained district geared toward nobles and the wealthy, with corporate buildings and hotels catering to outsiders being more common.

Still, due to the mix, even within view from Joharis, we can see apartment buildings resembling workers' housing and local izakayas likely frequented by residents as we move a short distance away.

Only my main body is visible, but I can just barely make out several paths where two humans pass each other with difficulty far off in the distance, as well as clusters of homes that seem stretched to their limits.

Is the air circulation even okay there, that sort of thing?

"Culture... hmm, maybe that's why the local residents' rooms are oddly narrow?"

"That seems to be the case. The Sibrausmiss system was colonized shortly after the empire's founding, so the philosophy of maximizing available space became deeply ingrained. Combined with the idea that a home is merely for sleeping and storing physical collections, the size of one's residence stopped being considered particularly important."

"What about baths, though?"

"There's something called a public bathhouse, apparently. Apparently, eating out for all three meals isn't particularly unusual, and I've heard that even essential household water is drawn from public faucets."

"Really?"

"Remarkable dedication, that's for sure."

It must be a uniquely developed culture, shaped over a long period of time.

Maybe the reason other star systems ended up developing their own unique cultures is because the Shiblasmith system, which was settled early on, established such a distinctive culture.

It's an unfounded speculation, though.

"By the way, one cultural principle in the Shiblasmith system is the idea that 'if you're a master craftsman, it's only natural to show respect for things built by other master craftsmen.' So..."

And then, Viridiani's gaze drifted toward a street-side monitor in the distance.

At that moment, some footage had just begun to play.

The content was...

"Delicious, nutrient-packed pumpkin soup for your stomach! Magical Girl Magical☆Pumpkin Broth! Now airing live!"

"……?"

The video showed a girl wearing an adorable, frilly costume with a pumpkin motif, striking a confident pose.

Intrigued, both my mind and Jhahris's are filled with question marks.

"Entertainment-focused cultures like anime, manga, and light novels seem to be particularly thriving compared to other star systems."

"Ah, it's nostalgic. Magical☆Pumpkin, the magical girl series. There was another series back when Vee was young, and thanks to that anime, Vee's meals became quite… "

"Ahem. Note, keep it at that level."

"Understood."

"Yeah, I get that it's popular, at least for now."

"I think that's enough for us to understand, don't you?"

Apparently, this magical girl anime called Magical☆Pumpkin is a long-running series, popular among children in the Shibra Smith star system, the Imperial Star Vanilla Sid, and other surrounding star systems.

What we didn't realize was that both of us belonged to species known for unusually advanced mental maturity.

In my case, there was also the fact that the Seiryō Colony tended not to attract such types in the first place.

Regardless, everything went smoothly, and we arrived at the hotel and checked in.