218: Sata during the Hira Tora Tsugumi mission

"Successfully entered hyperspace. Navigation system confirmed. Autopilot confirmed. Sensors all functioning. No anomalies detected. We're good, then. We'll basically be bored until we reach the Vanilla Sid system."

"No response from the 'Anisotropic Mirror'."

"No signs of interference from mods."

"Then, let's take a short break."

The Carnival Viper successfully entered hyperspace and began faster-than-light travel toward the Vanilla Sid system.

If nothing goes wrong, it should arrive near the guide beacon on the Vanilla Sid system side in about half a day.

"Then, I'm going to take a short break."

"Then I'll excuse myself as well."

"Ah, got it. I'll wake you if anything comes up, so get some rest."

Good night, Lord Vee, Lord Joharis.

With that settled, and since the timing works out well, Joharis and Vilijanira will be retiring here for the night.

For precaution, Memoxi and I will remain in the cockpit, ready to respond should anything arise.

After all, we're already within the defensive perimeter of the Vanilla Sid system—essentially the imperial capital's own orbital domain.

There's no way a space pirate would show up here, and the same goes for space monsters.

Even if one were to appear, it'd have to be something like the space monster Blackfall Shark—existing only in hyperspace and undetectable in real space. But even that could now be detected with the Aqy Mirror, so there's no need for excessive vigilance.

"Now, what should we do..."

"I think, Sir Sata, you should write a report about the greenhouse."

"That's already being handled by me, the one in charge of the greenhouse. The real question is, what should I do over here?"

Just sitting in the cockpit for half a day... That's getting ridiculous.

I'm seriously bored.

I need to think of something to do.

Continuing to write reports is getting depressing.

"...Sir Sata, what did you do during the night before meeting Lady Vee?"

"Does that mean you were in the Hiratara Tsumugi system back then?"

"During my time at Seiryō Corporation, and also when I was in the Hiratara Tsumugi system—both periods, yes."

"I see."

Sensing my boredom, Meikoshi changed the subject.

Then I should answer properly.

"When I was at Seiryō Corporation, I spent all my time studying."

"Studying? Not resting?"

"At first, I was given rest just like the other androids, but eventually I realized that even rest and meals were basically just indulgences. After that, I’d learn things from researchers who happened to be free, help with their research, study, and even get access to Seiryō Corporation’s database."

"Seiryō Corporation’s database? I imagine it contains data that can’t be made public."

"Yeah, I remember. There were countless areas I couldn't access with the permissions I was given back then."

It's nostalgic, really.

Thanks to all the research I did back then, I can now create mods smoothly. It's hard not to appreciate the importance of learning.

After heading to the Hira Tora Tsugumi System... I spent a lot of time walking around the city. There were some strange places that operated on odd hours—like shops that were only open from midnight to six in the morning.

"It's also a rather unique shop. If it was open, there must have been a decent number of customers coming in..."

It was a place where middle-aged men coming home from drinking gatherings would eat something gentle on the stomach while waiting for public transportation to start running again. The congee was delicious.

That congee was truly delicious.

It had a soothing flavor, the kind that gently restored balance to bodies worn down by drinking and overeating.

Also, not mentioned in the article:

They weren’t granted permission to expand further, as the owners said they’d be troubled if they had any more customers.

"By the way, if you were moving around at night like that, didn’t you ever get caught up in trouble?"

"Of course I did. I’ve fought back against snatch thefts and robberies more than once, and since I used teleportation, I’ve been questioned for illegal entry into colonies. I’ve even been forced to play the fool at the scene of organized crime just for witnessing it."

"I see."

"No thanks to that, I've ended up causing quite a bit of trouble for both Seiryō Corporation and the Hira Tora Tsugumi System's police..."

"That's why you can't refuse requests from Seiryō Corporation even now."

"There's that aspect to it, yes. And also, the fact that they actually pay the rewards properly."

Anyway, the trouble itself—or violence, for that matter—wasn't particularly frightening to me.

Just because a doll gets damaged doesn't mean the main body takes damage, and besides, it's not like something ordinary like a regular crime syndicate could handle that kind of capability.

Even before making a contract with Villigianira, I could already manage movements of that level.

"Oh?"

"What's wrong?"

"A message just came from the Vanilla Sid system... This is another disrespectful request. And it's addressed to Lord Sata."

"To me?"

A message seems to have arrived right here.

But this is for me?

If it's coming through Memokushi, it must be the intelligence unit... no, the Imperial Army... possibly even higher up.

The issue is the content.

"Lord Sata. You may refuse if you wish. Ideally, this request should have been made much earlier."

"Let me see the details first. Hmm... yeah, definitely disrespectful. It's the kind of thing you'd expect to be said at a completely inappropriate time."

The message I received was asking whether it was possible to bring Dr. Mizeon from Seiryō Corporation along with me through my transfer ability.

Technically speaking, it's certainly possible.

Probably testing my abilities... or maybe there are other reasons, but it feels like they're asking out of curiosity to investigate various things.

But the timing of this... well...

The doctor at Mizeon's side has likely already been instructed to follow me whenever I arrive.

Given that the sender is the Imperial Army, that's to be expected.

But the sudden change in circumstances remains unchanged.

The message should have been sent when I was still in the Shibrasmiss system.

Moreover, going through Memokshi makes it seem as though we're ignoring Vilijanira—so, in that sense, it could be considered rude.

It's certainly a request that could reasonably be declined.

"What shall we do?"

"I'll explain the situation to Vee, ask for permission, and once we get the okay, I'll go pick them up after arriving at the Vanilla Sid system, during the one-day information gathering period. Vee should be able to relay the message properly, so we can make good use of it."

"Understood. Then we shall proceed that way."

Yeah, let's just throw it over to Vilijanira.

That'll be the fastest and most reliable approach.

"Master Sata. I'll focus a bit more on this."

"Ah, yeah, got it."

And so, taking the challenge meant for Vilijanira, Memoqui began his preliminary investigation.

Well, now, who exactly is behind this move, and what are their intentions?

Lost in such thoughts, I decided to concentrate on the article and report.