I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship, so I Became a Space Mercenary

「Hi. Long time no see, son-in-law.」

The moment we landed on the Grakkius Secundus Colony, my dear father-in-law was already waiting for us. Somebody help me.

「What is a marquis doing in a place like this…? You’re drawing a ridiculous amount of attention.」

Naturally, my father-in-law—His Excellency Marquis Laurenz Holz—wasn’t waiting for us alone. There were six bodyguards with swords at their hips, ten more with laser carbines, a handful of male and female attendants, two armored vehicles capable of handling actual combat, and one absurdly heavy-looking limousine. They’d blocked off part of the port—specifically, the area around Black Lotus’s ramp. What are you doing, Father-in-law?

「Everything from venue arrangements to costume selections is already out of my hands… It’s not the social season, and to be frank, I had a bit of free time.」

「A bit of free time doesn’t mean you can occupy a whole section of the port… Also, do you even get free time? You’re a marquis.」

「I happen to be quite good at delegating. Really, people in my position are better off with some leeway. That way, we can push ourselves when it truly counts.」

With that, the marquis turned his gaze to the rest of my crew.

「Glad to see your numbers haven’t grown any further. You’re not hiding any new additions aboard the ship, are you?」

Can I even count Tamamo? She’s currently inside Kugi, so I’m not hiding her—but she’s not exactly visible, either. In a way, she’s right here. If I had to strictly define what she is, she’s a psionic lifeform who was a former citizen of the Holy Vuelzarus Empire. Whether she counts as a human—or broadly speaking, a person—is honestly beyond me. Personally, I’d file her under ‘space monster’.

「Thou speakest freely within thy mind, thinking none can hear thee—but alas for thee, I heard every word. And furthermore, thou art in no place to speak—thou art the very same kind of fiend thyself!」

「Lalalalala not listening! Also, stop reading my mind like it’s nothing!」

I looked over and saw that Kugi’s eyes and the fox ears on her head were glowing gold. When did she learn that neat little trick?

「That reaction is… suspicious, but something deep inside me is telling me not to dig too deep or I’ll regret it, so I’ll let it go.」

「Yeah, that’s the smart call. Physically speaking, our numbers haven’t changed, so you can rest easy. Physically.」

「Emphasizing that word makes it scarier, you know. I’m not good with ghosts and the occult, honestly.」

Ghosts, huh…? I mean, Tamamo’s practically one. Not quite a youkai, but definitely in that neighborhood.

「Well, putting that aside—though I feel guilty for totally leaving it to others—how are things going with the preparations and scheduling for that?」

「That topic’s not something to settle standing around here. I have prepared a room for us, so let’s go there and sit down first. We will talk about it at length then. Oh, and I have already contacted the Dareinwald Family and Viscount Willrose family, so no need to worry.」

At those words, I exchanged a look with Elma. We’d just been talking about how to avoid ruffling feathers with the order of contact, and yet he’d beaten us to the punch. Then again, I hadn’t expected him to be waiting here in the first place.

He probably used his influence over either the fleet guarding the Gateway or the Gateway administration itself. And possibly even the Grakkius Secundus port authority. The moment they detected us at the Gateway, they must’ve calculated our arrival time from the outer system and mobilized to intercept us.

「Well then, I’ll take you up on your offer.」

We were planning to just contact the families and take it easy, so we only packed the bare essentials. But knowing the marquis, he’ll treat us well regardless. Guess I’ll just go along quietly for now.

☆★☆

「To get straight to the point: the wedding preparations are progressing without issue. Rest assured. We’ve also made arrangements for the outfits of Hiro-kun’s brides.」

「You mean our outfits too…?」

「Y-Yes. Yours as well, Mimi-sam—Mimi-san.」

Mimi asked the question timidly, and the marquis responded with a slight hesitation of his own. He probably knows about Mimi’s lineage—her bloodline, to be precise.

「So, the other girls will be taking part in the ceremony as well?」

「Not quite. It would be inappropriate for them to stand beside Lady Serena, Lady Elma, and Lady Christina in the main ceremony. Instead, they will be in a suitable position, with suitable attire, watching over the proceedings. It’ll be clear to everyone that they are Hiro-kun’s consorts.」

「I don’t object, but… are you sure that’s acceptable?」

Elma looked concerned. She had the face of someone thinking, ‘Isn’t this going to cause political headaches?’I don’t know jack about noble power struggles or prestige or any of that, but even I can tell that having mistresses or common-law partners at a noblewoman’s wedding ceremony is… not standard. I don’t know exactly what kind of fallout it’ll cause, but I can already tell it’s going to be a pain.

「It’s fine. The situation is already beyond precedent. An honorary viscount of unknown origin becoming the son-in-law of a Earl’s house, marrying daughters from a marquis and a viscount house—it is all highly irregular. Although, to be fair, there have been similar cases in the long history of the Grakkan Empire. So it is not entirely unheard of. I suppose we can count ourselves lucky.」

As he spoke, the marquis closed his eyes and stroked his clean-shaven chin in thought. So there is a precedent. Whoever that guy was, he must’ve lived one hell of a rock-and-roll life.

「Still, there will be critics. ‘Some upstart with a fake title getting cocky,’ or ‘What kind of nobles send their daughters off to marry some nobody?’ In short, we will be looked down on.」

He smiled deeply as he said that. Great. That smile’s terrifying.

「Hiro-kun. What do you think is the most important thing to a noble?」

「Uhh… If someone disrespects you, kill them?」

「Since when did you become a member of the Drawn Sword faction? …Well, you are not entirely wrong.」

The marquis recoiled a bit and chuckled at my answer. What gives? You just said I wasn’t wrong!

「I don’t particularly like their modus operandi, but I am a mercenary. My job is to solve problems with violence. And besides, the Holz family’s a proud martial house, aren’t they? We can’t afford to be looked down on forever.」

「I see… That is reassuring. In that case, I would like you to travel around the Empire after the ceremony, show off your skills, and make it clear that the Holz family didn’t marry their daughter to just anyone.」

「Depends on the specifics. As the one responsible for my crew’s lives, I can’t accept dangerous jobs on a whim. I’m also a Platinum-ranker in the Mercenary Guild, not some expendable pawn you can throw at every problem.」

What I mean is, don’t just throw risky missions at me without proper rewards. And I don’t want people thinking the Holz family married me just to exploit a Platinum-ranked merc. That would also piss off the guild and other Platinums. More than anything, I’d hate it.

「Of course. I am well aware that a Platinum-ranked mercenary cannot afford to work for peanuts. Even the guild has warned me about that.」

「The guild did?」

「You may not realize it, but the Mercenary Guild is a massive transnational organization. In some systems, their anti-pirate ops and trade escort services are the only things maintaining order. Losing their favor would be a serious problem for us as well.」

He gave a shrug as he spoke. So they’re basically part of the security infrastructure?

「Anyway, I just want you to be aware that your honeymoon might involve a bit of danger. All for the greater happiness of us all.」

「I’ll do my best. Within reason.」

Can’t really argue when he puts it like that. I guess if I’m already drinking poison, I might as well lick the plate too.