Chapter 32

Both ships, without a doubt, belonged to Sunshine Tree Electronics in appearance, but both were clearly equipped with numerous weapons.

Moreover, they even deployed drones.

They certainly didn’t look like legitimate transport ships.

That company is supposed to be a normal one with no particularly bad rumors... but you never know what they might be doing behind the scenes.

If that were the case, they wouldn’t have the company logo so prominently displayed, and they wouldn’t be showing their ship codes!

It’s probably some kind of plot by a rival company.

While I was thinking about that, I received instructions from Arthur.

"I’ll draw one of the ships away! In the meantime, disable the other ship! Don’t sink it! We need to capture it!"

Everyone understood what he was going to do,

"Then I’ll back you up. I’ll make sure to silence them!"

Levin immediately headed towards the ship Arthur was going to.

"Well, we old folks have to do our part too."

"I’m not even 30 yet!"

"You’re still older than those two."

Bernard’s old man said, and while Mollyse snapped at him, she and I headed towards the other ship.

Naturally, the drones came to intercept us.

"I’ll take care of those. You handle the big one!"

Mollyse deployed a barrier and headed towards the drone swarm.

"That means we’re taking on the big one. Count on you, young one."

"Understood. I’ll back you up."

Then I, along with Bernard’s old man, headed towards the other ship.

Sunshine Tree Electronics Side? : UNKNOWN

"Port side turret number 4 is destroyed!"

"Thrusters number 1 and 3 are hit!"

"Damn! The barrier generator is fried!"

I, sitting in the captain’s chair on the bridge, kept hearing reports of damage to this ship, which was supposed to bring in a steady stream of money.

"What are the drones doing?! They should have been deployed!"

"Two-thirds of them have been shot down!"

"We have manned fighters too! Deploy them!"

Damn! The plan to capture and modify Sunshine Tree Electronics ships, make them look like civilian vessels, and then ambush and capture other companies’ ships was a huge success.

The target was ships from companies other than Sunshine Tree Electronics.

We would disrupt their transportation, sell the goods to other countries, and sell the crew within the empire.

With that information, I would hold a press conference to announce my activities, using the resulting advantage and the increased sales due to the shortage of other companies’ goods as leverage to force Sunshine Tree Electronics to pay me 30% of their monthly revenue.

If they refused, I would announce to the entire empire that all my actions were done on behalf of Sunshine Tree Electronics.

My perfect plan to create a money tree!

It’s collapsing because of the incompetence of someone who fired without orders!

It can’t be this easy to ruin!

"Here’s the cargo hold! The hatch for unloading is damaged and won’t open!"

And my other subordinates,

"Just blast the door with a beam!"

"Understood! Everyone, move back!"

These are all incompetent fools who can’t even come up with such a simple idea!

Who is it? Whose plot is this?

The largest pirate group, the Kaides Pirates, was destroyed by the military!

The most vicious pirate group, the Grimleap Pirates, was crushed by the military, mercenaries, and racers!

So the next top pirate should be me, Stalva Bandegro, leading the Bandegro Pirates!

Who plotted to interfere with my perfect plan to secure ample funds?

At that moment, a slight vibration occurred,

"Door breached! Manned fighters can be launched!"

came the report.

"Good! Take out the Katombo!"

The enemy only had five fighters.

We have nearly twenty, there’s no way we can’t take them down!

"Alright! Get rid of the ones that are stuck to us..."

BOOM!

"Cargo hold hit! Oxygen leak confirmed! Sealing the bulkhead!"

Why... why is my ship being taken down by just two small craft! This is ridiculous!

"Hey! What about the second ship? Why isn’t it providing support?!"

I gave orders to the second ship.

But the response was,

"This is the second ship! We’re also stuck and can’t move!"

A response that perfectly illustrated incompetence.

Damn! This is all because of that guy who fired without orders! Everything went wrong because he fired without orders!

I should have tortured him more and found out who was behind this!

Just then, another report came in that further irritated me.

"New ship detected! It’s a military ship! 5... 6... 7... 8... 12 in total!"

This is a joke!

Why is the military here?!

The Sunshine Tree Electronics people should keep quiet to avoid being exposed, right?!

Why! Why isn’t everything going according to my plan?!

"To all units currently engaged in combat. Cease fire immediately. Repeat, cease fire immediately."

The hateful order from the military finally stopped the attack on my ship.

"Move now! Full speed ahead!"

There’s no need to stop obediently!

I’ll sacrifice the second ship and escape.

However, my ship didn’t move a single millimeter from there.

Sunshine Tree Electronics Side: End

Just as we had disabled both Sunshine Tree Electronics ships, the military appeared and surrounded them.

"Arthur-sama! Are you alright?"

Seira, who had led the military, called out to Arthur, her work mode off, as if she would pounce and shower him with kisses.

Arthur is skilled enough to survive, but in battle, anything can happen, so her concern is understandable.

I wish she would also worry about the four of us, but it’s natural to treat lovers differently.

By the way, the transport ship 'Lanoytan' is apparently waiting with the warships a little distance away.

After the emotional reunion, just as we were about to resume the mission, a communication came from the military ship.

"Excellent work. Disabling two modified combat ships with just five fighters is impressive."

The person who appeared on the screen was the famous Lieutenant Priscilla Hyliatt, with black hair, purple eyes, and fair skin.

Why is the propaganda princess of the Imperial Guard here?

All six of us were confused, but then,

"The one who commanded... was it you? Ah, Arthur Linguard?"

Lieutenant Hyliatt naturally addressed Arthur.

Even though I was there, and Bernard’s old man and the knight-ranked Mollyse were present, she immediately called out to Arthur.

Impressive. She’s targeting the next promising stock.

Maybe she heard from Seira.

"Yes. I took the lead as everyone entrusted me with the command."

Arthur modestly but politely responded.

"That’s good to hear. It would be a great boost to have someone as excellent as you in the military."

Lieutenant Hyliatt looked at Arthur with a slightly hopeful expression.

It’s a cunning appeal, but she’s probably following orders from the higher-ups to gather talented people.

Many have joined the military because of her.

And this time, she’s targeting Arthur.

Her presence here might be a coincidence, but it feels like she’s making a move.

If Arthur joins, it would be a big win.

Of course, there’s someone who absolutely won’t allow that.

"Lieutenant Hyliatt? Don’t you need to command the arrest of the criminals?"

"Yes, I’ve given the orders, so there’s no problem."

That’s Seira.

She clearly cut into the conversation with Arthur in a deliberately rude manner,

"Is that so? We still have work to do, so we’ll take our leave. Arthur-sama, let’s resume our mission. Everyone, let’s go."

She pulled Arthur towards her.

Then they immediately increased their speed and headed towards the waiting 'Lanoytan'.

By the way, Lieutenant Hyliatt was momentarily stunned by Seira’s presence, but then,

"Are they lovers? But I want that Arthur... (as a resource),"

she reportedly said with a seductive smile.

It’s just a rumor, though.

I’m not good at writing battle scenes.

I received a review from Mr. Kita and completely forgot to thank them.

I apologize for that...

Thank you for your comments, impressions, and any typo reports.