Chapter 46

The next morning.

I was surprised to see the gathered fleet.

I didn’t know where they had come from, but nearly 150 cargo and civilian ships were densely packed near the service area of the planet Tassia.

There were probably some mercenaries mixed in as well.

Indeed, with this many, even a group of amateurs might hesitate to attack.

But it probably wouldn’t work against a large, professional pirate group.

They are professionals in combat and plunder, and their equipment is far superior to ours.

Furthermore, if their commander is skilled, they could be more terrifying than a poorly trained army.

If the mercenaries were well-coordinated, as in previous requests, it might be different, but in this case, they were just a gathered group and wouldn’t be much of a fighting force.

I should have asked the Mercenary Guild for help...

But it was probably a spur-of-the-moment idea, and there wasn’t enough time due to the delivery deadline.

Soon, the person who organized the fleet called out.

"Thank you all for gathering in response to our call! With this many ships, it won’t be easy for them to attack, but we don’t know when the pirates will strike! Stay alert and move quickly to our destination, the planet Nachirema! Let’s start from the front!"

And so, the caravan set off.

It would take about two days to reach the destination, the planet Nachirema.

I positioned myself as high as possible in the fleet and activated the radar.

For a while, nothing happened on the first day.

During the night, according to Galactic Standard Time, the crew of the larger ships took turns on watch.

I thought something might happen then, but it didn’t.

The next morning was also uneventful.

The fleet was proceeding smoothly.

But the anomaly occurred a little after noon.

Two small craft suddenly broke formation from the fleet.

At that moment, I judged that they were either pirates or both.

The people in the fleet seemed confused and didn’t react.

The pirates probably understood this and were somewhat complacent.

This would be a good time to launch a surprise attack on those two small craft.

However, I couldn’t yet determine if those two were really pirates.

But then, my ship’s radar picked up multiple ship signals.

Of course, they were all ships with unknown registry.

"Large fleet approaching! They’re probably pirates!"

Ordinary ships don’t hide their registry.

If all the ships in a fleet are hiding their registry, they are definitely pirates.

"Hey! Is that true?"

"I’m pretty sure."

"Confirmed on our radar! No mistake! Pirates! Distance: 1.8 billion km!"

The communications officer of a large ship provided additional information.

This caused panic among the fleet.

Then, a young man’s voice rang out.

"Calm down! First, calm down and report to the police and the military! If we stay calm and handle the situation properly, we will survive!"

It was clearly a template phrase to suppress panic, but it helped calm many people.

"First, form the agreed-upon formation! With this, pirates are nothing to fear! We can lure them in and then fire simultaneously to repel them!"

And with the man’s words, the fleet formed a beautiful umbrella-like formation centered around the lead ship.

It seemed that some agreement had been made without my knowledge.

"Truly, a mercenary of the Bishop class! Reliable!"

It appeared that the organizer of the fleet was the employer, and I hadn’t seen his face, so he must be from a different branch.

Honestly, I think it would be better to run immediately, but the pirates are faster, and any resistance will buy us time until help arrives.

Considering this, the man’s proposal for a counterattack doesn’t seem like a bad idea.

The man continued.

"Still, I can’t do it alone.

I need the cooperation of all the mercenaries and those who can fight. Let’s head to the position of the two craft that tried to intercept first."

Six ships came forward.

Including me, the two craft that tried to intercept first, and the Bishop-class man, there were ten in total.

From what I could see, the pilots of the two craft I suspected to be pirates were both women.

The reason was that they were wearing similar clothes and had similar faces.

They are probably sisters.

Phew.

If the large pirate group hadn’t come and I had attacked those two, even if they turned out to be pirates, I would have been the bad guy.

The world always sides with the beautiful.

Then, a secret channel for just those ten ships was set up by the Bishop-class man.

"From here on, this is our secret conversation. There’s probably a pirate liaison in that fleet. We can’t let them hear our plan."

The mercenaries might all understand the situation, but what about the suspected pirate sisters?

Since they are pirates, they might be willing to share the loot and join us.

"I don’t have time for introductions. I have a plan, so follow me. If we create a screen with the fleet’s cannon fire, they will split up. We will engage them, and two more ships will circle around to their rear and attack from both sides. This is a standard tactic."

It’s a textbook strategy, and an effective one.

The pirates probably know this much, though.

The problem is,

"Who will take the role of circling around to the rear?"

The role of circling around to the rear.

We will circle around while the enemy is in disarray, but if we are spotted, we will definitely be sunk.

"I want the person in the light brown ship to do it. You’re probably a Knight-class, right?"

I hadn’t called myself a mercenary, but he assumed I was and assigned me the role.

The Bishop-class man’s face at that moment was the same as a popular student from my school.

"Alright, I understand."

But someone has to do it, so there’s no reason to refuse.

And I am indeed a Knight-class.

"...Got it. Thanks. And... Bat. Can you handle it?"

"Leave it to me! I’ll take them down for sure!"

The Bishop-class man seemed displeased that I had agreed so easily.

He probably intended to scold me, saying something like, "With everyone’s lives on the line, don’t be selfish!"

And from the way he called the other members by name without introducing himself, the other six might be his Bishop-class comrades.

"Then those two, head out with the fleet’s cannon fire. The remaining members, split into two groups and intercept the pirates in the directions they split."

And so, the time-buying operation until the Imperial Army and police arrive began.

Until it’s confirmed, we can’t treat them as criminals, right?

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