002 「Well, If That Happens, I’ve Still Got Violence.」

 

「I said I didn’t mind an old rust bucket, but come on… Isn’t this pushing it?」

I looked up at the small starship, its hull covered in little scratches and obvious repair marks. It was the kind space mercenaries called a ‘Zabuton’—the go-to ship for rookies.

It could carry weapons, but only enough for self-defense. More of a multirole ship than a combat vessel. It had a fair amount of cargo space for something so small. Relative to its size, anyway.

「It might look rough, but I’ve serviced it properly. Even threw in a basic shield and laser cannon for ya. A little thanks wouldn’t hurt.」

The old dwarf craftsman frowned irritably as he said that. I’d known the old man for nearly twenty years. He’d been helping me out in all sorts of ways since I was a rookie barely old enough to stop being called a kid.

「Still, Glen. Just when I reckon you’ve finally washed yer hands of the mercenary business, off you go to live in a place like that… Got a few screws blown loose on the battlefield, did ya?」

「Nearly had my brain boiled ten years ago. Probably lost more than a few. But come on, old man. With a body like this, you really think I can live a normal life somewhere that doesn’t stink of ozone?」

I spread my arms to show off my body. All four limbs had been replaced with enhanced ones capable of putting out anywhere from several times to well over ten times the strength of an ordinary person’s. Most of my skeleton had been replaced with reinforced alloy to handle the strain. My internal organs had been swapped for artificial ones as they took damage, and my circulatory system had been upgraded to match. Eventually, even my heart had been replaced with an antimatter core containing an ultracompact antimatter reactor. That particular piece of equipment was a special model with a bit of a history. There wasn’t another one like it anywhere—or rather, none had ever been found. Ridiculously rare stuff.

And the finishing touch was my face. Smooth, featureless, and solid black. I did have a mouth, but it was practically invisible unless I was eating. I don’t need to open it to speak, after all.

「Ain’t any reason you can’t live in a normal colony…」

「No girl living a peaceful life on a colony’s gonna give an ex-mercenary like me the time of day. I want a cute wife and a happy family.」

「What’s that got to do with goin’ down to that dangerous planet? Roughneck ex-mercenaries ain’t exactly a hit with the ladies anywhere, you know.」

「Tsk, tsk, tsk. You’re being naive, old man.」

I shook my head as though I couldn’t believe I had to explain this.

「If it’s that dangerous, violence is bound to count for more than anything else. And I haven’t done anything but violence in my nearly thirty years as a mercenary. I use violence to protect a girl. The girl I protect falls for me. Flawless logic.」

「Won’t she just end up takin’ advantage of ya?」

「Well, if that happens, I’ve still got violence.」

If someone comes at me with hostility, malice, or the intent to hurt me, I’ll just return the favor. Well, I can spot that sort pretty quickly, so I’ll chase ’em off before things get weird.

「Ah, little Glen used to be such an innocent lad. Now look at him, thinkin’ like a lowlife mercenary… Breaks an old man’s heart, it does.」

「How far back are you talking…? Ah, whatever. If you say you’ve serviced it properly, I’m sure it’s fine. I’ll take it, like we agreed.」

「It’s got a faster-than-light drive and a hyperdrive. Nothin’ fancy, but they’ll do the job. Come show yer face once in a while, you hear?」

「If I feel like it.」

I shrugged and paid the old man his Enel. All that remained was to load the supplies and equipment I’d prepared, then meet up with my ride to the destination.

I’m starting to look forward to this new life.

☆★☆

「Are you out of your mind? When was the last time you had a checkup?」

「I’m sane, and I’m serious. Had a checkup and maintenance just the other day.」

I gave that perfectly serious answer to the female captain of an armed merchant ship that did business around my destination’s star system.

Rude woman. Questioning my sanity right off the bat.

I’d known her for quite a while too. Since shortly before I’d lost my face, so a little over ten years.

「Haaah… You had about three million in total, didn’t you? With that kind of money, you could’ve gone to a slightly shady colony and found yourself a nice enough woman to keep.」

「Doesn’t do much for me if there’s no love involved. I want a wife, not a sex partner.」

「How does a guy who looks like you have fairy tales for brains? Is it all flowers up there?」

The captain delivered that nasty remark with a look like she’d bitten into sand.

Come on. What’s wrong with having a few dreams about life with my future wife?

「Besides, what would you even do with a wife? Does it still work? With that body of yours?」

Her eyes dropped to my delicate region.

She really has no manners.

「That’s the one part I’ve always protected. Still works just fine. Wanna try it?」

「No thanks. I like pretty boys, not hulking brutes like you. If you want me to take you to bed, keep the dick and swap everything else for a pretty-boy body made for pleasure.」

「You’ve got some pretty damn twisted tastes yourself…」

Why do I have to put up with this kinky pervert telling me I’ve got fairy tales for brains and flowers in my head? How unfair can the world get?

「Well, if that’s what you want, do whatever you like. I’m just taking you where you asked. You do have a proper plan for after you get down there, don’t you?」

「Land somewhere suitable and secure the area. Build a home and a farm, fortify the place, then find a wife. I’ve already got seeds, farming drones, a fertilizer generator, and all that ready. I could sell you the surplus crops, you know. Real fruit and vegetables are luxury goods, right?」

「Depends on what you grow. Only good-quality produce fetches a really high price. If the quality’s mediocre, sometimes all it’s good for is making food cartridges. And if everyone floods the market with a crop because it sells for a lot, the price drops.」

「More complicated than I thought. Well, first I’ve gotta get to where I can feed myself.」

Making money matters, but I won’t get anywhere if I can’t support myself first. Even farming drones are consumables in the end, so I’ll have to mine resources and manufacture parts too. Looks like I’ll have plenty to do once I’m down there.

「Well, try not to get yourself killed. Not that you look like you’d die even if someone killed you.」

「If it doesn’t work out, maybe I’ll get you to hire me. I’d make a good bodyguard. Probably.」

「You’re a little too dangerous for a bodyguard…」

The captain gave a wry smile.

What the hell does she mean, too dangerous? Is it because I’m good at bursting people’s heads and tearing their limbs off? How exaggerated.

☆★☆

Through the holo-display, I watched the shield glow red from the heat of adiabatic compression.

After the captain had carried me into orbit around the target planet, I’d used her armed merchant ship’s planetary scanner to examine my options over and over before settling on a landing site. I’d chosen somewhere that looked promising for mining resources while avoiding areas where the future expansion of my farm might cause territorial disputes with other farms or local factions.

Still, settling in some remote spot with no other factions anywhere nearby wasn’t a good idea either. Apparently, if you couldn’t exchange supplies with your neighbors—or barter, rather—when things got rough, you could end up completely screwed.

That’s just what the guidebook said, though.

I’d brought plenty of supplies with the future in mind, but even those wouldn’t last forever.

Makes sense to have somewhere to get more before I run out.

Then again, I haven’t sunk every last Enel into these preparations. If I can contact the captain, I can have her bring me whatever I need. Or I can take this shuttle—the Zabuton—to a colony in this system, or even another system, and buy it myself.

「Entry pods looking good too.」

Numerous atmospheric entry pods were descending toward the target alongside my shuttle. They contained the supplies I hadn’t been able to fit aboard and were scheduled to touch down with me at the landing site.

Still, this is pretty damn conspicuous. The other factions probably have a clear view of this shuttle and all those pods dropping out of orbit toward the landing site. Scouts could come snooping around as early as today. Within a few days at the latest.

「First, the prefab living quarters…? No, should I hide the supply pods and shuttle first?」

The ground continued drawing closer as I debated my first moves.

Why am I only thinking about that now, you ask? This is my first time going down to a planet to live there. I didn’t realize it’d stand out this much—no, wait. I have been sent down in a drop pod as part of a combat deployment before. Pretty sure they told us during the briefing that a drop pod descent was ridiculously conspicuous, too. Completely slipped my mind. Hah hah hah.

Well, I’ll manage somehow. If push comes to shove, there’s always violence. Violence is great. Solves most problems. It’s like a basic currency that works anywhere.

「No point getting worked up now. Whatever happens, happens.」

While I muttered to reassure myself, the shuttle’s automatic landing system kicked in and brought me down at the target site. Apparently, the old man hadn’t been lying about servicing it properly. The system had activated without a hitch, and the landing itself was smooth.

If I ever go see him again, I’ll have to thank him.

「So this is Ribose III…」

I opened the Zabuton’s cockpit hatch, leaned my upper body outside, and looked around. There wasn’t the slightest sign of human activity. Untouched wilderness as far as the eye could see. A short distance away were hills and small rocky mountains, giving the terrain a fair amount of variation. It wasn’t just one vast, flat plain.

I’d chosen this location so I could break down those hills and rocky mountains for building materials. As a rule, the soil on planets within a star system’s habitable zone was often rich in elements such as silicon, aluminum, iron, calcium, potassium, sodium, and magnesium. Of course, the exact composition could vary greatly from planet to planet, but that was how things were on Ribose III, at least.

There was a handy tool called a fabricator that could easily turn soil containing those elements into all sorts of materials and structures.

Pretty sure its official name was a molecular disassembly and fabrication unit, or something like that.

I’d used one plenty of times myself to build fortified positions on planetary surfaces.

「First, I need to get a handle on the surrounding area. Guess I start by setting up the drones and bots… This is gonna be a pain.」

I can leave the simple work to the bots and drones, but I have to start up and configure every last one of ’em myself. What a depressing thought. Still, there’s no getting around it.