Chapter 8: The Return of the Wad of Bills

Chapter 8:
The Return of the Wad of Bills

 

WE SPENT THE REST of that day and the next just relaxing and getting the ship back in order. We would need to replace some furniture, which meant a trip to the colony after we got paid today. It would be nice to stretch our legs. Mimi bounced in place as we planned out our shopping trip.

“You seem excited,” I teased.

“That’s because I am!” Mimi had declared it her mission to savor all the tastes of the galaxy, and she was getting started right away. Already she’d researched a high-performance cooker for gourmet ingredients, one available in a shop right on Tarmein Prime. We would integrate the new cooker into an overhaul of the Krishna’s furnishings and appliances.

Of course, that overhaul meant more than just a fancy cooker. We would also get a toilet with a warm-water bidet, a water purifier, an air-filtering device, a fancy air conditioner, and more. It wouldn’t be cheap, but it would make our bathroom comfier and the whole ship more livable. Besides, it was cheaper than generators and shield erectors by far.

Our shopping trip today meant Mimi could slip into some casual clothes, though I still wore my usual mercenary stuff. Her choice made her look more mature, I thought.

“That’s cute,” I complimented her. “Or maybe pretty is the word.”

“D-do you think so?”

“Absolutely! It’s great. You’re looking like a fine lady.”

“Hee hee.” Mimi put her hands on her cheeks and fidgeted. That cuteness of hers was a deadly weapon. It might undo me before we managed to leave the ship. I had to shake myself, lest I give in and we just spend the whole day playing around in bed. No! We had to get to that shop. The fun could come later.

“Looks like we’re pretty close to the merc guild,” I said when we disembarked.

“We are!” Mimi said. “Along with government offices and mercenary guilds, this area has some of the bigger ship makers and furniture dealers. It should be quite safe!”

“Interesting. You’ve definitely got talent as an operator, Mimi.”

“R-really?”

“Heck yeah. You dug up all the most important info and gave me directions. Fantastic job.”

“Aww. I’m glad to hear that.” Mimi cradled her tablet and beamed with joy.

Her smile infected me, too. I was thrilled to see her succeeding at her new job and happy to share in her excitement about it. Putting someone through mental anguish over any little mistake didn’t help anyone, I believed. The way to actually build trust while picking up a new skill was through positive reinforcement.

Of course, not everyone was on board with the “nice and supportive” approach. Back in my old life, I’d had a boss who believed nagging, teasing, and general cruelty was the way to train me. He’d scold me right in front of my coworkers, bring up any little mistake endlessly, and even resort to personal insults. Boy did his tune change when I distinguished myself as a network admin and moved up the ladder. Ugh, just remembering that jerk makes me angry.

Well, whatever. That dumb jerk didn’t matter anymore, Mimi did. Mimi and I were partners now, dependent on each other for our survival in this universe. We were more than just a captain and crew, who might operate like a boss with employees. In battle, we were partners. At least, that’s the kind of relationship I was hoping to build, one based on faith, sincerity, and love, one where we could rely on each other completely.

Frankly, I didn’t think I could have been a cruel boss-type with her even if I wanted to. Not with how much I already cared about her. Maybe I was just a sucker for a cute face, but I didn’t care. Mimi was special to me.

We got on the elevator that would take us from the port district to the colony proper, savoring the glimpses of space as we went. The stars spread out before us, only interrupted by the metal frame of the elevator shaft.

“I never get tired of seeing this,” I said.

“Are you not used to the sight by now, Master Hiro?”

“Not really. I didn’t get to see it with my own eyes until recently.”

“Really…? Where did you live before you came to this colony?”

“Before the colony…” Shoot, I was supposed to be sticking to my cover story about memory loss. Oops! I almost told the truth there. “Thing is, my memories aren’t super clear. Thanks to some hyperdrive accident or something, I ended up in this Tarmein System. But everything before that is fuzzy.”

“Huh? I-Is that true?! That sounds awful!”

“Maybe. But it doesn’t really affect me now, so I’m not too worried about it. Though I was thinking of going to a medical station and doing a detailed medical check just to make sure.”

“That’s a good idea. After we go back to the ship, I’ll look for the best station nearby.”

“Thank you.”

It was sweet of Mimi to worry about my health like this. Though I guess if I just up and died one day, she’d be in a pretty tight spot. I’d better take good care of my health.

I had to promise to do a daily vitals check to allay Mimi’s concerns. It was a small price to pay to make her feel better. A quick vitals check didn’t take all that long. Even relieved, she clung to my arm, worried and nervous. Ooh, she’s wonderfully soft. It almost makes me want to make her worry!

We headed for the furniture dealer Mimi had found online. They were expecting us thanks to Mimi making an appointment in advance.

An employee guided us through their products. “This is Musashino Tech’s pride and joy, our newest high-performance cooker, the Steel Chef 5. Our tried-and-true Steel Chef series boasts the highest market share in the industry, and this model is at the very cutting edge. Why, we only released it two months ago.”

“Two months ago, wow,” I said. “When did the one before that come out?”

“About eight years ago. The Steel Chef series’ biggest selling points are not just the exquisite food that comes from their high-performance cooking but also the reliability that we’ve built in by utilizing feedback from accidents and failures. The Steel Chef 4 boasted an incredibly low failure rate of only 0.004 percent within three years of purchase. You can expect fantastic food no matter what conditions you’re in. And of course, the Steel Chef 5 has inherited all the best features of the Steel Chef 4.”

I probed for more info. “What are the running costs and maintenance needs like?”

“Power consumption is on the higher end, but it does have a self-maintenance function that uses nanomachine technology. It is effectively maintenance-free. Interior and filter cleaning is all done while it’s on standby.”

“I see. I do like easy maintenance.”

“Agreed,” Mimi chimed in. “A high-performance machine is worthless if it takes all day to fix. But Master Hiro, do you mind the power consumption?”

“That’s not a problem. We’ve got more than enough generator output.” The generator on the Krishna was top-tier, military-grade stuff. We had generator output for days.

“How would you like to enjoy a personal demonstration?” the employee suggested. “Let’s start with a regular food cartridge from the grocery store to make the simplest template: a hamburger.”

The employee got the Steel Chef 5 churning on that hamburger. No matter how fancy, all these cookers used the same base elements more or less: food cartridges that were basically cultured algae and 3D food printing. Which begged the question: could they really be that different?

“Holy crap,” I exclaimed after my first bite of the burger the employee produced. “Why is this so delicious?”

“It’s wonderful,” Mimi said. How was this thing using the same cartridges as our current cooker but making something so much better? This hamburger made all other hamburgers I had ever eaten taste like crappy fast food. No competition whatsoever.

“Ingredient ratios, heating, and seasoning all have the power to change a meal’s texture and taste on their own,” the employee said. “The artificial intelligence installed in the Steel Chef 5 uses template data while adding in the most minor of twists in these facets of cooking.”

“Incredible. Mimi, we’re buying this,” I decided.

“But isn’t it expensive?”

“Retail price is 48,000 Ener,” the employee said, “but since you’ll be buying other furnishings as well, we would be glad to offer a 3,000 Ener discount, making it 45,000. That price also includes a three-year warranty.”

“Wow! Okay, let’s put this on the list and check out our next item,” I said.

“Thank you very much, sir!”

By the time we were through, we had the whole ship refitted—from the cooker to the air conditioning—with Musashino Tech’s high-quality furnishings. The total came out to around 300,000 Ener, but a comfortable living environment would directly impact our mental health while we lived on the ship. Being stingy here would hurt a lot later.

Besides, 300,000 Ener was way less than I’d paid for Mimi’s debts and freedom. This alone wouldn’t make much of a dent in our finances. Even with Mimi’s debts, I still had around 2,000,000 Ener on hand. That didn’t even include the rewards we would get from taking down those pirates. Altogether, I took down forty-two small craft and five medium craft, so I could expect about 360,000 Ener from the military. That alone paid off today’s shopping trip and more.

That wasn’t even all I could expect from the mission. On top of all that, the pirate bounties would net 480,000 Ener or so. Plus all the loot from the ships! I’d scooped up a good amount of Rare Metal. I estimated I could make about 800,000 Ener from that alone.

Altogether, this pirate-killing spree earned me about 1,600,000 Ener. Frankly, my profits were almost hilarious. Spending 300,000 of that to drastically improve our living situation was an easy decision.

One, ahem, particularly special upgrade we purchased was for the bed in my room. The new one would fit two people instead of one so we could, well, you know. If I was embarrassed about this, though, Mimi was practically blowing steam out of her ears. Her adorable reaction almost made my own discomfort worth it.

After we finished ordering, we headed to the mercenary guild, as we still needed to confirm and receive our rewards. The moment we stepped into the guild, our friend the scary receptionist was already furious.

“What the hell, man?” he said. “Did you bring her with you just to show off? Huh?!”

“Replacement, please,” I said flatly.

“The hell do you mean, repla—bwargh!”

The other receptionist must have heard the commotion because she stepped in and slapped the scary guy on the head with a thick folder. Ouch, that had to hurt. Dazed from the pain, he was easy to move as the other receptionist threw him out of his chair and took his place.

“Your replacement has arrived,” she said, smiling politely. “I presume you’re here for your rewards and bounties?”

“Yup.” I swore to never defy this woman. How could she toss aside a giant like him with one hand? Did they replace her body with cyborg parts or something? Maybe modern technology made her freakishly strong? Either way, I made a mental note to stay on her good side.

She looked up our rewards and bounties from the mission. Just as I expected, we’d leave this office about 840,000 Ener richer. I say “about” because there were some decimals involved in the bounties. The difference was around 8,123 Ener.

“I was also hoping to have some maintenance and ammo-refilling done on my ship,” I said.

“Of course. Do you need refills on flak ammunition, chaffs, flares, or shield cells?”

“Yes, ma’am. All of the above. If you please.”

“Sure, we can take care of that.” The receptionist smiled sweetly. Doing ship maintenance and replenishing ammunition was probably a major part of the mercenary guild’s revenue. “Goodness, though. You did quite the job out there.”

“Yeah, we did. I just wish there were some tougher pirates so we could’ve made more money.” I was actually serious about that. It was nice that there were so many small craft, but they came with small bounties, as well. If they were stronger and more skilled, maybe I could’ve squeezed some more money out of them, but these pirates were just a mob of idiots. I could have waltzed out of here with some serious cash if they were all medium craft instead.

“Well, public safety in this star system is better than in many places,” she explained. “You’ll have plenty of opportunities to join police-sponsored pirate hunts.”

“Sounds great. Maybe I ought to check out a different system for higher bounties, though.”

“Wouldn’t that be dangerous?” Mimi asked.

“Oh yes, absolutely,” the receptionist said. “The pirates in such star systems are both stronger and more plentiful. But if you have the skill to hunt them, I imagine you can make quite the small fortune that way.”

Yes, it was dangerous to search farther afield, but the pirates in this star system were like flies before my strength. I wasn’t some fighting fetishist, so I wasn’t looking for a fight just for the sake of fighting, but it would be nice to make money faster.

“With your skill, Hiro, perhaps you would flourish in a more dangerous system.”

“Yeah? I guess this system will be peaceful for a while after that hunt we just did.”

“You know, the guild doesn’t only handle pirate-extermination jobs,” the receptionist said. “We can also have you do bodyguard or transport duty.”

“My ship isn’t really made for transport, and guarding someone just sounds annoying.”

“The guild would certainly appreciate it if you were willing.”

“I’d suggest you give those jobs to a squadron or something.”

A squadron made up of a group of mercenary ships all working together would be much better suited to escort work. If I was alone and peeled off to fight an enemy, it would leave the person I should be protecting wide open. But staying close would just make me vulnerable to long-range fire myself. A group of bodyguards could divvy up the duties of protecting the ship and pursuing the attackers. In a situation like that I was likely to run into some sort of trouble for fighting solo. It just wasn’t for me.

“Do you not want to form a squadron? I expect you’d be very popular,” the receptionist said.

“Meh, not right now,” I said. “We’ve got stuff we want to do.”

I turned my attention to Mimi. We still had to find a medical station and figure out how we’d earn more money for that house with a yard I dreamed of. We had plenty to keep ourselves occupied.

“I see.” The receptionist woman smirked at us. Why did it feel like she seriously misunderstood? “I expect you’ll make plenty of money, and you aren’t hard on the eyes, either. You do seem a little…dangerous, but I imagine plenty of folks find that charming. Are you two going on your honeymoon? I wish you luck.”

“Thank you!” Mimi smiled dreamily. Wait, shouldn’t she have denied it? Were we calling this a honeymoon?

“It’s not exactly a…” I began.

“Am I wrong?” The receptionist’s eyebrows raised.

“Is she?” Meanwhile, Mimi watched me with anticipation, tears shimmering in her eyes. Yikes, was this that important to her?

“Uhh, I dunno? I guess it’s kinda, maybe like that?”

Mimi smiled. Phew. Disaster averted.

The receptionist appraised us both. “I apologize if this is rude, but what exactly is the nature of your relationship?”

“That’s a tough question,” I replied. “Kinda like captain-to-crew and guardian-to-ward combined, maybe?”

“Yes. Um, I owe Master Hiro my life, so that’s why I call him…Master,” Mimi said.

“Hiro?” The lady narrowed her eyes. Oops! If I didn’t pick my words carefully, she might throw me with that strong arm of hers.

I rushed to explain: “A group of thugs in the Third Division tried to assault her and I stepped in to help. Since she didn’t have anywhere to go, I…um, I pretty much made her a member of the crew.” I stood stiff and tense, awaiting the judgment of the terrifying receptionist.

“I ended up in the Third Division because of the debt I inherited from my late parents,” Mimi said. “Master Hiro didn’t just pay off my debts, though; he even paid for my taxes and freedom of movement, 500,000 Ener altogether. As such, I decided to dedicate my life to him.”

The woman closed her eyes for a moment before nodding. “I’ll allow it.”

“Woo-hoo!” I couldn’t help but do a little fist pump. I’d survived the impromptu inquisition.

“Your love story begins with a girl being saved from her predicament by a wandering mercenary. It almost sounds like a sappy romance novel.”

“It’s not all flowers and rainbows,” I said. I mean, Mimi had ended up sharing her first time with me. You could definitely get the impression I was some piece of shit who used money to get what he wanted from girls, but that wasn’t the case here. I cared about Mimi, and she cared about me, too.

“I disagree,” Mimi protested. “I’ve been so blessed since the day I met you. You’re kind, and you indulge me in everything I could ever want.”

“I do?” I scratched my head.

“Don’t you remember spending 300,000 Ener to update our ship’s facilities earlier?”

“That benefits me, too,” I said. “I don’t think you could call that indulging you.”

The receptionist tilted her head and rested it against her hand, watching our little lover’s spat. “I love how you two get along. Maybe I should quit my job and be a member of your crew, too?”

“Y-you can’t.” Mimi clung tightly to my arm, her chest pushing soft against me. Aah, this is bliss.

The tough male receptionist, recovered from his ordeal, watched us from afar, biting back bitter tears. He wasn’t the only one. Other men hanging around the guild clicked their tongues and snuck envious looks my direction. Heh, jealous? Too bad. Mimi is all mine!

“That is a shame,” the receptionist said, shaking her head.

“Ha ha ha. Well, we’d better get going… Oh, actually.” Just as I stood up to leave, I remembered that I had one last question. “Do you know anything about how Elma is doing? She helped us out when I brought Mimi on board and her ship took heavy damage during the mission. We’ve been worried about her.”

“Oh, hmm. Elma?” The woman grinned awkwardly.

“She’s not badly hurt, is she?”

“No, she’s not hurt. Er, but she is dealing with some rather hefty fines from the military.”

Well, that made sense. She probably had some insane debts to deal with now.

“Do you think she’ll get back on her feet?” I asked.

“I’m afraid it doesn’t seem likely,” the receptionist replied.

“Oh.” I winced.

Watching our conversation, Mimi cocked her head in confusion. I didn’t think it was worth explaining…but eh, whatever.

“I sort of expected this,” I told Mimi. “Between her own ship’s damages and the repairs for the police ship, she’s in trouble.”

“That’s awful! But…”

“Yeah. It’s rough.”

Sure, I wanted to help Elma out, but I also didn’t want to stick my nose in where it didn’t belong. We’d only just met a few days ago. She might not want my help. Though, if she was really in it that deep, maybe she wouldn’t mind a little hand up.

“Where is Elma?” I asked.

“She’s running around looking for a way to pay off the police.”

“If she can’t pay it back, is she getting the ol’…?” I stuck my hands out like I was about to be arrested.

“Yes,” the receptionist said. Of course. Oh, Elma. I wasn’t sure where she’d end up next, but it wouldn’t be good. This system chucked criminals onto asteroids to do hard labor, after all.

“Will she be sent to a prison station?” Mimi asked.

“Yes, dear. But…well, the criminal population there is overwhelmingly male. There is a tendency for them to commit…er, certain crimes.”

“Aw, dammit,” I cursed. I hated the thought of Elma going through that, but…hmm. “Could you tell her to call me if she needs anything?”

“Are you sure?”

“This has gotta be fate or something. Not that I know what I can do.” All I had to offer was cash, but if that’s how this got resolved, I’d basically be buying her—not in a sexual way, of course. She’d become a member of my crew.

Hm, that might not be so bad, actually. Elma could help teach Mimi. She could earn a cut of our profits based on performance and pay off her debt to me over time. No hard labor…or worse.

“By the way, how is crew payment typically determined?” I asked, following my running train of thought.

“Based on how much they’ve invested into the ship or what role they play.”

“For reference, what about Mimi?”

“Mimi? Hmm. The ship is entirely under your ownership, yes?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“In that case, we’ll base it off of your personnel’s skills. Mimi, can you confirm that you are in a romantic relationship with Hiro?”

“Huh?” Mimi gasped. “Um, well, yes.”

“We’ll take that into consideration. Zero investment, essentially amateur, crew member in training, and romantically involved with the captain. Market rate would be between 0.1 percent and 0.5 percent.”

“Half a percent? That’s, uh…kinda low.” I raised an eyebrow. Our total rewards and bounties earned us 840,000 Ener. If Mimi’s share was 0.5 percent, that meant 4,200 Ener. With a conversion rate of 1 Ener to 100 yen, her reward was about 420,000 yen. Was that really enough for tying herself to me and my ability to keep us alive out there? I did pay living expenses, but I still had to wonder.

“It is very low,” the receptionist said. “It will improve as she improves her skills as an operator, but right now she’s simply your girlfriend. That said, considering how much work you put in…4,200 Ener, was it? That’s more than my monthly salary, you know.” The receptionist put a weight behind those words. Was she actually considering joining my crew? Please, no. I’m deathly afraid of women who can throw me with one hand.

“F-four thousand?! I can’t take that much!” Mimi protested.

“Why not? You earned it. Go on and take it.”

She trembled at the sudden windfall, but it was pocket change to me. Compared to the costs of repairing the ship, replenishing supplies, paying the docking fees, and restocking the groceries, 4,000 was nothing.

“Mimi,” I said, “this money belongs to you. You earned it. If you think you’re getting too much, put it in savings.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Mimi didn’t seem entirely convinced, but she took her pay.

I was relieved. Paying her expenses without giving her a salary of some sort felt awful to me, with how much she was helping me with daily life. Plus, she risked her life right beside mine. If it were up to me, I would have given her 5 or 10 percent, but clearly Mimi had some reluctance about being overpaid. I’d be better off sticking with the market price. I could probably set up a separate savings account for Mimi on my own as well to make sure she was well taken care of.

The receptionist had one last thing for us: a guide for calculating crew rewards. With that in hand, we headed back out into the Third Division to finish up our shopping. Starting tomorrow, we’d be souping up the ship, installing the new furnishings, and replenishing our supplies. Then, it was off to our next adventure.

 

***

 

“Mmn…” I murmured with contentment as I awoke on our new, springy bed. It would be tough to get a better, deeper sleep than on a new bed with a beautiful girl beside me.

Mimi snored contentedly. We’d definitely broken the bed in last night, if you catch my drift. God, was I ever hooked. How could I not be? Mimi was cute, brave, honest, affectionate. Not falling for her would have been far more difficult.

I slipped out of bed silently, trying not to wake Mimi, and scooped up the clothing scattered across the floor. Our new cutting-edge washing machine could clean and dry them with no detergent—and in just five minutes.

I didn’t bother getting dressed as I headed for the bathroom. Warm water gushed into the tub. I eased down into it, reclining while the tub took care of the cleaning. It even drained the water at the end and switched to a mode that would give me a full body massage.

Aah, this is heaven. A bath like this could turn me into a couch potato fast. A bath potato? Whatever.

When I stepped out of the tub, the bathroom filled with tiny particles that not only dried me but also wrapped around me like a warm, fuzzy towel. I had no clue how it worked, but dang, it was nice.

My clothes were dry by the time I returned to the laundry room so I threw them on and returned to the bedroom, stroking Mimi’s cheek to wake her gently.

“Nnm…Master Hiro?”

“Good morning, Mimi.”

“Mm…” Mimi held out her hands sleepily, so I pulled her into a hug and laid my head against her chest. Mimi returned my embrace and stroked my hair, giggling to herself. I pulled back to kiss my blushing girlfriend on the cheek. “You can go take a bath, and I’ll make the bed,” I said. “I’ve already washed your clothes.”

“O-okay.” Mimi’s face burned as she wrapped her naked body in bedsheets and shuffled toward the bathroom. As soon as she was gone, I pressed a button on the bed. Boop! Like magic, the bed started to undo all the, ehem, activity from the previous night. It could even handle…the associated messes. All automatically and with the press of a single button.

“Dang, that’s cool.”

The bed wasn’t the only thing that had been upgraded to a luxurious version after that trip to the furniture store yesterday. The air conditioning not only kept the ship at the perfect temperature, but it also nullified bad smells and poisonous gasses. The walls could soundproof themselves with the press of a button. The warm water bidet reminded me of home. The Steel Chef 5 provided spectacular meals any time Mimi and I sat down to eat. Top to bottom, my humble Krishna was now a luxurious cruise ship. I could spend my whole life here.

No! I couldn’t give up on my detached house with a yard yet. I still needed to savor a true carbonated soda some day.

Renewing my resolve, I set about my day. First up, breakfast. I let the Steel Chef 5 decide. It could read the minute differences in a user’s mental and physical condition to craft the optimal meal. I had no idea how it accomplished that, but it was always right.

While I wiped down the dining table and got us drinks, Mimi joined me. She looked comfortable and relaxed in black shorts and a just-too-large T-shirt.

“Are you off to the training room?” I asked.

“Yes. I need to exercise and improve my stamina.”

“Hey, good on you. After I eat, I’ll be right there.”

“Then let’s do our best together!”

Today’s breakfast was something like eels over rice with…yams, I think? I wondered why the Steel Chef was trying so hard to give us a morning energy boost. Maybe it suggested this because we’d worked so hard lately? My curiosity about how it monitored us only deepened.

“You’re not feeling under the weather, are you?” I said.

“No, I’m quite fine. I’ve been doing daily vitals checks like you, Master Hiro. In fact, I’d say I’m doing better than ever now that I live on this ship. The food is wonderful, and I’m getting plenty of exercise. And it seems the medicine is getting along well with my body. I feel better than ever.” Mimi started off with a smile, but she was blushing by the end.

“Then that’s great. Make sure you don’t push yourself too hard or you might hurt yourself in the long run.”

“Of course. Incidentally, what are our plans today?”

“Let’s see. Once we finish training and getting our vital checks, how about some grocery shopping? We’re gonna run out of food cartridges soon. Maybe we could get something a little fancy to celebrate all our upgrades around here.”

“That sounds lovely. Afternoon shopping, then?”

Mimi smiled, looking genuinely excited for the trip. It was so nice to see her more relaxed and less awkward. Two weeks of living together had helped a lot with that and now I got to see her natural self. All her initial desperation to not be abandoned had shifted to ease and familiarity. It didn’t hurt that we got along especially well every night.

Breakfast complete, we headed to the training room. Our AI coaches had different scripts for each of us, but the goal was the same: physical fitness and the ability to withstand stronger g-forces. We also trained our endurance by running on treadmills. Honestly, thanks to the nanomachine-infused pills we took each day, I didn’t really feel all that winded by the run, but I supposed it helped.

We cleaned up together after getting sweaty, washing each other in the bath. Having this fun little reward waiting for me after working out made training painless—exciting, even.

“Okay, let’s get going,” I said.

“Yes, sir!” As usual, Mimi clenched her fists in determination. Today, she wore full mercenary gear, complete with a small laser hanging from her hip, and so did I. The clothing and gear weren’t merely for show. We planned to head back to the location where Mimi had been attacked. We’d probably be fine together, but it was better to be prepared.

Another bit of preparation: teaching Mimi to use the laser gun. Probably, hopefully, she wouldn’t need to use it, but it didn’t hurt to know how to if things got dicey. I felt satisfied that in the unlikely event of some sort of scuffle, Mimi would know not to hesitate with that laser. For now, however, we set the safeties and left the guns in their holsters. Armed and ready, we took the elevator down to the Third Division.

“Don’t be so worried, babe,” I said. “Those wusses only attack people who look weak, and we definitely don’t look weak.”

“O-okay.”

“I know it’s harder because of what you went through, but remember: I’m right here with you.”

“That makes me feel better.” Some of the tension melted away as Mimi smiled. I rubbed her back to reassure her, and she hugged me in response. The Public Security Administration cameras on the elevator preventing that hug from turning into anything more, but just holding her left us both feeling safer.

 

***

 

“Oh.” I froze.

“Um… Is that Elma over there?” Mimi said.

Mimi and I were picking through the squalor of the Third Division when we reached the grocery store and stopped dead in our tracks. Elma sat against the front of the store, the hood of her white cloak casting her face in shadow. Only her elf ears gave her away, two little peaks pointing up under the hood. Beer bottles littered the ground around her. Oh no. Was she trying to drown her sorrows?

“Master Hiro…” Mimi said.

“Hmm. Yeah, we could at least ask how she’s doing.” As we approached, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. In a blink, she drew her laser gun and leveled the barrel at me. I was just as quick, and we stood there threatening each other, weapons ready. Elma’s eyes were flat, like a dead fish watching me bleakly. She held my gaze for a long, long moment before finally lowering her gun and smirking.

“Heh, so what? Did you come here to laugh at me?” Elma said.

“Not at all!” I said. “You helped us, so we’re here to help you. Plus, Mimi’s worried about you.”

“Elma…” Mimi kneeled next to the sitting Elma and extended a hand.

Watching her, Elma snorted derisively. “Only two weeks, and you and I have traded places.”

Mimi said nothing, merely hugging the downtrodden elf. Powerless to resist, Elma surrendered herself to the embrace.

“How bad is it?” I asked.

“The damages to the police are too much,” Elma said. “They could take all my money and everything from my ship and it still wouldn’t be close to enough.”

“How much?”

“I’m 3,000,000 short.”

“Three million…” I snuck a glance at my current funds: 3,300,000 Ener. Technically, I could help her.

“I can’t even work for at least two weeks, since my ship’s out of commission,” she said. “They wouldn’t trust me if I said I could pay them back anyway, not after that huge accident. I tried going to the merc guild for help too, but…” Elma shook her head.

Yeah, figures. It would take time to fix a ship that badly beaten up, leaving Elma out of work while she waited. And the sum was huge. Nobody would loan 3,000,000 Ener to a vagrant mercenary. Did this universe even have banks?

Her debt must have been truly massive. A veteran of five years, forced to hand over all her savings and sell everything she had, and she still couldn’t pay it off! Terrifying.

“What’s the deadline? And what happens if you can’t pay it?” I asked.

“I’ve got two hours left. If I can’t do it, they’re sending me to do hard labor on Tarmein III. There are so many former pirates there. If they sent a mercenary like me there…” Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I was ready to die in space with my ship. But…not this!”

“Elma… Oh, Master Hiro!” Mimi trembled, sobbing harder than Elma as she held the elf. Her eyes were wide and pleading when she looked up at me.

I crossed my arms. Hmm. Saving her would be simple enough. If money really is the answer, I can just pay off her debt and be done with it.

It was easy, but not appealing. If I went that route I’d be left with just 300,000 Ener to my name. That might be fine for most folks, but it just wasn’t a reliable safety net when you had a ship to operate and maintain. Sure, small repairs and resupplies wouldn’t be a problem, but what if something happened and the ship got damaged? I’d need to earn some cash fast. Maybe another pirate hunt?

Mimi was still begging me with those big brown eyes of hers. Gah, don’t look at me like that!

I had never planned to push help onto Elma, but this was something else entirely. She was desperate. She might even choose suicide over getting sent to that prison camp and made into a pirates’ plaything. I shuddered to imagine it. None of her options were particularly promising.

In the end, I really had no choice. Mimi and I owed Elma a debt of gratitude. Plus, how could we possibly sleep at night knowing we’d left her to that kind of fate? Maybe Elma would be indignant at the offer of help, but this was my life and I would live it as I saw fit.

“Elma,” I began.

“…What?” she snapped.

“Come and be a member of my crew.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll pay off the 3,000,000. In exchange, you can work with us. Specifically, I want you to teach Mimi the basics of being a mercenary and occasionally support me.”

“H-hold on. Are you for real?” She blinked with shock, but I ignored her and checked my handheld terminal. Two hours…that meant her deadline was 3:00 p.m.

“Make your decision; we don’t have long,” I said. “Either you join my crew or you go to a prison station and the pirates get you.”

I hoped that making her options stark would help bypass her stubbornness. Being indebted to me probably wasn’t an attractive option given Elma’s pride, but she couldn’t possibly refuse.

“Wh-why?” Elma asked in disbelief.

“Mimi’s gonna be sad if I don’t. Besides, I’ll never sleep again if I let someone who helped me rot in jail. And most of all, I just want you. I think you could really help us out.”

Sure, she’d messed up this time, but Elma was still a veteran with five years of combat experience as a mercenary. It wasn’t only Mimi whom she could show a thing or two. She had managed to pilot that insane ship, after all. She could certainly pilot the Krishna and having backup like that would be a huge asset. Mimi was a long, long way from being able to take over for me in the cockpit.

“M-me? Really?!” A blush flushed Elma’s face. Her long ears twitched. Mimi went wide-eyed as well.

I wasn’t sure what the big deal was, but I sought to reassure them. “Yeah. Of course.”

“H-huh. D-do you really see me like that?” Elma fidgeted from foot to foot. See you like what?

“Sure, I guess?” I shrugged. I liked to call her a poor little space elf, but in reality she was smart and capable. She knew a ton of useful stuff about this colony. All of her advice since I met her had been spot on, including the stuff she’d done for Mimi. And anyway, it wasn’t really her fault that ship had gone on a rampage.

“I-I see. But what about Mimi?” Elma said.

“What’s wrong with having one more?” I said. “You agree, right, Mimi?”

“I agree,” Mimi said.

“O-oh, okay. One isn’t enough for you?” Strangely, Elma gulped and watched me under her eyelashes. Why was she acting so weird? Was I just imagining it?

“So, what’s it gonna be? You on board or not?” I said.

“Y-yeah. I am,” she said.

“Well, welcome to the crew. Make sure you do your job, all right?”

“O-okay. Be gentle though, okay?”

“Huh? No way. You’re gonna work hard.”

What was she going on about? This was 3,000,000 Ener we were talking about here! Converted to yen, that’s 300,000,000. She couldn’t seriously expect to laze around.

“O-oh. I get it,” she said. “I’ll be ready, then. Sounds a lot better than being with who knows how many pirates, anyway.”

I was definitely still missing something here, but whatever. The important thing now was just to go to the galactic police and pay off that debt.

Elma followed us to the police headquarters. All the fine print took a while, but it was pretty simple paying off the 3,000,000 Ener and getting Elma her freedom.

“Jeez,” I complained. “Look how empty my wallet is now.”

“I’m really grateful,” Elma said. “Um, I’ll do anything I can to pay you back.”

“Yeah, yeah. Do your job and I won’t charge you any interest, so take as long as you need.”

“O-okay.”

This was getting really weird. Something was getting lost in translation here. Maybe. Probably. Or it was just in my head. Who knew?

“Anyway, we’ve got some shopping to finish up,” I said. “We need groceries, and I guess we’ll have to get the essentials for you too, right?”

“A few things, maybe,” Elma said. “I can still get most of my personal stuff from the ship.”

“Good. Okay, let’s go buy what we need and get back to the ship.”

“Yes, Master Hiro,” Mimi said. All that settled, we started off. I have to admit, I felt like a total player with Mimi on my left and Elma on my right. That little elf was drop dead gorgeous. I definitely didn’t mind having a new crew member who was both attractive and helpful. Not that I was planning to make a move or anything. In any case, my wallet was 3,000,000 Ener lighter, which put all of us in a delicate position. Starting tomorrow, our week of lazing around would end. It was time to get to work.

 

***

 

“Incidentally, what became of that mercenary who damaged the battleship?” I asked an assistant.

“Oh, do you mean the elf, Lieutenant Serena? Hmm… It seems she sold her ship and paid it off in full.”

“She sold it? And she already paid off her debt?”

“Yes, it seems so. Just in time, too; today was her deadline.”

“Deadline? Didn’t I demand that she not be penalized?”

Demanding a debt like that get paid off in just a week would be outright tyranny. I had no intention of doing that to her. She wouldn’t even be able to repair her ship in a week’s time, let alone also use it to earn that kind of cash. Plus, with the military having so much sway in this system, slapping a debt like that on someone was akin to charging them with a crime.

“Yes, I do recall,” the assistant said. “Hmm. It seems the one who filed the claim, along with its deadline, was Bariton of the accounting office.”

“That damn pig. I ought to rip him to shreds and feed him to the rest of his lot.” There was no love lost between the accountants and the mercenaries I commanded. As such, those wretches often came up with these creative little annoyances. It would be more than a mere annoyance if word of this got around and people started believing that making a mistake while working with me could get them imprisoned.

“Lieutenant Serena?”

“Oh, apologies,” I said, pulled out of my thoughts. “This is a problem, though. Investigate the matter and perhaps see if you can dethrone the king of those swine.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

How in the world had that elf paid a fine like that in such a short time? Maybe mercenary work was more profitable than I thought. Should I change jobs…?