The Vice-Captain lowered her stance.
I climbed onto her back, groping blindly with my eyes shut. It felt like our roles should be reversed, but given the circumstances, I had no choice.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
I felt her body tense up. A powerful Force began to permeate the air like a thick mist.
Bang!
My body soared into the air in an instant. Since she was an Elf, I hadn’t expected much in the way of physical strength, but she jumped much higher and faster than I anticipated.
Whoosh—
Once I felt we had reached a sufficient height, I opened my eyes. Down below, I saw a presence as dark as a black hole. I looked down at it and shouted at the top of my lungs.
“Eoduksini!!!”
I felt an intangible gaze shift toward me. It was a void of nothingness, yet I felt as if I had locked eyes with something within that darkness.
Slosh!
The creature’s body, which had been expanding continuously, shuddered. It stopped growing and became wary of me.
It was likely due to my presence. I might be a total hack, but I was still a Noble. Naturally, the purity of my Force was high. And on top of that…
Swish!
I raised the Holy Relic crowbar high.
The combination of a Noble’s Force and a Holy Relic weapon was potent. I could feel the creature shrinking away, utterly intimidated by my presence.
“We’re falling now!” the Vice-Captain shouted.
She and I began our free fall. It was a bit terrifying, but I pushed my worries aside. I figured she would handle the landing.
“Die!!!”
I left everything to the Vice-Captain. I simply gripped the crowbar tightly, as if I were about to strike the creature down. I pointed the sharp end of the crowbar toward the ground.
Impact was imminent.
Sss—
As if terrified, the creature rapidly shrunk its body. It maintained a hair’s breadth of distance, barely avoiding contact.
Thud!
Finally, the Vice-Captain’s feet hit the ground. At that exact moment, she used the momentum to toss me back up into the air. She probably did it because she feared that if we tumbled together, our line of sight would fall below the monster’s.
‘She didn’t really need to go that far.’
Even if my head had touched the ground, I wouldn’t have been “below” that thing. Why? Because…
Flicker!
It had already snuffed out like a lighter flame in the wind.
“What a drama queen.”
There hadn’t been a single instance of physical contact during the entire process. All I had done was look down from a high place and threaten it. This was exactly why I had stepped forward so confidently.
Buzz, buzz.
However, things were noisy on the other side. When I turned my head, I saw a scene of chaos.
“You… you bastard! Die!”
“Butler! P-please spare me!”
“Stop right there! Stay still!”
A group of eye-monsters were scuffling. Their tentacles were all tangled up in a mess. Instead of eyes, ears were attached to the tips of their tentacles. The butler and his group were currently giving chase based solely on sound. It didn’t look easy.
Stab, stab!!
The butler even thrust his rapier during the pursuit. However, because he couldn’t accurately pierce the core, the targets wouldn’t die. It was a complete disaster.
“Phew. It’s over, so everyone can open their eyes now,” I said with a sigh.
“Oh?! Young Master?”
Tentacles popped out from the butler’s body, and eyes manifested at their tips. Once their sight returned, capturing the smugglers was child’s play.
“Let’s go.”
I picked up the Holy Seed that had fallen on the ground.
***
The loyal butler of the Park Family, The Blue 02, arrived at the Pepe Star System. The arrival of ten battleships and fifty cargo ships caused quite a stir at the station.
[Please authenticate your identification code.]
The butler nodded. The identification code was a type of ID managed by the Marshal’s Office. Without a code, supplies were obtainable, but docking was impossible.
[Oh!! You are from the Park Family?!!]
The control center showed intense enthusiasm once the verification was complete.
“What’s with this reaction?” the butler wondered.
He had expected to be lucky if they weren’t treated with cold indifference. Who was the patrol squadron leader serving in this star system? None other than the notorious young master of Sector 16. If he had done anything, it would be committing atrocities; he was certainly not a man who would win the hearts of the people.
“Oh my! Welcome. Please sign here.”
A dock manager flew over and handed him documents and a pen. The butler signed on behalf of the group.
Whirrrr—!
Then, an elderly Fairy flew toward them from a distance.
“Are you truly from the Park Family?”
“Yes. I am the butler of the Park Family, The Blue 02. May I ask who you are?”
“I am the Governor of this colony. I will serve you to the best of my ability, so please let me know if you need anything.”
The butler felt like he was losing his mind. It was strange enough that the Governor himself had rushed over to greet them. No matter how insignificant a colony was, the Governor was essentially the king of this place.
“I don’t intend to stay long and cause a nuisance. I’ve come to take the Young Master back.”
If he took the Young Master away, they would likely be happy. After all, there was no one in Sector 16 who welcomed that young man.
“Oh dear. You’re too late. Squadron Leader Park Yu achieved a great victory and has already left for the Marshal’s Office Center to deliver his report.”
For a moment, the butler thought he had misheard.
“A great victory?”
“With just his squadron’s strength, he repelled an enemy fleet of over thirty ships! Furthermore, he saved our planet from danger!”
What on earth was this person talking about? Suspicion immediately arose in the butler’s mind.
Did these people do something to the Young Master? Were they just making up a story to cover it up?
“Everyone, prepare for combat!” the butler raised his hand and shouted.
The troops, who had been on standby, moved in perfect unison. Having been hired at a high cost, they were quite elite.
“A-ah! Why are you doing this?!”
“I’ll ask again. Where is our Young Master?”
“It’s the truth! We even have footage recorded at our station, so please check for yourself!”
“Fine. If you’re lying, I’ll snap your neck first.”
Clutching the Governor, the butler headed to the station’s control center. Recent footage was stored there.
Beep!
The video began to play.
‘That’s definitely the ship the Young Master took.’
Since he had run away from home in a hurry, the ship’s condition was poor. To begin with, it was impossible to engage in a proper battle with a ship like that.
And yet.
Surprisingly, he had initiated a boarding action against an enemy ship with that very vessel. And he had won.
“Th-this makes no sense!”
The butler prided himself on knowing the Young Master’s personality better than anyone. He was absolutely not the kind of person to do something like that. Although he acted like a hoodlum under the family’s shadow, he was a cowardly, “low-energy” man more than anyone else. That was why he had never caused a major incident like killing someone.
“I want to see the footage of the Young Master himself.”
This time, it was internal footage. After capturing the enemy ship, he had boldly threatened—or rather, negotiated—to receive their surrender. Afterward, he had personally come to the control center to take command.
“Hah…”
The person in the video was unmistakably the Young Master. Could it be faked? It was impossible to manipulate footage recorded with Shoggoth lenses.
“Do you see that over there?”
The Governor operated the equipment in the control center. A telescope mounted on the space station pointed toward the planet’s surface.
“A statue… for the Young Master?”
Incredibly, a massive wooden statue of Park Yu was being erected at the colony center. Numerous Fairies were working with smiles on their faces.
“I apologize for my rudeness,” the butler said, quickly releasing the Governor and offering an apology. At this point, it was more ridiculous not to believe it.
“No, I was a bit startled, but I understand it was out of your loyalty to your master. Please rest assured that I won’t report this.”
“Thank you. By any chance, could you share the route the Young Master took?”
“Of course.”
Since the control center had guided the warp, obtaining the coordinates wasn’t difficult.
“Hm…?!”
The butler’s face stiffened the moment he saw the coordinates. He had been told the Young Master moved to report to the Marshal’s Office Center. However, the path was a bit strange.
“Could it be…!!”
A realization flashed through his mind.
“Prepare for departure immediately! We’re following the Young Master.”
It appeared he was taking a detour through the estate of the Doros Family. He had to be stopped before he caused an accident.
***
I returned to the Doros Family’s grand mansion with the seeds. The Head of the House granted me an audience after hearing the butler’s report.
“So it really was the planet’s curse.”
“I think you should pay more attention to the planet’s residents.”
“I have shown you a disgraceful side of myself.”
The Doros Family had only one specialty: Shoggoth eyes. The way to increase production was simple: increase the population as much as possible and leave them to die. As long as it was within twenty-four hours of death, the eyes could be extracted.
Therefore, they didn’t care about the people’s welfare. Because of that, a curse was invariably placed upon any planet where the Shoggoth lived. And because of that, items with similar properties to this Holy Relic could be obtained in other sectors as well.
To the Shoggoth race, their eyes were both a blessing and a curse.
“I shall do so from now on,” the Head of the House said firmly. He clearly didn’t want to die from the curse. Up until now, the heads of this family had all been short-lived because of it.
“Then, will the curse placed upon me disappear now?”
“Not yet. Please mobilize your employees to gather more Holy Seeds.”
“I see. Our entire family has been rotting, then.”
The black market dealer I saw today was actually on the milder side. He was kind enough not to kill anyone. There are plenty of people who would kill just to destroy evidence.
“I ask this be done by tomorrow. I don’t have much time to stay here.”
“Understood. There will be no mistakes this time.”
The Head must have also been briefed on how his employees ignored my words and did something stupid.
“My people’s mistake put you in danger. I am deeply sorry for that. I will compensate you handsomely.”
“If you’re offering, I won’t refuse.”
“Hahaha. Very well. You can look forward to it.”
I hoped he would give me a ton of lenses. Their value would only go up over time.
***
The fifth daughter of the Doros Family was flabbergasted.
“Why isn’t he coming to see me immediately?”
The family would have allowed a brief meeting. After all, the Park Family had their pride too. It was the minimum courtesy that could be shown by the party that had unilaterally broken the engagement.
“Lady!! I’ve found out!”
“Tell me. What is the Young Master doing?”
“Well… he says he’s going to break the Master’s curse!”
The fact that the heads of the family fell ill generation after generation was a secret. Of course, it wasn’t perfectly controlled.
But was it a story people would be interested in? No. Honestly, the fact that another clan’s head was sick wasn’t a particularly interesting topic of conversation. Only those with a deep interest in the Doros Family would know.
“The Young Master was very interested in me, after all.”
The young lady began to twist her tentacles for no reason. However, a cure would be impossible. It wasn’t as if the clan hadn’t tried.
“That wasn’t all.”
“There’s more?”
“He said he captured an alien. He found out about the treatment through the alien.”
“What?! An alien??”
“Perhaps the reason he volunteered for the patrol was to find that alien?”
The young lady wore a dazed expression for a moment.
Drip, drip!
Tears began to flow from her eleven pupils.
“To think he would risk such danger just to have me…”
She was moved. An ex-fiancé who risked his life to fight aliens just to undo a broken engagement—what woman wouldn’t be touched?
“Could it be that those rumors of him being a hoodlum were just a misunderstanding?”
“Well… probably not?”
“Then! He changed his ways for me!!”
“That might be true! As expected, you are the greatest beauty of Sector 16, My Lady.”
“Heh~”
The young lady opened her five mouths and smiled.
***
“Vice-Captain. Are you alright?”
“Yes. The doctor says I’ll recover quickly.”
The Vice-Captain was admitted to the hospital with bandages wrapped all over her body. Fortunately, there would be no permanent disability or aftereffects. The treatment wouldn’t take long either.
“You didn’t have to throw me at the end…”
“I think it would have been better if you had told me that sooner.”
This was definitely my mistake. Whether she was pouting or not, she turned her head slightly away.
She had sustained cracks in thirty-eight of her bones. What was surprising was that she didn’t show any signs of pain until we arrived at the mansion. I hadn’t noticed at all.
“Will you be able to sail? Do you want to rest here and join us later? The Marshal’s Office Center isn’t far from here anyway.”
“No. I’ve received all the basic treatments, so I can just use the capsule inside the ship.”
“I… I see…”
I stood up, finishing the visit with a guilty expression. She also pushed herself up.
“Just stay there!”
“I have to prepare for departure. We have to leave tomorrow, don’t we?”
“In that state?”
“If I leave it to others, the departure will be delayed.”
The Vice-Captain grunted as she climbed down from the bed.
“Well then, I’ll be going first.”
In fact, she left the hospital room before I did, riding on a floating wheelchair.