The Park family’s loyal butler, The Blue 02.
He was in a hurry.
“We must catch up before he brings shame upon us!”
The Young Master was not the type of person who would openly cause a scene in a great house like the Doros family.
Did that make it okay? No. There was no telling what kind of creative and pathetic tantrum he might throw. This always led to a decline in the family’s reputation.
“Excuse me, Butler. Looking at the traces, the exit point from the wormhole is slightly off.”
Tracking wasn’t difficult since they followed the same path Park Yu had entered. Not much time had passed, making it easy to find the trail.
“That’s good. It seems he strayed for a moment. If we’re lucky, we might be able to catch up.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to just go to the Doros family estate and wait for him?”
“No. Once he arrives there, even I won’t be able to stop him.”
He had to be stopped before he arrived. The only hope was that he was likely stopping at various colonies along the way. The Young Master was a libertine who loved wine and women.
“Exiting the wormhole! Current location confirmed as the Pollen Star System!”
“Any traces?”
“Found them!”
“Good. All fleets, move out.”
The Park family fleet leisurely followed the movement route. However…
“Bu… Butler! We’ve detected a fleet ahead!”
“Did we finally catch up?”
“No, that’s not it. It looks like there was a large-scale battle.”
The scout quickly magnified the screen.
“Ah…”
Debris from ships was floating around. The types were varied. Warships, transport ships, alien battleships?
“What happened here?”
He quickly scanned the sunken ships, worried that the Young Master’s ship might be among them. While he was focusing…
“Incoming communication! They say they are from the So family. They want to know our identity.”
This side had 60 ships. Naturally, the other side would have spotted them easily.
“The So family… Ah! I think I’ve heard of them.”
They were a family on the outskirts of Sector 16. Wealthy, but without reputation. In a word, a group of nouveau riche.
“Connect them.”
Beep!
[The Park family! This is truly a blessing!!]
“Do you know our family?”
[Yes, of course. Our Family Head has entrusted himself to the Park family.]
“…?!”
What kind of nonsense was this? As the butler, this was the first he had heard of such a thing. Furthermore, the Park family could not handle a family of that scale.
“I don’t understand.”
[You haven’t heard the news yet. Well, what happened was… (Omitted) …and that’s how it turned out.]
After hearing the explanation, the butler stroked both antennae on his head simultaneously. This was an action members of the Picol race took when they encountered a situation they couldn’t understand.
“So… you’re saying our Young Master saved you from danger?”
[That is correct. His tactics were one thing, but he possessed incredible insight. Our Family Head was captivated by the Young Lord of the Park family… (Omitted)]
The person from the So family praised the Young Master for a long time.
Tactics? Insight? Captivated? Was this person really talking about the same Young Master he knew? The butler stroked his two antennae once more.
“By any chance… can you send us the footage?”
Because of what happened at the Pepe Star System, he accepted it somewhat calmly. It was the second shock, so it was manageable.
[I will send you the records from our ship.]
It didn’t contain the entire battle. It was mostly just glimpses of the Young Master’s ship performing brilliant maneuvers. This was because that person’s ship was not the main force in the battle.
However, this material was enough. They weren’t hiding anything. It also proved that they had fought against the alien fleet together.
“Where did our Young Master go?”
[He said he would head straight to the Marshal’s Office Center after resupplying at the Doros Estate.]
“What are you all doing here?”
[We are repairing the ships and salvaging usable parts from the sunken vessels. As soon as the work is finished, we plan to follow him to the Marshal’s Office Center.]
“Then, we will go ahead.”
[Yes. We shall meet again later.]
The butler hurriedly prepared to move.
“Move out immediately!”
[Ah! It will be difficult to catch up.]
It seemed the communication hadn’t been cut yet.
“What do you mean by that?”
[Our Family Head accompanied him, and he is a first-class navigator. Besides, he knows the way around Sector 16.]
The other side spoke with a voice full of pride.
“Ah…”
The butler closed his eyes tightly. If that was true, it was too late. But…
[Why don’t you travel to the Center with us instead?]
“No. I’ll see you later in the capital. I have urgent business with the Young Master.”
He felt he needed to figure out how to clean up this mess. And then he prayed.
‘Young Master. Please, just don’t cause any big accidents!’
***
“My Lady!!!”
A maid of the Doros family hurriedly sought out the fifth daughter.
“I’m busy, where have you been? You surely know that tomorrow is my wedding.”
“Listen, do you know what I saw?!!”
“What’s all the fuss about?”
The maid narrowed her eyes.
“I went to see for myself because your husband-to-be seemed suspicious. I heard a rumor among the employees that he has a thing for Elves.”
“A thing for Elves? Ho-hot! My husband has quite unique taste. Ah! Humans and Elves look similar, so I suppose that could be it.”
“That’s not the important part. The point is that he’s carrying an Elf around as his adjutant! Doesn’t it smell fishy?”
“That is a bit interesting.”
“But they went into the hospital garden and stayed there for a long time before coming out. Seeing the state they were in, it was clearly…”
They must have done something. No, it was almost a certainty.
“I already expected as much. He is a man rumored to be a rake and a scoundrel.”
“I know that, but…”
“He must have been lonely on the ship. It’s not a flaw to carry a lover or two.”
“Even so, his wedding is tomorrow!”
The maid was furious, but the Young Lady was unfazed. She was confident that once he married her, he would never seek out such a pathetic Elf lover again.
“So. Why were you late?”
***
Contrary to the cold attitude…
“She was a kind maid. For a Shoggoth, she handled things quite cleanly.”
She had called a limousine and personally escorted them to the ship. She even coordinated to skip the cumbersome paperwork for departure. Not only that…
“Thanks to her, I was able to secure as many goods as I wanted with ease. She had very good connections.”
So Jin replied with a satisfied smile. He was acting as both the navigator and the supply chief. As expected of a named character, his work was efficient.
“Then, let’s set sail immediately! All crew to their stations.”
“Shall I request guidance from the control center?”
“No. We’ll move to another planet first and warp from there!”
Everyone looked at me with strange expressions. It was a command that didn’t make sense logically.
Shick!
Then, the Vice-Captain spoke while moving his cast-covered hand. And he spoke with a strong tone.
“All fleets, depart immediately! Target planet c-2!”
Rumble!
The boarding bridge connected to the station was severed. 115 ships left the space station simultaneously. The station’s fortress cannons moved ominously.
[This is the control center! What is going on?!]
“We are just doing a brief test run, so no need to make a fuss.”
[Is that so?! Please contact us anytime if you need anything, Sir Husband!]
The maid had even managed to win over the control center. When I was called ‘Husband,’ they were completely subservient. The fortress cannons aimed at us were quickly closed.
“Understood. Good work.”
Shoggoths are surprisingly foolish. It was because they believed they had eyes that could see through people. ‘Even if I deceive the world, the world cannot deceive me.’ Exactly that kind of mindset. Their accuracy wasn’t even 100%, yet their dependency on it was extreme.
“Ignite engines! All fleets, advance at full speed.”
Our fleet began to pick up speed. Below the ships, the Doros family estate was visible.
Half of the planet was dark. One side was always day, and the other was always night. The Shoggoths only resided in the part where it was day.
“I’m never coming back here again!”
I watched the receding planet.
***
The Shoggoth Family Head’s office.
The butler rushed in.
“My Lord!! The husband-to-be has disappeared.”
“Haha. He’s probably playing somewhere. He’s a man famous for enjoying himself, so it’s natural he’d be restless.”
“No, that’s not it. He led the fleets and left.”
“He must be so excited for tomorrow that he’s quite fired up. I suppose he wants to set the mood.”
“He warped to another star system entirely. When I followed to check, he was heading toward the Marshal’s Office Center.”
Even at those words, the Family Head remained relaxed. This made the butler even more agitated.
“Now is not the time for this. We must strongly protest to the Park family. He used the marriage contract as a pretext to steal our estate’s sacred relic and run away. We must get it back.”
Even if it was a sacred relic they couldn’t use, its value didn’t disappear. It could be sold at a very high price if put up for auction. If not that, it could be used politically.
“Fufufu. Have you forgotten what kind of child our fifth daughter is?”
“Ah! The greatest beauty of Sector 16. And the genius of our clan!”
“Correct. Our prospective son-in-law said so. He said he was still severely lacking.”
“Ah…!”
“Even though I said it was fine, he insisted on going to earn military merit.”
“It seems I misunderstood for a moment.”
The Family Head believed he would come back for his daughter before long.
***
The fifth Young Lady also heard the news.
“My husband left?”
“My Lady. He must have eloped in the middle of the night because he fell for that Elf girl!”
“No. That can’t be.”
Just then, the butler entered.
“My Lady. It seems we have to postpone the wedding for a while.”
“Butler. What happened?”
“It seems he already spoke with the Family Head. He said he is still too lacking to be united with you.”
“Ah…!”
The Young Lady’s skin turned red.
‘I will wait. My husband…!’
In her heart, she cheered for Park Yu. Hoping that he would return after building his reputation.
***
However…
Shameful rumors spread quickly within the estate. That the fifth Young Lady had been used by Park Yu and then abandoned.
The rumors weren’t groundless.
Many people had witnessed Park Yu and his adjutant enter the garden and come out much later. Their appearance gave a clear answer as to what they had been doing. Especially considering that both of them were supposedly patients?
“Our poor Young Lady, what are we going to do?”
“The sacred relic was stolen just like that.”
“I heard the Family Head even risked danger to perform the ritual.”
No one knew about the curse placed on the Family Head. Or that it had been promised to be given away in the first place. Or that the Family Head had internally added the condition of canceling the broken engagement.
“How did the Young Lady get stuck with a guy like that?”
“I heard she had no choice because she’s pregnant?”
The Park family butler felt his head spin.
‘What was the Young Master thinking!!’
Was it revenge for the broken engagement? Or did he grow tired of her after having her once?
‘I arrived too late.’
However, on the other hand, it was impressive. As they say, even a slug has a talent for crawling. To steal the heart of the proud daughter of the Doros family.
‘As expected of our sector’s greatest libertine!’
While the Park family butler was deep in thought…
“Hey there. You Picol fellow. What family do you belong to?”
“Hahaha. I came from quite a distance. Oh boy, look at the time. I’m busy, so I’ll be going now.”
He wanted to dig for more information, but staying here any longer might lead to him being caught. If it were discovered that he was the Park family butler? He might be beaten by an angry mob. The fifth Young Lady was the pride of the people here.
‘Let’s hurry to the Marshal’s Office Center!’
He decided he must persuade the Young Master and return the sacred relic first.
***
The wormhole navigation was smooth. There was no need to stop midway. I had an S-rank navigator with me.
‘This is great!’
Obtaining So Jin was an incredible stroke of luck.
“Captain! Our fleet will arrive at the Marshal’s Office Center soon. Please authorize the wormhole exit.”
“Authorized.”
As we exited the wormhole, the world looked like it was overlapping twice. Simultaneously, a time dilation effect occurred.
“We have safely exited the wormhole.”
“Good. Send the signal immediately.”
The star system where the Marshal’s Office was located was heavily guarded. After exiting the warp, one must not move their ship recklessly.
“Captain. We have received access permission for the flagship to planet c-1. The rest of the fleet is instructed to move to planet c-2.”
“Spread the word to the fleet.”
C stands for Center. The numbers are assigned to planets in order based on the Center. If Earth were the Center planet, Mars would be c-1, Jupiter c-2, and Saturn c-3. Then what about Venus? It would be c+1.
“Captain. Communication from our division.”
“The content?”
“A request for disbandment.”
Our division had already fulfilled its duty long ago. I was merely grateful that they had remained without requesting disbandment until now.
“I thank you for your devotion.”
I was the first to salute as I saw them off.
[Escort Ship: It was an honor to serve you.]
“I, too, shall remember this with pride.”
[Patrol Ship: Buy me a drink next time. Aren’t you the best at playing in Sector 16?]
“I will. When we meet next time, I’ll treat you to something grand.”
I’m sorry, but that won’t happen. As soon as I finish the report, I’m going to run away without looking back. It’s bye-bye, see you later to the people of this neighborhood!
Beep.
The communication was cut.
“One escort ship and one patrol ship are leaving our formation.”
I turned my head and looked toward where the Center planet was located.
“Target: Center planet. Move at full speed.”
“Order received. Moving at full speed.”
The ship moved forward rapidly.