Chapter 9: A Scoundrel’s Mercy

The side of the medium mobile ship we captured had a hole in it.

The cause, of course, was us ramming into it.

It was like giving the disease and then the medicine.

Maintenance soldiers swarmed the area and began patching it up.

Meanwhile, the escort and patrol ships that had been staying far away approached as if to provide cover.

“There’s no reaction.”

The space station remained silent.

It seemed they didn’t even dream of attacking with their decrepit fixed cannons.

Or perhaps there was a malfunction in the battery.

“Captain. What should we do about the station?”

It could never be taken by boarding actions alone.

“Connect the transmission.”

I said as I sat in the captain’s seat of the medium mobile ship.

‘Oh!’

It felt like my body was floating in the air.

I thought it couldn’t get any better than when I sat in the captain’s seat of my own dilapidated ship, but this was on another level.

Perhaps because this was a state-of-the-art vessel, there was no comparison.

“This ship is now the flagship.”

It overwhelmed my previous ship not only in the captain’s seat but in almost every other aspect as well.

However, my old ship was superior in acceleration and top speed.

That was only natural, as this was a medium mobile ship, while the old one—no matter how worn out—was a light mobile ship.

“Commander! The transmission is connected.”

The one who connected the transmission was a soldier from the patrol ship.

That was why he called me Commander instead of Captain.

[If you do not leave the ship and retreat quietly, we will kill all of these people.]

They had taken hostages.

About 5,000 people resided on a small station like that, yet they had been suppressed by fewer than 200 soldiers.

It was expected. If one couldn’t properly handle the Darkness, resisting was just a dog’s death.

Furthermore, those soldiers were elites.

[If you reject our demands, we will drop the space station onto the planet.]

I turned off the microphone and asked the vice-captain.

“How many residents live on that planet?”

“Roughly five million.”

“Are they natives?”

“No. They are colonists.”

In that case, most of those five million would die.

The most important role of a space station was to suppress the planet’s will.

The moment the station disappeared, the DNA of the people living on the planet would rapidly collapse.

“So, in effect, five million people are being held hostage.”

It was a headache.

Given the situation, no one would hold me responsible.

However, many people would say my handling of the matter was disappointing.

“Yes. In the current situation, the Marshal’s Command won’t have the luxury to provide emergency relief to a place like this. For all intents and purposes, they should be considered dead.”

The Marshal’s Command would be busy preparing for war.

“This is troublesome.”

That didn’t mean I could accept their demands, either.

I lacked the mana stones to leave this star system while relying on a rookie helmsman.

“How about abandoning all other ships and gathering the mana stones into one vessel to escape?”

“We might run into pirates or alien races. A single ship is too precarious.”

There was a reason the patrol was composed of five ships.

Space was vast, and it was impossible to control everywhere.

“I’ll have to try and persuade them as much as possible.”

I unmuted the mic.

“There is no negotiation with cowardly hostage-takers.”

At my words, my subordinates looked at me with horrified expressions.

As if to ask why I was intentionally provoking them.

However.

[You may take the ship, so just retreat like this.]

They responded with a surprisingly low profile.

Those guys didn’t want to die either.

“This ship is already mine. You’re quite foolish to try and negotiate using my property.”

I could see the man’s eyes rolling.

[Do… do you not care if the people on this planet die?]

“You seem to be mistaken about something. I have no obligation to protect them. I am merely a patrol squadron commander.”

[…]

The man’s mouth hung open.

He seemed flustered by how cold my reaction was.

“And I am a high-ranking noble. Why should I care about commoners like that?”

[If… if you are a noble, shouldn’t you practice noblesse oblige?]

“Where can you find a noble who follows such things in these troubled times? For someone who despicably takes civilians hostage, you sure are romantic.”

At my words, the face of the defeated soldier was dyed with bewilderment.

Then, his gaze turned elsewhere.

[Who… who is this guy?!]
[My lords, please surrender. That commander is a man who wouldn’t even blink if this station crashed.]
[What do you mean by that?]
[He is a member of the prestigious Park family from District 16, and our district’s notorious scoundrel.]

I heard the despairing voice of a hostage.

I turned my head toward Picol.

“I’m not quite that bad. You know how rumors get distorted and inflated.”

This was a bit awkward.

The higher the position a noble reached, the more important their reputation became.

Still, that infamy was proving useful right now.

[Even so… we… cannot surrender.]

They probably couldn’t surrender because it was a secret operation.

It would tarnish the reputation of Marshal Imperium for conducting such an operation without a declaration of war.

If that happened, Marshal Imperium wouldn’t just sit idly by.

He would slaughter that man’s family.

“I know you are Marshal Imperium’s subordinates, so don’t waste your energy.”

[What are you talking about? We… we absolutely are not!]

“The evidence is overflowing. I don’t even need to torture and interrogate you.”

[Do you think I’ll believe that!]

I wouldn’t believe it if I were him, either.

No, it was hard to believe.

“For your information, that fellow Sagitta was beaten by this elder and suffered critical damage. Your operation has failed, and I have collected a mountain of evidence.”

[That’s impossible! With only five patrol ships… more importantly, how do you know our General’s name?]

“I told you. He received a true education from this elder. Shall I guess the orders sent to your ship as well?”

[…]

“You were likely told to destroy the colony.”

[Gasp!]

The man’s pupils dilated.

It was obvious how Sagitta would act the moment he lost more than half of his ships.

“Last chance. Look at this and decide.”

I sent him the footage taken in the asteroid field.

Because it was filmed using a special principle, the video could not be manipulated.

[No… no way…]

In the video, Sagitta’s pathetic fleet, with only eight ships remaining, was visible.

The other ships had sunk in a gruesome state.

“I am giving you an opportunity. The moment our ship lands on the station, you will be annihilated before you can even drop the station onto the planet.”

This was a lie.

If that were possible, I would have docked the ship already.

But those guys would believe it.

They wouldn’t know that we had barely captured this ship with only a few people remaining.

“So, stay captured quietly, and then return home through a prisoner exchange.”

[I appreciate your consideration. We will surrender.]

Thud!

The man fell to his knees on the floor.

‘It actually worked?’

What if the persuasion had failed?

Just as the vice-captain said, I would have had to gamble on moving supplies to one ship and returning to the Marshal’s Command.

“You there, Village Head. Bind them.”

[I… I am the Magistrate.]

“Whether it’s a Village Head or a Magistrate, it’s all the same.”

I docked the ship at the station.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, Captain.”

The vice-captain drew his weapon and followed me in case of any accidents.

Armed combat soldiers with shields stood in front of me.

“It’s gruesome.”

In the corridor, palm-sized corpses were piled up naked.

“Are they Fairies?”

“No. Judging by the two pairs of wings, they appear to be Fake Fairies.”

The vice-captain spoke calmly.

Fake Fairies were quite popular as pets.

Their lifespan was about 20 years.

The price range varied depending on the grade.

Given their large numbers, they were likely the specialty product of this colony.

However.

“These barbaric bastards!”

The vice-captain suddenly grew angry.

Moving further inside, Fairies with four pairs of wings were seen.

Four pairs meant they were Real Fairies.

They were also naked and left lying around bloodied and battered.

“It seems they looted it since they were going to destroy the colony anyway.”

“This is a clear crime.”

“And who would punish this crime?”

“That is…”

The Empire had already half-collapsed.

They had succeeded in repelling the massive alien invasion, but the Emperor had died during the war, and the young Emperor had been reduced to a puppet for the treacherous ministers.

The warlords, who had grown powerful through the long war with the aliens, ruled each region like kings.

“Thank you for saving us, Commander!”

When we arrived at the control center, an old Fairy flew over like an arrow and bowed his head.

“Are you the Village Head here?”

“I am! Please forgive me. I spoke recklessly to help with the persuasion.”

He was likely referring to his comment about me being the greatest scoundrel in District 16.

“As a token of our gratitude, we have prepared the highest grade. Haven’t you wanted one for a long time?”

They seemed to have prepared a gift in their own way to avoid being harmed.

I was not a stingy person who refused gifts.

“Bring it out!”

At the Magistrate’s words, Fairies brought out a fairly large birdcage.

“How do you like it?”

Inside the cage was a Fake Fairy with two pairs of wings.

The Fake Fairy was trembling in fear.

‘The gift they prepared was a Fake Fairy?’

The vice-captain grimaced and advised me.

“Captain. Keeping a Fake Fairy on board requires a lot of work. If it’s to satisfy your sexual desires, there are many other means.”

Fake Fairies were called pets, but most were used for special purposes.

“Tsk. Take it away.”

“Oh dear, Commander, please forgive me.”

The Magistrate landed on the floor and prostrated himself.

Since I refused, he must have thought he was in big trouble.

After all, he had insulted a noble to his face.

“Never mind that. Where is the person who flew the fighter earlier?”

“He… he is over there.”

In the distance, I saw a Fairy swinging tiny fists at a bound prisoner.

“How dare someone as filthy-looking as you try to touch my body!! Die! Die!!!”

One could tell at a glance that she had quite the temper.

She persistently struck the bridge of the Lycan’s nose.

“Chris!! Come here.”

At those words, the Fairy came flying over.

When our eyes met, she started and quickly bowed her head.

“Was it you who flew that fighter earlier?”

“Yes…”

As she gave a short answer, the flustered Village Head quickly defended her.

“Please understand. She’s just very shy.”

A girl like that flew a fighter and fought a battleship alone?

Not only that, she was beating up a bound prisoner.

Of course, it probably didn’t hurt to be hit by those fists, but she had persistently targeted only the bridge of the nose.

“She’s a young one, only 40 years old.”

The Village Head added as he saw my absurd expression.

“That’s a shame. I was going to take her with me.”

With the skill she showed earlier, she was at least D-rank.

For comparison, the helmsman on my ship wasn’t even worth an F-rank.

“As expected! Your discernment is amazing. A Real Fairy is much better than a Fake Fairy. Although she’s still young, if you wait just ten years, she will be more than enough to serve as a concubine.”

In this world, one was treated as a child until the age of 50.

“I don’t think her parents would allow it.”

If I promised her the position of a concubine, they would surely allow it.

However.

“I’m not going to take her as a concubine, but to train her as a helmsman.”

“Ah!! That doesn’t matter. This child is an orphan!”

It was a bit of a shame that she was a Fairy.

From what I remembered, there wasn’t even a C-rank helmsman among the Fairy race.

Perhaps it was a racial characteristic.

Still, she would be much better than my current trash-tier helmsman.

“This is not a matter for you, the Village Head, to decide.”

Becoming a crew member of a combat ship was by no means a light matter.

It was a world with an average lifespan of 500 years.

Yet, crew members died quite easily.

I approached her and crouched down.

“As you’ve heard, I have no intention of taking you as a concubine. If you were thinking of changing your fortune by becoming a noble’s concubine, stay here.”

“I’d rather have that!!! My dream is to become a helmsman on a combat ship!!!”

Her eyes sparkled like stars.