DE: Chapter 1 Part 11 – Type-From

After the battle ended, we returned to the battleship Albireo.

This time, we fought not only with the space pirates, but also with the people from Sectorial, who was one of the clues to find the Princess. Of course, the Elves managed to capture several of them as prisoners. However, most of the prisoners were low-ranking and there was no way they knew any useful information.

There was only one thing they had in common. They were soldiers of a fallen country. Former inhabitants of the planet Damraka that had mysteriously vanished and former guards of the inhabited planet Merial. No matter how much we poached them, all of them were silent and had no intention of having a proper conversation. They seemed to have strong hatred towards me as they glared at me with murderous intent.

How did I know that? Because when the prisoners were being taken away by the Elven soldiers, they glared at all of us. Of course, I couldn’t just let them glare at us without any reason, so I pointed at them and laughed loudly, and then mocked them by saying, “You got captured! That’s so lame!”

After that, there were various things that happened, like the prisoners causing a ruckus or Jumbo trying to hit me on the head, which I managed to dodge.

“There are few people more troublesome than soldiers from a fallen country who we have no one to hand them over to.”

“It’s because you provoked them that things have become even more troublesome.”

“A devil in work.”

“Please shut up, Mr. Maskman. If that was the being a devil, then the people who caused massive economic damage to the Zador Star system should be the one considered more devilish. The poor who only survived half-heartedly can’t even live properly now.”

I have once heard people having such thoughts.

Why was I born into this world?

If this is how things are going to be, I shouldn’t have been born.

They are always immersed in negative thoughts like this, drowning themselves in misery.

“But the people who created the initial trigger for that definitely cannot be forgivable.”

Lieutenant Burgess and Captain Aaron interrupted our conversation.

“Not only did they wipe out the Zador Star system, but also all the planets and colonies around the planet Damraka. That’s something that can never be forgiven.”

“Well, that’s true. Billions of people and thousands of military and civilian ships disappeared in that incident.”

“But what caused it? There was an information blackout during the incident at that time. Now only the military personnel who saw it know.”

“It’s a mystery. I think there are very few people who know the truth.”

Everyone thought about and discussed the disappearance. But I thought a little differently than these guys.

“The cause doesn’t really matter.”

At my intervention, everyone turned to look at me.

“In the end, it doesn’t change the fact that they disappeared in thin air. What’s the point of worrying about it now?”

“You’re being very harsh, Sergeant Kisaragi. What did they do wrong to disappear like this? More than billions of lives have been lost in this incident.”

Lieutenant Burgess gave me a sharp look. A hint of hatred began to appear in his eyes.

“The incompetent upper echelons of the planets around here gained a mysterious power. Using that power, they were deluded into thinking that independence was within reach. So, they declared independence. And then the dream ended, and it all crumbled away. Yes, I do sympathize with the ordinary citizens who got caught up in it.”

“But without that power, Damraka would be…”

“The outcome would have been the same. Power is just that after all. Even if they didn’t have the mysterious power, they would have used something different to achieve their goal.”

I cut Lieutenant Burgess off and continued.

“And then they were wiped out by the United Earth Federation of Unified Forces, without a speck left behind. Now the current planet Damraka… No, I should say the former planet Damraka. How pitiful they are. the ordinary citizens will have to follow the same path because of the incompetent upper echelons. The number of casualties may vary from billions to hundreds of millions, but in the end, it’s still the same.”

However, most of the ordinary citizens will leave the Zador Star system. If you think about it that way, it won’t be that different from the current situation, will it? Well, the economy will probably change quite a bit, though.

In the end, the crime of rebelling against the Unified Earth Government was irreversible. Now the upper echelons with similar dreams would be under constant surveillance and the poor would live even harder lives.

“In the first place. They disappeared because they used more power than they were capable of. There’s no room for sympathy for the idiots who used that power without considering the consequences.”

“I feel like you’re too indifferent. Sergeant Kisaragi thinks a little differently than the others.”

“It’d be boring if everyone thought the same, right? It doesn’t matter if I have different values.”

“I see, I understand. The Sergeant is a heretic.”

“Oi, Mr. Maskman. Are you picking a fight now? Wanna fight?”

“Calm down, you brat. I didn’t deny your opinion.”

“Hmph, I don’t even need your consent.”

“Aren’t you the one picking a fight now?”

And so our conversation naturally ended like this and we parted ways. We may have developed some animosity among ourselves after this conversation. But there was no point in worrying about such insignificant things.

“There’s a fine line between solitude and loneliness… don’t you think?”

I muttered one word and returned to my room.

After the battle, they decided to stop by the space station Vermouth to refuel and resupply. Vermouth is an old space station, so its model is outdated. However, due to numerous renovations over the years, it has become massive and distorted in shape.

This area is under the jurisdiction of the United Earth Government, so other countries’ military forces need permission to stop and resupply. However, since the Elves were with us, it seemed they had made arrangements in advance, allowing battleships and cruisers to openly receive supplies.

Incidentally, taking advantage of the opportunity, we were allowed to stay on Vermouth for half a day.

“Let’s head to the guild first. It’s about time to update my rank.”

“Sergeant Kisaragi might get a promotion because of this battle. Want to celebrate his promotion?”

“Isn’t this guy a Sergeant? Well, his attitude is shitty, but he’s been doing well in battles.”

“The world is coming to an end.”

“Sergeant Kisaragi could easily become a Lieutenant.”

“Well, maybe. I’ll go to the guild first. See you later.”

With that, I decided to leave Lieutenant Churi and the others. Then I headed to the mercenary guild.

The mercenary guild is a place where all mercenaries must join. This is the place where they are introduced to the military and companies for recruitment, and where they are hired to carry out missions.

By the way, those who pretend to be mercenaries without joining the mercenary guild end up as members of mafia families or space pirates. Others become bounty hunters, scavengers, or junk dealers.

Vermouth’s mercenary guild has a clean feel, as if it was a city hall. After all, the first impression comes from the appearance.

As I approached the reception desk, a robotic android girl was serving there. She must be quite popular, as her appearance was noteworthy. The last time she had a grayish look, and the time before that she had the appearance of an octopus.

“Hello. Welcome to the mercenary guild. What can I do for you?”

“I’d like to request to renew my rank and maintenance.”

“Certainly. It will cost credits to maintain your current rank, is that okay?”

“Totally.”

“You will also lose any achievements you had before the renewal, is that also fine with you?”

“More than fine.”

“Then I’ll proceed with the procedure. Please wait a moment until your number is called.”

The procedure would be completed immediately if I just wait a little. The renewal procedure is generally done by your employer. But if you’re a freelance mercenary, you have to do it yourself. I always do it myself. The reason is so that I can maintain my rank.

Maintaining one’s current rank means temporarily stopping promotion. Not only does it cost credits, even newbies will look down on you, so there’s almost no benefit to it. Furthermore, you lose all your achievements and accomplishments from before the update, so it’s even more pointless. If I had to say one good thing about maintaining ranks, it’s that a freelance mercenary can refuse dangerous requests if he wants.

To begin with, ranks within the mercenary guild hold considerable authority. The highest rank is Colonel, but once you reach the rank of Major, you not only have connections with the upper class but also have a high likelihood of establishing ties with the military.

In extreme cases, you’ll be invited to parties, find it easier to receive supplies and support from the military, and be given preferential treatment during joint operations.

But it’s difficult to get to that level. That’s because promotions are basically based on the results you achieve on the battlefield. Also, in the mercenary guild, it’s said that the real challenge begins at the rank of Second Lieutenant. It’s relatively easy to get promoted up to Second Lieutenant, but further than that, it becomes extremely difficult.

For these reasons, I don’t bother updating my rank unless there’s a very good reason. Then, why do I continue to maintain my current rank despite that?

“Until I get a deadly machine at hand, I’ll never rise higher than a Sergeant.”

You know, in anime and manga, lower-ranked soldiers often end up piloting special or prototype mecchas, right? I think it would be fine if I could at least make up to Second Lieutenant, but I don’t want to compromise.

“I will definitely get my hands on a special maccha. From there, my success story will begin.”

“Individual with reception number 235, please approach counter number 3.”

“Yes. I’m on my way.”

I completed the necessary procedures. Then, I decided to explore Vermouth’s facility.

Vermouth was originally a medium-sized space station, but its economic value skyrocketed with the disappearance of the group of planets centered on the planet Damraka. It also became the only solace for people with nowhere to go. Because of that, some parts of it became slums. And thugs and other bad guys who engaged in illegal trade were also attracted by the poor environment.

Despite so many obstacles, it was economically thriving. The local upper class and companies turned a blind eye to anything that happened here.

Vermouth’s facility was in a rather chaotic state. There were many anti-gravity stores, selling almost everything. In many stores, they sell a few sets of toys for both children and adults. The customers at such stores are different depending on the time of day.

I came to a store that sells AW combat support AI.

Even though it’s an AI, it’s not something to be underestimated. If it detects danger, it will move instinctively, and if I ask for advice when I’m unsure about a situation, it will offer its opinion.

Furthermore, higher-performance AIs come with learning capabilities and even throw in jokes and sarcasm as a bonus. Some AIs, with overly high consciousness, supposedly say they want an android body.

“The AI installed in my machine is just an accessory.”

My aircraft, the Zargan, is a mass-produced machine after all. Such mass-produced machines don’t have high-performance AI installed. It can be considered nothing more than a standard combat assistance device.

I looked at the product list on the terminal. I have saved up enough credits so I could buy whatever I want. But there’s a transport ship I wanted to purchase, so I didn’t want to waste money. In fact, I could buy it if I save a little more, so I definitely wouldn’t want to waste any.

“I wonder if there’s anything affordable and good~”

That being said, my own Gift has abilities that go beyond a combat assistance AI, so I didn’t particularly want it. Still, when it comes to humanoid weapons, a speaking AI is a classic, after all.

“Zargan doesn’t talk, though. But Madoc does.”

Even though the Zargan excels in mass production and operability, it does fall a bit short compared to its competitor, the Madoc. However, the main reason Zargan is so popular is its low cost, thanks to cost-cutting measures. Additionally, it is versatile enough to operate in various environments and maintains high expandability.

“Well, what I like most about it is the price.”

After looking at the support AI for a while, I found a rare AI, or rather a unit.

“Type-From…. what’s that?”

The word ‘From’ suddenly made me feel like a pervert for some reason. Well, I guess I would just stop caring about that.

[T/N: Japanese language doesn’t have different letters for F and P. If you just change the first letter and change the position of ‘r’…. Welp, you get the gist.]

Type-From is an AW-related company. When they were serious, they even proposed eliminating the head part during the design of the FA-14 Fortnight. On the flip side, when they’re just having fun, they create guns with such excessive attention to the weapons that while the accuracy is high, the rate of fire is so insane that the gun runs out of ammo almost immediately. Rumor has it that the rate of fire during the test firing at that time was the slowest of all.

Looking at a product from that company, I saw a pitch black sphere a little bigger than a soccer ball with three sensors attached to it.

When I checked the product details, it seemed it doesn’t properly power on. There was no specific malfunction, but it was suggested that there’s a bug causing it to freeze during combat.

“Freezing, huh? Well, if it can at least report on the battlefield situation, that’s good enough. The price is unusually cheap too. Alright, I’ll buy this one.”

I tapped the terminal screen and decided to make the purchase. Then, I completed the payment by syncing my device. Apparently, the product was supposed to be delivered in an hour, but since the delivery address is the warship, I decided to take it there myself.

Then, the cashier handed me the product. At that moment, they told me that the product was non-refundable, but I decided not to worry about it.

I turned on the power of the black spherical AI. Three sensors glowed red and stared at me.

“From now on, there will be no room for it to stop due to malfunctions, but please take care of me.”

As I said that, the red light flickered a few times. It seemed that it didn’t have a voice function. Holding the spherical AI under my arm, I continued my exploration in Vermouth.