I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship, so I Became a Space Mercenary

Chapter 329 - A Sweet Morning

Translator: SFBaka

I felt someone’s warm and soft presence beside me and woke up. Breathing, a slight rustling of clothes…… and a soft, warm hand that’s touching my cheek. I didn’t feel any hostility, killing intent, or malice. Just gentleness.

“It’s time to wake up, My Lord.”

“Nn……”

When I opened my eyes and turned toward the direction of the voice, my gaze met two bright, golden irises staring back at me. The owner of those beautiful irises joyfully squinted her eyes and smiled gently at me.

“Good morning, My Lord.”

“Yeah, good morning.”

I exchanged greetings with the other person, closed my eyes again for a bit, and eventually got up from the bed. Un, my clothes weren’t disheveled. Well, I always slept in just my boxers, so yeah. Anyway, there weren’t any signs that I’ve engaged in anything sexual last night.

Kugi, the silver-haired, fox-eared girl with golden irises who woke me up, blushed red when she saw my current appearance. Un, I’ve ended up exposing my upper body when I got up from the bed after all. It seems Kugi blushed due to seeing my naked upper body. Hahaha, how innocent.

By the way, Kugi was also properly dressed. Obviously. She doesn’t have that kind of relationship with me yet. Given Kugi’s apparent devotion to me, there’s a good chance she wouldn’t refuse if I did ask for something like that. Or rather, she probably would agree unconditionally. Well, it’s not like I feel like doing something like that right now anyway.

“M-My Lord? Please don’t stare at me so seriously like that. Um, I cannot compose myself if you do……”

Her fox ears fluttered above her head as she turned away from me, but she did throw some sideward glances from time to time. What is with this utterly cute creature? She makes me feel like bullying her. It’s not like I would though. I’m a rational and gentlemanly person after all.

“Sorry. Since I already woke up, I’ll go ahead and get dressed.”

“Y-Yes…… I shall take my leave.”

Kugi bowed her head and ran out of the room. Un, she left a lingering scent. It was a kind of ‘fluffy’ and nice smell. Rather than perfume, it smelled close to incense. Just how do girls manage to smell so good? Well, a man like me who doesn’t have a speck of fashion sense wouldn’t probably understand anyway.

“Well, since Kugi already woke me up, I guess it’s time to get out of bed.”

It was a pretty nice start to a new day.

_______________________________________________________________

“Morning guys.”

“Good morning, Hiro-sama.”

“Morning.”

I put on some clothes, fixed myself a bit in the bathroom, and went to the dining room. Mimi and Elma were already in the middle of preparing breakfast. Well, all they needed to do was take out some drinks though. The tableware would come together with the meals after ordering them from the auto-cooker.

“Huh? Kugi didn’t come here yet? I thought she went ahead of me.”

“Did you do something naughty to her?”

“I didn’t. I’m a well-behaved gentleman.”

“A gentleman huh……?”

Why are you looking at me like that, Elma-san? Well, I did get my claws on Mimi and Elma straight away after all. And then, I welcomed Mei, Tina, and Whisker one after another and did ‘this and that’ with them without any reserve as well. So, it couldn’t be helped if she doubted my claim of being a well-behaved gentleman.

“Well, her circumstances are a bit special after all. I think I should observe her for a little while longer.”

“Is that so? Well, if Hiro thinks so, then I suppose that’s how it is. For you anyway.”

“I also need time to resolve myself you know.”

“You sure didn’t need time to harden your resolve in my case though?”

“I guess. I wonder why? I’m not sure why, but I didn’t feel any of that sort of hesitation when it came to you, Elma. Maybe I was sure you’d take good care of me, so I just went for it.”

“What the heck are you going on about, mister?”

Even though she retorted sharply, Elma’s expression told me she couldn’t get enough of me buttering her up.

Mimi seemed like she would just up and die if I didn’t take her in back then, or maybe she would have faced an even worse fate. So I was prepared when I responded to her feelings, and Mimi herself also knew what she was getting into, so we were both resolved from the start. That’s how I and Mimi were able to enter into an intimate relationship right away.

Then how about Elma? I helped her out when she was absolutely cornered and didn’t have any more options, but once she’d overcome her troubles, she was a strong and reliable comrade who also had a lot of experience under her belt. That’s probably why I didn’t need to resolve myself and just looked forward to her spoiling me.

“I can also spoil you a lot, Hiro-sama!”

“Waaah, Mama-”

“What a big kid we have here……”

I jumped into Mimi’s outstretched arms and plunged right into her ample chest. Ah, how amazing. Truly wonderful. Overwhelming. I was absolutely overwhelmed. So this was motherhood…… It felt like I was about to regress into a toddler and cry out.

“Mornin’ everyone…… Whoah, gettin’ hot and heavy this early in the mornin’ huh.”

“Muu-……”

A cheerful voice echoed around the dining room followed by a grumpy groan.

“Hey. Good morning you two. It’s a great morning huh.”

“Can ya stop burying your face on Mimi’s breasts first before ya greet us?”

“Big Brother, me too. Let me do that to you too!”

The owners of the voices approached me. One lightly slapped the back of my head and the other began to pull on my arm. But Mimi didn’t let go of me. She continued to hold me tightly. Un, how wonderful. It felt wonderful, but also a bit stuffy. I could still take my breath thanks to the fabric of Mimi’s clothes though. Ah, but how wonderful. It smells so good and feels so soft. It makes me wanna stay like this forever.

“C’mon. Stop messing around over there and eat your breakfast already guys.”

“Yes ma’am. Good morning, Tina, Whisker. Thanks Mimi.”

Because Mama Elma got angry, I obediently left Mimi’s embrace and greeted the dwarven mechanic sisters Tina and Whisker. I also thanked Mimi properly for the early morning pampering. A whiff of breasts a day keeps the doctor away. It might even serve as a cure for cancer one day…… Well, I suppose something like cancer should already have a proper cure in this world though. Maybe even a med-pod would do the trick.

“Yes, yes, good mornin’.”

“Good morning. Please let me hug and stroke your head later as well, Big Brother.”

“Sure!”

After the three responded, we went over to our trusty auto-cooker, Tetsujin V. By the way, Elma had already started eating her breakfast meal. She’s eating food resembling chunky steak and mashed potatoes so early in the morning. Her stomach was strong as always.

“I-I’m sorry I’m late.”

When I got in front of the auto-cooker, Kugi also arrived in the dining room. Hm? It kinda felt like she just took a bath, didn’t she? Well, the baths installed in the Black Lotus were fully automatic from bathing to drying, so you wouldn’t appear moist after taking one. Even so, I’ve already spent a lot of time in this world so I could kinda already tell if a person had just taken a bath from their atmosphere and stuff.

“It’s not like you made us wait for you so you don’t have to apologize.”

Well, purposefully pointing something like that out was a tasteless act. So, I just let it be and beckoned to Kugi so she can order breakfast from Tetsujin. I planned to come to the training room after this for a workout, so I entered that info on Tetsujin V’s interface. By doing so, Tetsujin V will be able to come up with the optimal meal set by analyzing data such as my physical condition and then picking appropriate dishes to prepare from its massive library. Science really was amazing huh.

I enjoyed the delicious meal Tetsujin prepared for me with everyone, then went to the training room for a light workout. So far, it was just my usual morning routine. Oh, and just to clarify, my usual morning routine also includes the next thing I’m about to do.

“Good morning, Mei.”

“Good morning, Master.”

When I stepped inside the cockpit of the Black Lotus, a beautiful woman in a maid outfit standing in the middle of the cockpit turned toward me. She was a beautiful woman with long, black hair that reached her waist. She also wore red-framed glasses. The white mechanical devices that extended from the spots on top of her ears were polished to a shiny finish as usual. Un. The strongest maid I came up with was doing fine today as well.

“How’s the Black Lotus doing?”

“Good. The overhaul and upgrades have improved its total firepower by 28%, its shield performance by 31%, and its maneuverability by 12%.”

“Sounds great. There are no downsides to improving the performance after all.”

“It’s just as you say.”

Mei nodded while a thick cord stretched out from the back of her neck. The cord was connected to the Black Lotus. That meant that Mei and the Lotus were directly interfacing with one another. The purpose, of course, was to allow Mei to take control of the entire ship. The entire Black Lotus was easily managed and operated by Mei alone.

“Any other problems?”

“None so far. Thanks to the overhaul, I cannot detect any problems. The detailed checks performed by Tina-sama and Whisker-sama also showed that there were no problems.”

“I see. That’s good. I’m always troubling you, Mei. You also put in some work processing Tina and Whisker’s official transfer of employment.”

“No, this much is no trouble at all. Above all, I am simply happy to be of service to you, Master.”

Mei lightly shook her head and replied with her usual deadpan expression. Well, for an AI with immense data processing power like her, I suppose it would be a piece of cake to process Tina and Whisker’s official transfer of employment from Space Dwerg to our crew.

“Even so, I want you to accept my feelings of gratitude at least. Do you want a reward? You’re always working hard for us, so I’d like to thank you in some way.”

“No, I do not particularly need anything. I am already satisfied with you purchasing Black Lotus and allowing me to manage it, Master.”

“I see……”

“But if you still wish to give me a reward……”

Mei stretched her arms out while still sporting her deadpan expression.

“Can I also ask for an opportunity to spoil you, Master?”

“……Do you really treat that as a reward, Mei?”

“Yes.”

But wasn’t that more of a reward for me? However, Mei nodded with a resolute attitude.

“I have some plans after this, so just a bit, alright?”

“Yes. I am well aware, so you do not have to worry.”

Mei stretched her arms further as if she was beckoning me to hurry up. Well, don’t mind if I do then.

Afterward, I found myself within a veritable paradise and almost fell asleep. Mei’s spoiling was really dangerous, as expected.