[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 731: Breakthrough (3)
The voyage to the Earthship.
In truth, the distance was not particularly great, so it would be a very short voyage.
Of course, since their destination was a planetship, to Sevio, who was a prisoner, it probably felt as though he was setting out on a journey from which he would never return.
-…Are you really going to release me someday? Alive?
“Of course. Once the Catalog issue is resolved, I’d be willing to release you this very instant. Call someone with a Weapon Catalog here, whether they’re from the Twelve Swords Council or anywhere else.”
-…I cannot disgrace the name of the Council. And if I were to set things in motion for such a despicable reason…….
“Why, do they have a concept of blood vengeance there too? Like Salzeo.”
-Of course. Misusing the power of the Council is not tolerated.
“The power of the Council… I don’t think you’ve shown me any of it yet.”
As Yeongwoo scratched his nose and looked out the window, the Earthship finally began to appear in the distance.
A free celestial body that had voluntarily left its natural orbit, and a wonder of the universe that was effectively being used as a prison camp.
-…Good heavens.
Before long, Mushio Tare turned his head after Yeongwoo, saw the Earthship, and wore an astonished expression.
“Why, is this your first time seeing a planetship too?”
-Of course.
“You’ll be seeing it often from now on. You’ll have to spend the rest of your life aboard it, after all.”
At these words from Yeongwoo, Mushio blinked.
-How many… crew members are aboard that vessel?
“Crew members? Well.”
In truth, every resident of the Earthship could be considered a crew member, but strictly speaking, the only one who actually influenced its navigation was Acting Captain Mantero.
“I think there’s only one……? Of course, there are some other members, but there’s only one person who knows how to navigate.”
-One……?
Fear briefly crossed Mushio’s face.
It was because he had instinctively realized that the shipmaster before him was an extraordinarily ignorant man.
At least when it came to space navigation.
“But now there are two. So wouldn’t that double our ability to operate the ship?”
-I cannot help but be deeply curious about who has been bringing that vessel along until now.
“Exactly. I’m curious too. About what kind of chemistry the two of you will have. I hope you get along well.”
Acting Captain Mantero, formerly the chief navigator of the royal family, who, true to his background, possessed a somewhat rigid disposition.
And Mushio Tare, who had been chosen by a Great One and served as the lifelong navigator of the aberrant vessel Soruon.
The two navigators undoubtedly had completely different dispositions.
Even the way they practiced navigation would likely be different.
“Our family has so little foundation that even our positions are assigned according to ability. Still, we can’t disregard the person who was working here first, so for now, Mr. Mantero is your senior.”
-Mantero… Is that the name of the sole crew member?
“Yeah. He’s currently the acting captain. Apparently, he used to be the chief navigator of the Delsen royal family.”
-…Delsen.
Mushio Tare quietly mulled over Acting Captain Mantero’s history.
Then he muttered something meaningful.
-He must be rather inflexible.
“He seemed that way at first, but he changed somewhat while living aboard the Earthship. A lot happened in the meantime.”
Had it not been Mantero himself who had conceived the idea of ramming into Pahalufe?
He had proposed using the wreckage created by the collision with Pahalufe to block the pursuing fleet’s attacks.
Yeongwoo did not know just how severe Mushio’s prejudice against people from Delsen was, but he could be certain that Mantero, who had already gained experience aboard the Earthship, would be somewhat different from the average Delsen native.
“Anyway, when we get there, the two of you should have a good talk. Discuss how you’ll divide the work too. Ah, and one more thing…….”
Since the subject had come up, Yeongwoo took the aberrant vessel Soruon, in which Mushio Tare had been imprisoned until recently, out from inside his clothes.
More precisely, he took out the Arophin in which Soruon had been packaged down to the size of his palm.
“Once we arrive, Soruon will need to undergo maintenance too. I’ll entrust the vessel’s overall operation to you. You piloted it your entire life, so you know it better than anyone else, right?”
At this, Mushio Tare nodded.
-Of course.
“Though I don’t know whether the Earthship has the resources needed to maintain Soruon. Since it’s a vessel made of Godiar, wouldn’t it be difficult to repair?”
-It will not require repairs precisely because it is made of Godiar. I am fully capable of handling its internal maintenance, so you need not worry.
At this, Yeongwoo took out the Arophin containing Keniscita.
“Then what about this? Can you maintain this too?”
-It is the Cleaver.
‘The Cleaver,’ Keniscita.
True to its nickname, Keniscita was a special vessel whose inner plating, as well as its outer plating, was made of Godiar, and so its internal maintenance was bound to be difficult as well.
-Even with dozens of specialized technicians, shaving away Godiar takes a great deal of time.
“You mean that maintenance is possible, but there won’t be enough time.”
-Yes. But under most circumstances, it will not require maintenance. Unless you intend to wage war against the entire Police Bureau, that is.
“That’s very reassuring to hear. We won’t be going to war with the Police Bureau for a while.”
Of course, the future was unknowable.
He had already gotten his hands on three aberrant vessels, numerous aberrant cannons, and even a navigator who had served a Great One, so who could know what else might happen in the future?
“It looks like we’re almost there.”
As Yeongwoo watched the Earthship, which had drawn considerably closer than before, Obstruction of Official Duties, who had been lying flat for some time, raised a finger.
× Don’t tell me that’s your vessel.
“Yeah.”
× No matter how I look at it, that’s a planet……?
“That’s why it’s called a planetship. By the way, it seems you know what a planet is.”
× Of course. I possess basic common knowledge.
“True. It’s the planetship that’s closer to being nonsensical.”
While Yeongwoo conversed with the anti-government pistol, Earth finally made its presence known within his consciousness.
○ You came back at an incredible time.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
‘The timing? Why?’
○ Because it’s almost time to pay your taxes.
‘Ah.’
Yeongwoo’s brow immediately furrowed.
‘No wonder I found myself choosing the anti-government pistol.’
○ But aren’t you going to evade a huge amount of tax through the Corrupt Public Official anyway?
‘Even so, it probably won’t be able to block all my taxes. I’ve earned far too much, after all.’
○ Then you’ll have to pay them gladly.
Indeed, how could a mere fifth-class existence block the taxes that even the Chairman could not evade?
Meanwhile, the Salzeo vessel carrying Yeongwoo’s party was passing through Earth’s atmosphere, and before long, its hull began to shake violently.
“Vessels belonging to the Great Ones don’t shake like this, do they?”
When Yeongwoo asked this, Mushio placed a hand against the vessel’s inner wall and replied.
-No. With the exception of large vessels, the rest are designed to transmit external vibrations to a certain degree. Deliberately.
“Really? Is there a reason?”
-Because only then can the navigator recognize the nature of the region through which the vessel is currently passing.
“Is it similar to how being able to feel pain makes the body less likely to get hurt?”
-It can be viewed that way.
“Then that means whether it’s Keniscita or Soruon, it’ll shake rather unsightly when passing through somewhere like an atmosphere.”
-Yes. But as its navigator, my faith in Soruon is absolute. It is a vessel capable of resolving nearly any problem.
“Then the same must be true of Keniscita in practice. In terms of durability, Keniscita is actually superior, after all.”
-That is likely. Though I have never piloted it myself.
“You’ll get to pilot it yourself someday. Right now, there’s no one aboard the Earthship skilled enough to control an aberrant vessel.”
Around this time, the vessel descended into the ruins of Gwangjin District and touched down upon the soil of Earth.
Kuuuuung!
Then the entrance section slid aside, and the familiar-feeling night air swept over Yeongwoo.
“Huuup.”
Yeongwoo drew in a deep breath as though welcoming it.
Sevio, on the other hand, flared his nostrils before stiffening his whiskers.
-Ugh, what is this? The air is extremely polluted.
“Surely it’s nothing compared to the sewer you lived in.”
When Yeongwoo stepped out of the vessel first, he saw Earth running toward him from the distance, its long hair streaming behind it.
“What is it? What brings you all the way out here to meet me?”
『You came back with even more people again this time. So I came to see who they were.』
At this, Yeongwoo looked behind him and introduced the new passengers one by one.
“Now, that over there is a moving Catalog. And this one here is the most important…….”
When Yeongwoo stared intently at Mushio Tare, Mushio promptly showed Earth the proper respect and greeted it politely.
-It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Mushio Tare, the dedicated navigator of the flagship Soruon, and I have been appointed as the Earthship’s new combat navigator.
Mushio no longer introduced himself as a lifelong navigator.
And Earth, facing him, wore a blank expression for a moment as it alternated its gaze between Yeongwoo and Mushio.
『A new navigator… Excuse me, but what kind of navigator did you say you were?』
-A combat navigator. I possess the ability to take responsibility for naval gunfire and fleet engagements as a whole.
『……?』
As Earth stood there with its mouth hanging open, unable to close it in the face of such absurd confidence, Yeongwoo placed the Arophins he was holding into Earth’s arms.
“Since you’ve come all the way out here, take care of these for me.”
『…What are these?』
“Aberrant cannons. If you take them to the frogs in Australia, they’ll probably prepare them for installation.”
At this, Earth’s gaze naturally shifted to the Arophins still remaining in Yeongwoo’s hand.
『Then what’s that one you’re still holding?』
“Ah, this.”
When Yeongwoo picked up one of the Arophins, Mushio Tare reflexively stepped backward.
It was because he knew that the moment Yeongwoo threw it onto the ground, one of the aberrant vessels would unfold.
“These are aberrant vessels.”
『Aberrant vessels?』
“Personal vessels used by the Great Ones. We’ve already opened one, so now we only need to inspect the other two.”
As Yeongwoo said this, he searched for the Arophin bearing Keniscita’s emblem.
“Keniscita. Apparently, it was the vessel used by someone known as a master of swordsmanship.”
『…And?』
Fearing what Jeong Yeongwoo might do next, Earth’s voice carried a slight tremor of fear.
And understandably so, since Mushio Tare, who seemed to have experienced something with Yeongwoo in the Black Zone, had already moved far away from the scene.
“The Great Ones have a custom of leaving their legacies here and there, and apparently, they usually leave plenty of things aboard their personal vessels too. So, that master of swordsmanship… Who was it again?”
-The ruler of the Quarmal Star System, Dorta Muio.
Mushio Tare quickly added the explanation in response to Yeongwoo’s words.
At this, Yeongwoo nodded, then hurled the Arophin containing Keniscita toward the outskirts of the ruins of Gwangjin District with all his might.
Paaaaat!
“Right. If this Dorta Muio fellow put that much effort into making the vessel, wouldn’t he have left his legacy inside it too?!”
Along with Yeongwoo’s hopeful declaration, the Arophin exploded and produced an enormous cloud, and before long, a silver aberrant vessel shaped like an enormous awl emerged from within it.
『That’s a vessel? It looks like some kind of weapon.』
Earth pressed a hand to its forehead as though yet another source of trouble had appeared.
The utterly unpredictable planetshipmaster had dragged back another strange object.
Yeongwoo, on the other hand, had already shot forward like lightning and was opening Keniscita’s outer plating.
“Hurry up and come over here! We need to find out whether this thing was worth the money.”
At this, Earth’s eyes flew wide open.
『What, worth the money……? You did leave enough money to pay your taxes, right?』
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter