Ch.191Crooked! (4)

#191

“You crazy bastard.”

“My dear friend! Seeing you in person gives quite a different impression!”

“Cut the crap. Wait, is this why you called me here?”

Dexter, visibly irritated, awkwardly shook hands with Eliya, who was smiling contentedly.

“Are these your ‘wives’? I heard polygamy isn’t legal on Earth.”

Four women dressed in their everyday clothes were gathered behind Dexter, staring at Eliya.

“If I announced I was marrying four women, people would think I’m some cult leader. You think I’d admit to that?”

“Perhaps we could arrange a group wedding ceremony later on a planet where polygamy is permitted…”

“I didn’t come all this way to discuss wedding plans with you.”

Dexter said, tapping his foot impatiently on the floor.

This was Eliya’s personal spacecraft.

They were only about a million kilometers away from Pluto.

* * *

During the meeting, Dexter had contacted Eliya directly to ask if he could check on the lifeform on Pluto, and Eliya had immediately responded with a firm answer.

-I’m afraid I don’t have the time.

“What? Isn’t there anyone else besides you?”

-Unfortunately, due to an upcoming business trip, my security team and personal spacecraft are already booked.

Eliya spoke with a seemingly regretful tone, but his excuse made no sense.

“Did I offend you somehow?”

When Dexter pressed him, Eliya remained silent.

Besides Eliya’s own spacecraft, his subsidiaries and partner companies had hundreds of high-end spacecraft at their disposal.

Dexter, having worked as Eliya’s head of security, had borrowed some himself and knew this claim was a lie.

-It might be dangerous to send just our forces. While I do have reliable staff, we should prepare for any uncertainties.

“Listen, you jerk, so it’s fine if I’m the one in danger?”

Dexter burst out in anger, then glanced at the agency personnel around him before lowering his voice.

“Fine, what do you want?”

-I want you to come here yourself.

“What? How am I supposed to get there… Wait, are you saying I should take my own spacecraft?”

-You might be needed as a field commander.

“Generals from the Space Force would line up at your call, so why do I need to go?”

When Dexter questioned him incredulously, Eliya remained silent for a moment before delivering a single sentence and ending the call.

-Contact me when you board your spacecraft.

“What? Hey! Hey, Eliya, you bastard!”

If Eliya had spoken longer, they might have negotiated, but knowing that even entering negotiations would put him at a disadvantage, Eliya had cut the conversation short.

That same day, Dexter obtained emergency space flight permission directly from Tandy of the Science and Technology Department, Deputy Director Finestein, and Director Makoa.

“Aren’t you taking me?”

The problem was Himena, who was right beside him.

“Do you want to go there too?”

“What if something happens to you?”

“Do you have to say things like that?”

Seeing that Dexter clearly wasn’t planning to take her or any other woman, Himena took drastic measures.

While Dexter was sitting in the Special Investigation Team’s office, getting a brief overview about Pluto from William, three people burst through the glass door.

“Dexter, I heard you’re going to Pluto? Alone?”

“Dex, are you crazy? How could you go somewhere like that by yourself?”

“If you’re going that far, we should go together.”

Himena, with a sulky expression, had brought the other three women to OSA headquarters.

“Come on, people. Space is incredibly dangerous. How can you just decide to follow me without any preparation?”

“Then why were you planning to go alone to such a dangerous place?”

“I can go alone because it’s me. Why should all of you come too?”

“Of course we can’t let you go alone! Are you trying to make us widows? If you’re going to take responsibility, take it all the way!”

When Jessie rebutted point by point, the other three women nodded in agreement.

Dexter rested his chin on his hand, looking at the four women staring at him intently and William, who was shooting confused glances at the sudden arrival of the attractive female squad.

‘Even if I argue… they’ll just say they absolutely won’t let me go alone, even if it kills them.’

Dexter’s former profession was head of security for a cosmic-level conglomerate CEO.

Having spent his career protecting people to the point of tedium, he could protect up to two people well enough, as long as he wasn’t facing someone of similar skill level as an enemy.

‘The problem is that there are four of them.’

How many tens of thousands of security personnel across the universe had been dismissed for failing to protect just one person?

And how many tens of thousands would be devastated if that person was someone they loved?

They were worried about him, but there was a clear difference between someone who had survived for 15 years starting from the bottom and people who had lived relatively safely on Earth.

‘But if I say that outright, they’ll hit me and ask if I’m the only one who’s had it tough.’

Dexter glared briefly at Himena, who had instigated this situation, then sighed deeply and said:

“Wait here and pack your things. If all goes well, it’ll only take about three days, but just in case, pack for a week.”

Deciding it might be better to be thoroughly prepared, Dexter told them to pack their bags, and all four women immediately rushed to him.

“What about toiletries? Is there a bathroom inside? Are there beds? How many people can sleep there?”

“If we can cook there, can I bring ingredients? I should at least bake some cookies…”

“Can I bring a laser pistol from OSA? A small pink one.”

“Are you going to bring real delicious space food?”

Dexter grimaced at the barrage of questions, which made even William cover his ears, and answered them one by one.

“Bring toiletries, yes there’s a bathroom, and beds too. Up to six people including me can sleep there, you can cook your own food, there’s a refrigerator so you can bring food… I have several weapons on my spacecraft so you can use those, and as for space food… ask OSA to pack some. But space food suitable for Earthlings like us doesn’t taste good, so just forget about it.”

The four women had different reactions to Dexter remembering and answering everything.

* * *

The spacecraft that Dexter had bought by scraping together all his savings from working under Eliya supported warp drive functionality, unlike typical personal spacecraft.

There was no need to travel for years like the New Horizons probe; by creating a “warp bubble” around the spacecraft’s surface, they could reduce a journey of years to just two days.

However, it couldn’t be used anywhere or anytime, so they had to travel beyond certain zones before activating it.

“I never thought I’d eat steak for breakfast in space…”

Himena rubbed her stomach with a satisfied expression and looked at Jessie.

“The cooking equipment on the spacecraft is much better than the gas range at home. I think I could make even tastier food once I get more used to it.”

“The cookies turned out well too. Would you like one?”

Judy offered a cooled cookie. She had been startled each time Earth grew distant and they passed other planets, but she seemed to have adapted quickly, even humming while making cookie dough in space.

Jessie, who had been watching Judy, smiled and bit into a cookie.

“This is really delicious!”

Fresh from the oven, the cookies were more chewy than crispy.

“I wonder how many Earthlings have eaten cookies and steak in space?”

“Probably not many, right? Unless they’re like Dexter, we might be among the first.”

While three of them were happily enjoying cookies, Emily was the only one eating something different, making Jessie frown.

“Emily, are you really going to eat only that?”

What Jessie pointed to was an unappetizing, thick blue porridge.

Emily had given up the steak, mashed potatoes, and roasted asparagus on the table and was eating only the blue porridge from OSA for every meal.

The three women couldn’t understand Emily’s strange insistence.

“In space, you should eat space food… urgh.”

After eating the same blue porridge for three days straight, Emily finally couldn’t stand the disgusting texture and smell and started to gag. Jessie quickly ran over, found a vomit bag from the cabinet, and headed to the bathroom with Emily.

“Give up! Just give up!”

“No, I can eat this… blegh.”

“Emily, you’ll be in serious trouble if you throw up in the spacecraft.”

Dexter, sitting in the pilot’s seat reading a book while eating Judy’s cookies, said in a low voice without taking his eyes off the book.

[Mr. Dexter, we will soon arrive at our destination.]

As soon as he heard the spacecraft computer’s guidance voice, Dexter closed his book and, with a cookie still in his mouth, began to look ahead intently.

“There’s nothing there…”

As Dexter was looking carefully, suddenly green guide lights appeared in the space that had been empty except for starlight, forming an arrow.

[ —————→ □ ]

At the end of the arrow was a glowing square space, something Dexter had seen several times before.

“This bastard, seriously.”

Dexter cursed in disbelief.

After about two days of flight, they had arrived at Eliya’s personal spacecraft, the “Dust Devil.”

If Dexter’s spacecraft was comparable to a large yacht, Eliya’s personal spacecraft was more like a passenger ship or aircraft carrier.

In special situations, it could even function as an unprecedented office building, capable of carrying thousands of Tenpenny Corporation employees for work.

The Dust Devil had activated its stealth mode to avoid being detected by the New Horizons probe, operating only its guide lights to open a parking space for Dexter’s spacecraft.

Experiencing the strange phenomenon of parking a spacecraft inside another spacecraft, Dexter’s group exited and immediately cursed at the sight of Eliya smiling at them.

“You crazy bastard.”

After throwing a few more insults, Dexter sighed deeply and pointed with his chin toward a wall made entirely of glass windows.

“So, what’s over there?”

Through the windows Dexter pointed to, there appeared to be just the dark void of space, but a million kilometers in that direction lay Pluto.

“I’ll let you know when the probe arrives. Is it still morning by Earth time? Since you’ve already had your meal, shall we have some tea?”

“Um, I baked cookies on the way. Would you like some, Mr. Eliya?”

“Why are you offering him cookies? What a waste.”

“Come on, he’s Dexter’s friend.”

At Judy’s words, Dexter frowned, but Eliya welcomed Judy with a bright smile.

“You must be tired from coming all this way. Why don’t you rest?”

Eliya snapped his fingers, and women in formal attire appeared from somewhere.

Among them was a cephalopod alien, whom Himena greeted cheerfully.

“Id-ya!”

“Ms. Himena?”

Everyone had seen Id-ya’s true form at least once, but Judy was different.

“Oh, um, is that… Id-ya?”

Judy knew that Id-ya was an alien working for Eliya’s company, but she had never seen its actual form. She stammered and trembled.

Dexter thought it was fortunate she didn’t faint.

Feeling an inner connection with Judy, Id-ya approached her and took her hand, leading her somewhere with the others. Unable to refuse, Judy’s body momentarily froze before trembling.

After the four women were led away, leaving Dexter behind, Eliya’s expression changed to a subtle smile.

“I’m guessing there’s a reason you deliberately separated the four of them.”

“It’s nothing too important… Ah, they’re actually people connected to me.”

As he said this, Eliya began to move.

Having been on the Dust Devil several times before, Dexter knew where Eliya was heading.

“Is this important enough to go to your office?”

“Important if it is, not if it isn’t.”

“Stop testing me and just tell me.”

Instead of answering, Eliya nodded and entered his office, sitting in his chair before speaking.

“Frost giants.”

“Frost giants?”

At Dexter’s question, Eliya stroked his chin and continued.

“More precisely, frost giant refugees. Their home planet was occupied and destroyed by Keoria.”

Eliya shook his head ruefully as he spoke.