Ch.320Chapter 320 – Hectic Days

[Compensation, you say?]

“That’s right. It seems I’m the only one who can repair the keel, so shouldn’t I receive appropriate compensation for that?”

After all, nothing in this world is free.

[Hmm, compensation, you say?]

Upon hearing my words, the Keeper and Destroyer placed their hands on their chins, appearing to contemplate something.

“If you need time to think, there’s a park nearby. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to go there and think it over before returning.”

[No need. We’ve already given this some thought.]

[I believe you’ll find our compensation quite satisfactory.]

Seeing how they’re talking, it seems they’re planning to offer something substantial as compensation.

“So, what will you give me as compensation for repairing the battleship’s keel?”

[We’ll give you a spacecraft equipped with self-repair and self-supply functions.]

[It also has interdimensional travel capabilities, making it perfect for space exploration. Even if you get sucked into a black hole, you can escape without any trouble.]

After hearing the Keeper and Destroyer’s explanation, I pondered for a moment.

“How large is this spacecraft?”

[The spacecraft we’re thinking of giving you is about 20…]

20 meters? That seems neither too large nor too small.

[…kilometers or so?]

[22.456 kilometers, to be exact. It’s a bit larger due to the self-repair and self-supply modules.]

…Kilometers? Not meters, but kilometers?

For a moment, I thought I had misheard. No, they’re offering me a spacecraft that’s not meters but kilometers in size?

“Am I really receiving a 22-kilometer spacecraft in exchange for repairing the battleship’s keel?”

[That’s right. Though modest, it does come with limited armaments.]

I fell into thought at the Keeper’s words.

Usually, when someone says “modest armaments,” they mean equipment barely sufficient for self-protection rather than attacking others.

But these beings possess a 650-kilometer battleship and siege vessels tens of thousands of kilometers long.

And the reward I’m about to receive is a 20-kilometer spacecraft, so even “modest armaments” likely exceed my expectations.

“What kind of armaments does it have?”

[Well, it has self-defense shield generators, anti-aircraft missiles with 100-megaton nuclear warheads for ship defense…]

“That’s enough information, thank you.”

Anti-aircraft missiles with 100-megaton nuclear warheads for ship defense?

[It also has ultra-high-output quantum beams for eliminating energy-based enemies without physical form. Be careful, as accidentally firing at a planet could cause it to burn entirely.]

…I don’t think I need that. No, I definitely don’t need it!

“I’ll just repair it for you. The compensation was just something I brought up casually.”

[Hmm? What do you mean?]

[You’re performing a service worthy of compensation. Naturally, we should reward you.]

No, I thought the compensation would be a reasonably sized spacecraft!

I had no idea it would be a monstrous vessel equipped with 100-megaton nuclear missiles and planet-destroying cannons!

“No, really, you don’t need to give me anything!”

[Nonsense! When adults offer something, you should accept it!]

[Is it because it’s a spacecraft? How about a 50-kilometer escort vessel? It has even more powerful armaments.]

“Aaaargh! I’ll just fix it for you! Just fix it!”

After a lengthy argument with the three uninvited guests, I finally agreed to accept a much smaller compensation than they had originally intended to give.

The repair didn’t take long.

I visited the battleship with the three of them, fixed the keel, and confirmed that all the ship’s functions were working properly.

After verifying that everything was in order, they gave me the promised compensation.

“So what did you receive?”

When I returned after completing the repairs and receiving my compensation following our dispute…

“A small spacecraft.”

Though “small” still means a 2-kilometer spacecraft.

Apparently, that was the smallest spacecraft they had.

Fortunately, it was still small enough to freely enter and exit the atmosphere.

[Normally, spacecraft of this size don’t have self-repair, self-supply, and various other functions, but we included them as a service.]

The catch was that it came loaded with all sorts of services I never wanted in the first place.

“But what exactly is this ‘spacecraft’ thing?”

Sister Regina seemed interested in the spacecraft.

Well, mages are naturally curious, so she couldn’t ignore this.

“Simply put, you know the sky above our world? It’s a vessel that can visit those twinkling stars in the sky.”

“Really? A vessel that can visit the stars in the sky?”

“You mean a vessel that can fly through the sky? How fascinating.”

Sister Regina and Cheon Hyeryeong showed quite an interest after hearing my explanation about the spacecraft.

I wondered why they found it so amazing, but then remembered that while this world had developed magic, it lacked things like airplanes.

Well, I was amazed by magic when I first came to this world, so I guess we’re even.

“Anyway, I can finally get some rest now.”

I flopped down on the sofa.

I couldn’t even rest properly because of these sudden visitors. What a day, seriously.

“It couldn’t be helped. But at least you received compensation, so that’s something to be thankful for, don’t you think?”

“I agree. The world is vast, and there are many petty people. Fortunately, the people you met weren’t such individuals.”

When they put it that way, I suppose getting some compensation is better than nothing. I now have a spacecraft that seems useless in a fantasy world, but perhaps it will come in handy someday.

By the way, it’s summer.

“Sister Regina. Cheon Hyeryeong.”

“Yes?”

“What is it you wish to say?”

It’s summer, and staying cooped up at home is getting a bit boring. Let’s go out and have some fun.

“Would you like to go to the beach with me?”

“The beach?”

“The beach?”

The two of them were curious about why I suddenly suggested going to the beach.

“Well, it’s summer, and it’s boring to just stay at home. Shouldn’t we go out and have some fun at times like this?”

“I don’t mind, but what about the princess?”

“Ah.”

Sister Regina’s words reminded me that I had an engagement ceremony with the princess coming up.

“My goodness, look at you. You’re about to get engaged to the princess, and what are you doing?”

“I completely forgot about it because of those three uninvited guests.”

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but my forgetfulness seems to be increasing.

Should I use my abilities on my own brain sometime?

“Actually, Princess Karen contacted us. She asked us to visit the imperial palace tomorrow.”

“Is that so?”

Karen’s request to visit the palace is probably to discuss the attire for the engagement ceremony and the rings we’ll exchange.

Generally, an engagement ceremony is an event to announce to everyone that we’re going to get married.

It serves as a warning to potential suitors to back off.

It’s also a notice to families connected to both parties that a wedding will be held soon, so they should keep their schedules clear.

In the Gelebrio Empire alone, it takes at least a month for news from the capital to reach the empire’s borders when transmitted from person to person.

However, recently, many mini teleport stations have been built for mail delivery.

Moreover, thanks to Sister Regina’s participation in various research projects, long-distance communication crystals have become abundant, making it possible for news to spread throughout the empire in about a week.

“Patos. We’ve decided to hold the engagement ceremony in mid-August. We should have done it earlier, but various issues caused significant delays.”

Karen, sitting beside me, poured tea into my cup as she spoke.

Originally, our engagement was to proceed quickly after our relationship was acknowledged, but the appearance of demons caused repeated postponements.

So now, we would have the engagement ceremony before summer ends, and the wedding ceremony at the end of the year.

The four-month gap between engagement and wedding exists because, naturally, a royal wedding requires enormous preparation.

A commoner’s wedding typically takes about a week to prepare, a noble’s wedding takes a couple of months.

And a royal wedding takes at least half a year to a full year, so four months is really a short time.

The reason for rushing the wedding was, without a doubt, due to His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress.

‘We’d like to see our grandchild by next year.’

Wanting to see a grandchild by next year is essentially telling us to hurry things along.

That’s why there’s only a four-month gap between engagement and wedding.

Really, I don’t know why this year has been so hectic.

And so, time passed, and the day of my engagement to Karen arrived.