Ch.356Overseas Travel is Busiest Before You Go (4)

During the space journey, it was quite leisurely. The other crew members were just lying down, enjoying a deep sleep.

“Quite relaxed, aren’t they?”

I approached the navigator.

“Ah. These days, everything’s on autopilot. Just set the course, and the ship goes on its own.”

The navigator said. Is this… the future society…!

“As long as there’s no one attacking us mid-journey, we can travel lying down comfortably like this.”

The navigator added.

“Hmm… What about raids? Are there any?”

I seized the opportunity to ask about the situation in space.

“Pirates generally prefer to operate thinly and over long distances. Their business is human trafficking or drug dealing through safe distribution channels.”

The navigator explained.

“………”

Well. That’s a very realistic kind of pirate.

“In the entire universe, only our captain is willing to risk danger to find treasures. Our captain is quite the oddball.”

The navigator yawned, then stroked his cactus-like body.

“We follow the captain because we like that about him.”

Another crew member chimed in with a smile.

“There’s also the matter of repaying a debt. We were… slaves on another planet. Kirtan rescued us. Life as a crew member is tough, but it’s better than being free now than before.”

There was a reason why Kirtan received overwhelming support from his crew.

“Ah. Anyway, our captain is in the captain’s quarters. Why don’t you go see him?”

The navigator suggested.

Well, I was about to ask where we were headed anyway. Might as well go.

“Sasits. Let’s go.”

I immediately called for Sasits.

“Me? Do I have to?”

Sasits, who had been busy cuddling and kissing with Prill, immediately made a displeased face.

“Come on. You’re our leader, Sasits.”

I said firmly.

“Only when it’s convenient for you…”

Sasits wore a sour expression.

“Hey!! You have to go as our leader!!”

I forcibly dragged Sasits to the captain’s quarters.

“Wait!! Let go!! Let me go! This guy is freakishly strong!!”

Sasits struggled and shouted in disbelief.

Anyway, Sasits and I headed to the captain’s quarters.

Kirtan is a captain too. I expected him to be examining navigation charts or something similar, but Kirtan was engaged in a more mundane task.

He was opening and checking emails that had piled up in his inbox. It was the kind of complaint handling that an office worker would do.

“Ah. Shota.”

Kirtan immediately made a request toward me.

“Utcha.”

I promptly sat on Kirtan’s lap.

“Ahh… this is healing…”

Kirtan hugged me like a teddy bear.

Then, Kirtan’s nose bumped into my spiky hair.

“Ouch…”

Kirtan immediately created some distance.

“I want to hug someone… but my body is full of thorns… I’m a hedgehog…”

I immediately sank into sentimentality. Kind of like Cyworld vibes. Like Edward Scissorhands who wants to embrace the woman he loves but can’t because his hands are scissors!! That’s me!!

“Hahahahaha!! What are you saying all of a sudden!”

Kirtan burst into laughter.

“Anyway, what are you doing?”

I stared at the laptop screen.

“These are messages from various planets. They’re requesting help from the hero Sasits. Our pirate crew serves as the receiving channel for emails.”

Kirtan explained.

“You guys… are surprisingly busy with various tasks.”

I was impressed by how industrious these guys were.

“Our Sasits needs to muster his strength and respond to these planets’ pleas for help. Everyone wants to see Sasits.”

Kirtan said.

“Why am I suddenly burdened with this role?!”

Sasits immediately got angry.

“Accept it, Sasits. You’re already a space warrior.”

I patted Sasits on the shoulder.

“So… where are we going?”

I asked Kirtan.

“First… let me bring up the navigation chart…”

When Kirtan pressed a button, planets appeared as holograms in the air.

Most of them were red planets.

“This red area is Pink Beard’s territory. We need to liberate the planets one by one.”

Kirtan explained.

“Hmm… I see.”

I roughly understood.

“First, we’re going to the closest planet, ‘Luktain.’ It’s a food production site for Pink Beard’s army. The rebels there are almost annihilated. That’s where we’re headed.”

Kirtan said.

If it was Pink Beard’s territory, enemies would likely be swarming. It would be good to prepare for battle in advance.

“When will we arrive?”

I asked Kirtan.

“Huh? In 5 minutes?”

Kirtan tilted his head.

“That’s fast!!!”

I exclaimed.

“Well, it’s a faster-than-light ship. For nearby planets, that’s about right.”

Kirtan explained.

“Then why didn’t Pink Beard conquer Earth earlier when it’s just a 5-minute spaceship ride away?”

Sasits seemed puzzled.

Huh? Now that I think about it, that’s true. Why didn’t they start a space war earlier? It seems much better than gradually opening dimensional gates like an amateur.

“Ah… the waters around Earth are quite rough.”

Kirtan said. Wait. Where is there water in space?

“It’s a kind of metaphor. A metaphor. The area around Earth is surprisingly treacherous. Electromagnetic waves come from all directions. Plus, it’s too close to the sun. If you drive carelessly, you’ll either get sucked into the sun’s gravity or get caught in a sunspot explosion. The planets are too close together, making it difficult to specify exact coordinates.”

Kirtan explained.

“It’s difficult to send a large fleet, that’s what I’m saying. That’s why it’s safer to open dimensional gates and invade the mainland.”

Kirtan said. It’s odd to use such terms for the vast universe, but he explained that the route was too narrow for a large space fleet to pass through.

“I see. If we compare it to Japanese history, it’s like the ‘Kamikaze’.”

Sasits understood.

That’s right. It was during Japan’s Kamakura Shogunate era. The Mongol army, an unstoppable force at the time, had successively defeated the Jin Dynasty, Khwarazmian Empire, and Goryeo, and even took Tsushima Island of Japan before attempting to invade Japan with a large fleet.

However, the Mongols underestimated the unpredictable currents of the Sea of Japan, part of the Pacific Ocean. At that time, a storm happened to arise, and more than half of the Mongol ships became fish food. The remaining small force barely landed on the mainland, but they were too battered by the storm to fight properly.

As a result, Japan easily repelled the Mongol forces at the coast, and consequently, Japan did not become a Mongol colony. The Japanese praised this as an incredible stroke of luck and named the event “the wind called by the gods.”

Earth’s situation was similar. If Pink Beard led a large fleet there, he would inevitably suffer losses.

At that moment, the navigator entered the captain’s quarters.

“Captain. We’ll be landing soon. We’ve sprayed the invisibility particles because of the anti-aircraft guns.”

The navigator saluted and reported.

“Okay. Let’s land properly. We’re supposed to meet the guerrillas there.”

Kirtan immediately went up to the deck.

“All of you!! Guard the ship! I’ll sweep away the enemies with our husband!”

Kirtan shouted loudly.

“Aye!!”

All the crew members cheered, holding their weapons.

“You all… stay by the shore. Have fun, maybe go swimming.”

I told the non-combatant members of my harem. This place was almost identical to Earth. It wouldn’t be a problem for them to relax.

“But… I want to play with oppa.”

Madoka said with a sulky expression.

“It’s because you might be in danger.”

I stroked Madoka’s head.

“Eri, Mika, Aki, and Ms. Aiko. Please take care of the kids.”

I called out to the relatively older members among the non-combatant harem.

“Alright. We’ll stay here quietly.”

Ms. Aiko said with a warm, mature smile. Good. This puts my mind at ease. With Eri on the left and Aiko on the right, I could trust them with household matters. They just had different mental ages from the others. They handled things well on their own. This is what they mean by the best wife material.

After that, we all disembarked.

‘I’d like to try using Jin Pinocchio too.’

That was also part of the plan. Having evolved the psycho-robot, I naturally wanted to try it out.

Click-clack-! Bang-!

Kirtan fired a signal flare as if he had been waiting for this moment.

Pat-! Pa-ba-ba-pat-!!

And from the jungle emerged a group of aliens dressed in military uniforms.

“Wow!! They’re cute!!!”

Umi’s eyes immediately lit up.

Yes. They were aliens in military uniforms… but they were just red pandas. Yes, those raccoon-like creatures. The red pandas were walking on two legs. Moreover, they were all armed with guns and jungle knives. Despite being in space, their level of armament was similar to Earth’s. Do they have the technology to launch spaceships but their weapons haven’t advanced as much? Or are Earth humans just a combat-oriented race with a strong interest in fighting? The civilization tech seemed oddly different.

“You’ve come… for real…!”

They stared at one spot with round eyes. All of them were looking at Sasits. They’re cute. Really.

“Sasits!! It’s Sasits!!”

“He looks exactly like the photo!!”

The red pandas all surrounded Sasits.

“P-please sign my photo!!”

“We are Sasitists!!”

“We were inspired by Sasitism to start a revolution!!”

The red pandas hugged Sasits and caused a commotion.

“What the hell is Sasitism?!”

Sasits immediately gave Kirtan a look demanding an explanation.

“Ah… that ideology just spread. You’ve become a symbol of freedom. Those who support Sasits have started to be called Sasitists. Just go along with it.”

Kirtan whispered.

“Shota!! This is because you were being dramatic!!”

Sasits shouted.

“What’s the big deal. We’re collaborators.”

I smiled and patted Sasits on the shoulder.

“That’s… the Butcher Shota!!!”

“Is it true that he eats human flesh?!!”

“He looks ferocious… does Sasits-nim perfectly control such a beast?!!”

The red pandas looked at me with shining eyes.

Somehow… only my reputation is very different?

“Hehehe. Pfft… ferocious, they say…!”

Kana trembled with suppressed laughter.

“Human flesh… Hahahahaha!!”

Taiga couldn’t hold back his laughter.

That’s it. Because I’ve killed so many of Pink Beard’s subordinates, the rumors have been embellished.

“Anyway, what do we need to do here?”

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Sasits changed the subject.

“Ah! First, please come this way!”

The red pandas waddled beyond the jungle. We followed behind them.