Chapter 17 - Return to the Betasia Star System and the Former Fiancée of the Crown Prince who was a Former Ducal Daughter
~Above the Sea within the Atmosphere of the Third Planet of the Betasia Star System (Betasia Count's Main Planet)~
Sangou had canceled its standby in the space around the Gialpha Star System's Fourth Planet (exclusive standby zone) and launched. After that, it smoothly completed the voyage without any particular problems and returned to the Third Planet of the Betasia Star System, the Betasia Count's territory.
With permission from Betasia Count Orega, the bio-spaceship descended directly into the atmosphere.
In its current state, Sangou had quietly landed on the sea and was now floating on the water.
Incidentally, the location where Sangou landed and was waiting was directly above what would be called an 'ocean trench' on Earth.
This was a place with sufficient water depth that even a five-hundred-meter-class bio-spaceship could land, with a part of its massive hull submerged below the surface, and float without any issues.
Furthermore, when Sangou landed its enormous, massive hull, it did not cause any disasters such as tsunamis anywhere on the planet.
This was an achievement made possible by technology originating from super-scientific civilization and Sangou's own experience.
"As expected, Sangou"
Jin was unaware of the difficulty of the phenomenon his partner had realized, but perhaps that was indeed a worthy statement of praise.
After the bio-spaceship had safely landed in that sea area,
Sangou dispatched a twenty-meter-class sub-unit carrying a total of seven people.
The seven members consisted of six: Jin, Rouju, Orega, Sutsan, Alra, and Zilfa, plus Silk, who had newly joined on the capital star.
Now, before reaching such a situation, let us look back at 'the circumstances leading up to this point,' starting from 'the part of the encounter with Silk near the end of the previous chapter,' including the details of Laura's operation, which was glossed over in the previous chapter.
First, what was the detailed flow of Laura's operation?
The beginning of that story should probably start with 'the part concerning the sub-unit Sangou sent to pick up Laura.'
Sangou's operation management of the twenty-meter-class sub-unit was perfect.
Despite being unmanned, it landed in the central courtyard of the capital star's imperial harem, the designated landing site, without causing even 'slight damage.'
There, the custody of Laura, who was lying on a movable bed with life support systems—the pinnacle of Gialpha Galaxy Empire medical technology—was transferred.
Specifically, the mini-Sangou that emerged from the twenty-meter-class unit, along with multiple sub-units, transported her inside.
Next, while beginning sterilization procedures for Laura, the twenty-meter-class sub-unit rose silently into the sky and took twenty minutes to move to Sangou, who was waiting in space.
In that flow, the twenty-meter-class sub-unit, used as a shuttle, was berthed inside Sangou's hangar.
Inside the hangar, the hull of the twenty-meter-class unit itself was first thoroughly cleaned.
This was a precaution because the possibility that some bacteria or viruses had attached to the hull during landing in the courtyard was not zero.
After that, the bed with movable casters on which Laura was lying finally touched the floor inside Sangou's ship.
From there, the sub-units carried it to the operating room where Sangou and Jin were waiting.
The shock to Jin's psyche when he first saw Laura's current physical condition with his own eyes was so severe that he was speechless, but that is a trivial matter.
Laura's arms, both right and left, had less than half of the section from the shoulder to the elbow remaining, and beyond that, they were severed and nonexistent.
Her legs, both left and right, remained up to the middle of the thighs.
And the four amputation sites showed signs of being cauterized, presumably for hemostasis.
To add, the remaining parts of the limbs were beginning to turn black slightly from their tips.
This phenomenon was evidence that the parasitic organism's invasion of Laura's body was still ongoing.
From Jin's perspective, the Empress should have a biological son who is the Crown Prince, so he predicted 'her actual age, no matter how young, must be around her forties.' However, judging by her appearance, she looked young, in her late twenties to early thirties.
Moreover, even with her expression clearly showing agony, it was immediately obvious that she possessed exceptional beauty.
Her chest armor, which was 'definitely larger than a standard-sized muskmelon' and seemed to be on a different level from Rouju and the others—was it due to good chest muscle development?
Even lying on her back, it maintained a beautiful form.
The sight of it not collapsing or deforming under gravity, if one were to focus only on that part, could only be described as 'spectacular.'
Of course, the status of her family and her own talents were likely sufficient to become an Empress, but even just focusing on her appearance, Jin felt it was understandable why she was chosen as Empress.
That made the miserable state of her limbs stand out all the more.
Even though she's not an elf, to have such beauty. Now she has no limbs, so it's moot, but if she were healthy with all limbs intact, she would probably have an exceptional figure. Losing this person would be a loss for humanity. This job felt like I took it on a whim, but maybe it was 'the guidance of fate' because I am the Hero.
At that moment, Jin felt a pure desire to save the woman before him, not as a job he had taken on.
Of course, as a representative Japanese otaku who was not popular with women, Jin certainly had a tendency to value the existence of beautiful women who pleased his eyes, even if only through monitors or photos.
"Captain. Full body scan complete. The parasitic part reacted to sensory waves, so the extent of adhesion around the patient's heart has been determined."
"Phew. I see. Then, from the patterns we anticipated beforehand, it seems we can go with the best method. When I saw the patient, I was frozen in shock and couldn't speak. This is truly terrible in many ways. The current state is exactly 'being kept alive forcibly, just waiting for death.'"
"With the crude medical technology of the current Gialpha Galaxy Empire, this is probably the limit. But I can say they did their best within their capabilities."
Although Sangou's statement was harsh, from Sangou's perspective, it was completely true.
Of course, Jin did not have the knowledge to assess the medical technology of the Gialpha Galaxy Empire.
For this matter, it was enough for Jin to know that Sangou's abilities were superior and excellent, so things were fine as they were.
Moreover, Jin himself had magical power and also potions stored in his Storage Space.
"I don't really get that part. But whatever, that's not important. Sangou, proceed with opening the chest as planned. I'll use the Holy Sword to cut off the remaining limbs, leaving about five centimeters from the root, and use Minor Heal to temporarily roughly stop the bleeding. Connect the arterial part to Sangou's custom medical sub-units, and leave the blood flow maintenance to you. First, we'll administer magical anesthesia. Let's go."
"Yes. Please go ahead. We'll start with anesthesia as well."
Sangou administered anesthesia derived from scientific technology, then deftly used an Energy Convergence Cannon with adjusted output to vertically cut open the area between Laura's ample breasts.
Then, to allow blood flow to bypass the heart area, alternate blood vessels were connected as bypasses.
After that connection, the original route was blocked so that blood would only flow through the bypass.
At the same time, medical sub-units were connected to take over the function of Laura's heart.
Jin, for his part, completed his assigned tasks at a level of 'divine skill' or 'divine speed.'
However, Sangou's multitasking was also no exaggeration to describe as 'divine skill' or 'divine speed.'
The preliminary preparations were completed up to this point.
If both super-science and the magic of the fantasy world had not combined their powers, this would not have gone so smoothly.
But in reality, the preparations were completed in a short time.
"Now for the real thing. In sync with Sangou's countdown, I'll cut away all the excess and use Perfect Heal for regeneration. As we discussed beforehand, I'll leave the treatment of the parasitized, adhered parts to Sangou."
"Understood. Here we go. Three, two, one, now!"
Sangou used the Energy Convergence Cannon to perfectly eliminate the parasitic eggs that were about to hatch while still mimicking and adhered.
Adjusting the effective range to a mere twenty centimeters until attenuation and dispersion, while still outputting the necessary power to eliminate the target—this might truly be an achievement only possible through super-science.
Jin, for his part, used magic to regenerate the missing parts and carefully repair Laura's body so that no scars would remain.
At this time, various pre-existing problems with Laura's body were also simultaneously resolved by Jin's magic.
But such things were trivial.
This series of events was the full picture of Laura's operation, which was omitted in the previous chapter.
Now, what about the details from Jin's encounter with a person named 'Silk,' who ultimately came to the Betasia Count's territory with Jin and the others, up to the point where they boarded Sangou?
At the Count's residence on the Gialpha Galaxy Empire's capital star, Sutsan had been playing the role of caretaker during Jin and the Count's absence.
A scene where Silk was negotiating with the temporary butler of the Betasia Count's residence on the capital star, saying she wanted to meet Jin.
It must have been fate that Jin and the others, having finished their discussions with the Emperor and others, happened to encounter her just then.
The group of Jin and the others could clearly hear the words Silk spoke in her negotiation.
Thus, the Hero Jin met a girl carrying a dagger with the crest of the Aleftria Ducal House.
He's not asking for the shuttle, is he?
Incidentally, Jin shifting into alert mode at this time was a trivial matter.
"I'm the owner of that shuttle. Is there something you want from me? If you're going to say 'hand over the shuttle,' I refuse!"
"Ah, I've found you. No, it's not something like that. I only wish to have myself, Silk Kou Aleftria, board that shuttle with you when you depart, and then accompany you to the main planet of the Betasia Star System. As payment, I would like to offer this pendant."
"I see. I refuse. (This is not a request to 'Jin the Viscount,' but to 'Jin the mercenary.' So this response is fine.)"
For Jin, who did not want to let others board Sangou as much as possible, there was no reason to accept Silk's request.
For Jin, this was a clear refusal after careful thought.
Well, that thought would change dramatically based on the reaction Silk showed upon hearing Jin's words.
"I see. That's only natural. I apologize for imposing."
Silk bowed and tried to leave.
Jin ended up seeing Silk's expression immediately fill with resignation and despair.
Crap. Should I have at least asked for the reason?
Jin was taken aback that the other party did not flaunt their title and backed down so easily.
The man with the power and fate of a Hero felt a bit of guilt from the unintended expression of the girl he saw.
And Rouju, standing beside him, sensed that.
Therefore, she interjected.
"Um, Lady Silk. Why are you here alone? It seems like there's a reason, so would you like to come to our home and tell us the details? Father, that's fine, right? (I'm also concerned about Jin's emotional state, but leaving a ducal daughter to walk home alone is... that's definitely not good no matter how you think about it. At the very least, I have to offer to escort her to the Ducal residence.)"
Rouju kept her unspoken thoughts to herself, and decided to ask why the ducal daughter Silk had ended up in her current situation.
Thus, Jin came to have involvement with Silk.
Rouju! Nice follow-up!
Jin screamed inwardly at this moment, and his guilt lightened a little, which was a trivial matter.
Thanks to Rouju's quick thinking, Jin learned the circumstances of Silk, the daughter of the Aleftria Ducal House, in the reception room of the Betasia Count's residence on the capital star.
As a result, Jin ended up letting Silk board Sangou and returning with her to the main planet of the Betasia Star System.
Silk's biological father, the Duke of Aleftria, and his lawful wife had been on an official visit as a public duty to a combat zone with the Free Democratic Alliance fourteen days ago.
At that time, they were caught up in the fighting and died.
And Silk, their only daughter, did not have the right to inherit the title because she was female.
This is because in the Gialpha Galaxy Empire, succession rights to peerage exist only for males.
Therefore, her father's younger brother, her uncle, was to inherit the 'Aleftria Ducal House.' Normally, Silk would have become the 'adopted daughter' of her uncle in the form of an 'adoption.'
However, the actual turn of events was not so.
Why? Because evidence was found that 'one of Silk's close attendants was in collusion with the Free Democratic Alliance and leaked information about Silk's parents' official visit.'
The attendant suspected of colluding with the enemy was immediately captured by Silk's uncle's people and executed on the spot.
Using this incident as a reason, the uncle argued that 'he cannot trust Silk herself' and 'he will not accept her as an adopted daughter.'
Silk was a lady who had been strictly educated from a young age to be worthy as a Crown Prince's consort.
Incidentally, her main teacher was Empress Laura.
Of course, Silk had an engagement with the Crown Prince, Laura's son.
So, even if Silk's uncle did not accept her as an adopted daughter, she could have become the adopted daughter of another ducal house and remained the Crown Prince's fiancée.
But reality was not so.
The cause lay with her fiancé, the Crown Prince himself.
"I cannot continue an engagement with a former ducal daughter who had such an attendant and was refused adoption by the new Duke of Aleftria. I wish to take the current Duke of Aleftria's daughter as my consort instead."
Unbelievably, this was said in a public place with many nobles present.
The Crown Prince had made such a declaration.
In short, Silk had been notified of the engagement's dissolution 'by the Crown Prince's unilateral decision' due to her loss of status.
When Silk appeared before Jin and the others, the procedures for status deprivation by the new Duke of Aleftria were underway, and she had been ordered 'exiled from the star system' by her uncle.
In terms of actual status, Silk was no longer a ducal daughter.
And the only property the girl possessed was what she was wearing.
If Laura, who had been involved in the Crown Prince consort education, had been healthy, such a situation should never have occurred.
But in reality, Laura was afflicted with a fatal disease, and the Emperor's attention was largely focused on saving his consort.
The Emperor had received reports of the death of the Duke and Duchess of Aleftria, but he assumed 'the aftermath would be handled in the usual way, following precedent.'
However, as a result, at a bad time, the Crown Prince ran rampant on his own, and no one could stop him.
Incidentally, at the stage when Jin and the others met Silk, neither the Emperor nor Laura were aware of what the Crown Prince and the new Duke of Aleftria had done.
Regarding this, the Emperor had hurried Jin's investiture as a Baron, and then forced through procedures for his promotion to Viscount on the spot, which had driven the civil officials, starting with the Prime Minister, to be busy and distracted.
To speak a little of the future, by the time the Emperor and Empress accurately grasped the situation surrounding Silk, it was already too late.
Be that as it may, Jin, having learned the circumstances from Silk's own account before him, thought.
This girl hasn't done anything wrong, but this is totally a 'villainess condemnation and exile' thing, isn't it?
That was all Jin could think, and any Japanese LN otaku would surely think the same.
In this case, Silk probably has no place in the Gialpha Star System.
Intuitively, Jin understood that.
Judging from the fact that she had apparently been in the same clothes for several days, it was questionable even from the perspective of the clumsy Hero Jin whether anyone existed to extend a hand to Silk in her current state.
Moreover, his speculation did not stop there but progressed.
There's no evidence. There isn't. But in this story, that 'uncle' must have pulled the strings behind the scenes and set up Silk and her parents.
Jin had no knowledge of the truth, but his arbitrary delusion, tinged with a Hero's intuition, was unfortunately correct for Silk.
The truth was that the uncle had assassinated his older brother to usurp the position of Duke of Aleftria, and coincidentally, the Crown Prince had taken advantage of the situation and acted.
Of course, it goes without saying that 'the uncle's daughter, Silk's cousin, also contributed by approaching the Crown Prince herself.'
Jin had experience being set up and exiled after fighting alone in another world for five years.
Having experienced exile without having done anything wrong, this matter was absolutely unforgivable to Jin.
"I don't need money! I'll take you out of this star system! I'll find a place where Silk can live in peace!"
With his head boiling with anger, Jin had shouted without thinking.
That said, shouting Silk's name without any honorific, just calling her name, was a bit dangerous.
Fortunately, no one, including the person who was addressed by name alone, noticed or reproached him, so it was safe.
If they had been talking outside the residence, something quite bad might have happened.
Setting aside such a minor blunder, the situation progressed without stagnation.
I had Sangou. What if I had been trapped in that hyperspace back then, just as I was? Then, who does this Silk have? Now, she is here. That itself proves she is 'lonely' and 'isolated.'
Having thought that in an instant, Jin could not abandon Silk.
Of course, it is undeniable that there was an element of compensation for the guilt he had felt earlier.
Everything was probably connected.
I can't save everyone.
Jin fully understood what he could not do.
But still,
But still, isn't it okay to save at least the things within my reach, with my own judgment! Self-satisfaction? If it saves people, then great!
Jin's thinking was simple.
This can't be helped.
Rouju, his fiancée, had also been saved by Jin herself, so she silently accepted her future husband's words and actions.
On the other hand, Silk, upon hearing Jin's unexpected declaration, momentarily looked bewildered.
Nevertheless, Silk's mind worked quickly, and she instantly shifted to a composed state.
"I'm sorry. I will be indebted to you, and I will accept Viscount Asada's kind offer. I have nowhere else to go. For now, I will rely on you."
With this course of events, Silk completed the procedures for leaving the planet at the Betasia Count's residence that same day.
The former ducal daughter departed the imperial capital with Jin and the others the next morning.
From there, the story continues to the initial situation during Sangou's voyage.
The voyage to the Betasia Star System was uneventful.
It was an extremely calm journey, with Jin only receiving his allowance three times.
During that time, there were no notable events regarding Jin other than asking Sangou to synthesize and produce his wedding attire for the ceremony with Rouju.
Incidentally, the materials for the attire were, of course, monster-derived materials obtained during his Hero days, taken from his Storage Space.
However, at this time, without much thought, Jin chose from several material candidates based solely on color and handed it to Sangou.
Prioritizing color over material grade would later cause a bit of a situation, but that was trivial at this point.
Be that as it may,
What were Jin's fiancée Rouju and the guest Silk doing?
During the journey to the Betasia Count's territory, Rouju served as a conversation partner for Silk.
But now, Silk had no status and was merely a guest of the mercenary Jin, Viscount Asada, as an individual.
Therefore, the former ducal daughter was very reserved, and her basic behavior was to spend time alone in the temporary room assigned to her.
"I will attend the wedding. But aside from that, I wish to stay on Sangou and spend my time there."
Silk clearly stated this during her conversation with Rouju.
For Rouju, being told that by Silk left her at a loss, and she was a bit perplexed.
However, there were things that could not be helped if the person's will was firm.
As for the remaining four, there was nothing particularly unusual about them except for Orega.
They simply fulfilled their duties as servants of the Betasia Count household.
However, since Sangou did most of the work, they often had free time and relaxed by watching the entertainment videos Sangou provided.
But Orega was different.
"This life is almost over! I'll enjoy it while it lasts!"
He declared this without any hesitation and remained holed up in his quarters throughout Sangou's voyage.
It seemed Orega had awakened to something in a slightly dangerous direction during the confinement related to Laura's incident.
But neither Jin nor Sangou could take any responsibility for that.
After all, that confinement with surveillance video recording was what Orega himself had wanted.
And so, Sangou arrived at the main planet of the Betasia Star System.
It contacted the spaceport and the ground shuttle airport, and had obtained permission from Count Betasia Orega, who was aboard Sangou.
Sangou, no longer needing to restrain itself, finally dared to enter the atmosphere.
In the sea area around the planned landing point, there were no islands or major sea routes for surface vessels.
Therefore, Sangou would not be seen by anyone.
Thus, Sangou arrived at the initial landing state on the water.
Sangou, having landed quietly, naturally contacted the ground facilities, the shuttle airport on the main planet.
Entry procedures were conducted via communication, and quarantine was permitted by declaring health examination data.
Only after that did the familiar twenty-meter-class sub-unit finally have its turn.
The twenty-meter-class sub-unit carrying everyone, including Jin.
It launched from the bottom of Sangou, which was still on the water, proceeded a little underwater, then broke through the surface and headed for the sky.
The twenty-meter-class sub-unit maintained an altitude of three thousand meters, flew through the atmosphere, and finally made a direct landing at the Betasia Count's residence.
Of course, they had contacted in advance.
In that flow, when Jin arrived at the Count's residence, he was greeted by Rinju and Ranju.
The dejected expressions they showed due to the loss of their earrings were by no means a trivial matter to dismiss.
Rouju, learning the situation of her two younger sisters crying their hearts out, immediately used the function of her own intact earrings to contact Sangou.
With the revelation of the earrings' specifications, Jin, upon his arrival, had to take action to appease the two, who had stopped crying and switched to an accusatory posture.
At that time, Renju conveniently joined in, forcing Jin to realize 'the passion' or rather 'the obsession' women have for accessories, but that was likely a trivial matter that did not affect the overall situation.
Of course, Jin's personal situation was a different matter entirely.
Count Betasia Orega, having returned to his territory, had to return to his duties as the head of the Count household.
The semi-vacation-like state inside Sangou had come to an end.
First, Orega waited for Renju to finish her accessory talk with Jin, having joined in with the two girls.
He felt like objecting to the part where Renju demanded something for herself, but if he interfered, he could easily imagine a future where she would demand things he could not provide.
Therefore, Orega simply waited for the situation to calm down.
Normally, he should have gone straight to his office for a private information exchange and handover of duties with Renju.
But when Orega tried to do that before Renju made a move, his wife's single glare made him take a waiting posture—that was his secret.
The earring incident ended, and the information exchange and duty handover between Orega and Renju were completed without issue.
Renju did not show any surprise when Orega proposed that Rinju and Ranju marry Jin.
This was because the woman, also the shadow power of the Betasia Count household, chose to use the pretext of 'not interfering in the head's exclusive authority' as a weapon to block interference from other concerned parties by not interfering herself.
Thanks to Renju's wise decision, no one other than the parties involved could openly oppose the matter of Rinju and Ranju.
Next, Orega called Rinju and Ranju to confirm their intentions regarding marriage with Jin.
This was an action driven by Orega's personal self-satisfaction.
It was within his authority as the head to command it, and the matter also involved the Emperor's will.
Nevertheless, in this case, Orega did not want to 'force it through orders to his daughters.'
Approval for the marriage application had already been given, but at this stage, it was possible to withdraw it depending on their will.
Of course, the two did not wish to withdraw the marriage approval.
With all this and that, Jin's engagements to Rouju, Rinju, and Ranju were decided, and the information was spread throughout the territory.
It was announced to the entire territory that the wedding would take place soon.
Incidentally, this came with a bonus: 'the matter of the Space Beast' and 'the assistance on the Thirteenth Planet' were publicized as Viscount Asada's heroic deeds.
While Jin was busy with wedding preparations, Silk spent her days staying on Sangou, as she had requested from Jin.
She could not very well stay permanently at the Betasia Count's residence as a guest.
On the other hand, she had no confidence to live on her own in the city of the Betasia Count's main planet with only her own strength.
Hence, Silk's current situation.
It might have been inevitable and unavoidable for Silk to rely on Jin and Sangou, who were the easiest to lean on in her current state.
Silk, in her own cabin on Sangou, was troubled and thinking deeply about 'what to do about her future.'
And when she pictured the reliable face of Jin, she hit upon a solution: 'to seek a place for herself within Sangou.'
"Normally Sangou is operated by me, the captain, alone."
Silk had been told that by Jin.
Thus, the following idea occurred to her.
As a permanent resident, if I stay on Sangou, wouldn't there be some work I can do?
Silk's idea was simplistic, but it could not be said to be 'wrong.'
"Sangou. There is something I want to ask. Is it possible for me to seek a 'place' as a 'future residence' on this ship? In other words, can I fulfill the wish of 'becoming a permanent resident doing some work that I can do'?"
Thus, the Hero Jin and Sangou succeeded in returning to the main planet of the Betasia Count's territory with the former ducal daughter Silk.
The original objectives of the departure—Jin's ennoblement and registration of engagement with Rouju—were accomplished, and due to the overlap with Laura's case, his title became Viscount, and it was confirmed with the consent of all involved that he would marry Rinju and Ranju at the same time as Rouju.
Nevertheless, a situation arose where Silk, who had no one to rely on except Jin and Sangou, secretly aimed to become a crew member of Sangou.
For Jin, who seemed destined to continue living a life moving around on Sangou daily, would it be okay for a woman like Silk, who was neither a fiancée nor anything else, to be constantly on the same ship?
No one knows the future.
While busy with preparations for the wedding with Rouju and the others, the Hero had no way of knowing that Silk had decided on her 'future course of action: to be by Jin's side and try to be useful in some way.'
At the end of the previous chapter, Jin was agonizing over whether to 'get an exorcism,' but he was unaware that a future awaited him where he would seriously consider that option.