Scout
I sat down across from Her Highness, along with Lieutenant Meyrica.
After we were seated, Her Highness began to speak.
First, she praised the appearance of our ship.
“I had heard reports about this ship, but I was surprised by its exterior.”
“The exterior? Ah, we painted it in the Coast Guard’s symbol colors of red and white, so it stands out.”
“Yes, but it’s not intimidating, yet it has a sufficient presence. When I first saw it, I thought it was truly a beautiful ship. But your other ships aren’t painted like this, are they?”
“No, the other Coast Guard ships are hand-me-downs from the military, so we use them as is, with their original paint. But this ship is different. To be honest, this paint job is to disguise the color of the outer walls underneath. That’s why only this ship looks like this.”
“Ah, because it’s covered with that Scarlet alloy?”
“You’re well-informed. That’s correct. I was surprised when I first saw it too. It was all gold. Obviously, that would cause various problems…”
“The acting captain’s judgment was appropriate, I think. It would certainly be difficult to use as is. As for the paint job, the color scheme and design show good taste. I think it’s truly symbolic of the colors protecting the kingdom’s security.”
As we were talking like this, an unfamiliar woman brought tea for everyone from the galley.
She brought tea in such luxurious tea sets that I wanted to ask where on earth they had such expensive tea sets.
Probably Her Highness’s attendants had prepared them in advance.
“Let me introduce you. This is my lady-in-waiting, Margaret. Please treat her well.”
“Lieutenant Bruce, Lieutenant Meyrica. I’m Margaret. I’ll be by Her Highness’s side, so I expect we’ll have many opportunities to interact. I look forward to working with you.”
“Ah, likewise. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Pleased to meet you, Margaret.”
“Now that the tea is ready, shall we get to the main topic while we drink? Actually, the reason I came here today is to scout you both.”
Her Highness, the Third Princess, started with this and then explained.
Apparently, there had been ongoing discussions about how the separate police headquarters in each star system were having difficulties dealing with cross-system crimes to maintain security within the kingdom.
Especially for pirate countermeasures, while the capital space sector has a separate organization, everywhere else relies on the military doing patrols as a side job.
Because of this, the main enforcement involves each star system’s police headquarters gathering information and then requesting a subjugation from the military.
However, when it comes to gathering this information, which requires police investigation, it completely fails to function across star systems.
In fact, the recent case of letting the Carpone gang escape is still unresolved, and once they flee from the capital space sector, the country is currently powerless to do anything.
It would be great if the military could thoroughly search the entire kingdom, but of course, that’s impossible.
The military’s primary reason for existence is national defense, not investigation.
Moreover, since an investigation covering the entire kingdom could potentially interfere with noble territories, discussions hadn’t made much progress.
However, with the recent Hishiyama family incident, the need for a kingdom-wide investigation system has been recognized anew within the royal palace.
Suddenly establishing an organization would come with immeasurable risks, so it was decided to conduct a preliminary investigation into the usefulness of such an organization.
That’s where Her Highness, the Third Princess, volunteered.
Being quite low in the line of succession to the throne, she’s in a relatively free position, yet can still utilize the authority of the royal family. This allows her to force cooperation from various agencies in each star system under the pretext of a request from Her Highness.
If she actively uses her princess privileges right now, she’s in a position to thoroughly investigate the entire kingdom.
By utilizing this position, it became possible to establish an investigative department without causing too much impact on the nobles, which led to today.
No matter how influential a noble might be, they can’t ignore a request from the royal family.
Even if it’s from a princess with a low place in the line of succession, if there’s a request, they have to comply.
If they were to ignore the request, they might even be suspected of treason by the Majesty.
Moreover, while the future is uncertain, in this case, the investigation target is limited to pirates.
So, being uncooperative could risk suspicion of collusion with pirates, meaning the more influential the noble, the more actively they must cooperate with Her Highness.
“That’s why I’ve set up the ‘Interstellar Criminal Police Organization Establishment Preparatory Office’ with me as the person in charge. I’ve come to scout you and your ship for this office.”
“You mean a temporary assignment there?”
Lieutenant Meyrica muttered involuntarily.
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“Lieutenant Meyrica, I’d prefer to transfer permanently, but it’s still just a preparatory office for now. It will surely become an absolutely necessary department, but the nobility as a whole hasn’t recognized its necessity yet. So, for the time being, we’ll treat it as a temporary assignment, but I’ll make sure it doesn’t disadvantage you in any way. The same goes for the others.”
“The others?”
“Ah, I didn’t explain enough. As I mentioned earlier, since this is an organization for investigation and arrest, we need investigative power. So, we’ve also reached out to excellent detectives from each star system. Also, we’ve arranged for agents from the royal family’s direct intelligence agency. I really wanted to get people from the military and government intelligence departments too, but that seemed likely to come with various strings attached, so we’ve refrained for now.”
“And about the role expected of us…”
“While I expect you to act as the actual force when arresting pirates, your main role will be as a means of transportation for investigations.”
“Transportation?”
I had a feeling this was moving further and further away from the life I had envisioned.
It might not be a desk job, but still, a bus driver?
I don’t think it showed on my face, but as I was feeling down, an elderly man named Ferman added some explanation.
“For the time being, investigations in each star system will be requested by Her Highness, but this won’t progress unless Her Highness herself goes. We could use official letters, but they tend to be treated lightly depending on the status of the bearer. So, Lieutenant Bruce, we’d like you to safely and quickly transport Her Highness.”
“I could use my own cruiser for travel, but I’d have to rely on guards, which leads to scheduling issues. We can’t afford to be so leisurely when investigating pirates, and we simply must have a means of independent travel. Won’t you grant my wish?”
“If ordered, I’ll do whatever is required. However, my status is that of a temporary assignment from the military. I wonder how that will work out.”
“Ferman can handle all of that. I want to hear Lieutenant Bruce’s feelings on this. If we can have the kingdom’s hero join us, it will give us some persuasive power with the skeptical nobles. Lieutenant Bruce, won’t you listen to my request?”
Even I, having barely graduated from school, understand. There’s no way an orphan like me could refuse a request from Her Highness.
Her Highness herself must be fully aware of this, yet she still asks for my answer.
My answer can only be “Yes,” but what does she want me to do?
The only consolation is that earlier, she mentioned they would also use us as an active unit for pirate arrests.
Now, I have no choice but to bet on this.
To begin with, even if I stayed with the Coast Guard, I wouldn’t likely engage with pirates anytime soon.
The Third Patrol Fleet’s work is mostly about cracking down on smuggling ships and illegal fishing vessels.
The last time was an anomaly.
It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
If that’s the case, being in an organization that completely focuses on pirates might provide more chances in the future.
Of course, those chances would be limited to times when Her Highness isn’t on board.
Thinking about it, the luxurious interior renovations we did recently might have been a coincidental foresight for situations like this.
“I understand. I’ll leave my status to you, and I personally accept Your Highness’s proposal. However, what about my subordinates?”
“As I said, we’ll take the entire ship. Lieutenant Meyrica, can I ask the same of you?”
“As long as I can work with the acting captain, I don’t mind where. Above all, if there are orders, I’ll simply follow them.”
“I’m so glad. Ferman, the kingdom’s heroes, still unknown to the public, are joining us. Doesn’t this practically guarantee the success of this organization? Make arrangements immediately. Be sure not to disadvantage those who are cooperating with us. Remember, everyone will be treated as temporary assignments until the official organization is established.”
“Understood. I’ll make arrangements right away.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant. We’ll make arrangements immediately, so you’ll likely be transferred to my department as early as tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? That’s quite sudden.”
“Normally it would be difficult, but it seems the Coast Guard is also having trouble dealing with you. So, they’ll send you and your ship over to us right away. For my part, I wanted to secure this ship before its capabilities became widely known.”
“But the capabilities are still being tested, Your Highness.”
“Yet I hear it achieved the kingdom’s fastest speed in normal navigation.”
I wonder where this information is leaking from.
Although we haven’t kept it a secret, it’s quite different from the Coast Guard’s upper echelons who showed no interest in us at all.
Being evaluated so highly must be good for Lieutenant Meyrica and the others.
Honestly, it’s something I’ve never experienced myself, and while I’m happy, I’m also feeling emotions I can’t quite describe.
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those feelings are you not yet realizing this is putting you further and further on the path to not dying
Thanks for the treat.