Episode 1: The Harsh Realities of Life Don’t Change Much Even in Space
Just because someone purchases people through human trafficking doesn’t necessarily mean that all who engage in such acts are monsters—or so it seems.
It’s been some time since a hundred thousand Earthlings were sold off to various corners of the galaxy.
Kaito and Emotion were working hard on rescue operations, traveling to the locations where Earthlings had been sold based on a list created by the Federation.
Given the large numbers involved, priorities naturally had to be established. The most urgent rescues were for Earthlings who had been purchased by species intending to use them as food. There were those with the vile disposition of eating rare species as delicacies, and species whose biology required them to consume only chemical compounds produced in the brains of intelligent beings under stress. The Federation threw their full support behind these cases, and we were able to rescue everyone fairly quickly. They’re now receiving treatment in the Federation while waiting to reunite with other Earthlings.
Next came the species that had purchased Earthlings purely as labor. Since there was no immediate danger to their lives, these cases were given somewhat lower priority. We’ve been prioritizing rescues from the more malicious species, but in the process, Kaito seems to have become quite famous among those types.
“Well, it’s good that there’s less trouble to deal with.”
[Making too many enemies isn’t a good thing, you know.]
“I’d say I’m more of a pacifist, actually?”
Saying something of questionable credibility, he sees off the rescued Earthlings. Those transferred to the Federation first have their health checked. If any illegal body modifications were performed, they receive Federation-standard body modifications, and if there are no problems, they join the Earthling residential districts.
Just as he was thinking about the next destination, unusually, a communication came in—from the Federation.
When the communication connects, the massive form of a Terapolapanecio fills the entire screen. Judging by the size ratio with the surroundings, this must be a councilor individual.
“It’s been a while, Councilor-san. What can I do for you?”
[You should show your face at the Central Star Cluster once in a while, Kaito, Third-rank Citizen, Enek-Ragif.. Are you enjoying your galactic travels?]
“That’s my fault. When I want to enjoy a carefree journey as soon as possible, I tend to get impatient. Experiencing scenery I’ve never seen before is indeed enjoyable.”
[That’s wonderful, Kaito, Third-rank Citizen, Enek-Ragif. I just confirmed a protection request for Earthlings. Have you completed the protection of the Earthlings?]
“Yes. Is there something wrong?”
Had some dangerous individual been mixed in?
He hurriedly tried to instruct Emotion to double-check the backgrounds of those they’d just rescued, but the councilor raised one of his tentacles as if to interrupt.
[Ah, my apologies. That itself isn’t the problem. We’ve received a rescue request from one of the artificial celestial bodies near your current coordinates used for observing undeveloped planets.]
“A rescue request doesn’t sound very peaceful.”
[Exactly. And here’s the main point. There’s a fleet from outside the Federation heading toward those coordinates.]
A navigation chart appears beside the councilor’s body. Zoom in.
It’s a diagram of a planetary system that’s similar to but different from the solar system. Near the sixth planet from the star is a red sphere—this must be the artificial celestial body.
Outside the planetary system is Quenbee’s icon. And from another direction, a green fleet heading there. It’s quite large in scale.
[Alvegemeshtna Rare Organism Protection corporation. A massive corporate entity that protects and manages rare life forms throughout the universe.]
“Rare life forms… could it be?”
[Indeed. They also consider Earthlings as subjects for protection. And they were the ones who purchased the most Earthlings in the recent incident.]
The corporation’s history is helpfully displayed.
It seems they were affiliated with the Federation at one time. According to the history, they belonged to the Federation for hundreds of millions of years, but currently they’ve separated and are acting independently.
They purchased and protected about sixty thousand people—roughly half of the sold Earthlings. The number sixty thousand wasn’t for any particular reason; apparently they were short on budget.
“Short on budget?”
[The Federation has been freed from resource problems, but those not belonging to the Federation have not. You know well that they need funds to survive.]
“I understand that. We lived in such a society when we were on Earth too.”
[The trade in rare life forms is prone to price increases. The corporation was probably taken advantage of quite a bit.]
The reality of being treated as rare life forms is honestly one that even Kaito hasn’t gotten used to.
Still, when he thinks that thanks to that, sixty thousand Earthlings were protected, it doesn’t seem like all bad things.
“Oh, let me get back to the topic. So I should make contact with the corporation’s fleet while heading to the artificial celestial body for rescue, correct?”
[Exactly. Can I ask you to do this?]
“Understood. By the way, about the rescue details—”
[…Hmm. It would be simple to explain, but we’ve judged that we shouldn’t give you preconceptions.]
“Huh?”
At the councilor’s unclear statement, Kaito tilted his head this time for sure.
The explanation could be given, but wouldn’t be explained at this time. Was this the case for others besides Kaito, or was it consideration for Kaito, who had only recently become a Federation citizen? Probably the latter. The Terapolapanecio showed quite thoughtful consideration toward Earthlings, especially Kaito.
If he pressed, they would probably tell him, but Kaito also decided to respect the councilor’s judgment.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
“That’s only about ten percent of the fleet?”
[So it appears, Captain. That mark displayed on the hulls must be the corporation’s symbol.]
Large, small, medium, super-large. Countless ships formed a group moving in a fixed direction.
The hulls prominently display the same design mark. Ships of different colors, sizes, and shapes all show their corporation affiliation with that mark.
The infamous Zanigariū Grand Fleet that had been buying up Earthlings as slaves—the large-scale battle with them had made Kaito’s name widely known outside the Federation (apparently), but the corporation’s fleet, even if only partial, matched the scale of the Zanigariū Grand Fleet.
[Compared to the Zanigariū Grand Fleet, there are fewer combat vessels. Also, the central mothership in the database isn’t here.]
“Central mothership? There’s a pretty huge ship over there, but that’s not it?”
[Correct. The corporation’s central mothership has about three times the volume of Zodgia. That ship is also huge, but it’s a different scale.]
“That’s incredible.”
The ship running in the center of the fleet is larger than anything he’s seen before. But it’s not as big as Zodgia. Thinking about it that way, just how large is the central mothership?
It’s a moment when he feels the joy of soaring through space. No matter how much he learns, things that exceed his imagination keep increasing.
“In that sense, Zodgia is also called a celestial body, but it’s a mothership, isn’t it?”
[That’s right. The organizational power to command such a fleet—we must not underestimate them, Captain.]
“So why are you assuming we’ll pick a fight, Emotion?”
Lately, Emotion seems oddly militant. Without thinking that his own behavior might be having a bad influence, Kaito sighs to himself.
That said, with such a large-scale fleet, there is the problem of where to connect for peaceful contact.
With the Zanigariū Grand Fleet, there was no need to think about such things. After all, he just had to make demands directed at the largest ship.
But just because they’re sailing alongside without attacking doesn’t mean they won’t be seen as enemies. Kaito made up his mind and decided to connect communication with a nearby ship.
“I take it you’re the Rare Organism Protection corporation. This is combat vessel Quenbee, Captain Kaito. I’d like to speak with your person in charge.”
[Captain Kaito!? Wait, we did indeed purchase Earthlings, but we’re treating them extremely humanely in your language. We have no intention of fighting with you.]
“I have no intention of fighting either, though?”
Just after saying he wanted to talk, the corporation staff who answered the communication spoke fearfully.
[It’s your daily conduct, Captain.]
“Could you stay quiet for a moment, Emotion?”
Emotion’s blunt retort, despite supposedly having poor emotional expression, somehow pierced Kaito’s heart even more painfully.
“As I said, I just want to speak with your person in charge. Or are you the fleet’s person in charge?”
[S-sorry about that. According to our information network, Captain Kaito is known as quite fierce and dangerous even among Earthlings. I’ll correct the information.]
“…Thanks, I suppose.”
After being treated as rare life forms, now he’s treated like a wild beast.
The thought of throwing everything aside and attacking crossed a corner of his mind, but making the corporation an enemy for just that reason would indeed make him a wild beast. He calmed himself and waited for the other party’s response.
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
