Chapter 133

Chapter 133. Busy, Yet Not Busy (4)

Marian, who had heard about her brother’s troubles(?), came up with a solution that, as always, went beyond our imagination.

“So, the Pirate Alliance is gathering near the monster’s territory under the pretense of group training?”

“Of course!”

Worried about the base’s defense = Need to block enemy approach = Make it impossible for enemies to come in the first place!

Following this logic, she randomly scattered a whopping 500,000 pirate ships near our base.

Literally, not just my base, but even the Resource Zones were swarming with pirate ships.

Watching this, I couldn’t help but think that other users might get annoyed.

What if we accidentally attract the attention of other factions? These thoughts kept popping up in my mind…

Seeing my worried expression, Jessica, who was nearby, quietly approached and spoke up.

“Commander, why do you look so worried?”

“Hmm…”

I explained my concerns to Jessica, who then perked up one of her folded bunny ears.

She confidently reassured me, acting like a bunny girl with a cat’s mouth, exuding an oddly self-assured attitude.

“Don’t worry, Commander. Everyone knows that we’re associated with the Pirate Empress!”

“…That’s not the point. Even so, having hundreds of thousands of ships gathered in this airspace might attract unwanted attention from other factions.”

From what I remember, if a fleet from another faction or a user’s fleet exceeds a certain level, it triggers a response from other factions, leading to a large-scale fleet deployment to crush it.

When I brought this up, Jessica nodded, acknowledging the validity of my concern.

Meanwhile, Marian, the one who caused all this, chimed in.

“Oh, that? No problem at all!”

She then headlocked Leonard and another unnamed male pirate simultaneously.

“Other factions also send fleets to their favored or influential commanders’ bases like this, right?”

“…Really?”

‘I’ve never heard of such a thing.’

In all my time playing the game, I had never heard or seen anything like this.

But then again, Marian isn’t just a player who joined with her fleet; she’s still the leader of her faction while being my subordinate.

“Besides, everyone knows that I’m here, including that Earthling and Xenobia, who always tries to show off!”

“True.”

“With the Empress here, it would be more suspicious if we weren’t guarding the place!”

Hearing the enthusiastic agreement from the two men beside Marian, I realized that this world doesn’t operate 100% like a game and decided to adopt a more accepting perspective.

Of course, that’s beside the point.

“Anyway, big bro, you don’t need to worry about that!”

“…Is that so?”

“Yep! Before any hostile forces even get near your base, my subordinates, including these guys, will handle it! Right?”

As she said this, Marian tightened the headlocks on her subordinates.

Despite knowing that all her food seems to go to her chest, she didn’t seem to notice that her chest was providing a cushion for her subordinates’ heads.

The two subordinates, buried in the Empress’s cleavage, were so excited they could only moan.

“Hey, what are you guys doing? Say something!”

Seeing her tighten the headlocks even more, I couldn’t help but feel a bit envious of Leonard and the other pirate officer, who I usually felt sorry for when they got scolded by Marian.

But as the happy squeeze turned into a painful one…

“Gurgle, of course! Our Empress is right!”

“We’ll protect it with our lives!”

“See? Told you!”

The two men, finally snapping out of it, quickly affirmed Marian’s words with extreme enthusiasm.

Satisfied, Marian released their headlocks and tossed them to the ground.

Simultaneously…

She reacted as if asking, “What about me?”

I just nodded at Marian, thinking she was truly amazing.

Anyway, with Marian’s help, I could feel at ease about the base’s defenses.

If I dragged my feet here any longer, I’d probably get hit with Oxianor’s sharp glare, which would surely chip away at my credibility. So, I was conducting the final fleet inspection.

“Belial, I’m entrusting you with fleet management for this expedition.”

“I’ll live up to your expectations, Commander.”

First, I appointed Belial, the only superhuman in my fleet with a “fleet buff,” as the commander.

Additionally, I couldn’t send the Overseer, the only heavy cruiser and flagship in my fleet responsible for firepower.

“Oh my, I’d rather stay by your side, Commander♡”

“Sorry, but you’re the only one I can rely on, Pashtira.”

“Of course♡ Just leave it to me♡”

To prepare for any unforeseen situations, I also deployed Pashtira for firepower support.

And finally, to prepare for boarding battles as well.

“Partia, I’m counting on you to keep Pashtira in check.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Savior.”

“Huh? What do you take me for?!”

Leaving Pashtira, who’s a mix of a trigger-happy lunatic and a wild card, unchecked would be too much of a burden for Belial, who’ll be busy commanding the fleet.

So, as a control measure, I included Partia, the “Church’s” saint, in the mix.

Along with the fleet composition heading to the monster’s stronghold, it was clear that resupply would be difficult. So, I loaded up resource mining ships “doubling” as repair ships and transport destroyers with repair resources and added them to the formation.

“Commander, about the current fleet composition…”

“Hmm.”

“It’s 20 ships more than before. Are you sure this is okay?”

—————————————-

<Expedition Fleet Status>

<Light Cruisers: 11>

<Destroyers: 45>

<Resource Mining Ships: 5>

<Escort Ships: 25>

<Patrol Ships: 35>

<Total of 121 ships deployed>

—————————————-

Looking at the fleet composition screen that popped up along with Jessica’s words, I could see that over two-thirds of my fleet had been deployed.

Except for the heavy cruisers and some destroyers, almost all the ships were committed.

Jessica’s expression seemed to ask, “Didn’t you deploy too many?”

In response, I shrugged, signaling that there was a reason for this.

I immediately activated the base’s teleport system.

With a flash of light, I sent the fleet I had meticulously organized, using Oxianor and the base’s neural network, on a long journey to the hidden monster’s stronghold, their nest.

==========

But the next day.

When a communication request came in from Belial, who had traveled with the fleet via long-distance teleportation, I connected the call while grinding daily quests.

– “Commander, a VIP… as referred to by the monsters, has boarded our ship…”

“Already? Then bring them here right away.”

Surprisingly, in this aspect, it was just like the game. The VIP boarded without any hassle, making me think the developers might’ve skimped on the details.

But then, Belial, who’s usually sharp, seemed hesitant.

– “Um… Commander? There’s something I need to report.”

Seeing Belial fidgeting on the screen, I couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

And right after.

– “Are you Commander Icarus, the consort of the Empress? Pleased to meet you!”

The moment I saw the “kid” popping up next to Belial, I was forced to realize the true identity of the “VIP” mentioned by the monsters, as a new quest updated before my eyes.