Chapter 134

<Objective>

<Safely escort the 'Princess' and 'ship' to the base.>

<Clear Rewards>

<Randomly awarded one ship integrated with monster bio-technology.>

<Permanent +10 or more trust with the monster forces while the VIP resides at the base.>

<Increased chance of 'positive' events related to monsters.>

<Warning!>

<If the 'ship' is destroyed, rewards will be reduced.>

<If the 'Princess' dies, permanent -100 trust with the monster forces will be immediately applied.>

…

‘…’

What the hell.

I thought it was strange that the rewards were too generous just for sending a fleet.

Naturally, the quest updated and changed the objectives, making me feel somewhat scammed…

But realistically, it was obvious that such rewards wouldn’t come from just sending a fleet.

I quickly calmed my rising irritation and decided to greet the ‘Princess’ who appeared on the screen.

“Nice to meet you, so…”

-“Hmm! Come to think of it, you haven’t heard about me yet!”

With Belial, who’s about my height or taller, standing next to me,

the little Princess, who seemed barely half my height, touched the hem of her dress and continued her introduction.

-“My apologies for the late introduction! By the Queen’s command, I will be residing at your base. You may call me ‘Luka’!”

The girl who introduced herself as ‘Luka’ looked like something straight out of a medieval fantasy.

A large crown adorned her nearly platinum-blonde hair.

Her petite body was appropriately wrapped in a splendid outfit that mixed armor and dress.

Truly, anyone would instinctively call her ‘Princess.’

Of course, since the Princess on the screen was ultimately a member of the ‘monsters,’

the seemingly gorgeous armor-dress was, in fact, a living outfit made of bio-shells, scales, and membranes.

Unlike Oxianor, who was just an envoy and whose ‘suit’ was writhing with tentacles, eyeballs, and other weird stuff,

Luka’s dress was a perfect blend of shells and scales, with jellyfish-like membranes fluttering like frills.

To an uninformed observer, they’d never guess that Princess Luka’s outfit was a living creature.

But I could tell, partly because I knew the ‘setting’ about monsters,

and partly because one side of Luka’s dress transformed, flesh bubbling up like a parasitic organism.

The flesh clumped and morphed, gradually taking on a humanoid shape.

Soon, a bare, stern-looking woman’s ‘upper body’ connected to the Princess’s left side spoke to me…

-“So, you’re the Commander, the male anglerfish of the Pirate Empress I’ve heard so much about. Nice to meet you.”

Anyone would instantly think, “Oh, that’s alive!”

Moreover, though not visible on the communication screen,

I had the Community Window’s wiki tab open right next to me.

Naturally, I gave a puzzled look at the guy who suddenly appeared and casually spoke informally.

“…Who?”

-“I am the escort unit created by the Queen herself through genetic combination to protect the Princess.”

-“Mel, you startled the Commander by appearing so suddenly.”

-“My apologies, Princess.”

And just like that, after being scolded by the Princess, he dissolved back into the dress.

‘…What the hell.’

Completely self-centered, I didn’t even get to ask his name.

But judging from his introduction, he seemed like just a regular guard.

I quickly calmed my confused mind and, after greeting the lively Princess again,

…

I decided to give Belial, who was making a complicated expression next to me, the order to bring the princess back safely.

However, unlike the warm and friendly atmosphere when we first met, once we started the actual mission, we encountered all sorts of bizarre and grotesque enemies…

– “Wild monster horde detected ahead.”

“Don’t bother reporting every little thing. Just tell Pashtira to wipe them out.”

– “Understood, Commander.”

Due to some reason, they weren’t connected to the neural network’s synapses and lived on their own, so-called ‘wild monster hordes’ in small fleets.

– “Hand over everything you’ve got!”

– “Bwaaaah!!!”

– “Ah.”

Despite knowing that a ‘large monster fleet’ was lurking nearby, they fearlessly charged at our fleet, only to meet their end along with their ships under Pashtira’s massive beam cannon.

– “For the Savior!!!”

– “Oh.”

Or they were infiltrated by Partia, who declared them impious and left them with scripture-shaped marks on their heads. Or, under Belial’s sharp fleet command, they ended up being the ones getting plundered by unaffiliated space pirates.

And then there were the ‘ordinary’ friends…

– “Commander! A massive life form detected ahead!”

– “Oh my, even at my maximum output… it seems impossible♡”

– “No choice, let’s detour around it.”

– “Understood.”

Suddenly, a ‘giant monster’ popped out of nowhere, forcing us to alter our return route.

– “Fleet of the Commander, halt immediately!”

– “…What’s this about?”

– “Commander, a small fleet from the Earth Federation is ordering us to halt.”

– “Ah, we’re caught.”

While returning via the altered route, we trespassed through another faction’s territory, got caught, and had to flee.

In some cases…

– “Commander, a fleet from the Xenobia Empire is chasing us from behind.”

– “Can’t we shake them off?”

– “They’re faster, it’s impossible.”

– “Tsk… no choice, prepare to intercept.”

– “Yes, Commander.”

Somehow, we attracted so much aggro that some were relentlessly chasing us.

With such an eventful return journey, there were more than a few things to worry about, and it was quite nerve-wracking.

Of course, if I could just focus on that alone, I wouldn’t need to be so on edge…

—————————————-

<Large Ship Dedicated Shipyard construction in progress...>

<Time remaining until completion: 9 days 4 hours 37 minutes 55 seconds>

—————————————-

While the base upgrades were ongoing…

– “Commander, there’s news that Earth Federation fleets are reinforcing nearby airspace.”

– “…What?”

– “It’s confirmed, Marian delivered the news.”

Along with the constant news of factions’ surveillance…

—————————————-

Title: Report for Community Glitch

Author: Icarus

Content: [Image]

Only report content in comments

False reports will result in a 15-day ban

Comments:

– [Wanjaaaah!!!! (link) <- This is a crap image!]
- [(link) <- There's pedo snuff running here, remove it quickly]
- [(link) <- They keep making disrespectful remarks about the deceased, please block them]

----------------------------------------

'Ughhhhh.'

...Even when I thought I could rest, community reports kept coming in.

With such busy days continuing, my mental state was inevitably burning up.