Fated to Die to the Player, I'll Live Freely with My SSS-Class Ship!-Chapter 116: No Limiter, No Brake, No Shame

With the arrival of the high-output, low-maintenance Perpetual Motion Machine—Type-3 Eternum Core, we had to rearrange the Range Falcon's engine systems.

Naturally, the Perpetual Engine now served as the primary power source.

Thanks to this, even if we end up jumping to World-One for whatever reason, we won't experience the usual energy fluctuations. There's no longer any need to alternate between multiple engines.

And with all three fragments of the Warp Nexus finally gathered, the only thing left was to find a trustworthy workshop capable of processing them into a fully operational Warp Module.

That, however, was proving to be a challenge.

Back in the game, I could hand over the parts to any random workshop, and they'd process it without so much as blinking. But this isn't a game anymore. This is reality. And in reality, if you handed someone a Warp Nexus...?

Yeah, they'd disappear with it before you could blink.

If Anderson were still around, things would've been simpler. We could've just asked for one of his trusted affiliates, and with his name backing us, no one would dare try anything shady.

"Arthur... This is where I say goodbye."

"...Huh?"

Inside the Range Falcon, while the three of us were in the middle of planning, Cassandra suddenly stood up and declared that. No warning, no build-up—just like that.

Naturally, both Eva and I were confused. There hadn't been any sign that she was thinking about leaving. But then, as I processed her words, the realization hit me.

"...You're going back to the Meyers System?"

Cassandra gave a small nod.

She was, after all, the new Queen of the Meyers Star System—a title she'd only recently accepted. Though she'd been managing things remotely so far, it was only a matter of time before her presence was required on-site. Apparently, that time had now arrived.

"Yes," she said quietly, her voice tinged with sadness. "I can't delay it anymore. The Elders have insisted the coronation be done soon. If we wait longer, political complications could arise."

"Casey..." Eva murmured, rising from her seat and gently placing a hand on Cassandra's back.

Neither of them spoke further, but they embraced tightly. I couldn't begin to guess what thoughts passed between them in that moment.

"But really, is there any need for such a dramatic goodbye?" I said, leaning back in my chair with a grin. "I mean, we're the ones escorting you back anyway."

"...Eh?"

Cassandra blinked, clearly not expecting that answer. Her confusion made sense—but to me, my reasoning was even more obvious.

"There's no way we're leaving you in the hands of some random military escort from the Meyers Star System. Just because King Meyers is dead doesn't mean all of his followers vanished with him."

"...!"

Eva's eyes widened, instantly understanding my point. Her hand tightened protectively on Cassandra's shoulder as her expression grew firm.

"You're right. Casey! We'll take you back ourselves—and we'll stay until your Coronation Ceremony is over!" she declared confidently, as if she'd made the decision for everyone.

Not that I had any objections.

After all... who said Cassandra was allowed to leave the Knights of Camelot?

Hehe...

---

If we compare the mass of the Range Falcon to the Eclipse Sovereign, it'd be something like 1 to 1,000,000. That leviathan of a ship needed 10,000 GJ of energy per second just to power its thrusters and reach cruising velocity.

Now, imagine redirecting all 10,000 GJ of energy into the propulsion systems… of the Range Falcon.

The result?

"F-FUCKING SLOW DOWN, YOU BASTARD!!!"

"Ancestors, please forgive me! Please protect us! Kyaaahhh!!!"

This. This was the current situation.

We were merely attempting a routine Space Jump using only our engines and Jump Drives. But since I disabled the limiter on the engine—to test the Perpetual Engine's full capabilities—we inadvertently entered Hyperspace Travel… while weaving between other ships.

It reminded me of an old brick game racing minigame. The one where you dodge oncoming cars by shifting left or right with perfect timing.

Yeah, that was us right now.

With a 10,000-fold increase in available power, our speed skyrocketed to over a hundred times the usual rate. Basically, we were overtaking every single ship also cruising through hyperspace.

Honestly, this was harder than the Aegis Grand Prix.

"Ah, sadly, we can't decelerate just yet. We have to maintain this velocity until we reach the wormhole," I explained casually while swerving to avoid another incoming ship.

Even the tiniest positional adjustment caused the cockpit to rattle like crazy… Honestly, it was an absolute thrill. A feast for the senses. I didn't even want to stop.

But, of course, I had to.

Soon, we'd be exiting hyperspace and entering the wormhole sector—leading directly to the Meyers Star System.

Hmm? Why not just use the warp gate? Well, the next warp gate jump to the Meyers System wasn't scheduled for another two days. And we don't have that luxury. Cassandra had only 50 hours to reach her coronation ceremony.

That's why I went all in—no hesitation, just full throttle.

[Exiting Hyperspace Travel.]

As Percy's voice rang out, the ship began trembling violently. Gradually, we slipped out of hyperspace and reentered normal space—although our speed remained in the hundreds of thousands of kilometers per second.

Yes, it was incredibly dangerous. No sugarcoating it.

"Percy, divert 50% of the engine's power to shields and push them to 1,000% output. Direct the rest into forward-facing thrusters," I ordered swiftly as I sprang into action.

I let Percy handle those two basic functions, but the rest—dodging asteroids, avoiding traffic, skimming past pirates—I had to do all of that manually. It was exhausting. I needed to react before anything even showed up visually.

*BOOM!*

The reverse thrusters engaged, and the entire ship lurched forward as we began a high-speed deceleration. All of us were slammed against our restraints from the inertia.

"Ugh...!"

I braced myself, glancing at the four mountains on either side—strained against their tight suits, held in check only by their seat belts—as the deceleration gradually stabilized.

The Range Falcon's speed fell steadily from hundreds of thousands, to tens of thousands, to thousands… and finally reached cruising velocity.

The entire braking process had taken over ten minutes.

"Phew... That was exciting," I sighed, letting out a breath and smiling.

"Bastard...!" Eva suddenly leapt at me, grabbing my collar. "Are you trying to kill me?! No, wait—you were trying to! You perverted, reckless bastard...!"

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"W-Whoa... Calm down…!"

Damn, so those discreet glances of mine weren't as stealthy as I thought.

"U-Uhm... Arthur?" Even Cassandra spoke up from her seat, arms crossed tightly over her chest. "I-If you wanted to look... you could've just asked, you know...?" she added, cheeks flushing crimson.

It took me a second to register what she said, and even then, I doubted my ears.

"C-Casey?! You don't mean—"

Even Eva was stunned, her jaw practically hitting the floor. "She said she gave up, and now this...! It's all this damn pervert's fault...!" she muttered under her breath.

"Urk...!"

At the same time, her grip on my collar tightened, cutting off my airflow and choking me out.

Right before I blacked out from oxygen deprivation, I caught sight of Cassandra's faint, sly smile—and the glimmer of some unfamiliar emotion hiding behind her gaze.

---

Meyers Star System.

It's one of the largest Star Systems that still operates under an Aristocratic System to govern its people. In fact, it's the last one to retain a ruling King or Queen at the very top of its hierarchy.

While I was knocked out cold, Eva had apparently taken over and piloted the Falcon straight to our intended destination.

By the time I woke up, I was already lying in an outrageously extravagant room, overflowing with ornate paintings, antique vases, and other expensive-looking art pieces. A glaring display of the rich history and deep artistic pride of the Meyers Star System.

"The fuck is this place...?" I muttered, unable to contain the words.

It was just so overdecorated that it crossed into overwhelming territory.

As I pushed myself upright in the middle of the bed—which, by the way, was practically the size of my entire room back on Earth—a bell suddenly chimed.

The next thing I knew, a group of women—maids, dozens of them—burst through the door and flooded into the room. They quickly positioned themselves around the bed like they were about to perform some ancient ritual.

"Sir Arthur."

One of them stepped forward and addressed me directly.

Probably the head maid.

She… wasn't old. Not even close. In fact, she looked to be the most stunning woman among all the maids gathered around me.

"The Coronation Ceremony is already underway. We must dress you immediately, so please forgive us in advance."

"...Wut?"

The Coronation was already happening? That must mean I'd been out for a whole day at least.

But more importantly—why the hell did I need to change?

Before I could even open my mouth to protest, the maids started climbing up onto the bed. At first, I thought it might be some kind of strange cultural tradition or weird "welcoming play," but... the next several minutes were pure hell.

They grabbed and pulled, stripped me bare without hesitation or shame.

I felt like my entire sense of dignity had been shattered and stomped on...

I did try to retaliate in my own petty ways—"accidentally" brushing against this or that while they worked—but none of them even flinched. It made me feel like all my efforts were completely in vain.

"...This should be enough."

Roughly ten minutes later, the group of maids finally withdrew.

In front of me stood a full-body mirror, revealing my reflection.

My hair was slicked back and fixed in place, probably with some kind of high-class hair gel. My earrings had vanished, and even the piercing holes were mysteriously gone. Magic, maybe?

Looking further down, I caught sight of my attire—and it was... something else.

The entire outfit screamed nobility from top to bottom.

A jet-black formal coat over crisp white innerwear, complete with some ridiculous fluffy design puffing around my chest.

Below, I wore polished black silk pants, paired with glossy shoes that looked like they were worth a small fortune.

Draped around my shoulders was a thick overcoat—no, wait—a cape?

Anyway...

"What kind of cosplay is this?"