Fated to Die to the Player, I'll Live Freely with My SSS-Class Ship!-Chapter 36: Landing on a Planet

As soon as I realized the Crazy Princess was here, I didn’t hesitate—I grabbed Eva and dragged her out of the way.

"H-Hey! Watch where you’re touching!" Eva growled, but I had no time to concern myself with such small matters.

In a flash, I pulled her into a corner just out of view, clamping a hand over her mouth. "Shhh!" I hushed her, sweat dripping down my forehead as I scanned the surroundings.

’Good, nobody paid attention to us!’ I sighed in relief.

Adding to that, I could no longer see the Crazy Princess—which meant she shouldn’t be able to see us either. At least, I hoped so. Time passed, and after a few grueling seconds, hell descended.

"...Hey."

A muffled voice, as if rising straight from the depths of the underworld, sent shivers down my spine.

"I’ll at least listen to your excuse before I put an end to your puny life."

Hearing Eva’s voice so chillingly void of emotion, I was confused. "...Huh?" I muttered as I turned my head.

Looking down, I realized the reason why. My right hand was over her mouth, silencing her—something I did on purpose. However, what I didn’t do on purpose... was everything else.

My left hand was planted firmly atop a soft mound, squishing the poor thing like a slime or a stress ball. Worse, I was mounted on top of her in a rather... compromising position. If someone were to see us, there was only one conclusion they’d come to—that I was assaulting Eva in a secluded corner of the Hub.

"N-No..." I stammered, about to apologize and explain—but I quickly realized it was far too late. Even if I told her why I was so desperate to avoid meeting the Crazy Princess, it would just sound like a poorly made excuse.

Instead, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and... savored the sensation in my left hand. Then, with all the wisdom of a dead man walking, I opened my eyes, flashed a thumbs-up, and declared:

"Yep, they’re the best boobs I’ve ever held!"

A sudden flash flitted across my vision, followed by my world spinning violently.

And then... darkness welcomed me.

---

The Calumet Star System was a vast solar system, consisting of 36 planets orbiting a Red Giant Star called Calumet. The Narlia Commercial Hub was situated on one of the 16 moons of the 8th planet from the center, known as Frask-0212.

Of course, these were all things I had just learned after checking the Star Map. The stars and planetary arrangements might have been the same as in the game, but the names were completely different after all.

For now, to search for the next clue leading to the main quest, I needed to go to the 30th planet in this system—Baltheves-402, the largest of all of Calumet’s planets.

Since the Range Falcon was still under repair, we had no choice but to ride Eva’s Hunter Frigate. Although much smaller compared to my SSS-Class Battle Cruiser, a Frigate could comfortably fit up to five crew members.

But now, with only Eva and me inside... the silence was killing me.

"..."

Ever since the incident with the Crazy Princess—which happened approximately 24 hours ago—Eva hadn’t spoken to me even once, not even during our briefing regarding our next course of action. I bet she was still angry. After all, I technically sexually harassed her, but...

’If it were the usual Eva, she’d have used that event as fuel to squeeze more money from me for her mother...’ I pondered, a bit worried about her sudden change.

Well, it was just a one-sided silence, anyway. I’d get used to it soon enough.

"Oh, we’re here already!"

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Since we were just traveling within the same solar system—with jump gates installed at regular intervals—it didn’t take long to reach our destination. We did incur a small fare for using the gates, but with millions still warm in our pockets, it wasn’t anything worth worrying about.

Ahead of us lay Baltheves-402—a colossal planet nearly five times the size of Jupiter, yet possessing a complex weather system that allowed life to thrive.

Its atmosphere was dominated by carbon-based gases: carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and the rare carbon trioxide. The latter, typically unstable, existed here thanks to the planet’s constant exposure to intense UV bombardment from its mother star. This relentless energy triggered ongoing reactions between carbon monoxide and oxygen gas, sustaining carbon trioxide as a fleeting yet persistent atmospheric component.

However, after descending 1,000 kilometers towards the surface, the atmosphere transitioned to something similar to Earth’s—with Nitrogen and Oxygen as its main components.

Due to the thick carbon-based atmosphere and the planet’s intense gravity, smaller ships had difficulty launching from the surface. Thus, to accommodate visitors, space elevators were constructed, utilizing a special tractor-beam field to create a clear and stable ascent/descent path.

Eva, as planned, docked near one of these space elevators. After carefully parking her Hunter Frigate, we walked over to the reception counter to pay the elevator fee.

"What?! 5,000 Credits per head?!"

But the price made me hesitate.

Back in the game, it only cost 10 Credits to use the space elevator—and that was round-trip! But here? 5,000 Credits one way?!

"This is highway robbery...!"

Although I felt slighted, I knew there was no point in arguing about the price. However, I turned to Eva, expecting her to react the same as me, but...

"..."

She simply kept a straight face, paid the fee, and walked toward the platform ahead—not batting an eye the entire way. Watching her act like this made me feel awkward. I scratched my head, unsure what was going on with her.

Anyway, the reason for the inflated fare was simple—unlike in the game, where the elevator ran on a scripted algorithm that instantly triggered a transition to the next location, the real thing was far more expensive to operate.

To maintain a "cheap" but sustainable system, the elevator only ran at predetermined intervals—once every 30 minutes and only if there were at least five passengers aboard. Thankfully, the next departure was just a minute away, and there were already more than a dozen people of varying races waiting.

I squeezed through the wall of meat and carapace, searching for Eva, only to find her standing dead center on the 10-meter-wide circular platform, with about two meters of empty space surrounding her.

Did they instinctively sense that she was pissed and dangerous, choosing to keep their distance?

For a moment, I caught her eyes flicking toward me—only for her to immediately turn away. Her frown deepened, making me feel like crying inside.

I just hoped we could let bygones be bygones and return to our usual… usual… Wait. This isn’t all that different from usual, is it?

She’s always frowning. She always hates my guts. This isn’t that much different from our usual dynamic!

A smile crept back onto my lips as I realized I was just overthinking things.

Right. Time should heal everything. Let’s just give her some space until her anger subsides!

---

With little trouble, the orbital elevator began its descent, gliding smoothly down toward the surface. The scenery outside wasn’t breathtaking—it was unsettling. A thick, churning cloud of carbon-based gases produced an impenetrable shroud on the planet, cutting out everything below. In contrast to the multicolored, cloud-spattered skies of other inhabited planets, the atmosphere of Baltheves-402 was thick, toxic fog—a warning sign, not a greeting.

But that was merely the beginning.

Beneath those clouds there existed a more sinister problem, one hauntingly familiar to the issues of Earth in the 21st century—an uncontrolled greenhouse effect. The thick atmosphere trapped heat, choking the planet under a never-ending, inescapable oven. The consequence? A world where 50°C (122°F) was the norm, and at its worst, the temperatures reached 72°C (161.6°F)—hot enough to boil water under the wrong circumstances.

"Uegh..."

The moment the elevator touched down, a blast of stifling heat spewed through the open doors, washing over us like a damp, stifling blanket. The air was dense with moisture, sticky, and utterly oppressive. It wasn’t heat—it was humidity so dense that it clung to the skin like a second shell, forcing every next breath into a heavier, slower one.

I survived only two seconds before slapping the seal button on the helmet of my suit. The soft hiss of the pressurized seal engaging was welcome, and judging by the coordinated movements around me, nearly everyone else felt the same. Only the insectoid species, whose exoskeletons were designed to handle extreme conditions, and a few well-prepared travelers who had sealed up their space suits beforehand, seemed immune.

Eva, of course, had her visor down long before we’d even arrived below. Wordlessly, she strode ahead, stepping through the half-translucent sliding doors and out into the world beyond.

I followed hard on her heels, keeping a few wary steps of distance—a precaution, just in case.

And then, as we reached outside of the tunnel from the elevator, my breath caught in my throat. The city before us was familiar and yet alien.

As a TSO veteran, I’d been here before—or at least, I’d thought so. But something was off. The city’s original theme should have been skyscrapers—glass and steel monoliths that reached up toward the heavens. That was how it had been in the game.

But this?

Instead of reaching upward, the buildings seemed pancaked, flattened into sprawling megacomplexes and domes that stretched outward rather than up. Pancaked, as if something had pressed down upon them—a radical departure from the vertical ambitions I remembered.

"Well…" I muttered under my breath, my eyes scanning the low-slung structures on the horizon. "With gravity this crazy, I guess tall buildings are just asking for a disaster."

Even with our space suits canceling out most of the planet’s gravity—twelve times that of Earth’s—every step was heavier as if the ground itself was actively trying to pull us down. My muscles strained, my body subtly compensating for the crushing force.

This was not Earth. This was a world where gravity was the absolute dictator, pressing down upon everything with relentless, unyielding force.

But one thing made me worried the most. "I wonder where the Adventurer’s Guild is..."

With how great the disparity of this place from what I recall, I’m quite sure I’d have trouble finding my way. Well, Eva’s still waking ahead, so I should just follow her for now. From how familiar she seemed with the path, forging ahead, maybe she knows the way?