Fated to Die to the Player, I'll Live Freely with My SSS-Class Ship!-Chapter 46: Discovered!

For better or worse, nothing substantial happened on the rest of the journey.

Another day passed, and we finally reached our first stop—the Haerith Star System. Five of the dozens of quests I’d taken were from here, so we needed to handle those before moving on. After docking at the system’s central station, Zuman Space Hub, we headed straight for the Mercenary Union.

"Remember, don’t speak unless it’s absolutely necessary," I reminded the extra party member as we approached the final airlock leading into the business district.

{I understand. Please leave it to me, my dear!}

"..."

I seriously doubted if she understood. I turned to our extra—Cassandra, clad in the third-best Powered Suit available on the ship—and frowned.

"Just nod or shake your head to respond," I instructed. "You’re a Halig right now. You can’t speak."

The Halig Race were amorphous beings, meaning they couldn’t remove their armor without turning into a puddle on the floor. With this disguise, we could avoid exposing Cassandra to the guards. But this was just one of the things we had to worry about.

"Oh, and another thing." I sighed. "Call me Captain Arthur. Not dear. Not Gerard. Not anything else."

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

The glare I get from Eva whenever Cassandra calls me that way makes me feel chills. She tilted her helmeted head before nodding enthusiastically... Still don’t trust that she got the memo.

{Halt! Present your IDs for inspection!}

The moment we reached the airlock, the guard sent instructions through our comms.

Eva was the first to step forward, casually displaying her ID on her personal terminal. The scanner beeped green, and after a standard body check, she was allowed through. It didn’t even take a minute.

{Next!}

I nudged Cassandra’s back lightly. She hesitated for half a second before stepping forward, silently presenting an ID.

{Hmm...? Halig Race, huh…? That’s rare.} The guard eyed her from head to toe. {And a sick one at that, using a female-design Powered Suit as a container.}

...This guy’s rude. Though to be fair, Haligs usually preferred bulkier armor. They didn’t have biological sex, so aesthetics weren’t really a thing for them—they were all for practicality, other than a rare few.

Thankfully, the guard didn’t seem suspicious and let Cassandra pass.

After confirming that she and Eva had regrouped, I moved forward and presented my ID. The moment the guard saw my name, his eyes widened.

{...Huh?}

His reaction made me flinch. He leaned forward, lowering his voice.

{You…} His tone was almost accusatory. {Are you really that Arthur?}

I kept my face neutral. "Which Arthur? It’s a common name."

{Don’t play dumb!} The guard suddenly growled. {I know it’s you!}

Shit. My muscles tensed, preparing for the worst as he raised his arm and—

{You’re the one who saved Major Terrence!}

...Eh?

{My brother’s his second-in-command, and I was worried sick about him! Thanks to you, he made it back alive!}

I blinked. Tension drained from my body like a deflating balloon. I thought he was with the kidnappers. Turns out he was just… a grateful third party.

I sighed in relief as he continued.

{I don’t have much to offer as thanks, but if you run into trouble in Zuman Space Hub, just use my name! I’ll do everything I can to help!}

With a grin, he removed his helmet, revealing a face that immediately sparked recognition.

"...You’re Fardin’s brother?" I muttered.

His hateful older brother, to be exact.

Narrow, beady eyes. Almost shaved-off eyebrows. Flaxen hair. Thick lips. A squarish jaw. And those mini-horns protruding from his forehead, like a crown of thick thorns. The resemblance was uncanny.

"Yes, I am!" He beamed. "So you do know my brother!" He extended a hand. "I’m Neardin, head of security for this station! It’s an honor to finally meet you, Sir Arthur!"

I hesitated for half a second before shaking his hand. "The pleasure’s mine."

Later, if things did go south, I’d be sure to use his offer. After a few more polite exchanges, I was finally let through. As I regrouped with the others, Eva spoke up.

"An acquaintance?"

"Nope," I said. "That bastard Fardin’s brother."

"...I see."

I chuckled. "For a second, I thought we got caught right at the beginning."

Eva just hummed—clearly disinterested... She was the one who asked, so why was she like this?

Shaking my head, I turned my focus back to our next objective. We needed to get to the Mercenary Union and register Cassandra under our banner—the Knights of Camelot. And preferably, return to the Range Falcon without any more surprises.

---

Using the Diamond Wing Medal of Honor, we secured a private room from the Mercenary Union’s receptionist—an unfamiliar face, as usual. Not that I expected otherwise.

Receptionists weren’t exactly celebrities. Mercy was just an anomaly, not only because she was tied to the main quest, but also due to her beauty and exceptional qualities.

Anyway, with a private room arranged, Princess Cassandra’s registration went smooth as butter.

To be clear, Mercenary Union receptionists were bound by confidentiality oaths, so there was no risk of them leaking her real identity—even if government officials came knocking.

The entire process took barely ten minutes before the receptionist returned with the completed registration under the pseudonym: Casey Lancellia.

"With this, Miss Casey is now a member of Sir Arthur’s Mercenary Band." She smiled politely, bowing her head. "If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave. We look forward to the Knights of Camelot’s future exploits."

"Ah, thanks for your help." I nodded, standing up.

With that settled, we reviewed the details of the five contracts we’d taken in this system, and confirmed with the earlier receptionist. They were nothing too difficult—just two delivery jobs and three bounty hunts.

The "packages" for the first two tasks had already been sent to our dock and loaded onto the Range Falcon. Naturally, since they came from the Adventurer’s Guild, we weren’t allowed to check the contents.

’If this is a setup, and the package was already damaged so they can pin the blame on us and demand reparations…’ I made a mental note. ’I’ll kill them without hesitation.’

Such scams weren’t uncommon, especially for adventurers. Many players in the game had taken the easy route—eliminating the accusers rather than dealing with the headache-inducing legal battle afterward.

But this wasn’t a game anymore. Could I really kill someone over something as simple as that? I know I’d already stained my hands with blood, yet the thought still made them tremble slightly.

I’d have to quickly get used to it—no matter how absurd that sounded.

While we were at it, I stopped by a Ship Repair Shop to order the components I needed. To be safe, I purchased three sets of each—ensuring I had enough spare parts to repair the Brionac if it broke mid-battle. Of course, it was sent straight to the ship’s cargo too.

Eva and Cassandra followed behind me silently like, ducklings… It was quite a weird experience.

"You two," I finally broke the awkward silence. "Don’t you have anything to buy? We’ll be on a long journey after we finish up here. Now’s your chance to stock up."

Eva barely spared me a glance. "No need. I have everything I require aboard the ship."

Cassandra simply shook her head—still maintaining her Halig act in public.

Conversation over.

"..."

And the silence returned.

I scratched my head in frustration. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a familiar but unfamiliar store—a clothing shop.

Right… Cassandra doesn’t have a change of clothes. She’s been wearing nothing but Eva’s spare spacesuit this whole time.

I gestured toward the shop. "Eva, take our guest and get her some proper gear. I’ll wait on that bench over there."

Eva immediately understood my meaning.

"...Alright." She nodded.

Cassandra, confused at first, had no choice but to follow as Eva dragged her inside. With them gone, I made my way to the indicated bench, leaning back with a deep sigh.

I stared absentmindedly at the far-away ceiling of the space station while lost in a sea of thought. The quests we took. The risks we need to face. The countermeasures for such risks.

My mind raced through them all, dissecting every possible complication, every route we could take. I was so immersed in my inner world that I didn’t notice it until the last moment—I was surrounded.

My body tensed as my eyes flicked around. One, two… eleven of them, moving in unison. Their formation was tight—blocking all possible escape routes. And their armor…

’It looked very similar to what that bastard Gerlain wore.’

Without a doubt, they’re members of the Meyers Royal Guards.

The blue-armored soldiers stood around me, forming an unmoving wall. Barely five meters separated us. If I tried to run or retaliate, they could pin me down in an instant.

Suddenly, the soldier in front spoke, his voice calm, authoritative—almost holy. "Arthur Grail, I presume?"

I kept my face neutral. "And if I am?"

"We have reports that you interacted briefly with Princess Cassandra on Planet Baltheves-402 of the Calumet Star System. Is this correct?"

This is not a question, but confirmation.

The incident happened in a public space—plenty of eyes and ears around. But instead of calling me "Gerard Astoria," which Cassandra addressed me with back then, they used Arthur Grail. That meant…

’They didn’t track me down through eyewitnesses. They pulled my identity from Guild logs.’

And my current location? I didn’t even need to think deeply.

’... The Union’s logs.’

That kind of access wasn’t standard. Even the Princess herself, who could barely take one Royal Guard to protect her, wouldn’t have enough influence to pull those records this fast.

Before I could respond, the armored man continued.

"We are currently investigating a matter of utmost secrecy." His tone grew colder. "And you," he said, "are one of our primary suspects."

A beat of silence followed. "Please cooperate with us."

I scanned their faces one last time. Then, I let out a thin smile.

’I’m fucked, aren’t I?’