Rising up from a Nobleman to Intergalactic Warlord!!-Chapter 209
---Victor POV---
Approaching the bay where the Krishna was docked, we stumbled upon Hiro and Mimi performing some routine maintenance on the ship. Caught up in their work, the two of them fail to notice us, so Olivia gave the space elf a gentle nudge forward to start the conversation. Taking a deep breath, Elma smacked herself on the face before nervously approaching the oblivious couple.
“Hey, Hiro and Mimi… How is it going?”, Elma inquired, trying to figure out how to delicately broach the subject with them. “Do you have a moment to talk? I am kind of in a bind, and I could use some help.”
Hearing a faint voice behind them, Hiro and Mimi turned around to see who was talking to them. Upon seeing Elma standing there, Mimi dashed over and pulled her into a big hug. Having been worried sick about her, as Elma had gone MIA since the accident, she was happy to see her friend was alive and kicking. Bombarding her with a bazillion questions in quick succession, Hiro had to separate the two of them to bring his lover back to reality.
“Mimi, how about giving Elma a chance to speak before burying her with questions? Judging by her unkept appearance, she has had a rough go of it these past few days.”, Hiro stated, giving his colleague a smirk. “Alright, Senpai, the floor is yours.”
“Ugh… I know I screwed up; I don’t need you rubbing my face into it.”, Elma complained, turning her gaze to the ground. “So, like I was saying, I am kind of in a bind right now. As I am sure you have heard by now, the military is making me reimburse them for the damage my ship caused. The final bill came out to seven million credits, and I am three million short. I… I know we have not known each other for long, but is there any way you could lend me the money to pay off my debt? Assuming you are fine with it, I can work as a crewman on the Krishina until I pay you back in full.”
“Do not act like we are complete strangers; Hiro and I see you as a dear friend!”, Mimi scolded her, puffing out her cheeks in frustration. “Mister Hiro, can we please help Elma out? If we don’t, she will be shipped off to the nearby prison station and likely be killed by the inmates for being a mercenary.”
Pulling out his tablet, Hiro took a quick look at his account balance to see how much cash he had available. Glancing over at Elma and Mimi, the two women looked back at him with hopeful gazes. Releasing a pained sigh, he agreed to help Elma out as he started scratching the back of his head.
“Paying off your debt is going to wipe out my savings, so we will need to head immediately to earn living expenses.”, Hiro commented, before realizing we were standing at the bow of his ship. “Uh, Elma, are these people with you? Please tell me you didn’t lead a bunch of debt collectors or military people here…”
“I… Uh… Well actually, I do not quite know who they are really. We kind of bumped into each other while I was drunkenly wandering around the slums.”, Elma laughed nervously. “Sorry for not asking this earlier, but who are you people?”
“It is fine; do not worry about it.”, I chuckled as I began introducing everyone. “To start with, these three are Balder, Fandral, and Loki; they are Asgardians. Beside them are Cegorach, Hoec, and Vaul; they are Aeldari. At the end there are my wife Lucoa’s childhood friends, Elma, Fafnir, Ilulu, and Tohru. Everyone else here, aside from my adorable daughter, is one of my beautiful wives.”
Startled by this information, Elma shakily asked me who I was exactly. Opening my mouth to answer her, Ionica cut me off and boldly introduced me to three of them.
“Our husband’s name is Victor von Stark. He is the Emperor of the Caspiel Empire, a Primarch of the Imperium of Man, a Duke of the Holfort Kingdom, a Jedi Sage of the Galactic Republic, and a platinum-ranked bounty hunter.”, Ionica proclaimed, wearing a beaming smile.
“Oh shit, Elma, you screwed up really big this time. Laying hands on a galactic leader’s spouse is a grave offense; you are a dead man walking.”, Hiro snickered, eating this up. “Sorry, Elma, we cannot bail you out of this one.”
Watching Elma’s mouth fall open, her complexion turned pale as a sheet of paper in seconds. Bolting over to us, she immediately initiated a flying dogeza and dove straight at our feet. Bashing her head into the thick steel floor, the space elf began trembling violently as she begged for leniency and mercy.
“No mercy for you!”, Tohru shouted in a playful tone. “I say we roast her alive for- “
“PLEASE NO, ANYTHING BUT DEATH!!”, Elma screamed, nearly wetting herself.
“Do not listen to that stupid dragon; she does not speak for us.”, Bo-Katan sighed as Lucoa put Tohru in a chokehold. “Given the circumstances, I think we can overlook your minor transgression this time. In the future though, try not to treat others like garbage when they accidentally bump into you.”
Relieved to hear she was off the hook, Elma melted onto the floor as tears began streaming down her face. Thanking Bo-Katan for her generosity and kindness, the space elf released an exhausted sigh before picking herself back up again.
“So, what will you guys do now? Going to some important diplomatic meeting or something?”, Elma asked, shifting the discussion in a different direction.
“Actually, we are going to hunt some pirates to collect some juicy bounties!”, Samus answered, cracking her knuckles excitedly. “Maybe we will bump into you guys out there during our hunt. If we do, may the best pilot win.”
“Assuming you three are free this evening, you are more than welcome to join us for dinner.”, I offered, wanting to have a private conversation with Hiro.
“Do… Do you have delicious food aboard your ship?”, Mimi asked, trying to stop herself from drooling.
“Haha, absolutely. Everything aboard was grown/raised planetside in my homeland.”, I confirmed.
Accepting my offer in a heartbeat, Elma and Hiro looked at her like she was insane. Having planned on politely rejecting my offer, they felt obligated now to attend to make Mimi happy. Telling them not to make a big deal out of it, I said it would be an informal dinner where we could just relax and enjoy each other’s company.
“Since Mimi is hellbent on sampling the food now… I guess we will see you this evening.”, Hiro said, hanging his head in defeat.
“Perfect, I will send a shuttle over to- “, I began to say as sirens started blaring all over the station.
Unsure what was going on, military personnel began swarming the docks as they scurried aboard the few military vessels in port. Spotting Commander Halls among the sea of soldiers, Hiro and I called out to her to see what was going on. Elated to see us, she ran over and immediately requested our assistance.
“The Belberem Federation’s fleet just entered the empire’s territorial space. We have been ordered to deploy and hold the line until further assistance arrives.”, Hall stated. “Is there any way I could secure your assistance, gentlemen?”
“If the pay is good, count me!”, Hiro said, eager to rebuild his savings.
“As bounty hunters, I suppose we can lend you a hand. Just make sure to submit a job posting through the association to keep things above board.”, I requested. “Otherwise, I will be forced to act in accordance with my position as a foreign dignitary.”
Already way ahead of me, Halls produced the official posting she had sent over a few minutes ago. Having Luxion notify our designated representative within the association that we were taking the job, we bid everyone farewell and promptly returned to the New Genesis. Charting us a course to the border, I fired up the Folding Drive and set out to meet our foe.
--- Belberem/Grakkan Border---
Opening fire upon us as we came through the wormhole, the Federation’s forces did not bother with confirming if we were friend or foe. Watching their munitions fizzle out on contact with our shielding, I almost decided to annihilate them for their rude behavior. Stopping myself though, as my family and friends were dying for a good fight, we came up with a suitable alternative that made everyone happy.
“Uh… So how exactly are we divvying ourselves up?”, Samus asked, looking at everyone.
“Count me out; this stuff is more Elma, Ilulu, and Tohru’s thing. If you need me, I will be in the library reading.”, Fafnir remarked, swiftly leaving the bridge. “Try not to bother, please.”
“You are a party pooper, Fafnir!”, Tohru berated him. “Where is your sense of adventure?”
Giving them a shrug before descending on the lift, the remaining people turned to me for guidance. Divvying up people as best I could, Samus would take Aela, Amallyn, Angelica, and Clarice aboard Yamato; Bo-Katan would take Deirdre, Ionica, Olivia, and Serana aboard the Planet Killer; and I would take everyone else, aside from Lucoa and Mylene, aboard the Endless Horizons. Giving clear instructions to avoid striking the commander bridges of the enemy vessels, we had been asked to collect hostages this time around, if possible.
“According to Commander Halls’ job posting, the Grakkan Empire is interested in taking any enemy nobles and officers we capture.”, I spoke up, pointing to the clause on the document. “For every noble/officer we turn over, we will receive a hefty bonus payment. All the money we earn today will be evenly split amongst yourselves to be spent however you wish during our vacation.” freēnovelkiss.com
“Hang on a moment; how exactly does that benefit us?”, Balder questioned, asking on behalf of the male gods.
“Not everything was included in the package I purchased. There is an extensive amount of exotic alcohol and food not included, and of course, there is the adult entertainment that you gentlemen might want to check out.”, I answered, uncertain if they need things tended to.
“You had us at exotic alcohol!”, Hoec chuckled, rubbing his hands together excitedly. “Let’s get out there and kick some ass.”
Heartily agreeing with him, everyone began to disperse and head to their designated ship.
