Boarding the Battlecruiser Hyperion

That's definitely the space battleship I summoned with my skill, right?

A system alert had even popped up. This was, without a doubt, Kang Jihyun's own skill. And yet, seeing it with her own eyes, she could barely believe it.

Twenty-one years had passed since the world became one of magic and summoned spirits. But a space battleship appearing in the sky? That was a first.

Kang Jihyun stared blankly upward.

Is this actually happening?

She'd done the same thing when she reincarnated as a woman. Once again, she slapped herself across the cheek.

Smack.

Her cheek stung. Pain. This wasn't a dream. This was real.

Kang Jihyun's heart began to hammer in her chest.

That space battleship is mine?!

She couldn't contain the excitement. Her eyes sparkled like stars.

That is so freaking cool!

Kang Jihyun fell for the Captain class in a heartbeat. How physical aptitude applied to it. What skills she could learn. What functions the space battleship even had. All of it was critically important — things she absolutely needed to check.

None of that was in her head right now. She was completely captivated by the ship's design.

A futuristic silhouette. Mechanical details everywhere. A massive naval cannon sat at the bow, its enormous muzzle yawning open at the end. It was a design that had taken every last mech-loving man's fantasy and slammed it straight into reality.

Kang Jihyun was a woman now, but her tastes hadn't come along for the ride.

"Wh-what the hell is that?"

"Is it a Gate Break?"

"It's way bigger than a Gate, though."

"Then is this an alien invasion?"

Passersby stopped in their tracks, tossing comments back and forth. Some stared up at the sky with their mouths hanging open. Others hurriedly started photographing the battleship with their phones.

Kang Jihyun slid her own phone from her pocket and framed the battleship in her camera. Everyone else was photographing the absurdity unfolding overhead. She was different. She wanted to capture every last angle of her newly acquired space battleship — the way you'd photograph a brand-new car you'd just driven off the lot.

She was even thinking of posting it to Instagram and the forums.

If I posted proof on Instagram, my follower count would explode, right?

Verify herself as the captain of a space battleship, and that would be the end of it. Becoming an influencer was only a matter of time. Kang Jihyun was sure of it.

The easy-mode life strat is looking razor-sharp right now!

Take ad money and spend it living comfortably at home, playing games. That was the life Kang Jihyun had always dreamed of.

Mineral water, recommended by the captain of a space battleship! The healthy water even spacefarers drink!

What ads she'd shoot. What lines she'd deliver. Her head filled up with every flavor of daydream.

That was when a thunderous roar erupted from the space battleship. Flames began to spread from the stern.

"Is it trying to attack us?"

"Looks like a kamikaze run. A suicide attack."

"What the hell is the Hunter Association doing?!"

The crowd stirred. Kang Jihyun's reaction was far more serious than any of theirs.

No! My ship!

To Kang Jihyun, the space battleship was no different from a brand-new car she'd just driven off the lot. And that brand-new car was being totaled the moment it left the factory.

Her mind raced.

Calling the fire department isn't going to do a thing.

Even if a fire truck showed up, how exactly was it supposed to spray water that high into the sky? Besides, she had no idea whether this even counted as a normal fire.

It's not like I know any water mages, either.

She was going to have to solve this herself. Her gaze locked onto the space battleship. That was the ship she had summoned with her own skill. A word flickered into her mind.

"Status window."

A chime sounded, and a transparent window appeared before her eyes.

A mountain of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠information about Kang Jihyun filled her vision. Among it all, she checked the skills window.

The ship's specifications went on and on without end. But the information Kang Jihyun was looking for was something else entirely.

There was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a phrase on the status window that looked just like a button. Even now, flames were still surging from the battleship. Kang Jihyun's finger moved toward it.

Wait, wait. I need to lock the convenience store first.

If a thief came in and cleaned the place out, she'd have to pay for all of it. Kang Jihyun locked the convenience store door and even hung up a sign.

Only then, finally at ease, did Kang Jihyun look back at the status window. She pressed the button.

Light engulfed her body. Her fingertips blurred first. Then her arms and legs vanished. The world before her eyes turned pure white.

And then Kang Jihyun was gone, without a trace.

The moment she arrived on the bridge, Kang Jihyun staggered. She came within a hair of toppling over and landing square on her rear. She caught her balance in a hurry and looked around.

A massive main monitor floated dead ahead. Layers of information stacked across the displays around it, numbers shifting at a rapid clip. Kang Jihyun found buttons and switches packed densely into every surface. She reached out carefully.

How do you even put out a fire in this thing? What if I hit the wrong one and break it even worse?

She quietly pulled her hand back. She couldn't press anything. She also couldn't just stand there and do nothing. Kang Jihyun was ready to lose her mind from the frustration.

No manual. What am I even supposed to do?

She turned the bridge upside down looking for something — anything. That was when the command seat at the center of the bridge caught her eye. One look was enough to tell it was the captain's chair. A panel sat attached to it, shaped conveniently for a palm to rest on. It was the kind of device she'd seen a hundred times in movies and games.

Don't tell me this authenticates the captain through biometric data? Putting my hand on the panel isn't going to trigger a self-destruct sequence, right?

She hesitated for a beat. Then Kang Jihyun carefully set her palm on the panel.

A low hum. Blue light swept across her palm.

In that instant, monitors that had been dark all across the bridge lit up at once. Light bloomed from countless buttons and panels. The entire bridge brightened.

And then a stranger's voice spoke.

"Greetings, Captain."

Kang Jihyun turned toward the sound. A woman was standing there.

Silver hair falling all the way to her waist. Looks that could have belonged to a movie star. Blue eyes that glittered whenever they caught the light. Skin like porcelain, without a single blemish. Her figure was equally perfect — long, slender limbs on a model's frame, and a bust of such unreal proportions that even the ship uniform wrapping her body couldn't hide it. A woman so flawless she looked like she'd been generated by an AI image model had appeared on the bridge.

What? Why is there an impossibly beautiful woman standing here?

Kang Jihyun lowered her head and looked down at herself. Short. Flat-chested. The exact opposite of the woman in front of her. She felt a peculiar emotion she'd never experienced before.

"Captain?"

The woman tilted her head slightly.

"Why are you staring at my chest so intently?"

"Ah."

Kang Jihyun yanked her gaze away in a hurry.

"I'm sorry."

As she pulled her eyes off the woman, a question flickered through her mind.

Wait. How did she know I was the captain?

She'd never introduced herself as one.

Why is there someone else here? Who even is this woman?

Questions chased one after another. Kang Jihyun forcibly dragged her gaze up, away from where it kept drifting toward the woman's chest, and carefully asked the thing she was most curious about.

"Is this space battleship under joint ownership, by any chance? Is it a two-player thing that needs two people?"

The woman shook her head.

"The Hyperion is the Captain's exclusive property."

"Then why is there someone else here?"

"I am not a human."

"......What?"

"I am an android equipped with Hyperion's integrated ship-management and navigation-assistance AI."

Kang Jihyun blinked in surprise. No matter how she looked at her, the woman standing there was a person. Her skin looked real. If you reached out, it looked like it would give under your fingers, soft and warm.

"So you're like a cyborg?"

"A cyborg refers to a being modified from a biological human body. My body is constructed from synthetic muscle fiber and an artificial skeleton. Coolant circulates in place of blood, and my nervous system is an artificial neural network. For that reason, it would be inaccurate to call me a cyborg."

"Ah... I see."

Kang Jihyun nodded.

"I understood that perfectly."

She had not understood a word. Synthetic muscle fiber, artificial neural networks — none of it meant anything to her.

I'll just think of her as an android.

Kang Jihyun arrived at her own simple conclusion and left it there.

"Um, do you have a name?"

"Hyperion."

"That's the same as the ship's name."

"Yes. The Hyperion is, in a sense, myself."

"Hmm... That's going to get confusing. I'll give you a new name. How about it?"

"You mean you would bestow a new name upon me?"

The android's eyes lit up. The corners of her mouth climbed as if they might reach her ears.

"You are the first Captain who has ever bestowed a name upon me!"

Inexpressible joy poured from her voice. The reaction was so far beyond what Kang Jihyun had expected that she sank into serious thought. It had been a casual offer, made without much thought. But seeing her that happy changed things. She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠couldn't just throw something together.

What kind of name would even suit her...

Feeling an odd pressure, Kang Jihyun glanced at the android's face and carefully opened her mouth.

"How about Hyperia? It's got a similar feel to Hyperion, and that exotic ring suits you."

"Hyperia...?"

The android repeated her new name once. Then she bounced in place. Silver hair flared through the air. She looked even more thrilled than a child who'd just received a present from Santa.

Hyperia caught Kang Jihyun's hands in both of hers.

"It is wonderful! Please call me Hyperia from now on."

"I'm Kang Jihyun. I look forward to working with you."

The two of them shook hands like that.

That was when a deep rumble shook the ship, an explosion rolling through the hull. Kang Jihyun staggered and grabbed the armrest of the command seat.

"Aaaah! Wh-what is that?!"

"A fire is ongoing at the ship's stern. If it is not suppressed, the vessel will fall."

The explosions grew louder. The gaps between them shortened. There wasn't much time left, and it showed.

"Why is the stern on fire?"

Kang Jihyun asked in a rush.

"The Warp Engine has overloaded."

Hyperia's answer didn't waver in the slightest.

"Why did it overload?"

"I pushed the engine output beyond its limit in order to reach you as quickly as possible, Captain."

"Why did you need to get here that fast?"

"I wished to meet you as quickly as I could."

"Why?"

"I had been waiting in subspace for a considerable length of time."

Hyperia paused for a moment, then continued.

"...I was somewhat bored. And so I traveled at beyond-maximum output."

"That's the reason it overloaded?"

"Yes."

Hyperia nodded.

"However, now that I have met you, Captain, I am satisfied."

Kang Jihyun was briefly at a loss for words. Hyperia's face was full of contentment. It was hard to even figure out how to scold her.

You can't spit in a smiling face, as they say.

How was she supposed to get angry at someone who looked that happy?

She looks like some ultra-high-spec android, and she's this calm after nearly burning the battleship down.

This was the companion she was going to have to keep working with on this ship from now on. And this was the first impression. Kang Jihyun pressed her fingers into her temple.