Princess, Our Princess (1)
The moment Jessica finished speaking, the fleet formation screen popped up in front of me.
More than two-thirds — no, an outright majority of my fleet — had been slotted into the deployment. Everything was committed except the heavy cruisers and a handful of destroyers. Jessica's face said it all: Isn't this a little excessive?
I shrugged at her, as if to say there was a reason for all of it, then fired up the base's teleport system on the spot. In a shimmer of light, the carefully assembled fleet was shunted through Oxianor's neural link with the base and sent on the long road toward the hidden kaiju stronghold — the Nest itself.
The next day, a comm request from Belial came into the command center. The fleet had completed its long-range teleport, and I was still half-asleep when I took the call, wondering what the hell it could be this time.
"Commander, a being designated as a VIP by the kaiju side has boarded one of our ships…"
"Oh, they boarded already? Then bring them straight here."
Surprisingly, that part matched the game exactly — the VIP hopped aboard the moment we arrived, no fuss, no ceremony. I figured the devs had gotten lazy with the fine print and told Belial to just bring them over.
"Ah… Commander? There is something I need to report regarding that matter."
Even the usually sharp and composed Belial was hesitating on-screen. I frowned, suspicion creeping in — and then, right beside her, a small figure popped into frame.
"So you are Commander Icarus, the Empress's consort! A pleasure!"
The instant I laid eyes on the kid who had just bounced into view next to Belial, a freshly updated quest window slammed itself across my vision — and I was forcibly enlightened as to exactly what the kaiju side had meant by "VIP."
Upon your fleet's arrival at the kaiju stronghold, a bio-ship carrying a "VIP" joined up without delay — as if it had been waiting for you.
Astonishingly, the VIP's true identity is one of the "princesses" — a successor born to the Queen who currently rules the kaiju faction.
To avoid any future sniper attacks that might damage her vessel, the princess has transferred aboard your ship, and her personal vessel has been integrated into your fleet formation.
◆ OBJECTIVE
Safely escort the "Princess" and her "Ship" back to base
◆ CLEAR REWARDS
• One random ship incorporating kaiju bio-technology
• While the VIP resides at the base, Trust with the kaiju faction permanently maintained at +10 or higher
• Increased chance of "positive" kaiju-related events
⚠ CAUTION
• If the "Ship" is destroyed, rewards will be reduced.
• If the "Princess" dies, Trust with the kaiju faction will immediately drop by −100 permanently.
…
You have got to be kidding me.
I'd thought the rewards for simply sending a fleet were suspiciously generous — and sure enough, the quest had quietly rewritten itself and swapped the objective right under my nose. I felt thoroughly scammed… but realistically, of course they were never going to hand out prizes like that just for dispatching a few ships. I swallowed the spike of irritation, composed myself, and offered a greeting to the "princess" on the screen.
"A pleasure to meet you. So, that would make you…"
"Ah! Come to think of it, this lady has not yet introduced herself!"
Belial stood beside her — roughly my height or taller — which only made the little princess look even smaller, barely half Belial's size. She toyed with the hem of her dress as she continued.
"This lady's greetings are overdue! By Her Majesty the Queen's command, this lady shall take up residence at your base. You may call this lady Luka!"
At a glance, the girl who had named herself Luka looked like she'd stepped straight out of a medieval fantasy. A cascade of luminous, near-platinum hair crowned by something that resembled a grand diadem. A petite frame wrapped in a lavish outfit that blended armor and gown so seamlessly that the word "princess" sprang to mind unbidden.
Of course, the princess on the screen was still a member of the kaiju. That dazzling armor-dress was no different from the "formalwear" Oxianor wore — a living garment of bio-carapace, scales, and membrane. Unlike Oxianor, though — who as a mere envoy had sported a "suit" that was really a writhing mess of tentacles, eyeballs, and other unspeakable things — Luka's carapace and scales were arranged with exquisite precision, while jellyfish-like membranes fluttered like frills in place of fabric. Anyone who didn't know better would never have guessed the dress was a living creature.
I knew better, of course — partly because I was familiar with the kaiju lore, and partly because one side of Luka's dress suddenly warped, flesh surging up like a parasitic organism. The mass of meat knotted and reshaped itself until it formed the bare upper body of a severe-looking woman, still fused to the dress at the princess's left side, and addressed me directly.
"So you're the male anglerfish of the Pirate Empress I've only heard about. A pleasure."
Anyone would have gotten the message loud and clear: Yep. That thing is alive.
And just off-camera, I had the community gallery's wiki tab open as well — so when this stranger appeared out of nowhere and casually started talking down to me, I couldn't help giving her a blank look.
"…And you are?"
"I am the royal guard, assembled by Her Majesty the Queen herself through direct genetic combination, for the purpose of protecting the princess."
"Mel, you'll startle the Commander if you pop out like that."
"My apologies, Your Highness."
The moment the princess scolded her, Mel dissolved her form and reintegrated into the dress.
…What even is this.
She was so thoroughly self-absorbed I never even got her name properly, but from the introduction it seemed she was just a standard bodyguard. I settled my momentarily scrambled thoughts, offered the energetic little princess another greeting, and ordered the complicated-looking Belial to bring her over safely.
That first meeting had been almost pleasant. Once the escort mission actually began, however, we ran into every bizarre enemy imaginable.
"Wild kaiju swarm detected ahead."
"Don't bother reporting the small stuff. Tell Pashtura to just erase them."
"Understood, Commander."
Small fleets of so-called "wild kaiju" — packs that had never linked into the neural synapse network and simply lived however they pleased — were the least of it.
"Hya-ha! Hand over everything you've got!"
BWOOOOOOOM!!!
"Ah."
Independent space pirates who, despite knowing a massive kaiju fleet was nearby, still had the gall to charge us — only to meet their end, ship and all, under Pashtura's oversized beam cannon. Or they got boarded by Partia, who declared them heretics and stamped scripture-shaped marks into their skulls while screaming, "For the Savior!!!" Or, under Belial's crisp fleet command, they found the tables turned and themselves thoroughly looted. Those "ordinary" types were just the baseline.
"C-Commander! A colossal life-form has been detected ahead!"
"My, even at full output I don't think I could put a dent in that one♡"
"Nothing for it. Reroute and go around."
"Understood."
A giant kaiju would lurch out of nowhere and force us to rewrite the entire return route on the fly.
"Fleet of the Commander — heave to immediately!"
"…What now?"
"Commander, a small Earth Federation flotilla is ordering us to stop."
"Ah. Of course we'd run into this."
The detour had carried us through another faction's territory, and now we were being flagged for trespassing — forced to run from yet another power entirely.