The Spaceship Gift
“Kumpa, Balibali. Listen carefully. If a spaceship appears in the sky, immediately lead the people and flee.”
“What are you even saying, Chief? It’s unsettling…”
“The reason we could defeat them was because they were trying to land. If they decide to start bombing from the sky, we’ll have no choice but to be one-sidedly defeated.”
“Can’t we shoot them down with guns?!”
“No. The bombing will come from the distant sky where we can’t even see it. Moreover, no matter how advanced our rifles are, they won’t be able to break through the spaceship’s armor.”
“…Understood.”
However, nothing worrying happened.
It was because, amidst the chaotic atmosphere, Hildegard suddenly appeared covered in blood from head to toe.
“Sihyun.”
“Hildegard? Blood, blood…”
“It’s not my blood. It’s the enemy’s blood that splashed on me.”
“What happened?”
She smiled mischievously and whispered to me.
“Sihyun, I have a gift for you.”
“A gift?”
“Come with me. It’s important.”
Important. Hildegard wouldn’t say something important lightly.
“Balibali, Kumpa. Don’t forget what I said. If a spaceship appears, immediately evacuate the residents. I’ll be back soon.”
“Sihyun, there won’t be such a thing.”
“Eh? Why?”
“You’ll see when you go.”
She took me to the north. To the north was a forest, and beyond the forest was a flat plain where spaceships that came to the village usually landed instead of the landing site.
And the moment I arrived at the plain, I couldn’t help but be surprised.
“Hildegard, hide your body. It’s a spaceship.”
“No need to worry. Come with me.”
Hildegard said that and approached the spaceship, then opened the hatch and entered the spaceship. Following Hildegard into the spaceship, I couldn’t help but be surprised. Because the spaceship was filled with corpses.
“What is this…”
The corpses all had wounds as if cut by something. I asked Hildegard.
“What happened?”
“I processed all the stragglers who fled. The spaceship too.”
“So that means…”
“Thinking about it, I lived thanks to you, and it seems I couldn’t repay it properly. It’s a bit cheap as a price for my life, but think of it as the price for taking care of me until now. This training ship is yours from now on.”
“…”
My spaceship?
A thing like that existing?
“You can ride it or sell it. However, I recommend selling it and buying a new one if possible. Because this ship is a combat-specialized vessel, and to ride it, you need repainting and new crew members. This is my gift and the repayment for the goodwill I’ve shown so far.”
“Hildegard…”
I looked at her. She was still smiling. Up until now, I didn’t know, but when I looked closely, she was cute when she smiled. It was just that her dignified voice and tone, and her always expressionless face made her look stiff.
“How is it? My gift. Did it please you?”
“It’s like a dream. I thought it was the biggest crisis of my life, but it turned out like this.”
“I’ve been quite uncomfortable until now. I’ve been one-sidedly indebted to you. Now I think we’re in a slightly equal relationship, right?”
“At this point, it can be considered equal.”
It’s not equal. I saved her with the intention of following the Empire, but she wiped out all the enemies who came to repay the debt she owed me, and even gave me a ship. Rather, I received more.
But saying that would be a bit embarrassing, so I decided to accept her words for now.
We successfully repelled the first invasion, and our allies gained a spaceship. From now on, let’s think carefully about how to use this spaceship.
---
I realized this battle intensely.
If the pirates had planned from the beginning not to plunder us but to exterminate our tribe, we would have had no choice but to be one-sidedly defeated.
If they bomb from thousands of kilometers in space, we obviously couldn’t counter with guns, and we would need anti-aircraft guns or something, but we don’t have such weapons. It would be insanely expensive.
If we install anti-aircraft guns or fortress cannons, it would be insanely expensive too. With the money we have now, we might not even be able to buy one. Even if we buy one, it might not help strategically much.
And I realized intensely. Even if I do well on this planet, looking at the whole universe, I’m still weak enough to be defeated by some insignificant pirate gang. I have to somehow build up my power so I don’t get one-sidedly defeated.
Thinking that, I actively started expanding my forces. I actively drew in the surrounding tribes, and for tribes that refused, I used coercion or war to replace their leaders.
It wasn’t difficult. From the moment I wiped out the wild dog tribe entirely, I had already shed any guilt. I could do a conquest war.
After a month passed like that, our tribe’s population reached 13,000. It was almost doubled. The number of residents is one thing, but what was important was the land area. Our allies continued clearing land and had enormous farmland, and despite that, they supplemented the lack of food with hunting.
“The flow is good.”
If it continues like this, someday our tribe will become a nation beyond a tribe.
“But before that, if pirates come again?”
Worried about that point, I opened the letter I received from Baron Rittenberg a while ago.
The letter was about connecting me to Marinuss.
I used the beacon I received from Hildegard to send a message to Marinuss.
[From planet BK-201 in the Changkyeong sector to Marinuss. We want to sell one training ship manufactured in the Galactic Empire Standard Specification in 529. We want to receive payment in Petron Cannon.]
Petron Cannon is a massive planetary defense artillery piece capable of targeting and destroying starships in orbit. It’s a kind of anti-aircraft gun that can attack spaceships floating in the air. Of course, it can’t stop orbital bombardment, but can we fill our stomachs with one shot? For now, it seems we have to be satisfied with this much.
Soon, a reply came from Marinuss.
[This is too small-scale a transaction to dispatch a trading fleet to Changkyeong. We reject.]
As expected, it turned out that way.
Marinuss is a major corporation, and they weren’t the scale to care about every small transaction. I thought maybe if I went directly to the trading house and bought it, or if they wouldn’t come all the way here to trade, but it was true.
Nevertheless, there was a reason I called Marinuss. Because it’s such a famous company, I thought they would at least inform the pirates of our existence or not turn into pirates themselves and steal the goods. In short, it was for the safety of the transaction.
But the transaction was already broken. What to do? Should I use it?
“Let’s use everything we can.”
Thinking that, I added one more sentence.
[There is an introduction letter from Baron Rittenberg.]
A sentence I tried out just in case.
I don’t know if Marinuss will come with this sentence or not.
But what’s certain is that it’s better to do it than not.
Just in case, I tried it, and soon a reply came from Marinuss.
[Based on route calculation, arrival is predicted to be possible in 24 days. We will pay 3 Petron Cannons and change 1275 ducats as payment for one training ship.]
I don’t know if the price is right.
But since it’s a major corporation and has Baron’s introduction letter, I thought they wouldn’t cheat in such a small transaction.
And exactly 24 days later, Marinuss’s trading ship arrived in orbit.
Marinuss’s trading ship was flashy and luxurious. It was incomparable to the plain Empire’s military ships. Just looking at it, it felt like a precious body.
The Marinuss trading ship with escort ships docked on the plain along with several small ships.
With the merchants, dozens of bodyguards armed with Marinuss’s genuine bulletproof vests and weapons started disembarking.
My warriors who were guarding me approached them. Soon, the distance between us became close, and the woman in front wearing glasses and a suit spoke to me.
“Are you the one who wants to do business with us?”
“I am Sihyun.”
I extended my hand, but she ignored it and continued.
“Is the training ship you wrote in the document this one?”
“Yes.”
“It’s a pirate ship.”
She frowned.
“It’s the ones who invaded our planet. It’s my spoils of war.”
“In the case of unregistered ships, our company has to go through the Empire’s registration and licensing procedures, so costs are incurred in this process.”
“So that means the transaction price will decrease…?”
“However, since it’s Baron Rittenberg’s introduction, in this transaction, our company will bear all the costs.”
How great is Baron Rittenberg…?
Soon, her additional explanation made me understand.