Chapter 23

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Translator: Silver Dragon

Chapter: 23

Chapter Title: Lost Cruiser (3)

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The Waka tribe's army was marching toward me.

At that moment, Orca detected the threat and sprang into action.

– Groooar!

The Waka warriors' eyes turned skyward.

Soon, a colossal presence filled their vision.

It blotted out the moonlight simply by existing.

The overwhelming gap in power.

Even the Waka soldiers looked rattled.

"I'm not here to invade."

I approached them cautiously.

"I just have a few simple questions. Once I'm done, I'll leave this planet right away."

Only then did it seem like the Waka grasped my intentions.

A figure who looked fairly high-ranking stepped forward from the Waka ranks.

"Are you here looking for a missing ship, by any chance?"

I nodded.

"That's right. Do you know anything about it?"

The man removed his hat in a gesture of respect, then introduced himself.

"Welcome! I'm Planetary Defense Commander Rotun. Could you please tell your ship to stand down from hostilities? After that, we'll provide whatever you need."

They do say nothing beats a gun and a smile in negotiations.

And it rang true here.

I instructed Orca to cease the threat.

Orca promptly exited the atmosphere and returned to orbit.

I turned to them.

"Now, give me the information on the missing ship."

"Of course! Follow me."

I followed their lead into a new area.

It appeared to be the Waka tribe's military headquarters.

Commander Rotun soon sat down across from me.

"First off, thank you for visiting our planet. I apologize for the commotion earlier."

A commander taking such a low posture.

It was almost disconcerting.

He continued.

"It's the first time a Chiltoom has visited our planet. Was the missing ship connected to the Chiltoom, by any chance?"

He seemed tense, watching my reaction closely.

That's when I realized why he was so scared.

'Oh, come on. He thinks I'm a Chiltoom?'

Well, it was easy to see why.

I was wearing Chiltoom combat gear, after all.

Visually, I looked just like one.

"Ah, that's..."

"I don't know which ship went missing, but if it's connected to the Chiltoom, we'll search with utmost sincerity."

Before I could explain.

The commander cut me off and started rambling.

"You may or may not know, but the Setigma Star System is prone to disappearances. The ether levels are unusually high, causing frequent anomalies. Your missing ship was probably caught in an ether storm."

The man's reptilian eyes gleamed.

He kept rambling on.

"Have you filed a missing ship report with your homeworld? Is the Chiltoom Council interested in this place? If so, give us a chance to clear up any misunderstandings. We'll explain everything. And of course, we'll find your ship too."

"No, it's not..."

At first, I thought he was just scared because he assumed I was Chiltoom.

But his attitude now suggested otherwise.

'Are they hiding something?'

I couldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠help thinking it from his behavior.

He was acting like someone terrified of the truth getting out.

I'd planned to reveal I was human by now.

But given their suspicious demeanor, pretending to be Chiltoom seemed more likely to get their cooperation.

'How did the Chiltoom talk?'

I recalled Chiltoom speech patterns and spoke.

"Ahem, yes! I am Suhariltoom, investigator dispatched by the Chiltoom Council."

Suhariltoom, sorry.

Borrowing your name just this once.

"General Rakshyatoom ordered me to investigate the ship disappearances here."

"G-General?! A Chiltoom general?"

The commander trembled in fear.

'This is more fun than I thought.'

I hid my smile and pressed on.

"Yes. There was a battleship that vanished from this planet's orbit recently, wasn't there?"

"S-Sorry, but there are so many missing ships..."

"Hey! You insolent fool! Should I blast this planet with the main cannons?!"

"N-No, sir. Hey, Chief of Staff! Bring the data on recent missing ships!"

"Yes, sir, Commander."

Soon, his subordinate placed dozens of photos on the desk.

"What's this?"

"Photos of ships that went missing in the Setigma Star System over the past month."

"?"

I couldn't help but be stunned.

Even at a glance, there were dozens—no, over a hundred.

All missing ships?

"This many ships went missing?"

"Y-Yes! As I mentioned earlier, anomalies happen frequently here..."

He trailed off with a lame excuse.

'Look at this guy. Something's definitely up here.'

I feigned ignorance and stayed calm.

The commander eyed me nervously, tail swishing beside him.

"W-Well, is the ship you're looking for among these? If you tell us, we'll mobilize every national resource to find it."

One small problem arose.

I had no idea what Ragna's ship looked like.

Pretending to examine the photos, I opened the gallery.

There was a bit of controversy(?), but I got the ship photos.

I started comparing them to the pics from the gallery.

"Ah! Found it."

I spotted the matching ship among the dozens of photos.

Pointing to it, I said,

"Ahem, this is the one I'm looking for."

"Ah, is it? Please wait a moment. Chief of Staff, pull the info on this ship."

"Yes, sir."

The chief of staff soon returned with documents.

"This ship was lingering in stellar orbit three days ago. As you said, Commander, it got caught in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an ether storm and crash-landed on our planet."

"Crash-landed?"

I immediately called Orca.

"Scans of the planetary surface found no traces of friendly ships."

Hearing Orca's response, I slammed the desk.

"You fool! Who do you take me for?! I scanned the planet before landing! Do I have to orbital-bombard you to make you spit out the truth?! Shall I turn this planet into a sea of fire?!"

"N-No, Suhariltoom, sir!"

The reptile called chief of staff dropped to his knees.

"Th-The ship fell into the ocean. Our planet's seas have unusually high ether levels, so it couldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be detected!"

He shouted, gauging my reaction.

"O-Ocean! Check the ocean's ether levels, and you'll see I'm not lying!"

Orca responded to the chief of staff's words.

"Their attitude is suspicious, but they're not wrong. The oceans on Lota Planet are rich in ether material, making scans impossible."

That didn't fully dispel my doubts.

But it didn't seem like a complete lie either.

"Hmph, so the seas on this planet are ether-rich, as you say."

"Y-Yes! Why would we lie to a mighty race like the Chiltoom?"

As I conceded, they exchanged relieved glances.

Did they think that was enough?

The commander cautiously pulled the ship photo toward himself.

"Now that we know what the missing ship looks like, we just need to find it. Leave the searching to us—why not rest? As our honored guest, we'll treat you to the best hospitality."

"Why not land your ship on our planet instead of keeping it in orbit? Staying in orbit risks ether storms."

The commander lit up at the chief of staff's words.

"Exactly! It's dangerous, and holing up in the ship builds up fatigue. Call the other crew members here too. We'll host you at the hotel."

They acted desperate to get the ship landed.

'They're being way too obvious.'

I hesitated to decide.

Then Orca spoke up.

"They think you're Chiltoom right now. If they learn there's no one else on board but you, they won't be fools—they'll catch on."

No benefit in getting my identity exposed.

Plus, maneuvering freely in the atmosphere was tricky for the ship.

All things considered, keeping it outside was better.

"How about this?"

Orca offered a new plan.

"I'll conduct surveys nearby. That should ease their nerves a bit."

"Do we have to? Orbit's fine, right?"

"Ragna vanished from geostationary orbit, so staying in one spot might be risky."

It made sense.

I told them as much.

The commander panicked but pressed again.

"Come on, have the others come too? Or at least park in orbit. It's dangerous around here."

"Insolent fool! I said it's done! Do I need to blast you with the cannons to make you understand?!"

After their efforts to dock the ship fell through.

I followed their guidance to the hotel.

"If there's any discomfort, call me. I'm Defense Headquarters Chief of Staff Makash. Mention my name to the hotel manager, and they'll handle most anything."

Makash left the room after that.

Alone, I dove straight into the gallery.

Just as I thought.

With the gallery users saying the same, my suspicions solidified.

Right then.

– Knock knock knock!

Someone knocked from outside.

I got up from the bed and headed to the door.

"Who is it?"

"Commander Rotun sent us."

From Rotun?

I cracked the door to peek outside.

Three female Waka greeted me.

"Hello, Suhariltoom."

"Commander Rotun asked us to come."

"We'll keep you from being lonely tonight."

The Waka women, dressed provocatively, tempted me.

"Ah... haha... No thanks."

The Waka were bipedal like humans.

But fundamentally reptilian.

Not my type, unless it was Xeno fetish stuff.

I politely refused and closed the door.

Then one slipped her hand through the gap.

"Come on, play with us."

She forced her way in.

The others followed as she opened the door.

"Wha—?"

The door shut behind them.

The women took control inside the room.

They struck seductive poses, closing in.

I backed up until I hit the wall.

"Finally got you."

One was especially aggressive.

She pinned me to the wall, face close.

Suddenly, she drew a knife.

"Wh-What?! Who are you?!"

She twisted and stabbed another Waka woman.

Blood sprayed, screams erupted.

The hotel room turned into a murder scene in an instant.

"Kyaaah!!! Mmph!!!"

She lunged at the next Waka woman.

Her blade pierced the victim's throat.

The victim died without a proper scream.

– Thud!

The body crumpled limply to the floor.

I froze in place.

She walked slowly toward me.

Suddenly, she turned the knife to her own throat.

– Shrrriiiip!

"Gah!!! What the hell?!"

She began slashing her own throat.

I watched the gruesome sight in horror.

"Hey, newbie."

When the beautiful woman emerged from that mess.

I knew instantly.

That she was Gonik Ragna.