Chapter 485 - Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 485: Balance (2)

Planet Hunter.

An insane weapon mounted on the Renaissance's planet-class ship—its legendary-grade cannon can unleash barrages of absurd firepower at a rate of one shot every three seconds, in volleys of four.

What’s more, since the planet-class ship draws power directly from a star, it can immediately reload once all its shells are spent.

Of course, just aiming such a weapon wouldn't relay all that information to Doatel.

However, the massive energy buildup outside Doatel’s defense perimeter was more than enough to be detected.

Vweeee...!

As soon as the Earthship, on its captain's command, took aim at Doatel, the existing communication channel was shoved aside and disappeared.

Flash!

A new figure appeared on the comms screen—an armored Caramel figure cloaked in thick plating.

Chzzzt!

“Oh.”

The mere fact that he no longer had to look at that damned stone tablet was already a big step forward.

“Yes, you're not mistaken. We are indeed aiming at your planet right now.”

As Yeongwoo pointed his hybrid weapon at the image of the Caramel, the figure paused for a moment.

<...>

Then he appeared to communicate with someone off-screen.

Presumably, he was getting briefed by the department that initially handled this pirate vessel.

<Ah… Are you by any chance a guest of Prince Aldo?>

Finally, the armored Caramel completed his minimum situational assessment.

Yeongwoo nodded and gave the screen a casual wave with his weapon.

“I personally received a wedding gift from Prince Aldo. So go ahead and tell him I’m here.”

Yeongwoo squeezed out his last bit of patience as he spoke, prompting the Caramel to glance again off-screen.

Then came a request.

“Oh, for fuck's sake! I don’t have that crap! Just go tell him I’m here! Or do you want me to punch a hole in your planet right now?!”

<...!>

The violent tone—rare on Doatel—made the armored Caramel visibly flinch.

<Th-Then… we will first send an escort ship to your location. Please come aboard so we can talk.>

“Now we’re talking.”

Yeongwoo finally lowered his weapon.

The Caramel then began glancing around, seemingly scanning the bridge of the Earthship.

<We’ll dispatch the escort ship to the coordinates we’ve identified. How many visitors should we expect?>

“Ah, one sec.”

Yeongwoo turned to those around him and asked,

“Anyone want to visit Doatel directly?”

Moro shook her head.

『Count us out. We have no interest in inter-family affairs. Besides, our minds are still in a mess.』

“Sure, no problem.”

Yeongwoo wasn’t about to force the hot-headed Moro to come along.

“How about you two?”

He looked at Jiseon and Jeonggu.

Jeonggu stepped back.

“I… think I’ll stay here.”

But Jiseon seemed curious about Doatel and the Caramel people.

—Wouldn’t it look kind of lame if you went alone? Since it’s technically a business visit, it’s better if we go together.

“So, two of us then.”

When Yeongwoo said this and looked back at the comms screen, the Caramel nodded.

With that, Doatel's side ended the communication, and right after, Administrator Kubu added a word of caution.

—They’re going to arrest you, Lord.

“What?”

—The escort ship they’re sending isn’t for guests. It’s a capture vessel.

“What are you talking about? Why do you think that?”

—They wouldn’t so easily allow someone into the royal stronghold without an official insignia.

Kubu believed that the royal guards would attempt to arrest—no, abduct—the uninvited leader of this threat in order to stop the bombardment and get to the bottom of things.

“Come on. Would those do-gooders really go that far?”

—...Prince Aldo may be a fool, but the Royal Guard is not.

At that, Jiseon scratched her forehead and muttered,

—This conversation... is it really okay to say all this? The other party is basically right in front of us.

Just then, she looked out the bridge toward Doatel.

Flash!

A faint spark glimmered from Doatel, cutting through the cluster of refugee ships, as something small approached.

—Hey, it’s here already.

At Jiseon’s words, the Earthship activated its radar.

『Confirmed. It’s Doatel’s escort vessel.』

“That thing’s coming to arrest me? If that’s true, I’m kind of impressed.”

As Yeongwoo watched the escort ship with a satisfied grin, Earth tapped his arm.

『Are you really going? We could just wait here until Prince Aldo hears you’ve arrived.』

“And wait how long? Celestial bodies might be fine sitting around for eons, but humans aren’t built that way.”

Besides, when else would he ever get kidnapped by Caramels?

Yeongwoo was truly curious to see how the benevolent ones would go about abducting him.

“If it were Mara, maybe I’d be worried. But the Shelbir Royal Family? They’re not the type to kill a guest outright. And I’m not exactly afraid of getting beat up either.”

He was stronger than ever.

Maybe this would be the perfect chance to test out his new strength.

[Prestige Level: 48]

| 00/100 |

*Required Karma per level: 13.1 billion

‘Once I hit level 50, I won’t need to bother with formalities anymore. I’m not sure how powerful their elites are… but they didn’t seem that impressive during the wedding.’

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

As Yeongwoo slid his hybrid weapon back into its holster and looked at the now closer escort ship, Earth handed him a small stone.

Tup.

“…What’s this?”

『It’s a Return Stone—to the planet-class ship. Normally, return stones only send you back to nearby ships. But this one…』

It could send him straight back to the Renaissance, docked far outside the system.

Just another perk of being on a planet-class ship.

『Of course, by the time you use this, you’ll be inside Doatel. That’s why it takes quite a while to activate. Meaning, you can’t use it in an emergency.』

It was a kind of penalty.

Normally, in order to visit another planet, a ship must dock directly with that planet.

But a planetary ship can resolve matters while remaining stationed outside the atmosphere.

In exchange for that advantage, it loses the ability to make emergency returns.

“Oh, so what you're saying is that while other people throw something on the ground and teleport instantly, I can’t do that?”

『Unless you prepare a separate docking ship, that’s right.』

“Then I guess I’ll just have to make sure there’s never a reason to run in the first place.”

There was a double meaning to that.

After all, there are at least two ways to ensure there's no need to flee.

The first is to behave well and avoid trouble.

And the second—

‘Eliminate the trouble altogether.’

The latter was the chairman’s method.

It was also the approach Yeongwoo preferred—but at least for today, in Doatel, he intended to restrain himself.

“You should take one too, Mother. You have to come back, after all.”

—Of course.

And so, both Yeongwoo and Jiseon held return stones in their hands, and Earth, watching the view outside the window, added one last remark.

『If anything happens inside Doatel, request rescue from me.』

As the planetary representative, Yeongwoo could communicate with Earth through consciousness.

So in the worst-case scenario, Earth was telling him to call directly for help.

“Will our consciousness still connect while I'm on Doatel?”

『It’s not too far, so it should be possible.』

“Still, just in case it doesn’t work, I’d better set a timer.”

『Timer?』

“If I don’t return or send a signal by the designated time, you begin bombardment.”

With that, Yeongwoo tapped his wrist to set an alarm.

“Let’s say three hours.”

『You want me to start firing if there’s no word from you in three hours?』

“Yeah.”

『But that might mean going into full-scale war with the refugee fleet over there, you know?』

“…You bastard.”

As Yeongwoo furrowed his brow, this time it was Moro who sided with Earth.

『If you haven’t returned after three hours, it can only mean one of two things. You’re dead—or you’ve been stripped of all your belongings and imprisoned.』

“Exactly.”

『And for a 50/50 chance, you want to risk the lives of everyone here?』

“Wait… Are you saying that if I don’t come back, you were just going to leave me behind? I’m the owner and captain—how is that even allowed?”

『As you know, the authority to set our course is divided into three. So I don’t see why it wouldn’t be possible.』

At Moro’s words, Administrator Kubu cautiously opened his eyes.

—In the special case where the owner disappears or is unable to fulfill their role, the designated heir or a family member will act as a proxy.

In simpler terms, if Yeongwoo and Jiseon couldn’t return from Doatel, then Jeonggu, as the only direct descendant of the Renaissance line, would take over as the new owner.

However, that would bring about major changes to the planetary ship’s configuration, so Yeongwoo’s absence would practically be a disaster.

“…Huh? I’m the heir?”

Jeonggu shook his head frantically with a terrified expression, and a sigh escaped Yeongwoo’s mouth.

“There’s no need to worry—it’s not like we’re invading Mara’s Planet or anything.”

Just as Yeongwoo finished saying that, the escort ship from Doatel finally came into close range.

It had arrived just outside the Earth ship’s atmosphere.

Seeing this, Kubu blinked twice.

—Once they inquire whether planetary entry is permitted, if they open a docking channel instead of asking for boarding, it means it’s a prisoner escort.

“Docking channel?”

—It’s a kind of short-range relay tunnel. If they open a docking channel and we accept the connection, we can immediately transfer to the escort ship from here.

“Oh, so what they mean is: ‘We’re not coming into the danger zone, so you come over here.’ That kind of thing?”

—Exactly.

“But I doubt it’s a prisoner escort.”

As Yeongwoo pointed at the escort ship outside with a “let’s wait and see” attitude, a system message appeared at the center of the control room.

「Small vessel |Doatel-4024| has opened a docking channel.」

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]