A war between the Astoria Conglomerate and the Meyers Royal Family. A clash between two superpowers. Undoubtedly, it would be a battle on a scale matching those fought during the Great Exploration Era.
But the problem was—this wasn’t supposed to happen.
At no point in TSO did these two great powers ever clash, not even in side stories. After all, just the thought of the consequences of such a war was enough to deter even the most reckless rulers.
This would be a battle where millions of lives—and zillions of Credits—would be lost!
Even I couldn’t begin to estimate the sheer financial toll this war would take. But I did know one thing for certain—there was an opportunity for us to profit immensely from it!
"Are you even listening?"
"Ah!"
President Anderson’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. It seemed I had spaced out for a while.
"Sorry about that, President Astoria. I got distracted." I offered a brief bow in apology. "Could you repeat what you just said?"
Anderson let out a sigh, shrugging. "I said, you and your crew—including Princess Cassandra—should escape before the battle begins. This place will be a warzone soon. It’s too dangerous to linger."
Logically speaking, taking Cassandra and leaving was the best course of action. Just as Anderson said, staying here would only expose us to unnecessary risks—not to mention putting Cassandra in a life-threatening situation. Read exclusive chapters at Freewebnovel
But—
"No, we won’t." I refused outright, standing firm. "I am Arthur Grail, a mercenary, leading the Knights of Camelot! We boast a hundred percent mission success rate and are braver than most!"
I took a deep breath, thumping my chest in a show of conviction. "In short, there’s no way we’ll run away from a fight delivered right to our doorstep!"
"..."
Anderson stared at me, his smile thin and unreadable. As expected, I couldn’t gauge what he was thinking—not even the slightest hint of emotion leaked through his expression.
An awkward silence stretched between us, but I had slowly grown accustomed to it. I remained calm, waiting for his verdict.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he spoke.
"Alright. Then, let me commission you, Mr. Grail." His smile faded, his tone turning serious. "On the day of the battle, I assign you to protect Princess Cassandra to the best of your abilities—until we conclude our fight against the Meyers forces."
"...As I said before, I won’t escap—"
"No, I’m not telling you to escape." Anderson interrupted, raising a hand. "Your only task is to protect the target. Nothing more, nothing less. How you do it, I’ll leave it to your discretion. The walls have ears, after all, and giving you explicit instructions now could compromise the mission."
He leaned forward, clasping his hands together atop his desk, his gaze never wavering. "So? Will you accept this mission?"
I hesitated for a moment, carefully considering his words.
His remark about "the walls having ears" was a clear sign that he knew spies were lurking around. And the fact that even he had to be cautious meant that he hadn’t identified the culprit yet—despite his formidable information network.
And then there was Cassandra’s protection. Was that really all he wanted?
I couldn’t help but suspect he was orchestrating something behind the scenes. Whatever it was, one thing was certain—Cassandra’s survival was crucial to his plans.
’Is he aiming to take control of the Meyers Royal Family...?’
That was the most logical—and most profitable—possibility I could think of. But at the same time, it seemed nearly impossible.
Although Cassandra was first in line for the throne, she was currently a fugitive. Even if King Meyers fell in battle, there was no guarantee she would ascend.
It was far more likely that another prince or princess would claim the throne—most likely Prince Leobert, who had the highest chance of succeeding the king.
Still, setting aside the mystery of Anderson’s true intentions, accepting this mission didn’t actually change our course of action. It was just like a main quest—something we were already going to do, just with an added layer of formality.
"...Alright." I finally nodded. "I accept the mission. But what’s the reward?"
Since refusing wasn’t really an option, I agreed first—and then immediately asked about compensation. This way, I made it clear that I was doing this for Cassandra’s safety, not for any promised rewards.
"Right, I hadn’t thought about that." Anderson’s gaze flicked downward, deep in thought. After a brief pause, he spoke. "...Then, how about I give you double the number of fragments?"
"...Double the Fragments?" I raised an eyebrow. His words didn’t register at first—until realization struck.
"You mean... the Warp Nexus Fragments?!"
Currently, we have possession of one of the three Warp Nexus Fragments.
The second was in the hands of the Astoria Conglomerate—promised to me as a reward if I won the Grand Prix.
The third was publicly available through auction.
Of course, nobody had dared to bid on it, making it seem like a "display" item rather than one for sale. The starting price alone was equivalent to the value of ten entire solar systems combined. No sane person would risk that much money on an item they couldn’t even use other than for decoration!
I was already planning to "grab" it after obtaining the other two fragments. But if I can get it for free—then even better!
"Sweet! You’ve got a deal!" I grinned, extending my hand forward to seal the agreement.
Anderson’s lips curled into a thin smile as he reached out, shaking my hand. "Do your job well. I’m counting on you."
After that, he instructed me not to disclose anything about the impending war.
I understood his reasoning. If news of an upcoming battle spread too soon, it could trigger widespread panic among civilians and merchants—severely damaging economic stability.
He’s really a true merchant to the very end.
---
After my meeting with President Astoria, I went back to focusing on what I wanted to do. Specifically, I started modifying Eva’s Frigate.
The Hunter Frigate was a well-balanced vessel, offering flexible usage across different scenarios. However, its biggest drawback was that it was a jack of all trades, master of none.
In short, it was fast—but not as fast as most speed-focused Frigates.
If the race didn’t have obstacles that forced racers to do more than just floor the throttle to victory, we wouldn’t even stand a chance at winning.
Of course, any Frigate could be upgraded to reach its theoretical performance cap, dictated by its size and class rarity. And that was exactly what I was working toward.
"Still... my wallet is crying..."
Buying all the necessary parts and modules costs a fortune.
Since the race wasn’t technically a mercenary operation, I couldn’t touch the Knights of Camelot’s funds, which meant I had to pay for everything out of my own pocket.
By the time I placed the orders for instant delivery, my total spending had already exceeded 20 million Credits—over 100 times the default price of Eva’s Hunter Frigate.
A fully equipped, maxed-out B-Rank Frigate actually cost this much! In fact, for the same amount, I could have purchased a high-end A-Class Destroyer—or even a second-hand low-end D-Class Cruiser.
Right now, in terms of speed alone, Eva’s Frigate should no longer lag behind my Range Falcon. And with the sheer difference in size, its maneuverability was simply on another level—a landslide victory for the smaller vessel.
"At this rate, even if Eva decided to join the war in her Frigate, I wouldn’t have much reason to worry."
Just as I mumbled those words to myself, a voice suddenly echoed from behind.
"What war?"
"Holy—! Jeez!" I nearly jumped out of my skin, clutching my chest. My heart felt like it was about to leap out.
Standing behind me were Eva and Cassandra, both looking stylish after what was likely a long day of shopping around the Military Hub. Since they weren’t carrying any bags, they must have already dropped their purchases off in their rooms before coming here.
"What war?" Eva narrowed her eyes, asking again.
"It was a figure of speech!" I scoffed, waving dismissively. "Today’s supposed to be a day off, right? What are you two doing here?"
I swiftly changed the subject, steering the conversation away from the whole "war" topic. Eva raised a brow, clearly noticing what I was trying to do—but, surprisingly, she didn’t push further.
"That should be my line," she countered. "What are you doing to my ship?"
I turned around, glancing at Eva’s Frigate—which didn’t have a shadow of its previous appearance. Right now, it was practically in pieces, as I was in the middle of installing a new thruster.
"Ah, this? I’m upgrading your Frigate. We need more speed and control to win the GP next week."
Cassandra, who had been quietly observing from the side, stepped toward the part set a distance away—she ran her hand along the thruster I was about to install.
"This is... Lightspeed Technologies’ MK4 Quantum Jump Thruster!" She gasped. "This is top of the line! Isn’t this way too expensive?!"
"Oh, you studied well." I nodded approvingly.
I had asked her to study up on ship parts to expand her knowledge, hoping it would give her even the slightest edge during the race. But I didn’t expect her to memorize everything by heart.
I shrugged, not mentioning that this single piece alone had cost me a whopping 4 million Credits. "Well, it’s an investment—not just for the race, but also for the Knights of Camelot. After all, Eva’s Frigate isn’t a one-time-use asset."
From the very start, my plan was to fully upgrade every ship that would become part of our mercenary group. This was just one small step toward that goal.
"You..." Eva started, but hesitated mid-sentence.
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She bit her lip before turning away, a faint shade of cherry dusting her cheeks—only for her usual "angry-like" expression to return immediately after.
"You’re not gonna suddenly tell me I have to pay you back for all these upgrades, are you? I didn’t even ask for them!"
"No...?" I tilted my head, confused. "I’m covering the costs with my personal funds, so no need to worry. Besides, I doubt you’d be able to pay me back anyway."
Although she had about 40 million Credits in her account, she’d probably think twice before spending half of it just to upgrade her ship.
"Bastard, are you calling me poor? Or an ingrate? Hah?!"
"Nope, neither," I smirked. "In my eyes, you’re just a tsundere—but all tsun and not a single trace of dere."
"Tsun...? I don’t know what that is, but I know you’re mocking me!"
"No, no, it’s actually a compliment. It means you have a beautiful heart~!"
"Y-You! D-Don’t think I’ll let you off just because of a little praise!"
See? A tsundere through and through.