Fated to Die to the Player, I'll Live Freely with My SSS-Class Ship!-Chapter 138: Prospect for Employment

Nyssra and Eva stared at each other, not saying a single word for several seconds.

Strangely enough, just watching them made me feel threatened—like if I didn't intervene soon, I might not make it out in one piece.

"Eva, do you remember the short mail I received right after the race?" I quickly patted Eva's shoulder, trying to keep the atmosphere from escalating while offering a bit of context. "This person here is the sender. Nyssra, come over and introduce yourself."

"...Nyssra? And a Voltherian at that..." Eva muttered under her breath, sounding as if she'd already pieced together Nyssra's identity.

"Introduce myself?" Nyssra raised an eyebrow, her posture turning confrontational. "Shouldn't she introduce herself first? What's her relationship with you, Arthur?"

"..."

Does the order really matter? Before I could say anything, Eva took a deliberate step forward, remaining composed—though her eyes burned with intensity.

"Eva Beastol. I'm just another mercenary under him—and his future woman."

"Pffft! **Cough!* *Cough!**"

That last part was entirely uncalled for! I nearly choked on my own spit!

"Oh, Arthur's future woman, you say?"

Nyssra didn't back down. Arms folded across her chest, she mirrored Eva's stance and introduced herself with a voice that carried pride.

"I'm Nyssra Vel'Varn, a princess of the Voltherian Empire." She spoke with grace—before nonchalantly dropping a bomb. "I promised him my body as thanks for helping me out."

I raised a brow and whispered, "...Didn't I turn that down?"

And the way she phrased it was wrong on so many levels. Her offer had only been to show her body or maybe hold hands at most!

"Shut up, Arthur. We're talking." Eva cut me off, raising a hand to silence me. "Promising him your body as a reward? What a slutty princess you are, then."

"Heh! Says the one who can't even admit her current relationship with him!"

Eva's brow twitched, and then slowly, her lips curled into a smug, mocking smile. "Why would I need to? He already took my first. I'm ahead of you, bitch."

"...First?"

Nyssra blinked, clearly confused. She didn't understand what Eva meant.

"Oh? You don't even know that much?" Eva quickly picked up on her naivety—and seized the advantage without hesitation. "What now? Grew up too sheltered, little princess? Don't even know how babies are made~?"

"I-I know that much!" Nyssra shouted back, flustered and turning slightly red. "It's when a man and a woman sleep together while h-holding hands, right? Then the Cosmic Crane comes to deliver the baby!"

"..."

Eva and I were both left utterly speechless.

The Cosmic Crane, in the game's lore, was a mythical bird-like space creature—considered a peaceful, non-aggressive race. Essentially, it was this universe's version of the Earth stork.

All at once, the fire in Eva's eyes shifted. She no longer looked at Nyssra like a rival—but like a clueless child in need of protection.

She stepped closer with an eerily sweet smile and extended her hand. "Sorry about that, then. It's a pleasure to work with you, Nyssra."

"It's Princess Nyssra to you, commoner!" she snapped, but still took the offered hand and gave it a shake.

Eva chuckled at her dramatic correction and added, "I'm not exactly a commoner either. I'm technically a Queen's Guard. That's equivalent to a Duchess, at least in terms of status."

The two of them began chatting more cordially. With that, I could finally breathe. At least for now, there wouldn't be a sudden catfight breaking out in the dock.

"Are introductions over?" I asked after a moment—mostly rhetorical. "Then let's get going. We've still got a lot to take care of."

"Right! I was asking that earlier!" Nyssra shouted, recalling her original question. "Why did we come here anyway? You still haven't told me anything..."

Eva shrugged casually and muttered, "That's typical Arthur for you."

There wasn't any point in telling her ahead of time, honestly. But thinking about what kind of "negotiations" awaited us, I figured it was time to clue them in.

"I'm here to convert all those pirates we captured into slaves."

"...Slavery? Isn't that… banned?" Nyssra asked, her expression filled with genuine confusion.

And yes—she was right. Slavery was absolutely outlawed.

Just like in most civilized systems, slavery here was strictly prohibited. All law enforcement agencies worked to stamp it out wherever it surfaced—backed by the Universal Ethics Protecting Intelligent Beings' Rights (UEPIR, pronounced You-Peer)—a neutral watchdog organization focused on safeguarding sentient rights.

Much like the concept of Human Rights back on Earth, UEPIR wasn't all-powerful, and certainly not truly "universal." In reality, its existence mostly served to protect public figures who probably deserved enslavement for their crimes—saving the innocent was more a side effect than a priority.

Dig a little deeper, and you'd see slavery still flourished in disguise—under the mask of "employment." Unreasonably low wages, crushing work hours, hostile environments… you name it.

You get the idea.

And that's why we were here now—to help those pirates graduate from being "jobless" burdens and transform into "employees" working under me—by force, if necessary.

"Well, turning them over to the military will just earn them life imprisonment at best, so I'd rather use them as disposable pawns, is what I thought." I shrugged, continuing my explanation casually.

Right.

I was planning to use all these pirates as meat shields during the Primula Heist Plan!

After all, there's only one Primula—and plenty of pirates. Adding more bodies on the field should lower our chances of getting shot individually or becoming focus-fire targets for enemy defenses!

"...But isn't that still bad?" Nyssra pressed on, her expression clouded with doubt.

This girl... I couldn't tell if she was just too green or outright naive. Either way, I shook my head with a sigh.

"It's not as bad as trying to steal the only weapon your family has as protection and deterrent against foreign threats, at least."

"That's...!"

Nyssra started to yell, but cut herself off unnaturally, biting her tongue mid-roar.

That reaction... it confirmed my suspicions.

She probably wasn't doing this just to help me rescue Anderson. Realistically, she had no personal reason to save Gerard's father. There had to be a different motive behind all this—one she's keeping to herself, tightly sealed.

—Something urgent enough to push her to the brink, to the point of blackmailing me for my cooperation.

Of course, having cleared the Main Story several times, I had a few guesses in mind—but I've already been proven wrong before. Once might be a fluke. Twice is coincidence. But three times or more? That's no longer just luck—it's fate messing with me.

There's no telling if she had a hidden, unknown reason that even the game didn't cover.

Anyway, that's not the focus right now.

Nyssra stayed silent, no longer voicing objections. Since there were no more protests, I resumed walking, stepping out of the dock and into the central zone of the base.

As we moved forward, I could feel leering eyes following us.

I could understand the gazes aimed at Eva and Nyssra. They were both attractive in their own distinct ways. But the ones directed at me…? Those made chills run down my spine.

"Huh?"

Without warning, Eva took the lead, silently stepping ahead of me.

Admittedly, it looked a bit uncool, having a woman protect me—but having her at the front was undeniably safer. She was much stronger than I was, after all.

"This place is crawling with garbage..."

Eva muttered, her eyes narrowing at the people around us who kept staring.

"Well, it is one of the few spots where outlaws can gather freely, after all..." I said with a half-hearted shrug.

As we moved along, I prayed that we wouldn't run into trouble—but as if the universe was out to screw me, trouble found us instead.

"Heh! Hey there, sexy ladies. Why don't you ditch that scrawny bastard and come have some fun with us?"

A human man suddenly stepped into our path, blocking the way. His body was wrapped in an old, clunky powered suit—probably a substandard military model that got phased out decades ago.

Behind him, a dozen or so goons of mixed races gathered, their lecherous gazes glued to Eva and Nyssra. Sleazy grins stretched across their faces like they were about to throw a party.

"Move."

Eva wasn't having any of it. A single, cold word—sharp and cutting—was all she offered.

The men stiffened, fear flashing in their eyes. They likely saw a glimpse of their impending demise. But honestly, if they had a single functioning brain cell, they wouldn't have tried this crap in the first place.

"Hah! Feisty one, huh? I like my women spicy!" another goon with blue skin cackled from the back, his mouth curling into a grin so wide it could cut glass. "Breaking strong-willed girls like you is the hottest thing in the galaxy~!"

Eva's face twisted in revulsion as she watched the man swagger closer.

He was massive—easily one and a half times Eva's height. His body was so broad, I doubted I could wrap my arms around him. His cheap space suit looked ready to tear at the seams.

"C'mere~!"

The man, clearly unfamiliar with the concept of fear, reached out as if to grope Eva's chest—

*CRACK!*

Eva caught his wrist mid-motion, gripping it with enough force to crumple the reinforced metal.

Sure, space suits came with minor strength boosts like powered suits—but could they produce this kind of crushing force? I doubted it. Eva was just absurdly strong.

"ARGH!"

The brute let out a guttural scream and dropped to his knees with a heavy thud. His red face quickly turned pale—then bluish—as thick beads of sweat poured from his brow.

Eva didn't stop there.

She tightened her grip even further, compressing the wrist joint to a thin, unnatural shape. I was pretty sure his bones weren't just shattered—they were pulverized.

Then, she released him.

Only to raise her leg—and bring it crashing down, heel-first, onto the back of his head.

"Don't you dare fucking touch me."

That was the signal.

All hell broke loose.