“...Now then, Master. Please explain the situation.”
Lucia practically shoved me into the captain’s seat. Under her interrogator-like gaze, I began to tell my story, piece by painful piece.
I told her that this was the world of a VR game called Star Frontier.
That I had been reincarnated here as a player.
That every asset I owned—aside from this ship—and every organic crew member had simply vanished.
And most importantly, that in this world, finding a "decent meal" was a quest of legendary difficulty.
When I finished, Lucia furrowed her brow and fell silent for a few moments. It was the time her high-performance electronic brain needed to process my nonsense.
“...While the first half about ‘reincarnation’ is difficult to swallow, and your irrational obsession with ‘delicious food’ is utterly beyond my comprehension,” Lucia said, her voice dropping to a chilly professional tone, “it does, at least, align with our current status.”
She straightened her posture and held out a hand.
“If I am the ‘me with my original specifications’ who exists here, and not the ‘in-game companion’ you claim to know, then I can provide comprehensive information support—provided you grant me the necessary authority.”
In her eyes, I saw a spark that wasn't just programmed loyalty. It felt like she was testing me.
I gave a dry laugh and tapped the console.
“You don't even have to ask. This isn't the kind of ship one man can run alone. I’m counting on you.”
I had nothing else to rely on, and there was no point in hesitating now. As I authorized the command, a pulse of blue light surged deep within Lucia’s eyes.
[Access authorized. Establishing link with ship control systems.]
Her voice shifted into a flat, businesslike system tone. However, her expression immediately soured again.
“...Integration complete. Master, I have two fatal problems to report.”
“What now?”
“First, my algorithm. Since no dedicated combat routines have been installed, the efficiency of the autonomous fire control is capped at a mere twenty-three percent of the Sperm Whale’s intended specs.”
“Twenty-three percent, huh... Well, I’ll be firing manually anyway, so that’s fine.”
“And second. This one is critical.”
Lucia flicked her wrist, expanding a holographic window in mid-air. It displayed a long, scrolling list of the ship’s armaments.
“Regarding the Kinetic Weapons and missile launchers that account for sixty-seven percent of this vessel's total firepower... our ammunition stock is effectively zero.”
“...Ah.”
I buried my face in my hands.
“What were you thinking? To build a ship this heavily armed and not load a single round of ammunition...”
“Look, it couldn't be helped! Kinetic weapons are a man's romance!” I leaned forward, arguing my case with desperate passion. “Besides, in the game, fixed ship weapons had infinite ammo. You just had to wait for the cooldown and they’d reload automatically. Even if they were terrible against shields, you could just overwhelm them with a massive barrage. It wasn't a system where you had to pay for every single bullet!”
“...Sigh.”
That was her second deep, weary sigh of the day.
“This is reality, Master. If you pull the trigger, the count goes down. If you don't have them, nothing comes out. In other words, seventy percent of this ship’s combat capability is currently just for show.”
“Ugh...”
“We will have to make do with the remaining optical, electronic, and plasma-based energy weapons. I’ll also need to calibrate the fire control. It isn't as though the shots will just magically fly toward the center of your field of vision.”
Lucia skillfully manipulated the windows until she brought up a specific quest file.
“I’ve found a suitable transport contract. A ‘Mineral Resource Transport’ to a neighboring star system. The reward is significantly higher than the market average because the route is plagued by Space Pirates.”
“Wait, you want to go pirate hunting when we don't have any ammo?”
“It will be fine. Just look at the exterior of this ship.”
Lucia projected an external view of the Sperm Whale onto the bridge’s main screen. It was five hundred meters long with a sleek, streamlined hull. At a glance, it looked like nothing more than a massive freighter, with only a few small-caliber debris-clearing lasers visible.
“All of the Sperm Whale’s true armaments are hidden beneath the armor via Conceal. To any observer, we look like a defenseless, oversized target.”
“Isn't that the problem? We'll look like easy pickings.”
“No. In this world, there are only two ways to protect a transport of this scale: you either hire an escort, or you pack the ship with carrier-based fighters and expensive combat drones.”
Lucia explained the logic with cold efficiency.
“A ship of this size traveling alone is assumed to be the latter. They will assume we are carrying a massive interceptive force in our hangers. No one would dream that the ship is actually hollow and out of bullets.”
“...I see. We're going to bluff our way through.”
“Furthermore, the energy weapons we do have should be enough to handle common pirates. Most importantly, we have to take these high-paying jobs, or the maintenance costs for this giant hull will bankrupt us by next week.”
“...Hard to argue with that.”
Several hours later, we stood before our client, a stout, pudgy merchant.
“My, you’re a lifesaver! Lately, the pirates on this route have been a nightmare...”
The merchant squinted as he looked up at the Sperm Whale, as if appraising its value. There were no escort ships in sight—only the lone, gargantuan transport.
“...Hmm. Traveling solo? Does that mean she’s a carrier-type? Or perhaps you have a swarm of drones tucked away in there? At this size, you could fit quite the complement.”
The merchant nodded to himself, satisfied with his own theory. I didn't bother to correct him; I just gave a vague, non-committal nod.
“...Yeah. Just leave it to me,” I said, keeping my voice low and brief.
I was only trying to keep my mouth shut so I wouldn't blow our cover, but to the merchant, it clearly looked like the stoic caution of a veteran who didn't like to reveal his hand. My Negotiation Perk, which boosted the success rates of certain dialogue choices, seemed to be putting in work, making my stiff expression look far cooler than I actually felt.
“Wonderful...! And that Automaton as well.”
The merchant’s eyes drifted to Lucia, who was standing just behind my shoulder. She was perfectly still and expressionless, but her posture was impeccable.
An Automaton, huh? I wasn't sure if that was just the local slang for high-end androids or if this guy was just old-fashioned.
“An Automaton of that quality must have cost a fortune. If you have the capital to keep something like that at your side, your ship's defenses must be state-of-the-art.”
The merchant signed the contract with a beaming face. I could feel cold sweat trickling down my spine.
There was no turning back now. We began the process of loading and securing the designated cargo containers.
“Exactly as calculated, Master,” Lucia whispered as she brushed past me. “He overvalued us all on his own. The advance payment is secured. Now, let us depart. Between the job and my own performance test, this should be a splendid first outing.”
For a split second, I thought I saw the corners of her mouth curl into a tiny, bloodthirsty smile.
I steeled myself and took my place in the pilot's seat.
A galaxy-class transport ship with zero kinetic ammunition—it was time to weigh anchor.