Hyperdrive wasn't as simple as flipping a switch and instantly warping to your destination.
Despite being called faster-than-light travel, it wasn't some magic trick that reduced physical distance to zero.
The drive installed on the Sperm Whale was undoubtedly a top-quality masterpiece. It could traverse the route to the Asteria System—a journey that would take a normal civilian ship two weeks—in just a few days. Still, a few days wasn't exactly a short amount of time.
I’d looked into it, and apparently, entertainment content was still traded on physical media. It was the same as the data for the Replicator. They claimed it was to reduce unauthorized use, but in practice, it meant I had to actually disembark the ship to buy anything. A bit of a greedy scheme, if you ask me.
"...I'm bored."
When I muttered that in the cockpit, the girl waiting beside me—Lucia—shifted her gaze away from the tablet in her hand and let out a small sigh.
She was wearing a functional black bodysuit. The white armor plates covering key areas made it look somewhat like an apron, and the sensor unit on her head was shaped like a headband. Whether it was the developer's hobby or something else, her overall silhouette was undeniably "maid-like."
"That is a luxury of a problem, Master. From a mental health perspective, I believe there is no better environment than this."
"Since we have the time, I think I'll do a patrol. There are still sectors I haven't seen yet."
"That is a good intention. I shall guide you."
"I wouldn't really call it 'guiding' since it's my ship, but you probably know more about it than I do by now. Lead the way."
Lucia stood up soundlessly, straightened her back, and gave a respectful bow. Together, we stepped into the corridor leading from the Living Quarters further back toward the Engine Room.
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To put it simply, this ship was too big.
Gravity control kept my feet firmly on the floor, but the ship was so empty that my footsteps echoed into the distance. Every now and then, a Cleaning Drone would whir past with a low hum.
I peeked into one of the cargo blocks. In a space that looked like it could fit an entire soccer field, the supplies we had bought were just sitting there in a tiny pile. It was a lonely sight.
"I wonder what I should use this place for."
"...My voice echoes," Lucia muttered softly, looking out over the vast space.
"I hope I can fill this place with supplies someday."
"Indeed. To achieve that, more efficient operations will be required."
Next, we headed to the hangar for the ship-borne craft. This place was also magnificently empty.
Once—that is, before this world became reality—this place should have been packed with the collection of small-scale ships I had gathered.
There was the Initial Ship I had shared many joys and sorrows with, the nimble Planetary Exploration Craft, and specialized combat ships for both anti-fighter and anti-capital ship combat. I’d even had Gimmick Crafts I’d chosen purely for their looks and experimental prototypes from various manufacturers. Some had essentially become flying warehouses, but even so, the sight of them lined up had been spectacular.
Now, all of them had vanished without a trace.
"...They're gone."
"They are not here. It appears the ship-borne craft on the manifest were swallowed by the wave of initialization."
I’d known that already, but seeing the empty space in person really hit home. They weren't just a collection; they were my military strength. It would probably be a nightmare to get my hands on high-quality small-scale ships again.
I let out a deep sigh and left the oversized hangar behind.
Moving further back, we came to a corridor lined with spare private rooms. I opened a door to find a simple room equipped with a bed, a desk, and a locker. Identical rooms were lined up along both sides of the corridor. Counting them roughly, there were probably about thirty.
Looking at the empty beds arranged so orderly, I was suddenly struck by a tightening sensation in my chest. This ship was originally meant to carry a full crew and be a place for a bustling journey. Now, it felt like a Ghost Ship where only the whirring of drones echoed.
"...Even if we leave the cleaning to the drones, it seems like a lot of work to maintain this many rooms," I said, forcing a change of subject.
Lucia furrowed her brows and shook her head. "Yes. While autonomous Cleaning Drones are patrolling, simply optimizing their routes and supervising them consumes several percent of my background processing. Keeping rooms that no one uses sparkling clean is a hollow task."
"Wait, just supervising drones takes up your processing power? Is there any way to improve your performance?"
"It is possible. One could boost computational capacity by swapping hardware or using distributed processing via an external server. Naturally, it would incur an enormous cost."
"Money, huh... In the end, it always comes back to that."
"It is a harsh world."
We walked down the long, long hallway with wry smiles. Our footsteps echoed hollowly—clack, clack.
When I opened the door to the Engine Room at the deepest part of the ship, the Hyperdrive Core sat enshrined there, emitting a low hum. A pale blue light pulsed, supplying energy to the entire ship... but this thing, no matter how you looked at it, was not a normal industrial product.
It incorporated experimental technology, singular technology, psionic powers, and ancient artifacts; it was a one-of-a-kind item whose theory and structure were a total black box. To be honest, I wanted to have a proper engineer look it over at some point, but I wondered if it was wise to carelessly show such a mysterious object to anyone.
"For now, the empty rooms don't have a use. We don't have enough supplies to store in them either."
Having said that, I suddenly realized something and looked at Lucia. "Wait, come to think of it, what do you do while I'm sleeping?"
"I remain on standby on the Bridge. As of now, there is no room assigned to me."
I broke into a cold sweat at her calm response.
"Crap, let's pick one right now. Right this second."
"Oh? Is that permitted?"
"Permitted? We have more rooms than we know what to do with."
"Since I am an android, I do not require rest such as sleep. Therefore, I did not request one... but space for storing clothing and other items will be necessary, so it would be rational to designate a space."
"Alright, take the best room."
"Understood. Then, please register the private room closest to the cockpit for me."
As I registered it at the console, Lucia nodded with satisfaction, then said something outrageous with a straight face.
"Besides, this default bodysuit has low performance. In AI terms, it is essentially the same as being naked."
"Wait, what?! I've been leading you around naked!?"
"That was a lie."
"...Eh?"
"It was a joke. However, it is true that appropriate attire is necessary if I am to be utilized as a retainer."
I seriously panicked for a second. There were quite a few things here that differed from the game logic I remembered.
Clothes, huh? I'd need some too. I wasn't in the high-tier equipment I’d worn at the end of the game, but rather the default-issue Jumpsuit. It was versatile, but it only offered the bare minimum of protection.
Two days remain until arrival at the Asteria System.