Chapter 1
“How much are you willing to pay for your employee, anyway?”
The cockpit of a civilian transport ship.
In a space narrowed to its absolute limit to maximize cargo capacity, three people were present.
One was me. A transport worker being worked to the bone by Ilmesia Transport for a measly monthly salary of 142,215 Potol.
The remaining two were a fat guy who had me tied up with an illegal laser gun pressed against me, and a skinny guy negotiating with my CEO, who was shown on the main monitor. Clad in filthy clothes, the two were, to put it bluntly, Space Pirates.
How did things end up like this? I wondered, gazing out the small window. Reflected in the glass was a man with a worn-out face that didn’t look like he had just turned twenty.
“You get to protect your cargo and your employee, so you’re happy. We get the ransom, so we’re happy. Let’s all find some happiness here, shall we?”
[…Could I speak with my employee?]
“Sure, sure. Be our guest.”
Pushed by the fat pirate’s gun muzzle, I was moved in front of the monitor.
My CEO, whom I only saw once or twice a year, looked at my face and let out a heavy sigh.
[Ah… it was Katsuya-Fujishiro-kun, wasn’t it?]
“It’s Tatsuya. Tatsuya-Fujishiro.”
This guy doesn’t even remember my name.
Even though he works me like a dog for pennies… I guess he thinks worker ants are a dime a dozen. I already had a bad feeling since he skimped on guards for the transport ship, but feeling this poor treatment firsthand made me scowl despite myself.
[Fujishiro-kun. Do you have a family?]
“No. My parents are deceased, and I’m single.”
[I see, I see… That’s good to hear. I’m sorry, but please do me a favor and die.]
“……………………………………Huh?”
[There isn’t much difference in cost between paying a ransom to Space Pirates and paying compensation to a client. In that case, wouldn’t you agree it’s only natural to choose the option that looks better to the public?]
“Wai—Wait a minute!”
[I thought some compensation might be necessary if there were surviving family, but if there are none, it comes cheap. I really must thank the hiring manager.]
“I’m still alive! What do you mean ‘surviving family’!?”
[You’re slow on the uptake… You were attacked by Space Pirates and died. The Space Pirates were then sunk by a security vessel after resisting, making body recovery impossible. That’s the script we’re going with.]
He’s abandoning me. The man on the monitor had just declared it.
The moment I understood, rage boiled up from deep within my gut. After working me to the bone, he was just throwing me away like trash?
“Don’t screw with me!”
[Abusive language that damages our company’s dignity is subject to disciplinary action.]
My anger grew even more toward the man who, despite declaring he was abandoning me, still acted like my employer.
“To hell with disciplinary action! You’re abandoning me for money?! You heartless monster!”
[…Disciplinary dismissal for verbal abuse toward the CEO. Let’s say you hijacked that transport ship yourself… If I consult with the insurance company, I might even be able to squeeze out some coverage.]
The communication was cut off unilaterally.
I always thought it was a crappy company, but I never imagined it was this bad.
As I sat there, crushed by the fact that I had been discarded so easily, a Space Pirate gave me a pat on the shoulder.
“…Man, keep your chin up, kid.”
Being pitied by a Space Pirate was the final straw; I didn’t even have the energy to stay angry anymore.
“Just kill me already… I want to be born into a better environment next time…”
Four years since leaving the orphanage.
As an immigrant child whose race wasn’t even clear, the only job I could get was a dangerous transport gig passing near black holes. I endured low pay and long hours, working desperately, and just when I thought I finally became an adult, this happens.
…What was I even working for?
Only emptiness filled my heart.
Unable to keep up with the dizzying reality, I watched blankly as the Space Pirates began hauling out the cargo, as if it were someone else’s problem. It seemed they intended to flee before the Security Bureau or the Interstellar Army arrived.
After quickly moving the high-value items, they finally picked me up, still tied.
“W-Wait. If you just leave me here, I might—”
“Didn’t you just say to kill you already?”
“Unfortunately, you’re so pitiful that we just can’t bring ourselves to kill you, kid.”
Contrary to their sympathetic words, the Space Pirates wore disgusting smirks. It was the face of someone taking pleasure in tormenting the weak.
“Tell you what. Let’s launch you into the black hole in an escape pod.”
“Oh, I like that! Sounds like fun!”
“What!? Wait! I’ll be crushed by extreme gravity and di—…”
“Hey, haven’t you heard the rumor? The one saying black holes are connected to white holes.”
“Maybe… pffft, maybe it leads to a wonderful world?”
“That’s just a superstition—!”
Even as they spoke while stifling laughter, it was obvious they didn’t believe a word of it.
In the first place, my life or death was likely the last thing on a Space Pirate’s mind. And yet, the reason they were going through the trouble of this “execution” was clear.
…They were playing with my life.
I resisted as hard as I could, but after being beaten, I was eventually shoved into the escape pod.
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“See ya. Take care of yourself.”
“Heh heh… Don’t know if it’s the afterlife or another dimension, though.”
“I’m betting on the afterlife.”
“Me too. Guess it’s not much of a bet then.”
Laughing loudly, the Space Pirates operated the panel and launched the escape pod. Just to be thorough, they had destroyed the internal panel meant for the passenger—me—to operate. Without controls, the escape pod was nothing more than a coffin.
And so, discarded by my company for pocket change and caught up in the twisted whim of Space Pirates, I was launched toward a black hole.
Once caught in the intense gravity created by a black hole, there was nothing left but to be dragged into the center and wait for the escape pod to collapse and die.
Ah… I guess that thing in the distance is the black hole.
You can’t even see the mass of ultra-gravity that even light can’t escape. However, while other areas had starlight, the place I was looking at was a void of pure darkness where nothing existed.
The coffin-sized escape pod gave a sudden jolt.
I’d probably been caught by the black hole’s gravity.
Sigh… If I was going to die anyway, I should have lived more selfishly.
I endured so much. I was worked to death, laughed off injustices, watched people’s faces for their moods, and sucked up to them.
…But it was all for nothing.
Just as I thought that, the escape pod shook again. The broken touch panel began to move on its own.
“Is—Is it being operated from the outside!? By who!?”
[Life signs and communicative intelligence confirmed. Your vessel is expected to reach the Schwarzschild surface in 22 seconds and collapse in 1 minute 43 seconds. It is predicted that your vessel is incapable of enduring the gravity, let alone escaping; may I ask with what intent you have taken this course?]
A somewhat cold-sounding synthetic voice asked me, but there was no way I had an “intent.”
“If you know that, then save me!”
[Understood.]
“I was forced in here by Space Pirat—Eh?”
Taken aback by the casual acceptance that sounded like an extension of small talk, I froze as something appeared before my eyes.
Purple lightning crackled through the void, and a spaceship of a shape I had never seen before manifested.
Its color scheme was primarily white, boasting a radiant beauty. It was about 150 meltres in length, with an expected crew of ten or fewer.
The central cockpit had a pointed tip, and the rear split into three parts like an arrowhead. On its left and right, long spear-like mechanisms were attached. A catamaran ship with an arrowhead-shaped cockpit connecting the two sides—that would be the best way to describe it.
From the spears on the left and right, I could see turrets and other combat mechanisms, so it didn’t look like there was any room for people inside them.
It was worlds apart from the boxy transport ships built for efficiency. The ship, with its beautiful form that one could easily accept as a work of art, was—
“An armed… Battleship…?”
[Combat is possible, but that designation is inappropriate. This unit is called the High-Speed Mobile Battleship Swallowtail.]
“Whatever it is, just save me!”
[Understood.]
The spear-like parts extending parallel from the cockpit clamped onto the escape pod. Perhaps some kind of force field was generated, as the escape pod shook violently.
[Recovery of your vessel or escape from the Schwarzschild surface. Which shall take priority?]
“Recovery, obviously! Save me already!”
[Understood.]
A hatch on the lower part of the cockpit opened, and the escape pod carrying me was slowly sucked inside. Even during that time, the black hole was rapidly approaching, and the ship’s bow began to slide toward the black hole.
“We have to escape quickly!”
At this rate, my place of death would simply change from an escape pod to an unknown battleship.
I shouted out, but the answer that came back was merciless.
[Since priority was given to recovery, escape from the Schwarzschild surface is now impossible.]
“…By the way, what exactly is this ‘Schwarzschild surface’ you’ve been mentioning?”
[The region from which even light cannot escape.]
“Hah!? Then what are we going to do!?”
[We will pass through the black hole.]
Simultaneous with the synthetic voice’s declaration, the hatch closed.
[Welcome to the Swallowtail.]
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