Chapter 53
Palnesbrogia's anger was considerable.
Apparently, even the main body remaining on the flagship was thoroughly enraged, and by the time Kait disembarked from Queen Bee, the escort staff were in a complete panic.
"Is everything ready?"
At Palnesbrogia's words, who followed Kait down, the escorts quickly lined up.
"I asked if everything is ready."
"A-Almost!"
"Too slow. Do you understand the gravity of the situation?"
"Y-Yes! President!"
The escorts answered at attention. It seemed Palnesbrogia was more than sufficiently feared as the President. To Kait, though, they were just an amusing mossy organism.
In any case, the enraged Palnesbrogia clanked and clattered around, explaining the seriousness of the situation to the cowering escorts.
"At this rate, progress is too slow. If even one among Tuna, Kait the Third-Rank Citizen (Enec Lagif), or Terapolapaneshio had gotten angry, it wouldn't be strange if this had escalated into a war between the Federation and the Corporation!"
Oh, they actually grasp the situation well.
That said, even if Tuna had exploded in anger, either Kait or Terapolapaneshio would've stopped them, so war likely would've been avoided.
"Well. But still—"
"What is it?"
"They're claiming that everyone has been deceived by Captain Kait."
'Hoooh?'
......What?
***
He never expected to have to stop both a space jellyfish calling for war and a psychic moss creature calling for purges at the same time. What kind of ordeal was this?
What Kait hadn't accounted for was how widely his bad reputation had spread within the Corporation. Apparently, it was mainly spread by the protected Divin people victims, and surprisingly, there were quite a few of them even in the Corporation's research fleet.
He never imagined that, after being used for pocket money by the Divin people, they'd still feel indebted to them. Thinking about it, aside from the Earth incident, the Divin people had played their cards well. It's no wonder they were seen as benefactors.
Among the escorts were those who didn't believe the rumors, those who were skeptical, and those who had carelessly believed them, resulting in a breakdown in functionality. Under orders from the President, the escorts finally began moving properly, and all researchers except for Gorou were restrained (this time literally) and thrown to the floor.
"So then, does that mean the branch director I met the other day spoke to me with that weirdly familiar tone because—"
"Ah, that's not it."
The one who denied it was an escort who didn't believe Kait's bad reputation. Apparently, they usually worked close to the President and branch directors and had frequent opportunities to see videos and communications with the Federation.
"What do you mean, not it?"
"Well, the President was really looking forward to meeting Captain Kait."
"Oh?"
"The branch directors knew that too, so they thought it would be bad if they got too close before the President and Captain Kait had a chance to speak personally..."
"......Ehh—"
"So apparently, when Captain Kait happened to approach the fleet, they panicked. They tried to have someone from Earth handle it instead."
"And that turned out to be the source of the bad rumors."
Now that he thought about it, Prosecutor MacDonnell had been forcibly detained mid-conversation and dragged to the back.
Even if it was by chance, it was like drawing the worst card. If it had been Gorou, things might have turned out differently. A single misstep can be terrifying.
No, maybe not. In that case, there probably would've been a heated argument over how to handle Tuna.
'That MacDonnell, the Earthling—why would she spread bad rumors about Kait the Third-Rank Citizen? There's no reason to do that, is there?'
Terapolapaneshio's innocent question. Kait hesitated, wondering if he should answer. After all, it was in the past for him. Besides, without her, he wouldn't have made it to space. Broadly speaking, she might even be considered a benefactor... maybe.
While Kait was pondering how to soften the truth, Emotion, who knew the situation well, spoke up.
"It was Prosecutor Lucia MacDonnell who sentenced the Captain to exile from the planet."
"Emotion!?"
Damn, there was one person he should've told to keep quiet.
There was no salvaging it now. Kait let out a small sigh, thinking of MacDonnell's misfortune.
'As for the charges against Kait the Third-Rank Citizen, I believe Ritimiele the Fourth-Rank Citizen (Darda Elra) had submitted a report stating it was a false accusation.'
"Oh? Would it be possible to share that report?"
'Of course. I'll share it. By the way, Emotion the Sixth-Rank Citizen (Ab Rag). I heard you had the court documents from the trial Kait the Third-Rank Citizen went through at the time.'
"Yes. I'll send the data now."
Unlike with Ritimiele, Emotion submitted the data without hesitation. Perhaps it was thanks to an update.
Kait fidgeted with his lips, unsure what expression to make, when Emotion turned back with a truly pleasant smile.
"It's not like I'm not angry about how the Captain was treated, you know?"
"Ah, yeah. Thanks."
Kait couldn't think of anything else to say.
***
"I see. This is clearly a false accusation."
'So the Earthling shifted the blame onto someone younger... Kait the Third-Rank Citizen, you still wanted to welcome your fellow Earthlings into the Federation?'
"Well, yeah. If not for that, I wouldn't have met all of you."
'Kait the Third-Rank Citizen...!'
Somehow, he had moved the space jellyfish. No good—if their favorability got any higher, it might become irreversible.
Meanwhile, Palnesbrogia still hadn't calmed down. Not that blood was flowing through them.
"There may be redeeming qualities in individual Earthlings, but as a whole, they're not very promising."
"It's terribly embarrassing."
"No, Kait the Third-Rank Citizen is an exception. Perhaps you're not an Earthling, but the galaxy's one and only uniquely intelligent being, Kait."
"Absolutely not."
Just because they didn't want to treat him as an Earthling didn't mean they should make him a separate species.
In any case, the President and the escorts seemed to have reconfirmed through the court records and such that Kait wasn't such a bad person.
For Kait, just having the misunderstanding cleared up was enough. He even considered later having a pleasant chat with the branch director as a form of apology.
"Now then. I shall announce the punishment."
"Punishment?"
However, Palnesbrogia's anger, having been embarrassed in front of Kait, Terapolapaneshio, and Tuna, ran deeper than Kait's own grievances.
The expressions of the researchers lying bound on the floor were varied. It was natural, Kait thought vaguely, that different species express emotions differently. Some even looked at him pleadingly, but as an outsider, there was nothing Kait could say.
"Those who spread bad rumors about Kait the Third-Rank Citizen, and those who delayed Researcher Gorou Saitou's report in this incident, are hereby relieved of their current duties."
So, removal from duties. That's a harsh penalty.
While their minimum livelihood was guaranteed, they were in debt. Having to rebuild their careers from scratch would be tough.
"Your next workplace will be the flagship Vovrimos."
At those words, Kait tilted his head. Working aboard the flagship where Palnesbrogia lived—wasn't that more of a promotion?
But the researchers' reactions were grim.
'Ugh.'
Terapolapaneshio seemed to understand and floated away with a withdrawn mutter. Kait, not getting it, whispered a question.
"......What does that mean?"
'Being sent to the flagship Vovrimos as punishment is well-known in the Corporation.'
Terapolapaneshio replied in a similarly hushed voice. Oddly meticulous in strange areas.
'It's for cleaning the outer hull of the flagship. The hourly wage is extremely low, and it's so big, no matter how much you clean, it never ends.'
"......Ugh."
Come to think of it, it was about as big as a poorly made artificial celestial body. Cleaning that?
For highly skilled staff, this kind of menial labor must be unbearable.
"The duration is indefinite."
A voice of despair escaped from the researchers.
'It means they can't transfer jobs until they repay their entire debt.'
He was truly glad he didn't belong to the Corporation.
Kait thought that from the bottom of his heart.