Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary-Chapter 36 - A Big Step Forward

Finally, the last day off the patrol mission around the tenth planet in the Yuson System came to an end.

While it was possible that some pirates had escaped detection and were still hiding out within the over a thousand moons around the immense gas giant, there was no doubt that the majority had either escaped during the brief window that the blockade had been broken, or they had been destroyed.

At the end of it all, only twenty-three stragglers had been discovered. With all of them either apprehended or killed.

"Okay, we've received word from the Alliance Police. The jobs over and we can head back home." Avery said, having just read the transmission that came through.

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Sitting next to him, Kasandra looked a bit conflicted by this news. As if she was happy to be finished with the monotonous work, but also like she was not yet ready to leave.

Without any further delay, Avery set course for Yuson II and activated the Dauntless' lightspeed drive.

A soft hum filled the cockpit, and a moment later, the dots of light glimmering all throughout space seemed to elongate as they jumped to lightspeed.

Of course, even going this fast, the journey to Yuson II was going to take nearly four hours. That was just how far the system's tenth planet was from the space station Avery called home.

"Well, I think I'm going to get some shut eye. Feel free to do whatever you want. We shouldn't run into any trouble along the way, so don't worry about keeping watch here."

As every stood up to leave, Kasandra nearly spoke up to say something, but ultimately stayed quiet. And since his back was already turned, Avery did not notice.

However, the hesitancy in her eyes faded not but five minutes after he left. Kasandra had made up her mind and was going to follow through with her desires.

After Avery finished taking a quick shower, he flopped down onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling of the room as his mind raced.

A lot of unexpected things happened during the raid.

He had killed a lot more pirates than he had been expecting to, and even though he had not perfectly calculated his earnings yet, he knew that it was going to exceed what he needed to save his father.

Then there was his rescue of Kasandra. Never had he thought he would end up with anyone onboard his ship. At least not for a long time. He had figured that he would stick with the solo mercenary lifestyle for a while, but now he felt like things would end up being pretty lonely now that he had gotten to experience what having someone he got along with hanging around was like.

"Still, it's not like she can stick with me. This was just temporary. She's clearly got her own goals, and a partnership with her brother." Avery murmured, his expression pensive.

For just a moment, he thought about taking Kaiden up on his offer, but ultimately shook his head in rejection. In his ideal future, he did not see himself being anyone's subordinate.

Despite his conflicting feelings, Avery let out a long sigh to clear his head and grabbed his terminal to turn off the lights in his room so that he could get a bit of sleep before returning to Yuson II.

Yet, just as the room went dark, he heard the door open.

At first, he was confused, but quickly realized that there was only one possibility.

"Kasandra, did you need someth-" Avery started to say before the words got lost in his throat.

As he looked up to speak with Kasandra, his eyes went wide, and his expression warped into one of absolute shock.

Standing in his doorway, the woman he had just been thinking about was in nothing but her underwear.

She was wearing a confident grin, though, underneath her exterior, she was feeling extremely nervous.

While Avery continued to stare in a stupor, she walked into the room and crawled onto his bed. Creeping closer to him until she was looming over him, with their faces only a few centimeters apart.

At this point, Avery managed to regain some wherewithal, and said, "K-Kasandra! What are you doing?!"

"Just what I've been waiting for you to do for the past few days. But I suppose that you're just too nice of a guy to exploit the defenseless woman you rescued. Something most men in your situation would not have hesitated to do. So, no more hints or games. I've seen the way you look at me, so I know you find me attractive. This is what I want, if you want the same."

Hearing her captivatingly sweet voice, and the alluring smell of the soap she must have used just before coming here, was almost enough to wash away Avery sense of reason.

Right in front of him was a beautiful woman offering herself to him, and all of his instincts were telling him to take her.

But there was a nagging bit of doubt in the back of his mind. Something he needed to clear up before going any further.

"Why me?"

This was the only question Avery had. In his mind, he was nothing particularly special. Sure, he had a good ship, but it was only one small craft. There were a lot of people far more successful, good looking, and all-around superior to him.

Kassandra herself was a far more experienced mercenary. Certainly, he had learned from Urs, but that had been only over two months. That could not compare to the experience Kasandra and many others had gained over years of being active mercenaries.

At this question, Kasandra's lips turned up into a mocking smile, as if she found it funny that Avery could not recognize his own worth.

"Well, to start, you saved my life. I already told you not many would do something like that. And even fewer would do so expecting nothing in return. Of course, that wasn't all. You're fun to be around, and considerate of others. Almost to an extreme degree. Plus, you're not bad to look at." Kasandra said, a trill in her voice that a human could not hope to replicate.

"Then, you're also a skilled mercenary. Since I don't want to give up on being one myself, that's pretty much a hard requirement for any partner I chose. But a lot of male mercenaries are into gambling, drugs, or prostitutes. Since you don't have such inclinations, it makes you quite the catch. Even if we only met by chance, you're as close to my ideal match as I'm likely to ever find."

With Kasandra having laid all of her feelings out in the open, Avery felt the last bit of reluctance he had fading away.

He doubted if what he felt for her could be considered love, they had only known each other for a few days after all. But he could not deny the attraction and feelings he did have.

For now, Avery embraced the woman that had offered herself up to him, and let his desires take over.