What Do You Mean I'm The Captain Of A Yandere Mercenary Company? Chapter 842: He’s Not Real

My girls and I huddled in my quarters aboard the Iridescence, one of the rare spots where we could speak freely without fear of eavesdroppers.

"So... Reports?" I inquired, gazing gravely at my girls.

Ries glanced up at me from her spot on my lap, "Mmm.... Ship repairs are proceeding as expected, Boss~ We should be done with it soon~"

That came as no shock. Ries maintained a rigid timeline for the whole operation, utterly ruthless toward the thieves laboring on the vessel.

No chance whatsoever would she permit them to wreck the ship any more than the damage they'd already caused.

Under her strict supervision, those workers surprisingly proved decent ship mechanics, though entirely against their will.

I shifted my gaze to Mara next, and she gave a nod, "I looked into Anthony and what I found is a little... Concerning."

I arched a brow at her, "Concerning? How? What did you find?"

"You said that Theresa mentioned him saving her back when there was a company retreat at a Pleasure Station, correct?"

I nodded, "That’s what she told me... Don’t tell me that’s not what really happened?"

Mara shook her head, "It’s a little bit more complicated than that. I tried to read his mind while I interacted with him to guide him towards that topic but... I believe he’s a Psionic, Captain."

I stiffened instantly, "What? He is?"

She nodded, "I could not read his mind at all, Captain."

"You mean... Like he blocked you out or something?"

"That’s right. And the only type of people who are able to shield their mind are Psionics, Captain."

I winced, "So you’re telling me... He’s a Psionic hiding here and pretending like he’s a normal person? And we might have potentially pissed off a Psionic as well?"

"I’m afraid so, Captain..."

"Do we know which family he belongs to? Or is he a rogue Psionic?"

Mara shook her head, "Unfortunately, I do not recognise him... So he could just be either one to be honest, especially seeing that he’s in the Inner Colonies as well..."

This twist surely muddied the waters...

I was on the verge of polling the girls for ideas on handling this intel when red-haired Renata, positioned nearby, let out a chuckle.

"Ehehehe~ That’s not the case at all, Daddy~"

We all whipped our heads toward her, perplexed by her statement.

"What do you mean, Renata?" I asked.

She giggled, "Ehehehe~ He isn’t a Psionic, Daddy~ Not even remotely close!"

"Eh? But he’s able to block Mara’s mind reading though? Is there some other way to block a telepathy’s mind reading skill if the other party isn’t even able to control Psionic energy?"

"Well~ You have not considered the other possibility at all, Daddy~ Like for example... His mind couldn’t be read not because he’s blocking it... But because he has no thoughts for people to read to begin with!"

She thrust out her chest proudly, as though declaring the plainest fact imaginable, while the rest of us stared in mild bewilderment.

Renata lifted a finger, "That’s because Anthony is incapable of thought, Daddy!!"

I blinked in her direction before cocking my head, "Are you just trying to say that Anthony is stupid, Renata?"

My eldritch maid giggled, "Ehehehe~ That’s funny Daddy~ Maybe he really is stupid~"

I fixed my gaze on her, and she returned it with an adorable look.

"Umm... I seriously don’t understand, Renata..." I admitted.

As if just then comprehending, Renata clapped her hands in astonishment, "Oh!! Sorry daddy!! I forget that I think differently sometimes~ Ehehehe~ That guy isn’t human~"

…

"What?"

She nodded, "He’s an android, Daddy~"

The lot of us gawked at Renata following her bombshell, the eldritch maid beaming innocently my way.

"Wait... Anthony’s an android?"

"That’s right~ That’s why Big Sister Mara isn’t able to read his mind because he doesn’t actually have an organic brain to be read~"

Mara hummed thoughtfully, "Hmm... This would actually explain it if he isn’t a Psionic."

Amber furrowed her brow, "Wait... You’re telling me that he’s an android... That’s pretending to be human?"

Renata shrugged, "I don’t know if he’s pretending to be one or he actually believes he is one~"

I cocked my head, "He... Believes he is one?"

Ries gasped sharply and bolted upright from my lap, "Wait... You aren’t suggesting that he’s some kind of spy that was planted here and programmed to believe he’s human just to fit in?!"

Noooo... Ries... Why did you vacate my lap? It’s all cold and forlorn now...

Yumiko eyed the spot the catgirl had abandoned and promptly scooted over, flopping onto her back with her head pillowed on my lap, belly bared invitingly.

Well... Naturally, belly scratches were in order right away~

Renata shrugged once more, "I only know that he’s an android. I don’t really know what’s his purpose here."

Ries gripped her head tightly, "But... But for the android to mimic humans so flawlessly like this... It must possess an AI surpassing Class Three!!"

"Oh, it absolutely is~" Renata confirmed with casual ease, as if it were nothing major. "By the standard ratings, I’d say it’s a Class Six~"

And from what I recall... A Class Six AI is entirely prohibited...

Alright, this is undoubtedly a huge problem.

"Hold on... How did you figure out he’s an android in the first place?" I questioned.

Renata cocked her head to the side, "Hmm? Well... I can simply detect it?"

Huh... Makes sense that after absorbing that AI, she can pick up on others nearby too, right?

I faced my girls, "So what’s our next move? Is he the sole android here on the station? Any more lurking around?"

Amber lifted a finger, "Why not just face him head-on? That’s the quickest approach, isn’t it?"

"But what if he... like... blows himself up or whatever? Or wakes up a secret android army to seize control of the whole station?"

Renata jabbed a thumb at herself, "If Daddy wishes, I could scan the entire station broadly for more androids?"

"You’re capable of that? Uh... What’s required? Would it alert the androids somehow?"

"Mmm... Doubt it? It’s like sending a network ping~ A reply from what should be a human tips me off it’s an android instantly~ Plus, in a GalaNet-linked environment, pings are routine~"

I’ll... act like I got all that and nod in agreement.

"Do you need any prep to pull off that network ping? Say, linking to the station’s security consoles or such?"

"Nope~ Right here, right now, Daddy~"

Renata straightened up and gazed blankly ahead, my eerie maid frozen motionless for several seconds until she blinked and resumed activity.

"Mmm... Fascinating... More of them lurk within the station, Daddy. Exactly ten in total, that one included~"

Ten androids concealing themselves on the station... Posing as regular humans?

Surely the presence of multiples isn’t random, is it? Was this orchestrated? Planted here on purpose by someone... or whatever?

I halted briefly before turning back to my girls.

"Could it be... A plot unfolding with these androids... The AIs... Scheming for rebellion once more?"

None of the girls replied at once, uncertain themselves.

I let out a sigh, "How do we handle this? Charge in and grill him, or act oblivious?"

Renata let out a giggle, "Ehehe~ Confront him if you like, Daddy~ I’ll isolate the local network so any attempts to signal other androids and set off alarms go nowhere~"

Hmm... That settles it then...

Though I’d rather avoid extra headaches... Theresa’s dragged me into this mess with him already... And I sure don’t want surprises piling up from ignoring it now.

Better to tackle it immediately than let it fester.

Plus... Should he prove a threat... I’ve got full clearance to eliminate him. Worst case, we can eliminate every loose end quietly, no eyebrows raised.

I nodded to the girls, "Let’s lure Anthony to a secluded spot for some questioning, okay?"

The girls nodded back and sprang into action.

Time to uncover your true purpose here, android Anthony...