Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 41 - Chapter 1

To Forthorthe

Saturday, September 24th

The galactic journey from Earth to Forthorthe took ten warps aboard the Hazy Moon. As a royal-class battleship, it could make roughly one jump per day when factoring in the time it took for pre-warp preparations and post-warp maintenance. The entire voyage thus took approximately ten days total, covering about ten million light-years.

With such vast distances, even the slightest inaccuracy in the calculations or calibrations for a single warp could result in an astronomical displacement error. Because of that, spaceships generally traveled between “stepping stone” areas of space that were large and empty enough to safely allow for such errors. That was why the trip took so many legs to complete. That said, royal-class battleships were outfitted with the finest equipment in all Forthorthe. Any normal battleship or private charter would take even longer to complete the voyage. The greatest convenience in making the long journey across the stars more comfortable was freezing time aboard the ship, which made it feel like the trip was over in the blink of an eye.

“Hmm-hmm-hmm, mm-hmm-mm!” Sanae-nee hummed.

“Warpy, warpy, warp time!” Sanae-chan sang along.

“Won’t someone get mad at us for being here?” Sanae-san fretted.

“Don’t worry. Clan-san is surprisingly nice,” Yurika assured her.

The three Sanaes and Yurika were eagerly awaiting the start of their voyage to Forthorthe. With all of their exposure to anime and manga, they had a vague idea of how warping worked. It was only natural they were excited to experience it for themselves. What wasn’t natural, however, was how they’d laid a picnic out on the bridge of the Hazy Moon, complete with a selection of snacks and drinks. Except for the worried Sanae-san, they were happily set up to enjoy their much-anticipated warp trip in style.

“Sorry to rain on your parade,” Clan called out to them, “but...”

“See? Clan-san is angry. I’m sure eating and drinking aren’t allowed on the bridge, you guys,” Sanae-san immediately began.

“I’m not angry. It’s just that we’re done already,” Clan said, indeed looking more apologetic than miffed.

At this, Sanae-chan cocked her head. “We’re done? With what?”

“The spatial distortion navigation. The warp, I mean. We just completed the tenth jump and the flow of time has been restored... so here we are.”

It was true—the warping was already over with. Which was a huge disappointment to the Sanaes and Yurika. Even Yurika, who was ordinarily exceptionally laid-back, couldn’t help but exclaim, “Whaaaaat?! It’s over already?!”

“Why would you do the freeze right away?!” Sanae-onee demanded. “We wanted to experience the wiggliness of warping!”

“I told you to give us a warning, Glasses!” Sanae-chan added.

The Sanaes and Yurika had eagerly been anticipating the unique sensation on this trip, especially after missing out on it during their previous intergalactic journeys.

“But I did make an announcement,” Clan reminded them.

“We don’t understand all your Forthorthian jargon!” Sanae-chan argued.

Clan had recalled that Sanae was keen on experiencing the warp on their last journey, so she’d made an announcement beforehand per Sanae’s wishes this time. Both the Sanaes and Yurika, however, had failed to comprehend the rapidly read and technical message over the comms system. And when they’d failed to report immediately afterward, Clan had presumed she was free to begin the standard warp procedure.

“Why do you even freeze time in the first place?” Sanae-chan asked.

“Because spending days aboard the ship without even scenery to look at is boring,” Clan answered.

Freezing time during warp travel had been standard practice since Forthorthe’s space age—and for good reason. Traveling through the vastness of space with only distant stars to stare at was hard on a person. Without a proper point of reference, it was even difficult to tell whether you were moving or not. The unique wear and tear of travel under such conditions had historically led to the development of psychological disorders in passengers, so freezing time was a way to alleviate the strain on the mind. In the early years of space travel, parks and even artificial hibernation facilities for longer trips were included on ships. But with strides in technology and the development of spatial distortion came the advent of freezing time—the very same luxury that had just denied Yurika and the Sanaes the experience they’d so been looking forward to.

“Couldn’t you have frozen us after the warp?” Yurika asked.

“It’s technically safer to do it beforehand,” Clan explained.

With humans being one of the most unpredictable parameters aboard a ship, having them frozen in time made warping considerably more reliable. For long-distance warps, the less error in measurement, the better. So Clan wanted to freeze time whenever possible.

“C’mon, Glasses! Just warp us one more time!” Sanae-chan pleaded.

“Yeah, just give us a chance to experience it!” Sanae-nee likewise begged.

“Hey, you’ve already gotten to travel between worlds. Isn’t that enough?” Sanae-san retorted.

“Apples and oranges!”

“Listen, we’ll arrive at our destination in a few hours,” Clan assured them all.

“Just one more time! Pretty please!” Sanae-chan continued to beg.

“Pretty, pretty please!” Yurika joined in. She, too, was desperate to experience the fabled warping she’d seen so much of in anime and manga.

“If it means that much to you... I guess it wouldn’t hurt,” Clan relented, ultimately caving to their petition.

“All right!” all three girls cheered, throwing their arms up in celebration.

Only Sanae-san looked displeased. “I’m sorry they’re all acting like children.”

Clan couldn’t argue that the request was childlike, but she smiled at Sanae-san nonetheless. “No need to apologize. A short-range warp is a very simple affair, much like traveling from the ship to room 106,” she said as she returned to her captain’s chair.

“The gate uses the same technology?” Sanae-san asked inquisitively.

“On a daily basis, no less. So sending a ship a short ways is really no big deal.”

Sanae-san had feared Clan would be annoyed, but in truth, Clan found it endearing. The demonstration was barely an imposition, and even if Sanae-chan, Sanae-nee, and Yurika had forgotten themselves in their childish excitement, Sanae-san still made sure to mind her manners. That was enough for Clan.

“I’m relieved, but I am sorry for the trouble,” Sanae-san apologized again.

“Heh, you’re the only serious Sanae,” Clan remarked.

“Believe me—I know.”

“Glasses, how short is ‘a short ways’?”

“We’ll have to clear our current position and then add a little more to that to be safe... so about three kilometers. And just for the record, it would be faster to walk than to set this all up.”

Preparations and follow-up for a full long-distance warp took about a day, but the process was considerably shorter for a journey of only three kilometers. The Hazy Moon was still outside of the Forthorthe system’s gravitational pull too, making it a simple procedure. The prep work would take about an hour—longer than it would take to walk an equal distance on the surface of a planet. All in all, it was a meaningless warp.

“That’s fine! We just want the experience!” Sanae-chan assured her.

“Yeah! I wanna drink and think back on my homeland and family while warping like Captain Wakita!” Sanae-nee added.

“We’re not old enough to drink yet,” Yurika reminded her.

“And didn’t Captain Wakita die immediately after that...?” Sanae-san asked hesitantly.

It seemed the gung-ho girls had no objection to the pointless warp. They just wanted to know what it felt like, so the actual distance traveled was irrelevant. In other words, this was purely for fun.

“Just be patient,” Clan implored them. “We still need to take all proper precautions to comply with safety regulations.”

“Okaaay!” the girls answered in chorus. This time, Sanae-san simply bowed her head apologetically.

At long last, the Sanaes and Yurika would get the full warp experience in all of its wiggly glory.

While the four girls excitedly oversaw the warp preparations with Clan, the rest of the Corona House crew was none too interested. Their minds were set on arriving in Forthorthe, such that they had little thought to spare for warping. They were all gathered in the ship’s lounge, whiling away the remainder of their journey in leisure.

“Meeeyow!”

“Oh? Is it dinnertime already, Snoozy?”

“Meow.”

One petite passenger in particular didn’t care at all about warping. He didn’t even know what it was, after all. His only concerns were his dinner, his owner, and whoever might be willing to play with him. And right now he was hungry, so food was foremost on his mind.

“Here you go.”

“Meow!”

As soon as Maki put down a bowl of food, Snoozy dove for it and began chowing down. Maki watched over him with a smile. She gave off a much softer impression than she once had, and Snoozy was no doubt part of the reason for that.

“Now that’s what a magical girl looks like,” Shizuka remarked as she beheld her roommate. Maki lovingly feeding Snoozy perfectly captured her mental image of a magical girl.

When he heard Shizuka’s comment, Koutarou looked up from the document he was reading. “I know how you feel, but please never say that in front of Yurika, Landlord-san.”

“I know, I know. I’d never say anything to upset your precious Yurika, Satomi-kun.”

“She’s not...”

“Not what?”

“Er...”

Koutarou had almost reflexively denied that Yurika was precious, but that wasn’t how he truly felt. He couldn’t put that into words, however, so he fell into a pensive silence and went back to reading his document.

“Heehee.” Shizuka narrowed her eyes with a smile. She knew what Koutarou couldn’t say, and she was also happy he’d left it unsaid. In truth, the other girls were too. So instead of pressing the issue, Shizuka turned back to her conversation with Kiriha. “Sorry, I got distracted.”

“Heh.”

“What’s up?”

“Oh, I was just thinking about what a good woman you are.”

“Nothing like you, Kiriha-san. Although I hope to be.”

“You’re more than enough. You’ve even devoted yourself to learning how to cook.”

“That’s more of a hobby than anything. It’s something I picked up from my mom, but it’s not like there’s any deeper meaning to it.”

Shizuka and Kiriha were in the middle of discussing cookery. As busy as she was, Kiriha rarely had the time to enjoy such idle chatter, but the trip to Forthorthe had given her a good excuse to indulge.

“Getting back on topic,” she began, “what brand was that breading mix that you used the other day? It was superb for a store-bought product.”

“It’s something the folks of the shopping district worked together to make. Rather than aiming for perfection, they set their sights a little lower to make something quick and cheap for busy mothers,” Shizuka explained.

“I see. How thoughtful. That’s perfect for us too.”

“Right? That’s why I decided to try it. And if it caught even your notice, I’d say it was a success.”

Room 106 was even more packed than ever, especially with Nalfa and Kotori coming to visit. There were regularly more than ten people in the apartment nowadays, so when it came to meals, anything that was fast and easy to make was most welcome. They didn’t always have the time to cook everything from scratch.

“When I go shopping next time, I’ll take you to one of the stores that sells it,” Shizuka offered.

“Thank you. That said, I imagine it will be a while,” Kiriha replied.

“You’re right about that. We’ll have to be patient.”

Their gazes naturally turned to the three-dimensional display on the wall of the lounge, which depicted the Hazy Moon’s location in real time. After ten warps, the ship was on the verge of entering the Forthorthian solar system. And it wouldn’t be returning to Earth until the trouble with Ralgwin was resolved. In short, their shopping trip would have to wait.

Even though they’d yet to arrive in Forthorthe, Theia and Ruth were already hard at work. Because of her position, Theia would have to attend press conferences and interviews as soon as she made it home. Preparing for those ahead of time was crucial.

“This is our time to shine,” said Theia.

“Let’s do our best, Your Highness,” Ruth replied.

“It seems being a princess isn’t easy,” Harumi commented.

“You should know better than most,” Theia ribbed her.

“I only know what it was like two thousand years ago. I didn’t experience any of the difficulties you’re facing now, Theiamillis-san.”

“Ha, it’s true there are no records of Empress Alaia attending any press conferences or accepting any interviews.”

Harumi was acting as Theia and Ruth’s advisor. She was the oldest member of the Corona House crew and the most educated Earthling aboard the ship. Moreover, she possessed a portion of Alaia’s memories. She thus understood the histories of both planets, making her the perfect consultant on such occasions.

“By the way, Harumi, would the citizens of Earth take offense to this?” Theia asked.

“Let me take a look... Well, it’s fine overall, but there are some who won’t respond well to it.”

“Which part in particular?”

“This third line that says Japan is an undeveloped country. Though that may be true from Forthorthe’s point of view, on Earth, it’s a highly advanced nation. So even if it’s true, it’s a matter of pride.”

“Ah, like bringing up my height,” Theia remarked sagely.

“I’m envious of your height, though,” Harumi replied with a smile. Being short had lots of advantages, and she’d always been jealous of that.

“A-Anyways, let’s not conflate Japan’s sensitivities with my personal hang-ups! We need to rephrase this!” Theia knew exactly what Harumi meant, and the image that flashed through her mind of being embraced by a taller man left her blushing in embarrassment.

“Your Highness, how about we tactfully say that Earth is in the midst of its own technological development?” Ruth suggested.

“Hmm... Yes, let’s go with that.”

Theia and Ruth were drafting various speeches and the like while consulting Harumi whenever they were unsure of something. The conversation had been derailed many a time so far. The job at hand was important, of course, but they were still teenage girls.

About then, Snoozy came running over, chasing after a sponge ball. Seeing this, the girls all smiled. They loved the adorable cat and his antics.

“Meow!”

“Hello, Snoozy.”

“Meow.”

When the ball rolled up to Harumi, Snoozy prodded it a little and sat down. Upon seeing this behavior, she knew immediately what he was after.

“Do you want to play?”

“Meow!”

Hearing those words, Snoozy twitched his ears and looked up eagerly. He was ready and waiting for her to throw the ball.

“Okay, um, let’s see...” Harumi looked around the room, wondering where she should toss it. She quickly decided on a place, then wondered how hard she should throw it. What would Theiamillis-san or Higashihongan-san do?

Harumi pondered for a while, but just before Snoozy lost his patience, she made up her mind. “There!” Before her courage waned, she tossed the ball with all her might.

“Mrow!”

Snoozy chased after the ball with the same lithe steps he’d come bounding over with. Even as a domesticated feline, he had the agility of a wild beast. The ball gently bounced off the ground once before hitting Koutarou’s back, just as Harumi had hoped.

“What was that?” he asked absentmindedly.

“Meow!”

Koutarou turned around to find Snoozy barreling toward him. The cat had been chasing the ball at first, but after seeing Koutarou, he’d quickly changed targets.

“Mrrrow!”

“What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”

Snoozy pounced on Koutarou and skillfully climbed up his torso. This was a near daily exercise, and he did it with incredible speed.

“Want me to play with you?” Koutarou asked.

“Meow, meow!”

Even when Koutarou tried to catch the slippery beast, it was no use. Snoozy swiftly evaded his grasp and made it all the way up to the top of his head. Once there, the kitten ceased resisting and let Koutarou grab him.

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” Koutarou asked.

“Meow.”

“Yeah, I guess a cat doesn’t have much to do in space, huh?”

“Meow.”

Koutarou placed Snoozy on his lap. In response, Snoozy wiggled around and reached out for Koutarou with his paws. He was asking to be pet.

“Yes, yes. Right away, sir.”

Koutarou rubbed Snoozy’s belly, which the cat allowed with great pleasure. While this was going on, Koutarou thought he heard someone giggling.

“So I have you to thank for this, do I, Sakuraba-senpai?” he called out.

“Ahaha, Snoozy looked bored so I just couldn’t help myself.”

“You just couldn’t help throwing the ball at poor Koutarou, who also looked bored out of his mind?”

“You could say that.”

Koutarou, like Theia, had plenty of work to do. Currently, he was trying to memorize the document he was going over. Still, he wasn’t so busy that he couldn’t play with the cat. Harumi knew that much, and giving Koutarou a reminder of it was a special act of consideration on her part.

“Meow?!”

Upon hearing the word “ball,” Snoozy immediately jumped to his feet again. While he was fickle with his toys, the ball was his most favorite of all.

“Okay, okay.”

Koutarou picked up the toy. When he did, Snoozy sat straight up. He was prepared to charge at any time.

“Go get it!”

“Eek!”

Koutarou threw the ball at Harumi. Caught off guard, she failed to catch it and let it bounce upward. This development, however, was exactly what Snoozy had been hoping for. He used Harumi as a springboard to leap upward and swipe the ball out of the air. It was hard to imagine a kitten could be so dexterous. He then delighted in chasing it as it rolled away along the floor.

“Ah, that surprised me...”

Harumi watched Snoozy go in befuddlement, and Koutarou laughed when he saw it.

“Hahahaha, that’s a hilarious face, Sakuraba-senpai.”

“You’re such a bully, Satomi-kun!”

“Hey, you did it to me first.”

“Yes, but Snoozy wasn’t that fast when I threw the ball!”

“He and I just get each other, y’know?”

“We get along too!”

“But your motives were impure, Sakuraba-senpai.”

“You really are a bully...”

Harumi began uncharacteristically pouting like a child, although she wasn’t as upset as she made it look. If anything, she was happy about being teased this way. When she first met Koutarou, he developed a habit of being overcareful with her because of her weak constitution. Over time, as they grew closer, she felt it was an impediment to their relationship. And right now, she felt like they were in the middle of breaking through that wall. She was thrilled.

“Aha, I got all that on camera!” said Kotori.

“This is great footage. I’ll call this video ‘Koutarou-sama and the Kitten,’” added Nalfa.

They’d made a habit of filming the group, and they’d immediately started recording when they saw Harumi throw the ball. Thanks to that, they’d captured Koutarou’s stunt with Snoozy.

“I know, Nal-chan! Why don’t you throw a ball at Kou-niisan too?” Kotori suggested.

“I-I wouldn’t dare!” Nalfa was shocked by Kotori’s suggestion and frantically shook her head, causing her rainbow-colored hair to flutter.

“Kou-niisan won’t get angry, you know?”

“I know, but no Forthorthian should ever hurl anything at Koutarou-sama. Not even a sponge ball.”

“But you know you’re gonna have to work up the guts to push yourself, right?”

“Ugh, I don’t have any confidence... but I will do my best...”

Nalfa was up against a challenge similar to what Harumi had faced, but in her case, the obstacle was her own heart. If she couldn’t get over it, she’d forever be resigned to watching from the sidelines—and that wasn’t what she wanted.

“Speaking of having no confidence...” began Kotori, bringing her hands together in a pleading gesture. “Do I really have to go through with you-know-what?”

“You do. You didn’t help me when I was struggling with my speech, so I’m going to insist even if you don’t want to do it.”

“Oh nooooo.”

Nalfa had a new idea for a video series entitled “Matsudaira Kotori’s Forthorthe Diary.” It would be the inverse of Nalfa’s recordings in Japan—in other words, Kotori’s video diary of life in Forthorthe.

“Why don’t we just scrap that? Nobody would care about my take on anything...” Kotori whined.

“That’s what I thought about my videos at first too, so don’t you worry!” Nalfa assured her.

Kotori was nervous about the project. Like with Nalfa’s videos, their plan was to upload Matsudaira Kotori’s Forthorthe Diary in both Japan and Forthorthe—although there would be a slight delay for the Earth version. They would need to scrutinize the footage to make sure it didn’t contain anything sensitive. But Kotori didn’t think there was any demand for a video series about a normal girl like her—either on Earth or Forthorthe.

“Just be yourself, Kotori. That’s what Nalfa-san wants to film,” Kenji said with a smile. He was assembling something small made of plastic, but he paused his work when he caught wind of his sister’s nerves.

“Nii-san...”

“She thinks the people of Forthorthe would be interested in seeing how a regular Earthling reacts to Forthorthian society and culture. Right, Nalfa-san?”

“Yes, and I’m sure they’d love to know more about Koutarou-sama’s childhood friend, so they’ll be interested in you too, Kotori.”

“So, like I said, just be yourself,” Kenji reiterated. “Trying to be anything else would defeat the point.”

“Nii-san, you’re surprisingly insightful at times like this...”

“What’s there to be surprised about? I’m in the drama club, remember?”

“Oh, right. I guess you would know about this kind of stuff. Haha.”

Thanks to Kenji, Kotori had a smile on her face again—and it wasn’t the first time this had happened. The new video project on the horizon was already bringing them closer together. At this rate, Kenji was slowly but surely redeeming himself in his sister’s eyes.

“You’ll also need to be yourself, Mackenzie-sama,” Nalfa reminded Kenji.

“What?!” he yelped.

“You’re Koutarou-sama’s childhood friend too, after all. The people of Forthorthe would love to know more about you as well!”

“Who would give a crap about me?!”

“Hahaha, let’s do our best together, Nii-san... Wait, we’re supposed to act natural.”

Kotori and Kenji’s relationship was improving in part because they’d left their normal lives behind—including Kenji’s love life, the source of the conflict between them. But that was just one reason. More than anything, the siblings had been growing closer purely because they’d had more chances to talk to one another recently.

Thank you, Nalfa-san. Really...

And for that, Kenji was deeply grateful to Nalfa. Without her and her idea for the new video series, he and his little sister wouldn’t have had the occasion. It had basically given them a chance to make up, so he was ready and willing to do anything he could to help out with it.

“Brother Mackenzie! Help, ho!”

“What’s up?”

“We can’t get the paint to mix right, ho! We need your wisdom and guidance, ho!”

“Okay, hang on a minute.”

Kenji was currently helping the haniwas and Alunaya make RC cars. The small plastic bit in his hand was actually a gearbox. Though Kenji had gotten into acting in high school, he’d shared most of Koutarou’s hobbies in his younger years, so he knew just as much about RC cars. He wasn’t as skilled a racer as Koutarou because of his less daring personality, but he was better at putting the models together. The haniwas were more than happy to rely on his expertise while Koutarou and Clan were busy. But rather than for themselves, they were currently beseeching him on Alunaya’s behalf.

“I am sorry to trouble you, Mackenzie. I want to paint the body in the same color as my scales, but the mixing isn’t going as expected.”

“Ah, I got you. The paint tends to dry a little darker than it looks. Let me see what I can do.”

Mixing paint was a tricky art to begin with, but the final color also varied based on the amount of paint thinner and primer used. Alunaya wanted the body of his RC car to match his scales, and replicating the color exactly had proved more difficult than he could handle on his own.

“You’re my only hope, Mackenzie.”

This kind of work that required experience and intuition was Kenji’s forte. After glancing at Alunaya’s body, he began whipping something up. He used a dropper to collect small samples of different paints into a metal dish and swirl them together. He then repeated this process several times, making sure to record the proportions of the paint he used with each variation. It took five tries all told, but he worked quickly and without hesitation. Alunaya observed this all with relief and satisfaction.

“After this, you should help us too, ho!”

“We can’t put the decals on right, ho!”

“Yeah, that part can be tricky. I’ll be with you as soon as I’m done with this.”

“Hooray, ho!”

“You’re our hero, ho!”

Kenji had grown popular with the haniwas and Alunaya. While he wasn’t as technically proficient as Clan, he had the dexterity to make up for it. And right now, what the RC newbies needed wasn’t specialized instruction; it was simply advice they could understand. In that sense, Kenji made the perfect coach for them.

Two pairs of eyes were watching Kenji. One belonged to Nalfa.

“Kotori, Mackenzie-sama is oddly nurturing, isn’t he?”

“Oddly? No, this is who he really is... Or who he was until high school.”

The other pair belonged to Kotori. The two girls Kenji had just been talking to observed him as he helped Alunaya and the haniwas.

“Ahahaha, then I think I can understand why you’ve been so angry at him.”

“Heh. I wish he was always like this.”

Right now, Kenji was behaving just like the kind older brother that Kotori so proudly remembered. She’d always chased after him as a child, and she felt both happy and nostalgic to see this side of him once more. That was yet another reason the siblings had begun to make up.

“Everyone, at the request of the Sanaes, we will be making a very short warp. For your safety, please stay still for a moment,” Clan announced over the comms system.

Preparations for the final warp were finally complete. After that, only a few short hours would separate the crew from Forthorthe, and they each intended to spend that time as leisurely as they possibly could. After the Hazy Moon landed, there was no telling how arduous the trial ahead of them would be—or how long it would be before they could relax again.