"—Hey—..., hey, come on! Wake up already." Mm.........mm—... where... am I?
"Heh heh heh heh ♪ So, how was it? The feeling of waking up—" Waking up... the feeling?
"Hm? Are you still inside the doze—" ...The... doze?
"You slept for ■■■■ years, so it's no wonder. From here on, you can wake up slowly, sloooowly, taking all the time you need." You... are—
"Heh heh heh heh ♪ Looks like it's about time. Let's meet again, shall we? 'Me.'"
. . . ?! "Ngh———owowowowowow———!!" My head hurt like it was splitting open. The back of my nose burned. A taste of iron spreading through my whole mouth... urk, is this—blood?
"Huh? Where is this... the medical bay? I..........." "Oh! You're up? That was quicker than I figured." The instant I heard Gilbert's voice, I was yanked back into reality.
(Hold on—this situation is—?!) I hurriedly checked my clothes. ...Yep, fully dressed. ...No, wait, this is no time to be fussing about that!
"The entry operation! What happened to it?! Where are we now?!" "Whoa now, settle down. Here, drink some water." He held out a bottle of water, but the inside of my head was still a complete mess.
"Ngh...!" My head throbbed, pounding in time with my pulse. Gilbert seemed calm, so it was safe to call this safe for now, right? Hydration first...........
. . . "Phew~" The headache had started to settle, too. "Calmed down, Seres? 'How much' do you remember?"
"How much, you say... um, we hit the atmosphere, right. Broke through into the stratosphere... got surrounded by drones... how did we ever get out of that, I wonder... was it Lilith?"
"Master, you are not yet at full strength, but your vitals are largely within the normal range. It was unmistakably by the Master's own power that we came through that crisis. Damage to the Lemurias from the aerial engagement is minor." "My... power?"
"Yeah, it was something else. Not that I had the faintest clue what was going on, mind you. Hard banks right and left, flipping upside down, getting swung around every which way—and next thing I knew, we'd plowed into a dock at the spaceport." (Uh-oh... I don't remember any of it.)
Just before I woke up, I feel like I was having a strange dream, but I can't recall it anymore. All that's left is a sensation—something nostalgic, as though I'd been reunited with someone precious to me. My lost memories of the past, and what happened this time—is there some connection?
"Um, so—how long has it been since we landed? Ah, actually—Gil. Looks like I've gone and put you out again. Thank you." "Aw, it's nothing worth mentioning. Since we landed... let's see, about an hour? More to the point, that nosebleed was something fierce—you all right now?"
"Eek—" I clapped a hand over my nose on reflex. "What kind of thing is that to ask a maiden... just pretend you never saw it!" No—this was no time to be saying things like that, either.
"Was anyone at the spaceport? We have to contact Captain Wolf, too!" "It's handled. I already got word to him. They're on their way down now. As for the spaceport, still unconfirmed, but... no sign of anyone, no. The dock's in this state and not one person's shown their face."
"On that matter, Master—I have also taken control of the spaceport's internal security. I can bring up footage from the surveillance cameras at each location... Would you care to view it? ...I do not recommend it." "What's that supposed to be... you're being awfully coy. Anyway, I'm moving to the cockpit. Gil, let's go."
As I went to climb down from the bed, Gilbert casually offered me his hand. I was glad he was looking out for me, but... My head was so clear it made a liar of the headache from moments ago, and if anything my body felt lighter than usual. Even so, I decided to accept the kindness he'd extended.
"So? What about this surveillance footage you don't recommend?" "Are you certain, Master? Truly, you are certain?" "Never mind that—hurry up and show me already!"
Since the story was that a riot had broken out, I'd pictured footage of, at most, people who'd been beaten or shot lying on the ground. "Displaying on the main monitor, then." Vwoom—. (?!) "Wh-what the hell is—?!"
It was far, far worse than what I had imagined. People lying in a sea of blood—people, people, people————people with no heads, people with their throats gouged out... Déjà vu.
"This is—that freighter from before... the same as with the Valkyria?" "Seres, are you okay?" That's right. Back then it had made me sick enough to faint.
"I-I'm not... okay, exactly, but I seem to be all right. Have I built up a tolerance?" What was the matter with him? Gilbert's shoulders were trembling as though he might bolt out the door at any second, his fists clenched tight.
"What should we do... Better not to move carelessly until Captain Wolf arrives, right?" "...Yeah. If something were to go wrong..." Having said it almost under his breath, Gilbert fell silent, as if gazing at something far away. He must have been through all sorts of things in the past. He was a former soldier, after all—or something close to it.
. . . We switched from camera to camera, checking the state of the spaceport's interior, but every last place was covered in blood, and we couldn't find a single survivor.
"H-hey, Gil. This isn't—the bodies got up and attacked people... that couldn't be it, right?" Gilbert didn't answer; his face was rigid as he kept watching the camera feeds. "...Gil?"
The image snapped over, and the spaceport's runway appeared on screen. Landing craft could be seen touching down one after another. "Master, Captain Wolf has arrived."
When I stepped outside the ship, Captain Wolf came down at the head of the group from the landing craft that had set down nearest to us. He strode briskly right up in front of me, then planted himself with arms folded and looked down at me, hard.
His features were more deeply cut than they'd looked on screen; I'd put him in his late fifties. And, above all else, he was huge.
"Heh, heh heh heh... Wa-hahahaha! You've really done it now! Captain Celestina! That wall of a 'one hundred percent shoot-down rate'... and to break through it in a freighter, of all things!" "Heh heh heh—impressive, isn't she? My Lemurias."
"Well, well—the ship lived up to its reputation, true enough, but what's impressive is your skill and your nerve. You're no ordinary courier." "O-oh my, you think so? Well, it's nothing much—except that it is. Hmhm ♪"
Still wearing his smile, he abruptly drew his expression tight. "Now then. From here, we must investigate what is happening on this planet. Will you and yours be going to deliver your package right away?"
"Yes. But before that... could you take a look at the surveillance footage from inside the spaceport? The Lemurias's cockpit is cramped, so two or three people at most." Captain Wolf stroked his chin with a dubious look, then designated two of his subordinates.
I split the main monitor into four and put up the camera feeds from the various locations. "Th-this is... a far worse state than I imagined... this is no mere riot, is it?" For a while, Captain Wolf sat glaring at the footage.
"...That is enough. My thanks, again and again, for your cooperation. If the urban areas are in this same state... we must hurry to search for and rescue survivors. As a soldier, I cannot allow you two to go any farther, but..." "I'm going to the residential area, you know? I have a package to deliver."
"You've seen this and you still say such a thing?! We can't reach anyone anywhere, and we come down to find the spaceport like this! There is no way the residential area is unharmed—" I know. In a situation like this, there's no way the residential area is fine. Even so—
I looked Captain Wolf straight in the eye. "Even so, I have to go. I came all this way to deliver someone's 'heart.' Even if the worst has happened... then I'll............" I didn't want to think any further than that.
"I see... Then I'll have these two accompany you as escorts... as minders. They're dependable men." "?! Thank you! Captain, you really are a good man after all! Despite how you look." Behind him, the soldiers looked about to burst out laughing. "That last bit was uncalled for!"
"Oh, that's right! While you're being a good man—could I borrow a small craft, too?" "Heh heh. A shrewd little thing, aren't you. Take one of the six-seater Auroras."
With that, Captain Wolf turned his back, leaving the two soldiers with a parting "See that she doesn't do anything more reckless than this—I'm counting on you," and walked away.
"Man, still—to think the one flying that ship was such a young lady, huh." He'd been like this the whole way since we left the spaceport. The one running his mouth nonstop was Soldier A. The type who'd be the first casualty the moment anything happened.
"Shut up and keep watch on our surroundings." The taciturn, serious-looking one was Soldier B. The type who'd either fall with a soldier's pride, or bolt first when it counted and fall anyway.
"Ah—please don't mind him. A classmate of his he was close with was aboard the advance party." "Hey! That's enough out of you!" Soldier B raised his voice.
"So that's how it was... It's precisely because your friend was sacrificed that I was able to land safely. Thank you..." "N-no, please, don't say that............ Thanks to you, Ms. Celestina, he can rest in peace. If anything, I'm the one who should thank you!"
"If you don't mind, would you tell me about him? Your friend." "...He was my childhood friend... a guy who was too kindhearted at the core. He was always saying he 'wasn't cut out to be a soldier,' and that once this mission was over he'd go home and open a place to eat. ...The lasagna he made was superb."
"...I-I see............" In more ways than one, the words caught in my throat. As if to wipe out the silence, Soldier A piped up in a needlessly bright voice.
"By the way, Mr. Gilbert, are you the Silent—" "Haaah?" "M-my apologies!" Soldier A, who'd gotten carried away, tucked his tail at a single glare from Gilbert.... (Gil—what on earth is he, really?)
"The residential area is coming into view. Beginning descent." From high above, the pattern that had looked like red polka dots was—just as I'd feared—bloodstains.
"Around there... isn't it." Identical houses stood lined up in rows. Every one of them had its front door broken in, blood spattered about it.
"Coordinates confirmed. This is the house. Descending while maintaining watch—commence." . . . A lavish mansion of white stone, unlike the houses around it. There was no mistaking it: this was Dyson's home.
As if in prayer, I hugged the package Dyson had entrusted to me tightly to my chest. (Please—be safe...) All around us, everything had fallen utterly, silently still.