Two-Person Galactic Journey: Earth Was Destroyed While Imprisoned in Space Prison

Chapter 229

Chapter 229

While Kait and the others were moving to eliminate Lufate Gainun.

In the Central Star Cluster, Rebecca Luthiano was at her wit's end.

"Senator Asheid. As I said, we're not well-informed on this matter."

"I understand that, but the resemblance is just too strong. Especially the grown form—it's nearly identical. There are even those in the Federation who've only seen it in archival footage."

Perhaps due to his past involvement with Kait, Asheid had increasingly been assigned to Earthling-related matters.

Rebecca was also holding her head in frustration. It was unclear if this whole affair was Kait's fault, but both of them shared the desire to voice some complaints toward him.

"Still, the fact remains that on your Earth, there existed content resembling the footage of Lufate Gainun."

"Yes. I won't deny that. But that footage is from a classical film made during the Common Era. Kait may have enjoyed watching classics, but none of us have detailed knowledge about that piece."

Just as Kait had feared, some enthusiast in the Federation had discovered a panic horror film among Earth's content featuring a creature very similar to Lufate Gainun.

Right before—or perhaps just after—that information reached the council, news came that Lufate Gainun had reappeared within Federation territory. That stirred things up.

It was a coincidence, but an unfortunate one. If the timing had been slightly different, they might have had time to ask Kait directly.

"We've never heard of Lufate Gainun appearing on Earth. We can only call this a coincidence."

"That may be, but there are people now claiming that Kait brought them into the Federation."

Rebecca had at least tried to consult some Earthlings on the matter. She even asked the mercenary Viper and his crew, who seemed somewhat versed in classics like Kait, but their reactions were unhelpful.

—Sorry. I can't handle horror.

—Ah, that movie. I know the name, but it's a gore flick, right? Not really my area.

Their beloved ship, the Tortoise, wasn't summoned for this mission due to its lack of firepower. Since there wasn't a communication blackout, they could still ask Kait if they wanted to.

However, Rebecca didn't believe Kait would have any more information than they did.

The Common Era was considered ancient history for Earthlings. Though the footage remained as data, no Earthling alive had lived through that time.

"It may seem like a short time to you all, but for Earthlings back then, it was generations ago. Even those involved or their descendants may not be around anymore."

"......So it really is just a coincidence. Lufate Gainun is an extremely troublesome creature for anyone without body modification. I thought we might find a clue, given how much Earthlings know about them."

What Asheid was concerned about wasn't the ridiculous claim that Earthlings had brought in Lufate Gainun.

It was about finding a better method to eliminate that hostile lifeform, which could devastate an ecosystem upon landing on a planet.

"Understood. The Federation Congress will issue a directive to cease any further inquiries toward Earthlings regarding Lufate Gainun."

"I see."

Asheid nodded at Rebecca, who visibly looked relieved.

In that case, now that interest in Lufate Gainun had resurfaced, it was time to restart research.

Asheid, in his capacity as a senator, made one request of Rebecca.

"Then, could you call in Doctor Saito?"

***

When the survey fleet joined the six Di-Kigaia Zarmos, Terapolapaneshio, who had defeated the mobile mother body, shared the information it had obtained with the other units. Since their egos were identical, they usually didn't need to exchange information face-to-face. The fact that they did so now proved how delicate and hard-to-understand the data was.

With the sharing complete, Terapolapaneshio's role here was temporarily over. It would now stay in place and serve as a marker.

The six ships would divide the survey fleet into six groups, each heading down a different investigative path.

But then, a small problem arose.

'Kait, Third-Rank Citizen (Enec Lagif)! Since it's a rare opportunity, come with us.'

'What are you saying! Third-Rank Citizen Kait, we'd like your assistance!'

'Wait, wait. Ours is the most complex route. If we team up with Third-Rank Citizen Kait, we'll be unstoppable.'

'How much burden do you plan to place on Third-Rank Citizen Kait? He should take the least demanding route—with us.'

'No, with us.'

'Please, join us.'

Kait instinctively held his head.

He had the feeling that the crew from the other fleets were looking at Queen Bee with admiration. No, they were wrong—being liked by space jellyfish wasn't a good thing.

'......You're quite the celebrity, Captain.'

"I want to go home......"

He never imagined space jellyfish would fight over him.

No, he had kind of expected something like this might happen.

'You're being disgraceful. Shouldn't the decision be left to Third-Rank Citizen Kait?'

'Silence! You just want to work on the same mission as Third-Rank Citizen Kait!'

'Don't think you can stop us just because you're being reasonable!'

'Hmph. Third-Rank Citizen Kait was a tremendous help. He doesn't even need to pursue them—he could just stay here with us.'

He never thought a seventh one would join in. Wait—was he being lumped together with Earth jellyfish in the eyes of the space jellyfish?

No matter which route he chose, it felt like it would cause friction.

'What will you do, Captain?'

"Even if you ask me that..."

Honestly, he didn't think any of the routes would lead to the core issue. Apparently, the six mobile mother bodies had converged here from separate star regions and had started emitting light. Why did Lufate Gainun choose this spot as a rendezvous point?

That was the first mystery, but he felt like chasing further or staying here wouldn't uncover it.

"Where will their remains be transported?"

'Hm? We're sending them to the artificial celestial body Uvols for containment.'

"......Then we'll head there and join up."

'Why!? None of us are there!'

That wasn't the point.

Kait calmly responded to the space jellyfish, who had lost sight of their objective.

"Our top priority is to stop Lufate Gainun's advance, right? I feel like we can't move forward unless we understand them better."

'M-Mmm......!'

'I-It can't be helped. If it's Third-Rank Citizen Kait's choice...!'

'Well, maybe not this time, but next time, please do a mission with us!'

'Don't try to cut ahead, you scoundrel!'

He couldn't deal with this anymore.

Ignoring the commotion stirred up again by the foolish Terapolapaneshio, Kait decided to teleport Queen Bee back to the original location.