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

Chapter 257

Chapter 257

As it grew brighter, signs of movement from the residents could be sensed from all around.

Kait and Emotion began moving, looking for a spot where they could better pick up surrounding sounds. Though their cloaks concealed their appearance, they had no intention of wandering aimlessly.

They had slipped in under cover of night. Not knowing how the residents of this city treated outsiders, revealing themselves was nothing but a risk.

It seemed to be quite a peculiar situation, but this Planet Mardila was a declining planet. There was no guarantee that each city maintained contact with the others.

'Captain, I will now collect ambient sounds and analyze Mardila's current linguistic structure'

"Please do. Also, check whether there are travelers or outsiders around."

'Travelers or outsiders?'

"We need to know whether us pretending to be travelers would raise suspicion among the locals."

'I see'

At Kait's words, Emotion fell silent in agreement. She crouched on the roof of a building near the plaza. It was a spot difficult to be seen from other windows or from the surface. If someone climbed up onto the roof, that would be another matter.

If they couldn't be seen from below, it also meant Kait couldn't see what was happening on the ground. The murmuring noise gradually grew louder, but Kait could only catch fragments of their conversations. The few words he could clearly understand were likely thanks to the micro-machines embedded in his body.

While holding his breath so as not to disturb Emotion, he recalled everything that had happened since they landed on Mardila. The ever-expanding desert, and the massive machine that rumbled through it. It had been dark, and the sand had been swirling. According to Emotion, there had been no biological reactions inside.

(A machine that's been running maintenance-free for five hundred years... And it's not like the Federation had that level of technology?)

It didn't quite sit right with him. He wasn't even sure if that thing was confined to the desert. Even if legs for traversing normal land were stored inside that massive frame, Kait wouldn't be surprised. The real issue was how calm this city appeared. With something like that roaming around, he had expected a bit more tension.

He had no particular doubts about the mechanism that emitted steam to move. Just because Earth's technological development followed a certain path didn't mean other planets did the same. On the contrary, perhaps they had harnessed energy sources unknown to Earth to create steam engines that defied Earth's standards.

At the very least, that machine had passed close to the city last night. And yet, there was no sign of panic. That could only mean it was a regular occurrence, and the people knew the machine posed no threat to their city.

(There's still too much I don't understand.)

He let out a small breath.

They had originally come to eat Dangaresion, but their curiosity about Mardila's civilization had taken priority. No, that's just how he and Emotion were. In fact, Emotion herself seemed more interested in Mardila's present than in Dangaresion. Or rather, in her case, she might be more invested in overturning the planet's designation as a declining planet.

While silently organizing his thoughts, Kait continued to patiently wait for Emotion to finish her task.

***

In the end, it took until sunset for Emotion to complete her relearning of the Mardilan language. That said, since language wasn't her specialty, it unfortunately wasn't perfect. The accuracy was supposedly good enough for everyday conversation.

Still, it was far better than wielding archaic language that was no longer in use. As Kait endured the strange sensation of a part of his brain being overwritten, he leaned against the outer wall of the city and closed his eyes. Now that night had fallen, the city had shut its three gates to control the movement of people. Apparently, travelers weren't all that rare here, so they decided to exit and re-enter the city the following morning.

During his first body modification, it seemed he had passed through this odd sensation while asleep. Considering that the archaic version of Mardilan had been installed from the start, he probably wouldn't have experienced this sensation unless he deliberately interfered with a declining planet.

"...Well, I guess this might be one of those rare experiences."

'Are you alright, Captain? There's a slight anomaly in your vitals'

"I'm fine. It's not like you're messing directly with my brain, right?"

'That's true. However, research on the effects of such modifications on Federation citizens like you, who use psychic power as the basis of their enhancements, is still lacking'

"I suppose so. Terapolapaneshio doesn't have any machines installed in their head, after all."

For now, he resolved not to use his psychic power until the discomfort subsided. At worst, the strain might destabilize his abilities. For the first time, Kait truly felt the risks of updating micro-machines outside the Federation's sphere of influence.

The discomfort was gradually fading. It would likely be gone by dawn.

Then, Kait noticed that the wall he was leaning against was trembling.

A tremor. Almost like an earthquake. When he opened his eyes, he saw a cloud of sand in the distance.

"That is..."

'...It resembles the large machine from last night, but it's a different unit. The one from last night is heading west from here, toward the south'

"So you're tracking it."

'Yes. It's hidden, but Queen Bee's functions haven't been disabled. While we remain concealed, I've had it investigate Mardila's terrain and such'

Apparently, Emotion had been using Queen Bee's functions to continue tracking the machine from yesterday. It seemed that Mardila had a considerable number of large machines roaming the surface. If left to Emotion, they might soon be able to pinpoint the location of every large machine on Mardila.

While feeling reassured by his partner, Kait still tilted his head in doubt. If multiple such machines were roaming the surface, there was no way the artificial celestial body monitoring Mardila wouldn't have noticed. And yet, the Federation's records contained no mention of such massive machines. If they only started moving after Mardila was labeled a declining planet, that seemed far too convenient.

"What's the council saying about this?"

'We've sent them the footage, but they seem unable to decide on a course of action. If they easily overturn the decision that labeled this a declining planet, it would be an admission that the previous council was wrong'

"Maybe I've been doing too much lately."

'Yes. Some council members are even claiming this is one of your staged performances. Since you've overturned council decisions so many times before, they suspect it's become a habit'

"What a ridiculous notion. Well, I can think of a few people who'd say that."

Kait had always said he had no interest in council seats or Federation politics. But among those in power, there were always some who simply couldn't believe him. No matter what Kait said, they would never trust him.

Even back on Earth, Kait had encountered and dealt with many such people—whether he wanted to or not. Then, Emotion timidly made a suggestion.

'Captain. How about we secure a few Dangaresion and leave this planet?'

"To avoid getting involved in trouble, huh?"

'Yes. If the council won't believe our words, then there's little point in continuing our investigation here'

"Hmm."

Emotion's suggestion was logical. But Kait just couldn't bring himself to agree.

He shook his head as he watched the machine that showed no sign of approaching them.

"It just doesn't excite me."

'It doesn't excite you?'

"Yeah. I think we probably need to investigate the anomaly here."

'Your usual intuition?'

"Sort of. But it's not just intuition this time."

He might need to share with Emotion everything he had thought through over the course of the day.

Before he knew it, the discomfort in his head had completely faded.