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It took quite a while to solve various problems.

First off, I met the real chairman who was inside that facility. I’m talking about the chairman we had repelled, not the one who was Ha-yoon’s grandmother.

She was an elderly woman on the brink of death. It seemed she wanted to hand over all authority to Ha-yoon for a reason like that.

…And the people who came looking for us were actually those sent by that chairman. To be precise, it appears they were in a competition to find Ha-yoon.

Others came a bit late after we had escaped, but of course, it was a wild goose chase.

That facility, after all, was for the generator.

“…Now it’s completely destroyed without a trace.”

James glared at me as he said this. I shrugged my shoulders, feeling hardly any guilt.

The generator itself is a clear machine device. And naturally, mechanical devices require ‘machines and equipment’ to operate. But now, there was nothing left at the tip of that wand.

The hammer had disassembled, and the black hole at the end vanished after we all combined our efforts to shoot it out.

We decided to hand that facility over to the government. To be exact, it would be a joint ownership by Earth.

“I don’t really need a facility like this. Well, unless we’re making or experimenting with spaceships, that is.”

Saying that, it seems Ha-yoon truly is an incredibly generous child. I don’t mean in terms of money, but rather… emotionally speaking.

After making a big mess of things, we had to deal with issues concerning the parents of the kids.

Particularly, Ha-yoon’s parents.

Well, it wasn’t anything major. I simply sneaked Ha-yoon away from that household. Her parents had quite the outcry, but since Ha-yoon herself didn’t want to go back, they had no other way.

And as a result…

“…”

In the orphanage, Ji-hye and I ended up living together with a total of five people.

Me, Ji-hye, Ha-yoon, Jua, and Pang-pang.

“Wait a minute. This is strange.”

With five of us sitting together, Ji-hye said as she placed a hand on her forehead.

“Ji-eun?”

Ji-hye looked at me with a face that desperately needed an explanation.

“Do you think having four kissing partners makes sense? And that too without spending time courting each one individually, all within just a month!”

“….”

Hmm.

I… had nothing to say.

I thought I was being a bit too brazen—

Not just with the magical girls I fought alongside, but even with Pang-pang.

But at the same time, it couldn’t be helped.

I couldn’t abandon Ha-yoon. I also couldn’t abandon Ji-hye.

Jua said she couldn’t abandon me.

And Pang-pang, she was my life’s savior from the very start. Besides, she’s been really fond of me.

But how on earth could I say I should break up? Unfortunately, I just didn’t have the time to create a reason to keep only one among those five.

Consequently—well, that’s how we ended up living this way.

…

Hmm, I guess I can just admit it, I’m downright greedy.

*

So before all the problems were resolved.

Even after the Earth people arrived, we stayed in that facility for a while.

It took me a little more time to recover. Thanks to magic, I didn’t have major injuries, but my body was so worn out that if I were to jump right into solving problems, I might faint a few times.

During that time, I made good use of the time as well.

…That ‘kissing incident with the friends I used to be with’ that Ji-hye mentioned also happened during that time. To make a tiny excuse, the kisses did all start from the other kids.

Ha-yoon kissed me while we were leisurely strolling around the facility. It was a short and cute kiss, like a bird pecking at seeds.

Ji-hye suddenly sat on my lap when she came into my room for a bit and pressed her lips against mine. It was a soft and warm kiss.

Jua rushed towards us for a brief moment while we were cooking in the kitchen. It was a passionate kiss that I couldn’t believe was from Jua.

I don’t want to mention the order in which that happened. I didn’t want to rank my lovers.

Thus, I also don’t want to reveal the order of the kiss with Pang-pang.

Which kiss was first changes every time I recall them. Hmm, that seems best.

…Pang-pang liked to drag me around the facility.

Being a star lover from the beginning, she enjoyed looking at the stars outside the window, telling me which star was which and what constellations were there.

I quietly walked while listening to Pang-pang’s stories. Honestly, I wouldn’t know where to look even if I pointed at the stars with my finger. I’ve heard there’s something like a star pointing laser; I should get one for her.

Then, Pang-pang made a suggestion to me.

“Shall we go out into space?”

She said.

“Out into space?”

“Yeah. We have spacesuits. There’s also an airlock. It seems it’s for maintenance engineers.”

“You know how to wear a spacesuit?”

“Yep. We went to Earth via a spaceship at a warp point, right? There’s always an emergency spacesuit on board. If you don’t know how to use it, you can’t even ride it.”

We got on a spaceship without knowing how to use it.

…No, thinking back, maybe I’m the only one who didn’t know.

“…Should we?”

Honestly, going out into space while wearing a spacesuit is a hard offer to refuse. Every kid dreams of a journey beyond the stars at least once.

The spacesuit was a little large, even in this era. Of course, it wasn’t the gigantic spacesuit I knew, but it was still a bit uncomfortable.

After putting it on far easier than expected, I went to the airlock with Pang-pang.

Once the airlock drained of air, Pang-pang said, “Alright, let’s go.”

With nothing but my breath echoing in the air, Pang-pang’s voice sounded particularly clear, which was a bit magical.

Spacewalking was romantic. Sure, we were still connected to the facility, but even that felt sufficiently freeing.

It wasn’t my first time experiencing weightlessness. However, if the surroundings were simply an empty space, the story was different.

Before my eyes was a sea of stars.

There were several layers of protective glass in front of me, but it was still exceptionally beautiful. It felt different from just looking out the window. At least for now, I felt like I had become one of those stars.

Between the stars, there were distances so long that even if I traveled for centuries, I could never reach them. In the past, humanity calculated that even traveling between planets would take a lifetime without warp points.

Having remembered a world like that felt especially poignant. It was like I was flying in a world from my imagination.

Yeah. I’m flying. Next to Jupiter, no less.

In that vast, empty universe, I was all alone—

No.

Pang-pang was there, holding my hand.

“……”

It felt romantic. Really.

Was it because of the unique chilliness that comes with weightless space? My heart raced a little faster.

The usually talkative Pang-pang was quiet now.

After gazing at the stars for some time, she finally said softly, “I’m glad I can be here with you.”

The only sound I could hear was Pang-pang’s voice.

We floated in space side by side, listening to each other’s breaths for a long time. We didn’t share much talk.

It was just nice being together. At least here, there was no need for company talk, the government didn’t interfere, and the black hamster didn’t tick away.

It was complete freedom.

I began to understand why Pang-pang loved space.

In my heart, I engraved the fallen stars and returned to the airlock.

While I was taking off my spacesuit, my gaze met Pang-pang’s.

We were both wearing fitted sports bras. Below, I hadn’t completely removed my spacesuit yet, and gravity hadn’t returned in the airlock.

Pang-pang stared at me for a moment before gently floating towards me.

And she took my hand.

I lost my balance and spun around together with Pang-pang.

Pang-pang pressed herself against me. Just like in the tent.

“…I have one condition,” she said.

Strangely, it seemed Pang-pang was thinking the same thing as me.

“What condition?”

“When we go camping on our planet.”

Pang-pang whispered softly, as if no one else was around.

“Let’s just take one tent. A one-person tent.”

I laughed.

Pang-pang pressed her forehead against mine.

And then softly, she kissed me.

A kiss while gently spinning in weightlessness felt over-the-top cinematic, even to me.

But still.

Isn’t that good enough?

Yeah. This works.

I thought that as I felt Pang-pang’s soft lips against mine.

 

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