---

I don’t think I fainted for too long.

Like, a minute? Maybe five? Anyway, it felt like that long.

I guess using all the power that’s not originally mine and pushing my body to the max overloaded me.

As I groaned trying to get up, Ha-yoon rushed over. She was still dressed in her Magical Girl outfit.

I was in the same boat. Even fainting, my circuit seems to be working. Or maybe I just had that much energy left?

“Ji-eun, are you okay? Can you walk?”

“Um… I’m not sure… Ah, no. I’m fine. I can walk.”

As soon as I hesitated with “I’m not sure,” Ha-yoon slipped her hands under my knees to lift me, so I quickly shook my head.

It’s okay for me to pick up Ha-yoon. I mean… that’s just how it is. I’m taller than her, after all.

But if she were to carry me, that’d be totally embarrassing no matter how you slice it.

Gritting my teeth, I finally managed to rise and surveyed the area.

The aftermath of our battle was, as usual, a mess. The original console was barely recognizable, just a shadow of what it was, and the walls, floor, and ceiling had noticeable dents and cracks.

The incubator was mostly intact, though. I made sure to be careful while fighting. I didn’t want to kill the person inside, after all.

I also had to consider my opponent. Since energy was being used from this facility, destroying all sources of that energy would have been a problem.

Thank goodness there was enough space here.

“Pang-pang, where are you?”

I asked, quickly turning my head.

“I’m here…”

Pang-pang answered weakly, raising a hand slightly.

She had injuries all over her body, some looking quite severe.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Seeing my expression, Pang-pang waved her hand dismissively.

“If we go to the healing station, I’ll be fine in no time.”

“…….”

Well, that might be true.

But the injury that stood out was the deep wound in her chest where the circuit had been embedded, blood seeping from the jagged hole, making it look horrifying.

Did I feel this way when I realized Ha-yoon had hit me?

I knew my opponent was inside Pang-pang, and yet I did what I did… Anyway.

“What do we do now?”

“Well, since we’ve obtained control of this facility, we’ll need to discuss what to do next,” Cherry interjected.

“Control?”

“I took control while using Pang-pang’s body earlier.”

Ah.

The former chairman manipulated the control panel through Pang-pang. Since she agreed to relinquish control, this facility was now entirely in Pang-pang’s hands.

“…….”

In the end, Pang-pang got involved up to this point.

My feelings are mixed on several levels.

Usually, a person would be thrilled to inherit a conglomerate, especially one as grand as Eun-ha’s. Even if they didn’t actively manage it, the money coming from it would be astounding.

After all, people work to make a living; who wouldn’t be happy to receive that kind of money without lifting a finger?

The problem is that this company’s situation isn’t good at all right now.

“Don’t worry too much,” Cherry said.

“We did this to prevent the worst-case scenario, so people won’t see it negatively. Besides…”

“Right, I don’t care what happens to this company.”

Pang-pang cut in decisively.

Still, since I felt better, I walked over to Pang-pang and reached my hand out. She took my hand and stood up.

“……Okay, then.”

I let out a long sigh.

“Shall we search for the chairman first?”

At my words, all the kids nodded.

*

First, I decided I needed to protect Ji-hye, so I returned the circuit I had been using to her and put mine back on.

Thinking about making another circuit similar to Ji-hye’s later, we followed behind Cherry, who was leading us.

If a big fight breaks out, unfortunately, there isn’t much Cherry can do. She can scout areas we can’t see and let us know, but at least she won’t be joining in the fight to help.

But that doesn’t mean she just stood by doing nothing.

Inside here, Cherry was tracking James’s location, keeping her distance from the fighting. And it seemed she successfully pinpointed that location.

The red guy was still out cold, so we managed to tie him up tightly enough that he couldn’t move and followed Cherry to find James’s location.

Unlike the hall located on the top floor of the facility, the place where James was being kept was quite a few floors down.

Wait a minute, in a zero-gravity space, “upstairs and downstairs” exist? Well… they probably sorted that out with some magic of their own. No need to dwell on the details since I won’t really get it anyway. Just go with the flow.

After descending further, we finally reached a small hospital room.

The door didn’t just swing open.

Cherry fiddled with the small keyboard attached to a drone in front of it, and a few seconds later, the door opened.

The smell that wafted out was, quite literally, the “hospital” smell. Everything had been sanitized and there were a few medical vials… it’s hard to describe, but it had that vague scent you get from a hospital room where patients are admitted.

The hospital room itself wasn’t particularly large. If anything, it felt just a tad tight for a company chairman.

Inside, there was a single bed.

Not one of those beds you usually see in hospitals, but a huge one that could fit three people lying side by side.

And on it lay an elderly man with a skin tone similar to Pang-pang’s.

Wrapped up to his chest in blankets, the old man’s face was, of course, similar to Pang-pang’s. However, he looked much older, with deep wrinkles, and his hair was white.

A monitor measuring his heart rate was nearby, and beside it—

“…James.”

James, who had been waiting for us, was there.

“It’s been a while.”

James usually carried himself with a tone that was annoyingly confident, indifferent, or sarcastic, but now his voice was quite solemn.

If anything, it could be described as mournful.

“Were you waiting for us?”

“I suppose you could say that.”

“……”

If it were any other situation, I might have mocked him, but saying something like that in front of someone who was about to kick the bucket felt a bit off.

“…Pang-pang.”

I said, prompting Pang-pang to step forward.

“Mind if I take a seat?”

“No.”

Pang-pang shook her head at my question.

Um… Well, if that’s how she feels, I suppose we won’t push it, but honestly, I’m not sure how much help we can really be by being here.

Still, I stepped back a bit.

“…Grandma.”

Pang-pang stepped forward and spoke softly next to the chairman.

After a moment of silence, the chairman slowly opened his eyes.

He looked at Pang-pang.

“…Pang-pang.”

“Why is such a mighty person like you in such a state?”

Pang-pang said, her voice heavy with a sigh.

“…Are you okay?”

The chairman, who had once thought of using Earthlings as fuel to change the universe’s lifespan, spoke in an incredibly weak voice. If anyone among us raised their voice even a little, it could potentially drown out his words.

“I’m okay.”

Pang-pang said.

The chairman gazed quietly at Pang-pang.

It felt a bit tense. I didn’t know what she would say. Would she ask him for any favors? Now that she’d taken control of this place, would she ask him to keep the plans going? Maybe ask him to take care of the company?

But what came out of the chairman’s mouth, approaching the end of her life, wasn’t any of that.

“I’m glad you’re safe.”

“……”

“Because of what I… did, I thought you might be in danger…”

She didn’t reach the point of saying she regretted anything.

Pang-pang looked pensive, as if searching for the right words at this moment.

Pang-pang perched on the edge of the bed and placed her hand on top of the chairman’s.

“…A long time ago, during my childhood, I used to gaze at the universe and ponder.”

The chairman continued her story in a soft voice.

“I thought about how this beautiful place could one day vanish without a trace from anyone’s memory.”

“And that’s why you did this?” Pang-pang said.

“To go so far as to use an entire planet… even risking the lives of other beings.”

“Did you really feel you needed to go that far?”

“……”

The chairman was silent for a moment in response to Pang-pang’s words.

Her eyes slowly closed.

“I thought I did my best. That if I did all I could, I could see the results before my life ended. But looking back now, it seems that wasn’t the case.”

“Right. It’s not.”

Pang-pang said.

“That plan of yours doesn’t resonate with anyone except someone like you.”

“Is that so…”

The person whom the chairman thought would be her most trusted ally ended up leading a rebellion. Even someone she considered one of her own was actually working under the leader of that revolt from the very beginning.

It wasn’t as if beings like James didn’t exist.

Perhaps, deep down, the chairman thought her granddaughter could carry on her plans.

“The grandeur of the universe, the greatness that will last forever… none of that truly matters. In the end, what’s important is the people living right now. Those emotions you wanted to utilize are just what people feel as they live their lives.”

“……”

“I would have preferred it if you were just an ordinary grandmother.”

Pang-pang said.

“It would have been nice if someone could gaze at the universe together with you.”

Pang-pang’s eyes were slightly glistening.

“If I had been there instead.”

“…I see.”

The chairman’s voice was pained.

It wasn’t just physical pain; it sounded like an awakening, a realization at the very edge of life.

Perhaps it was just the nature of the situation making everything feel more emotional.

“……”

There was a moment of silence in the conversation.

The chairman said nothing, keeping her eyes shut. I cast a worried glance at the monitor, but the heart rate displayed remained steady. I couldn’t tell if that was a good sign or not.

“Let’s step outside for a minute.”

I suggested.

Pang-pang said it was fine for me to stay, but this felt far too personal.

I walked over to Pang-pang and gently patted her shoulder a few times. After seeing her nod—

“!!”

I hoisted James up and dashed out.

Given the circumstances and the atmosphere, James didn’t dare say anything to me.

Once outside the corridor, I draped my arms around James, who I had hoisted up onto my hands.

“Hey.”

“……”

“You’re a female, right?”

“…I’m not female; I’m a woman. Who would feel good being called a female in that way?”

That’s true.

But I didn’t apologize.

Well, I had verified that, so now onto something more pressing.

“How much did you know? Did you know about the project to create Earthling monsters, or the plan to turn aliens into monsters?”

“……”

James hesitated, thinking for a moment before answering.

“I had no idea.”

“Really didn’t know?”

“I don’t think anyone other than the chairman and her key people would be aware of that.”

“You’re one of those key people, though.”

“My ‘type’ is different. At least I’m not blood-related. I’m a high-performance engineer.”

“……”

Well, that’s true.

“What do you plan to do going forward? Given the current situation, it seems hard for this company to continue.”

“This was a company originally built with a single purpose. Given how things are now, there’s no other choice. The parts that can separate will become independent as smaller companies, and others will simply be gone.”

“No thoughts of continuing the plan further?”

“……”

James looked up at me.

Despite how he might seem, I’d known Squeaky Adult for a decent while now. I could more or less read his expression by now.

However, James’s expression was somewhat complex, difficult to decipher at a glance.

“…Even if I wanted to go on alone from here, it’d be a problem.”

Hmm.

I had a nagging feeling that the reason he wouldn’t continue might be because of us, but since I’d heard that response, I decided not to pry further.

What will happen from here?

I still have no clue at all. Superheroes from other countries are actively protesting the federation, and here we are sneaking up to the vault and cleaning up the mess until things got sorted out.

“Hmm…”

Yeah, I really can’t predict anything, but one thing I know for sure is that.

I want to head back and lie down soon.

I want to sleep without a worry—just sleep soundly with my friends.

 

---