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“…….”

In the end, I said it.

Of course, that was something I couldn’t help. I had to find Pang-pang somehow.

And the kids who heard my casually spilled words remained silent for a while.

“If that’s the case, there’s only one way.”

James opened the conversation with the least amount of emotion.

“We have no choice but to go find Pang-pang.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Cherry agreed with his words.

“If the Chairman kidnapped Pang-pang, there’s only one reason.”

To use Pang-pang’s information to completely take over the company. James and Cherry’s opinions aligned on that.

The current Chairman hasn’t completely taken over the company. Not only in this country but somewhere in space, the real base must be hiding, and he’s probably thinking of taking control of that base to completely turn the tides.

And Pang-pang is likely to hold a very important position there. The fingerprints, the DNA, somehow the former Chairman must have put measures in place to ensure the company would be inherited.

Right. There wasn’t anyone here who couldn’t grasp that story.

But, how on earth do we get there? Do we even know where it is?

“If that’s the case, I’ll find a way somehow.”

But it seemed James had already finished his thoughts up to that point.

“……How?”

“I’ll rummage through that ship you dropped. The Chairman must have intended to use that ship as a mothership. It was probably meant to replace the ‘base’ hidden by the former Chairman.”

“Are you saying you already knew the location?”

“A little bit, but I heard that the Chairman joined forces with his family in the early days of business. It makes sense, doesn’t it? There’s no way you’d share such a grand plan with those who aren’t even close.”

James looked up at me.

“So, he might have at least known the location. Perhaps… sadly, he might have succeeded in taking one of the Chairman’s close aides under his wing. The scale of the plan is large, after all; no matter how capable a person is, it’s a plan that cannot be accomplished alone.”

Perhaps, at first, it was a slightly different plan. He might have just wanted to completely eliminate the former Chairman’s aides and take full control of the company.

The problem is that the former Chairman wasn’t a fool.

He must have set various safety measures within the company, which made it difficult to completely seize control through a rebellion.

Moreover, then came that existence.

An entity that could extract powerful energy with its own strength without producing a monster.

The monster production plan was pushed back. Because the essence of Noir Corporation wasn’t about making batteries but finding ways to infinitely extend the life of the universe.

Efficiency and profit were not that significant. It was something that could even be called an ideology.

That’s why he wanted to get rid of me as soon as possible, eliminate the Chairman and his aides, and find the key to the company to grasp everything.

Only then would his own market open up.

With everything having essentially fallen apart now, the Chairman opted to bring in Pang-pang as a last resort to solve everything at once.

I wrapped my head again.

“……Let’s find her as quickly as possible. The Chairman must have anticipated even this situation.”

“Right. For your friend, for you guys, and for the people of Earth, I’ll find her as quickly as I can. I promise.”

James and Cherry said that while looking at me, but my mood couldn’t possibly improve.

*

But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t any hope.

Even though Pang-pang was kidnapped, going straight into that ‘base’ would be extremely difficult.

At least it’s certain that she’s not on Earth.

No alien could make interstellar travel by themselves. Even if there exists someone who can withstand such vacuum conditions or cosmic radiation, the distance from Earth to another planet, or even another star, is truly a distance that can only be measured at the speed of light.

There aren’t that many places where a spaceship could take off within the country.

There aren’t many routes to go from this country to another either.

While there’s a direct route from Earth to another planet, that’s quite literally an extremely important airport. There are various issues with using it for someone who has been kidnapped.

Fortunately, the government and police were somewhat cautious of me. Being someone who has significant power capable of generating almost dozens of power plants or more, crossing that person’s mood would only lead to loss from the government’s perspective.

Plus, I’m quite rebellious, making it even worse.

“…….”

However, even with so many possibilities, I still felt anxious.

“Ji-eun.”

The orphanage that was attacked, but fortunately, because the Magical Girls desperately protected it, the most important parts remained unharmed. There were broken spots on the ceiling, but it didn’t collapse all the way down.

The kids would be inconvenienced in many ways until the repairs are done, but it wasn’t in a condition that couldn’t be fixed.

But that doesn’t mean everything was perfectly fine. The playground where Ji-hye and I used to hang out was destroyed to the point that it would have to be completely rebuilt.

The swings and seesaws would be built again, but it was no longer the place I played in during my childhood.

“……It’s not your fault.”

The swings where we often sat and had conversations were now entirely demolished.

Ha-yoon, who came over to me, staring off into space without being able to sit down, said that.

“……It’s my fault.”

“No.”

This time, I answered Ha-yoon a bit more firmly, turning my head to look at her.

Ha-yoon had a somewhat stiff expression.

The expression of someone who has something to say. That was the expression Ha-yoon wore.

“This is the fault of those who tried to use you.”

As I stared blankly at Ha-yoon without saying a word, she continued.

“It’s those who pushed you into such despair who are to blame, not you. You… you were just someone who had to keep running away. All you wanted was to live well.”

“……Ha-yoon.”

“So, don’t blame yourself too much. Somehow… we just have to get back what we lost. There’s still hope.”

“……Hope.”

Such a faint word.

When was the last time I lived with something like that? At some point, I had been wearing the despair circuit on my wrist.

I had walked into despair. It was the result of throwing a tantrum, like a child, that I could overcome it.

I couldn’t blame anyone else for my fate turning out this way.

If I were to trace back the cause, it would lead to Ha-yoon, who did nothing wrong at all. She merely followed her parents’ advice and was trying hard to live. I was the one who decided to become part of the evil forces in an attempt to overcome it.

And that was where everything got tangled up.

I should have just let the Magical Girls save the world. I shouldn’t have gotten a weird goal for no reason.

“It’s my fault.”

I held my head in my hands.

Then, I squatted down.

I could hear a buzzing sound in my ears, and my head throbbed. I temporarily took off the circuit. These days, even when just wearing it, the vibrations would keep ringing, making it burdensome.

I wanted to think like Ha-yoon said. I wanted to believe that it wasn’t all my fault.

But still, no matter how much I tried to turn back my thoughts, it was all my fault.

At the very least, I should have read that webtoon properly. Pang-pang must have played quite an important role. Far more than I did.

Yet, I got help from that important Pang-pang without any plan…

Ha-yoon seemed to feel that it was no longer possible to persuade me with words.

But that didn’t mean she gave up on convincing me.

Ha-yoon just came over and squatted down next to me.

Then she gently placed her hand on my back.

That soft stroking made me feel unexpectedly comforted.

More footsteps could be heard, and other kids were there squatting down with me.

Ji-hye and Jua.

Even though I had committed such acts, they were trying to comfort me in some way.

Nothing had been resolved, yet my mood improved. I felt confused about whether I deserved to feel this way or not, but I realized I wasn’t alone.

This sensation was one I had felt before.

When I was with Pang-pang.

Pang-pang did that for me too.

She would sit next to me in silence, talk to me for no particular reason, show me videos she was watching.

We’d have coffee together, act silly, and sleep in the most comfortable clothes and postures. Like there was no wall between us.

Thinking back, what I had done for Ha-yoon was almost exactly what Pang-pang did for me.

Memories of laying side by side in a tent and talking came to mind.

We said we would go to space together. We talked about how we should take our next walk on another planet—

……

Yeah. It’s my fault.

But that doesn’t give me a reason to give up.

I didn’t want to give up.

In the end, even if everything is my fault, that doesn’t give me a reason to give up.

I had already learned that after rolling on the ground several times.

 

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