"Sora-san, is this because you failed to handle so interpersonal relationships... and so problems ca up?"
Kafka looked at the man before her, her words carrying clear implication.
Earlier, Elio had given her a mission: Guide this man before her to Zieltworth.
Because of that, Silver Wolf had dug into so background.
Even though all records of him before were impossible to trace, what happened to him on Planet Promia was... quite interesting.
Not only had he crossed paths with the galaxy-famous singer Robin, he also had so vague, tangled ties with the royal family of that world.
That girl nad Anna Bergalo—she seed to hold an extraordinary focus on this man.
Kafka even rembered that just recently, the girl had set up a dedicated website for him.
It hadn't been widely advertised, and it wasn't famous across the galaxy.
But without a doubt, that girl had already made Sora into an idol she worshiped.
And how long had Sora spent on that planet, from arrival to departure?
Barely two months.
And in that span, he had sohow "captured" the attention of the girl at the very summit of power on that world.
Then, given so more ti, surely he could "capture" soone of Firefly's sa bloodline, too.
After all, Firefly herself was rather clumsy... and very easy to deceive.
"Hey, hey, hey, I'm telling you, that's slander!" Sora shot up the mont he heard it.
If rumors like that spread, his reputation would be utterly ruined.
"I was just here recovering from injuries, that's all."
"Injuries?" Kafka studied him closely.
No matter how she looked, there were no wounds on his body.
Other than so faint traces of freshly dried clothing, he was practically radiating health.
She knew his condition well. His body was exceptionally healthy.
Even that Entropy Loss Syndro from before had been nothing but Silver Wolf faking a reason for him to be sent here.
Forget it. Whether he was hurt or not had nothing to do with her.
Kafka shook her head and put the matter aside.
"But what I want to know more," Sora asked, "is why you Stellaron Hunters ca here."
Weren't these people supposed to be following Elio's script?
Why had they suddenly shown up here, of all places? It couldn't possibly be just to check on him, right?
The thought made Sora instantly wary.
Could these people actually want to recruit him?
That wouldn't do. He had no desire to end up plastered on the Interastral Peace Company's wanted list.
"We... we just ca to fulfill Firefly's wish."
At those words, all eyes turned to the one who stood apart from the rest of the Iron Cavalry.
Her armor's silhouette was similar enough, but where the others all bore white flas, Firefly alone was shrouded in crimson fire and green-yellow wings.
That difference in color made her stand out, unable to blend in.
Hearing this, Firefly recounted everything she had experienced up to this point.
"I want to know... was the outco really as you just said?"
Her gaze fell on the burning planet in the distance.
Had the Empress of the Iron Cavalry truly revived?
"Yes. It really happened. But you don't need to worry—it's all over now." Sora answered seriously.
"But there's one regretful thing I have to tell you. The treatnt for Entropy Loss Syndro has disappeared from the universe."
He hadn't forgotten the incurable disease the girl before him bore.
But that treatnt had only existed because Serus forcibly twisted fate with Stellaron power.
And that Stellaron power had forged Titania into a Path-striding Aeon. All the data on how to use it was lost on that burning world.
The ones who had escaped with him were guards. They hadn't carried any of the precious records away.
That was why—in all the galaxy, the cure for Entropy Loss Syndro was extinct.
"Ah? That doesn't matter." Firefly waved it off lightly. "As long as the Empress is gone, that's enough."
Any Iron Cavalry who knew the truth could never hold goodwill toward the Empress.
Once an object of faith, they had in the end only been weapons, driven under command to die.
Those who died miserably before her eyes had, with their final breaths, still whispered that honorific title—a master who had never once cared for them.
The truth was cruel enough that Firefly's rejection was absolute.
So even if her own illness was incurable, as long as the Empress vanished, she could accept it.
But the mont she said that, aside from her, the others all reacted visibly.
A strange, indescribable atmosphere settled across the gathering.
The Stellaron Hunters aboard the ship noticed imdiately—the Iron Cavalry's mood had shifted.
But not toward them.
It was aid squarely at SAM.
"Why does it feel like Firefly's out of sync with everyone else here?" Silver Wolf muttered.
Firefly was basking in relief at the Empress's demise, but the others... it was as if they had already, quietly, reached so shared understanding.
That shouldn't be possible. Their comm channels weren't active. So how could they synchronize like this?
And exclude Firefly so precisely?
"Perhaps so resonance of the spirit." Kafka, who could influence minds with her words, was sensitive to such things.
"They may have undergone sothing together. Or been baptized by so shared power. On the level of the soul, they can already harmonize at the most basic level."
She turned her gaze to Firefly. "But Firefly hasn't shared in that experience. So she's already, to so degree, out of step with them."
"Hmph." Blade gave another cold, cool snort. "So what? It's nothing serious. Firefly doesn't care about such trivialities."
Firefly might seem fragile, uncertain... but her inner determination was fiercer than anyone's.
"True enough." Kafka agreed.
And the one most likely at the heart of all this...
Her eyes fell on the man sealed in the d-pod.
It could only be him.
How interesting. So interesting!
Kafka had never felt such a delightful intrigue.
She had thought coming here was only about fulfilling Firefly's wish. But she had stumbled into sothing far more curious.
Even the atmosphere of this group was fascinating.
If she teased them a little... what kind of chemical reaction would it spark?
"Thank you." Firefly bowed her head to her kin, her voice lighter.
"Do you know what you'll do from here?"
"We have our own goal, our own path." Mitsutake's eyes flickered to soone in particular. "And you?"
The question struck Firefly silent. Even now, she was still searching for her answer.
"My goal... my path..."
"I see." Hotaru imdiately read her state. She offered gentle counsel:
"Goals don't need to be grand. Even small goals within reach are fine."
Once, she had sought to save their whole people. But in the end, it had almost ended in disaster.
Serus's plasma field, encasing the entire planet, was inescapable.
If not for Sora's help at the ti, she would have led them all to die under Serus's slaughter.
Because of that, she had co to realize sothing.
One didn't need vast ambitions. Even the smallest goal, carried through with care, could yield great results.
Like soone who only wanted to make friends—and then help those friends overco hardship.
That smallest of goals, which seed so trivial, had nonetheless earned the recognition of them all. The gathered strength of the cosmos struck down the origin itself.
"So, in days ahead... try paying more attention to the people beside you. Care about small things.
When the ti cos and you look back on the road you walked, you might realize your true goal had already been fulfilled."
Is that... so?
Firefly fell into thought.
"All right, all right. Let's let Firefly think on it." Kafka, seeing the mood, chose to cut in.
"And before we part... Sora-san, I'd like to ask you so questions."
Her eyes turned to the Iron Cavalry. "That's all right with you, isn't it?"
"Huh? Ask whatever you want. What's it to them?" Sora was confused.
"Nothing much. Just that your bond with them seems strong, so I'm curious."
Kafka cleared her throat.
Silver Wolf groaned and covered her face.
Crap. Kafka's twisted amusent is coming out again.
"Blade, fire up the ship's engines to full speed. Otherwise, we might not make it out of here," she muttered.
Last ti Kafka wore this look, without even using her [Spirit Whisper] she had verbally demolished a band of galactic pirates.
And then... they had wiped the pirates out.
But now, the people here were far stronger.
SAM was their top combat power—but this enemy had hundreds of suits like his.
Dismantling their ship would be child's play. Best to prepare to bolt.
"Mm." Blade voiced his assent.
When Kafka's mischief surfaced, it was nearly unstoppable.
The two slipped away, leaving Kafka alone at the ship's massive window, face-to-face with Sora.
"Sora-san, I'm curious about your relationship with them."
"Friends. What else could it be?"
"Oh, I see." Kafka smiled.
"They say friendship has stages."
"For example, when you've only just t, yet you're already talking about the future."
At those words, a handful of Iron Cavalry glanced sidelong at soone.
"Or... when you say you'll accomplish sothing together."
Now the majority of them turned their eyes toward him.
"And of course... when you devote yourself entirely to helping another, and beco true friends."
Golden lines on Hotaru's armor shimred faintly.
Hm?!
Sora's instincts scread sothing was wrong.
But scanning around, he saw only the Iron Cavalry's backs. Nothing else.
Weird. Was soone targeting him?
"What about it? I've done all of those." Bold as ever, Sora owned up.
"Oh~~ all of them, hm? Then if you've done them all, it's very likely..."
Kafka's words trailed off, cut short by a hand clapping over her mouth from behind.
"Ahahaha, don't mind her, she's just talking nonsense! Firefly's back! And look, the Interastral Peace Company's ship is arriving!"
Silver Wolf forcibly shut her down.
If Kafka's guess was right, maybe that was fine. But if it was wrong, their ship wouldn't survive the fallout.
Better to smother the spark now, before it blew up.
Firefly didn't think much of it. She only nodded to her kin, then returned to her ship.
She had her own goal to find. All she needed was the knowledge that she wasn't alone in the galaxy.
"Eh, hey, don't go!" Sora reached out to stop her.
But the mont Firefly boarded, her ship flared with power, accelerating hard, vanishing into the distance in a blink.
"What—why'd you leave so fast?" Sora collapsed helplessly.
"What's wrong?" Unkyō's voice was oddly strained as she sidled closer. "Were they... implying sothing about you?"
Sora groaned. "No. I just wanted them to give us a lift to our destination."
Then he could finally get out of here.
He had been trapped long enough. He wanted to move!
But those around him refused to let him out.
"Ah? Oh... I see..." Unkyō quietly retreated again.
"Haah... this empty space, there's no Interastral Peace Company ship anywhere." Sora sighed.
This stretch of void was barren. No ships to be seen.
Looked like he was stuck in this d-pod a while longer.
The others exchanged glances, then resud their march toward their next destination.
But just then, a ship approached from afar.
"Sora! Anna's purchase finally arrived—the ship's here!"
Robin's excited voice rang through the comms.
At those words, Sora's backache vanished, his waist no longer sore. He sprang up in a rush.
"Finally! I can move freely again!"
He laughed in sheer relief.
To look at him now was to see pure foolishness radiating off him.
To anyone else, he seed far from clever.
The others exchanged weary glances and shook their heads, leading him toward the incoming vessel.
Because only soone this foolish would help to the very end.
Only soone with a touch of foolishness could beco the cradle that carried a wish.
And so, they would accompany him to the end as well—to see if that wish could be fulfilled.
Nothing more, nothing less.
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