Catherine had put me in the seat of vice commander in order to make use of me.
The reason I accepted the position was no different.
As vice commander, I was the number two on this star.
A position with no superior except Catherine.
Even now, no one complained that my rank was low, but there was a difference between that and being officially recognized.
Only by rising to an officially recognized position could I give orders to others and receive recognition on Earth as well.
Needless to say, being the vice commander of this star was better than being an external contract employee of the Intelligence Bureau, a position that was difficult to explain on Earth.
If I received a post, I could move more freely both on this star and on Earth.
That was why I stood here.
As I stepped onto the platform, everyone’s gazes gathered on me.
Hannah and Magreta looked at me with expectant eyes. And so did the other members.
The Koreans who had come over this time also stared at me with curious eyes.
The people who knew me—the later-arriving Sergeant An Gyeongtae and the astronomy student—were looking at me with pleased faces as well.
Unlike the Koreans, the Americans wore somewhat more complicated expressions.
Some frowned in confusion, but those who knew me, like the blacksmith, nodded when they heard my new position.
As all kinds of gazes poured down on me, my brow furrowed on its own.
‘This is awkward…….’
I had never received this many stares before.
I wasn’t nervous, but it felt as if I were wearing clothes that didn’t fit.
No matter how I thought about it, I didn’t think I could speak grandly like Catherine.
[If you want, I can do it for you. You need only repeat exactly what I say.]
Sof offered to help, but I had no intention of speaking that way.
I decided to just say whatever came to mind.
“I am Hyeon Myeonghan, and I have been appointed vice commander.”
“Pfft.”
Someone, hearing my name, stifled a laugh.
Laughter right from the start. It wasn’t a good beginning.
I knew immediately who had laughed, but I pretended not to notice and let it pass.
It had happened before, so I didn’t even feel offended.
I was only angry at my father, who had given me the name.
I didn’t like my name either, but considering that I had run away from home with my older brother before becoming an adult, it was clear that the name had benefited me.
“You’re all exhausted and worn out, so there’s no need for me to speak at length. Now that I have taken this position, I will do my best.”
The Koreans who had come this time tilted their heads when they saw the Americans understanding me.
But the Americans, who knew about the translation relic, listened with indifferent expressions.
“As Leader Catherine said, we have dealt with the Akzar monster that served as the mother body for the monsters. The monsters that had come near here in search of people are also returning to their city, so the terraforming ruins will be safe from now on.”
It was not “from now on” but “for the time being,” but I decided to keep that fact to myself.
As my words continued, the Koreans also looked visibly bored.
As expected, speeches were impossible for me.
It couldn’t be helped. I decided to end the speech here, do what I had to do, and come down.
What I had to do now.
Stopping the magic storm.
“For that reason, I will now release the magic defending the ruins.”
Sof’s voice came from the spear strapped to my back.
[You’re doing it now? Well, now does seem best. The timing is not bad. You may not be good at speeches, but your showmanship does not seem too poor.]
With something that sounded like a compliment tacked on, Sof issued an order to the ruins.
He stopped the defensive magic.
Wooooooong……
The sandstorm enveloping the ruins slowly fell asleep.
The sound of the storm that had been constantly ringing in our ears grew quiet.
Grrrrrrk.
As the storm stopped, the wall made of magic sank downward.
Through the wide-open gap, the clear sky and the sandy desert could be seen.
A sky tinged red by the sunlight, sand dunes visible in the distance. And wet soil and green land.
The sandy desert, now that the storm had disappeared, had changed from before.
The distant desert was no different, but the area around the ruins, no matter how I looked at it, was not the desert I had seen before.
[I also released the illusion magic. Everything that has been hidden all this time will be revealed.]
The people looking outside at the sound of the earthen wall opening wore bewildered expressions.
“Huh? The ground around here isn’t sand. It’s just soil. Wet soil, at that.”
As people murmured, the land near the ruins was not sand but soil soaked thoroughly with water.
And that was not all.
“The ground over there is green. Isn’t that moss?”
“Grass is growing too.”
Moss and grass were growing here and there across the black, fertile soil.
They were the moss and grass I had brought from Earth and scattered.
The moss and grass I had planted together when I planted vegetation in the greenhouse had spread like that.
“Impossible.”
The astronomy student, who had been the first to chatter to me about space, ran outside.
“There’s a ditch here too. Water is flowing.”
When he pointed at the ground and shouted, Sergeant An, who had followed him out, restrained the excited student.
“There’s a pond underground in the ruins too, and grain is growing there, isn’t it?”
“That’s a greenhouse. Actually, that place is strange too, but…… this is a sandy desert! A sandy desert on another planet. That kind of desert has turned into fertile soil, and plants are growing in it.”
At the student’s excited words, the others began leaving the ruins one by one.
They stared in astonishment at the wet soil, moss, and grass.
The main unit members who had come to this star not long ago seemed surprised as well, but the ones truly shocked were the American advance party and the Korean follow-up team.
Their eyes were wide as they kept looking around.
As people poured outside, David, who had remained behind, asked with an uneasy expression.
“Is it all right for them to go out like that?”
At David’s question, Catherine looked at me.
“It’s all right, isn’t it?”
When the two of them looked at me, I nodded.
“Yes. This area is safe.”
I had already checked the surroundings with the magic of the ruins.
Near the sandy desert, there were no native monsters to be seen, let alone Akzar monsters.
When I gave my firm answer, the two looked at each other and shrugged.
The two of them knew that I was managing these ruins.
Since I, the manager, was certain, they had nothing to say.
Instead, Catherine asked something else.
“When did you prepare something like that?”
I told the truth about everything except one thing.
“From the time we drew water up into the greenhouse, the groundwater was also connected outside. Grass had been growing, but we couldn’t discover it because the sandstorm was blowing all this time.”
It was not merely to water the greenhouse that I had drawn groundwater into these ruins.
These ruins were terraforming ruins.
The original purpose of these ruins was to change this star so that humans could live on it.
That was what these ruins did.
That was also why Sof had disliked me frequently repairing black stones in these ruins.
He had worried that, by using the energy of the ruins, I would prevent the terraforming ruins from doing their original work.
Lastly, the reason no one had discovered the changed environment was that Sof had hidden it with the magic of the ruins.
That was the part that differed from the truth, but if I insisted, there was no way for them to know.
“Hmm. So that was it…….”
Everyone seemed to accept it, but Magreta, who had come over beside me, narrowed her eyes and glared at me sideways.
I could fool the others well enough, but Magreta was another matter.
I signaled to her that I would tell her later.
She winked and returned to where the exploration members were.
After hearing the explanation, David looked outside with a regretful expression.
“If the whole star can change like that…… it makes it even more regrettable that this star is so far from Earth. If we can deal with the monsters and nature returns, this star could have been used as a refuge for humanity, like a paradise.”
Catherine cut David’s words off sharply.
“There’s no need to regret something impossible. From the beginning, this star was designated as a source of black stones. Now that it can fulfill that role properly, we should be glad about that.”
Having silenced David, she praised me this time.
“Well done. Everyone’s morale seems to have risen. It’s also excellent for redirecting attention. I was worried because there were so many people, but at this rate, it seems we can use the area outside the ruins too.”
Since she spoke so blatantly every time, I no longer felt any aversion to it.
However, according to Sof, Catherine was not entirely right.
[It is far, but that does not mean there is no way. If I become an archmage, and prepare a few more things on top of that…… Oh dear, I cannot remember from here.]
As expected, memory was the problem this time as well.
But knowing there was a way was enough.
His memories would surely return someday.
If there was a way, then my older brother on Earth, and the families of the members, could be brought to this star as well.
***
Catherine gave the people a few days of leave.
We had obtained more black stones than expected, so there was enough time.
On top of that, many people had died or been injured, so time was needed before hunting could resume.
The fortunate thing was that although there were many injured and their wounds were quite severe, as long as they were alive, they could heal far faster than they would on Earth.
There were emergency medics like Tom, the emergency kits I had brought, and even people who possessed relics and abilities that could heal injuries.
During the rest period, people went outside the ruins and spent their time there.
They seemed to regard the greenery and stream around the ruins as an oasis in the desert.
It appeared that what I had done, just as Catherine had said, had been a great help in raising morale.
While the people rested, I went down underground.
It was to perform spatial movement.
I was not going to Earth.
There was far too little dark energy in the underground ruins to go to Earth.
Moreover, this time, there were more people who would be going to Earth.
More time was needed before we could go to Earth.
So instead of going to Earth, I was thinking of visiting somewhere else.
I was the only one who came underground.
This time, I intended to go alone.
[Will it be all right to go alone?]
“It’s right for me to go alone. You said the device on the other side was broken.”
[Most likely. When we checked the transport device in the city, no signal came from the other side.]
“Then I should go alone. If I’m only checking and coming back, it’s easier to move by myself.”
[That is true. If you must return by crossing the mountain range, moving alone will be easier.]
With the new magic Sof and I had obtained, we should be able to flee no matter what situation arose.
Thanks to seeing Sof’s memories, crossing the mountain range would not be difficult either.
“Then let’s go. We know there are more control entities beyond the mountain range, so we can’t not scout it. We’ll check the situation and come right back.”
[I hope so as well.]
Listening to Sof’s ambiguous words, I placed my hand on the shelf.
There was a technician beside me, but he did not stop me.
That was only natural.
Now that I had become vice commander, there was no one on this star except Catherine who could stop me.
[For all that, you did not even tell Magreta that you were leaving.]
“I told Catherine and Hannah.”
Ignoring Sof’s jab, I immediately performed spatial movement.
Flaaaash!
The world grew bright.
Solo Reconnaissance (2)