Early morning.
Around the terraforming ruins, where the now-familiar morning sun was rising, green filled the landscape.
Tall-grown grass, a cool stream, a small lake.
Tents, chairs, and tables stood here and there across the grass, giving the place a lived-in feel.
However, not a single person was in sight right now.
It was not because something had gone wrong.
Everyone was inside the ruins, gathered in the lobby.
In the center of the lobby, equipped Americans and Koreans were gathered, while around the outskirts of the lobby, the others watched them.
It was similar to the scene from not long ago, when people had gone out hunting and others had seen them off.
Only, unlike then, both those watching and those departing had greatly decreased in number.
It was because many people had died in the great disaster that had happened not long ago.
But the expressions of those gathered were different from before.
They did not look depressed, but as if they had made some kind of resolve.
Part of it was that, with time, they had overcome the shock of so many deaths, but more than that, it was because they had heard a new story.
Commander Catherine climbed onto the makeshift platform.
Following behind her, I, the deputy commander, also stepped onto the platform.
The two of us were the only ones who went up this time.
David stood on the outskirts with the others, and my team members, equipped along with the rest, were looking at me from the front.
The team members had changed from before.
Like me, they wore breastplates I had never seen before and had cloaks draped over them.
On top of that, they carried new swords at their waists, while Tom and Sergeant Wu had strange-looking guns slung over their shoulders.
They were all equipment I had brought back and forth from Ice Star.
They were gifts I had given my team members, and also samples to show the others.
It was better for my ordinary(?) team members to demonstrate the equipment than me.
Even now, people were looking at the expedition members more than at me.
When Catherine first saw how my team and I had changed, she had narrowed her eyes and glared at me.
Probably because I had not told her in advance.
Even so, she was not looking at me now, but standing on the platform and surveying her surroundings.
As she stood on the platform and looked over the people, their gazes gathered on her.
When everyone was looking at her, Catherine opened her mouth.
“Before we proceed with the departure ceremony, I must repeat what I told you a few days ago.”
Heewon, who was below the platform, immediately translated her words into Korean.
The people’s expressions stiffened.
In particular, even now, two days later, the Koreans glared at Catherine as if they still could not believe it.
What Catherine had said was something I had not heard, since I had only arrived yesterday.
But I had heard about it from others, so I knew what she had told them.
Because of what she had said, the Koreans had been in an uproar until now.
Enough that they had not even noticed I had not come with them.
That was how shocking her words had been.
“Earth will… be destroyed soon.”
At her words, continuing once more, the people’s expressions changed before Heewon had even finished translating.
It was something they had already heard, but the blood drained from the Koreans’ faces.
Even the Americans, who had known from before, sighed and shook their heads.
Regardless of what expressions the people wore, Catherine continued speaking.
“The United States and several other nations have planned an escape to another star, and the black stones we obtain here are the fuel needed to reach that star. You are the ones producing that most crucial fuel.”
The people’s expressions could not help but change.
Some could not believe it, and some were half in doubt, but if her words were true, then it explained why they had come to such a dangerous star.
On top of that, there was also personal compensation for this dangerous work.
“Everything you have done on this star so far, and everything you will do from now on, will become tickets for you and your families to reach that star.”
It was the compensation Deputy Director Samuel had told me about.
Of course, it was not as though they were giving tickets to their families as they had to me, but the mere mention that tickets could be granted changed people’s expressions.
[She really is a frightening woman. I am certain it was that woman who suggested releasing the information.]
I thought the same.
It was just like her to use any means necessary to achieve her goal.
After killing the control entity, she had appeased the people with black stones, but that alone was not enough.
It would not be easy to make people come out to a dangerous place with only the reward of black stones.
The monsters we had to hunt from now on were not native monsters, but Aksar monsters gathered in the city.
To hunt those monsters, we needed people.
Many Americans had died, so the rest had to be filled with Koreans.
However, there was no way the Koreans would willingly fight monsters that had slaughtered even the Americans.
That was why she had revealed the secret to the people.
[If this were Earth, there would be problems because of security, but here, there should be no such issue.]
If it were Earth, she would have sealed their mouths with relics, as she had done with me and the Americans, but on this star, there was no need.
[Because they simply do not have to send them back to Earth.]
For the one or two people who occasionally went to Earth, security relics would be enough to keep their mouths shut.
[Still, it is surprising that Earth gave permission.]
She had released the secret after returning from Earth.
Naturally, she must have finished discussing it with Earth, with the United States.
I found it surprising as well, but they must have had their reasons for allowing it.
[It must be because of the Aksar black stones we took this time.]
The Americans might have lost their minds over Aksar black stones with more than a hundred times the capacity.
If not that,
[Then it means destruction has come that much closer.]
Soph was right.
In any case, the fewer people who knew a secret, the better.
And yet, they had increased the number of people who knew, which meant there was less and less need to keep it secret.
If there was not much time left, then secrecy was not important.
In the end, her plan succeeded.
Everyone’s expressions worsened, but the shortage of personnel was completely filled.
The Koreans who would be going with us in place of the Americans who had died.
Almost every Korean who could sense dark energy was participating in this hunt.
“The city we are heading to… is a dangerous place. But even amid fear, you chose this path.
The black stones we will obtain there are not ordinary resources. Black stones are humanity’s hope.
With those black stones, you will save people, and you will save yourselves and your families.”
At Catherine’s continuing words, the people’s eyes gleamed.
As expected, she was no ordinary meritocrat.
Everyone stared fixedly at her, and she raised her hand high.
“Everyone, we are the chosen. We are fighting now for the survival of humanity, but that is not all.
We stand here for the hope of the next generation. Right now, we are heroes fighting for humanity’s future.
Humanity will survive together with us!”
At her cry, cheers erupted.
Wooooaaaaah!
Even I, watching from the side, felt my chest heat at the speech and the cheers.
Catherine was a born agitator.
[An excellent speech. If she had been a noble, she could have aimed as high as chancellor, the one who raises an emperor to the throne.]
Unfortunately, she was still nothing more than a worker striving to catch the eye of those in power.
But whether that would remain true in the future, no one could say.
The people were cheering, but Catherine’s expression did not change.
She looked at me and asked,
“Would you like to say a few words?”
I shook my head.
I was not confident I could give a speech as well as she could.
What I was good at was not giving speeches. What I was good at was fighting and moving my body.
There was only one thing I had to say now.
“The hunt begins now. Everyone, move out!”
The people began to move.
They followed the corridor down into the basement.
Together with Catherine, I headed underground at the front.
In the basement, I saw a greenhouse filled with golden-ripe wheat and rice.
Thanks to this greenhouse, we did not have to bring food from Earth this time.
The fact that there were no longer people suffering from eating only monster meat was also because of the grain grown in the greenhouse.
If more people came, this greenhouse alone would not be enough, but I was not worried about that.
Because before coming here, I had seen the food piled up in the underground city.
They had already grown that many “Wizard Flowers,” which were said to grow slowly, so there was no need to even mention how much the other grains had grown.
With the amount of grain coming from the underground city, even if more than ten times as many people came, there would be enough to feed them.
Some of it was now inside the boxes in my backpack.
More than half would disappear during the spatial transfer, but there was so much that I did not need to worry about that.
Aside from food, I was empty-handed.
I wore the backpack with the boxes on my back, and carried only the spear fitted with the black stone obtained from the magic monster, along with the sword obtained from Venus.
Everything needed for the hunt had been moved to the destination yesterday.
While going back and forth from Ice Star to hand the equipment to my team members, I had also moved all the camping gear and the food people had prepared to the destination.
“Everyone, line up. You will be transferred in order.”
The technician guarding the spatial transfer device shouted toward the people.
Before, he had operated the spatial transfer device, but now he only managed people like that.
The one operating the spatial transfer device was me—no, Soph.
When I placed my hand on the shelf, a hologram rose up.
Seeing letters rapidly flow across the hologram, the technician who had been shouting shook his head.
“Does this ruin not run short on energy? To think it’s possible to move this many people at once… Even if this ruin is special, I don’t understand how this is possible.”
I completely agreed with his muttering.
I did not know how this was possible either.
Until not long ago, it had not been easy to move even a single person from here to somewhere else.
As Soph and I had grown, more and more restrictions had been lifted, and we had become able to draw on the ruins’ energy, but this was on another level.
[I gained something while investigating the Venus ruins. A method for efficiently channeling the ruins’ energy into the spatial transfer device.
It must be something I knew when I was human, but could not remember.
At any rate, as long as it is within this star, we can move many people. We can also send far more people to Earth than before.]
There was no reason to criticize my growth for being fast.
Soph seemed to be regaining his memories even faster than I was growing.
Of course, the fact that we could send many people to Earth was not purely a good thing.
For Catherine, who had to keep the secret, it would be a burden.
‘I should probably tell her about this later.’
I had to tell Margreta, but that was a little awkward as well.
In any case, Soph and I used spatial transfer to move dozens of people to the ruined city.
The place we arrived at was the city’s underground terminal.
It was a new base for hunting the Aksar monsters gathered in the city.
City Hunt (2)