To be told that Earth would become uninhabitable was something I simply couldn’t accept.
“When you say soon, do you mean a few hundred years?”
Considering the age of Earth, or the history of human civilization, even that would count as soon.
At my words, the Deputy Director shook his head.
“No. There really isn’t much time left. We have only a few years.”
“But…”
The Deputy Director raised a hand, cutting me off.
“There have been numerous studies and countless investigations. But the conclusion has not changed.
Besides, this isn’t some scientific prediction. If it were, the United States and the other countries would never have been able to unite as one. We saw a star that had already become that way with our own eyes, and that was what convinced us.”
He looked sincere, but it was still hard to believe.
Of course, when I thought about everything I had experienced so far, it did make sense.
The United States had started an absurd war over a single ruin, and China had readily agreed to end the war with them.
The Korean government, following the wishes of the American government, had sent people to a distant star and made them undertake a dangerous hunt.
The researchers had been desperate to confirm the terraforming ruin that could restore the environment, and now, standing before me, was an Assistant Secretary of State of the United States and the Deputy Director of an intelligence agency.
‘Damn it, when I lay it all out, it actually sounds plausible!’
I felt like I had brought all those memories back for nothing.
“You can hear the details from Magreta. Now that the security restriction has been lifted, Magreta should be able to explain as well.”
I sensed Magreta nodding beside me.
That meant Magreta had known about this too, and believed it to be true.
“The United States government has been carrying out an Earth evacuation operation for the preservation of humanity for several years now. It is an operation to move as many people as possible to a star where humans can live.”
The questions I’d had until now were answered.
I now understood why they had waged war over the ruin, and why they were collecting black stones like mad.
However, before that, there was something I had to confirm.
“When you say a star where humans can live, do you mean the star we went to?”
That star was difficult for humans to live on in many ways, but above all else, it was too dangerous.
Even the monsters called native creatures were too much for ordinary people to handle, and on top of that, Akzar existed there.
Ordinary people couldn’t live on that star.
At my question, the Deputy Director shook his head.
“That star is too far from Earth. It has overwhelmingly more dark energy, but ordinary people without energy cannot make it all the way there.”
Now that I thought about it, everyone who had gone to that star had been able to sense dark energy.
Even when we first spatially transferred, they had said only we could do it.
“There is another star that ordinary people can reach. It is a star close to Earth. However, that star has far too little dark energy and too few black stones. It is better than Earth, where there is none at all, but that level is far from enough to move ordinary people there.”
At the Deputy Director’s words, I thought of the advance party. They had trained somewhere else first.
“That star must be where the advance party trained.”
“That’s right.”
Only now did everything fall into place.
I understood why the advance party had known about ruins and relics from before, and why they had come to another star instead of staying where they had trained.
‘Then does that mean everything the Deputy Director said is true?’
The more my questions were answered, the worse my expression became.
Wooooong.
It seemed more time had passed than I had thought.
Or perhaps the short staff consumed more energy than expected.
I could see the energy flowing out of the black stone decreasing. There wasn’t much time left to use the staff.
The Deputy Director spoke faster.
“That is why we must bring black stones from Trappist, from that star. If we are to save as many people as possible, we need more black stones.”
The moment his words ended, the light vanished from the black stone.
The Deputy Director’s secret story was over.
The altered energy that had tried to flow into me through my hand—the magic—also scattered into the air.
Just as Soph had predicted, the magic contained in that staff had no effect on me.
I could now tell anyone what I had just heard without restriction.
But I couldn’t do that.
Earth was going to end soon.
Who could I possibly tell something like that to?
“From now on, the related parties, those who placed their hands on the staff relic, will be able to converse with one another about the secret.
Even if you wish to tell others, you will not be able to. However, please be careful. The power of the relic is not omnipotent.
If you realize that the conversation has slipped out by mistake, the power of the relic will impose sanctions.”
It was a frightening threat.
Of course, it was a threat that had no effect on me whatsoever.
“You understand why we are so compulsive about keeping this secret. If the secret leaks, humanity may come to an end immediately.”
I could imagine what would happen.
Doomsday cultists would flood the streets, all economic activity would stop, and wars would break out.
As he closed the bag, the Deputy Director said,
“There are still things we have not told you, but I have told you the most important part. I hope you will continue to trust us and do your best.”
They were ordinary words, but they sounded like he was saying that if we didn’t do our best, everyone would die.
He wasn’t wrong.
If what the Deputy Director said was true, then it meant we could save as many people as the number of black stones we obtained.
After putting the bag away, he looked at me and said,
“One last thing. The people who share this secret, and their families, will be the first to benefit from this operation.”
That meant he was giving my family the first tickets to escape Earth.
Unlike the half-threat from a moment ago, this was the most certain way to entice someone.
“We’ll leave that matter there.”
The Deputy Director relaxed his posture and spoke again.
“I heard from Magreta about the newly appeared monsters. She said that a much larger and more dangerous-looking monster appeared, as well as a monster that resembled a human.
We will need to investigate further, but this is something we did not expect either.”
What he brought up next was Akzar.
The problem was that his tone was far lighter than I had expected.
It was a monster capable of annihilating everyone in the base with just a single scout, but he didn’t seem to think of it that way.
‘Could it be because I killed the monster?’
I had clearly told David and Magreta that I had borrowed the power of the ruin.
When I looked at Magreta, she shook her head with an apologetic expression.
It seemed even her words had been useless.
“We are aware that it is a dangerous monster. Even so, as you know, we cannot delay or halt the work.”
He seemed to have noticed that I was looking at Magreta.
But his words did not change.
He wasn’t wrong either. If we could not remain on Earth, then no matter how dangerous it was, we could not retreat.
“All of you are members of the advance party. The main force will soon be going in. A great deal of support will be sent from our country, Korea, and other nations as well.”
In the end, it meant they would push in even more people.
“Until then, as the captain of the exploration team, please assess the situation as thoroughly as possible. We will make certain that your compensation is even greater than before.”
Before, I had thought the compensation excessive, but now it didn’t feel that way.
They were things that would disappear in a few years anyway.
They wouldn’t feel it was a waste to spend them.
With that conversation over, the Deputy Director rose from his seat.
“I would like to talk more, but my schedule is tight.”
He really did seem busy.
He shook my hand and immediately left the room.
Once the Deputy Director left, I sensed all the people who had been surrounding us begin to move.
In an instant, the room became quiet.
I said to Magreta,
“My head is still numb.”
Magreta smiled bitterly.
“I had nightmares for a while. I still dream about it sometimes.”
“So you believe the Deputy Director’s words too, Magreta.”
“Yes. I saw it myself too. You’ll be able to see it later as well, Hyeon.”
I wasn’t a scientist, so there was no reason for me to go and see it.
I had only wanted her to confirm the truth for me.
“More importantly, are you all right? That relic just now affects the mind, so it makes you feel rather awful. That’s why it would be better to rest for a bit before—”
“I’m fine.”
“You really do look fine. To the point that it seems as though you weren’t restricted at all. But on Earth, dark energy cannot be used, so no one can avoid that relic’s ability.”
After saying that much, Magreta grinned.
“But didn’t you say you could use your abilities even on Earth, Hyeon?”
I gave no answer to her words.
When I did not answer, Magreta brought up something else.
“Did you hear? They say General Park, who was in charge of the Baekdu Mountain base, died in a terrorist attack early yesterday morning.”
“Yes. I saw it on the news.”
At my answer, Magreta looked at me again.
I looked back at her as well, and after a moment, she smiled.
“Hm. Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
She kept grinning as she looked at me.
Avoiding her gaze, I changed the subject.
“More importantly, I heard my older brother received a scouting offer. Does that have anything to do with you, Magreta?”
“Yes. I recommended him. He was more impressive than I expected. He isn’t someone who should stay in Korea.”
“He stayed in Korea because of me.”
“It wasn’t much of a recommendation. The people who received the recommendation were more pleased with it.”
Now that I had confirmed the scouting matter as well, only my brother’s decision remained.
However, unlike before, that decision no longer felt important. Even if he changed jobs, it would only be for a few years.
We packed our things as well and left the restaurant.
Through the passageway from which the bodyguards had withdrawn, I felt unfamiliar gazes.
They weren’t the envious gazes I had felt in the department store, but gazes that seemed to be watching us.
We had cleared out the obstructors, and yet these gazes remained.
Where had these people come from?
“They seem to be agents from the Korean government. I suppose they were curious about whom the Assistant Secretary of State met after coming to Korea.”
Was it because she had been an agent as well?
Even without dark energy, Magreta noticed the surveillance.
I asked Magreta,
“Will it be all right to leave with tails like that?”
“I think they’ll only keep watch, but there’s no need to let them, is there? Let’s go up.”
When she arrived in front of the elevator, she pressed the button going up.
This department store had its parking lot underground.
Above the restaurant, there was only an observatory and the rooftop.
“Are we going to the roof?”
“Yes. The Deputy Director has a schedule in Seoul. He lent us his helicopter. We’ll go back by helicopter.”
But wasn’t the northern area a no-fly zone right now?
“That’s right. It’s a restricted zone. But they can’t restrict the helicopter of a U.S. Assistant Secretary of State.”
I went up to the rooftop and boarded the helicopter the Deputy Director had arrived in together with Magreta.
Once we got on the helicopter, the watching gazes disappeared.
We headed north in the helicopter.