Somehow, Kaito feels like his body has become lighter.
Thinking that the results of the modifications might be settling in, he notices Ritmiele’s body hair floating gently in front of him. At the same time, Emotion, the AI companion, emits a warning sound.
“Master Kaito. The gravity is gradually decreasing. Please be careful not to hit your head.”
“Oh, I thought it was just the effects of the modifications.”
“My apologies. The Representative’s species is adapted to low gravity, so the gravity in their living quarters is set lower.”
“Ah, I see.”
Ritmiele’s pace doesn’t change, but in the middle of her explanation, her body floats slightly.
“Ritmiele, are you also…?”
“Yes. Earth’s standard gravity feels a bit heavy to me. The gravity in the Federation’s living spaces is lighter than Earth’s.”
It seems Ritmiele had been exerting a bit more effort than usual to match Kaito’s pace.
Kaito starts to feel the weight on his body lessen noticeably. To avoid floating away, he changes his walking style to more of a shuffling motion.
Then, a thud echoes from behind.
Turning around, he sees that Emotion, who had been floating slightly behind him, is gone.
Startled, he looks around and hears Emotion’s voice from above.
“Master Kaito. It seems their gravity control technology is more advanced than ours.”
“…Yeah. Can you come down?”
It seems Emotion adjusted the output of the gravity unit, slowly descending to Kaito’s head level.
Despite observing the changes in gravity, Emotion hadn’t adjusted the unit’s output in time.
The unit wasn’t damaged from hitting the ceiling, so maybe it just wasn’t a high priority.
The faint kyuru kyuru sound coming from inside might have been Emotion expressing embarrassment.
“No damage, Master Kaito. Please rest assured.”
“That’s good. We both need to be careful.”
With just a slight step, Kaito feels his body almost float up from the lightness.
As he chats with Emotion, Ritmiele changes her body hair to a colorful hue.
“Yes. We were planning to gradually introduce staff adapted to lower gravity, but the Representative’s whims are a bit troublesome.”
Kaito, realizing he’s the cause, can’t respond to her words.
At any rate, his body feels like it’s about to float away. The destination seems close.
At the end of a gentle curve, a dead end comes into view.
“We’ve arrived. …Ah, before we proceed, I’d like to mention something.”
“Yes?”
“The Representative’s appearance might feel unusual to you, Mister Kaito.”
“I see?”
“If you find it unsettling, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t show too much rejection.”
“Of course.”
Ritmiele was the first to interact with Kaito. If she was chosen as someone Earthlings wouldn’t react strongly to, it’s no surprise that other residents might look different from Earth’s norms.
Kaito is already prepared. He nods, and the wall opens.
The moment he sees the being on the other side.
“…A jellyfish?”
The name of a creature that lives in Earth’s oceans slips from Kaito’s lips.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
A space jellyfish.
That’s the phrase that races through Kaito’s mind.
The Representative, Terapolapanecio, is a creature strikingly similar to Earth’s jellyfish. Including the tentacles, it’s about the same height as Kaito—around 180 centimeters. In a word, it’s huge.
[I’d like to greet you properly. Nice to meet you, Mister Kaito. We value this encounter.]
“Ah, yes.”
No wonder it doesn’t have vocal cords.
In fact, it’s astonishing that a jellyfish-like being is living in space as an intelligent life form.
[Now, what was that about a jellyfish? Does Earth have creatures similar to us? If so, that’s wonderful.]
“Uh, yes. Emotion, do you have any images of jellyfish?”
[Displaying stored images.]
With a high-pitched kyurururu, Emotion projects an image into the air.
Seeing it, Ritmiele’s body hair lights up in various colors.
The image shows a creature almost identical to Terapolapanecio—a jellyfish.
“This is…!”
[Indeed, it’s very similar. Where do they live on Earth?]
Terapolapanecio doesn’t seem to have eyes. It’s curious how it sees, but Kaito decides not to comment on that for now.
“They live in the ocean. I’m not familiar with their detailed ecology, though…”
[The ocean! Indeed, under Earth’s gravity, surviving in the air would require immense strength. The ocean… I overlooked that.]
The Representative muses.
They’ve been observing Earth, but perhaps they didn’t check the oceans thoroughly.
[We observe Earth, but only to monitor the overall activities of intelligent life. We don’t focus too deeply on individual species. If we did, we might… well, develop an attachment.]
“I see.”
Kaito’s unspoken question is answered. He hadn’t voiced it, but it’s not surprising that they can read his thoughts.
So, they’ve been observing Earth’s activities to some extent, but they haven’t paid much attention to non-human flora and fauna.
[Your understanding is mostly correct. Also, only we can read thoughts. Other staff members can’t. Please don’t take it the wrong way.]
“So, I only need to be cautious around Terapolapanecio.”
[That’s right. Of course, we usually don’t do this kind of thing.]
The Representative’s use of “we” makes sense if they’re a jellyfish. What appears to be a single individual might actually be a collective of countless beings. Earth’s jellyfish are similar but also different in some ways.
At the very least, Earth’s jellyfish don’t vibrate the air to communicate with humans.
[You’re quite perceptive, Mister Kaito. That’s correct. We are a collective of countless individuals. We are one life, and each of us is like a terminal.]
“I see. I remember Earth’s jellyfish being somewhat like that too.”
[Indeed, we’re similar. We believe they must be happy. We’d love to interact with them someday.]
“Happy, you say? I’m not sure they have the intelligence to feel that.”
[Intelligence develops to survive. Do you think beings with just enough intelligence to live are truly happy? To us, they seem more genuinely content.]
Kaito listens to the space jellyfish’s philosophy of happiness. It’s something he can both agree and disagree with.
For a moment, Kaito wonders if he’s hallucinating inside the Goodbye Earth. Maybe this is a near-death experience. The Representative doesn’t intercept his thoughts this time.
Ritmiele’s body hair flickers beside him. She seems lost in the conversation, which assumes thought-reading. Kaito bites the inside of his cheek lightly, but unfortunately—or fortunately—it’s not a hallucination. It hurts.
At any rate, Kaito has gained a better understanding of the Terapolapanecio species, but so far, it’s only about jellyfish. What’s the main point here?
[Hmm, you’re impatient, Mister Kaito. Gaining new knowledge through conversation with an unknown intelligence is a wonderful experience.]
“I agree, but I don’t think there was a reason to rush and disrupt Ritmiele’s schedule.”
[Of course, that’s not all. Let’s get to the main point.]
The Representative extends one of its tentacles toward Kaito.
Emotion whispers just loud enough for Kaito to hear, “It’s not poisonous.” It’s oddly amusing. Maybe he should have touched it with his index finger.
[There’s a reason we’ve been observing Earth. I thought it best to explain that first.]
“I see?”
[But this reason has a somewhat political aspect. We can’t explain it until you’re officially accepted as a member of the Federation. Do you understand?]
“I do.”
Bureaucracy seems to involve tedious procedures, whether on Earth or in space.
And the reason Earth has been under observation. Keeping this hidden wouldn’t benefit Kaito’s relationship with the staff here. That makes sense. Even in his earlier conversation with Ritmiele, it felt like something was being held back, which made the conversation less engaging.
When Kaito nods, the Representative grabs his right hand with a tentacle and spins it around. Maybe it’s meant to be a handshake.
[Thank you, Mister Kaito. We’ll now invite you to the Federation headquarters. Of course, this is a first for an Earthling. Please enjoy it.]
“Ah, Representative?!”
Ritmiele’s voice rises in alarm.
At the same time, Kaito feels an unprecedented sense of floating.
A rainbow-colored light converges around him. Kaito instinctively grabs Emotion’s gravity unit.
“Master Kaito! Detecting an unknown force field. Unable to analyze!”
[Now, let’s ensure you a completely safe journey through space!]
With the Representative’s final words, the scenery changes. Outside the artificial structure, Kaito sees the vast expanse of space rushing by at an incredible speed.
When did this happen? How did they pass through walls and ceilings? Questions and anxiety flood his mind.
The only thing he’s sure of is the sensation of holding onto Emotion’s gravity unit.
Still, if his body isn’t harmed, he starts to calm down.
The pressure on his body isn’t too intense. It’s like something out of a classic sci-fi movie. The imagination of humanity has reached the same level as the universe’s wonders, filling him with awe—
[Mister Kaito. I recreated your favorite travel scenario. We’ll arrive soon, so just relax.]
And just like that, the moment is ruined. It’s a bit of a letdown.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLA
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
TION AT gadgetizedpanda.net