Standing in space with his bare body, acting so calmly. Kaito guessed it’s understandable that he’s treated like a monster. With that thought, he flipped Queen Bee around.
Deflecting the light bullets clearly aimed at his bare body, he accelerated with the momentum of a head-on collision. At the moment of crossing, he fired several steel plates—the worker bees—but Gilbert’s attack craft flew around without a care.
It was clearly faster compared to the larger ships. Kaito thought that if the worker bees collided head-on, they could sink it in one hit, but Gilbert seemed to know that too, zigzagging around. Many of the worker bees missed, and even the ones that hit only lightly pierced the craft, not dealing a critical blow.
Emotion was warning him to return quickly from inside, but he had no intention of doing so yet. It’s better to gain combat experience for when he eventually set out into the sea of stars.
Gilbert also seemed to have no other means of attack beyond light bullets. He just kept moving around to avoid being targeted, seemingly chewing on the futility as he scattered light bullets.
[Damn it, damn this monster!]
“Gilbert-Jane. Are you familiar with the ecology of bees?”
As he fired worker bees at him, they crossed paths several times. Queen Bee was unscathed, while Gilbert’s attack craft had been hit multiple times, but it was far from a fatal blow.
Kaito’s eyes had adjusted quite a bit. It was time to end this. It wouldn’t do to keep Ritmiele and the other Federation people waiting any longer.
“Deploy.”
The scattered debris of the Divine people’s ships around them. He first gathered pieces of appropriate size as new worker bees.
Then, using the steel plates stuck in Gilbert’s attack craft as markers, he had them track him from all sides.
[What the!?]
Unless you have eyes that can see all around simultaneously, it’s impossible to avoid everything. The attack craft moved wildly, but as more worker bees stuck into its hull, its movements gradually slowed.
Soon, the swarm of worker bees covered the attack craft, and its movements stopped.
“Now then.”
[Gasp!]
One more hit. That would finish it.
“Gilbert-Jane. At the very least, you’re not the kind of Earthling who deserves to join the Federation.”
[Wait! Wait, I get it. I admit I’ve done bad things. I have no intention of joining the Federation. Just exile me as I am.]
Gilbert’s words. Faced with defeat, he seemed to start playing the cards he had to survive.
The way he begged for his life without hesitation was either shameless or tenacious.
“Alright. I’ll exile you from here. …Go.”
[Thank you. I’m grateful. …What?]
But Kaito had no intention of letting Gilbert go alive from this place. He had the worker bees surround him and take him away from this sector. The destination had already been decided.
He suspected that the attack craft was equipped with some kind of transfer device. Otherwise, Gilbert wouldn’t have suggested exile. He probably planned to pretend to be exiled and then transfer back to Earth. That wouldn’t be allowed.
“Now, it’s over. Emotion, please contact Ms. Ritmiele.”
[Before that, get back inside the ship, now!]
Emotion’s angry shout came from below, probably reaching her limit.
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The disarmed ships of the Divine people were to be returned to Earth for the time being.
Ritmiele was explaining to the Earthlings who had been taken off the ships and those who had been left behind.
“The Federation is bringing the artificial celestial body Avakia here. The Earthlings will be accommodated there, undergo appropriate procedures, and then be sent to the Federation.”
Though not as much as the Divine people, Ritmiele’s appearance was familiar to the Earthlings. Having Rebecca standing beside her also helped calm the people.
Neither the Earthlings taken hostage nor those left behind knew that the Divine people had intended to sell them off.
Being taken off the ship without knowing, everyone was anxious.
Even if the Divine people’s misdeeds were revealed here, it would be meaningless if they didn’t believe it. By introducing Ritmiele through Rebecca, the story settled on the Federation protecting the Earthlings from the second wave onward. By rescuing the Earthlings who would have been sold off, they hoped the situation would gradually become clear.
Kaito’s current role was to monitor the Divine people who had been separated from their ships. He confined the Divine people to one building and watched the outside from the window.
A Divine person named Pikurashikaa looked up at him and asked.
“What will become of us?”
“Who knows? I’m not yet familiar with Federation law.”
“Unlawfully abducting Federation citizens and attempting to sell them to civilizations outside the Federation. Well, you’ll likely face appropriate charges.”
“That’s…! If it was before Earth joined the Federation, it should be exempt.”
At Emotion’s words, Pikurashikaa’s face changed.
It’s a selfish argument, but the judgment on that should be left to someone familiar with Federation law, not Kaito.
That said, giving up on the Earthlings who had been taken earlier wasn’t an option. If they could be rescued under the law, that would be good, but if not, he considered using Queen Bee for some pirate work.
“Hey, say something!”
“The person who will make that judgment should be here soon. …See?”
The footsteps that had been approaching stopped, and the door opened. Ritmiele, accompanied by Rebecca, entered after finishing her explanation to the Earthlings.
“Kaito of Third Rank Citizen Enek-Ragif. Thank you for your hard work.”
Third-Class Citizen Enek-Ragif, the Divine people murmured.
It seemed that even when the Divine people were part of the Federation, none had attained the status of Third-Class Citizen Enek-Ragif. The quality of their gazes visibly changed.
“Thank you, Ms. Ritmiele.”
“No need for thanks. Once Earthlings join the Federation, they become our comrades. Helping them is our responsibility.”
Of course, that includes those who were taken earlier.
As Ritmiele continued, her body hair turned red, and every single Divine person slumped in defeat.
Gilbert was panicking.
No matter what equipment he touched, nothing responded. Completely surrounded by steel plates, he couldn’t see where he was flying.
He had confirmed that the attack craft had a transfer device. He planned to return to Earth after being exiled once the heat died down, but…
“Damn it!”
He had underestimated Kaito, thinking he was just a young punk around Rebecca’s age.
Feeling the increasing danger to his life, he frantically tried to find a way to survive by messing with the equipment.
“Where the hell am I headed?”
He knew he was flying. Straight. But having lost all sense of direction and time, Gilbert couldn’t tell where he was or how long he’d been flying.
He was ready to self-destruct and tried firing a light projectile, but there was no response. Will he just kept flying like that until he starved to death?
Then, suddenly, he felt a pressure, as if someone was pulling the ship.
“Is someone there!?”
He hoped for help, but the pulling only accelerated.
Perhaps some alien race, like the Divine, was trying to plunder the ship. If he was going to be enslaved by aliens, he resolved to use his usual smooth talk to ensure his safety.
It’s fine. As long as he was alive, he could rise again. He had done it before, he told himself to stay strong.
“Hey! My name’s Gilbert. What’s yours?”
No response. But the force on the ship was increasing. Maybe they weren’t the type to communicate with words.
“Huh?”
Suddenly, the steel plate in front of him was ripped away. He could see beyond the monitor.
He looked around, but there was no arm-like object holding the ship. Were they not aliens? Meanwhile, more steel plates were being torn off one after another.
It seemed he had reached a place where that man’s power couldn’t reach. He eagerly touched the instruments, but still, there was no response. Strange.
Then, he noticed the torn steel plates weren’t drifting away. They floated on the other side of the monitor, maintaining a fixed distance from the ship.
“What is this, what’s—”
His words were cut short. The moment the monitor on the opposite side came back to life, his vision was flooded with an overwhelming red.
“Gah!?”
The light intensity seemed to adjust quickly, but the pain in his eyes was intense. He blinked through tears. The pulling force grew stronger. Rubbing his eyes, he looked at the monitor.
“The… sun…?”
He’d seen it in photos or something. A scorching ball of light. The center of the solar system. A star.
The sun was getting closer and closer.
“Eek! No way, no way!”
Acceleration. He was going to be swallowed.
No, he would be crushed or melted before that.
Before his voice could cry out in refusal,
Gilbert’s coffin was swallowed into the sun.
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