16 Terminus' Home Planet 1

Jin had heard, before arriving here.

That the discovery of Shirley had been a turning point.

That it had been a fortunate circumstance that the first to discover the fallen 'Gai Volc' had been a humanoid of relatively low age and amicable disposition.

That Shirley had secured the foundation for negotiations with them.

Shirley Byron, who had achieved such a great feat.

"Uhehehe... cute... so cute... let's polish the armor with this No. 76 wax next time..."

was polishing the armor of the petite humanoid ASID with a lazy smile.

Recalling the memory, Jin thought he had seen that expression before—something like the restrained smile Mio used to wear when she was young and clinging to him.

The Byron family was a gathering of eccentric individuals who loved machines.

Sharon had once referred to her own kin in that manner.

How well she managed to set herself aside, Jin thinks.

"Hey, you pervert over there."

"Who's that, rude... Jin!?"

Sharon lifted her face from the armored surface, her voice laced with surprise, wiping drool from her chin.

"Your saliva isn't the only thing you need to wipe. It's smeared all over your cheek."

"T-this is rather embarrassing..."

"Among all the things I've seen since I was born, this is the most embarrassing sight yet."

I'd hesitate to introduce you to anyone.

I'd been thinking about how fortunate it was that you made it here safely, and all sorts of things—but now it's all gone.

At the same time, seeing you just as you always are, I realize I'm undeniably relieved.

"Jin?"

"Good to see you haven't changed."

"No, people don't change that quickly, not in just a month or so."

……Ah. Yes. That’s right.

So the change in that Mio’s form wasn’t real.

Jin simply hadn’t noticed.

The solitude that had never surfaced.

“I heard. You were the one who initiated communication with them.”

“Yes. They turned out to be quite nice when we spoke. Small and cute, weren’t they?”

Only someone like Shirley could call them “good kids” in a universe this vast.

Cute…? The slight unease on the faces around her is clear.

Well, judging by their movements alone, they might be somewhat endearing.

The ASID, its armor polished to a blinding sheen with wax, tilts its head with a motion like a seated figure leaning forward.

‘This one… the one you called Jin?’

"Yeah. That's right. Jin, this child's name is Tiki. She's the one you called Jin? She's a good one—came bringing ore to repair the damaged kin of 'Gay Bolk' after they fell in battle!"

"O-oh. Nice to meet you, Tiki."

"You're weak."

Tiki's blunt remark, likely due to unfamiliarity with the language, Jin decides to interpret as such.

He feels a sting in his heart—his recent failures have been inexcusable.

"This person's true strength lies in the cockpit! By the way, Captain. What happened to the机体?"

"Completely destroyed. It's just scrap now."

Repairing that would be impossible.

Rebuilding Raven from scratch would take less time than trying to restore it after Mio reduced it to nothing.

Until a new机体 is ready, there will be no Raven for Jin to pilot.

"Severe damage... well, when it emerged from the super-large variant, I think it at least retained its original form, more or less... during the engagement with the Second Fleet?"

Why the unit was lost.

To speak of it would inevitably require mentioning the opponent they last fought.

"...Jin?"

"Will you listen?"

The students were told only the facts, matter-of-factly.

Reliable, in their way—but still students, still her daughter’s friends.

Their vulnerabilities could not be laid bare.

"The Second Fleet’s objective is clear."

"Objective? Well, yes, of course. Given that they initiated such actions, it was clear they had one."

"Remember when I mentioned the urban legend about ether-based information transmission to the past?"

"Yes... was it seven or eight years ago? I recall saying it couldn’t be done—though I’m not sure if I said that or didn’t."

Unlike Jin, who remembered it clearly, Sharon’s recollection seemed rather vague.

Not surprising.

At the time, it had been nothing more than idle speculation—pure theory with no practical feasibility.

“Their objective was that.”

“Ah. I remember, I remember… but you, Jin. Aren’t you forgetting something? That couldn’t be achieved unless a sufficiently old Queen-type lent its cooperation…”

Sharon must have then recalled the super-large-scale reactor meeting that condition.

“But… there’s no one to operate the reactor! No one could possibly move something like that alone—”

“Mio was an ASID.”

Jin cut her off, stating the fact.

“Eh…?”

“The individual that was her core originated from the same kind of main processor as the super-large-scale type. She was….”

“Wait—wait—wait! Mio’s an ASID…? That’s not funny at all!”

A joke. If only it were a joke.

"She’s supposed to be advancing the Second Fleet’s project. Altering the past. That’s what she said."

"Why would she…?"

A natural question.

Which is why the next words were difficult to speak.

"Mio is actually still ten years old."

"I’m sorry. I’m just—suddenly bringing up something like this…"

"She said there’s a possibility her core was generated from Rei’s soul."

Sharon gasps. That reaction was expected.

Even so, it couldn’t remain unsaid.

The weight in the chest—unbearable. It had to be spoken.

"She claims that by taking away Rei’s place, she’s restoring the correct path."

"Jin… what do you want?"

"...I don’t want to let go of Mio."

Eight years. That was how long Jin and Mio had been father and daughter.

Longer than the time Jin had spent with Rei.

But.

“Scared.”

A weakness he could never show his student slipped out.

“Just thinking about what I’d do if I went to see her again and was rejected once more…”

“…Pathetic.”

“What was that?”

“I said you’re pathetic, you spineless Jin!”

Sharon barked the words with clear anger.

“One rejection and you’re already broken? How many times have you rejected me, Jin?!”

“W-wait, you don’t have to bring this up here…”

They were in the hangar. Surrounded by others.

“If you don’t push someone to the edge, when will you ever reach a conclusion?!”

He had no reply. Caught red-handed.

In truth, he had been clinging to Sharon’s kindness for eight years, dragging the relationship out.

If he truly cared for her, he should have reached a decision long ago—no matter what she said.

"Expected a prolonged struggle, but never thought it'd drag on this long! Honestly, I can't believe I held out for eight years!"

After all, she was nearing the latter half of her thirties.

Nanomachine-based anti-aging had extended average lifespan, but it still felt like a slightly delayed youth.

"Now it's the daughter's rebellion phase too?"

"Actually, Sasamori lieutenant and the others mentioned it—could this even be a rebellion phase...?"

"Definitely a rebellion phase. The vector's different, but when you synthesize it all, it's a variant of 'just give birth to me'—just phrased differently."

She crossed her arms and continued, breathing heavily.

"Would you really back down just because of that? If you abandon parenting at this point, you'll never get through the rebellion phase."

"...Maybe you're right."

Jin had no memory of a rebellion phase. In fact, there had never been anyone to rebel against—so there had been no phase resembling rebellion at all.

Still, he understood it as knowledge.

He would be met with defiant behavior for the coming year.

That was natural for a human being.

And not abandoning child-rearing over each individual act of defiance—surely that was natural too.

Thinking this, Jin felt relieved.

"Understood. I will absolutely save Mio. In my plan, Mio cannot be absent and still achieve happiness."

"Ah. No need to say it."

No matter how Jin's future was designed.

A future without Mio was unthinkable.

"Really. She's a pain to manage."

'Charlie.'

"Ah. Yes, yes. Sorry. Talking about trivial things."

Tiki had listened quietly, motionless.

Perhaps even more polite than the trio from training school days, Jin thought.

'Compared to this one, Charlie seems stronger.'

Jin nodded at the straightforward assessment.

"Yeah. Actually, Shirley is the strongest."

"Predictable."

"Hey. Don't teach me something weird. I'm a delicate young lady, you know."

She protests, but Jin silently rejects the claim in his mind.

If she were the kind to break so easily, this relationship likely wouldn't exist.

To Jin's knowledge, she is the most stubborn, the most persistent.