Interstellar Whales

A pod of about twenty interstellar whales appeared.

One of them, noticing Fubuki, moved directly toward her.

"Coming this way?... Wait, that's way too fast! Are you planning to ram us? Evade maneuver!"

"Understood. Please prepare for impact, both of you."

" Yes, sir!"

Surprised by the sudden approach, Shinnosuke sharply turned the control wheel to initiate evasion, but the ship's response was sluggish due to the intense gravitational field.

"Can't avoid it!"

"Damn it!"

Just as collision seemed inevitable, another space whale rapidly approached and cut in front of the first space whale, blocking its path.

The charging space whale was about 100 meters long, while the one that stopped it was vastly larger.

"...That was close. Wait—those two, aren't they...?"

"Yes. There are repair marks on the outer skin of the smaller space whale, so those must be the same mother and child from back then."

"???"

Alisa and Merysa tilt their heads, puzzled by Shinosuke and Mark's conversation.

"But meeting up again with the space whale we saved back then... isn't that a bit too convenient? It's like a cliché, or an expected plot twist..."

"I don't fully understand what you mean, Master, but this area isn't far from where we encountered it before, so I don't think it's particularly unnatural, do you?"

"Even if it's near the previous area, this is deep within hyperspace. Where exactly are we, anyway?"

"Who knows? Where could we possibly be...?"

"????"

Alisa and Merisa tilt their heads further, confused by Shinnosuke's conversation.

...Cock, cock... Kakak... Cock, cock... Kakak...

In the meantime, they picked up what sounded like a clicking signal.

"Shinnosuke-san. We've received a signal."

Merisa (or so it seems) reports from the communications operator's seat.

"Markus, cross-reference it with the previous data and analyze the pattern."

"Understood... 'Help, follow me... I'll save you, so come with me'—is that the meaning?"

"Guessing wildly... Well, whatever. Let's go check it out."

"「？？？？？？？？？」"

Shin nosuke, who told Marks "just fine" but ultimately decided with "well, whatever."

Arisa and Merisa tilted their heads as far as they possibly could.

At the same time that Shin nosuke and the others were wandering through the hyperspace, Glenn and the others who had returned earlier reported to the Free Merchant Fleet Alliance that Fubuki and Seeker Eye had been dragged into the hyperspace, and through Rina, the news was relayed to Seira and Miliena.

Glen explains the circumstances to Milena and the others upon hearing the news and rushing to the union hall.

"So in short, Shinosuke tried to rescue Seeker Eye, which had been caught by gravitational waves, and ended up falling into hyperspace along with Fuuki."

Does falling into hyperspace mean the whereabouts of Master Shinnosuke and the others are unknown?

Glen nods in response to Milina's question.

"Yeah... I'm truly sorry. I ended up dragging Shinnosuke and the others into this."

Glen and the others bow their heads, but Milina, Seira, and Rina show no signs of panic over Shinnosuke and the others being missing.

"Hmph... Given who Shinnosuke is, he probably made a reckless decision, knowing full well the risks, just to save Miss Alisa and the others."

Milina sighs.

"But given who Shinnosuke is, I think he must have decided he could escape."

"That's right. Knowing Shinnosuke, I'm sure he'll come back. There's nothing we can do but trust him and wait—there's no point in searching anyway."

Seyra and Lina nod in agreement.

"You're right. Andy and the others are on duty, and Yata Crow is undergoing inspection. Of course, Yata Crow can't be used without Lord Shinnosuke's approval, so there's nothing we can do about that."

Of course, Milina, Seyra, and Lina are all worried about Shinnosuke and the others, but they trust them even more deeply.

That's why they've decided to simply trust in Shinnosuke and wait.