Historical Discovery

The carcass of a cosmic whale drifting through space.

Its number isn't ten or twenty.

"From the Yatagarasu to the Big Bear, it might no longer be a viable mining site."

"Understood. Data has also arrived from Seeker Eye. Indeed, this isn't a mining site anymore."

A cosmic whale, revered as a mystery of the cosmos.

Although its existence has been confirmed, it has never been captured, and no corpse has ever been discovered.

Even tissue samples and communication patterns obtained when Shinosuke happened to encounter or rescue an injured cosmic whale were considered a major biological breakthrough.

"Hey, Shinosuke. You were hired by the Cosmic Environment Bureau to investigate cosmic whales, right? We need to report this. No time to waste—halt the mining operation. Let's get back quickly."

Glen was a born miner.

Thanks to the nature of his work, he had a deep understanding of cosmic environments and asteroid belt currents, and with years of experience and instinct, he had successfully located rare metals.

He boasts that no one else can match his skill in reading the slow-moving currents of asteroids, developed over years, to locate rarer rare metals.

According to Glen, this asteroid belt slowly orbits the galaxy on a cycle of hundreds of years, and this cosmic graveyard will soon drift into an uninhabitable zone within just a few months.

If that happens, it will become impossible to conduct surveys by the Cosmic Environment Agency, resulting in incalculable academic losses.

"Understood. I'm sorry to cut this short, but let's head back immediately."

"Relax. We've already made a good profit, and as treasure hunters, uncovering the mysteries of the cosmos is far more romantic than money could ever be! This is priceless!"

Understood....Sera, find some samples we can retrieve from the Holy Bell. Even a piece of the corpse will do.

I'd like to bring back samples just in case the space environment agency's investigation doesn't arrive in time.

"None of them are small enough. It would be difficult to tow them with wires..."

Indeed, the length of a space whale ranges from hundreds of meters to several kilometers, depending on the individual.

The Holy Bell, with a payload capacity of 1,000 tons, simply isn't capable of transporting something of that size, regardless of weight.

Moreover, it seems that when a space whale dies, it tends to curl up, becoming encased in a hard outer shell, making it extremely difficult to extract samples.

Just as I was beginning to consider abandoning the sample collection effort—

"This is Seeker Eye. We've located a small individual approximately 20 meters in diameter."

Upon checking the object reported by Seeker Eye, indeed there was the corpse of what looked like a tiny asteroid—perhaps a space whale—drifting in space.

"Is this a baby space whale? Shinosuke, are you really going to take this little one with you?"

I could understand Sera's hesitation.

It was hard to collect the lifeless body of a young space whale peacefully resting in the void.

"I understand how you feel, but this time, the survey takes priority. Andy, can you retrieve that specimen?"

"..."

Sera seemed reluctant on a personal level, but she didn't object.

『There's still enough payload capacity—no problem. I'll retrieve it.』

Once the juvenile space whale's body was recovered by Holybell, Shinnosuke and the others immediately departed from the asteroid belt.

"Shinnosuke, you and Yatagarasu and Holybell can go ahead—no problem. We'll be fine with Fubuki and Phantom guarding us."

"Shinnosuke, leave it to us. Go on ahead."

"I'm fine too."

Encouraged by Glen, Ash, and Ira, Shinnosuke and the others separated from the convoy and decided to move ahead to return to Sirius.

The Holy Bell is a high-speed transport vessel, capable of matching the pace of the Yatagarasu without falling behind.

The Yatagarasu and the Holy Bell delivered the space whale sample to Yan at the Cosmic Environment Agency as quickly as possible.

This is... unbelievable. I want to investigate immediately, but I have to put it off for now. I must head to the site region without delay! Kasimura, I'm sorry to trouble you right after your return, but I need you to guide me to the site region and provide escort for my investigation fleet right away.

"...Huh?"

Perhaps because he had been contacted by Yan before returning to Salius, Yan had already begun accepting the samples and had prepared everything thoroughly.

He reportedly had already submitted a request to the Free Merchant Fleet Association.

In the end, Yan the Crow decided to make a quick return trip to the designated region, leaving behind Andy’s Holy Bell and leading five investigation vessels from the Space Environment Bureau.

On the way to the site, they pass by Big Bear and others returning from their mission.

"...Huh? Is that Shinnosuke's Yatagarasu? Heading out already? That's quite a burden..."

Once actual on-site investigation begins, they won't be returning anytime soon.

Glen watched the convoy depart as if it were none of his concern.