67: Strange Starwear

"But ordinary guide colonies really don't have people around, do they?"

"That's right. But it's only natural. Unlike the guide colonies in the Glogrobeta system, this place isn't meant for tourism, and there's no reason to keep people here."

We stepped out into the guide colony's corridor.

Yet, aside from us, barely any other people were visible.

Well, just as Vilijanira said—this was completely expected.

Humans visiting the Flaretanbo system's guide colony either use hyper-speed travel, undergo necessary inspections, support the personnel required for those inspections, temporarily host patrol units... or simply detain individuals caught during inspections.

Otherwise, unless they have special circumstances like us, other humans simply pass through the guide colony without stopping.

That’s why there’s no reason to expect any foot traffic here.

"The rooms assigned to the memo units are graded similarly to those for guests, but they're not hotels. Apparently, there are no hotels in this guide colony to begin with."

"Well, even if there were, it wouldn't matter much."

Yeah, honestly, the place we're walking through is barely more than a corridor—more like a passageway than anything else.

Definitely not a road.

Each room is just one door away from the next.

"But there are these kinds of sculptures here, huh?"

It's a type of观赏 water tank. Only because of the unique structure of the Flaretanbo star system can it take this form.

Though minimal, it seems to contribute to air circulation as well.

A little further on, the cafeteria comes into view ahead of us.

While the cooking and dining areas are ordinary cafeteria-like spaces, at the center stands a peculiar sculpture unlike anything one would typically find in other star systems.

A water sphere roughly ten meters in diameter, estimated by eye.

Inside, seaweed sways as if growing from the center, corals extend their branches, and dozens of vibrantly colored fish swim about.

What's unusual, however, is that there's no wall separating the water sphere from the outside—its only support is a large cup where the sphere touches the floor.

"Ah, you can actually reach in."

"Sata. Don't forget to wash your hands before eating."

"Of course not."

The fact that there are no walls is proven by the simple act of reaching into the water sphere—your hand slips in and out with ease.

And when you pull your hand out, it's properly wet, gradually drying and drawing heat from your body in the process.

In other words, it's truly just water, not somehow held in shape by an invisible force field.

"Still, seeing it actually work like this makes it feel strangely surreal."

"Even from my perspective, it's the same, isn't it?"

This is the Sw (Starware) of the Flaretanbo star system.

Its effect is... liquids exceeding a certain volume will form spherical shapes and resist mixing with other liquids, if I recall correctly.

Also, this "certain volume" seems somewhat ambiguous or variable—just losing a little, as I did moments ago, isn't enough to break the spherical formation, and while it resists mixing, it can still absorb other liquids if there's enough room... yeah, this Sw is pretty vague and loose in its mechanics.

"By the way, Sata-sama. Is analyzing this Sw possible?"

"It's impossible. I rely solely on my limited knowledge and intuition when analyzing mods. Even experts struggle to understand how something this complex came to be—just deciphering its surface level is barely manageable."

And because of how complicated this Sw is, not only do I have no idea how it came to be in the first place, I also have no clue how one could possibly create something like this.

Well, if even experts can't figure it out, it's only natural I wouldn't be able to either.

"Even Satā doesn't understand it. If that's the case, it's truly regrettable that the records from the early days of the Flaretanbo system have been lost."

"Well, we can't understand why it ended up this way, can we? Without knowing that, we can't determine how to move forward. It must be incredibly difficult for the nobles and bureaucrats trying to govern it."

Moreover, as Vilijanira mentioned, the records from the early days of the colonization of the Flaretanbo system have been lost.

To be more specific, while information about the Flaretanbo system as observed from neighboring systems, the Vanilla Sid system, and intelligence units remains intact, all internal records from within the Flaretanbo system itself have been completely lost.

It seems some kind of incident caused widespread chaos, resulting in the complete destruction of various data during the process.

Well, honestly, even if the specifics aren't clear, I can roughly imagine what happened.

Though it's something from over a thousand years ago, they'd probably have been around back then.

And with that in mind, I can at least touch upon why the Sw in the Flaretanbo system turned out the way they did... but if the other humans don't have ears, it's pointless to talk about it at any time.

I'll bring it up after dinner.

Incidentally, since the incident involving the Flaretanbo system, the expansion of the Vanilla Cosmos Empire has apparently slowed down somewhat, adopting a more cautious approach.

Well, if things unfolded exactly as I imagined, then it's only natural.

"Welcome. You must be a guest."

"Yes. I'll be staying for a few more days, so please take care of me."

"Likewise, I'll do my best. It's not much here, but I'll help out as much as I can."

Today's meal consisted of a grilled elongated fish transported from Planet Flaretanbo 1, served with grated radish from the Glogrobeta star system as the main side dish.

Indeed, not only was the fish delicious, but the soup made with kelp from the Flaretanbo system and the white rice harvested on Planet Flaretanbo 1 were equally delightful.

Including the smiling face of the cafeteria lady, it was a truly satisfying meal.

"By the way, Sata. Which one do you think is the correct choice among soy sauce, fish sauce, lime, and ponzu?"

"Hmm, each has its own good qualities and no real downsides, so it's really tough to decide. Maybe the answer just depends on your mood at the moment."

Only between the two of them did they seriously ponder which condiment to use as a seasoning during their meal.