Chapter 168
Chapter 168
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Wish and Reality
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"Joo-ho, you've come back alive!"
Ries rushed over with tears welling in his eyes and pulled me into a tight hug.
Fortunately, his face looked much the same as before. He'd lost a little weight, which actually made him seem healthier.
"Damn it, everyone get over here! Joo-ho's back!"
Ries bellowed at the top of his lungs, calling for the other crew members.
Drawn by his shout, the others began emerging one by one from their tent-like shelters. They widened their eyes at the sight of me carrying Isaac on my back and came rushing over in a heartbeat.
"My God, is that...!"
"He's alive?"
There was no chance to speak.
The crew surrounded me, everyone clamoring to hug me or pat my head even just a little.
"You did well. Yeah, you really did...!"
I wasn't a kid anymore, but their fervent welcome didn't feel bad at all.
My hair ended up a tangled mess,
and my back and shoulders throbbed from all the pounding. Bruises were sure to form.
"All of them alive? This is a miracle!"
The Captain called out heartily from a distance.
Everyone reveled in the joy. Even after their harsh ordeal, smiles lingered on every face.
While I'd been struggling to survive,
they'd held out in a camp not far from the Paradise Ship's crash site.
The situation wasn't easy,
but not a single one had given up.
"Alright, let's throw a festival for the first time in forever!"
Ries shouted once more.
Everyone raised their arms overhead and cheered in response.
Great, a festival it was!
The supply crew dragged out the beer containers they'd hidden away.
These containers had miraculously survived the explosion and crash, preserved just for this moment, they said.
My return with Isaac.
The reuniting of the Paradise Ship crew.
"Whoa, Joo-ho, you crying?"
Ries, tears streaming down his own face, teased me about mine.
"Haha, this punk... I thought you'd grown up a bit, but you're still just a kid."
"Don't tease him too much. Think of all he's been through."
In truth, no one was holding back their tears.
Everyone's eyes reddened as they led me and Isaac deeper into the camp.
"Thank you all. Our Joo-ho must've put you through a lot..."
Amy and the other women stood toward the back,
but Ries greeted them with a friendly smile.
Thankfully, Amy didn't split the crew in two. Her radiant smile put my mind somewhat at ease.
"Come on in. Let's all celebrate. What better day could there be?"
There was no way they could understand each other.
Still, everyone laughed as they entered the camp.
Then they built a roaring bonfire and sat around it, sharing all the stories they'd held back until now.
I was at the center.
I'd never particularly liked speaking in front of everyone before, but strangely, I found myself excitedly spilling everything.
"I really thought that guy was gonna kill me. Back when we first met, unlike now, he tied me up and said he was gonna off me..."
"Y-yeah, that was back then..."
"Ah, and now I can even do stuff like this. Her name's Alraune—she lives inside my body with me and helps out with all sorts of things..."
I bloomed a flower from my fingertip to demonstrate, drawing gasps from all around.
I chugged my beer
and even brought up those who'd died right in front of me.
"There was this alien who helped me out, but I still don't know their name. Good person. Or... not a person? Damn, no idea what to call 'em. Haha."
No matter how much beer I drank, I didn't get drunk.
I pounded the alcohol desperately, praying to melt into this atmosphere.
"In the desert, I lost count of how many times I nearly died. Temps hit around 40 degrees during the day, then plunged below 10 at night, and these sandworms way bigger than the Paradise Ship's fuel tanks were crawling around everywhere..."
Everyone laughed,
but my expression grew gloomier by the second.
"Made a friend there too. I launched 'em off the planet myself, though. Ah! Right, that friend helped me figure out how to escape this planet. Just trust me and Amy! We can do it."
Strangely, a sense of isolation crept in.
Even at the center of it all,
I couldn't shake the alienation.
"And then, what else was I gonna say... I had so much to tell..."
Hundreds of eyes fixed on me,
but I couldn't continue. My gaze locked straight ahead.
I saw Jenny.
She sat beside the half-eaten Dan, staring blankly at me.
"What're you doing? You're killing the mood."
Dan cackled as he chugged his beer.
"Next up, tell us who you killed. Why, plenty, right? That's your real heroic tale. Screw the rest—tell us what kinda monster you've turned into."
Jenny tore into his head from above, but Dan kept talking.
"What, too tough? Well, yeah—everyone around you drops dead. Talking about that'd just make things even creepier, huh?"
Was there a hole in my body? Something felt like it was leaking out steadily. Chewing on the heavy pain, it almost felt like a direct rifle hit.
"Dr."
But when I checked, there were no wounds on me. Was this piercing agony not from a rifle, but the mental torment of reunited comrades turning hostile?
"It's fine. I'm right here. You told me to wait 50 meters out, but I figured something like this might happen, so I preheated the engine ahead of time. Actually waited at 22 meters."
Amy had charged through the downpour, blocking the bullets.
Smoke trailed from her back, but thankfully no hole had pierced through. It paid off that she'd scavenged metal from inside the planet to reinforce her body.
"...The odds of you facing hostility exceeded 98.72%. Dr., you need to confront the situation head-on."
In the torrent of rain, Amy's warm palm and forehead pressed against me. A warmth that made me forget the cold downpour, if only for a moment.
Her beautiful face filled my vision, brimming with concern. She'd already anticipated the frustration I felt.
"You can't survive on longing and memories alone. Not you, not the other crew."
Amy headed up the slope, leaving me and Isaac behind.
The survivors didn't fire on Amy. At her appearance, they slung their rifles to their sides and ceased their one-sided barrage.
"An AI awakened by emergency protocol?"
"That's right. Amy."
A woman who appeared to be the leader stepped forward to face Amy squarely.
Her wrinkled face bore a massive scar running from forehead across eye and cheek. Her left eye couldn't even open properly.
But that one remaining eye radiated intimidation on its own. A mere glance conveyed her shattered spirit and deep wounds.
"I guarantee the two behind me were aboard the Paradise Ship. We've been together this whole time."
"You guarantee it?"
The other survivors, excluding the leader and Cindy, began emerging slowly from the underbrush.
All were armed with rifles.
Including the leader and Cindy, there were 13 in total.
All women.
The late arrivals glanced back and forth between me, Isaac, and Amy, demanding answers from their leader.
"Nicole, what's going on here?"
And that leader—
the woman with the long scar—
went by the same name as Isaac's wife.
Only then did Isaac's reaction make sense.
Frozen like stone,
staring solely at the leader...
"..."
No—
now she was Nicole.
Nicole's one good eye looked down at Isaac. Amid the pounding rain, they stood locked in a staring contest for a long while.
But even after recognizing him as her husband, she held her hostile stance and spoke.
"Amy, then carry out our orders. Bind those two and bring them with us."
"I cannot comply. My primary command authority is Dr. Joo-ho."
"Your primary authority is the Paradise Ship. Have you forgotten your duty? You exist to ensure the Paradise Ship crew's safe return."
"..."
It was irrefutable.
Amy was an AI meant to act for the entire Paradise Ship crew.
"No."
But she flatly refused all orders from the others and returned to our side once more.
No matter their numbers,
no matter what commands they issued,
Amy came back to me and said:
"Dr., you don't need to join the other survivors."
Nicole and the survivors' gazes converged on the three of us.
"Right now, our group needs a place to rest. I'll help support you two from here."
Or more precisely...
"Joo-ho! You okay?"
"What the hell are those assholes?"
"How dare they lay hands on the elder...!"
I took in every single one of them rushing toward me with worried faces.
To anyone watching,
I fit far better with this little community than with that band of survivors.