The First in Line
“……I’m not sure what you mean?”
Director Whiritia smiled warmly. She pulled two pieces of hard candy from her inner pocket and offered one to me.
“You must be low on sugar. Want one?”
“Thank you.”
The director unwrapped hers and popped it into her mouth.
Chew, chew.
She seemed to be enjoying it.
“Not eating yours?”
“I’ll have it when I head back.”
I slipped the candy into my pocket.
“Coffee?”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
“So, where were we?”
“We were discussing how the Trapezohedron can become a harmless new material when properly utilized.”
“……I see.”
She grinned. I grinned back.
Industry, education, research.
These three are inseparable in the sciences and engineering. Researchers sometimes become excellent lecturers depending on their position, and in other cases they transform into seasoned businesspeople. Right now, I am a businessman. A lowly employee dispatched here under orders from the CTO—otherwise known as a professor—of the graduate-school corporation.
By comparison, my counterpart is a veteran who has weathered every storm and risen to the top executive seat. The gap in our levels is simply too vast.
When you’re in the weaker position, the basics of business are to avoid unnecessary greed and maintain an appropriate line. I yielded what I could reasonably yield, took what I could reasonably take, and adjusted our positions accordingly.
“This much is sufficient…… For any concrete business expansion, please work with my younger sister later. Today’s discussion ends here.”
“Huh? So you’re not handling it yourself this time?”
“She’s the one providing the funds.”
“Aha. So you have to follow the major shareholder’s wishes, is that it?”
Director Whiritia looked genuinely surprised.
“The Rheinland family really is different. At that age, already running a business and signing contracts. What was I doing when I was eighteen……?”
While we chatted, we finished stamping all the documents. We each transferred a clean copy of the electronic contract to our tablets.
I had already finished speaking with Professor Stranoff.
As she requested, I would devote everything to researching a non-resonant Outer God containment device, and in return, Ire Haslen would be placed inside the resonator.
Therefore, we signed the following contract for what would come after.
1. Professor Stranoff’s laboratory shall receive first priority in borrowing Darwin-type crystals, photosensitive solution, light-gold stone, and other processing materials and special equipment produced and managed by the Southern Biological Research Institute.
2. In return, the Southern Biological Research Institute shall receive first priority to demonstrate the gravity-ether-wave non-resonant Outer God containment device—colloquially called the “Trap”—once it is completed, and shall take fifty percent of the resulting operating profits.
3. We will co-author the paper. (This one is extremely important.)
“Not a bad deal at all.”
“Then I’ll pass the message along to the professor.”
“Good. Give my regards to Callis.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
She escorted me all the way to the main gate.
A sparkling pile of jewels sat on the spaceship I had arrived in. I narrowed my eyes and looked back.
“What is that?”
“What do you think? Dextral Trapezohedrons.”
“You’re giving them to me?”
“Just one ton for testing purposes.”
“Free of charge?”
“Half price.”
“Could you make it a quarter?”
Director Whiritia placed her hands on her hips and pouted.
“Do you have no conscience?”
“This is money moving outside the national project, so I have to pay out of pocket. If I don’t haggle like this, my sister will beat me with a bat later.”
“Fine, I’ll compromise at one-third.”
“Thank you.”
She gave a dry smile and extended her hand. I took it and said,
“You look quite tired.”
“Research is exhausting.”
“Doesn’t feel like someone else’s problem. Research isn’t easy for anyone.”
“There are far harder things in this world.”
I took out the candy and bit into it. A perfectly ordinary sweet-and-sour green-grape flavor.
“Director, my Constellation can read other people’s minds.”
“Oh? Really?”
“Believe it or not.”
Whiritia whistled lightly.
“Then I’ll choose to believe it’s a lie.”
She seemed to whistle out of habit whenever she wanted to change the atmosphere.
“Director.”
“What now?”
“Let’s work together for a long time.”
Another whistle rang out.
No, I’m telling you we have priority! I told you to contact us once it’s done, so why can’t you understand a single word? Forget the test run or whatever—just let our kid get tested first. Do you think I invested ten billion just to hear this kind of news?
Mom and Dad both died because of Outer Gods. Now the only family I have left is my little brother. Kael, if you’re gone, then I’m gone too. Huh? You’re hungry? Wait. Big sis will make you something delicious, heeheehee.
I need to call the professor. I’m pulling my investment, just so you know.
Who the hell is your father supposed to be?
You goddamn bastard. How much did I pay? And you’re saying fewer than ten people get in? The waiting list is full? Does that even make sense? This is a scam, a total scam! My wife is going to die before winter comes!
It’s already too late for me. I ate the ant that crawled out of the bathtub. The bubbles pop and sink. The house is cold. A yawn came out of my nose and I fell asleep while eating jewels. I’m going to meet you now.
Mom, please save our mom, waaah……
Beep, beep, beeeep.
The sky is a sickly yellow.
Why?
I’d seen people die during the Celestine Incident, but I never thought the world’s atmosphere would be this bleak.
The main story is approaching.
Destruction is approaching.
Countless beings are trying to devour every other galaxy and reach out toward ours.
What must I do to face them?
What must I do to win if I fight?
The answer has already been decided.
I simply can’t do anything else because the conditions aren’t ready yet.
“Truly a difficult path you walk, young one.”
The list of investors Professor Stranoff sent me.
The contact information of the 124 people written there.
I contacted every single one. And canceled every single one.
Using the excuse that safety verification was incomplete, I postponed the scheduled resonator usage period entirely and relayed the news via email and phone. As a result, I was cursed out to hell and back.
I gritted my teeth.
And thought of only one person.
The one who suffered the most.
The girl who tried to save everyone but couldn’t even save herself.
Ire Haslen.
When it came to the waiting list, she was number one.
It might be a selfish thought. It might be ranking the weight of human lives. No, that was exactly what I was doing. I was assigning numbers to lives.
Well, because she’s the protagonist. Because she’s the character I was most immersed in while reading the novel.
It was a flimsy justification.
She wasn’t the only one suffering in this world.
[Hello? Student Idel?]
“Professor, is your back all right?”
[Yes, I was just discharged and I’m on my way to the academy.]
“Please be careful on your way up. This is sudden, but when can we start operating the resonator?”
[Hmm, it was almost finished. If I go and make a few adjustments, it should be ready right away.]
“Then please do it immediately.”
A bitter sigh came through the phone.
“I’m sorry.”
[It’s fine. We can just start the Trap research right after. Thinking about it, that might actually be the best approach.]
Originally, he had no intention of following my suggestion.
It was only after Professor Feynman made the same proposal that he changed his stance.
[How was it? Got plenty of curses while making those calls? That’s enough.]
I ended up owing Professor Stranoff a debt.
[That’s what the bitter taste of society is like. I may think I made the right judgment, but to the other side I look like the worst bastard alive. You have to endure that if you want to earn your doctorate, become a professor, and climb higher and higher.]
“Thank you for your consideration.”
Click.
I finished the three-day-long phone marathon.
My fingertips were numb from handling the tablet so much.
My throat was sore from talking for so long.
I was sleepy. I had barely slept.
— The Constellation “God of Wisdom and Curiosity” is observing you closely.
The world isn’t easy.
Doing only the research you want isn’t everything, and hearing and seeing only good things isn’t everything either.
“Haa……”
What exactly am I doing right now?
I’m desperately trying to keep a woman I’ve barely even met hidden like an ace card so I can use her at the most critical moment.
It feels pathetic and shameless.
But what can I do?
A scientist must do science.
And science is a discipline meant to benefit the world.
If I want to save even one more person, the correct answer is to expand one more equation rather than wallow in guilt.
Ring ring ring ring, click.
“Ah, Sonia.”
[Young Master, something terrible has happened. There’s a warship in front of the Spirit Lodge right now—]
Before I knew it, the promised “next week” had arrived.
The professors had been discharged, but time flows equally for everyone, and Outer God Management Agency officials visited the Spirit Lodge once again.
This time, however, it was different.
They had brought along a warship and a whole crowd of inspectors.
“This is Captain Leopold Fadremont of Leo, one of the twelve zodiac signs, and the person seated over there is Captain Eshu Malkram of Sagittarius.”
Two of the Federation’s strongest had appeared.
They must really want to take her away if they went this far.
“You’re Student Idel von Rheinland, correct? I’ve heard a lot about you. Pleased to meet you.”
Leo offered a handshake.
The grip felt like steel.
“Pleased to…… meet you, haaaam……”
Sagittarius merely waved while rubbing her eyes. Yet the Ether flowing from her body was so dense it brushed against my skin.
Both were among the strongest even within the Twelve.
“Have you been well, Student Idel?”
“Of course.”
Mr. Lakdalman, the agency official, extended his hand. We exchanged a superficial handshake while he twisted his lips. I lightly observed his expression. His mouth smiled, but his eyes had sunk deeply.
“As I mentioned last week, we’ve come to escort Ire Haslen.”
We’re here.
“To prevent any damage from light-madness during transport, we’ve prepared two Great Omega-class inspectors and the latest model of containment vessel.”
If you don’t like it, try stopping us. But are you stronger than the inspectors here?
“Please cooperate as well, Student Idel.”
Your test subject is quite something.
“……There is a phenomenon called the Mad Wind. It occurs when an Outer God devours its peers and temporarily regains its power.”
“We’re aware. That’s exactly why this force has been assembled—to prevent it.”
“It’s not something I can explain simply. If the leader devours multiple bodies at once, its true form might manifest.”
I warned them in advance as a scientist.
And a scientist’s advice like this—
“That’s quite an interesting hypothesis.”
—is something they never accept. Classic.
“Student Idel, to date there has never been a single instance of an Outer God’s true body appearing. And even if such a thing were possible, wouldn’t the Federation have already perished long ago?”
So.
You people really will be destroyed.
“If you’re still uneasy, you may accompany us.”
“Then I’ll take you up on that.”
Sonia and I began walking.
One of the Twelve, Leopold Fadremont, took the lead and opened the door. Bound in a restraint suit according to Federation Outer God Management Law, Ire thrashed in shock.
“You people……! Mmph!”
They gave her no chance to resist.
They gagged her, covered her eyes, and tightened the bindings. It was exactly the same method of restraint used when I was dragged to Alcatraz.
Poke poke. Sonia jabbed my side and whispered.
“What will you do now?”
“Wait.”
The cart carrying Ire began to move.
“What will you do?”
“Follow them. And wait.”
The cart wheels rattled as it boarded the warship.
“Right now……”
“Wait.”
Atmospheric stabilization and additional restraints were carried out.
Under the watch of dozens of Omega-class inspectors, three ships spewed a magnificent sonic boom and slid into the cosmos.
The beginning of a long voyage.
— Outer God, “Steel That Flows Like the Earth,” stretches its limbs.