The Stone Knows the Answer
The stone knows the answer.
Aside from Teslot and the Crown Guard, the Empire's military organization was divided into five branches.
The Security Division, the Suppression Division, the Intelligence Division, the Inspectorate, and the Escort Division.
Of these, only the Suppression Division and the Escort Division possessed the capacity for powered-suit operations, counterterrorism, and assault tactics.
The Escort Division was also where Sera of the Crown Guard had served before her combat deployment.
"The warp was two years ago — don't tell me they've been stuck here this whole time…!"
The containment facility was said to be built in the same sector as the Class-5 forward defense zone. Originally a prison for violent criminals and those who violated ship regulations, it was dark and filthy — a horrific, squalid environment where filthy water and even bone fragments littered the floor.
The moment she heard from Gary that her comrades were alive, Sera had bolted from her seat — and there, she found a familiar face.
"H-Hailey!"
"Cough… Sera…?"
"I'll get you out right away! Just hold on!"
The instant she grabbed the lock on the bars, an anti-escape current surged through it. Sera was thrown back with a scream, but she scrambled up at once and began searching for a way to open the door.
The console was inoperable, and she didn't know the door code. But no matter how hopeless the situation, she always had me.
"Jin, please. You can open this door, can't you?"
Half on the verge of tears, Sera grabbed my arm as I finally came down and pulled at it. She was normally so far removed from emotional displays — but these were comrades whose very survival she hadn't known. Aside from me, these were the people with whom she'd forged the deepest bonds on this ship, and to reunite with them like this… expecting her to keep her composure was asking too much.
"These are my old comrades. They're not bad people at all!"
"If we free them, it'll provoke strong backlash from the survivors here."
"I-I'll persuade them somehow!"
"Sera's negotiation skills are lower than a mutant hiding in a sewer."
"Ugh…!"
Hit square in the bullseye, she was instantly speechless. Just when I thought she might give up, a soft sensation pressed against my suit.
"I-I'm begging you like this. I'll give you everything I can. So please…!"
Sera clung tightly to me, murmuring her plea. The rigid, stiff-necked woman I'd first met was nowhere to be found — she'd even learned how to act cute.
I upgraded her negotiation skill by one rank in my head, then looked past the door at the woman inside instead of opening it. The red-haired woman named Hailey was failing to hide a smile, her snaggletooth on full display.
"You done playing around?"
"Pfft. I wanted to watch a little longer."
"Huh? What?"
— Beeeep!
Hailey pressed a switch in her hand, and the door opened on its own.
She should've listened to Gary all the way through before charging out.
"Our little Sera, were you worried sick~? You haven't changed one bit. Or wait — have you gotten even prettier?"
"Hailey? Why… you weren't locked up?"
"This is our room? Well, we can't wander around freely, sure — but we're not locked up."
Six soldiers, looking scruffy but healthy. When they were even sending kids out on expeditions, there was no way they'd lock up combat assets like these for years and just feed them. Their weapons were restricted, but they still participated in exploration runs.
"B-But this place is so…!"
"Oh, the lights? It's power-saving week. The system AI said so — there's a problem with the energy silos, so power's on emergency operation."
"Then these bones…?"
"Leftovers from bone pizza. You brought those, right? They kept us alive."
The Escort Division personnel stretched and rose one by one. But the way they looked at me was strange.
"Do you know who I am?"
"We've heard a great deal. That you came all this way in a damaged body and provided supplies to the Yurdin."
"We've also heard you'll save the ship. We'll follow your orders without hesitation, Sir Jin."
One of them placed a hand over his chest in salute, and the rest of the soldiers followed suit in perfect unison. Even without uniforms, their movements were crisp and coordinated.
"I'm not your commanding officer."
"Does affiliation matter in a situation like this? All we need is hope."
"It is an honor to meet the Shield of the Empire."
The triangle of my conscience — still not properly worn down — jabbed at the core Illyena had repaired for me.
For the record, the other beacon of hope was currently being thoroughly tormented over there.
"Kyaaah! How long has it been! You stretch even better than before — did your ability level up?"
"H-Hylee, stahp! Tha' hurts!"
"Our cute little Sera secretly snagged herself a man behind her friends' backs… hey, over here."
Hailey dragged Sera into the corner of the cell. She seemed to be trying to avoid my gaze, but my hearing was several times sharper than a human's.
— You okay?
— What do you mean? Jin is coo— a good person.
— Not that. You share a room with him, right? You're not getting infected too, are you?
— …I-I'm fine. You know my ability. I'm healthy.
A pretty quick answer for someone who couldn't lie like Sera. Judging by how she worried about her comrade, she didn't seem like a bad person.
"Sorry~ Just some girl talk."
Hailey came back out and quickly changed her expression — no ring of mana on her. The smell mixed into her grime was just plain stink.
Hmm. Fail.
Even fitting one more person into this hand of mine was a chore — if she wasn't an ability user, I had no desire to take her in.
"Sera just came running, but not you, right, Sir Jin? Looks like you're about to head out on an expedition — so you'll need to put a team together."
Gary had asked me to bring them, that much was true. Though if Sera hadn't charged out first, he wouldn't have needed to ask me.
"They'll probably decide the same way as always — the traditional Yurdin method. We've been getting side-eye for a while, but we've still participated."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Is it okay if we leave here?"
A tone that almost seemed to be asking for permission. I wanted to ask why they were entrusting their command authority to me. Gaining a following at this stage had more drawbacks than benefits. If it looked like the soldiers were banding together, it could provoke resentment from the Yurdin.
"Should we go back inside?"
I could have coldly turned them away, but I could see the exhaustion hidden behind her cheerfulness. Their treatment while staying here probably hadn't been great.
"Do as you like."
In the end I gave a noncommittal answer and turned away — and color bloomed across the soldiers' faces. They formed a double-file column and trailed after me.
By the time I arrived at the cafeteria with Sera and the soldiers, every last survivor had already gathered. Even Gary, who didn't need to go on expeditions, and Illyena, who never left her workshop, were no exceptions.
"The stone knows the answer!"
"It knows!"
In the corner, children sat in a circle with their hands clasped, chanting something strange. What on earth were they doing? As I watched, Joseph came over and explained.
"It's a kind of Yurdin ritual."
"A ritual?"
"Yes. They always carry a stone called a Daystone — or Heliolite — which serves as a landmark pointing toward their homeland."
Come to think of it, Illyena wore one around her neck as well. A golden crystal as beautiful as her hair.
"Heliolite has the property of pointing toward its origin no matter where in the cosmos it's scattered. Right after the warp, it completely lost its light. But recently the light returned for a moment, so they're offering prayers of salvation in that direction."
"It's nothing more than superstition. They brought so many of those stones when boarding the ship that the quarantine officers had a hell of a time."
While Sera added her two cents, I watched the direction the children were facing. Between the Residence and the Ebon Square sector — the path we'd taken to get here.
"All right, we'll begin the meeting now, so form a circle within a circle! The children can sit this expedition out."
At Gary's words, the people gathered. Sera and I took our seats as well, reading the room.
"Everyone here? Five teams total. Four will resupply from Ebon Square, and the remaining one will head to the outer bridge."
"What about the Armory, Gary?"
"The advance team still hasn't returned, so we're holding off on that for now."
Until now, the Residence survivors' expeditions had gone in three main directions.
The first was advancing from the ship's core toward the stern, the same route Sera and I had taken. It was for making contact with the Armory, but a group already known as the 'Forward Defense Restoration Team' had departed, so there was no need to invest more personnel.
The second was securing supplies from Ebon Square, where the Life-Conditioning System was offline. It might have been an even harsher environment than the first, yet more people actually preferred that route. The reason was the food factory — and the exploration craft I'd left behind there. Once they learned they could safely transport surrounding supplies and bone pizza while receiving oxygen, Gary had thanked me over and over. That was also why they no longer needed to send the children outside.
The third and final exploration route headed further outward from the RS-02F Bridge where we currently resided. That was where the Medical Center was located. The importance of medicine hardly needed explaining, but one danger existed: right after the warp, the Medical Center had been where patients hit by the stellar winds were quarantined. That was why it was the place survivors most dreaded going.
"Only those who will lead a team are permitted to speak."
In a normal military, squads would be formed by specialty — but the Yurdin method was rather unique. A leader stepped forward first, and those who wanted to go with that person voluntarily gathered around them.
"Those with the courage to head to the food factory with me, Urtula — gather over here!!!"
"We're gonna hit a jewelry store— I mean, I've found a place with more Heliolite!!"
A tribal mindset that valued trust and bonds over efficiency. I wasn't about to judge it harshly. This was about choosing who to entrust your life to. Besides, the physical strength of ordinary people armed with cold weapons didn't vary much — better coordination meant better odds of survival.
It felt like forming a party in a game, which somehow got me a little excited.
"Jin, the Medical…"
Discipline seemed fairly strict — Sera started to speak quietly beside me, then wilted under a glare. Gary also seemed to want me to take the Medical Center route. I also preferred the oxygen-supplied side if we were going to move as a group. And from the standpoint of keeping my identity hidden, crowded places were something I preferred to avoid — so I cleared my throat and spoke up.
"Ahem."
Fewer people was better. Fewer people to protect, and I could still top up my power reserves if something unexpected happened.
"Destination: the Medical Center. It's dangerous. There's no guarantee of reward or a safe return. You'll get a taste of hell — shaking hands with every kind of mutant in the worst environment imaginable…"
A choice made less for a knight's honor than for my own convenience and to earn the survivors' trust. With motives like that, I'd naturally assumed no one would volunteer.
"Anyone coming?"
— Snap!
— Rumble-rumble!
— Crash!!
The moment the words left my mouth, half the people in the cafeteria lined up in front of me.