Ch.348Gravity Bomb (6)

I had spent some time in the west for a while.

Today marked the end of that lifestyle. With one gravity bomb turret completed, it was time to inspect other places.

Early dawn. While emptying my luggage and organizing my lab, Professor Stranov came to visit.

“Travel safely.”

She had come to see me off.

I bowed my head.

“Thank you for everything. Please tell the other professors I’m sorry for leaving without saying goodbye.”

“I will. They’ll understand.”

Callis curled up the corners of her eyes.

“Professor Rheinland is in a very important and prestigious position, after all.”

Callis smiled warmly, trailing off at the end of her sentence.

“To think that student has grown so much…”

Time is fleeting. Life seems long when you’re in it, but when you look back on the past, it feels infinitely short and regretful.

Knowing this, I struggle desperately. To live a life without regrets.

“Goodbye.”

With an awkward smile, I left Iryuel Academy.

After the rise of the Order.

I had to move quietly. If my movements were detected even slightly, assassins from the Order or elsewhere would follow.

Especially when traveling between stars, we always launch several identical ships simultaneously. This was to prevent anyone from identifying which one I was on.

Of course, I board the same ship with Ireh, Cartesia, and Sonia.

“Sister, would you come over here?”

Ireh, who was by the spaceship window, turned around. She was trying to steady her breathing.

“Oh, why?”

“Just come here.”

Ireh walked over slowly. She was trembling slightly, almost imperceptibly. It was a vibration milder than a tremor, but clearly visible to my eyes.

I grabbed Ireh’s arm and pulled her onto my lap. She yelped and fell into my embrace.

“B-brother?”

“You don’t need to be so nervous.”

“Ah, um.”

A brief moment of silence.

Soon, Ireh rested her shoulder against my chest.

“…You caught me.”

“How many years have we been together, Sister?”

“Y-yes.”

Ireh answered in a small voice.

“There are other people here, and I’m here too. You don’t need to be so afraid.”

Ireh buried her face in my arms. She breathed softly. Her excited breathing quickly calmed down. I felt a soft touch and a delicate fragrance.

“When I’m like this… I feel reassured somehow.”

“Me too.”

We had become indispensable to each other.

“So this is how dependable men are.”

“Were you planning to stay single your whole life?”

“If I hadn’t met you.”

A faint blush appeared on Ireh’s face. Her cherry-like lips opened and closed, filtering out unnecessary breaths and refining her mind and body.

“Are you embarrassed by what you just said, Sister?”

“N-no?”

“You definitely are.”

Ireh’s head drooped. I let out a light laugh at this small gesture.

I wanted to protect Ireh. Me, harboring such emotions? Was I really Laplace? What nonsense.

“Here, look at this.”

“Research?”

“We should review it together today too.”

Time for our regular discussion.

As soon as I showed Ireh the research log, her eyes lit up. And without fail, another lady came running whenever this happened.

“Youngster.”

Slither.

The sound of tentacles dragging across the floor.

Cartesia, who had swiftly arrived like an octopus from the deep sea, attached her suckers to my back. She quickly wrapped around me and leaned her upper body against mine.

“How dare you start without me?”

“It was just a quick look.”

“Research must be fair. That’s the rule between us, right?”

A strange rule had developed between Cartesia and Ireh.

If Cartesia discussed with me for 10 minutes, Ireh also had to discuss with me for 10 minutes. If Ireh reviewed one paper with me, Cartesia also had to review one paper with me.

Why on earth?

I couldn’t quite understand it, but since Cartesia insisted that’s how it had to be, I went along with it. Trying to fully understand foreign gods would only give me a headache.

As we continued our discussion, we soon reached the Stellarium planetary system.

As soon as we arrived at the academy, Sonia just raised the corners of her mouth. Then she grabbed her waist and started shaking her hips.

The so-called “Sonia Happy Dance.” It was her unique movement that she showed when she was in a very good mood.

“Haven’t seen that in a while? Are you that happy?”

“Of course. Once the gravity bomb is completed, peace will come to the world, and I’ll be able to roll around in bed with you all day, young master.”

“Oh my.”

I was planning to roll around with professors at academic conferences.

Of course, spending nights with a beauty like Sonia would be extremely happy, but the problem was that she wasn’t the only one eyeing my nights.

Three, four, no. Five.

Dealing with five?

I recalled the memory of having all my energy drained and my waist giving out last time. It gave me chills. Now I understand why the term “mandatory defense battle” exists.

“Don’t worry. I plan to discuss methods to preserve your stamina with the other wives.”

“Like what, for example?”

“Like taking turns, each one for five days, and then two days for recharging…”

“…Let’s talk about this later.”

“As you wish.”

Just as I was about to enter the academy with a sigh.

WHOOOOSH!

A sound split the atmosphere.

Looking up at the sky, I saw a shooting star falling.

“…”

It was a rare phenomenon. A shooting star in this area at this time. And so clearly visible. With such a loud sound.

No, now that I look at it, is it a meteorite? It seems like a meteorite? Huh? It seems a bit different? Looking closer, rather than a meteorite…

“Huh?”

It seems to be falling toward this planetary system?

WOOOOSH.

The massive mass split into thousands of pieces somewhere around the stratosphere. Then it started bouncing in various directions like shotgun pellets.

“Brother!”

Ireh grabbed my arm.

“Those are the Queen’s seeds! We absolutely must not get hit!”

Only after hearing those words did I realize several facts.

First. The final war has begun.

Second. The Queen is leading the vanguard.

Third.

“…Seti is in danger.”

We’re fucked.

***

The all-out attack had begun.

Aurora first bombed facilities housing various research institutions. She didn’t pass by any place that could pose even a slight threat to Darwin’s Legion.

“Turn them to ashes. Destroy everything, discard it all.”

The Federal Government had no time to react.

Thousands of southern scientists were sacrificed. Even strong inspectors died instantly. Research facilities built with enormous budgets went up in flames.

The residents of the occupied planets only then realized.

Ah, so this is what foreign gods are.

“Move to avoid the Fron antennas as much as possible. If you’re not detected by the antennas, you won’t get caught in the traps.”

The Queen listened to Sturm’s words and put them into action. The result was frustratingly satisfactory. The traps failed to detect the Darwin system foreign gods.

“The traps were literally just traps.”

The Queen was confident of victory. After taking down research facilities one by one, she focused all her efforts on recovering the foreign gods that had been trapped in the previous great war.

“Y-Your Majesty?”

“Were you also captured, Your Majesty?”

“No, I’ve come to rescue you.”

Aurora ascended to the throne. She looked down at the newly freed foreign gods with cold eyes. For a foreign god of the Darwin system, defeat was a capital crime to be paid with death.

However.

Aurora was in a hurry now. The more forces she had, the greater the possibility of killing Eidel. Her desire for revenge gave birth to understanding.

Aurora spoke.

“I won’t speak at length. Will you follow me, or be discarded?”

“W-we will follow you.”

“Good!”

The freed Darwin system foreign gods saw it. The noble figure of the Queen. The female body standing at the pinnacle of perfect organisms, oppressing them with fear.

And they felt it. Awe.

“I will personally command the main force. You will lead separate detachments and conquer the surrounding planets. If there are captured allies, do not hesitate to make them comrades. There is someone we must kill.”

Aurora regained her charisma as Queen.

The Darwin system continued to divide. There were losses in battle, but they were quickly replenished.

The Queen cleared the path to the Rheinland planetary system faster than anyone else. She left behind the corpses of elite inspectors, scientists, and engineers.

Finally, two planetary systems came into view.

The Rheinland planetary system.

And the Stellarium planetary system.

The Queen recalled Sturm’s order.

– Kill Seti von Rheinland. Cut off their funding.

‘Quick and decisive.’

There was a need to be certain.

Aurora spread her arms wide. She scattered her seeds toward both planetary systems simultaneously.

The seeds became monsters, and some parts became incarnate bodies as they fell.

Onto the Rheinland mothership.

Onto the Stellarium planetary system.

By the time the Queen’s fertilized eggs, which had attached like dandelion seeds, began to germinate, the Queen tilted her ear on her throne in the 7th dimensional space.

“Ah, perfect.”

Screams could be heard from all directions.

“This much at least can be called a chorus.”

Their despair was just beginning.

***

[Breaking news.]

“Huh?”

Seti, who had been frantically multiplying the assets Eidel had left behind, tilted her head. Suddenly, a news window largely obscured the monitor where she was watching stock prices.

“Ah, what is this!”

At first, Seti didn’t think much of it. She thought those Order bastards had carried out another terrorist attack somewhere.

But that wasn’t it.

[Foreign god emergency declared in southern central planetary systems including the Rheinland planetary system and Stellarium planetary system. Darwin system monsters are abnormally rampant, please evacuate promptly according to the guidance of nearby military units.]

Seti’s brow furrowed. She grimaced with a slight smile.

“…Surely, they wouldn’t come here?”

The Rheinland mothership orbits around the Rheinland planetary system at high speed. It’s also smaller compared to the planet, so the possibility of monsters barging in here…

THUD.

The ship shook. Seti lost her balance and fell.

THUD, THUD.

Then two, three, four.

THUD, THUD, THUD.

Something kept crashing into the ship.

WAAAAAAIL!

The siren warning of abnormal opening or unauthorized intrusion began to sound.

Hearing the sound, Seti quietly got up from her seat and monitored the house CCTV. Soon, she manually closed all doors.

Finally, Seti crawled under the desk and curled up.

There was only one thing left to do.

Tap, tap tap.

‘B-brother.’

Tap tap, tap.

‘Come quickly…’