August Without a Galactic Emperor ⑲
4. Escape of the Perfect Human
The young medical officer was exhausted from the tension.
Since joining the Imperial Army after serving the Ra family, he had never experienced such sustained tension in his duties. He was well aware that the beautiful boy trapped in the Liquid Cagebefore him was a dangerous entity far removed from his appearance. He understood it logically, but that understanding only created confusion due to the gap with what he was seeing.
“How is the sample?”
His superior entered the room and asked.
He was a cold, small man who referred to prisoners as “samples” from a scientific perspective, but now, with that composure and, above all, the fact that he was no longer alone, the medical officer was able to ease his tension just a little.
“Yes, his vitals are stable. He shows no signs of trying to pull anything.”
“Hmm...”
The superior looked over the displayed medical monitors and confirmed that things were as his subordinate had said.
“Starting tomorrow morning, we will conduct a high-precision examination of this specimen. First, we will measure consciousness fluctuations through psychological pressure testing.”
“Yes...”
The medical officer knew that while “psychological pressure testing” had an academic ring to it, the reality was a procedure close to torture.
“?”
Looking, he saw that before he knew it, an expression of agony had appeared on Nape’s face.
His body, which had just been drifting listlessly, also suddenly appeared tense.
“Something is wrong.”
The medical officer, checking the medical monitor, saw that each value had begun to fluctuate rapidly.
“His heart rate is up. Body temperature is also rising... there is an abnormality in his blood oxygen concentration as well...”
The superior also confirmed the abnormality and groaned.
“What is the meaning of this? Wasn’t he stable?”
“Until just a moment ago, he certainly was...”
As if to deny those words, Nape’s body began to show violent convulsions. Under the restraint of the Savo liquid, visible convulsions were quite severe.
“What shall we do? Should we drain the liquid and perform emergency treatment...”
“No, wait. It might be a trap of his.”
A trap... did that mean it was an act? However, the medical monitor values were clearly showing an abnormality. At this late stage, that would be...
Before long, a red, smoke-like shadow overflowed from Nape’s mouth.
“He’s vomiting blood!”
Even the superior was flustered by this.
“Drain it! Drain the Savo liquid!”
The medical officer operated the console and executed the order.
The amount of Savo liquid decreased, and Nape’s body, released from the Liquid Cage, lay on the lower hemisphere of the capsule... and...
The naked boy suddenly sat up, ripped off the wire mesh of the drain installed at the bottom of the capsule with tremendous force, and jumped into it, disappearing from sight.
“Impossible!”
The superior shouted.
“Activate the emergency vibrator! Destroy the capsule!”
The capsule was equipped with a vibration device to destroy it in an emergency. When the medical officer smashed the cover of the emergency switch and pressed the button inside, the capsule shattered into pieces in an instant.
The superior climbed onto the platform where the capsule had been installed and cautiously approached the drain. There were multiple filters beyond the drain, and it should have been impossible to escape from a place like this, but...
The depths of the drain, just large enough for one person to barely pass through, were shrouded in darkness.
The moment the superior carelessly bent down to try and gain a view, a hand reached out from inside the drain and dragged him in.
“!”
The superior’s scream was no longer heard.
He had to sound the alarm... but because of the sheer event, the medical officer’s body remained frozen and could not move.
After a while, Nape jumped out from inside the drain.
There, he spat out the remainder of the blood from earlier.
The medical officer could not believe it. That there existed a human who could destabilize their own vitals at will, and even go so far as to vomit blood to deceive the enemy...
Nape was no longer naked; he was wearing the trousers the superior had been wearing.
The perfect human boy jumped off the platform, quickly searched the room, and put what he deemed necessary into his trouser pockets.
Then, he picked up a needleless pressure injector from the medical instrument tray, loaded an ampoule, approached the medical officer, and pressed the injector against his neck.
What did he inject? Poison... or an anesthetic...?
It was neither. The label on the ampoule he caught a glimpse of indicated that it was a mental release drug for psychological pressure testing.
The purpose was immediately clear. This drug could also be used as a truth serum.
“Where is the nearest information terminal?”
A cool, expressionless voice asked.
＊ ＊ ＊
From darkness to darkness...
As she walked through the pitch-black passage, Sorato thought that she would like to get to a bright place soon. In the passage, a small amount of light occasionally shone in through small gaps, and she could only faintly see the shadow of the savior leading her.
Only Min-Gan’s eyes were shining brightly.
“Can Shenga... see in the dark?”
“Huh? That’s nothing special, is it? Rather, it’s you guys whose eyes are bad.”
A faint laugh answered those words.
The shadow walking in front had laughed.
Perhaps they were a person one could talk to easily after all... should she ask where they intended to take them...
Just as Sorato was about to open her mouth, the light she had been waiting for enveloped them.
The shadow walking in front had opened a door.
As her eyes adjusted, she saw that it was not such a bright room.
It was about the size of a school classroom. Near the high, arched ceiling, several warm-colored spherical lights were floating.
“Please come this way.”
At the voice, Sorato saw for the first time the face of the guide who had brought them this far.
A young man with well-defined features.
Curly black hair. His well-tanned skin and tall physique suggested a sportsman or a soldier, but his appearance was so ordinary that he would not look out of place walking the streets of Tokyo.
A very ordinary jumper and trousers. He was wearing a glove only on his right hand.
The tall guide led the three of them to a corner of the room, which was partitioned by walls that looked like partitions.
There were two women with long hair there.
No, one was a young girl.
The older woman with bronze-colored skin was in the middle of pouring a drink with a pleasant aroma from a pot into a cup. Looking closely, her hair was closer to tentacles than human hair. The eyes staring at the cup had no pupils. If one were to call it strange, it was strange, but a certain kind of beauty was felt more strongly from that figure.
And the girl seemed to be dozing, leaning into a very large, black, single-person sofa. Her hair color was silver, reminiscent of Nape, but it was softly waved and spread out as if to hide her small face.
The girl stirred and revealed her fair-skinned face from between her long hair.
Those eyes opened and looked at Sorato.
With pupils shining a deep red like rubies.
She was a possessor of beauty that one could call a stunningly beautiful girl... but Sorato felt a sense of incongruity in the girl’s atmosphere.
“You have come at a good time. Houty has just been brewed.”
The beautiful girl said with a smile like an angel or a fairy.
5. Those Other Than Them
When the girl’s small lips spoke, Sorato realized the source of the incongruity. Her appearance was that of a child... but... for some reason... she felt as if she were very old.
The male guide offered chairs to Sorato and the others, and the other woman distributed cups of Houty to the three. Houty was not, as it turned out, a tea with a pleasant aroma.
It was powder, no matter how you looked at it. It was as if someone had forgotten to add hot water to a powdered tea... however, steam was rising from that powder, and it was emitting a strange, sparkling light. When she shook the cup, the contents shimmered as if they were liquid.
Sorato met Tiptree’s eyes, and they both wore expressions of what to do. Shenga was staring intently at the contents of the cup with suspicious eyes.
For now, the aroma wasn’t bad, so she thought she would try sipping just a little... and just as she brought the cup to her lips, the shining powder, as if it had a will of its own, rose to Sorato’s lips and nasal cavity and entered deep inside.
“!”
For a moment, she was seized by anxiety, but she was able to regain her composure immediately due to the sensation that followed. It was a strange sensation, as if all the poison in her body had been expelled from every pore... as if the depths of her sleeping heart had awakened.
“Ah...”
Because she had let out a voice unintentionally, Shenga asked worriedly.
“Are you okay?”
“Eh? Yes... I’m fine. Rather, I feel like I’m in a very good mood...”
“It’s amazing... it seems like the fatigue in my body has also disappeared...”
Looking, shining powder was already dancing around Tiptree’s lips as well.
“I am glad it was to your liking...”
The girl said in a calm tone that did not match her age.
“It must have been very difficult until you got here. First, please heal your body slowly with Houty. Then, let’s talk a little.”
For now, this was the most welcome treatment Sorato had received since arriving on this planet. However, there were too many things she didn’t understand to accept it complacently. Also, she was reminded that she was in a position where she couldn’t be too relaxed.
“Ah... thank you. By the way...”
Now then, what should she clear up first among the things she didn’t understand...
“Where... is this place?”
“An Imperial Army security station in the lowest level district of Salou City.”
Shenga, who had finally brought his cup of Houty to his lips, blew the powder out and shouted.
“Then, you guys are!”
“We are not of the military. If you were to say, we are like tenants, perhaps.”
Sorato and Shenga, who looked back outside the partition wall, saw that the state of the room was completely different from before.
People in military uniforms were busy moving around desks and machines. The three-dimensional image floating in mid-air was the figure of Sorato and the others riding on a repulsing deck. It seemed to be an Imperial Army office that was conducting a search for them.
But, just by Sorato blinking two or three times, the outside had returned to the empty room it was before.
“Are you guys... Those Other Than Them?”
Shenga asked.
“Those Other Than Them... the unseen ones... those who were never there from the beginning... it seems we are called by various names. No matter what we are called, there is no deep meaning. There is no meaning in being called itself. So, you may call us whatever you like.”
Sorato didn’t understand what was what at all.
“What does that mean?”
In Shenga’s voice answering, something like fear could be felt.
“These guys... these people are in a place different from our universe... no, now we have also come to that different universe. So, even if we are in the same place as the Imperial Army guys, there is absolutely no danger.”
“You mean... like a different dimension?”
Tiptree voiced her own understanding.
“A little different.”
The one who answered was the guide man.
“If I were to say, it is a place... closer to the Star Lily. We are creatures that are just a little more similar to the Star Lily than you are.”
“That is why they are also feared. The Nasuka believers worship them while simultaneously viewing them as enemies, and the Empire does not even acknowledge their existence. Scientists call them <Space-Time People> or <Space-Time Lifeforms>, but they don’t know anything beyond the fact that it seems they actually exist...”
Shenga’s supplement was as elusive as its content.
“It’s just like... a ghost.”
Tiptree’s impression seemed to hit the mark.
“Now then... Endo Asato-san.”
Called by the girl, Sorato felt like she had heard her full name for the first time in a terribly long time.
“I am very happy to be able to meet You who will eventually become the Galactic Emperor. If necessary, please call me Sarleo.”
“I haven’t heard that name in quite a long time...”
The guide man said with a smile.
“That’s right, Hal Lega. We have become completely accustomed to a world where names are not needed.”
When Sarleo laughed, the woman who had brewed the Houty also said while laughing.
“I have completely forgotten my own name.”
“I remember it, Towa.”
Sorato learned their names somehow while looking at the three faces.
“Sarleo... Hal Lega... Towa...-san, right. Nice to meet you. Thank you for helping us.”
“You are welcome. Everything is because the Star Lily wished for it.”
“Then... was it true that you guys hear the voice of the Star Lily?”
Shenga said.
“Hearing a voice is a rather rough analogy, but in terms of meaning, that is correct.”
“Is the Star Lily an intelligent lifeform?”
To Tiptree’s question, Sarleo tilted his slender neck.
“How do you perceive the word intelligent? If it means being able to chat using words, then the Star Lily is different.”
Sorato was more interested in the motive than the true identity of the Star Lily.
“That the Star Lily wished for it... why on earth?”
“One reason is that we want You to become the Galactic Emperor. And then, because we want you to hand over what you are holding... that is why.”
“What we are holding?”
Sarleo pointed at Shenga with fingers as delicate as waxwork.
“Yes... it is what the warrior of Min-Gan is holding.”
Shenga pricked up his ears and held his vest pocket firmly.
“This! No way. This belongs to us Min-Gan. I can’t hand it over!”
“We have already returned it.”
The tentacle on Towa’s head took out a small stone and handed it to her hand. It was undoubtedly the Star Lily seed that Shenga was supposed to be holding onto for dear life.
“How did you...”
If it were the usual Shenga, he would have boldly jumped at them to take it back. But, at that transcendent, magic-like trick, the Min-Gan warrior could only stand there in a daze.
They... Those Other Than Them and this space were too different in dimension from them. Perhaps they were far more fearsome beings than the Information Thieves or the Nasuka believers... Sorato felt as if her back was being stroked by a vague anxiety.
“Please... give it back. If I don’t have that, I don’t know what I’ve been crossing the universe and fighting for. For anything else, I will do whatever you say. So...”
Even at Shenga’s plea, Sarleo and the others just remained silent with faint smiles on their faces.
She understood that there was a special relationship between Sarleo and the others and the Star Lily. However, this was too pitiful for Shenga... Sorato couldn’t help but open her mouth.
“I also ask you... please. Please give it back to Shenga.”
She thought she wouldn’t be taken seriously, but unexpectedly, the smile disappeared from Sarleo’s expression.
“You... wish for that?”
“Eh? Yes.”
“Then, it cannot be helped... Towa?”
Towa also withdrew her smile, wrapped the Star Lily seed in her palm, and blew a breath into it. Her opened palm was empty.
“!”
Shenga, who searched his vest pocket again, took out his treasure that had returned.
“I did it! Thank goodness...”
“So you will listen to what Asato says.”
Sarleo responded to Tiptree’s words.
“In order to make her... Asato the Galactic Emperor, if it is what she herself wishes, we will grant it.”
“Does me becoming Emperor have anything to do with this seed?”
“In order for You to become the Galactic Emperor, the battle will still continue. The Star Lily seed will become power for that. At first, we intended to return the seed to its original place, but... if you wish, we will leave it by your side.”
“What I wish for in order to become Emperor...”
How the Star Lily seed would become power... why Sarleo and the others wished for her to become Emperor... she had no idea, but Sorato thought that was the only thing she should rely on now.
“This is a chance, Asato. Let’s have them lend us their power to escape from this planet.”
Shenga also agreed with Tiptree’s proposal.
“That might be so. Why don’t we ask if they can arrange a ship and a crew?”
“That’s right...”
Sorato also began to feel like relying on these mysterious saviors whose true intentions she didn’t quite understand.
However, her wish was in a different place from Shenga and the others.
Sorato turned back to Sarleo.
“Could you... listen to a request?”
“Do you want a spaceship?”
Sorato shook her head.
“Before that... I want to go save Nape.”
To be continued