Chapter 5

Everyone here! It’s time for roll call! Take it away, Sakujiro-san!

ーIsotake-kun.

Heeere!

Kinugawa-kun.

…He…re…

Nanamegi-kun.

Here.

Kaguya-kun.

Here.

Kurama-kun.

There’s literally only 5 of us, so why are you calling out all of our names individually when you can just see us?

Kurama-kun?

I’m right in front of you…

KURAMA-KUUUUUN?!

W-Would you stop calling it out a billion times!? It’s embarrassing…!

Uu-chan, I believe he wants you to answer.

Gh, here!! Is that fine!?

Precisely, that was a beautiful response. I am pleased to hear all 5 members of the Day Squad are well and accounted for. We will now begin our depart to Kagoshima.

By the way guys, we’ll be traveling from Kagoshima to Tanegashima via a small propeller plane!

SERIOUSLY!? I thought we were gonna have to take a boat again like in Shodoshima!!

If we’re gonna be on a propeller plane, it’s gonna be like we’re in “Mission: Possible”! I’m gonna do the most awesomest stunts ever, like Tom Flew-san!¹

You’re talking about those fighter propeller planes, right?

Yeah, those are totally different from the passenger planes but… Either way Akuta-kun, let’s calm down a little.

How am I supposed to calm down, Sensei!? I’m gonna experience my first ever dogfight²!!

Ah… N-Nosebleed…!

Fuee!? Hehe… I got a bit too excited!

It’s no problem. I thought that something like this was going to happen, so I brought some specially designed tissues made for nosebleeds. It’s in my suitcase, so please wait a moment.

Tissues made for nosebleeds… There’s always something out there for any little thing you need, huh.

Nosebleeds aren’t pleasant to have. Isotake, use this please.

Thankies!

…Oh? Ohohoho?

…A…mazing… It stopped… instant…ly…!

It’s only natural to prepare something like this as the Main Host. In addition, a set of three of these only costs 1000 yen.

Huh, Muneuji? Isn’t this that toy that the Princess was holding before in your suitcase?

…………

I knew it, that thing really was a communication device. Are you gonna use it in Tanegashima?

…Ah, yes.

(This is… I brought it to avoid the same feeling of regret that I got that nightー)

“Fr……own whi……ines……ver, th……Sele……”

(What is this…? What sort of communication is trying to be made?)

“Fr……metown ……ich……shi……lver, this……Sele.”

(There’s too much noise. It seems like they’re repeating the same sentence, though. Are they trying to send some sort of message?)

(More…)

“Fr……ometown whi……nes……silv…, this is Sele.”

“ometown”… Hometownー

“From the hometown which shines in silver, this is Sele.”…?

………………

Ah…

(I can’t hear anything else… What in the world was that just now…?)

…I should’ve… recorded it.

(Ever since, I’ve been trying to connect to the same channel over and over again, but to this day, I still haven’t been able to find them.)

(This communication device that my father made with his own hands can only record one contact at a time, but…)

The Princess’s voice is cute huh.

Ah… Yes, I agree.

Y’know, I’ve been thinking about making a kids song recently. I was wondering if she could be a vocalist for it.

Princess likes to sing. If she were to work together with Nanamegi, I’m sure she would be thrilled.

Really? I’m glad. Then if you don’t mind, could I hear her voice again?

ーOf course.

……

(Forget it.)

(Forget about the voice that was once stored in this device, as well as the mysterious contact I heard that night.)

(This is something I cannot erase.)

………

We’ve made it to Hase Park! Everyone, good work on today’s long trip. If you look over there, you can seeー

Whazzat, whazzat? That huuuge building over there.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agencyー JAXA for short, is Tanegashima’s pride and joy. The Space Center.

Ughh I’m tired… I wanna hurry up and get to the inn to rest…

(As always he's… taking a bunch… of pictures…)

That thing that looks like a radio tower must be where the rocket launch pad is… This is a really good location.

Indeed. The blue ocean that stretches on for eternity, paired with those lush green mountains… This landscape is where the magnificent beauties of nature can coexist with state of the art science and technology. It is known as the most beautiful launch site in the world.

That’s why Hase Park is a very popular spot for people to watch as rockets are launched. The countdowns are also broadcasted here.

Yeah… I’ve seen… on TV.

If it doesn’t get postponed, we should be able to see a rocket launch from here on the last day of the study trip. Look forward to it guys.

THE LAST DAY!? I don’t think my heart can handle waiting, Sensei!

Not to worry, Isotake. We are scheduled to tour the space center shortly.

Right exactly, we’re all going to head there in a bit.

Let’s gooo! Theeennn I’ll be going first~ Watch and be amazed, everyone! At my speed!

Eh? Waiー Akuta, are you just gonna run there!?

A-Akuta-kun, wait…! That place is 7km on foot from here!

It’s fine, isn’t it? If Idiotake wants to run, let him run.

Even if… it’s Isotake, it’s still… a bad… idea…!

Although Tanegashima has the same approximate square miles as HAMA does, the distance between each tourist destination is exceptionally far.

It is great to be excited for the tour, but it is not advised to wear yourself out before we begin.

AKUTAAAA! WAIT UUUP…!

This cafeteria is used by JAXA employees. Although the general public can eat here as well, please try to be respectful when you’re eating.

ーThis is the famous “Rocket Curry”.

…The ingredients… are star shaped… And the rice… is shaped like… a rocket… Cute…

(It doesn’t look spicy, but it looks good…)

I’m not like a certain someone taking burst shots of his food, but I think I’m gonna take a pic as a souvenir.

Good… idea…!

Then I guess I’ll be the first to say, thanks for the meeal! Nom!

…It tastes so yummy! And I was already hungry so it tastes even better!

And there goes the one person who didn’t even stop to look before eating.

Curry is like the universe. And the universe is like curry. Perhaps we are all just small beings who have only now become aware of the universe that is curry.

Indeed, I feel as though I have taken another leap forward in my quest of exploring space.

Just now…?

That was merely a joke. But the bus tour of the space center was a truly astounding experience.

Considering that the launch pad is in a restricted location, I’m amazed at the fact that we were able to get that close to it.

We were only in the bus, you can tell it’s way bigger in person than you can see from the park.

That hangar was stupidly big too, right!? There HAS to be robot soldiers inside!!

It’s actually the door to a large rocket assembly building. It’s recognized in the Guinness Book of Records. The door is about 67 meters tall and around 2.5 meters thick.

They said… it was the… door to space… That was… cool.

Speaking of cool things, that cart they use to carry the rockets to the launch pad was also really awesome

What're those called!? That one was so cool and has a lotta tires!

I think it’s… a dolly…?

Yeah that! Thanks, Kiroku! I got so excited just looking at everything that I totally forgot to remember their actual names.

…Me too. When the… guide asked if… we had any questions… I was too… amazed, so my mind… immediately went… blank…

Panda’s question was hilarious. “Don’t the grass and weeds around the launch pad get burned when the rocket takes off?” That’s such a small thing to worry about

Shut up. They said they spray water on them for take off.

And they said that before, one of the mountains caught on fire! The scale of those things are way too huge, seriously…!

Even though it’s crazy, things like this have to happen. Like, rockets burning, meteorites crashing, and black holes! That’s the kinda stuff that makes space movies so interesting.

Agh I just got an awesome Idea…! A huge alien invasion… The earth being destroyed… A battle rocket… Terraforming…!

Wasn’t Idiotake’s budget like 30,000 yen…?

Fufu, everyone, your eyes are glimmering brighter than usual… It is a joy to be an instructor. Do you not agree, Chief?

Rocket Curry is delicious, but I’m also excited to try Space Curry too!

Curry?

Space food! You didn’t get any at the museum shop earlier? I got a lot of other space food like eel and rice cakes. There was so much, I just bought everything that I saw!

I had believed only the children were interested in the universe, but it seems as if you are as well, Chief. This is a heartwarming sight indeed.

O-Of course I wasn’t just wasting money buying souvenirs. Didn’t you also have fun at the exhibits around the Space Museum?

I suppose you are correct.

Tanegashima has some of the best space science and technology out there, so it’s only natural I want to learn more about that stuffー This place is so interesting, I want to share it with everyone else too!

There’s a lot of experience corners around here too, so a lot of visitors even bring their kids along…

Ah, I went to an experience module too! When I went inside one of them, a little kid was there and gave me some commands.

Ahaha. We experienced space together.

Yeah, yeah! There was a kid who wanted to be an astronaut like Muneuji too! I told them they could, obviously!

…Really?

Muu-chan was just looking at the Moon corner the whole time.

Yes, it was interesting to read about the steps on reaching the Moon. It was interesting to learn about the lunar orbit path as well.

Isn’t there a satellite that orbited the Moon called “Kaguya”?

There were also satellites called “Okina” and “Ouna”…I think?³

The main satellite on that expedition was “Kaguya” and those were the two sub satellites. The relay satellite was “Okina” and the VRAD satellite was “Ouna”.

…Was that… because of… The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter…?

About The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter… I heard this from my online friend but…

Princess Kaguya lives on the Moon, so there’s this theory that she’s an alien!

What do you mean?

The theory goes that Princess Kaguya broke some laws on the Moon and got exiled to Earth, but then she got found innocent, so she returned back to her hometown!

That’s the first time I heard someone say the Moon was her hometown.

The exhibit said the Moon was fully explored. But, I do find the idea of people living on the Moon kinda romantic.

Tsk tsk tsk… This is just between us, but I heard the Moon has an underground civilization.

An underground civilization…?

Apparently a former NASA exec leaked it before! So that info’s the real deal!

…A data… leak…

How idiotic… Why am I sitting here listening to occult shit and conspiracies when we’re in Tanegashima. Y’know, the place of technology and science?

Nonono, you don’t get it! Isn’t there a legit chance it’s true!?

The more we learn about space, the more questions we get than answers. So, the possibility isn’t zero… I guess?

…That’s part of… the appeal… of space.

Well, we can talk a lot about this, but it’s about time for us to start moving again.

Ah, is it that time already?

Time flies when one is enjoying a conversation with a dear friend. Everyone, are your appetites all satisfied?

After we finished our tour of the space center, we all ate Rocket Curry. I feel both energized and rested. I will be able to work with no issues after this.

Then, let us be on our wayー To lend a hand at the Space Art Festival.