Глава 15

When sensors tens of thousands of light-years away receive the image of this starfield from the distant past, the planets that these stars shed their light upon are already filled with graveyards and ruins.

It has come.

Did the Presence tell you to use these words to defend her?

No, she never asked me to do such a thing when she left.

Then keep your wits around her. Don't let her confuse you.

...Because if you let down your guard thanks to her charm, she might put you in danger. That's how her people hunt. It's their instinct.

As for the person you're looking for, Priestess, the master of the ship...

She's doing some important research right now. I'm afraid her consciousness is shuttling back and forth between various research locations in this starfield.

It'll be very hard for you to have a moment with her if she's not willing.

Hierda, are you so desperate to find her because you want to thank the person who rescued you?

Not exactly.

I understand that I'm in some fantastical place called the 'universe', and it's not the afterlife, either...

I even have a wild guess that my home of Terra might be somewhere out there in this universe.

But the more I know, the more questions I have. I want to ask her—

Why am I not dead?

Where exactly is my home, Terra?

The Cautus looks out through the porthole at the stars in frustration.

Perhaps it is because her bishop and the rest of her fellow churchgoers are still praying for her back in her land, but she has no way to respond.

She curls up against the wall, allowing the light of the stars to quickly sweep across her face.

It turns out you can see time passing by with your own eyes.

She has met many people aboard this ship. No matter if they were the respected, hooded genius tucked away in the lab, or the wanderer of the universe who had survived ruination...

Their optimism and kindness have dispelled her initial fear, but she knows that she will never truly be one of the crew of this miraculous ship.

'I miss Terra already.'