“But...” Keena spoke up, “But if everybody wishes to get rid of the asteroid... that could do it, right?” She had her hands together, as if in prayer.
Yoshie nodded, seeming to have already thought of this.
“Of course... Of course that’s what I want to happen. But how many people would be able to forgive the people of the republic? And Akuto knows exactly what everyone in the empire is thinking.”
There was a long pause. It was Lily’s calm voice that broke the silence.
“Got it. So I need to go take a look at the Swallow’s Cowry Shell in the Marlay village, right? Send me the data.”
“Huh?” Yoshie said, shocked.
“I’m gonna go look into the Marlay village. It’s in that big uh... tower, thing, right? The sealing capsule and the ship that travels to the stars.” Lily sounded so confident that Yoshie answered without really thinking about it.
“T-That’s right. That’s the Swallow’s Cowry Shell. That leaves the Robe of the Fire Rat and Dragon’s Neck Jewel, right?”
“Both of those depend on the Demon King, right?”
“Y-Yeah... The Robe of the Fire Rat supposedly opens the door to the afterlife. That, we have. It may be some kind of powerful necromancy... Or maybe a dimensional transfer device. And the other one is Peterhausen. A powerful weapon for the Demon King, a device, and a guidepost... Something like that, essentially.” Yoshie had answered, but then she felt compelled to ask Lily a question.
“Tell me, what do you intend to do with this information?”
“Eh, I’m just the kind of person who can’t simply sit back and do nothing,” Lily said, blushing a little.
“But...”
“There’s barely any mysteries left... I think, anyway. But there’s a chance that if we learn the connection between our world and the Faceless Power, we might find a way to stop the asteroid,” Lily continued, assuming that Yoshie wasn’t going to finish her comment.
“But well, basically, I feel a real need to kick some ass.”
○
When she finished her call, Lily turned to the rest of the student council.
“You guys don’t like this whole ‘We might die’ thing at all, do you?”
The three of them seemed caught off-guard by her statement.
“I am, yes.”
“Ayup, gya”
“Gugah.”
“Yeah, of course you don’t like it...” Lily looked up at the ceiling above the yacht’s control panel.
“But why are you asking us this? I-I mean, I understand the asteroid’s coming and all...”
“T-That’s right, gya. It’s bad luck to even talk about it, gya. You’re the one who said there’s a chance it could all work out.”
“Well, um... I’m just thinking that after we’re done here, we may end up someplace different than we’ve been up until now,” Lily said, her voice serious for once.
“Aww, president. Don’t get so serious like that.” Kanna tried to laugh off her concerns. When Lily turned to her with a serious expression, her laughter froze. But then Lily started to laugh as well.
“Ahahahaha...”
“Hah...hahah...” An awkward smile appeared on Michie’s face.
“Gugahgugahgugah...” Is it okay to laugh? Arnoul seemed to say, and only then did Kanna start to laugh herself.
“Eh, well... You know. What I’m trying to say is that when we die, we die together.” Lily’s laugh began to sound embarrassed.
“A-Aww, President...”
“Yeah, gya. We’ve already been through so much together.”
“Gugah.”
The three of them laughed awkwardly, feeling embarrassed. The yacht’s auto-pilot emitted a warning sound. It was beginning its descent.
“We’re here, huh...?” Lily said, and then motioned to the trio. They’d arrived at the clearing where the Marlay village was located.
“But... something’s not right, gya,” Kanna said as she looked at the village on the monitor.
“There’s... nobody here, huh?” Michie nodded.
“It doesn’t seem like there’s any danger, but...” Lily glanced at the monitor as she opened the hatch.
“It’s just too quiet.”
Lily looked around. The Marlay village was surrounded by a verdant forest. The houses were wood, and the village seemed to be very poor. But the lack of people bothered them more than anything. Even if they were inside, the populace still should’ve stuck their head out to peek at the approaching yacht.
“There should be a decent number of people here...” Lily said, motioning for the trio to stay sharp.
Kanna dropped low and listened carefully. Her nose and ears were better than the others.
“That way, gya.”
She was pointing to the area past the opposite side of the village.
“What’s over there?”
“I hear a dog... and Nonimora. They’re fighting.”
“A dog...? The One?” Michie asked, and they all started to run. They could see the tower up ahead of them.
“If that’s the tower, then...” Lily whispered.
“Is The One still after something here?” Kanna asked, and the rest of the group’s eyes began to shine.
“Does that mean there’s something here he hasn’t accomplished yet?”
“Then... We still have a chance!” Lily grinned.
The trio and Lily ran to the yard in front of the lab that formed the tower’s base. The One and Nonimora were there, fighting.
“So he was after the village!”
Nonimora was standing in front of the lab, swinging around a spear. The One was trying to get closer and closer to Nonimora. Then The One and Nonimora saw Lily’s group approaching.
“More threats?” Nonimora shot a harsh glance at Lily. She’d never met the student council president. Lily noticed her gaze, and clapped her glove-clad hands together.
“Nope. We’re here to help.”
The trio followed up behind her.
“We’re here too!”
“Gya.”
“Gugah.”
The trio were ready to fight. Kanna had already transformed into her beast mode, and Michie and Arnoul had fanned out beside her.
“Hmph. I’m surrounded, huh?”
The One looked around him. The Student Council were combat veterans, and there was nowhere for him to run.
“Now... be a good doggy and surrender.” Lily raised her fists.