A ground battle awaited them. Naturally, they couldn’t bring Kenji, Kotori, and Nalfa with them, which meant that they would be left aboard the Blue Knight. But if they were going to do that, Yurika pointed out that it could be better to leave them somewhere safe outside of the battlefield.
“Ruth-san, is there any good place for that around?” Koutarou asked.
Bad timing or not, they couldn’t take those three to a battlefield. The ideal would be for Koutarou himself to protect them, but that wasn’t possible at present—even more so if the Gray Knight was going to ambush them again. So Koutarou bent his beliefs somewhat to let Kenji and the others get away.
“There is an old mining colony on our path,” Ruth answered. “It wasn’t made for battle, and it is distant from the battle. It is also a rallying point for the remaining Imperial Army, so it’s not completely undefended.”
Ruth was recommending an old colony in their region of space. It was a crude structure with port facilities and living quarters added to an asteroid, and it had no defenses. That also kept it from being a military target, which meant that it was almost definitely not going to be attacked. Moreover, the remnants of the Imperial Army that had been defeated by the attacking Liberation Army were gathering there, making it unexpectedly protected, which would make it even harder for something to happen. It was a great place to evacuate the trio to.
Koutarou found handling those three tricky. If they were left on Earth, they might be used as bargaining chips, so they had to be brought to Forthorthe so that Koutarou could protect them himself. Satomi Yuuichiro, Koutarou’s father, was also being secretly guarded. There was always the risk of the people around Koutarou being used as bargaining chips. However, bringing them to Forthorthe came with its own problems, such as now when they were caught up in battle. Koutarou did feel bad about that.
“Sorry about always getting you caught up in something, Mackenzie,” he apologized with a bitter smile.
They were currently at a landing spot for fighters inside of the Blue Knight. Since they had gotten close to the mining colony, the trio would switch to a smaller ship and move over to the colony.
“Having a legendary hero as a friend can be tough.” Kenji looked unconcerned. His words suggested he found it troublesome, but his expression and tone implied the opposite. The situation wasn’t Koutarou’s fault, and Kenji knew that his friend had only ended up becoming a hero due to the flow of events. That was why he was the same as always.
“Yeah, I’m more unhappy about having less time to talk to you, Kou-niisan, than you becoming a hero.” Kotori was also the same as usual. She still hadn’t properly gotten used to Koutarou being Forthorthe’s legendary hero. Even today, he was just a childhood friend to her, although she was a little sad that he was so busy they couldn’t hang out as much anymore.
“Once this is all over, why don’t we go out and hang out somewhere?” Koutarou said.
“Really?! That’s a promise! I’ll have to get a swimsuit ready!” Kotori replied.
“So...it’s set in stone that we’re going to the ocean?”
“You have to see more of Nal-chan in a swimsuit or it won’t be fair.”
“M-Me?! Nobody wants to see me in a swimsuit!” Nalfa cried, imagining Kiriha, Shizuka, and Harumi in swimsuits. She was afraid to line up next to them.
“Once we get back, let’s go shopping for one,” Kotori whispered so only Nalfa could hear. “A really amazing one.” In contrast to Nalfa, Kotori was having fun.
“No way; that’s impossible! I don’t have the courage to stand in front of people wearing something like that!” Nalfa didn’t have a clear image of a so-called “amazing” swimsuit, but she couldn’t imagine her scrawny body looking good in something like it.
“But in the end, you’ll go into the decisive battle not wearing anything, right? I think you should try a little while you can,” Kotori continued whispering. She really did look like she was enjoying herself.
Nalfa had somebody she was romantically interested in, and ultimately, she wanted to become lovers with him and move their relationship to the next step. So hesitating over a swimsuit should have been out of the question. Kotori wanted Nalfa to do a trial run with a bold swimsuit so that she could build up her courage.
“Kotori! That’s not right now! You have to take the proper steps first!” Nalfa whispered back. To her, dating was a more modest affair. She didn’t want to take drastic measures that would work as a shortcut; she felt it would only bring about a superficial change.
“But if you’re going to step into that, you’ll have to do something incredible, you know?” Kotori said, pointing at Theia, Shizuka, and Yurika. Those who had time on their hands were seeing Koutarou off. There was a princess, an elder dragon’s priestess, and a magical girl. Nalfa would need to throw herself among them and stand out. Kotori didn’t think she could be picky about her methods.
“M-Maybe so! But even then—” Nalfa started.
“If you don’t do anything, you’ll just keep losing,” Kotori interrupted her.
“Ugh...”
Nalfa was vaguely aware of that. She was just too plain. She might not be suitable for a legendary hero, but she had fallen in love with him. There had been a time she’d just been a dreaming girl, looking up to the hero. But that wasn’t the case anymore. By staying at his side, she had touched upon his struggles as well as his kindness, and had come to love the sensitive part hidden within him. That was all the more reason not to take drastic measures, but it ran the risk of her feelings being buried. Nalfa had stumbled upon a dilemma.
What is Kotori getting up to now? Koutarou wondered as he looked at the expressions of the two girls constantly changing.
Kenji, on the other hand, had an idea based on his little sister’s expression. He doted on her, so he could tell immediately. Kotori was fastidious and reserved, yet enthusiastic, about love. She saw it as supreme and sought purity in it, which was why she hated any darkness in it. So she sometimes went too far. That was why Kenji decided to lend a helping hand to one of his sister’s few friends.
“The ocean sounds nice,” he cut in. “It’s been a while since we last went fishing, right, Kou?”
“That sounds good,” Koutarou answered with a nod. “I hear you can find some pretty big catches in Forthorthe’s oceans. At least, that’s what people from the Nefilforan unit told me.” He immediately jumped on the topic of fishing, shifting his and Kotori’s attention away from Nalfa, who seemed relieved.
“Would you like to come fishing too, Nalfa-san?” Kenji asked, trying to keep her at the center of the discussion. This kind of consideration was why Kenji was popular, but his only goal this time was to encourage his little sister’s friend.
“Fishing?” Nalfa asked.
“Yeah, Kou and I will teach you,” Kenji replied.
“Yes, I’ll come too!” Nalfa said, mustering her courage to not let the chance escape her. If I don’t do anything I will just keep losing... I have to avoid that! she thought. Her opinions on love differed from Kotori’s quite a lot, but she completely agreed with what her friend had said before.
Koutarou didn’t know what the girls had been talking about or the feelings behind it, but he could tell that Kenji had helped out Nalfa when he saw the tension leave her after Kenji’s words. He hadn’t used Spirit Vision; he’d just happened to see it, so he didn’t know what kind of feelings had been stirred up, but perhaps that was for the best. At least he knew it was thanks to Kenji.
You can always rely on Mackenzie when there’s trouble.
Kenji was a big help to him. And it was why he felt like he could leave Kotori and Nalfa to him. As long as Kenji was with them, Koutarou could fight without reserve.
That was when the hatch of the spacecraft parked next to them opened. It was a passenger hatch, and that meant the craft was ready to depart. This naturally led to the discussion coming to an end, and they faced each other.
“Take care of them, Mackenzie,” Koutarou said.
“Yeah, if something happens, we’ll hide somewhere safe,” he answered.
“Can’t you be a little cooler, Nii-san?” Kotori complained.
“Ahaha, that suits us just fine,” Kenji laughed.
“I guess so,” Kotori said with a nod. “Nal-chan won’t have to, though, with Kou-niisan coming to save her.”
“Kotori!” Nalfa exclaimed.
“See you later, Kou,” Kenji said with a wave. “I’ll get some more information on fishing.”
“I’ll leave it to you,” Koutarou answered. “See you later.”
“Yeah.”
With that, the trio got on the spacecraft and left. After transferring to the mining colony, they would board a transport ship to the Forthorthe system. That would keep them safe.
“All right, then...” Koutarou said to himself. Having seen the spacecraft off, he turned his back on the air lock. He no longer wore the friendly face he had shown them. Instead it was the face of a hero about to head into battle.