“Airi-dono. Tsunami is not a god,” Yosho said. “Even if she has that much power, she can’t be the kind of god you espouse, and that’s not what she would want. The person who met Tsunami and became the first leader of Jurai was said to have stated, ‘We became friends.’”
“Friends? With Tsunami-sama?”
“Airi…don’t cry…” Airi signaled that she was fine to a worried Funaho.
“Airi-dono, it’s the same for Funaho and me. We became friends… And she didn’t forsake you. She was just surprised. You suddenly went down on your knees, so she…let’s say, ducked away to take cover, like a puppy… and then she peeked out to make sure you were all right.”
“Airi, Airi…don’t cry…Airi.” The waves of pure sadness Funaho felt for Airi slowly but surely melted the heavy weight she had felt on her shoulders for so long. “Airi, Airi…”
“Don’t cry, Funaho… I feel better now…okay?” Airi wiped her tears and was now trying to comfort Funaho in turn.
“Are you sure? Airi won’t cry?” “I’m fine,” Airi smiled.
“Airi smiled,” Funaho giggled, the ticklish waves of joy widening the smile on Airi’s lips. The beautiful lights had begun dancing again.
“Funaho, it’s so pretty.” “Airi smiled. Airi…”
Airi raised her hands, and the spheres of light swarmed her. Funaho was not a god. But the light surrounding her seemed godly.
That usually takes a while… Yosho could not help but smile at them.
The melody started slowly. The song of trees sung by Funaho enveloped Airi.
“Yosho-kun… Hey, Yosho-kun!”
“Hm… Airi-dono?” Yosho forced open his eyes, shaken awake by Airi.
“Are you awake now?” Airi laughed and poked his cheek mischievously.
“Please stop…” Now he was wide awake. The morning sun shining into the bridge was hitting his cheek…which meant he had fallen asleep some time during Airi and Funaho’s endless laughter. He finally came to his senses and bolted upright.
“Thanks, Yosho-kun. I feel better now. I don’t have any answers yet, but at least I feel free to think. I’m sorry it got so late that it’s morning now. Ha ha.”
“I-I’m sorry. I should’ve kept watch.”
“I’m fine. I filed an application for an overnight stay before I left. But you…”
“It’s no problem. I left a dummy behind, and there’s no roll call in the morning.”
“Is that one where you can only bluff that you’re in your own room?” “No, it’s under Funaho’s control, so it’s a hologram.”
“Then make it so you went out. Let’s grab breakfast somewhere… Oh, could I use the shower first?”
“Then I’ll get your outfit cleaned and get a change of clothes ready.
We can eat here if you’d like.”
“Well…okay, maybe we should,” Airi answered after a short pause to think.
“Then let’s go to the living quarters.” They transported off the bridge and went down the passage built against the trunk of the giant tree in the middle of the residential quarters. There was a forest, a river, a lake and hills, and a vast field filled with crops. The view was of a rural countryside.
Airi murmured, stunned, “Wh-where are we?”
“This is a residential area affixed in subspace… Ow!”
Airi had pinched Yosho’s cheek. “Looks like this isn’t a dream.” “Aren’t you supposed to pinch your own?”
“Well, you were looking so proud, I couldn’t help myself… But how is such a huge space affixed in a tiny cruiser… Is Funaho doing this?”
“Yes. This place has a diameter of 100 kilometers. The Second Generation Trees can affix a space up to the size of ten planets, but we have no idea what the maximum limit is for a First Generation Tree. But this is a personal space, and it would be meaningless to make it arbitrarily large, so this is what I have… What’s wrong?”
“You deserve to be proud of that… What an incredible friend,” She could only laugh at this point.
“We’ve been waiting for you, Airi-sama.” The door opened and they were welcomed by a force field hologram dressed as a lady-in-waiting.
“Thanks! So this is your room, Yosho-kun?” Flabbergasted by the solemn wooden building, she breathed a sigh of admiration.
“You’re the daughter of a religious leader. Why would this be shocking to you?” Yosho stubbornly protested at her persistent surprise.
“Nobody on Airai has a private room with a garden 100 kilometers square in subspace… Are you mad now?” She chuckled.
“No, not really…”
“I like the buildings on Jurai. They look very natural and dignified. It makes you feel at home. I like those of our churches that reuse old ruins, but the modern ones are really flashy, so…” Airi stuck her tongue out shyly.
“This way, please.” The lady-in-waiting led her to the guest bathroom. “Then I guess I’ll help myself.”
“Take your time.”
Airi walked a couple steps and turned around. “You better not…” “I won’t peep.”
“You could freak out a little. You’re no fun…” Airi grumbled.
He gazed upon the pastoral scenery that stretched as far as the eye could see. Well, it was rather gaudy. He remembered the extremely colorful main shrine he had seen in the data files, which could not be called beautiful by any standard, and headed to his own bathroom.
“Yosho-kun! Hey, Yosho-kun!!” Yosho had finished first and had been waiting on the terrace, when Airi burst out from the guestroom in Juraian clothes. With her hair down, she looked so different that he was mesmerized. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. It looks good on you.”
“Y-you think so? Thanks… No! I mean, this!!” She seemed momentarily bashful but went back to her usual shouting self, holding the fabric in her fingertips.
“Was it not to your liking? I’m afraid it’s…”
“That’s not it. This is Juraian raw silk, isn’t it? The finest, too… I’ve only ever seen it on church leaders. It feels so nice…” She stroked the fabric, enjoying its texture. Juraian raw silk was made in the exact same way as silk on Earth, but it was much finer and more durable. High-quality Juraian silk was translucent, and its color changed depending on the diet of the silkworms. It was produced in other countries as well, but the quality was inevitably inferior, and there were fewer colors available.
“It must be more expensive when you get as far out as Airai. This silk was made on board this ship. If you like it, please, keep it.”
“Really? Heh heh…” Airi blissfully rubbed her cheek with the sleeve.
“Quality silk will last a long time if you treat it right. There’s only so much I can use by myself, so I have quite a lot of raw silk stock. If you’re in need of fabric, I can share as much as you want. I can also sew…” He noticed that Airi was brooding over this with clearly mixed feelings, intuited that she was hesitating because of the cost, and added, “How about market price on Jurai?”
“How much?”
“Let’s see…” They talked in whispers for some reason.
“No way! Really? I’ll buy it! I’m so happy! What should I make?” Airi hopped with joy at the conclusion of the negotiations. What Yosho was producing was the finest class of silk, worth more than Airi would have been able to afford. But Funaho took care of everything here, so there were no labor expenses nor need for a profit margin. Frankly, he could have given it away for free. He asked for a market price for something of ordinary quality that Airi would see as reasonable and affordable.
“Shall we have breakfast?”
“Oh yeah, I was on cloud nine and totally forgot. Say, maybe I should’ve asked earlier, but isn’t the interior of a Royal Ship top secret?”
“Yeah, it’s too late,” Yosho smiled wryly. “Well, the residential quarters are my personal space, so anyone I invite is no problem. Only people the Royal Tree accepts can enter the bridge, but that means if the Royal Tree allows it, not even the Emperor of Jurai could forbid entry. It’s top secret to protect the ships of the Fourth Generation and beyond, which are not sentient.”
“If not even the most powerful person on Jurai can interfere, they must be truly special.” Even if Royal Trees were not gods, what Airi had witnessed was truly unique.