CHAPTER 3 – I’M JUST AN EARTHLING, CAN I STOP AN INTERGALACTIC WAR?
PART 05
——
The council meeting was soon adjourned, and I was placed under the custody of the council president. However, I was not subjected to any interrogation, just placed under Iris’ care as the man shut himself up in his office… He probably didn’t see me as a threat anymore, and was leaving me to my own devices, which I was honestly grateful for.
I was brought to Iris’ personal quarters and told to rest on the sofa. Iris had excused herself, saying that she would get me some snacks and drinks.
The hands on my watch read 5 p.m.
I had seven more hours before the meteor struck Earth.
“…Just what should I do?”
If there was a way to single-handedly stop a meteor, I wish somebody would teach it to me… If there really was a way, that is.
“R, do you have any idea how to stop a meteor?”
“How about strapping some dynamite to your body and going for a kamikaze mission?”
“…No.”
I would have done it if it was really going to work.
Well, R had said that she couldn’t help me with “story resolutions”, so I wasn’t expecting her to give me any good ideas anyway… But I was really desperate.
I laid back on the sofa and stared at the ceiling, just as Iris returned with a floating robot bearing a tray.
“Rekka, are you alright?”
“Yeah.”
I didn’t want to worry her, but I just couldn’t garner up the energy.
Iris placed some drinks and a plate of what looked like cookies on the table before the sofa, before sending the robot out of the room.
We sat in silence for awhile, before Iris hesitantly asked,
“…Aren’t you eating?”
“…Sorry, I’ll just have the juice.”
I just couldn’t bring myself to stomach anything right now, so I just quenched my thirst with some juice.
Iris sat beside me, not touching any of the food.
For some reason, she looked really gloomy too.
“What’s wrong?”
“Huh?”
“You look so glum.”
“…You do too, Rekka.”
“Erm! I guess…”
Scratching my head, I sneaked a look at Iris.
“Iris, is your spaceship equipped to destroy meteors?”
“It’s fitted to destroy space debris, but not large things like meteors… Sorry.”
“I see… Argh! I need to think of something fast!”
Hearing my desperate mumbling, Iris turned despondent.
“I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”
“No problem, I was to blame as well.”
“No… It’s all my fault.”
“?”
For the first time, Iris’ voice sounded meek.
I had been staring up at the ceiling this whole time, but now, I turned to face Iris.
Iris looked back at me.
“Rekka, why did you help me back then? You didn’t need to butt into my planet’s problem.”
“Oi oi, isn’t it a little too late to be saying that?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m not blaming you.”
Iris seemed to be feeling really guilty. I guess it couldn’t be helped now, but I didn’t want to be the one to cause her to feel this way.
“Isn’t it ordinary to want to help a crying girl? So don’t worry about it.”
That came out sounding more blunt that I meant it, but I didn’t know how else to phrase it.
But it seemed to surprise Iris as she stared at me with wide eyes…before she broke into a smile.
“Rekka is such an idiot.”
“Oh well, everyone says that.”
It didn’t matter to me, since it made Iris smile again.
And then,
“I’ve decided. I’ll marry the Satamonian king.”
“Huh!? What did you say? Weren’t you totally against it?”
For a second, I was floored by Iris’ sudden change of mind.
However, Iris smiled, determined.
“I’m still against it…but Rekka, you and your whole planet are in danger right now. If I give myself to him, he would be satisfied and call this whole stupid duel off.”
“Erm…”
I knew I was supposed to dissuade her, but Iris seemed to have made up her mind.
“…But I don’t want to give my first kiss to that man. So Rekka, please. Will you take my first kiss…?”
Don’t ask me that when your face is all red!
“K-k-k-k-kiss!? W-wait a minute! Calm down!”
“…I’m being serious here.”
She was right, and her serious expression was even more beautiful.
When a pretty girl becomes so insistent, any man would be delighted to grant her wish and kiss her.
But I suppressed that urge with all my might. If I kissed her now, she would happily wed that king, and this “story” would truly head towards a bad ending.
I needed to stop her, and to do so, I had to prove to her that I knew how to stop that meteor.
But no ideas had come to me. Just what should I do?
Just as my brain was trying to come up with something…my pocket started to vibrate.
“What?”
It was Satsuki’s mobile phone, which she had flung at me back at the abandoned factory.
CHAPTER 3 – I’M JUST AN EARTHLING, CAN I STOP AN INTERGALACTIC WAR?
PART 05
——
The council meeting was soon adjourned, and I was placed under the custody of the council president. However, I was not subjected to any interrogation, just placed under Iris’ care as the man shut himself up in his office… He probably didn’t see me as a threat anymore, and was leaving me to my own devices, which I was honestly grateful for.
I was brought to Iris’ personal quarters and told to rest on the sofa. Iris had excused herself, saying that she would get me some snacks and drinks.
The hands on my watch read 5 p.m.
I had seven more hours before the meteor struck Earth.
“…Just what should I do?”
If there was a way to single-handedly stop a meteor, I wish somebody would teach it to me… If there really was a way, that is.
“R, do you have any idea how to stop a meteor?”
“How about strapping some dynamite to your body and going for a kamikaze mission?”
“…No.”
I would have done it if it was really going to work.
Well, R had said that she couldn’t help me with “story resolutions”, so I wasn’t expecting her to give me any good ideas anyway… But I was really desperate.
I laid back on the sofa and stared at the ceiling, just as Iris returned with a floating robot bearing a tray.
“Rekka, are you alright?”
“Yeah.”
I didn’t want to worry her, but I just couldn’t garner up the energy.
Iris placed some drinks and a plate of what looked like cookies on the table before the sofa, before sending the robot out of the room.
We sat in silence for awhile, before Iris hesitantly asked,
“…Aren’t you eating?”
“…Sorry, I’ll just have the juice.”
I just couldn’t bring myself to stomach anything right now, so I just quenched my thirst with some juice.
Iris sat beside me, not touching any of the food.
For some reason, she looked really gloomy too.
“What’s wrong?”
“Huh?”
“You look so glum.”
“…You do too, Rekka.”
“Erm! I guess…”
Scratching my head, I sneaked a look at Iris.
“Iris, is your spaceship equipped to destroy meteors?”
“It’s fitted to destroy space debris, but not large things like meteors… Sorry.”
“I see… Argh! I need to think of something fast!”
Hearing my desperate mumbling, Iris turned despondent.
“I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”
“No problem, I was to blame as well.”
“No… It’s all my fault.”
“?”
For the first time, Iris’ voice sounded meek.
I had been staring up at the ceiling this whole time, but now, I turned to face Iris.
Iris looked back at me.
“Rekka, why did you help me back then? You didn’t need to butt into my planet’s problem.”
“Oi oi, isn’t it a little too late to be saying that?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m not blaming you.”
Iris seemed to be feeling really guilty. I guess it couldn’t be helped now, but I didn’t want to be the one to cause her to feel this way.
“Isn’t it ordinary to want to help a crying girl? So don’t worry about it.”
That came out sounding more blunt that I meant it, but I didn’t know how else to phrase it.
But it seemed to surprise Iris as she stared at me with wide eyes…before she broke into a smile.
“Rekka is such an idiot.”
“Oh well, everyone says that.”
It didn’t matter to me, since it made Iris smile again.
And then,
“I’ve decided. I’ll marry the Satamonian king.”
“Huh!? What did you say? Weren’t you totally against it?”
For a second, I was floored by Iris’ sudden change of mind.
However, Iris smiled, determined.
“I’m still against it…but Rekka, you and your whole planet are in danger right now. If I give myself to him, he would be satisfied and call this whole stupid duel off.”
“Erm…”
I knew I was supposed to dissuade her, but Iris seemed to have made up her mind.
“…But I don’t want to give my first kiss to that man. So Rekka, please. Will you take my first kiss…?”
Don’t ask me that when your face is all red!
“K-k-k-k-kiss!? W-wait a minute! Calm down!”
“…I’m being serious here.”
She was right, and her serious expression was even more beautiful.
When a pretty girl becomes so insistent, any man would be delighted to grant her wish and kiss her.
But I suppressed that urge with all my might. If I kissed her now, she would happily wed that king, and this “story” would truly head towards a bad ending.
I needed to stop her, and to do so, I had to prove to her that I knew how to stop that meteor.
But no ideas had come to me. Just what should I do?
Just as my brain was trying to come up with something…my pocket started to vibrate.
“What?”
It was Satsuki’s mobile phone, which she had flung at me back at the abandoned factory.
