Vol. F Ch. 3 Ep. 9: The Last Night on the Ground

So that's the gist of it.

Thanks for the update. I'd heard bits and pieces of it already.

In your absence, we'll protect the Millennium district.

Or rather, Kivotos.

Okay. I'll be counting on you.

No, it's the other way around. Yuuka...

I'm counting on you to take care of yourself and come back home safely.

...It's a promise.

Hoshino...

I understand the situation, Ayane. You're boarding Utnapishtim with Sensei to infiltrate the Ark.

But you're not going alone, Ayane!

B-But...

There'll be long and difficult fights when you get to the Ark.

The more friends to fight alongside, the better.

And more than anything else...

Shiroko is on the Ark, right?

...

...It's not for certain, but I think so.

I wanna see Shiroko for myself. We all feel that way.

If we board the Ark, Shiroko will come to intercept us.

It's our job to subdue and capture Shiroko.

We took on that responsibility. We promised Sensei it would be us to stop her.

But...the probability for the mission's success is three percent... We should prepare for the chance of failure and leave...

That negativity isn't hard-boiled of you at all!

H-Huh...?!

Wow! ☆ Problem Solver!

Hi! We're here to play.

I-It's good to see you.

*sigh* I'm glad I'm not the only worried one...

What are you doing, gabbing about failure this, failure that? The operation hasn't even started!

W-Well... That's...

During times like this...!

You're supposed to say, "Let's go out to eat ramen when we're done!"

I-I see! That's pretty hard-boiled, Aru!

It sounded a little ominous to me for some reason.

Heeheehee. She says that, but Aru almost cried when she heard Kayoko was gonna go alone.

What?! I-I did not!

Heehee... You were all like, "Kayoko! You can't get hurt up there, okay?!"

A-An outlaw like me would never say that!

Honestly, it's not gonna be a walk in the park, but I'll be okay.

The plan was put together by the best students of each academy. And most of all, Sensei will be there.

As long as Sensei's there...I feel like everything will be okay. So I'm not too worried.

...You're right.

I have to agree.

Think about all the things we've achieved thanks to Sensei.

...

...

...Right. Unimaginable things have happened when Sensei was with us.

Heh, right? So let's have faith in those unimaginable things.

...Okay!

Let's rescue Shiroko.

Yeah! It's the Shiroko capture operation!

For the millionth time, she's not a wild animal...

I went to see the intergalactic battleship, but...

Yeah, it's kind of different than what we imagined.

Yes... It can't even go into space, and it doesn't have any weapons. It must be something other than an intergalactic battleship.

Sensei's gonna get on it to go and attack the evil base in the stratosphere tomorrow...

What should we do now?

Hmm, maybe we should go back to Millennium like Yuuka said...? I think we'd just be a burden to all these elite people...

I would like to go with Sensei.

Aris?

Wh-What're you saying?

She's right. Aris, the Space Hero debut isn't gonna happen now.

I am disappointed about the Space Hero, but...

I am the only one who can protect the battleship.

Huh? What makes you say that?

B-Because there's no weapons on the ship...

Does this have to do with the Sword of Light? Is that why you wanna go?

Yes, the Sword of Light was designed for use in an intergalactic battleship by the Engineering Department.

And there is no one else in Kivotos who can wield it.

...

The Engineering Department did not actually design it for space battles, so they say the output will not do much in such a large battle, but...

If I am the only one who can protect the battleship...

If I am someone who can help Sensei, in any way, I would like to help.

B-But...still...

Okay, I know how you feel. Sensei has helped so much.

...So, should we all go together?

Huh? What?

Y-Yuzu...?

If we think about it, Aris has experienced a lot of dangerous situations.

We didn't understand a lot of them. We needed a lot of help to resolve them.

Th-That's true...

If I'm being honest, I still don't understand a lot of it. I don't know why the president is after Aris or what she's hiding.

M-Me neither...

But that's not important!

R-Right...

...

I...I don't want us to be left behind.

Even if we don't understand the situation, we should be okay if we stick together...

Yeah... I don't understand much of what's happened until now...but I haven't felt too anxious because I was with Sensei and everyone else...

I got to meet new people...like the RABBIT Squad and the head prefect...although I was a bit scared of them...

But...I liked it better than hiding in a cabinet.

So...I wanna go with Aris.

The Game Development Department can continue to exist thanks to Aris.

So if there's something Aris wants to do...we should help her.

W-We're party members, remember?

...

Yes, that's true, Yuzu! We should go together! That's the right thing to do!

Okay! Aris, we might not be going as space heroes, but we'll protect the battleship by your side.

Yes. I would like to go with my party members! Then, I will not be scared!

Aris... Are you afraid?

Yes, I am.

...I can still feel Kei inside of me.

Huh?! Kei? Really? I thought we blasted Kei with the Sword of Light!

K-Kei... I'm pretty sure that's not the right name...!

I do not know what Kei is or what Kei wants from me.

If I am honest, I do not even know who I really am.

Kei says I am a princess left behind by the Nameless Gods, and President Rio says I am a weapon that will bring destruction to the world.

The princess, Kei, the Ark, the Nameless Gods... I do not know anything about those things...

But I have Momoi, Midori, Yuzu, and Sensei with me...

I don't need to know what those things are. I can be just Aris.

"Let's do that then, Aris!"

"You get to choose who you want to be, Aris."

...

I want to go help Sensei with my party members.

I want to be a hero and a member of the Game Development Department.

I want to decide what I, Aris, do next.

Aris...

Yes, Aris... Let's all leave together tomorrow. We're never gonna be apart.

A-Aris! You're so impressive! You really act like a hero!

Yes, of course! That is because I am a hero!

Although it will not be anytime soon, I am going to be a space hero someday! Because that is what is trending!

You really aren't giving up on that concept...

It might become outdated if we don't implement it soon...

No!

This kind of stuff lasts longer than you think!

Just like Dinosaur Tornado! It's gonna be a masterpiece that will be talked about forever!

You mean talked about forever because it's so bad...?

Space Hero is...

...like Dinosaur Tornado...?!

O-Oh?! You hurt Aris' feelings!

That's the summary of the current situation.

Hanako...

I see. It's going to be a tough mission.

W-Will you be okay?

Well...Sensei will be with you, so...

Yes, it should be okay. It'll turn out fine somehow. Heehee.

Yes, since Sensei will be there...

...I've been thinking.

What if Sensei never came to the Make-Up Work Club?

What would have happened to us?

If that had happened...

Also, I've been thinking about all the things that were possible thanks to Sensei...

...

...

Hanako...

Come back safely, Hanako. We'll be protecting the academy in the meantime.

Yes! Come back quickly! We'll be defending Kivotos!

Heehee. I'll come right back to you all.

Be careful up there, Ako.

President...

As much as I'd like to come, I should be here. With all our best forces up there, I'll be the best bet if there's an emergency.

Understood. I'll give you a full report when I return.

I'll be waiting for you.

...

...

Are you worried, Seia?

N-No, not really...

How many cups of black tea did you have, Nagi? You're not gonna be able to sleep at this rate.

Th-This is...just...

...I was wishing I still had the ability to have prophetic dreams.

Seia...

Hmm... Seia, you're worried too.

I'm worried as well.

But this kind of story usually has a happy ending. So let's believe it's gonna go that way!

...Right. We wouldn't all be gathered together like this if it wasn't for Sensei.

So, as you said, Mika, I choose to believe in the happy ending!

Right, if it wasn't for Sensei...

Hmm, no. I don't really wanna think about that.

Sensei, and everyone...

Please come back safely.

We'll make sure everything is safe at ground level. ☆

Wh-What should we do now?

Nothing changes. As SRT, we'll protect D.U. while Sensei is on the mission...

I mean, protect all of Kivotos.

While Sensei is absent, we must secure the safety of Kivotos. That's our mission.

Right. Those Kaiser bastards retreated for now, but who knows when they'll show up again to take advantage of the chaos.

And with the General Student Council paralyzed, the officers will be scrambling to sort out the situation somehow.

...Well, considering their usual pace with these things, the officers probably won't get to that until Sensei is back on earth, right?

Um... I-I hope Sensei will be safe...

Don't worry too much, Miyu. Sensei will come back like nothing happened and tease us like usual.

...Yes, that's how Sensei is.

Heeheehee. Right. That's good old Sensei.

There don't seem to be any more enemies here.

...

Saori, what's on your mind?

...Oh, it's nothing.

You were thinking about how strange it is to fight along with Trinity, right?

I can't get anything past you... Yes, things that were unimaginable before have been happening every day...

The suffering of life hasn't changed, but...

You look forward to tomorrow, don't you?

Y-Yes... I don't know what to call this feeling, but...

...

...We can be sentimental when all of this is over.

The threat of the False Sanctums still exists.

Y-Yes...! That's true.

Life is suffering all the way to the end. Heehee...

Well, villains like us are supposed to suffer in the dark so the main characters can play their roles.

...

But I'm glad that we get to be together.

H-Hime...

...

And someday...

...Yeah.

Um... Rin, are you here?

...Oh, yes. Please come in, Ayumu.

I'm sorry to interrupt your break...

But could you take a look at this please?

It's the General Student Council's emergency communication network... An alarm has been sounding for a while, and it seems they're looking for you.

...The emergency recovery of the communication network must have been successful.

This code...

Yes... I think it's the chief of finance. I was gonna disconnect the communication network, but I didn't, just in case...

I'll take it.

Oh, okay. Th-Then... I'll leave you to it...

Yes. Thank you, Ayumu.

*crackle* Chief Officer!

Where are you? Are you safe? *crackle* Are you injured?

Chief of Finance. You're safe.

...The connection is spotty. The communication network was only temporarily restored...

*crackle* Where are you? Sanctum Tower was destroyed just now...

I'm assembling the chiefs of staff... *crackle* ...Kaiser Corporation...

Chief Officer...

...Aoi.

...I'm sorry, Rin. I didn't know it'd come to this...

No, I don't blame you. You were just doing your job.

And now I'm doing mine.

...What are you doing... *crackle* Where... Are you with Schale....?

Aoi, listen.

...If something happens to me, please take care of the General Student Council and Kivotos.

...?! *crackle* What did you just say...?

...Take care, Aoi.

Sensei, it's time to depart.

Everyone is waiting for you at the bridge.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

"Well, it's now or never."