Chapter 142

For the time being, the situation had been sorted out.

Leen and Bunaha promised to take the relocation proposals back with them for consideration. As for Bunaha Boon, she had likely already been detached from Bunaha's main body and secured.

Once the trial in Tsubanda was over, Kait would also be freed from his confinement in the Earthling residential zone. Surely, even Terapolapaneshio wouldn't go so far as to insist on attending the Ragav relocation. Right? They wouldn't, right?

A sudden bad feeling made him glance at the monitor showing Terapolapaneshio. Terapolapaneshio was frozen in a pose he had never seen before—covering its head with all its tentacles. Just like how Earthlings hide their faces with both hands.

"......What are you doing?"

'D-Don't ask me that. Kait, Third-Rank Citizen (Enec Lagif)'

It was clear that Terapolapaneshio was embarrassed. Which meant Kait's guess about the pose wasn't wrong.

He had been too focused on the conversation with Leen and Bunaha Boon to pay attention to his surroundings, but for some reason, the people on the other side of the monitor were giving him warm, awkward looks. What was going on?

"All of you too? What's going on?"

'Well, um, you see...'

'Kait, Third-Rank Citizen, you didn't know, did you? I thought it would be awkward to bring it up, so I kept quiet, but...'

'C-Could you please not!?'

At Korolkerol's words, Terapolapaneshio let out a scream. Kait didn't know, and the Space jellyfish was writhing in embarrassment. Was there such a topic in their earlier conversation? As he tilted his head, Emarimores explained with a wry smile.

'No, Kait, Third-Rank Citizen, you have the right to know. That earlier matter is actually quite well-known among Federation citizens.'

"Earlier matter?"

'It's about the eternal friendship between Kait, Third-Rank Citizen, and Terapolapaneshio, supposedly forged by the Earth jellyfish. The Terapolapaneshios have been spreading the word about the wonders of Earth all over the place.'

"Huh......?"

Kait instinctively turned his gaze to Terapolapaneshio. What the hell were these Space jellyfish saying?

'It's even a popular theater theme. Terapolapaneshios keep arriving from space in search of the Earth jellyfish to soothe their eternal loneliness. And Kait, Third-Rank Citizen, smiles and blesses them. I personally like the direction of the Dorema Third Troupe. It's as beautiful as a painting.'

'Oh, so Korolkerol, Sixth-Rank Citizen, is a fan of that one. I prefer the direction of the theatrical group Reiarufu. The actor playing Terapolapaneshio is incredibly dynamic.'

'Ah yes, Reiarufu's direction is hard to ignore. As expected.'

Wait. Wait just a second.

The content of the conversation was so absurd that he couldn't form words. Had it really become such a hit that multiple theater troupes were adapting it?

Listening to them, wasn't this all overly romanticized? It wasn't a majestic scene—it was one that drove Earthlings insane. That's what happens when you let Space jellyfish direct it with their biased perspective!

"......Do you have any explanation for this?"

'Eek!? N-No, we didn't mean any harm, really!?'

Maybe he had used too harsh a tone. Terapolapaneshio let out a frightened voice. Showing emotions so openly wasn't really Kait's style. To calm himself, he tried to fix his expression. When he pulled his mouth into a smile, Terapolapaneshio screamed even louder. Why?

'W-We do have other friends, you know. But eternal friends—those are pretty rare.'

"Huh. Well, I suppose adding 'eternal' does raise the bar."

That kind of nuance wasn't something Kait, who hadn't been a Federation citizen for long, really understood. He vaguely thought it might be similar to the difference between friend and best friend.

'At the very least, I believe there's never been a case where someone became an eternal friend to the Terapolapaneshios in such a short time as Kait, Third-Rank Citizen.'

"Is that so?"

'Yes, exactly. That's why everyone keeps wanting to hear about it.'

He felt like he'd been caught in some kind of accident he had nothing to do with. Still, if they'd only talked because of relentless interviews, he couldn't blame them too much.

"Well, if you just gave in to persistent interviews..."

'No, no, they were pretty proactive about it. I think most Federation citizens living in the Central Star Cluster remember how wonderful Kait, Third-Rank Citizen, is.'

And that was even before they saw the plays, apparently.

"......I see."

'W-Wait, Kait, Third-Rank Citizen! W-We admit we got a bit carried away after meeting the Earth jellyfish! But it definitely helped the Federation accept the Earthlings more quickly!'

"That's a separate issue, isn't it?"

'Ugh, I'm so sorry......'

They apologized. A being known as a guardian of Federation law was now hanging its head under Kait's scolding.

Honestly, when they acted like that, it was hard to be too harsh. Still, now that this topic was out in the open, there was one more thing on his mind.

"By the way, about Earth..."

'A-About Earth, what is it?'

"Aren't the number of people trying to poach increasing?"

'Y-Yes, exactly! Where did you hear that!? I mean, how dare they try to ruin such a beautiful ocean—unforgivable!'

They really didn't get it. Kait couldn't help but clutch his head.

Why did these Space jellyfish become so useless the moment Earth jellyfish got involved?

"That's your fault, you know."

'Eh?'

"You all treat the Earth jellyfish as your own kind and treasure them. So some people think that if they steal and breed them, they'll earn your favor like we did. Others might capture Earth jellyfish to manipulate you."

'T-There are people that wicked!?'

"Yes. It was your careless words that invited them."

Astonishingly, Terapolapaneshio truly hadn't considered how influential they were. Not that Kait, who ignored his own sway over the Federation, had much room to talk—but that could wait.

'K-Kait, Third-Rank Citizen! Please, lend us your wisdom!'

"Well......nothing comes to mind, honestly."

In fact, even on Earth, poaching had mostly been dealt with ad hoc. Since it wasn't his specialty, his memory was fuzzy, but he vaguely recalled that it had always been a difficult issue.

At Kait's words, Terapolapaneshio groaned. If the Earth jellyfish were so important, they shouldn't have said anything unnecessary. As he sighed in exasperation, Emotion, now back in humanoid form, cut in from the side.

"Captain. Among the data recorded within me, there's something called an anti-poaching manual. Shall I provide it to the Terapolapaneshios?"

"Wait, why do you even have that kind of data?"

"Who knows? It's categorized under works collected at the Captain's request from the Common Era. Though it's technically an annotation to a work, it's oddly detailed."

"R-Really... Which work is it from?"

He was extremely curious about the title, but now wasn't the time. What mattered was dealing with Terapolapaneshio, who was now silently watching him with intense focus. The way they were staring was oddly terrifying.

No, if he thought of it as them silently waiting so they wouldn't make Kait any angrier, maybe it was endearing... No, it was just scary.

"Fine. Go ahead and give it to them."

"Understood."

"Still, from the Common Era, huh... That's pretty ancient. We should probably consult with specialists and refine it."

'Of course. I swear I'll devote myself fully to it.'

Declared the Space jellyfish in a crisp voice. And that's exactly the problem.

"Before that, we need to relocate Ragav and secure former Senator Batmute. Emotion, don't provide it until both are resolved—it's too dangerous."

"That seems like the best course."

'Nooo!'

Emotion seemed to agree. As Terapolapaneshio let out a scream, the others around them burst into laughter.

***

As a result of this incident, the number of Terapolapaneshios searching for Batmute from the next day increased fivefold.

And perhaps thanks to that, a few days later, the location of the ship Batmute had boarded was finally identified.

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