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“Mm… I’m going too.”
“You can’t, Stell…”
“I refuse.”

When I told her that we’d have to say goodbye soon, Stell reacted just as I feared—strongly, and from the heart.

I understood her feelings all too well. She’d followed our master all the way from Rigel to Regulus. To me, she was already like a dear little sister.

“Stell, the place we’re going is extremely dangerous. If you let your guard down even a little, you could die.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“No, absolutely not. If anything were to happen to you, we couldn’t face your parents.”
“……”
“Ah—don’t cry, don’t cry!”

Hang in there, me. My heart was already buckling under guilt, but I couldn’t—absolutely couldn’t—say yes.

I knew too well the terror of the ghost ship. Bringing Stell to Fomalhaut would be truly, recklessly dangerous.

So even though it hurt, we had to part ways here.

“…I didn’t achieve anything yet. All I did was chase after Teach.”
“Stell… that’s not true at all. Your feelings for Master have reached her! If they hadn’t, I’d be furious!!”
“That’s right, Ms. Stell. The will to act out of concern for someone dear is more precious than anything.”
“Ah, Mr. Mintark! You were supposed to be out cold from pulling an all-nighter!”
“I’ve just revived. I heard the situation from Arnitta.”

Despite having just revived from a death march, Mr. Mintark entered the guest room with the steady step of someone perfectly composed. He even looked freshly bathed, neat and crisp—radiating the full dignity of a teacher as he stood before Stell.

“Miss Stell, you mustn’t trouble them too much. Lady Laika and her companions have their own purpose.”
“But…”
“If one of your classmates wanted to accompany you on a dangerous journey, what would you do?”
“…I’d tell them no.”
“Then it’s the same. Lady Laika cherishes you. Precisely because she cares for your safety, she cannot let you go with her.”
“……Mgh.”

Stell still didn’t look completely convinced, but the phrase ‘she cherishes you’ seemed to sink in. A faint, happy expression replaced her pout, and before long she wiped her tears and accepted it without another word.

“Mr. Mintark, thank you. And, um… I’m sorry, but Master can’t return to Rigel right now—there’s something urgent we have to take care of.”
“I understand. It feels as though my stomach is being wrung out, but I’ll manage somehow. Lady Laika has served more than well enough; I can ask for no more.”
“Mr. Mintark… should I ask one of the maids to bring you some stomach medicine?”
“This is nothing…! Our academy shall never perish…!”

Mr. Mintark clutched his stomach as tears of blood streamed from his eyes—he must have truly hated losing such an exceptional teacher.

The students would be devastated too, especially Plerion, who paid particular attention to her.

Master, you really have so many people who care about you.

――――――――…………

――――……

――…

“Noooo!! I’m going too!!”
“Ms. Hoshikawa…”

The one throwing a full-blown tantrum on the floor of the private royal suite—rolling around and crying at the top of her lungs—was, at least on paper, a full-grown adult.

And yet somehow, I felt even more anxious about taking her along than Stell. Most of all, Master would definitely not approve.

“Yeah, that’s a no.”
“But whyyy! I can even help maintain Daigorou!”
“Still no! I mean, there’s no reason for you to put yourself in danger!”
“I thought about it, but I’d rather chase my favorite than live some cushy life in a castle above my station!”
“Please do your best with your work in Aldebaran.”
“Nooo! I want to live breathing the carbon dioxide exhaled by Laika!!”

…I’d always thought she was a bit eccentric, but this was a whole new level.

Maybe the time apart since Aldebaran had driven her a little mad. Master… you really are a sinful person.

“Grr… fine. Then take this with you and think of it as me.”
“Eh? Thank you very much. What is it?”

What Ms. Hoshikawa handed me, eyes brimming with tears, was a small human-shaped doll knitted from yarn.

At its chest was a stone that glittered under the light—was that… a gemstone?

“It’s a charm doll! You were saying how you didn’t have much magic power, right, Momo? You can store a little magic power in that gem.”
“Wow, really? That’s amazing! Thank you so much!”
“Ahaha, it’s not that great. The doll itself also wards off minor curses, so try to keep it on you, okay?”
“That’s incredible…”

She really thought of everything. No wonder the king wanted to hire her.

If she ever teamed up with Mr. Arnitta and the others to build golems or magitech, I could only imagine what kind of monstrous creations would come out of it.

“But is it really okay for me to have this? Wouldn’t it be better to give it to Master?”
“Ahaha, if she found out I made it, she’d probably hate it.”
“Ah… right.”
“Besides, I think you’re more likely to run into danger than Laika. Consider it a gift from a fellow Outlander.”
“Ms. Hoshikawa… by the way, isn’t the gem in this doll the same kind used in my staff?”
“Ah—uhh—w-well, I might’ve, you know, borrowed a leftover piece or two from that project…”

So she was just as much of a tinkering maniac as Mr. Arnitta and the rest. The king would probably forgive her—but still.

Now that I thought about it, if I actually calculated the value of all the equipment I was wearing… it might amount to something terrifying.

“Oh! I just remembered something important I have to do—bye now!”
“M-Ms. Hoshikawa!”

Looking utterly flustered, she darted out of the room with the speed and grace of the wind. When had she learned to move like that?

It all happened so fast that I didn’t even have the will to chase her. I was left standing alone in the silence.

“…What was that just now? The pervert ran in a strange way. Did she do something to you?”
“Ah, Master—oh, and Your Majesty.”

From the opposite doorway where Ms. Hoshikawa had fled, Master entered the room, the king following behind her in a bathrobe, both of them looking puzzled.

“Pardon the intrusion, pink-haired one. Would you spare a moment to speak with me?”
“Eh? Me?”