Shhh... Hahh... Four in the afternoon. The after-school chime hadn't even finished ringing before Hoshino Hikari threw open the classroom door with force. "[excited] Iatsu-kun! Let's go, hurry!" Her fluffy brown hair bounced from the momentum. The star-shaped hairpin on her left side caught the fluorescent light and sparkled. "...Calm down." Iatsu sighed and put his textbook into his bag. His deep reddish-brown eyes glanced for just a moment at the blue sky outside the window. Yesterday, he'd run a hundred meters against Ryuusei and secured his cooperation. The feeling of that handshake still seemed to linger in his right hand. "[excited] But today we're all meeting up, right? Akane-san's coming, and Ryuusei-kun too!" "Yeah." Iatsu answered shortly. It was good that Hikari had her energy back, but he still didn't know how to deal with this meddlesome, sun-like presence. The aftermath of yesterday's confession still smoldered in his chest, yet Hikari was already acting like nothing had happened. The two left the classroom and walked down the connecting corridor to the old home economics room. The April breeze gently swayed Hikari's hair. The eighty-year-old wooden building stood there quietly today as well. In front of the old home economics room, two figures were already waiting. A girl with silver, straight hair reaching the middle of her back, tied with a white ribbon—Shirogane Akane—leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. Her silver eyes greeted Iatsu and the others with a cold, inorganic quality, as if emotion had never existed there in the first place. "[cold] You're late." The other figure had a hand pressed against the wall, seemingly listening to the sounds inside. Tall, with black hair that lost none of its refreshing quality even when ruffled by the wind. His bluish-gray, narrow eyes narrowed with amusement. "[sarcastic] Been a day, Iatsu. This energetic girl your friend?" "I'm Hoshino Hikari! Ryuusei-kun, I heard you're super fast! I've seen you in PE class!" Hikari's eyes sparkled, and Ryuusei laughed lightly. "[laughing] Right?" Behind that smile, Iatsu didn't miss the brief glint of sharpness—like a beast that had spotted its prey. "[cold] Enough pointless chatter. Let's get started." Akane pushed off the wall and opened the door to the old home economics room. The creak of old wood echoed through the quiet hallway. The four entered the room. From deep within the wall, a faint electronic sound could be heard—beep, beep, beep—. A Galactic Empire communication protocol. Iatsu closed his eyes and probed for its source using Force sensitivity. Inside the wall, there was something alien. A cold, heavy mass of metal. "Here." Iatsu pointed to a section of the wall. "[excited] Alright, my turn." Ryuusei placed his hands on the wall. The muscles in his arms bulged. With a grinding sound, the old veneer began to peel away. "[excited] Whoa, that's insane strength! Ryuusei-kun, don't hurt yourself, okay!?" "[laughing] This is barely a warm-up." —Crack! In that instant, a large section of the wall panel came off. At the same time, accumulated dust exploded outward, showering all four of them. "[scared] Aaahhh!!" Hikari screamed and reflexively clung to Iatsu's arm beside her. "[surprised] Wha—" Iatsu froze. Hikari's body heat traveled through his arm. A soft, sweet scent of shampoo reached him. "[angry] Let go!" Though his mouth said that, Iatsu's body didn't move. His heart was too loud. The unknown threat called romantic feelings had completely short-circuited the former Dark Lord's thought processes. "[sarcastic] You two are pretty hot." Ryuusei said with a smirk. Akane sighed. "[cold] Stop playing around and look at this." Inside the wall, a silver, elliptical device was embedded. Its surface was engraved with unfamiliar geometric patterns. Iatsu's eyes widened. Hikari hastily let go of his arm. "This is... not of the Empire." "[cold] I've thought so all along." Akane replied coolly. She took out her smartphone and aimed the camera to record the device's engravings. "[surprised] Ah, there's something carved here." Hikari innocently pointed at the side of the device. Her fingertip—touched the surface. In that instant. Rumble, rumble, rumble... A low vibration began to shake the entire old home economics room. "[scared] Hikari, get away!" But it was too late. The device emitted a pale blue light, and that light concentrated on Iatsu's chest. "Wh-what is this! Iatsu-kun!" The sensation of the floor vanished from beneath Iatsu's feet. His body was being pulled far away—toward the very distant abyss of dark space. Trying to return to his original body. (This is what I wished for...) But. "[crying] Don't go!!" Hikari screamed. She clung to Iatsu's arm with both hands, with all her strength. That warmth weakened the pulling force. The color of the light changed from pale blue to orange. Hikari's power was resonating with the device's runaway reaction. Iatsu realized, for the first time, that he didn't want to leave. "[angry] Hey, Iatsu! Get a grip!" Ryuusei shouted. Akane desperately reached out to try and stop the device, but an invisible wall blocked her, preventing her from touching it. And then—. Abruptly. The sound stopped. Iatsu's feet touched the floor again. A silence deeper than a deep breath descended upon the four of them. "Hahh... hahh..." Hikari, still not letting go of Iatsu's arm, breathed heavily with her shoulders. "[surprised] ...Wait a second. I didn't do anything at all." Ryuusei muttered in disbelief. "[cold] Indeed." Akane replied flatly. Ryuusei slumped his shoulders dramatically. As the light that had filled the room subsided, a faint pattern of light emerged on the ceiling in its place. "...This is a star chart." Countless points and lines. The spiral of a galaxy. At its center, a point shone with particular brightness, and overlapping it, the coordinates of Earth were indicated. Akane took out a notebook and quickly began copying down the coordinates. Her silver eyes wavered, as if looking at something unbelievable. "[cold] ...I've deciphered it." Akane's voice was a register lower than usual, and hard. "[cold] The coordinates from the metal plate in the old home economics room. And the coordinates of the device beneath the old observatory ruins. These are connected by a single elliptical orbit." She paused for a breath. "[cold] This place is a space-time singularity connecting the galaxy and Earth... It was the entrance." "Which means, the reason I was sent to this world..." "[cold] Yes. The energy of this singularity pulled your soul here. And... the accident involving my sister four years ago was also because of this place." It was a voice squeezed out with effort. Akane lowered her face. Her fingertips, wrapped in gloves, trembled faintly. "She wasn't killed by someone with malice. It was just... no one knew. The true nature of this place." Iatsu couldn't say anything. From the mouth of someone who had dealt countless deaths in the Galactic Empire, there were no words he could possibly offer. He simply stood beside her. Without moving. "[gentle] Akane-san..." Hikari quietly moved next to Akane. With her small body, gently, as if nestling close. "[cold] ...You're annoying." Akane didn't turn toward Hikari. But the tension in her rigidly set shoulders eased, just slightly. Watching that small exchange, Iatsu felt confused by his own sense of relief. "[serious] So, the fact that we have abnormal powers is all because of this place too?" Ryuusei confirmed with a serious face. "[cold] Most likely. Your superhuman physical abilities. Hoshino Hikari's resonance power. And my own Force sensitivity as well." A heavy atmosphere flowed through the room. "What needs to be done to fully return to my original body?" To Iatsu's question, Akane answered while looking at her notebook. "[cold] The singularity needs to be stabilized. To do that, the condition is that the powers of all four of us here must be gathered." In other words, he couldn't return right now. Ryuusei folded his arms and turned to face Iatsu. His narrow eyes stared intently at Iatsu, as if appraising him. "[serious] So, what do you want to do?" Iatsu looked outside the window of the old home economics room. Dusk was approaching. Orange light dyed the cherry blossom trees in the schoolyard. Hoshino Hikari was peering at Iatsu's face with worry. Shirogane Akane had closed her notebook and was waiting quietly. The person he once was would have asked for the shortest route to return without hesitation. But now, in this place—. "...For now, I'm in this world." Iatsu answered shortly. "[excited] Yay!!" Hikari shouted and threw herself at Iatsu. This time, Iatsu didn't shake her off immediately either. "[cold] I see." Akane said briefly and closed her notebook. The corners of her mouth seemed to relax, just a tiny bit. "[laughing] So that means my prey is secured for the time being too. Nice." Ryuusei laughed. "[cold] That's the worst possible motive." Bang! Suddenly, the door of the old home economics room was thrown open with force. "[angry] You lot! This area is off-limits! What do you think you're doing! Did you tear off the wall?!" The custodian, Tonogae, stormed in, his face bright red with rage. The old man in work clothes, with his graying hair, stared wide-eyed at the torn-off wall panel. The four of them instantly turned in completely different directions. "[serious] I know nothing." "[surprised] I didn't see anything either!" "[cold] This is a student council investigation. We apologize for the inconvenience." "[laughing] The pipes are probably just acting up." Saying completely disjointed things, the four of them hurriedly left the old home economics room. Friday, lunch break. Dragged along by Hikari, Iatsu had come to the usual rooftop. The wind blowing from Sagami Bay carried a faint scent of the sea. "[excited] Hey, hey, if we stabilize the singularity, what happens? Will a door connecting to space really open? Or can we go to the past, like a time machine?" Hikari continued asking questions relentlessly while copying yesterday's star chart memo into her notebook. Her large brown eyes sparkled with curiosity. "[annoyed] Shut up. How would I know?" "[excited] But, but, Iatsu-kun came from space, right? So, like, are there aliens? What shape are the spaceships?" "...The Empire's TIE Fighters are small combat vessels with hexagonal wings." "[excited] So cool! Tell me more!" It was clearly different from those days. Iatsu's words continued without breaking off. Hikari smiled happily. "[gentle] ...Yesterday, when I said 'don't go,' you stopped, Iatsu-kun." Hikari said it casually. Her voice was so small it seemed to melt into the wind and disappear. Iatsu was silent for a moment, then answered honestly. "...I still don't know why." "[shy] Somehow, that's—" "[angry] Don't finish that sentence." Iatsu preemptively cut off Hikari's words and turned to face out the window. "[surprised] Why!? I haven't even said anything yet!" Hikari protested. But her cheeks, looking at Iatsu's profile, turned just a little bit red. "Well, whatever! Let's keep going to school together, Iatsu-kun!" Hikari immediately smiled again and faced forward. Iatsu sighed inwardly. (My greatest battle seems to be far more difficult than pacifying the galaxy.) Right after that. —Thump. Iatsu's Force sensed something. From far beyond the sky, from the distant reaches of space—a faint but clear distortion of power with "intent" was approaching Earth. It wasn't random noise. Someone was sending a signal, aimed this way. The smile vanished from Iatsu's face. "Iatsu-kun? What's wrong?" "...Nothing." Hikari tilted her head. She was looking at her notebook and hadn't noticed the change in the sky.