LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 328
Of course, it’s obvious, but the most important place on a spaceship is the engine room. Without energy, we couldn’t produce anything necessary for our survival in this vast universe.
This was my first time on a spaceship, but Jua explained that the mechanism of the generator is just a bit different. Normally, instead of this kind of generator, they have engines powered by magical fuel. Just like putting oil in an engine to get the wheels turning and generating electricity, it works the same way here.
That’s why generators are also located in the safest spot. If this place were to completely break apart in space, the consequences would be horrifying.
…And yet, we were going wild in there.
Looking at the scratched and torn-up areas, I marveled inwardly.
Amazing that it didn’t break! Maybe it’s because it’s so important, but it seems to have been built sturdier than I imagined.
For now, I decided to head towards the bridge. Supporting Ji-hye, who had collapsed, on my back, we passed through the corridor.
As we made our way to the bridge, I almost slipped on the ice several times. Plus, the corridor was frozen solid, making it pretty cold.
In a situation where we couldn’t use magic, we became this weak.
We huddled close together, trying to warm up a bit. I wanted to keep the other kids warm too, but for some reason, I found myself at the center of them.
I briefly thought, isn’t it a bit unfair that I’m reaping all the benefits?
The bridge and the corridor we traveled were both brutally damaged here and there.
“Is it possible to return to Earth?”
“Earlier, when we checked on the bridge, the communication device was still operational. If we contact Cherry, she can come and pick us up… since it’s where the Chairman’s granddaughter is hidden, it should have proper life support systems, right?”
Nodding at Jua’s words, I felt relieved.
At least the temperature was gradually rising as we got closer to the outside of the ship. As Jua said, the station was functioning properly.
“…This is going to take a while to find again,” I muttered just before entering the station.
Looking at the scenery outside the spaceship, I couldn’t help but say, “But we’re not giving up, right?”
“Exactly.”
I nodded.
Even if an alien pops out again, I have no intention of giving up.
I felt a bit intimidated by the massive sight of Jupiter visible outside the screen, but I thought that way.
*
Fortunately, the station wasn’t too complicated to fulfill its role as a ‘station.’ The signage was quite clear, though not in the language of Earth.
Thanks to that, we managed to find Pang-pang in the VIP accommodation.
Pang-pang was asleep.
The room really looked like a luxurious hotel—spacious, big beds, and fancy furniture all around.
The fabric of the clothes Pang-pang wore seemed soft.
However, the way she was slumped against the bed didn’t look very happy.
She seemed much happier back in that dingy sub-basement room, drinking coffee with us, all buzzed on caffeine.
Pang-pang’s face looked puffy, as if she had cried a lot.
She had fallen asleep.
I wasn’t sure why she had come down and sat next to me to sleep instead of staying in that good bed.
“…”
I honestly found her expression, devoid of any shadow, quite comforting.
She didn’t say a word about dark topics in front of me, nor did she complain about what she had experienced while working.
The tales Pang-pang shared were simply about the future. How amazing we were and how perfect caffeine was as a substance.
And stories about idols, comics, or perhaps her dreams.
Pang-pang’s dream stories were, in a sense, just like what a kid would say out of the blue.
Like a kid who just started watching videos on a streaming site saying they want to be a person who makes videos when they grow up, or a gamer who has just started playing saying they want to be a pro-gamer.
It might be possible, but it’s a type of story you wouldn’t really recommend to anyone.
Pang-pang said she wanted to be an astronaut. That was her dream.
Not just piloting a spaceship but actually flying in a rocket made the Earth way.
Even though, now, not even Earth makes manned rockets anymore.
Yet, whenever Pang-pang talked about that dream, her expression looking towards the distant place made that glimmer in her eyes seem so pure and beautiful that I couldn’t help but cheer her on.
“Pang-pang.”
I leaned slightly down in front of her and placed my hand on her shoulder.
“Pang-pang. Wake up.”
“Ugh…”
At my voice, Pang-pang’s eyes slowly opened.
Still sleepy, with her swollen eyes barely open, my face reflected slightly in her gaze.
“…Ji-eun?”
The kids who see me call my name. Some of them seem to think that calling me by that name instead of ‘Happy Lily’ is a privilege.
Those who remained around me as ‘friends’ were different.
They always knew that was my real name. They also knew that there wasn’t anything special about that way of calling me.
That relaxed call felt nice to me.
“Right. It’s me. I came to get you.”
Pang-pang’s eyes widened.
“Ji-eun…!”
Pang-pang hugged me tightly.
“Me? Someone like me…”
“Don’t say that.”
I said.
Since we hadn’t really known each other for long, Pang-pang hadn’t told me everything about herself, and because she was one of the combatants I was fighting against… if she was avoiding the reason, maybe that could be understandable. Others might think so too.
But, I don’t know.
At least I didn’t want to abandon the kid I thought of as a friend.
From the moment I first realized I was a magical girl, I had been nursing this futile dream of wanting to be one. And eventually, the trigger that made that dream come true was too similar to that ‘astronaut’ dream Pang-pang had.
Maybe I couldn’t just watch from the sidelines.
Haha, sounds like something out of a light novel protagonist, huh?
No, to put it more directly, we were flying around trying to save someone we had never met in a burning place.
Of course, if a friend gets kidnapped, you have to go rescue them. It’s not like we couldn’t.
I patted Pang-pang on the back.
For a while, Pang-pang buried her face in my shoulder and cried.
The circuit representing my hope was slowly reviving.
*
Admittedly, rescuing Pang-pang was the biggest goal, but within that goal, resolving those who were tormenting us was also a target. If that hadn’t overlapped, I would have clearly handled those two separate objectives, even if I had to divide them.
The way back took much longer than the way there.
Not just because it was hard and far, but because there were things to do.
First, Jua contacted Cherry. It was sort of a distress signal, and she said we didn’t necessarily have to wait for a reply from them.
The ship was already in bad condition, and I had exhausted the generator. By now it was probably dust scattered somewhere inside that ship. We had no energy to move the ship.
Fortunately, if a ship came to pick us up, we could return to Earth quickly. Moreover, we had to take care of Ji-hye as well, and above all, we were too exhausted. I wanted someone else to come and pick us up rather than forcing ourselves to move.
And then, we sought out the original Chairman in there.
“…”
This wasn’t a situation where we could properly converse with anyone.
Was he really in a coma, or just sleeping long?
I understood a bit why they had worked so hard to find Pang-pang.
Pang-pang looked at the Chairman quietly for a while before shaking her head. Anyway, the Chairman was in a position where it would be hard to talk to Pang-pang, and we couldn’t take all the equipment with us.
In the end, we decided on a location to wait. Since Ji-hye also needed a place to rest, we decided to take the nearest room in the corridor where the Chairman was sleeping.
Then, we gathered in the room and briefly closed our eyes.
Honestly, that wasn’t the plan. We were just that tired and felt too relieved.
We hadn’t encountered any enemies in there.
*
The alarm woke us up.
Even just before we had fallen asleep, the area had been quiet. We had broken the ship, and the station hadn’t been touched that way.
“…Ah!?”
Jua immediately ran over to open the nearby panel and shouted.
I jumped up instinctively, peering into it, my face going pale as a sheet.
The content on that screen was the kind that anyone could recognize without needing any programming knowledge.
[Did you think this would just end like this?]
…The generator unleashed colossal energy.
And the air conditioning received that massive energy.
The ship could warp, but could ‘information’ not warp?
That gift that Pung-pung left behind. It seemed to be a determination to drag us all down to hell.