The Journey Home

 

The day had come. The Trireme Fleet was preparing to depart Planet Libya and begin the long journey back to Planet Asia.

Its holds were packed with trade goods of all kinds.

「Live cattle, pigs, chickens… Pure white linen—flax cloth, is it? Woven by the Habetrots? It seems like it would bring good luck!」

Cloth woven from linen by Habetrot was said to possess sacred properties—capable even of lifting curses. It was a legend of British origin.

「We’ve provided plenty of goods ourselves, but this went far beyond what I expected, nya.」

Aki and Nyanta were poring over the inventory list, eyes gleaming with curiosity.

「Linen has been in use since 8000 BCE in ancient Egypt. In ancient Greece, pure white linen was considered a luxury and held in high regard. Up through the modern era, it remained a universally used material, alongside iron. Even the Shroud said to have wrapped the Messiah’s remains is believed to have been linen.」

Astraea offered a precise explanation. Kou didn’t fully grasp it, but gathered that it was an important material like hemp had been in Japanese history.

「We even got natural honey… Unbelievable.」

Voy looked ready to drool. He’d only ever tasted synthetic honey—this was a delicacy beyond imagining.

「On Planet Asia, all meat and vegetables are synthetic. The synthetic stuff tastes fine, and there’s no issue with it—but on Planet Libya, all Fortress Areas have shut down, and even the bare minimum of food supply was restricted. Thanks to the Mythology Weapons, Earth-style livestock farming is being promoted and revived, which is slowly resolving the lack of supply. Strange, isn’t it?」

「That may be the true essence of the Mythology Weapons. The beings they are based on represent lost knowledge, the wisdom of nature. There were countless gods of flocks, farming, and the hunt once. Gods who once stood side by side with nature. And for Planet Libya, which had lost its civilization, such things were necessary.」

「Originally, even livestock farming and agriculture were near-taboo on Planet Asia. And yet, here they were permitted… no, encouraged.」

Aki murmured—offering one possible theory.

「With this change, we might start to see more people wishing to immigrate or settle Planet Libya—especially the Transferees. No, I’m certain we will.」

「Undoubtedly. Just the trade goods that Trireme will deal with from now on alone are of extraordinary value. Such natural products are unheard of in the Nemesis system.」

Kou’s expression grew uncertain.

「But those cows are dangerous. The pigs are practically wild boars. These chickens can fly, for heaven’s sake.」

These animals were barely domesticated. Livestock breeding on Planet Libya had only resumed less than a year ago—they were, for all intents and purposes, still wild.

「Cows are dangerous, nya. Pigs are just boars that’ve been partially domesticated, nya. As for the chickens—well, the ones from Kou’s era were just too domesticated. Their ancestors could fly, nya.」

「Huh. I didn’t know that…」

Kou never imagined he’d be learning about animal husbandry.

「There’s a huge cache of optical weapon components, too—recovered from the Teras defeated in the Realm’s defense battle.」

「If we give them to the A-rank Development Engineers, we can build practically anything.」

「We already had some optical weapons, but few that were actually viable for real combat.」

「In terms of raw firepower, railguns have the edge. And D-Rifles are on another level entirely.」

「Low-caliber lasers only match light machine guns in strength. But the kicker is they have unlimited ammo. That’s the game-changer.」

Aki, who handled weapons development, knew firsthand how dangerous that was.

「Materials are limited. Once we run out, we’ll have to go Teras-hunting again.」

「The upfront costs will be more burdensome than the operational ones, I imagine.」

「Exactly. That’s why, for now, they’re for A-rank Development Engineer research only.」

Kou muttered the words quietly.

He wondered what effect these items he was bringing back would have on the silhouette development environment of Planet Asia.

No one knew. It was all uncharted territory.

◆　◆　◆　◆　◆

「How many times do I have to say it, Kurose-san? You can’t bring him with you.」

「C’mon, you can bend the rules a little…」

「I’m begging you, too.」

「No. He can’t leave his place of origin—or rather, he can’t leave Planet Libya. Please, understand.」

Standing her ground like a fortress, Eri denied them yet again. Kurose and Haino were all but groveling before her. Kinukawa stood nearby, clearly displeased.

Izumo’s outer hull glinted behind them. Watching from the ship’s edge was Hayataro.

「I want to bring him too. Hayataro… But he was created through Hyloi-Skoria. He’s part of super AI Libya herself. Hayataro…」

Kinukawa’s voice cracked as he spoke, clearly struggling to let go. Eri sighed.

「I’m a dog person too, you know! I’d love to bring him too! But I’m enduring the urges. Just look—Hayataro understands best of all!」

Hayataro wagged his tail as he watched the three of them with gentle eyes.

「I’ll come back to visit. I promise!」

「See ya, partner! Woof!」

「Ugh… I never thought I’d be jealous of Haino for being able to speak dog language…」

 

Kou and the others watched from the beach near the Astraea, anchored by the coast. Aimer and Astraea’s avatar stood at his side.

Out over the water, the mighty form of Bahamut floated—here to see them off.

「Thanks, Bastet. Until next time.」

「Nyaun!」

Bastet’s large eyes sparkled as she bowed her massive head gently.

Kou reached up and stroked it with care.

「Take care, Kou.」

「Farewell, Outis.」

Arthur approached and got up on Bastet’s back. Inside Arthur was none other than Echidna. Though she couldn’t make a contract with Arthur, she was riding as a passenger.

With a great leap, Bastet soared into the sky and landed on Bahamut’s back.

「Thanks, Arthur. But what exactly are you planning to do with that kind of lineup?」

It looked like a sheer excess of force.

「Libya asked something of us. We must act quickly.」

If it was a request from Libya, it had to be serious. Kou understood and gave a hearty wave.

「I see. Until next time, Arthur. Echidna. Bahamut!」

The whole group waved as Bahamut slowly ascended. Bahamut responded by lifting one fin in a wave of its own.

「Now then, everyone—Polymetis-sama and Steropes await you.」

Morgan appeared before them.

「Understood. We’ll head over right away.」

When they turned around, Bahamut had already shifted into dragon form and was soaring high above.

Kou and Aimer looked up at it together.

「Hey, Kou… I’m really glad I came to Planet Libya.」

「Me too.」

「When you said you wanted to help Libya, I honestly thought it was reckless. But now I can say this with certainty—you were right.」

「It was reckless. Even I knew that.」

Kou chuckled.

Back then, he’d simply felt that something had to be done. Perhaps he’d been staring too far ahead—fixated on a distant goal.

「Even so…」

Kou had no words for the way Aimer looked at him—her gaze unwavering.

To hide his embarrassment, he turned his eyes back to Bahamut. It was already no more than a speck in the sky.

「Let’s go, Aimer.」

「Yeah!」

And so, the group set off for Realm—to say their farewells.

 

AN:

The long journey through Libya has finally come to an end.

Since ancient times, mythology has always been rooted in everyday life. You could say the Mythology Weapons were Libya’s mechanical counterattack against the destructive Murders—an engineered return to nature itself.

And Kou, at last, has fulfilled the promise he made before the Asia War.

Next time, we’ll have a side story before moving into the new arc.

The theme: a new world order following the Asia War. Cold war tensions. Low-intensity conflicts.

While peace has returned—for now—to the Scheelite continent, the chaos and warfare on Planet Asia continue.

And of course, the Stones are still lurking in the shadows.

Farewell, Planet Libya. Until we meet again?!