Vol. 2 Chapter 7 – September 2048, Noboru’s Room

The second email from Nagamine, sent from the outer edge of the solar system.

“We’re just like lovers torn apart between outer space and Earth.”

Without thinking, my hand stopped over the button.

Whether the timing was too good or too terrible, for someone like me who had just broken up with Takatori (?), the contents were too heavy.

Just one year had already turned things into this.

I could not immediately imagine what eight years and seven months would really mean.

Nagamine herself must never have been told a single word that the journey would become this long.

It was fraud, deception, kidnapping, a dirty trick. Cruel. Too cruel.

Who was I supposed to direct this anger toward?

The only thing I could do was share that anger with Nagamine.

Still, what I found most cruel was that after waiting an entire year, the email had finally arrived, but there was no way to reply.

By now, Nagamine was definitely no longer at the outer edge of the solar system where she had been before the warp, but at the same time, there was no guarantee she was still in the Sirius star system either.

The only time I would be able to send an email to Nagamine would be after an email from her, sent upon arriving in the Sirius system, reached me eight years and seven months later. And even then, by that point, Nagamine might already be somewhere completely different.

In the end, when it came to Nagamine, I had become nothing more than someone who waited for emails.

I tried thinking about whether there was any possibility that Nagamine might temporarily return to Earth sometime during those eight years and several months.

Most likely, they could no longer use the hyperdrive. If they relied on sub-light-speed engines, then no matter how efficiently they accelerated to the speed of light, it would still take nearly twice as long.

As one possibility, I considered that they might luckily discover a Shortcut Anchor for the return route. But considering that even now, one year later, Nagamine still had not returned, the Shortcut Anchor for the return route from Sirius probably had not yet been found. Or maybe it had been found, but by the decision of higher authorities, they were continuing their mission and simply were not being permitted to return.

Other than waiting, what could I possibly do?

There was enough time to make my head spin.

I should set some kind of clear goal and devote myself to it.

I should stop endlessly knocking on a door that would never open.

I decided in my heart that I would close myself off tightly and become an adult all alone.