Chapter 7 – September 2048 – Noboru’s Room

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

『We’re like lovers torn apart—one in space, one on Earth.』

Without thinking, I froze with my finger hovering over the button.

Maybe the timing was too perfect, or maybe too cruel. I had just (sort of?) turned Takatori Youko down and this message hit me far too heavily.

This was after just one year.

I couldn’t immediately grasp what eight years and seven months would truly mean.

Nagamine herself probably had no idea this journey would be so long. No one had told her anything about that.

This was fraud. Deceit. Kidnapping. A betrayal. It was awful—too awful.

But where could I even direct this anger?

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

And what felt especially cruel was this: I had waited a whole year, and sure, her message had finally arrived—but I had no way of replying.

It was certain that Nagamine was no longer at the location from which that message had been sent. And there was no guarantee she was still in the Sirius system, her next destination.

The soonest I could send a reply would be after her message reached me, meaning after she’d arrived at Sirius eight years and seven months later. But by then, she might already be somewhere else entirely.

In the end, when it came to Nagamine, all I could do was wait. That’s what I had become.

I tried to imagine whether there was any chance Nagamine might return to Earth during those years. Probably not. The hyperdrive likely couldn’t be reused. Even if she used a sub-light engine and accelerated efficiently, it would take nearly twice the time.

The only real possibility was if a return-route shortcut anchor was somehow discovered. But since it had already been a year and she hadn’t come back, that return anchor from Sirius likely hadn’t been found. Or maybe it had been found—but the higher-ups had decided she should continue her mission, and so her return hadn’t been approved.

What else could I do besides wait?

I had an overwhelming amount of time ahead of me.

I needed to set a clear goal for myself—and strive toward it.

I decided to stop pointlessly knocking on a door that would never open.

I hardened my heart… and resolved to grow up, alone.