“Anyway, let’s just get any small ship or something and head into space.”
Ultimately, Hime, who had fallen asleep while holding my hand trembling yesterday, said so with a determined expression as we discussed our future plans. In other words, her opinion seems to be to get a spaceship that fits into my junkyard and head into space first.
“Then we can send a beacon and have someone pick us up.”
“Oh, someone from your family?”
“Yeah, that’s right. I won’t go back, but I’ll have Ma-chan brought up.”
Hime, who looked stylish in my oversized hoodie, said so while poking at cup noodles with a fork pointed towards the sky.
“Bringing Ma-chan up, if that’s possible, would be helpful.”
“Huh? Wait, you’re not going back, Hime?”
When I said that, Hime looked somewhat displeased and thrust the fork she had been pointing towards the sky towards me.
“Tonbo, told me to rest slowly, didn’t you? Was that a lie?”
“Huh!? …No, no! It wasn’t a lie at all!”
At that time, I really thought she might be a child… And if her relationship with her parents is normal, I think it would be okay for her to go back.
“Anyway, since news about Hime will spread, there will be war between Valak and Redol in the future. It’s better to hide in a safe zone until things calm down.”
“Well, if you say so.”
“War, why ……? Don’t they have a police force or something? Don’t they have a galactic police force? “
“Because, you know, the Galactic Police can’t do anything against pirates. They’re getting paid by both Valak and Redol, so they won’t move.”
“Well, the Galactic Police can only bully the weak. Honestly, they’re not well-liked.”
Space seems more brutal than I thought. Well, if it weren’t for that brutality, there wouldn’t have been a thousand years of war.
“But anyway, even if we send a beacon, we have to go into space. Probably the ship that goes into Tonbo’s junkyard would be a shuttle, so even though it can enter the atmosphere, it probably can’t escape.”
“Let’s get launched on this rocket. It seems like they’re launching satellites and stuff.”
“But can individuals even do that?”
As I asked, Hime tilted her eyes upward and gently stroked her chin as if contemplating something. Perhaps she’s searching the internet?
“Oh, yeah, we might need to tidy up our appearance. Should we start a company?”
“A company, as in a space development enterprise? That’s not something you can just…”
“No, since practical spacecraft are available, I think it’s quite straightforward…”
“No, I mean, wouldn’t people find it hard to believe if we suddenly said we built a spaceship?”
We don’t even have a small office, let alone a small factory. We’re three individuals with no credibility. Even if we were to present an actual spaceship, we probably wouldn’t even get a test.
“Um, it’s difficult to grasp the concept of a planet without spaceships. If there were finished products, that would be fine, right?”
“If credibility is needed, shall we spend some time setting up a fake factory?”
“Plus, we could earn money by doing seemingly legitimate business while we’re at it… If only we had atmospheric escape boosters the size of shuttlecraft, but such niche items are hard to come by.”
“From an Earth perspective, it seems plausible. Could we not make something like atmospheric escape shuttles, similar to the anti-gravity devices on your body adjustment apparatus?”
“A mere anti-gravity device for levitation and a gravity control device used for ship control are technically almost entirely different. It’s like saying a steam engine and a nuclear reactor are the same because they both use steam to turn a turbine.”
Not everything in space technology is possible. As I was fascinated by the story of Mars, Hime suddenly pointed at me.
“So, Tonbo, you’ll be the president.”
“What!? Me!?”
“You’re the only one here, a local.”
“That’s true, but… I’m a student?”
It feels like too much of a burden… But as I look at Mars and Hime, they both nod slowly with serious expressions.
“With me around, you can relax and take on the role confidently.”
“I’m not saying you have to seriously run a company, just presentable enough. It’s just a slightly larger-scale procurement agency.”
Indeed, I enjoyed being a procurement agent, so I guess I could do it if it’s an extension of that… But, even though it’s just a title, I’m the president. I don’t know anything about business etiquette, and I only have the suit made for my university entrance ceremony.
“Well, that’s settled then. Tonbo is also being suspected by the locals, right? Are you going to live in obscurity forever? If you’re setting up a company, might as well cover up a few things.”
“Oh! That might help! I’ve been worried about the impact when I try to get a job.”
When I said that, Hime exclaimed in surprise, “Huh!?”. Huh? Did I say something weird?
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“Get a job? With Earth companies? What are you talking about? If you have a junkyard, there are plenty of other things you could do.”
“Hime, say more. Tonbo’s still working part-time at a pizza place.”
“Why are you bringing that up! It’s fine, isn’t it!”
When I couldn’t become a procurement agent, it’s important to always take precautions in this unstable era. No matter how much space stuff we get, without money, we can’t even buy food at the supermarket.
“Well, anyway, let’s start the company.”
“Oh, then I have to go to the office and get the necessary documents. Can you give me a list? I’ll go pick them up on my way home from school.”
“Why?”
“Well, setting up a company takes quite some time…”
“Check your smartphone.”
With Hime’s words, I heard a beep from my smartphone, and when I looked at the browser, an unfamiliar webpage was displayed. What’s this? [Kawashima Trading Co., Ltd]? Business content… [Space development, import and export, system hardware development, online retail]? President… [Tonbo Kawashima]? That’s me!
“W-What’s this… when did…?”
“I made it just now. It’s already legally established since last year. I’ve even settled the taxes under the company’s name.”
“T-That was fast…”
As I said that, Hime snorted and puffed out her chest.
“You see, Tonbo, Hime has been working just with leaked thought waves in an self-closing state all this time.”
“Come to think of it, that’s true.”
“Mars, is that amazing?”
“It’s not something that can usually be done since it’s not designed that way.”
“The amazing thing about Hime is being able to do things that aren’t normally possible.”
Hime put her hand on her chest and continued proudly.
“Frankly, with the full energy supply now, there’s enough capacity for Hime to handle a planetary-class battleship. So this little planet’s tiny internet is completely under my control.”
“Even though it’s optimized for calculations, I think planetary-class might be a bit much…”
Ignoring Mars’s interjection, Hime jerked her chin towards me. Huh, what…?
“You can pat me.”
“Huh? Uh… sure…”
Maybe because I occasionally petted her when she was brain shell, she might think I like petting her head? I wiped my slightly sweaty palm on my pants and gently stroked Hime’s head, which was breathing heavily with a proud look. After stroking her hair, which was incredibly smooth compared to my younger sister’s hair that I used to pet, for a while, Hime suddenly returned her head to its original position.
“Now, as for working capital or rather, a show of funds? I gathered about a hundred million from seemingly unproblematic slush funds and put them in an account.”
A hundred million! Even if it’s a slush fund, if that much disappears, it’s bound to cause a stir, but well, since the thief is a galactic-class hacker, there’s no way they’ll reach me. It’s not my money, so I can’t use it, but can’t I at least touch the million-yen bills as a commemoration?
“And Tonbo, you’re doing business with funding and technology support from Ma-chan’s and Hime’s hometown. I’ve set it up so that the connection to the hometown leads to Awaji Island’s stray dungeon.”
“Awaji Island, where a giant tortoise appeared, causing the entire island to evacuate?”
“That makes it the perfect cover story. No one can go there to check.No one can go there to check.
“Exactly. Well, since it’s easy like this, you can rely on us in the future.”
T-Too amazing… I bowed to Hime and handed her a chocolate bar from the junkyard.
“Oh, what’s this? Are you impressed by Hime’s charisma?”
“Hime, please, please… with your grace, could you… just for the required second foreign language…”
“…Are you stupid!? If you’re going to ask for something like that, just quit university!”
“Please somehow…”
“By the way, Tonbo, is there any point in going to university when you’re the president? You don’t need to job hunt, you know?”
“Can I bet my life on a virtual company like this?! I have my life plan!”
“As long as the junkyard is connected to the far reaches of space, I think Tonbo’s life will probably be like this forever…”
While I thought, “That might be true”… I dragged my heavy feet out of the house to go to the prestigious Tokyo university I had struggled to enter.
The warm sunshine illuminated the rickety apartment stairs, and my pocket smartphone continued to beep incessantly. I check the screen of my phone to see if it’s still beeping, but it’s not. It’s a history of calls from fictitious investors of our company, that are trying to create an alibi, going back to the past.
I switched the overly noisy smartphone to silent mode and let out a long sigh as I headed to the station.
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