Eating a meal could be an ordeal.
And today's meal was a very special kind of ordeal.
Eldara sat on Bai Ling's left.
Jelperta sat on his right.
Across from him sat Angelina and Chen Qianyu.
At the next table over, the little "penguin" Administrator kept peeking this way with unabashed curiosity.
Only Perica had her head down, eating in silence, barely lifting her gaze even once.
It was obvious—she truly, genuinely loved food.
The cafeteria wasn't even crowded right now, yet Bai Ling felt as if the space had become inexplicably tight.
And he was the one being squeezed.
He had many things he wanted to say, but in the end he swallowed them all and settled for taking careful bites of the new grilled meat cutlet in front of him.
The meat on Talos-II was a bit strange—soft and almost chewy in a "sticky" way—but once it was properly processed, it didn't taste bad at all. In fact, there was an oddly addictive quality to it.
That probably explained why Perica could eat at such terrifying speed.
"…Teacher Bai Ling," Chen Qianyu murmured.
"Hm?"
"…You're really popular."
Qianyu knew it was possible they'd run into people at the cafeteria.
But she hadn't expected anyone to be waiting here for Bai Ling.
And not just one—three.
It didn't feel like they were fighting over him.
They were simply gathered together, as if this was the most natural thing in the world: sit here, wait, eat together.
It made Qianyu break into a faint cold sweat.
She might act a little silly most days, but she wasn't actually dumb. Usually she could sacrifice her image to keep the mood light.
But the atmosphere today?
Not a chance. She didn't dare say a single reckless word.
Eldara spoke up softly, breaking the strange tension.
"I heard from Supervisor Perica… you'll be taking charge of several secondary integrated-core outposts for Valley Four's reconstruction."
At the next table, Perica—who had been demolishing her food with terrifying focus—suddenly perked up.
Her ear-feathers stood straight, trembling slightly, and she immediately looked over.
She loved eating, yes.
But she cared about staffing and deployment, too—especially for someone as "special" as Bai Ling.
He'd already agreed to help, but hearing his stance through someone else's mouth was still reassuring.
Bai Ling answered in an even tone.
"If we're all members of Endfield Industries, then doing work when there's work to do is normal, isn't it?"
In truth, there were currently two secondary cores already established, with a third about to be built.
When Bai Ling had brought "two little lambs" with him and flattened most of the corrosion in and around the Originium Research Institute, the institute itself had suffered surprisingly little damage.
The farther you went toward the ore-vein source zone, however, the more severe the corrosion became.
The next secondary base was planned precisely beneath the Originium Research Institute—partly to divert refugees away from the worst-hit areas, and partly because the ore-vein zone's environment was simply unbearable.
"If it's you managing things, Senior," Eldara said, voice gentle and confident, "I'm sure the situation will stabilize quickly."
Bai Ling gave a small nod.
"Valley Four's corrosion has mostly been resolved. Construction's speeding up. Things are looking up."
Jelperta didn't speak, but her eyes never left him.
Most of Valley Four's urgent mail had already been handled. After this, she'd have to travel farther—other regions, other deliveries.
If she wanted to see Bai Ling, she'd probably have to seize whatever "free time" she could and go to Valley Four on her own.
As for Angelina…
After that re-summon incident, she and Jelperta had already talked everything out—quietly, directly.
They still hadn't said anything to Bai Ling.
Angelina's time on Talos-II wasn't long. She could be forced back to Terra at any moment, and she knew it wouldn't be far off.
Even if she didn't say it, Bai Ling could feel it through the command seal's condition.
They were simply pretending not to notice.
A mutual understanding.
Because everything that needed to be said… had already been said out at the ore-vein zone.
And honestly, Angelina's attitude toward Bai Ling had been "off" from the very beginning.
Had he missed something?
Or…
Maybe the first world he'd "landed" on really was Terra.
With that thought, Bai Ling took another bite of the soft, strangely addictive cutlet.
After the meal, the girls each went off to their own tasks and no longer clustered around him.
Perica, however, called Bai Ling to the bridge.
"Is there something else, Supervisor Perica?"
Perica raised a hand.
In her palm was a wristband—larger than the standard communicator most operators used.
"We don't know why ordinary communications devices interfere with your Originium Arts. But the technical division built a special unit to address that."
She pushed it toward him.
"It doesn't rely on electrical conversion. It runs directly on Originium power. One small Originium battery cell should last a long time."
Most devices used Originium energy converted into electricity.
For the tech division to make something like this—tailored to Bai Ling's oddity—was impressive.
"Try it on."
Bai Ling took the wristband and slipped it onto his right wrist.
He scanned his surroundings.
Good.
No rippling distortions in the air.
No strange electronic "frequency haze."
No intrusive lines and noise in his vision.
With normal communicators, Bai Ling could see countless "tracks" in the air—dense, overlapping, chaotic.
They severely disrupted him.
Maybe it was a side effect of the command seal. Maybe something else.
Either way, it was unbearable.
Perica watched him closely.
"Any issues?"
"None," Bai Ling said. "It's much better than the old one."
"This is still a trial prototype. If you feel discomfort or notice anomalies, contact the Dijiang immediately so we can adjust it. Every operator is an asset to Endfield Industries."
"Understood."
"I've already messaged Ivon. The outpost at the Originium Research Institute will be in your hands."
"No problem."
He said "no problem," but the moment he arrived at the Originium Research Institute via protocol transfer, he spotted a familiar figure in the distance.
A girl stood before a large, blank noticeboard.
The board had been weather-beaten for so long that whatever had once been carved into it was now illegible.
Pink-tipped horns. Pink-tipped tail. Bright, boundless energy.
There was no one else it could be.
Ivon.
Sensing someone watching her, she turned.
The instant she saw Bai Ling, her smile burst out like sunlight she couldn't possibly hold back.
"Bai Ling!"
She waved wildly, and Bai Ling naturally walked over.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm thinking about drawing a graffiti piece," Ivon said. "To record how things are right now."
"Why graffiti, all of a sudden?"
If you wanted to record a moment, photography was faster—and given the things Ivon built, filming would be trivial. She could probably set up perfect, all-angle, continuous coverage without effort.
Ivon hesitated, then tilted her head slightly, eyes flicking aside.
"…Bai Ling. Do you want the truth, or do you want a story I make up?"
Facing someone she cared about, the little dragon girl's defenses finally failed. Her ears were faintly red.
Bai Ling wandered to a nearby bench, brushed off the dust, and sat down calmly, studying her.
"I want both."
"Huh?"
Ivon blinked, clearly unable to process that answer.
Bai Ling reached into his pocket, took out two bottles of soda, and set them on the bench without opening them.
Then he spoke with an easy smile.
"If you tell me the truth, it means you trust me—no reservations. Why would I be unhappy?"
"And if you tell me a story," he continued, "it means you're not ready to tell me certain things yet, but you also don't want to brush me off. I have no reason to be angry about that either."
He looked at her, amused.
"And besides—who asks someone, 'Do you want the truth or my made-up story,' while trying to lie?"
Honestly, little dragon girls were unfairly cute.
Ivon didn't answer.
Her cheeks reddened further as she walked over and sat beside him.
After a short while, she chose to skip the earlier question entirely.
"Perica-jiejie already told me about the outpost," Ivon said. "Someone's managing it already. She's just worried there aren't enough hands, and something will go wrong—so she assigned you to help."
Refugees were the worst kind of variable.
Most people were good. But out of ten, it only took one unstable person to turn everyone's lives sour.
Bai Ling nodded.
"Yeah. I know the situation. I've walked the route between the institute and the ore-vein zone more times than I can count."
The ore-vein source zone had been hit the hardest.
Even now, there were still "angels" roaming beyond the quarantine line.
"The Administrator already placed a secondary integrated core," Ivon added. "And with resources drawn from the hub's central core, construction's going fine."
Living inside the Originium Research Institute, Ivon's grasp of its operations wasn't "informed"—it was practically omniscient.
And since the new outpost was being built down at the base of the mountain, she could see the entire site from above.
That was exactly why she couldn't quite understand why Bai Ling had been sent here at all.
Valley Four was already stable. Why commit more manpower?
But Perica had always been reliable in Ivon's eyes.
If she arranged it this way, she had her reasons.
Ivon tried to reason it out, failed, and finally gave up thinking.
Her thick dragon tail quietly slid behind Bai Ling, and she leaned a little closer.
Somehow, she felt Bai Ling wasn't the kind of person who could be tied down to one place.
Just being able to stay close to him right now… already felt like something precious.
As for the future—
She could worry about that later.
In the ignored corner nearby, Tata sat in the sun with a "-v-" face on its screen, occasionally flashing a faint red infrared glow—recording everything.
Bai Ling suddenly felt something.
He turned his left hand over.
On the back of his hand, the fox-head command seal was slowly blurring—its edges dissolving.
So it was about time.
…Really.
Leaving without even saying goodbye.
On the Dijiang.
In the archive room, Jelperta sat at a desk scattered with letters—her upcoming deliveries.
Angelina stood beside the window, looking toward Valley Four on Talos-II. Her expression carried a quiet kind of relief.
She had thought she'd lost her chance.
But not only had she come here—she had said what she'd always wanted to say.
Even if it was a little like covering her ears and pretending the bell wasn't ringing…
Bai Ling wasn't a block of wood.
He had clearly understood what she meant.
Jelperta finished sorting the envelopes and looked up at Angelina—who had been silent for a long time.
"…Why didn't you go say goodbye?"
Angelina didn't turn.
"Being a courier is just rehearsing meetings and farewells, again and again. This time, I already delivered what I needed to deliver. There's no need to say goodbye."
"You're the one who told me," Jelperta said softly, "not to leave right after delivering a letter. To at least talk a little."
Angelina turned her head slightly.
Her eyes were smiling, but she still didn't answer.
Just then, Jelperta's wristband pulsed with light.
A message.
"Next time you come, you owe me two bottles of soda."
Jelperta stared at it, lips twitching.
"Mr. Bai Ling really loves soda," she muttered. "Is he not afraid of getting fat?"
Angelina's smile grew faintly helpless.
"So he noticed after all."
A soft glow rose around Angelina, turning her body translucent.
"Jelperta."
"I'm here."
"…I'm not as cheerful and optimistic as you think," Angelina said quietly. "I look like I'm fine, but… you're stronger than me."
Jelperta stepped closer, voice gentle and firm.
"If it weren't for you, how would there be me? Angelina."
Angelina blinked, then smiled.
"Fair point."
"Goodbye, Jelperta."
"…Mm."
The light dispersed.
Angelina vanished.
Terra.
Rhodes Island.
A red figure appeared silently above the bridge, perched atop a pillar, legs drawn in, watching everything below with a calm, distant gaze.
It was a little different from what she'd imagined.
But overall…
The result was good.
She had used up all the courage she'd ever saved, and finally said what she'd wanted to say.
Still—strange.
Why didn't he have the memories?
He didn't look like someone who'd forgotten Terra entirely, yet with them he seemed to possess only a sense of familiarity, not the weight of lived time.
Angelina couldn't make sense of it, and didn't want to force it.
Then she remembered: Eyjafjalla had disappeared for several days too—she probably went to see "him" as well.
And Eldara—the one who looked so similar—was her "re-traveler."
Could Eldara know something?
Maybe.
But no matter what…
This trip had been good.
She'd seen the person she wanted to see.
She'd delivered the words she wanted to deliver.
And even the future version of "herself" had delivered the letter she never managed to send.
Whatever the future looked like—
This was, without question, a good beginning.
A sound snapped her back to reality.
Angelina looked down.
A white-haired girl was hanging from the bridge ceiling by ropes, swaying slightly.
"…Huh? Angelina?" the girl complained weakly. "Can you untie me? It's clearly past time, but Kal'tsit still hasn't come to take me down…"
....
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