Spending Time with The Sisters

"Hey, hey, Boss."

"Hm?"

Tina called out to me after we finished watching our second holomovie, so I responded. The one we watched chronicled the adventures

of a researcher cum adventurer who crash-landed on a planet

populated by a so-called primitive civilization that didn't possess

interstellar navigation technology. He formed bonds with the natives of

the planet after interacting with them before eventually making it back

to space. It was made in the style of a documentary film.

Though you couldn't exactly call it a non-fiction work, it was apparently

based on true events. Basically, contact with those designated as

primitive civilizations is strictly prohibited by the Universal Culture

Preservation Law, but it won't be considered a crime if what led to it

were so-called unavoidable circumstances such as an accident. Still,

people were still encouraged to minimize contact as much as possible

in order to not affect the natural development of such civilizations.

Well, let's leave the explanations at that and hear out what Tina has to

say first.

"Ye'r from a primitive civilization yourself, right, Boss?"

"Oh–… Well, yeah, I suppose. In the world I'm from, or rather, the planet

I'm from, stuff like stars and outer space were still incredibly distant

concepts for most people. Interstellar navigation technology was only

found in science fiction works."

They might have already come up with some theory, but I wasn't that

knowledgeable when it comes to stuff like that. I've at least heard of the

International Space Station and that rocket development was taking

place in various countries around Earth, but things like that weren't

important to a former average salaryman like me.

"So, is yer current situation OK with the Universal Culture Preservation

Law?"

"I think so. I mean, I'm already recognized as an official Graccan

imperial citizen anyway. Are they still gonna bother me after all this

time?"

"That's true. But don't ya miss yer home planet, Boss?"

"Mm, well… Due to various reasons, I've already long given up on going

back."

"Various reasons?"

Whisker, who was silently listening to my and Tina's conversation,

finally joined in and raised a question of her own. Yeah, I was currently

sandwiched between the two sisters from the left and right. I wasn't

able to properly think about it when I first came to this world, but what

virtuous deeds did I exactly do in my previous life to find myself in my

current situation? Uh, judging from all the troublesome stuff I've

encountered this far, maybe I wasn't actually virtuous but evil instead.

"My home planet is known as Earth. It's the third planet of the Sol

system. So, in other words, it's basically Sol III."

"But if ya know the name of yer system, wouldn't it be easy fer ya to find

yer way back home, Boss?"

"The name was one the native Earthlings came up with. In other words,

it was named by a so-called undeveloped primitive civilization that

doesn't even have working interstellar navigation technology. Will that

kind of name really be registered on any official star maps?"

"Ah… Oh…"

The two of them should have probably realized what I was getting at.

From Earth's point of view, Earth was the third planet in the Solar

system. But for mature interstellar civilizations, the Solar system might

not be called the Solar system at all. In other words, there was no way

for me to search for my native Solar system on any available galactic

map. In fact, as soon as I came into this world, I already looked up not

only the Solar system but also the Sirius system, the Alpha Centauri

system, and the Tau Ceti system which were relatively close together,

but there were no hits.

"If I were an ultra-genius astronomer, I might have been able to figure

out the position of the Sol system from the arrangement of innumerable

stars out there, but unfortunately, I'm totally ignorant regarding that

field. This is the first reason."

"I see. Can we please also hear your other reasons, Big Brother?"

"Okay. If we take everything Kugi says as true, I somehow found myself

from a high-potential world into this one. I'm not exactly sure what's up

with this high-potential world stuff, but anyway, you can just chalk it up

to me somehow crossing space-time through some sort of supernatural

power or something like that."

"From an engineer's point of view, we aren't really that convinced of

that 'mysterious supernatural event' stuff though."

"Well, it's called mysterious because it's hard to understand."

I shrugged my shoulders in response to Tina who sported a somewhat

unconvinced expression. Just exactly how was I sent to this world, and

why? I probably won't be able to find any more leads apart from that

supernatural stuff Kugi keeps insisting about.

"Let's get back on topic. If this universe and the one I'm from really

aren't one and the same, exactly how far apart in space-time is the 'me'

now with the 'me' back in my home world?"

""???""

It seems that the sisters couldn't understand what I was trying to get

across this time around. Both of them tilted their heads in confusion.

"Let's not bother about whether or not I'm from another universe then.

If my home world really exists in this universe, I really have no idea

how far apart my current 'present' is from my 'present' back when I

was still on Earth. It's possible that I might have come to the far future

or maybe even the ancient past. On a cosmic scale, thousands or even

tens of thousands of years are like mere moments, right? This is the

second reason."

"Oh. In other words, when Big Brother jumped over here, you might not

have only jumped through space but also time. And whether it's a plus

or minus direction, it's measured on a cosmic scale, and you aren't even

sure if your star system still exists anymore."

"Ah–… I ain't even gonna know what to do if I suddenly found myself

displaced in time fer ten years. Not to mention a hundred, or even

thousands."

Even in this era where your life span can be greatly extended due to the

development of medical technology, hundreds of years were still a

pretty long time. It was long enough for several generations of changes.

"So, even if I could return to my original universe, will there still be a

place for me to return to? That's the problem… And, if by some miracle,

I eventually manage to find my home system in this universe, actually

heading back is still a big problem."

"A big problem?"

"I've already attained official Graccan empire citizenship, remember?

And like I told you guys earlier, my home planet's civilization can be

considered a primitive one. Since the Universal Culture Preservation

Law exists, I'm no longer allowed to return to my home system in the

first place. And even if I was allowed permission to visit the system, I

probably won't be granted permission to land on my home planet itself.

That's the third reason."

Krishna was still a fairly big starship. If no proper countermeasures

were taken, it was possible for those on Earth to detect it even with the

low technological level through the use of things like artificial satellites.

If that happens, the world would be thrown into chaos. After all, it was

the descent of a UFO. There's no way it won't turn into a super big deal.

"Un, I see. Given those reasons, it certainly does seem difficult…"

"That's how it is. Well, it's not like I had many relatives back on Earth in

the first place. I would be lying if I said I have no regrets, and I feel sorry

for suddenly disappearing on them, but I honestly don't feel like

throwing my current life away just to go back there anymore."

"I see… But don't you get lonely?"

Tina looked up at my face with a worried expression.

"It does feel sad to not be able to return to my home town, but now I

treat Krishna and Black Lotus as my homes more. And there's also Tina

and Whisker who worry so much about me. For the 'me' right now, this

is the place where I belong, and the place I should return to. And I'm

more than fine with that."

If I were thrown to another universe again together with Krishna, you

can bet I'd try my hardest to return to Black Lotus where everyone was

no matter what. Well, I don't think something so ridiculous would

happen repeatedly, but it's not like it's impossible for it to happen since

it's already happened once. I already have my hands full attracting all

sorts of trouble in this world… So, please spare me from that.

"…You spout some pretty cheesy lines with a straight face sometimes,

Boss."

Tina, whose face and ears have turned completely red, began to poke

my thigh with her fingertips. That tickles, you know? Or rather, even

Whisker snuggled over even closer.

"I didn't really aim for it, but… are you two thinking what I'm thinking

right now?"

"…That's tactless, Big Brother."

"We'll serve as the anchors so you won't suddenly go wanderin' around

somewhere again, Boss."

"I see."

Yeah, it turned into that kind of development. Please just imagine the

rest.