Track 5

Looks like everyone’s here! Let’s do a quick roll call! Sakujiro-san, please start!

Isotake-kun.

Here!

Kinugawa-kun.

…Here…

Nanamegi-kun.

Here.

Kaguya-kun.

Here.

Kurama-kun.

I really don’t see the point of you calling us out one by one. There’s only 5 of us, so you can tell just by looking?

Kurama-kun.

You obviously know I’m here…

Kurama-kuuuuuun.

C-Can you stop repeating my name!? This is literally public humiliation…!

Uu-chan, you need to reply.

…Here!! Happy!?

Excellent, that was a truly magnificent response. All five Noon Team members are present and full of energy! We are now set to depart for Kagoshima.

By the way, once we get there, we’ll be taking a propeller plane from Kagoshima Airport to go to Tanegashima!

For reals~!? I thought we’d take a boat like how we got to Shodoshima last time!!

But you can’t say propeller planes without bringing up “Mission Possible”!¹ Can’t wait to do me some out of this world Nathan² level stunts~~~~~!

That was done with fighter jets, not propeller planes.

Yeah, those are two different things… Anyway, Akuta-kun, let’s calm down for a bit, okay?

No way I can stay calm, Teach! We’re about to experience a real dogfight!!

Ah… Your nose, is bleeding…!

Fyhuh!? Hehe… I got too pumped up!

Worry not. I thought this might happen, so I prepared nosebleed absorbent tissues in advance. Hold on, let me retrieve them from my suitcase.

I didn’t know tissues made specifically for nosebleeds existed.

This is hana jidome.³ Here, Isotake.

Thanks!

…Oh? Oh me oh my?

…Amazing… The bleeding stopped, immediately…!

Being prepared is one of my duties as a main host. They were being sold in a set of three for only ten dollars.

…Wait, Muneuji. Isn’t that thing in your suitcase the toy Princess was holding at your house the other day?

……

I knew it, it’s that transceiver from before. Are you gonna be using it in Tanegashima?

…Oh, yes.

(So that… I won’t repeat the regrets from that night—)

…y …nd …ne …er… C… …ro …le…

(Hm…? What is the transmission saying?)

…y …land …hine …ver… Co… in… om… le…

(There is a lot of static. However, it seems to be repeating the same message over and over again. What exactly does it contain?)

(Just a little more …)

M… hom… shi… sil… ming… …fro …sele…

Hom… homeland…

My homeland shines silver. Coming in from selee…?

…………

Oh…

(The voice disappeared… What in the world…?)

…I should have recorded it.

(I made numerous attempts after that to reconnect to the same channel, none of which went through.)

(This handmade transceiver should only be able to hold one recording at a time, but…)

You know, Princess’s singing was really cute.

Oh… yes, it was.

Actually, I’ve been wanting to try my hand at writing a kids’ song. Do you think she’d sing it for me?

She does like to sing. I am sure she would jump for joy if you composed one for her.

Really? That’d be amazing. If you’re okay with it, could I listen to her sing again?

…Of course.

…

(Let us put it to rest.)

(Both the recording that was once saved within this device, and the mysterious message from that night.)

(I should not overwrite what is currently recorded.)

…

We’ve arrived at Hase Park! That was quite the journey, everyone. Now, what you see over there is—

Hm? What’s that big building?

It is the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, aka JAXA’s, Tanegashima Space Centre.

*sigh* I’m tired… Can we go to the hotel already…?

(He’s taking tons of photos… as usual…)

That tower thing must be the launch pad. …The view around here is really nice.

Indeed. Surrounded by the boundless blue sea and mountains rich with life… This place is praised as the most beautiful space launch site in the world where nature coexists with science.

It is a popular spot for watching a space launch, since you are able to hear the countdown.

Yeah… I’ve seen it, on TV before…

If the launch doesn’t get delayed, we’ll be able to see it from here on the last day of the trip!

On the last day!? You can’t tell me to wait that long, Teach!

Worry not, Isotake. We will be heading to the space centre first.

That’s right! We’ll make our way there next.

Bet! Then what are we waiting for~? Last one there is a rotten egg! I am SPEED!

Wait, Akuta! Are you seriously planning to run all the way there!?

A-Akuta-kun, stop…! It’s almost 7 kilometres from here!

I mean it’d be pretty rude for us to stop him if that’s what he wants to do.

B-But that’s reckless… even for, Isotake…!

Tanegashima is roughly the same size as HAMA, so the tourist spots are much more spread out than they seem.

It’s wonderful to have such energy, but if we wear ourselves out before the tour even begins, that would rather defeat the purpose, would it not? Let us take the rental car.

AKUTAAA! COME BACK ALREADYYY…!

This is the cafeteria used by JAXA staff. It’s open to the public, but make sure to follow the rules while you eat.

So this is the rumoured rocket curry.

So cute… There are, star-shaped, toppings… and the rice, looks like a, rocket…

(It at least looks good, but I doubt it’d be spicy…)

Even if we’re not like Mr. Burst-Shutter over there, let’s take a pic for memory’s sake.

Good, idea…!

Time for my long awaited blast off to curry land~ *NOM*!

…Bussin’! It might be ‘cause I’m starved, but this slaps!

One of us doesn’t even care to appreciate the presentation.

Curry is space, and space is curry. Perhaps we are nothing more than a tiny existence among the grand scheme of this curry cosmos.

Agreed, I feel as if I have taken another step into understanding the mysteries of the universe.

You actually get what he was saying…?

I was just joking. Although, I found the bus tour around the space centre to be a wondrous experience.

I never would have thought we would be able to approach the launch pad despite it being a restricted area.

I didn’t think it would be that big, at least not from when we saw it in the park.

The hangar was also insanely huge! I can’t believe they store rockets in there!!

The proper name for it is the Vehicle Assembly Building. The door alone is Guinness-certified to measure sixty-seven meters in height and two point five meters in thickness.

They said… it was, the gateway to space… It was, really cool…

Speaking of cool, that platform that carries the rocket to the launch pad was awesome.

What was it called again!? Y’know, that big metal thing with all the tires!

Was it… a dolly…?

Oh, that one! Thanks, Kiroku! I was too hyped looking at everything, I barely remembered the names.

Me too… When the guide, asked… if we had, any questions… I was, too excited… to think of, anything…

Oh yeah, Panda had one. Though it was so redundant, like, who asks, “Does the grass around the launch pad get burnt during blast off?”

Shut up. They said they spray water before launch, okay?

They also told us how the fire used to spread all the way to the mountains! That’s actually so insane…!

But no, like, you for real can’t have a space movie without rocket fire, flying meteorites, and a big, bad black hole.

The inspiration… is here…! A big galactical invasion by aliens… the Earth goes extinct… space battleships… terraforming… *pant pant*…!

I thought you only had $300 for your budget…?

Fufu, everyone’s eyes are sparkling even more than usual… This is truly rewarding as an educator. Don’t you think so, Chief?

This rocket curry is delicious, but I’m also excited to try out the space curry!

Space curry?

You didn’t buy any of the space food from the museum shop? I grabbed everything I could, space eel, space mochi, you name it!

…It seems that the children are not the only ones who are captivated by space. Oh my, how wonderful.

I-I wasn’t just buying souvenirs. Didn’t you also enjoy the exhibits at the Space Science and Technology Museum?⁴

Oh, I suppose I did.

After all, Tanegashima is a place that brings together the very best of science and technology, where you can learn all about space and astronauts! I wish more people could experience this.

There were so many interactive exhibits, and tons of families visiting with little kids too…

Oh yeah! When I went to the experiment module,⁵ there were kids in there pretending to do stuff, like, giving out commands and all that.

Ahaha, sounds like you both got the full astronaut experience.

Yeah! A bunch of them wanted to become astronauts too, kinda like Muneuji! And of course, I told them their dreams were guaranteed to come true!

…Is that so.

Muu-chan, you spent most of the time looking at the moon exhibits, right?

Yes. The way they explained the process of going to the moon was very intriguing, and the blueprint for the lunar orbiter spacecraft was also very eye-opening.

KAGUYA, right? That’s the name of the satellite they used to learn about the moon.

Weren’t there also satellites called OKINA and OUNA⁶ that were exploring with it?

Yes, the main orbiter KAGUYA was accompanied by two small satellites. The relay satellite was called OKINA while the VLBI satellite was OUNA.

…That’s just like… The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter…

Oh yeah, I asked oomf about that story once.

They said that some people believe that Princess Kaguya was an alien ‘cause she came from the moon!

Haha, what are you even blabbering about?

Like, she committed some kinda crime on the moon and got exiled to Earth to repent, but then her crimes were pardoned and so she went back to her homeland!

Imagine being from the moon, as if.

The exhibit also said that the moon has been fully explored. But I kinda dig the idea of there being people on the moon.

Tsk tsk tsk… Just between us, there’s actually an underground city on the moon.

An underground city…?

Yeah, apparently it was leaked by someone in NASA before! So it’s like genuinely for real!

…Classified information, leaked…

That sounds so stupid… I came all the way to a cutting-edge scientific research facility in Tanegashima just to hear about some stupid conspiracy theory.

Hey, you don’t know that! It could be real!!

That’s the thing with space. The more you learn, the more mysteries you realize are still out there. So maybe… it’s not entirely impossible?

That’s what makes… space, so fascinating.

Well, we could probably talk all day, but I think we should head to our next location.

Oh, do we have to leave already?

Time really does fly when you’re chatting with good company. I trust everyone’s stomach is satisfied?

We ended our tour of the space centre replenishing both our physical and mental strength. Now we will have no problems going about our afternoon.

Then, shall we head off to help with the Space Art Light Festival?