----Lunar base guard Cedric, viewpoint


Would you put this on first?

　When I handed him the power suit for lunar exploration, Kouki took a glance at it, as if to check the equipment, and then began to put it on. Perhaps he was examining the suit to see if it was practical to protect his own life, and since she gave me detailed information about Kouki, I can predict what he will think.

'My son is uncompromising about everything. It's a virtue, but at the same time it's a weakness.''

　I remember her looking me in the eye as she handed me the documents and told me this seriously. At first I thought he was just a child, but that thought was blown away when I saw the documents. The materials, which are normally not suitable for viewing at the level of information I possess, contained everything he had done and developed up to now. People give Mr. Kouki a lot of credit for his genius, and I really think they're right.
　The construction of new theories, the development of new technology, military talent, 'I can do anything'...that's the kind of person Kouki-kun was. The world's technology has evolved by leaps and bounds in the last ten years, but it's all just the result of one boy in front of me.

''Is this all right?''

　When I was skipping consciousness, Kouki-kun finished putting on the suit and called out to me.

"Kouki, I know you have some kind of personal terminal on your arm. You can use it to see if the suit is currently in working order. You can control it with your hand or from inside the suit, so please check it.

Well, if the green light is correct, there's no problem.

'Yeah, if it's green, you'll be fine. Once you're on the moon, even the slightest thing can be fatal, so let me know when it turns yellow. If it's red, make sure you discard the suit and only wear an exoskeleton.

　All right, I've explained everything you need to know. She's wearing it with no problem, so that's the equipment we'll be taking with us, assuming you're not worried. If we were to go to the ruins, we would carry a weapon for self-defense, but have you ever fired a gun before, Kouki?　The safest thing to do is to let him or her have it, but if you are an amateur, it's dangerous.
　While I was pondering this, the lady sent a transmission on a confidential line saying, 'I'll leave all the escorting to you. Who in the world is this person?　How do you know what I'm thinking?　I got a little scared, so I replied with an affectionate smile.

"Kouki-kun, if you don't have anything in particular that you need, we'll leave, is that okay?

'Yes!　I'm looking forward to it.

　When I told him we were leaving, he gave me a smile befitting his age. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks that this mission on the moon with nothing on it is not so bad.




　An hour into the shuttle ride, Kouki, who had been sitting quietly until then, suddenly started operating the terminal. I heard he was looking for information, but I guess he couldn't find it, so he sends me a message.

"Um, where do you see the amount of oxygen left in the tank?

On your exoskeleton's right arm, you have a time and a percentage marked, that's how long you can be active with the remaining oxygen and how much you have left. It has a circulatory system, so you can be active for 30 hours, but I'm not sure of the exact amount of time you can be active for, since it varies from person to person.

　d*mn it I should have told you in the beginning. Normally, I would have been disappointed as I would have come to some basic training on earth. The poor guy must have been worried, I'll apologize and ask him if he has any other questions.

'Do you have any archaeological data on the site?'

　I'm sorry, but there is no such thing. In the first place, there is only a symbolic script written on it that would make all the great scholars from the earth nod their heads in agreement. The only thing that's left is a doorway to the site where the letters are written. It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on a new one.

I'll be arriving soon.

　The pilot sends us a message and we begin to prepare to go outside. The shuttle is supposed to land after a security team descends to check the safety of the area, just in case. Watching the three men descend from the hatch, I send a message to Kouki on an open channel.

From now on, Kouki, I'm going to lock the communication on this frequency. "Kouki-kun, we'll fix the communication on this frequency from now on.

I understand.

　They seemed to be having trouble changing the frequency, but they changed it properly. A few minutes later we received a 'no problem' call from our subordinates who descended, so the shuttle lands. After the shuttle has come to a complete stop, we all disembarked from the shuttle and arrived in front of the ruins in question, where an attentive subordinate illuminated the letters of the ruins with a portable light. Kouki-kun was silent for a while as he watched the letters, but then he blurted out a few words.

'Stand on the edge and push against the wall?　No, you're not going to hit me with this.

Kochan!　You can read!

　She sounds surprised, and I'm surprised too. It's not possible to decipher in such a short period of time the letters that were said to be a mystery for 150 years after mankind confirmed the remains of this site?　Then he turns back to Kouki or us and tells everyone present.

'What do we do?　Do you want me to open it?

　I seem to be unintentionally witnessing a new step for humanity.




----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint


　After getting out of the shuttle, we came to the front of the ruins, surrounded by males. It's too dark to see!　But then one of the people around me turned on the lights so I could see better. I'll buy something from the store when I get back to the base to thank him for his kindness. Now, the "symbolic script" in question, as I looked at it, I almost laughed as I expected. It is certainly impossible for a scholarly teacher or an archaeologist to read


This is a 'picture'.


　I've been thinking about this since I was taught in the shuttle that it was a 'symbolic letter', but if there was a life form with advanced technology that was capable of interstellar navigation and building ruins on another planet, a lower class creature... that is, when it comes to teaching humanity about its existence, 'letters' What would we use?　
　If I were you, I wouldn't use it. I would teach it with 'pictures' that a certain level of civilization would understand. And the ultimate reason why you can't read is the way you decipher it. Normal ... well, normal for the earth, but the letters are basically read left to right or right to left. There are some types that are read from top to bottom, but they definitely don't read diagonally from the bottom and then in the middle of the text in a different direction, as is the case with this ruin.
　The scholars on earth call mankind the 'top of the ecosystem' and think they are omniscient and omnipotent, but from the point of view of the organisms that built these ruins, they are just like 'amoebas'. I think it's because you have such a fixed mindset that you can't change the way you think about reading it. It's not like I can read it because I have no common sense or anything!　It's not.　

"Stand on the edge and push against the wall?　No, you're not going to hit me with this.

Kochan!　You can read!

　I said it out loud as I was decoding it, and my mom perked up. Wait, I'm decoding. After taking a little time to figure out how to open it I ask them all.

'What do we do now?　Do you want me to open it?

　As for me, I'd like to open it now and charge inside. Maybe, but it's proof of its own existence, so it's not likely to harm another species. When you think about it calmly, it's hard to believe that an intelligent life form with a level of intelligence that can leave behind civilization will attack without a clear purpose, because if they do, there's a chance that they will fight back if their race has the means to fight back or has evolved.
　While I was waiting for my mother and man to make a decision with a pounding heart, my mother asked me in a serious voice.

"Ko-chan, what do you think? Do you think it's safe?

　I speak my opinion that I've just considered. Mom seems to agree, but the old man looks uneasy.

'Wouldn't it be better to turn back when you feel you're in danger?

　Mom suggests a concession to Ossan. Hearing this, Ossan seems to have decided to open the door and gives instructions to his subordinate. While my subordinate is holding a gun at the ready in case of an emergency, I begin the operation of opening the door.... I stand on the far right side and tap the bottom left three times, then stand on the opposite side and do the same thing, this time. Then the picture lit up blue and the door opened diagonally to the upper right.
　 As I entered the interior while holding back the laughter that was somehow bubbling up, a passage that I assumed was a corridor spread out before me. A similar picture was written on the wall.

''Well, it looks like we're going straight ahead. Maybe, but it says, 'We don't intend to attack'.

Kouki, do you understand all those details?

　The old man, who was looking around jitterily, asks me a question. The creature that was operating the door in the picture on the entrance threw away something like a weapon and beckoned to another creature, so I think it's correct. I responded to the old man in an appropriate manner and proceeded to the back of the room. This time, the creature that was being beckoned to is holding a weapon, and it looks like another creature is stopping it.

'When you open this door, it says, 'Open this door, you'll be surprised, but don't use the weapon blindly.' Tell your men not to shoot blindly.'

Okay, all right.

　 This one will surprise you!　If it wasn't for the warning signs, I might have sat up. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the old man's men try to point a gun at me, but my mom kicked him and stopped him. 'Didn't you listen to your son?' He says to that squad member in a scary voice.
　I'm grateful that you stopped firing, but this is your first contact with the aliens, so don't put Earth to shame!　I was about to hold my head in my hands when the woman spoke up for the first time.

'How do you do, Earthlings?'

　A woman greeted me in a crystal clear voice. Hmm?　Wait, that's not a synthesized sound!　Is this man speaking in Japanese now?　He seemed to understand that I was surprised, and continued to say more with a chuckle.

''It was you who opened the door to the entrance, Arakawa Koki-kun. You became the owner of this place at that point, it's only natural to speak in the language the owner uses.

　No, I opened it, but I don't want to be the owner of it. I mean, how the hell do you know my name!　To go further, how can you speak Japanese!　I wanted to make more of a gesture or something like that, because it's an encounter with the unknown. Well, it's useful, so it's good.

'I can speak Japanese because I have been gathering information about Earth for some time now. And if you wish, you can speak to me in the language of our species, but it will take me a while to understand.

　Hey I'm not saying it now, how did you know what I was going to say? Did you read my mind?

No, I can't read the mind, which is a volatile thing. I can only read the most superficial details of your thoughts.

　All right, I know this is great, but please stop. Humanity is a living organism that uses language as its sound, and what you're doing right now is not acceptable to humanity.

I'm going to use the word. Why don't you take off that suit before I explain in detail?　This place is set up to be earth shaped.

　I'm about to deactivate my suit like the woman told me to, when Mom stops me. Mom says it's 'dangerous', but this woman has promised to speak to humanity in a verbal manner. Shouldn't we be respectful, then?　I said that, and after thinking for a moment, Mom said, 'She'll disarm it first.
　This time the security man said, 'No, I'll go first for safety'. I got bothered by this, so I took the suit off by myself and took off my exoskeleton helmet as well. I took a deep breath in, and the woman looked at me with a surprised look on her face as she spoke out.



That's true for some, but not for most. But most of them aren't.

　I replied and she nodded at me, smiling gently. Somehow this woman has a similar vibe to my mom, so maybe that's why I trusted her. After checking out the members of the team who had deactivated their suits after me, I thought about what I was going to ask them about. When I talked to my mom about the content, she said 'just ask whatever you want', so I decided to check who the woman in front of me was first.


　Then I'll hear the woman tell me ... the tremendously long journey and sad story of a race that existed in a certain galaxy.