Chapter 31: Moon Base Lighthouse (2)
“Gate transfer, safely completed!”
‘What was that just now…….’
While moving through space, Diesel hurriedly retraced his memories after encountering something unbelievable.
It all happened so quickly that he couldn’t tell exactly what had occurred, but what he had seen within the gap in space was his Older Brother, Lee Hamin.
‘I couldn’t have seen it wrong. It was definitely my Older Brother.’
〈Master, are you all right?〉
Ar poked its head out from Diesel’s chest and asked.
At that, Diesel recalled Ar saying it would record his thoughts and asked,
〈Ar, did you record seeing some man just now when we passed through the gate?〉
〈……?〉
〈From that pitch-black gap right after entering the gate.〉
〈There is no such record.〉
〈What?〉
〈During spatial transfer, nothing was recorded.〉
〈That can’t be right. Maybe things were too chaotic and you missed it?〉
〈Ar does not miss things.〉
While Diesel was conversing with the spirit like that, a loud burst of music suddenly echoed from somewhere.
Along with it, a cheerful voice rang out from the speakers.
[Welcome! This is Podvig’s Moon Base, boasting the largest and finest facilities in the world!]
Accompanied by a bright, theme-park-like tune, the train crept along the rails.
Soon, as it exited the dark tunnel, the full view of the Moon Base unfolded beyond the transparent glass.
“Wow…….”
Kang Da-hee, seated beside Diesel, parted her lips slightly as she looked out the window.
Stars densely studded across the pitch-black sky sparkled brilliantly.
Below them, a vast expanse of rugged, ashen terrain spread out.
A sight incomparable to anything seen in photographs.
Among it all, one massive structure rising proudly toward space immediately caught the eye.
“So that’s the Moon Lighthouse……!”
Aboard the slowly moving train, Kang Da-hee poured out her admiration again and again.
[We will now provide guidance. One, please be advised that unauthorized space observation may be punishable under relevant laws. Two, entry into areas where gravity magic does not reach may be dangerous, so please be sure to follow designated routes…….]
From the speakers mounted along the corridor, precautionary notices played on repeat.
When the brief rail tour ended, the train came to a clattering stop at the platform.
“Welcome, Magic Engineering Department members! From here on, our Moon Base staff will comfortably escort you to your accommodations at the ‘Moonlight Hotel’!”
With the staff’s guidance, the train’s safety bars rose with a hissing sound.
“Ms. Yuri, let’s go. I’ll take out the luggage.”
“Please leave the luggage to us!”
“Ah, thank you.”
‘Hmm……. I’ll think about my Older Brother later. For now, I need to focus on the job.’
Swallowing his lingering regret, Diesel stepped off the train.
A lowest-grade room in the Moonlight Hotel.
A place where only a faint glimpse of the lunar surface could be seen outside the window.
Diesel was unpacking his belongings inside the room when the door suddenly swung wide open.
“……?”
Looking outside, he saw Kang Da-hee standing there with a completely stunned expression.
“Yu, Yuri Ivanov……? Why are you here…….”
As she stammered, Diesel asked back instead.
That’s what I want to ask. Why are you opening someone else’s room?”
“It’s not someone else’s room, this is…… Room 239, right? This is the room I’m using……!”
Kang Da-hee hurriedly checked the room number attached to the door as she spoke.
“Really? Then I guess that’s how it is. I was wondering why there were two beds when I was using it alone.”
“No, n-no……! That’s not something you just say ‘I guess that’s how it is’ to……!”
She hurriedly contacted someone through a communicator.
“Just a moment. There must have been some kind of mistake.”
After standing there blankly for quite a while, her expression gradually stiffened.
“Th-this is ridiculous…… What kind of absurd rule is this?”
“What did they say?”
“They said it’s company policy for new recruits from the same department to sleep together…….”
It sounded like a rule made for groups of three or more, but only Diesel and Kang Da-hee had been selected in this Magic Engineering Department recruitment.
‘Hmm. I guess more than a hundred years have passed. Maybe even these kinds of notions have changed a lot.’
Thinking that this arrangement might actually be more comfortable, Diesel casually tossed off his outer shirt.
“Th-th-th……! Wh-what are you doing……!”
“What does it look like. I’m changing clothes.”
“No……! Why would you do that in front of me……!”
Kang Da-hee’s face turned bright red all the way to her ears as she hurriedly turned around.
“Are all elves usually like this?”
“……?”
“How can you be so shamelessly……! Ha……!”
Leaving her flustered behind, Diesel headed into the bathroom.
“I’m showering first.”
“What do you want me to do about it!”
I thought she’d calmed down a bit, but that nasty personality sure came back fast.
Muttering that to himself, Diesel moved toward the shower.
“You know, that face of yours isn’t half bad.”
A small bar located in the lobby of the Moonlight Hotel.
There, Diesel was sitting side by side with Raksha, a Nachal from the Security and Guard Department whom he had ‘coincidentally’ run into.
“I’m talking about that long-eared shell you’re wearing. It’s way easier on the eyes than your usual delinquent-looking face.”
“Then why don’t you put something on too. You look several times more delinquent than I do.”
“Haha! You really don’t know much about Nachal, do you? I don’t need that kind of thing.”
Raksha leaned his head toward Diesel.
Then he began changing the black aura that formed his facial features.
From something like a gentle fox to a ferocious tiger, he shifted forms freely.
Eventually, he returned to Raksha’s original sharp wolf face.
“Still, isn’t this the best?”
“Best by what standard?”
“It’s sexy, isn’t it. Don’t you think? Huh?”
“…….”
Diesel recalled that Raksha was a ‘female’ Nachal.
“Why aren’t you answering? Want to die?”
“Let’s say that’s the case.”
Just then, ash-gray wings slipped into the space between them.
“You both look like you have plenty of free time. Department colleagues.”
“Hey, tch.”
The moment Raksha saw Seriel, she tipped the glass in front of her and poured it straight into her mouth.
“Goes down gulp gulp pretty well, huh?”
“Seeing your face makes it slide right down.”
Seriel, sitting down, spoke over a closed channel.
[Stop sprawling around and go check the routes, you lazy evil ghost bitch. Did you come here to play?]
[You worry about yourself. I already finished checking the whole facility.]
[Oh my, is that so? Then why is it that your route icon is plastered all over the lunar hot spring area?]
[That place is right in the middle of the Moon Base, so I scanned the surroundings widely with energy sense. You rat-colored chicken bitch who doesn’t even know that.]
As the Nachal and the angel bickered, Little Sister’s transmission cut in between them.
[My Ghostcatchers. It’s already been a night—are you adapting well to the Moon?]
[It’s making me itch.]
[Hold on just a bit, Raksha. There’s still no movement from the witch’s side.]
At that moment, the hotel lobby suddenly grew busy.
“The Chairman has arrived!”
‘Chairman?’
At that sound, Diesel and the two otherworldly races looked toward the lobby.
[Was that Podvig’s chairman scheduled to attend this event?]
[Hmm……. I thought only up to the director level was participating. Sis, check it.]
At Seriel’s words, Sis immediately brought up the information.
[The schedule suddenly changed just a few minutes ago. Well, it shouldn’t interfere with the operation. Our routes won’t overlap.]
Soon, figures that looked like Podvig corporate agents revealed themselves.
At a glance, they appeared to be equipped with extremely high-grade prosthetic bodies.
Raksha, who was observing them, spoke as if unimpressed.
[Hmph. Not much after all. Very Podvig-like.]
[Well……. This is their home base, after all. They probably didn’t bring in top-tier agents.]
However, when a certain man stepped into the lobby, the expressions of the Nachal and the angel grew markedly serious.
[Why is that bastard…….]
Shoulders about twice as broad as an ordinary human’s.
A massive frame that made everyone around him look like children.
A race called a ‘Troll,’ wearing a neat suit, was standing guard as he surveyed the surroundings.
[Isn’t that Kaztikan?]
[Kaztikan? That immortal Kaztikan?]
At Seriel’s words, Sis asked back in surprise.
[He should be in Eastern Europe right now. Why did he come here?]
[This adds one variable.]
A moment later, the chairman headed toward the elevator under Kaztikan’s escort.
[Since when did that troll bastard start serving as the chairman’s bodyguard?]
At Raksha’s remark, Little Sister brought up Kaztikan’s profile and spoke.
[I’ll thoroughly track the troll’s movements on my end, so you just keep it in mind. And as you know…….]
Sis continued, emphasizing her words.
[No matter what happens, you must not get involved with that guy.]
A Moon Base café with a ceiling made of transparent material.
Located directly in front of the massive Moon Lighthouse, it was a place where the outside sky was completely dominated by the lighthouse.
“The lighthouse located at the Moon Base serves as a standard landmark that lets travelers exploring the Electrosphere know their current position.”
Inside the café, the employees of the Magic Engineering Department that Diesel belonged to were listening to the guide’s explanation.
“Mr. Yuri. Do you happen to know why they specifically installed a lighthouse on the Moon?”
“…….”
At Kang Da-hee’s words, Diesel showed no reaction.
But she persisted and continued speaking.
“They say there are too many connections to the Electrosphere on Earth to set up a landmark like that. To avoid all the points where we’re connected to the Electrosphere, you’d have to go at least twenty thousand kilometers away. That’s why they came all the way to the Moon to install the lighthouse.”
After finishing her explanation, she put on a proud expression.
It wasn’t entirely wrong, but she had left out one important fact.
At that, Diesel opened his mouth.
“Electrosphere position coordinates can be tracked well enough with satellites.”
“Yes……?”
“More than that, this lighthouse serves more as a warning. A warning light that leaving the Electrosphere and going out into outer space is dangerous. That boundary happens to be around the Moon, so they built the lighthouse here.”
“Ah…… I didn’t know that.”
Kang Da-hee nodded slightly, looking embarrassed.
Diesel didn’t pay much attention to her reaction and instead looked up at the lighthouse.
‘But what is this unsettling feeling.’
The more he looked into the lighthouse, the stranger the sensation became.
A feeling that couldn’t possibly be called good—something distant and dizzying.
‘Is it because I can project into the Electrosphere?’
He suspected it was because he could sense the enormous energy the lighthouse was emitting toward the Electrosphere.
〈Ar, how about you.〉
〈Uuuhm…….〉
The Electrosphere spirit also seemed to be in a poor mood, its fur bristling as ashen-gray noise flickered across it.
[Diesel.]
At that moment, a transmission came from Little Sister.
[Get ready. The witch’s movement has been detected.]
[Confirmed.]
A terror attack carried out by the Witch of the Electrosphere.
Half curious, half worried, Diesel kept his guard up as he scanned the surroundings.
“Huh……? Mr. Yuri, doesn’t the top of the lighthouse look a bit strange?”
At Kang Da-hee’s words, he looked up at the lighthouse again, and saw that the light shining from the top was flickering abnormally.
Soon, the flickering grew more and more frequent.
“Why…… why is it doing that?”
Then, with a massive rupturing sound, it exploded.