Episode -3 B

  ? ? ? ? ?

  The next afternoon

  After finishing lunch at the study room, the kids are heading toward the open lot. It looks a lot like yesterday.

  But today feels even warmer. The kids were already friends.

  None of yesterday’s awkwardness or unfamiliarity seems to remain.

  They continue a cheerful conversation based on last night’s chat, and before long, they arrive at their destination.

  It was time. Just like yesterday, each of them moves to their position again.

  On the way from the study room to here, and through lots of conversation last night, the friends had also explained to Rogi about story play,

  all sorts of things.

  But Rogi still doesn’t understand many parts. She only thinks, is it some game that uses imagination? That’s all.

  When preparations were finished, Yona shouted loudly.

  "Then we begin~"

  At that moment, Dabi, with an extremely serious expression, says once again to Rogi~

  "Rogi, the moment you put the suit on, you have to come straight to where I~ am!"

  Rogi nods, saying she understands. But what suit is she supposed to put on.. and with Dabi acting so serious,

  she’s a little flustered. In fact, Rogi plans to just pretend to put it on, then run back to her friends.

  Dabi shouted once more.

  "Dotori!"

  Then the kids all shouted together.

  "Doritori Toris!"

  At the same time, Rogi slowly turns her back to move to the position her friends told her.

  In the child’s two eyes as she turns around, something mysterious happens that cannot be explained.

  In the empty lot that had been vacant just moments ago, a huge structure now stood, and inside it, many unknown mechanical devices could be seen.

  Then, around the startled Rogi, pink petals suddenly fluttered~ When she held her palm up toward the sky, one petal drifted down onto her palm.

  Rogi stands there, staring blankly at the petal.

  While looking at the petal, Rogi looks around again. Everywhere, debris from explosions is strewn about.

  At that moment, without even a moment to admire this mystery, explosion sounds immediately ring out from all directions.

  [Kwa-bang] [Kwa-kwa-bang]

  Startled, Rogi screams and instantly hides her body behind anywhere of the visible structure. And Rogi quickly searches for her friends..

  Her friends had already put on suits like spacesuits, and in their hands, each of them held something unknown.

  The puzzle pieces of everything her friends had clumsily explained last night—things she couldn’t understand—seem to begin fitting into place, one by one.

  Then Rogi looks toward where Leo and Eli were, but the sky, the ground—e terrain—was already in a form Rogi had never seen before.

  The sky was mixed with pink and blue, and red, and high up in that sky, something was flying around.

  And~ it was repeatedly throwing some kind of objects toward the kids gathered around Dabi.

  Rogi looks closely at the thing flying. Oh my—

  It’s Eli!

  Rogi: "What? Flying in the sky?" [Rogi’s big eyes went round.]

  Rogi: "What in the world is going on?"

  Rogi: "Kkaa~" [Rogi screamed in surprise at something flying toward her.]

  Dabi: "Rogi, what are you doing! Hurry and get inside and put on the suit!"

  Rogi: "Eeh?"

  [Rogi was amazed and flustered, but her body is already running toward the place her friends told her about. Screaming~]

  Rogi: "Kkaaaahhh~"

  Where Rogi ran frantically, complex tangled machines and countless buttons were lined up.

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  Among them, she must find the big green button with a person on it—the one her friends told her about.

  Maybe because she was flustered, the position wouldn’t come to mind, but Rogi closed her eyes and desperately retraced her memory.

  "Found it!"

  The moment Rogi finds the button and places her hand on it without delay, with a heavy mechanical sound, the device begins to operate.

  A small hatch opens, revealing a flat chunk of metal about the size of a medal.

  Rogi picks it up and holds it precious with both hands, then, as her friends taught her, brings it up under her chin.

  At that moment, the metal chunk slips from Rogi’s hands and bizarrely springs up above her head.

  Startled, Rogi lifts her head to look at it—then the metal flowed down like a living liquid and wrapped itself around Rogi’s whole body.

  The cold texture of metal swept over the child’s body, and a solid suit was completed, fitting to her frame.

  Far away, Leo, wearing a black cloak and armor, with a horned helmet on both sides, roared, confident of victory.

  Leo: "Dabi, give up! There isn’t much time left now. It’s my and Eli’s victory!"

  But Dabi, as if that’s ridiculous, answered with an annoying smile.

  Dabi: "No, we won! Your stamina is already at the bottom~~ And we have plenty of time!"

  [At that moment, Rogi is running toward Dabi.]

  Rogi: "Guys, I’m out!"

  Pai: "Rogi~" [Smiling brightly] "You’re here! You were surprised, right?"

  Eti: "Sister~ it suits you." [Eti laughing excitedly]

  Rogi: "Haha! What is this?" What on earth is going on?"

  Rogi: "This.. this is the story play you guys talked about!"

  Rogi, who had been screaming in surprise, relaxed completely once she came to her friends.

  Everything simply started to feel thrilling and exciting. Her heart pounds hard.

  Even in the middle of this, Dabi keeps firing the beam gun in his hands wildly at Leo and Eli, and Leo and Eli do not stop attacking either.

  From all directions, nonstop explosion sounds!

  “No one among the children shows fear or trembling, and instead, they are swept up in a bright and joyful mood.”

  Eti: "Keekkeekkeek~ >_<"

  ? ? ? ? ?

  Polun, trying to calm Eat down~ gives up and pulls out another method, and that~ was

  the original purpose of coming here. Polun takes out the king’s scroll—the reason he came here—and holds it up to Eat.

  Polun: "Eat, listen to me. The King has given you an order. Let’s set aside your anger at me for a moment!"

  Polun: "Look at this!! Let’s follow the King’s command~ Royal command!"

  [At Polun’s word ‘King,’ Eat released the two hands that had been grabbing and shaking Polun by the collar.]

  Eat: "Huh... What is it with the King?... What order did he give?"

  Eat is afraid.

  His momentary anger vanished, and now his only concern is the contents of the shining scroll that bears the King’s command.

  Eat is curious, but also so, so scared. Polun spoke, calming Eat, who had suddenly become frightened.

  Polun: "Red Rooster! Calm down!! Calm down~ I don’t know the contents either, so~ let’s read it~ Should I read it for you?"

  Eat: "Hwaat, wait!! Hold on..." [He takes a deep breath.]

  Polun: "Okay, I’ll wait~"

  On a beautiful night where the moon shines brightly, out on a wide field, the highest commander of the Olpin and a legend are making a huge fuss.

  Eat: "Hooah hooah~ Owl... let’s begin."

  Polun: "Alright, here~ I’ll read it for you."

  Eat: "Uhuh~"

  Polun formally unfolds the scroll and, in place of the King’s command, slowly reads it out.

  What could it say?!

  As they read through the scroll, the two sometimes rejoiced, sometimes feared, laughed and then cried.

  Polun: "With this, I, Polun, have delivered all of the King’s command to the Red Rooster Eat."

  Eat: "Then... Polun, explain it to me. What happens to me now?"

  Polun: "So, you’re reinstated again! Reinsta~ted!"

  Eat: "If that’s so... I... will I regain my original form again?"

  Polun: "It seems... like it... but maybe not right away~ Anyway, it looks like you’ll regain all authority again!"

  Eat: "Oh, thank you! Your Majesty the King~" [The two dance in excitement. Very~ excited.]

  Eat kneels and clasps his hands, offering thanks to the King.

  Polun: "Then, Eat."

  Eat: "Yeah!"

  Polun: "You’re reinstated again, and I’m higher in rank than you, so I’m your superior again~"

  Eat: "Huh?"

  Polun: "You should call me Supreme Commander Lord Polun, right?"

  Eat: "Don’t be ridiculous~"

  Eat: "Hey, you owl!"

  Polun & Eat: "Hahahahahaha~"

  Their tension released, the two were laughing, cackling.

  After laughing for a while, Polun additionally explains the King’s command he must convey to Eat, and it was:

  Eat must leave the planet he had been staying on and go to where humans live.

  Eat: "Why would I go there?"

  Polun: "Explaining that here would be too huge~ it would take a long time~

  -there’s a device set up so you can understand while you move there~"

  When Polun snapped his fingers, near Ugu and Mond, a passage that moves quickly through outer space began to open.

  And beside it, a planet made for traveling through space was floating, bobbing~.

  Eat: "What is that?"

  Polun: "It’s a asteroid. You can use that to move to where humans live."

  [That small device has a tiny sun and moon orbiting around it like a small Earth, and clouds float around it too.]

  Polun: "Then I’ll register you?"

  Eat: "Register what?"

  Rather than answer, Polun first~ carries out the registration...and then Eat becomes registered as the user of the asteroid~

  Only the registered user is affected by the asteroid’s gravity.

  Eat begins to get pulled toward the asteroid~ It looks as if he is falling into that planet.

  "Kkaa~"

  [Thud-plop]

  Eat collided with the asteroid...fall damage transmitted through his whole body~

  Polun runs toward the trembling Eat~!

  Polun: "Are you okay~ Red Rooster! What happened?"

  Eat: "You... you bastard... I won’t let you off."

  Polun: "What are you talking about~? On a great day like today!"

  Eat: "What!? You... you bastard"

  [Polun’s innocent face makes Eat even more furious.]

  And the asteroid begins to move little by little. Eat, one last time, leaps toward Polun with all his strength.

  So close! The distance is just a little too far for his hand to grab Polun. Eat falls back onto the asteroid~

  Eat gathers strength and jumps once more~ but the distance between him and Polun only grows farther and farther..

  Eat shouted.

  "Polun, you bastard!"

  Polun couldn’t understand why Eat was acting like that...

  Polun: "What’s wrong?"

  Eat: "Your... cheek...

  Eat: "Just let me hit your cheek once before I go.

  Eat: "Cheek~ just once!~"

  Polun: "Cheek? Why bother with something like that~ Do it next time~ Just next time~"

  Polun chuckled and waved his hand, and the collapsed Eat gave up, for now, on one slap...

  And then he heads, slowly, toward the unknown passage through outer space.

  While moving, he looks around, and beside the passage in the direction he’s going, he sees Mond and the giant Ugu.

  Mond was trying to hide himself with leaves stuck to a small branch.

  Eat stands up sharply and looks down at Mond. Mond, lifting his head slightly,

  meets Eat’s eyes and, terrified, throws himself down and bows again.

  Mond: "Please spare me. I was wrong, Guardian~"

  Eat: "...Mond!"

  Mond: "Please spare me~ "

  Eat: "Take care~ thanks~"

  Mond: "...Huh?...Yes?"

  Eat gives a curt farewell. Then he immediately enters the unknown passage.

  Mond watched the door silently until it closed and vanished, and he recalled the many hours they had been together in the past.

  Mond: "Good... bye... Guardian."

  Inside the passage heading to where humans live, Eat’s scream echoes.

  Then he is moving faster than light~~ Truly, the asteroid’s ride comfort was terrible.

  "KKAAAAAAAHHHH~"