Chapter 16
Just as he was about to turn silently on his heel, Ritimiele noticed him. Unfortunately, their eyes met.
What could it possibly mean that her body hair shimmered in rainbow colors?
"Kait, Third-Rank Citizen (Enec Lagif)! Good, I've been waiting!"
"Th-thanks."
'Third-Rank Citizen Kait, sorry for the back-and-forth. I had hoped you could rest a while longer in the Central Star Cluster, but there were a few matters I had to consult you on.'
The representative seemed to have regained composure and waved one of her tentacles gently.
Matters to consult about. One was probably the treatment of the Goodbye Earth. How many more were there?
"Third-Rank Citizen Kait, please stop her too. The representative insists on going to Earth ahead of us in her own ship. Even though the council instructed us to head there via Zodogia!"
'We all know someone has to check on the surviving Earthlings before Zodogia moves in. You understand that, don't you, Ritimiele?'
"Exactly! And there's no reason the representative has to be that someone, right!? She doesn't even resemble Earthlings in the slightest! Our regulations clearly state that it must be a species with a similar appearance!"
'She looks just like a jellyfish!'
"Jellyfish don't resemble intelligent life at all!"
As the two argued, the representative's true intentions became somewhat clear. Her mind was entirely fixated on Earth jellyfish. If even the representative was like this, then likely all the Terapolapaneshio scattered across the regions were in the same state. Hopefully, they weren't all planning to gather on Earth en masse.
Still, that aside, there was something Kait couldn't ignore. Since the conversation wasn't progressing, he stopped the two of them.
"Ritimiele, calm down. I heard something I can't overlook. Survivors? Earthlings?"
"Yes. Currently, about six hundred thousand Earthlings have survived on Earth."
It didn't seem like he misheard. Still, six hundred thousand. The year Kait was arrested, Earth's population numbered thirteen billion. That means during the time he was cut off from the world—and in the half-year since—it had dropped to one twenty-thousandth. Hearing it like this, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly had caused Earth's downfall.
According to Ritimiele, there were about three groups of around one hundred thousand people each gathered in certain locations, and one large group of two hundred fifty thousand. The rest were scattered across the planet.
He hadn't thought he felt any nostalgia, but hearing the details stirred a vague loneliness. When he decided to head for Jupiter, had he already anticipated this outcome?
"This consultation—is it about their treatment?"
'That's right. Regardless of their actual status on Earth, the Federation recognizes Third-Rank Citizen Kait as Earth's representative. From our perspective—the Federation's—they're the ones who unjustly criminalized a fellow citizen and cast him into space. We wouldn't mind abandoning them.'
"I appreciate the sentiment."
Ritimiele also expressed agreement with the representative's words. Perhaps due to her sympathy for Kait's circumstances, she didn't hold a favorable view of those still living on Earth.
Even the representative, despite being preoccupied with Earth jellyfish, corrected herself from "we" to "the Federation." Considering their biology, it was fair to interpret her words as the consensus of the Federation.
He couldn't speak based solely on emotion. He lowered his gaze and pondered what the best course of action would be.
"......Can we grant Federation citizenship to those six hundred thousand?"
'It's not impossible. Citizenship would be fixed at the thirteenth rank regardless of age, but we can prepare residential zones to accommodate six hundred thousand immediately. Are you sure?'
"The culture of Earth that Emotion preserved—I think of it more as shared heritage of Earthlings than my personal property. I'd feel better if it were returned to them, even if we overlook the cost of Queen Bee."
'I see. You really are suited to being a Federation citizen.'
"Truly. They're going to recover it anyway, so we could just leave it alone."
"Huh?"
Once again, Kait caught something in Ritimiele's words. "They." From the context, it didn't seem to refer to Earthlings.
"Ritimiele, who do you mean by 'they'?"
"Groups not affiliated with the Federation. Somehow, they caught wind of things and started descending to Earth and making contact with the Earthlings."
"Another civilization...?"
'Strictly speaking, not another. They were originally a species affiliated with the Federation. But they committed grave taboos and were exiled en masse. ...You heard about them in the council, right? The ones who tampered with your planet.'
Kait hummed at the representative's clarification.
Apparently, the contact began shortly after Kait headed to the Central Star Cluster. Ritimiele suggested they'd observed the situation for half a year after civilization collapsed. They hadn't approached due to Zodogia's monitoring, but it seemed they'd been watching all along.
They stepped onto Earth once they confirmed internal movement within Zodogia. Since the Federation usually withdraws from a "cursed star of sin" once it collapses, they likely assumed the retreat had begun.
In truth, it was preparation for Earth's restoration, so their assumption was way off.
"Why would they want to recover Earthlings?"
'To play god, probably. Extend a hand of salvation, pretend to save them, then sell them to collectors of non-Federation civilizations. Label them as rare humans or something.'
"That's..."
"That's exactly the kind of behavior that got them expelled from the Federation. And yet they keep applying to rejoin. So shameless."
Ritimiele spat venom. It was clear she held no fondness for either the Earthlings or those aliens.
But if the Earthlings' future was to be sold as merchandise, that was all the more reason. Even if they chose that path themselves, as someone who came before, it was his duty to provide alternatives.
'Their arrogance had already become intolerable. Let's take this as a convenient turn of events. Thanks to Third-Rank Citizen Kait's decision, Earthlings are now Federation citizens. We cannot allow such unjust treatment as human trafficking.'
"Exactly. It seems some have already been taken. Let's hurry."
The Federation had apparently already begun taking action. It had been about three Earth days since Kait contacted the Federation. That they had already begun relocating people in just a day or two—truly, these galaxy-scale kidnappers moved faster than Kait could imagine.
Watching the footage captured by the surveillance drones (or whatever else Earth's vocabulary could call them), Kait became aware of his own face freezing.
"Master Kait?"
"Emotion. In the back right of the center of the footage—the white-haired man... I recognize him."
"......Confirmed. Master Kait, that man is Gilbert Jane!"
Even Emotion raised her voice unusually.
A white-haired man with a seemingly friendly demeanor. He looked somewhat aged, but there was no mistake. He was the man exiled from Earth seven years before Kait, sentenced to life imprisonment.
Seeing their reaction, Ritimiele's body hair turned white.
"Do you know him?"
"Not personally. But in our generation, he was known as a major criminal, infamous enough to be in textbooks."
Gilbert Jane.
Unlike Kait, who was exiled as a political criminal under false charges, Gilbert Jane had been convicted with clear evidence and testimony.
His crimes were—
"Human trafficking and war assistance. With nothing but his silver tongue, this man caused a million deaths."
It was eerily similar to the current situation of Earthlings.