Juukami Minae opened her eyes.
The first thing she felt upon opening them was a profound sense of disorientation. “Where… where am I…?” It seemed like she was inside a narrow box.
She tried to stand up, but—whoosh— “What!?”
Juukami was bewildered by the sensation of her body floating.
Something was clearly wrong with her body. What is this…? Just what the hell is happening!?
‘Good morning, you foolish editor.’
An old man’s voice drifted in from somewhere. It was the same old man who had caught her… the voice of Kaida Kougen! “Where am I?!”
‘Mmm… You don’t know, do you? Very well, let me show you what lies outside.’ “Wha—…!?”
Juukami turned her gaze to the monitor installed in the room. “What is… this? It’s night…?” No, it was not the night sky.
The landscape visible on the screen was unmistakably not something one could see from the surface of the Earth.
‘Juukami. I have decided to make use of you for the progress of humanity.’
“N-no… this place… no way…!”
Projected on the monitor was a blue star. Earth.
“No way… That can’t be true! I’m… in space?!” She appeared to be floating in the void of outer space.
…She had said it herself, yet she still couldn’t believe it.
『I know a guy who’s been putting a lot into space development. So, I decided to lend you to him as a guinea pig.』
“A g…?! W-what is that all about?! This is way too inhumane!!!!!!”
Juukami screamed, but Kogen kept going.
『Water and food have been properly prepared. In what way is that inhumane?』
“They just abducted me out of nowhere! Dragged me into space on a whim! Making me part of human experimentation! At least give some advance notice! It’s completely unreasonable to just dump me here without getting my consent!”
『Huh… I see. You’re the one who suddenly fired Okaya Mitsuhiko, if memory serves?』 “Ah…” That was true enough.
She had been goaded by Kisogawa, believed his words, and fired him without even hearing out his circumstances.
『What I did is no different from what you did. Throwing someone into a harsh environment without listening to their side of the story.』 “Ah, no… that’s…”
『If you do it, you should expect it to be done back on you. That’s only natural, isn’t it?』 “Um… ah… gnn…” Juukami began to weep. Her tears drifted through the vacuum… floating in the air.
“You will live out the rest of your days as experimental material for human habitation in space. Forever.”
“N-no… I don’t want to…! Please… take me back! Take me back!”
Her tearful pleas were useless; Karita Kogen had no intention of changing her mind.
“You hurt my family. To me, family is something special. That is the natural retribution for what you did.”
“I’m so sorry! I’m really sorry! I regret it all!”
I hate this! Being treated as experimental material until the day I die out here in space!
“Then why did you try to do cruel things to Okaya again?” “T-that was…”
“If you truly felt remorse, you would never have become a tool for Kisosawa. Your ugly nature will not be cured by death. So… die there.” Thunk! The communication cut off.
Tozuka just… felt pure despair. This void of space.
She was to spend the rest of her life in this empty, lonely place, with no one around.
Her home was right before her eyes, yet she could never return.
In this dark, cramped space… until the end of her life…
「Whyyy… why is it like this… this… ah, aaaah! Uaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!」
Jūzen’s scream would never reach Okaya.
Eventually, Jūzen stopped crying.
It is said that until the day she died, she continued to regret having fired Okaya. 【★Important Announcement】
Due to popular demand, we have started a serialized version!
‘【Serialized Version】The Older Sister Saintess Becomes the Step-Mother in a Neighboring Country~ It’s Too Late Now That They’ve Realized I’m the Real One After Firing the False Saintess and Performing Dogeza; Besides, I’m Being Spoiled by My Cute Stepson and the Handsome Emperor~’
Links are also provided below the advertisement↓, so please feel free to read it!
If you cannot access it via the link, please copy the address below.