“Jin-nii, it’s still Toa-san’s birthday.”
Elsa’s voice pulled Jin back from the brink of deep thought, tethering him once again to reality.
“Ah… right. Sorry, Elsa.”
“Mm.”
The screen hadn’t changed, displaying the celestial situation in near real-time. However, one specific detail caught his eye.
“That planet…”
“That is the fifth planet, Pengolta,” Laojun replied.
Viewed from the perspective of the long-period planet, Pengolta appeared as a massive, slender crescent.
“Isn’t it going to pass incredibly close?”
“Yes. At this rate, while they will not collide, they are projected to pass within several hundred kilometers of one another.”
“Several hundred kilometers… that’s bound to affect the orbit.”
“Precisely. Pengolta is a gas giant, much like Jupiter. It possesses significant mass.”
“So we don’t know how the trajectory will change yet?”
“No. My apologies.”
With their limited astronomical knowledge, they were currently unable to perform precise orbital calculations. For now, everything remained in the realm of speculation.
If the orbit shifted even slightly, their current predictions could become entirely meaningless. This was the uncertainty that Jin truly feared.
I’ll try asking No. 700672 later, he decided.
The situation was dire enough to be called an emergency, and he wanted to take every possible precaution. There was still just over half a month left. The question was whether that felt like plenty of time or far too little.
In this world of Ars, Jin was currently the only one capable of exerting any influence in the vacuum of space.
“Alright, I think I have a handle on the current situation. Thanks, Jin.”
At Reinhard’s voice, the tension in the room seemed to break as everyone returned to the present.
“Jin-kun, thank you for everything today. My thanks to all of you as well,” Toa said, offering a polite bow to the group. “I’ll treasure this pocket watch.”
With that, the banquet finally drew to a close. Lishia, Beena, Louis (Count Kuzuma), Marcia, Rodrigo, Reinhard, and Berche—carrying baby Juliana—all departed for their respective homes.
Meanwhile, Milowina, Mine, Vivienne, Goose, Saki, and Toa remained behind.
Hanna and Martha were still there as well.
“Jin, I don’t understand the half of it, but it sounds like you’re dealing with something truly difficult,” Martha said with a chuckle. Though she admitted to being clueless about the technical side of things, her concern for Jin was evident. “Don’t go overworking yourself or being reckless. You’ve got people you need to protect now, you know.”
“…I know.”
“You have a habit of trying to carry everything on your own shoulders. Elsa-chan, if anything happens, don’t hesitate to come talk to me.”
“I will.”
“Onii-chan, make sure to get along with Onee-chan!” Hanna added with a grin.
“Thanks, Hanna.”
With smiles and waves, Hanna and Martha also made their way back to Kaina Village.
Following Martha’s advice, Jin decided to move from the dining hall to the command room to hold a brief meeting. He had intended to puzzle it out alone, but her words had reminded him of the importance of collaboration.
“Alright, I want to discuss countermeasures for potential disasters,” Jin began, stating the agenda.
“Do you really think a disaster is inevitable?” Goose asked.
“I hope one doesn’t happen, but I want to operate on the assumption that it will.”
“I agree with Jin-kun’s perspective,” Toa said in a measured tone. “Preparation depends entirely on the nature of the threat.”
“Then I’d like to hear what kind of disasters you’re envisioning,” Saki added. She, too, looked visibly concerned.
“Right. I can only speculate, but…”
Jin began his explanation, aware that no one on this planet likely had experience with celestial-scale disturbances.
“We might see massive storms. High waves along the coasts. Heavy rains and foul weather could lead to flooding or landslides.”
“Th-That sounds terrifying,” someone whispered.
Ars generally enjoyed a relatively stable climate, perhaps because its axial tilt was less pronounced than Earth’s. Secretly, Jin also suspected that something in the Southern Hemisphere might be regulating the global environment.
“Because of that, we need to prepare for those specific types of disasters.”
“Stockpiling food and reinforcing warehouses,” Elsa suggested immediately.
“Kufu, perhaps we should strengthen the dikes or prepare ships?” Saki chimed in.
“I’m not sure about ships. Small boats might be useless against a major storm surge.”
“Then it has to be a spaceship!”
“Hey, now.”
While escaping to space would certainly bypass any surface-level disasters, Jin knew it was impossible. Even with the combined might of Hourai Island, they couldn't evacuate the entire population.
The Jin Family, Kaina Village, his friends and acquaintances…
Jin’s stomach knotted at the thought of the millions he might be forced to leave behind. Seeing his distress, Elsa reached out.
“Jin-nii, it’s okay. Even if something happens, I won’t let you carry the burden alone. I’ll share the responsibility with you.”
“…Thank you.”
Though he wished she didn’t have to share such a heavy weight, Jin was deeply grateful for her kindness.
“Preserving food is definitely a priority…”
Jin considered whether he could adapt barrier technology to protect against water damage and fires.
“And we’ll need to account for high winds.”
“True. Barriers would be the best solution for that as well.”
The most realistic approach, Jin concluded, was to deploy powerful barriers.
“During an emergency, we’ll designate evacuation sites and protect them with barrier magic tools.”
“Yes, that seems like a practical plan, Jin-kun.”
In Kaina Village, for instance, they could have the residents retreat to Jin Castle or the shelter. Jin realized he would need to notify the various nations to establish similar evacuation protocols.
He decided he would issue formal documents to the world’s leaders under his title as the Lord of Kunlun.
Laojun and Jin would collaborate on the draft. The core message would be a recommendation to prepare for a period of extreme instability. The official reasoning would be that, for the sake of the people, the various nations needed to account for the possibility of large-scale natural disasters.
For the time being, he couldn't reveal any more than that.
Knowing that a mere letter lacked weight, he decided to include the necessary barrier-generating magic tools with the missives.
“This should suffice for now. Though the best outcome would still be for the long-period planet to simply pass us by.”
But he knew that wishing for luck was no substitute for a plan.
“Now then, what’s next…”
As Jin contemplated their next move, it was only the following day when a piece of welcome news finally arrived.