"W-What should we do!?"
"J-Jin, can you do something about this!?"
"There's less than half a month left!? W-What are we going to do!?"
After seeing the footage and hearing Helente’s explanation, the women in the room were on the verge of panic.
"Everyone, calm down!" Jin shouted, his voice cutting through the noise. "We have a spaceship. We can catch up to the fragments. At the end of the day, they're just rocks. We can destroy them."
"Y-You're right."
"Jin will find a way!"
"Yeah. So please, just stay calm."
Under Jin's steady reassurance, the members of the Jin Family managed to compose themselves.
"As I just said, we have the means. We’ll prepare carefully and... let’s see, I intend for us to depart in three days. So please, rest easy."
"I—I understand."
"Jin, we’re counting on you."
"Jin-san, please do your best..."
"Everyone should head home for now, but contact me if anything happens. I'll come running no matter what."
"Onii-chan, please don't overdo it, okay?"
"Jin, if you make Elsa-chan or Hanna cry, I won't forgive you, you hear?"
Each member had their own life to attend to. They left one by one and two by two, until only Jin, Elsa, Milowina, Goose, and Mine remained.
"...Whew." Jin let out a heavy sigh.
"Jin-nii..." Elsa spoke up, looking concerned. Her face was paler than usual.
"It’s okay, Elsa."
"But..."
"It’s just as I told everyone. It’s not impossible... though it will be difficult."
Milowina chimed in as well. "Jin-kun, I'll help with anything I can. Just say the word."
"Jin-sama, please don't do anything reckless, all right?" Mine added, offering a polite but firm warning.
"I know. But first, we have to start with what needs to be done."
"...What's the plan?"
"We're going to examine countermeasures. Laojun!"
『Yes, My Lord.』
"Do we have a count on the incoming rock masses?"
『Yes. Based on the analysis of Helente’s footage: one extra-large, 21 large, and 56 medium fragments. There are between 150 and 200 small fragments, and 500 to 1,000 extra-small ones.』
The smaller the object, the harder it was to confirm, making a margin of error inevitable.
『The extra-small ones are of a size deemed unlikely to cause significant damage. Helente stated as much herself.』
"I see."
That meant they had to deal with everything larger than the "small" category.
"Simply destroying them is out of the question, I suppose..."
Jin felt that merely shattering the rocks wouldn't help much if their velocity remained unchanged; it would only slightly diffuse the impact.
"If they're small enough, we could vaporize them."
If reduced to the size of atoms, they surely wouldn't pose a threat.
"Jin-nii, what about the transporter gun?"
"The range is too short, unfortunately..." Jin mused. A range of only a few kilometers would be like a drop in the bucket. "And extending the teleportation distance consumes a proportional amount of energy."
"How much time would the modifications take, Jin?" Goose asked, joining the discussion.
"Let's see... I could manage it in about a day. I’ll look into it....Hm? Wait a second."
"What is it, Jin-nii?"
"How could I have missed that!" Jin shook his head as the realization struck him.
"What do you mean?" Elsa asked.
It didn't click for her immediately, but Laojun reacted instantly. 『My Lord, do you mean that once their velocity is nullified, dealing with them becomes simple?』
"Exactly." Jin turned to the others to explain. "We have several problems right now, but they'll all be solved if their velocity hits zero."
It would buy them time before the fragments reached Ars. Likely an infinite amount of time.
"Ah, I see!" Elsa said. Because the situation had been so dire, she hadn't thought that far ahead.
"A transporter gun... no, we'll build a transporter cannon, mount it on the spaceship, and snipe them."
Even if the teleportation distance was only a hundred meters, the target's intrinsic velocity would become zero the moment it was teleported. To be precise, it would likely become stationary relative to that point in space, but Jin wasn't a physicist and didn't care about the fine details. As long as the disaster was averted, it was fine.
"I think we can handle everything up to the medium-sized fragments with that."
"Will the large ones be difficult?"
"It’s not that it's difficult, exactly... but it would probably be impossible without a massive transporter cannon."
After all, those rock masses were roughly a kilometer across.
"What if we shatter them first, Jin?"
"That would make it even harder. They would scatter upon destruction, making them a nightmare to track and capture."
"Hmm..."
The "large" fragments were between one and ten kilometers in diameter. And there were twenty-one of them.
"Jin-nii, what is Helente saying?"
"That's right, Jin. If she's the guardian of this planet, shouldn't she have some means of intervention?"
They had been so focused on their own brainstorming that they hadn't been listening to Helente. However, Laojun had heard everything through Land 11.
『Regarding that...』 Laojun began to explain, sounding somewhat hesitant.
"Can't you do something about this, Helente?" Land 11 asked.
〈I cannot.〉
"Why not?"
〈I have no means of spaceflight.〉
"You're kidding..." Land 11 pressed her. It seemed absurd for her to provide such an exhaustive lecture only to end with a shrug.
〈I do not have the means, so it cannot be helped. My Master did not provide me with them.〉
"But if the planet is destroyed, won't everything you've done until now be for nothing?"
〈That will not happen.〉
"Are you sure?"
〈I am.〉
"Urgh..." Land 11 couldn't find a way to argue further against such a definitive statement.
"And why is that? Won't your Master be destroyed along with the planet?"
〈That will not happen.〉
"I take it you won't tell me why even if I ask?"
〈Indeed.〉
Realizing that further debate was a waste of time, Laojun instructed Land 11 to try a different angle.
"Then, can you provide us with any support?"
〈I cannot. I do not have such authority.〉
"No matter what?"
〈No matter what.〉
"Even if the planet is on the brink of total annihilation?"
〈Even then.〉
"Would your Master be fine with that?"
〈He would not say it is fine. However, he would not say it is wrong, either.〉
"What does that mean?"
〈There is no need to speak of it.〉
Helente became obstinate whenever the conversation turned to her Master. At this point, Laojun decided to try one last gambit.
"Is it not because your Master is no longer here?"
〈Wh—〉
Helente's voice betrayed a flicker of panic. He had hit the nail on the head.
"I see. Since the Master you serve is gone, you have no choice but to follow your original directives to the letter."
〈...〉
There was no reply. For Laojun, the silence was answer enough.
"I understand. Thank you for the information."
Deciding there was nothing more to be gained, Laojun ordered Land 11 to withdraw.
『My Lord, everyone is safely on their way back.』
"I see. Good work."
Hourai Island was now shrouded in the veil of night. Jin stepped outside the laboratory, with Elsa and Reiko following quietly behind him. Above them, a carpet of stars sparkled in the dark sky.
"It's beautiful."
"...Mm." Elsa drew close to Jin as he gazed upward.
"The reason I was brought to this world... perhaps it was to save it from destruction."
"Father..." Reiko, the one who had summoned him, started to speak. Jin gently cut her off.
"No, it's fine, Reiko. It's just something I want to believe for myself."
Jin spoke his words slowly, letting them hang in the cool air.
"I love this world. That’s why I have to do the things only I can do."
Jin pulled Elsa close and rested a hand gently on Reiko’s head.
"I will protect this world."
There was no longer any hesitation in his eyes.