My heart may have temporarily stopped, but I was feeling fine.
I recovered by the very next day.
Mind you, my vitals were being constantly monitored via a live ECG feed.
While I was languishing in my sickroom, the ESP officer who was supposed to be assigned to me finally showed up.
Apparently, he’d been part of Thomas’s squad.
It seemed the brass had reached a unanimous consensus: "If we don't teach Leo Kamishiro how to handle his ESP, he’s going to drop dead soon."
I couldn't really argue with that.
"To start, let's talk about ESP that affects physical phenomena... normally, it kills you. It allows a person to exert power far beyond human limitations, but it brings you that much closer to the grave."
"Tell me about it."
I’d felt it firsthand. I really was going to die.
But wait, what about the Reality Alteration Ability that the Jester was constantly leaking?
"There's still a great deal about ESP that remains a mystery."
"Fair enough."
In short, they didn't have a clue.
After all, it was a skill dictated entirely by individual talent; there was no such thing as a foundational theory.
They had managed to pinpoint that Espers appeared as the result of a mutation and that it was hereditary.
They’d even reached the point where they could increase their numbers and make it easier for abilities to manifest, but then everything was lost during the Esper Hunting.
But just as it had devolved into a collection of useless party tricks, I showed up and threw everyone into a panic.
And now, the Great Esper Research Era had arrived with a massive budget increase.
Are they idiots?
"Therefore, please refrain from using large-scale ESP as much as possible."
"But if I hadn't used it this time, we would’ve been wiped out."
"...That is a fair point. Your ESP is simply too powerful to leave unused, Major."
"Won't it get rusty if I don't use it?"
Taking a break for a week or so was fine, but I felt like if I went a month without it, I’d lose my edge.
Just like a muscle.
"That is very true... really. From the bottom of my heart."
It seemed it really did function like a muscle.
"A-Anyway, please try to avoid any large-scale ESP! I can't guarantee you'll survive it!"
"Understood."
I really didn't have a death wish.
I’d have to exercise more self-restraint from now on.
I mean, dying is generally bad for your health.
Just as I was getting bored again, Wifey arrived.
She said she’d been discharged before me.
"Lord Groom. Are you well?"
"I’m doing great. Though apparently, I’m stuck on this ECG until tomorrow."
"I see, then you should be fine. Yes, and about that. A bit of a situation has arisen."
Wifey’s mouth was twitching.
Something was definitely wrong.
"That's a scary way to start a conversation. Did something happen?"
"We're stranded."
...Oof.
Warping away had been the right call, but it seemed where we ended up was the problem.
Still, at least we hadn't materialized inside a planet.
"Where are we right now?"
"I know we are near the other target coordinates—the planet specified by Ayame."
"What does that mean?"
"Once you come this far out, there are countless uninhabited planets. There are no maps, nor are there any coordinate satellites!"
Wait, what?
Wasn't it a bit of a problem for the Emperor to be out here?
"Isn't this an existential crisis for the Empire?"
"It seems a rescue fleet will be dispatched. However, there is no precedent for a fleet this size warping and becoming isolated. We have no idea how long it might take."
So it would probably be faster to just fly back ourselves.
"We are currently constructing satellites. Once they're in place, Luna plans to map the area. Until then, we must wait. The Zorks likely won't be able to move for a while, either."
"I wonder what happened to the place we were just at?"
"It vanished."
"Excuse me?"
"The collision and explosion of objects with that much mass... The entire sector, planets and all, was wiped out."
"That's intense..."
It had been full of nothing but nasty creatures, but now they were extinct.
I felt a little bad for them.
"It does not end there. Every planet in that vicinity is likely gone. They are no longer fit for habitation."
"Whoa..."
That wasn't just an environmental disaster.
That was total, planetary-scale extinction.
I was just glad no humans had been there.
"Heh heh, let’s put that aside for a moment. Lord Groom, do you notice anything different?"
Wifey spun around on the spot.
She looked a bit... fuller.
Not like she’d put on weight, but...
"Did you... grow up a bit?"
"Fufu, I have grown taller, and my chest has become larger!"
"Ooh!"
I gave her a little round of applause.
Wifey looked incredibly proud of herself.
"What about the growing pains?"
I remember my knees and shins aching like crazy back in the day.
"They are quite painful..."
I figured.
"You need to keep yourself warm. Here, want to climb in?"
I pulled back the covers of the hospital bed.
Wifey scrambled inside eagerly.
Man, this was bliss.
Then the door swung open.
"Leo, I’m here."
It was Claire.
She froze as she looked at us.
"Sorry, am I interrupting something?"
"Claire! This is not what it looks like!!!"
Well, that was unexpected—Wifey was actually the one doing the denying.
"I mean, you two are a married couple. You don’t have to be shy."
"No, that is true! But it is still embarrassing!!! Lord Groom, stop laughing!!!"
I couldn't help it. Even though we were stranded, we still had this much breathing room.
The thought just made me chuckle.
"Major! I have arrived!!"
"Hey, One-oh-one, wait up!"
The usual Wan-nyan duo burst in.
Following behind them was a blond man with a lean, muscular build.
"Princess, please wait!!!"
"Major! I wish to introduce someone!! This is Georges!!"
Who the heck was Georges?
I thought about it for a second, then remembered he was one of the Republic citizens we’d rescued.
The guy with the beard.
So this is what he looked like clean-shaven.
"The Major has been a tremendous help to both myself and the Princess..."
He had the poise of a steward.
It seemed One-oh-one was being called 'Princess' now.
Well, look at that—she’d become a princess overnight.
She didn't seem to quite grasp the situation herself, though.
But just like that, she had her own people.
Tatiana was howling with laughter at the sight.
Now, now, Tatiana-chan.
You're going to have people of your own soon enough, too.
"What’s with that look, Big Brother Leo?"
Lately, Tatiana had taken to calling me 'Big Brother Leo.'
'Onii-chan' or 'Big Brother' or even 'Dear Brother' would have been fine.
She really was a disappointment, as always.
Not that I was one to talk.
As a fellow member of the Unfortunate Creatures Alliance, I gave her head a little pat.
"Leo, you're really soft on Tatiana-chan..."
"Am I?"
Pat, pat.
"Don’t touch me!!! You’re annoying!!!"
Hiss! She snapped at me.
"I want a turn to be patted!!"
"Yes, yes. Good girl, good girl."
She was so honest it was hard not to favor her.
"Ehehehe."
And so, we decided to treat our isolation as an impromptu vacation and make the most of it."}```