Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 21 - Chapter 2

Fate’s Guidance

Friday, November 5th

Clan’s personal spaceship, the Hazy Moon, wasn’t officially on Earth. That made it the best possible place to hide the defectors that Theia had brought back to Earth with her mother. In the worst case scenario, they would simply be taken to the Schweiger family. It was common knowledge that the Mastirs and Schweigers were rivals, however.

“Princess Clariossa, there are no words to express our gratefulness for the consideration you’ve shown us.”

That’s why the Elfaria faction people couldn’t help but feel somewhat confused about Clan’s generosity and benevolence. They extended their gratitude any opportunity they got, though that troubled Clan a little.

“There’s no need to be so concerned with such things... You are all citizens of Forthorthe, and that’s more than reason enough for me to aid you.”

Clan had spent most of her life holed up in her lab, and as a consequence, she wasn’t particularly skilled when it came to dealing with people. She always felt awkward when people came to her like this, especially if they were thanking her or praising her. Moreover, she felt silly and immature for not realizing sooner that this would be a part of her daily life if she became empress.

“But... don’t you have your position as a member of the Schweiger family to consider, Princess Clariossa?”

“Of course I do. And I ultimately intend to prove that I am superior to Theiamillis-san and lay rightful claim to the throne.”

Yet in spite of her nervousness, it had already been almost year since Clan and Koutarou had come and gone from past Forthorthe. She spent more time than ever with other people these days. With friends. And that was doing something for her. As of late, she’d even started to get better at handling situations like this. She wasn’t planning on staying immature forever.

“Then―”

“However, I will not do so unscrupulously. I will challenge Theiamillis-san and win, but I will only do so in an honorable manner befitting a royal. Concocting a plot to trap the empress would only bring shame to my family name. Surely you’re not suggesting I do something so sinister and underhanded.”

“N-No, I wouldn’t dare.”

“Then it’s fine. I only seek to protect Forthorthe and uphold its people, the same as Her Majesty Alaia did. This is what she would have wanted.”

“Your Highness...”

The most driving factor in Clan’s maturing over the past year was personally meeting Alaia. It was only when she stood next to the legendary Silver Princess that she understood how lacking she was as a princess herself. And so, in pursuing Alaia and her ideals all this time, Clan had slowly been changing. She wanted to eventually reach Alaia’s level and, if possible, even surpass her. It was that wish that had made Clan who she was today, and would continue to shape her in the future.

“Princess Clan!”

“Let us see the Blue Knight again!”

After Clan silenced the adults with a smile full of strength and kindness, the children came running over to her. They were after the footage she’d recorded of Koutarou. They loved watching the knight in blue armor and his outstanding performance, and they would pester Clan whenever they could to see it.

“Okay, okay. Just wait a moment... Farewell for now.”

“Y-Yes. Farewell, Your Highness.”

“Hurry up, Princess Clan!”

“C-Could you not push me? The Blue Knight videos aren’t going anywhere...”

“No, we have to hurry!”

“Kyah!”

Clan said goodbye to the adults as the children half pushed, half dragged her out of the room. All told, Clan’s exchange with the kids couldn’t have lasted more than a few moments, but those few moments gave away a great deal about her and her relationship with the children. All of this came as quite a surprise to Elfaria’s supporters.

“It seems Princess Clan is just as splendid a princess as Princess Theia.”

“Indeed. It seems our judgment was clouded.”

“She’s nothing like they say she is... Who was it that called her a sly she-devil?”

“It just goes to show that you can’t rely on rumors.”

“You’ve got that right... With Princess Clan and Princess Theia, I think Forthorthe will be all right.”

They were indeed surprised, but not in a bad way. If anything, they welcomed the idea of her blossoming into a superb princess. Seeing her now was like a beacon of hope to them in these dark days. It gave them a little faith in a homeland that otherwise felt very far away right now.

Most of all, the children loved seeing Koutarou fight big things. The bigger, the better. Their favorite was undoubtedly his fight against Alunaya. They’d grown up hearing stories of the legendary battle between the Blue Knight and the Fire Dragon Emperor, so seeing Koutarou fight Alunaya was like watching a fairy tale play out on screen. They never got tired of it.

These children probably don’t really think Koutarou is the actual Blue Knight... though they may vaguely be able to sense it on some level...

Giving in to the children’s wishes, Clan showed them footage of Koutarou that wasn’t top secret or would otherwise cause problems if they saw it. But when she watched it with them, she couldn’t help noticing that the children made no distinction between “Koutarou” and “the Blue Knight.” Their eyes sparkled like diamonds as they watched him fight all the same.

“Princess Clan, Princess Clan! This guy is the Blue Knight, right?”

“W-Who knows? I don’t really know the details myself.”

“Stupid! Princess Clan can’t just admit he’s the Blue Knight! That’s a state secret!”

“Whoa, a state secret? That’s so cool!”

Whenever Koutarou did something, the children would always come running to Clan with questions—first and foremost, whether he was the Blue Knight or not. Clan knew the answer, of course, but she couldn’t tell anyone because of the position she was in. The best she could do was smile wryly and dodge the question.

“He’s flying in the air!”

“Cool! The state secret is flying!”

“He’s glowing, too!”

“The state secret is glowing!”

“Somehow... I feel like I’ve made a terrible mistake...”

Since Elfaria’s supporters on Earth had witnessed the battle against DKI, Clan had no qualms showing them footage of comparable clearance. But in hindsight, she was starting to think that might have been a bad idea. And her intuition was usually right. Though she hadn’t fully realized it yet, the perception that Koutarou was the Blue Knight and not just a knight in blue was growing more and more amongst the Forthorthian refugees.

“Clan, are you busy?”

As Clan was racking her brain over what to do about this, Theia unexpectedly appeared in the conference room she was using as a temporary theater. Behind her was Kiriha, and they both looked like they meant business.

“I-I’m not! Welcome, Theiamillis-san.”

“Hey, it’s Princess Theia!”

“You’re right!”

“Princess Clan is so cool! She’s friends with Princess Theia!”

“Yes, well, we are both princesses.”

At first Clan was embarrassed that Theia had found her playing around with the children, but their peanut gallery commentary was all it took for her to completely forget about it.

Theia and Kiriha had come to visit the Hazy Moon in order to ask the group’s resident scientist some questions privately. In order to facilitate that, the three of them left the conference room where the children were playing around and moved next door.

“So, what do you want to know?” Clan asked casually as she took a seat across from Theia and Kiriha.

“U-Um... Well...”

In stark contrast to the calm and collected Clan, Theia looked troubled and anxious. She couldn’t even generate a full sentence, it seemed.

“Theia-dono, would you like me to take over?”

Seeing the state Theia was in, Kiriha offered a helping hand. She’d planned on leaving explaining the situation to Theia while she went to make some tea. The tea was from Earth, after all, so Kiriha thought it would taste better if it were hand-brewed rather than left to the automated machines Clan had. But since Theia was clearly having trouble even getting started, Kiriha offered to intervene.

“No. This concerns me, so I should be the one to say it.”

“Very well.”

Hearing Theia’s answer, Kiriha returned to making the tea. She poured hot water into the teapot and quietly waited while the leaves steeped.

“Is it something serious?”

Reading the room, Clan started getting a little worried. She’d been expecting some lighthearted banter, so the apparent seriousness of the situation took her a little by surprise.

“No, not exactly. Really, I came hoping you could help alleviate my worries about something. Just think of it as small talk.”

“All right then...”

“I just didn’t know who else to go to. Heh, how pathetic...”

Theia’s slender shoulders drooped as a wry, complicated smile crept across her face. Seeing that, Clan could tell that, whatever this was about, it was a matter of great importance to Theia. As such, she sat up straight and looked at Theia, quietly waiting for her to explain. They sat there in silence like that for some time. It wasn’t until after Kiriha brought them tea that Theia spoke up again.

“Tell me, Clan... Is it possible to conceive children between Forthorthians and Earthlings?”

That was the question that had been plaguing Theia in the back of her mind for almost a year now. There was no longer any doubt that she loved Koutarou, but if she wished for him to love her in return... It was possible that something as insurmountable as biology might stand in the way. Theia and Koutarou were from different planets; despite the fact that they both looked human, the bottom line was that they were both alien species to one another. The odds that they would be able to breed were incredibly low, and that had always bothered Theia. It meant that even if she got everything she wanted—if she wed Koutarou and he returned to Forthorthe with her—she would never be able to give him a family. Theia and Ruth had promised they’d do everything they could to shield him from loneliness, yet Theia still couldn’t help but worry. That was just how much she loved Koutarou.

But recently, they’d come to discover that the people of the Magical Kingdom of Folsaria and the People of the Earth had descended from Ancient Forthorthe. That had given Theia new hope—hope that the people of Forthorthe and the people of Earth may be able to interbreed after all. After all, there were documented cases of both Folsarians and People of the Earth marrying and having families with Japanese spouses.

And that was ultimately why Theia had come to Clan—to ask if she could do the same. If she were to marry Koutarou, could they have children? To Theia, that question was more important than whether or not the sun would rise tomorrow.

“So that’s what this is about... No wonder you look so serious.”

Finally hearing Theia’s question settled some of Clan’s own doubts. If that was really what she’d come to ask, then it was perfectly understandable why she was so nervous. If their positions were reversed, Clan surely would have felt the same unease.

“Please tell me, Clan! I’m begging you!”

“Er, um... Theiamillis-san, please raise your head! You don’t have to go that far for me to tell you!”

“Thank you, Clan! I owe you one!”

Theia quickly raised her head and lunged forward to grab Clan’s hands in a thankful gesture. The tears welling in her eyes made it perfectly clear just how important this was to her.

“Don’t even think about it. I don’t want you to be indebted to me over something so important. That wouldn’t be fair.”

Clan was satisfied just having seen her tears. They were a rare sight indeed coming from the strong and intrepid Theia. Moreover, Clan also had her pride as a princess to consider. She’d hate to be put in the situation Theia was in right now where her romantic feelings could potentially be used against her. Clan wanted to be a proud, splendid princess in her own right. One that could stand as Theia’s equal. And that was why she had no intention of demanding anything more from her when she was already in tears.

“Then allow me to start from my conclusion.”

To honor Theia’s feelings, Clan would answer her as best she could. And as she began to speak, Theia instinctively held her breath.

“It is indeed possible for Forthorthians and Earthlings to have children together.”

“Are you sure?!”

In shock and surprise, Theia slammed her hands into the table and stood straight up out of her chair. It seemed Kiriha was taken aback as well. She was carrying a tray to the table, and stopped cold in her tracks when she heard those words from Clan’s mouth.

“That can’t be... That would mean Earth and Forthorthe are...”

“That’s right, Kii. I’ve already confirmed that their genetic codes are close enough to facilitate reproduction.”

From there, Clan began explaining in detail how she’d come to this conclusion.

The first inkling Clan had that something was strange had arisen after Koutarou was hurt during their travels in past Forthorthe. It was a minor wound, but she’d used her first aid kit without any hesitation. It worked perfectly, and Koutarou’s wound was healed by the next day. All seemed fine and well, but when Clan stopped to think about it, it struck her as strange. First aid kits from Forthorthe were designed specifically for the people of Forthorthe. The diagnostic devices and medicines they used weren’t created with Earthlings in mind. Yet in spite of that, there were no complications when she used them on Koutarou. She had assumed it was because his body structure was similar to that of a Forthorthian and because the wound she’d treated wasn’t anything serious; it all could have been a coincidence. As long as it was only for superficial wounds, a Forthorthian first aid kit might even work on animals or other aliens.

But that theory began to lose credibility when yet another coincidence happened. Dextro had unleashed his deadly virus in past Forthorthe by poisoning the local water supply. Yet though Clan and Koutarou both drank the tainted water, they barely showed any symptoms of infection. That was what had given Clan the idea that she could analyze their genetics to find a treatment. Her quick thinking kept the casualties to a minimum, but it also led her to a certain discovery—that she and Koutarou shared similar genetic code.

It was a blessing in the moment. The fact that Koutarou’s genetics were compatible with the Forthorthians’ meant that he could be used as the basis for the gene therapy Clan concocted to combat the virus and help the villagers. It never would have worked otherwise.

But it was still strange. Really, it should have been impossible. Life on Earth and life on Forthorthe had developed millions of light years away from each other under completely different environmental circumstances. That should have been obvious in their DNA—the way it was structured, the way it replicated, everything. For example, if the phosphates used to create DNA were insufficient on either planet, perhaps arsenates might have been used instead. Yet no such difference existed between the two, making the gene therapy possible. It was like two computers developed by two different companies miraculously had compatible operating systems.

This puzzled Clan, and she continued to do more research after the fact. But even after a more detailed analysis of Koutarou’s genetic code, she couldn’t find any difference between his and hers—in other words, between Earthlings and Forthorthians. And if they were that genetically close, it meant they were practically the same species after all. To use the computer analogy from before, it was like finding out that instead of just having the compatible operating systems, the two computers also had identical hardware. It was startling enough that Clan had redone her analysis over and over, thinking it couldn’t possibly be right. But after 22 tries and identical results, she was forced to face the facts.

Of course, Clan knew that if she shared this discovery with anyone that they would immediately assume she was crazy. It was just that mind-blowing. The probability of these similarities developing on their own—naturally and coincidentally—was so astronomically low that it was simply hard to believe. But as a scientist, Clan had to accept the truth, no matter how farfetched it seemed.

“...So unless I’m the kind of fool who could yield faulty results 22 consecutive times, I can say definitively that Forthorthians and Earthlings are the exact same species of human.”

Clan wrapped up her explanation with a very serious expression on her face. Theia had come to her for answers, and Clan had given her exactly that. But she knew the words that had just come out of her own mouth were so incredible that Theia’s response might simply be to laugh in her face.

“If that is the case, then that gives rise to one major question.”

Yet at the very least, Kiriha wasn’t laughing. This was a serious conversation and it was important to Theia and Clan. She wouldn’t dare laugh over something like that. Moreover, as far as she was concerned, there was something even bigger at stake here.

“If Earthlings and Forthorthians are the same species, then the same species must have purposefully been placed on two different planets.”

“I also believe that to be the case. The chances of the same species independently appearing on two distant planets at the same time are so low that it would realistically never happen even if you repeated the history of the universe several times over.”

The odds that two intelligent life forms had even encountered each other in all the vastness of space was nearly unbelievable to begin with. It was one thing that they existed, and another altogether that they’d managed to develop and prosper simultaneously. If just one factor in the equation had been shifted forward or back a couple of thousand years, none of it would have been possible. It was far more likely that Forthorthians would discover the ruins of ancient alien civilizations than any actual aliens.

But not only had they met aliens on a distant planet, said aliens turned out to be the exact same species of human that the Forthorthians were. That had to mean they’d evolved on similar trajectories, they shared identical genetic structures, and they could interbreed. The real question in Clan and Kiriha’s minds was then this: could such a coincidence really be just a coincidence? Both of them firmly believed the answer was no. They couldn’t deny that there was a nonzero chance that it was indeed all random, but it made far more sense to believe that there was something else at play. Indeed, faced with the facts, it seemed obvious to them that life had intentionally been placed on both planets, which would mean they had stumbled upon what was potentially the greatest mystery of the universe. But Theia interrupted all talk of this by slamming her hands on the table.

“You can save thinking out the science stuff for later!”

The conversation had gotten away from what she wanted to know, which was the only thing she cared about in the moment

“I need to hear you say it again, Clan! Could Ruth and I bear Koutarou’s children?! Could we give him a family?!”

Would they be able to share that kind of bond? Compared to the importance of that question, Theia didn’t care about the mysteries of the universe. The only thought that filled her mind was whether or not she and Koutarou would really, truly be able to become a family like any ordinary man and woman would.

“Yes, it’s a very realistic possibility,” Clan said with an affirmative nod.

Because it would be ethically questionable, Clan hadn’t actually experimented on whether or not fertilization was possible. However, according to her computer simulations, the success rate should be comparable to two Forthorthians trying to conceive. There would be no way of knowing if that was really true or not without empirical proof, but all signs were good.

“Of course, it’s not like you’re of a marriageable age yet.”

“But, but that means it is possible... Ruth and I can have Koutarou’s children... We can give him a family...”

After hearing Clan’s full response, Theia slumped down on the floor as all of the tension drained from her body. She put her hands on the floor and repeated what Clan had said over and over in a mumble. This question had been weighing on her for months, and to have that burden finally lifted from her shoulders came as a great shock.

“Then as long as that’s what he wants, we...”

As the seconds passed, the shock faded and gave way to relief.

“Hngh... Hic...”

Tears welled in Theia’s eyes, spilling down her cheeks in large droplets before tumbling to the floor. Drip, drop... One after the other, they fell like rain.

“I’m, hngh... I’m so glad...”

“Even if there are some complications, your genes are similar enough that I should be able to help you there. So rest easy.”

“Isn’t that wonderful, Theia-dono? Now you’ve lost your handicap.”

Clan and Kiriha warmly watched over the crying Theia. Tears were starting to form in their eyes as well. They both understood the pain and fear of imagining a future where you couldn’t be with the one loved.

“Hic, hnnngh... Waaaaah!”

Eventually, Theia’s tears burst into full-on sobbing. Clan and Kiriha did nothing to interfere, however. They simply let her cry, for they knew that these new tears were tears of happiness. Happiness that the pain and fear Theia had dreaded for so long were now gone.