Thanks to You, Captain
I arrived in front of the theater where Lugh had asked to meet, saying she had something important to tell me.
Closed today for a private event.
Did I get the wrong place...?
Good day, Captain. You're early.
Let's go in.
...You think we should go to a different place?
No, that won't be necessary.
Because I rented the place.
...Hmm?
The terrorists who caused the commotion have all been arrested.
However, whether this means the group they called themselves Shokas has been completely destroyed... is still under investigation.
It seems there was a backer who preyed on people's vague anxieties about the future, funding them in exchange for propaganda and acts of destruction.
Most likely, the ones captured this time were just a tip of the iceberg.
Whether there truly is an evil organization remains unknown, but I will see it rooted out entirely.
Because that is...
the mission of Stellar Rangers?
...You can really be mean sometimes, Captain.
That's all there is to say about the incident.
Are you thirsty or hungry? Have as much as you like.
It's on me.
All I see are water jellies and chocolate bars...
I prepared snacks that wouldn't interfere with watching a movie.
It's about to start.
On the screen, the title Stellar Rangers: Operation Twin Star Recapture appeared.
Just as I was about to focus on the movie, Lugh spoke up beside me.
Captain. Let's get to the point.
Didn't I tell you I had something important to discuss?
The earlier topic was important, but this one is the most important.
Something I don't want to tell anyone else...
Something I want to share only with you, Captain.
The reason I was drawn to Stellar Rangers... the reason I joined the Journey...
The answer I found is...
Admiration.
Admiration?
Yes.
Captain, I've been unable to feel pain since childhood.
Because of that, I couldn't understand people.
Why they cry when hurt, or why they grieve...
Why they can empathize with someone else's suffering.
Things others take for granted never came naturally to me...
And I thought I'd never truly belong with them.
I believed I was a being from another plane entirely.
...
But when I took the stage as Stellar Ranger Black at your suggestion at the venue...
And after I subdued the Shokas henchmen and the audience erupted in cheers...
I realized something.
The reason I was drawn to Stellar Rangers. The reason I challenged the Journey.
And the reason I chose to become a Polaris Observer above all other jobs.
Even if I can't feel pain... even if I can't understand others...
I want to become someone who keeps getting back up again and again...
Who defeats villains and saves everyone...
A hero.
I think I've always unconsciously wished to be someone like the Star Savior.
...And it's all.
All thanks to you, Captain.
Is that so?
I think you would've realized it someday, even without me.
Why do you think that?
Because Lugh...
...
Thank you, Captain.
In the theater lit only by the glow of the screen, Lugh looked at me with a faint smile.
That expression was...
H-hey, the movie's starting. Have you seen this one?
Yes. I have.
It's the episode where the Stellar Rangers save a girl who's lost her sense of purpose and is wandering aimlessly.
She's about to raise her hand and shout.
Star Change!
This will be my thirty-first viewing of Stellar Rangers: Operation Twin Star Recapture.
Want to watch something else?
It's fine. A masterpiece is enjoyable even when you know the plot and ending.
And...
And?
If a movie that stayed in my memory also stays in yours, Captain...
If we can share the same sight and the same memory...
Just thinking about that is...
...Haha.
It's a strange feeling.
When I imagine you saying, "That was fun," at the end of this movie...
Right here.
I feel this spot, right in the center of my chest, being pressed down on.
It's not pain... but a ticklish sensation.
Do you know why this is happening, Captain?
...Not really?
Is that so? I see there are things even you don't know, Captain.
Let's continue with the movie.
It's about to get really good.
Just as Lugh said, the movie did get more exciting from that point on.
But with Lugh sitting by my side, smiling as she looked at me, I couldn't focus on the film at all.