“Koloni ini tampak sangat ramai, ya.”
Mimi berseru begitu kami mendarat di dalam koloni.
Ini adalah…… Uh, apa nama koloni ini tadi? Ini adalah tempat yang kami singgahi dalam perjalanan menuju tujuan berikutnya. Kami tidak benar-benar perlu mengisi perbekalan, tapi kami pikir kami mungkin bisa menemukan makanan yang tidak biasa atau barang dagangan langka di sini.
“Iya. Apa ada semacam acara yang sedang berlangsung?”
Ada banyak toko dan bangunan dengan dekorasi yang mencolok. Setiap toko didekorasi dengan warna yang serupa, jadi mungkin ini semacam acara atau festival. Setiap toko memiliki bendera atau spanduk yang menampilkan tanda seperti ikan berwarna emas atau perak.
“Mungkin ini festival Tahun Baru atau semacamnya.”
“Un, mungkin.”
“Hee? Festival Tahun Baru, ya……”
Aku menoleh ke arah Elma untuk memastikan, tetapi Elma menggelengkan kepalanya sebagai jawaban. Sepertinya acara atau kebiasaan ini bukanlah sesuatu yang familier bagi Elma.
“Mungkin ini sesuatu yang berasal dari budaya dwarf.”
“Nn? Entahlah? Kami hanya pernah tinggal di koloni yang mayoritas dihuni dwarf sebelum ikut denganmu, Bos.”
“Tanda emas dan perak itu memang mirip dekorasi tahun baru, kan, Kak?”
“Begitu ya. Tapi apa arti simbol berbentuk ikan itu?”
Tina dan Whisker sama-sama memiringkan kepala mendengar pertanyaanku.
“Tidak tahu. Dalam festival tahun baru yang kami kenal, kami hanya memasang dekorasi emas dan perak sambil merayakan datangnya tahun baru dengan makanan dan minuman keras.”
“Tandanya memang terlihat seperti ikan, bukan? Semua dekorasi memiliki tanda yang sama, jadi mungkin sedikit berbeda dari festival tahun baru yang kita kenal, Kak.”
“Begitu ya…… Yah, kurasa kita hanya perlu bertanya pada penduduk setempat untuk mencari… tahu?”
Acara tahun baru dan ikan. Kedua istilah ini akhirnya membuat sesuatu terhubung di kepalaku. Aku…… Aku sebenarnya familier dengan acara ini!
“Tunggu–! Kenapa tiba-tiba lari!?”
“Ayo kembali ke kapal! Cepat!”
Saat Elma dan yang lainnya bergegas menyusulku yang berlari kembali ke kapal, aku memanggil Mei yang tetap berada di Black Lotus untuk berjaga.
『Halo, Master. Ada masalah apa?』
“Siapkan kapal untuk lepas landas! Dan cepat!”
『Mohon tenang, Master. Apakah Anda menemui semacam masalah?』
“Tidak, bukan begitu, tapi cepatlah! Setidaknya buat agar Krishna siap lepas landas saat kita kembali!”
『Saya masih belum mengerti, tapi baiklah. Saya akan segera bersiap.』
Itulah Mei-ku. Dia akan mematuhi bahkan tanpa penjelasanku.
Pemandangan diriku berlari secepat mungkin di pelabuhan koloni dan Mimi serta yang lainnya terburu-buru mengikuti di belakang menarik banyak perhatian dari orang-orang di sekitar, tapi aku mengabaikan mereka sepenuhnya. Aku punya masalah yang jauh lebih besar.
“Hei! Beri kami penjelasan, dong!”
“Itu tuna!”
“Tuna?”
Kami akhirnya mencapai Black Lotus. Elma menyusulku saat aku sedang mengoperasikan terminal untuk membuka palka. Mimi juga sudah mendekat, tapi sosok Tina dan Whisker masih jauh di belakang. Mau bagaimana lagi, kami lebih tinggi dari mereka dan langkah kami lebih lebar.
“Ini acara tahun baru. Tuna luar angkasa akan menyerang kita……!”
“Tuna luar angkasa?”
‘Apa-apaan orang ini?’ tertulis jelas di ekspresi Elma. Aku mengerti. Sungguh, aku mengerti. Tuna luar angkasa memang terdengar konyol. Aku tahu. Tapi kami punya acara seperti ini di Stella Online, lho. Yep, acara ini diimplementasikan di sana.
Dan itu adalah mimpi buruk yang nyata. Aku trauma oleh kawanan tuna luar angkasa sialan yang akan menyerangmu dari segala arah dengan kecepatan yang melampaui misil pencari panas. Ketakutan akan tuna-tuna dengan mulut menganga hitam pekat dan mata kosong yang menyerbu ke arahku dari mana-mana sudah terpatri di otakku.
“A-aku menyusul…… Haa, haa…”
“Sudahlah, ayo masuk dulu. Cepat ke hanggar.”
Karena saudari mekanik masih jauh dari menyusul, kami bertiga masuk ke Black Lotus mendahului mereka. Mimi masih terengah-engah karena kelelahan, tapi sayangnya, kami harus segera kabur ke koloni lain, jadi aku terpaksa mengabaikannya.
“Jadi ada apa dengan tuna luar angkasa itu? Kenapa kita harus buru-buru meluncurkan kapal?”
“Kalau kita biarkan, mereka akan menyerang koloni. Itu akan jadi mimpi buruk. Koloni akan tertusuk oleh tuna yang tak terhitung jumlahnya dan pemandangan ekor ikan yang memenuhi dinding koloni akan membuatmu mual.”
“Tuna itu ikan besar, kan? Kalau tuna yang datang seukuran luar angkasa, maka…… bukankah itu berarti mereka setidaknya seukuran kapal bintang biasa?”
“Mereka kira-kira seperempat ukuran Krishna. Dan ribuan atau mungkin puluhan ribu dari mereka akan menyerang kita.”
“Tapi bukankah mereka cuma monster luar angkasa biasa kalau begitu……? Atau lebih tepatnya, aku belum pernah melihat atau mendengar tentang hal seperti itu? Kamu yakin mereka akan datang? Ini bukan tipuan, kan?”
“……Kamu merusak kepercayaan diriku kalau bilang begitu, tahu.”
“Eh……”
Setelah melihatku lesu, Mimi menatapku dengan tatapan kasihan. Berhenti! Jangan menatapku dengan mata seperti itu. Elma menatapku seolah aku adalah pria menyedihkan yang tidak bisa diselamatkan. Aku merasa ingin lari karena malu.
“Aku pikir ini pasti acara itu saat melihat dekorasi emas dan perak serta tanda ikan…… Uh, ayolah teman-teman. Ini itu, lho. Ini pengalaman dari dunia asalku.”
“……Ah, begitu ya.”
“Yah, masuk akal kalau kamu bilang begitu, kurasa.”
Keduanya menyatakan pengertian mereka. Mimi dan Elma sama-sama tahu bahwa aku memainkan game bernama Stella Online saat di Bumi dan bahwa elemen-elemen game itu juga ada di dimensi ini. Mereka juga tahu bahwa sekitar setengah dari pengetahuan dan pengalaman yang berhasil kudapatkan dari bermain Stella Online dapat diterapkan di dimensi ini juga.
“Bagaimanapun, tidak ada salahnya meluncurkan kapal dan tetap waspada, tapi kita tidak bisa berbuat apa-apa terhadap puluhan ribu monster luar angkasa itu hanya dengan Krishna, kan?”
“Ya, soal itu… Sebagian besar tuna luar angkasa berwarna emas, tapi selalu ada tuna berwarna perak di antara kawanan yang bertindak sebagai pemimpin mereka. Dan kalau kita mendapatkan pemimpin itu, tuna berwarna emas akan menjadi tidak berdaya. Tuna yang tidak berdaya bisa dijual dengan harga bagus, jadi kita bisa menghasilkan cukup banyak uang dari situ. Selain itu, mereka sangat lezat! Atau begitulah yang kudengar.”
“Yosh, ayo kita buru mereka.”
“Aku akan melakukan yang terbaik untuk mendukung kalian berdua!”
Yah, perubahan sikap yang cepat sekali.
“Baiklah kalau begitu! Ayo berangkat! Menuju lautan bintang!”
“Ayo incar tangkapan besar!”
Aku menggelengkan kepala setelah melihat antusiasme keduanya yang tiba-tiba. Aku mengerti reaksi Mimi, tapi kenapa Elma juga jadi sangat bersemangat? Hm.
Yah, kurasa mau bagaimana lagi karena mereka berdua sudah sangat ingin pergi. Lagipula aku yang memprovokasi mereka, jadi aku harus bertanggung jawab di sini dan keluar dengan Krishna. Sambil merenungkan pemikiran itu, aku bergegas menuju hanggar dengan dua wanita itu mengekor di belakang.
“This colony seems especially lively huh.”
Mimi exclaimed as soon as we landed inside the colony.
This was…… Uh, what was the name of this colony again? It was somewhere we stopped by on the way to our next destination. We didn’t really need to resupply, but we just thought we’d be able to find some unusual food or rare trade goods here.
“Yup. Is there some sort of event going on?”
There were lots of stores and buildings with conspicuous decorations. Every store was decorated in similar colors, so it’s probably some kind of event or festival. Every store had flags or banners depicting gold or silver fish-like marks.
“It’s probably a New Year’s festival or something.”
“Un, probably.”
“Hee? A New Year’s festival huh……”
I turned my gaze toward Elma for confirmation, but Elma shook her head in reply. It looks like this event or custom wasn’t something familiar to Elma.
“Maybe it’s something derived from dwarven culture.”
“Nn? I wonder? We’ve only ever stayed inside a predominantly dwarven colony before coming with you, Boss.”
“The golden and silver markings do kind of resemble new year decorations, right, sis?”
“I see. But what’s the meaning of those fish-shaped symbols then?”
Tina and Whisker both tilted their heads at my question.
“No idea. In the new year’s festival we’re familiar with, we only put up gold and silver decorations while celebrating the coming of the new year with food and alcohol.”
“The marks really do look like fish, don’t they? All the decorations have the same marks, so maybe it’s a bit different from the new year festival we’re familiar with, sis.”
“I see…… Well, I guess we’ll just have to ask the locals to find… out?”
A new year’s event and fish. These two terms finally made something click inside my head. I…… I’m actually familiar with this event!
“Wai–! Where are you going all of a sudden!?”
“Let’s get back to the ship! Pronto!”
As Elma and the others rushed to follow me as I ran back to the ship, I called up Mei who remained on Black Lotus to keep watch.
『Hello, Master. Is something the matter?』
“Prepare the ship for launch! And hurry!”
『Please calm yourself, Master. Did you encounter some sort of trouble?』
“No, it’s not like that, but hurry anyway! At least make it so Krishna will be ready for launch by the time we get back!”
『I still don’t understand, but alright. I shall prepare immediately.』
That’s my Mei. She’ll comply even with my lack of explanation.
The sight of me dashing as fast as I could in the colony port and Mimi and the others hurriedly following behind was attracting lots of attention from the surrounding people, but I ignored them completely. I have bigger fish to fry.
“Hey! Give us an explanation, will you!?”
“It’s tuna!”
“Tuna?”
We finally reached the Black Lotus. Elma caught up to me while I was operating the terminal to open the hatch. Mimi was nearing us as well, but Tina and Whisker’s figures were still far behind. It can’t be helped since we were taller than them and had wider strides.
“It’s this new year’s event. Space tuna will be attacking us……!”
“Space tuna?”
‘What the heck is this guy saying?’ was written all over Elma’s expression. I get it. Really, I do. Space tuna does sound absurd. I know. But we had this type of event in SOL you see. Yep, this event was implemented there.
And it was a damn nightmare. I was given trauma by those damn space tuna swarms that would come at you from all directions with speed surpassing seeker missiles. The fear of those tuna with pitch-black gaping mouths and vacant eyes charging at me from everywhere was already seared into my brain.
“I-I caught up…… Haa, haa…”
“Anyway, let’s just get inside first. Hurry to the hangar.”
Since the mechanic sisters were still far from catching up, the three of us entered Black Lotus ahead of them. Mimi was still panting in exhaustion but, unfortunately, we had to escape to another colony as soon as possible so I was forced to ignore her.
“So what’s up with those space tuna anyway? Why do we need to hurry and launch the ships?”
“If we left them alone, they’ll attack the colony. It would be a nightmare. The colony would be pierced by innumerable tunas and the sight of their fish tails peppering the colony walls would make you squeamish.”
“Tunas are large fish, aren’t they? If the tuna coming are space-sized, then…… wouldn’t that mean they would be at least the size of your average starship?”
“They would be about a fourth of Krishna’s size. And thousands or possibly tens of thousands of those guys will be attacking us.”
“But aren’t they just your average space monsters then……? Or rather, I haven’t seen or heard about anything like them? Are you sure they’re coming? It’s not a sham, is it?”
“……You’re putting a dent on my confidence if you say that you know.”
“Eh……”
After seeing me deflate, Mimi looked at me with a pitying gaze. Stop! Don’t look at me with such eyes. Elma was looking at me like I was some sort of deplorable guy who was beyond saving. I feel like running away in shame.
“I thought it couldn’t be anything but that event when I saw the gold and silver decorations and the fish markings…… Uh, c’mon guys. It’s that, you know. It’s the experience from my homeworld.”
“……Ah, I see.”
“Well, it does make sense if you put it that way, I guess.”
The two expressed their understanding. Mimi and Elma both knew that I played a game called SOL back on Earth and that elements of that game were present in this dimension as well. They also knew that about half of the knowledge and experiences I managed to gain from playing SOL were applicable to this dimension as well.
“In any case, there’s nothing wrong with launching the ships and staying alert, but we can’t do anything about those tens of thousands of space monsters with just Krishna, right?”
“Yeah, about that… Most of the space tuna are golden in color, but there would always be a silver-colored tuna among the swarms that serves as their leader. And if we get that leader, the golden-colored tuna would become powerless. The powerless tuna can be sold for a nice price, so we can make quite a bit of money from that. Also, they’re absolutely delicious! Or so I’ve heard.”
“Yosh, let’s hunt them down.”
“I’ll do my best to support you both!”
Well, that was a quick change of attitude.
“Alright then! Let’s set off! To the sea of stars!”
“Let’s aim for a big haul!”
I shook my head after seeing the two’s sudden enthusiasm. I get Mimi’s reaction, but why is Elma also being all gung-ho about it? Hm.
Well, I guess it can’t be helped since the two of them are already raring to go. I was the one who instigated them anyway, so I’ll have to take responsibility here and sortie with Krishna. As I mulled such thoughts, I hurried for the hangar with the two ladies in tow.
“That’s the gist of the dream I saw.”
“That sounds so stupid.”
“It sounds like quite a unique dream. I kinda want to try it. Space tuna, I mean.”
“We were just relegated to secondary roles fer commentary though. I propose a revision in the script!”
“I-I’m not that slow when running…… probably.”
I told everyone about the contents of the dream I saw during breakfast, but apart from Mimi, everyone else’s reactions were on the negative side. How cruel. I just wanted to share the wonder I felt after seeing my first dream in this world.
“But why did you dream about tuna anyway?”
“I have no idea.”
We did actually have a space tuna raid event in SOL, but something that silly shouldn’t happen over here anyway. Right. There’s no way space monsters that weird exist.
“We’ll be exiting the hyperlane in thirty minutes. Should we pay a visit to the colony along the way?”
Mei made an announcement as we downed our after-meal coffees and teas, and I nodded in consent.
“Yeah. We don’t really need to resupply yet, but we might find some specialty products and trading goods worth getting, so why not? By the way, what’s the name of the star system we’ll be entering?”
“It’s ****.”
“Eh?”
“It’s ****, Master.”
The name of the star system that Mei gave was the same as the one we visited in my dream……
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