Chapter 19

Translated by SkyTL Edited by SkyTL

Chapter 19: Organic

Before I could say anything else, the door to my room suddenly opened and a cheerful voice rushed in.

Charlotte was staring at me, arms crossed, chest puffed out, cheeks puffed out and lips pouted.

She had just returned from the shower room and was putting on a spare Eos uniform. Riza had sewn it for her so there could be no confusion, but the size seemed to be in the range of fitting. It’s a practical work outfit, but it looks good on her.

It reminds me of the work clothes that Marina, Eos’ colleague, used to wear, but compared to Marina, who was larger, the impression is quite different .

It looks fine to me, and I wonder if something is wrong.

“Welcome back, Charlotte. What’s wrong?”

“Why!”

“What do you mean…”

She seems upset about something, but I have no idea what she’s upset about.

Finally, realizing she hadn’t said enough, Charlotte took a deep breath and pointed at me.

“Why don’t you come and take a look at this?

“I’m sorry, I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Because that’s what they do on Earth! You know, when a pretty girl is taking a shower and you accidentally step in her shower, and you say it was just an accident .

“I’ve never heard of such a custom…”

I have no idea what Charlotte is talking about.

Especially private areas, like the shower rooms, are closely guarded by Riza. Except in a serious emergency, no third party has access.

The shower room is more like a human washing machine than a shower room, because it is a capsule for one person, where a high-pressure mist of washing water is sprayed onto the body through an automatically controlled nozzle . In other words, it is not meant for two people.

After explaining that to her, I asked her where she got that knowledge, and the finger that was pointed at me wandered around in the air for a few seconds and then turned to Lacey .

“This is almost exactly what Lacey recommended in the movie about Earth. It’s called ‘Rakkisukebe’ or something like that?”

“Um, Charlotte…”

Obviously , something was wrong. Because Lacey waved her hand to silence Charlotte.

What the heck was she talking about? A movie about the earth? Rakkisukebe?

…whatever

I stopped them both with one hand.

“Well… I’ve never heard of this kind of custom before.”

“ Really ? That’s boring.”

When I denied it again, Charlotte didn’t elaborate, but sighed, as if to say it was a shame, and pointed her finger at my hand. She’s a restless girl.

“By the way, what’s that?”

“That’s a cactus. That’s a real specimen.”

“Wow, let me see!” .

Charlotte smiled as she held out her hand to me.

Then, as I was about to hand her the bowl, I heard a small, sad voice next to me say, “Oh.” Turning to the voice, I saw Lacey half reaching for the cactus, staring at it with an indescribably sad expression .

…Well, it’s true, Lacey was the one who spotted it first.

“Yes, first come, first served.”

Then, just as I was about to hand her the bowl, I heard a small, sad voice next to me say, “Oh. When I looked over at the voice, I saw Lacey half reaching for the cactus and staring at it with an indescribably sad expression on her face .

…Well, it’s true, Lacey was the one who spotted it first.

“Yes, first come, first served.”

“Ah…”

When I put the cactus in Lacey’s hand, she makes a small sound and anxiously picks up the pot.

“Show it to me, too.”

Unlike Lacey, who stares at the cactus with a very nervous expression on her face, Charlotte looks at it with great interest and nudges it lightly with her fingertips . The cactus is roughly spherical, with a bumpy surface and only a few spines.

After a while, Charlotte seemed to have had enough and now asked me.

“I mean, why do you have a real cactus here?

“Interior decoration, I suppose. It’s been in the main conference room for generations, but now that the main conference room is closed , it has nowhere to go .”

“Earthlings are so extravagant that they use live, real plants as interior decorations.”

“The seed itself was brought for agricultural use. The cactus is also edible. Lacey and I were just talking about eating it because it’s going to be thrown away anyway.”

“I see. That sounds great, I’d love to eat some of it too.”

I knew that was going to be her answer.

But just as I was about to nod….

“Huh?”

While Charlotte and I were talking, Lacey suddenly made a surprised sound and looked at me with wide eyes.

She pulled the cactus pot a little closer to her chest and her gaze wandered back and forth between me and Charlotte .

“Um, Lyle-sama? This is the first time I’ve heard of food…”

“Huh? Oh, right. Well, it was originally meant to be eaten.”.

“But, um, if you eat it, this plant…. Wouldn’t that kill it?”

“Well, I think it would. That’s what plants are for.”

“That’s true, but… But this plant is still alive, and it’s…. I mean… You can’t kill it… No…”

As she slurred and pressed her words, she looked like she was about to cry.

Her gray eyes tried desperately to tell me something, but they circled unspoken in her eyes.

This was a reaction I had not expected. I’ve never seen her resist anything like that before.

But it’s not like I don’t know what she’s trying to tell me.

So instead, I’ll say what I think she wants to say.

“You mean you’re sorry?”

“… Uh, well, you know, but, uh, Lyle-sama…. If you must… If you insist…

Apparently , her compassion for the little cactus was clouded by her robotic instinct to obey me .

I don’t think I’m particularly ruthless, but neither am I so philanthropic as to show mercy to every single edible plant .

In the solar system, not only on Earth but also in the asteroid colonies where I grew up, agriculture was practiced , and it was not uncommon to eat organic vegetables . I don’t have to worry about that.

Still, it’s interesting that Lacey, who is the picture of seriousness and obedience, has become so selfish . Of course, she would have obeyed if I had insisted, but I’m not obsessed with eating that cactus either.

Most of all, I’m curious that Lacey – like the original Miss Whitford – was interested in plants.

I was about to say, “Then you can have it,” but Charlotte interrupted me with an unimpressed look.

“Lacey, don’t you think the food we eat all the time comes from living yeast? Why do you feel sorry for the cactus and not the yeast?”

“That’s not…”

“Why? It’s not rational.”

Lacey stammers, and Charlotte presses her further.

Charlotte doesn’t mean to be insulting. She’s just asking a simple question that pops into her head, like a little kid asking an adult a question that’s hard to answer .

And maybe Lacey doesn’t have a rational answer to that question either.

“… I don’t know, for some reason I didn’t like it…. I don’t know why…”

“So it’s not rational after all.”

“Well, you know, there are whims that you don’t really understand. I think it’s okay to just have a feeling.”

And maybe Lacey doesn’t have a rational answer to that question either.

“… I don’t know, for some reason I didn’t like it…. I don’t know why…”

“So it’s not rational after all.”

“Well, you know, there are whims that you don’t really understand. I think it’s okay to just have a feeling.”

Charlotte doesn’t look convinced, and I follow her with a slight shrug.

That’s what people do. I’m not sure why. It’s a sensory thing. There’s no basis for it.

Lacey isn’t human, but it’s natural for her to feel some kind of pity for the creature in front of her, just like humans do. It doesn’t matter. No matter what you do to this little cactus, it doesn’t hurt it.

“Lacey. This cactus is for you. Riza will show you how to take care of him. If you want to let it live, kill it, or eat it, that’s your decision and none of my business.”

“That’s… But…”

Lacey’s voice is confused as she watches me use the terminal to remove the trash tag from the pot.

I look over at Charlotte to see if she’s interested, but she doesn’t seem particularly eager to argue with me.

“I thought Charlotte would bite when it came to food”.

“What do you mean… If it’s Lyle’s decision, then fine. I don’t want Lacey to resent it.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Yeah, water. So, what are you going to do now?”

“What now?”

Charlotte asks back, catching the water bottle I tossed to her.

“Oh, you mean the shared shower stall? May I?”

“No, not at all. I was just wondering if you could help me with my chores. I mean, you have to go through basic training, because starting tomorrow you’ll have limited access to the ship .”

“Well, that doesn’t really leave us much choice, does it?”

Charlotte sighed thoughtfully and shook her head in disbelief.

While it’s not like I’d be in trouble if they refused, it wouldn’t do them much good either.

“All right, I’ll help you. But I don’t know what I’m going to do yet.”

“ In the near future , you’re going to have to do some training, if not help. Especially when it comes to EVA.”

“That sounds kind of fun.”

In Charlotte’s mind, the decision had already been made . I suppose it’s a virtue of Charlotte’s that she’s so scattered. It’s a good thing she spoke so quickly .

Then I turned to Lacey, who was standing next to me with a complicated expression on her face.

“What about you, Lacey?”

“I’m going to …”

Lacey released her gaze from the cactus, but there was still a strong hesitation in her eyes.

Charlotte’s lips twitched as she looked at Lacey, who still seemed to be doubting.

“What are you talking about? How can you refuse a reward when you just received it?”

Lacey averts her gaze from the cactus, but there is still a strong hesitation in her eyes.

Charlotte’s lips twitched as she looked at Lacey, who still seemed to be doubting.

“What are you talking about? How can you turn down a reward when you just received it?”

“That’s …”

Lacey was silent, as if confused by Charlotte’s statement. She stares at the cactus in her hand for a few seconds, then looks at me pleadingly .

I don’t like it when you look at me like that.

Honestly, Charlotte’s accusations were completely justified, but….

“You don’t have to do this. I just want you to think about what I said earlier. “If you get an education, you’ll have more opportunities.”

That is, if she wants to come with me after I fix Eos.

“About earlier…”

Lacey muttered, then raised her eyebrows and shut up while I waited what felt like an eternity, but was really probably more like 30 seconds . Just as I was about to say, “We can come to a conclusion another time,” she finally opened her heavy mouth.

“… If there’s anything I can do to help you…”

“Yes, of course, that would be great.”

And then we both breathed a sigh of relief. I feel like I put a lot of work into what should have been a very simple conversation.

When I looked up, Lacey was looking at me the same way I was looking at her, and we smiled awkwardly at each other.

Over the next few days, I accompanied the girls to their training every day and oversaw the repair of the ship.

It might seem like more work, but after a while I was able to leave the supervision of the repairs to Lacey and Charlotte, as long as they didn’t overdo it .

Lacey, in particular, has a good memory despite her lack of athletic ability, and she already did half of the work to prod Isla . That made things a lot easier. Her help with the daily reports to Earth also cut down on my thinking time.

The reason we’re training them for life on Earth is because we want to use them as crew later. And right now they’re good enough, if you don’t mind that they’re not human.

But we haven’t told them yet that we may have to sacrifice Astoria. Lacey, who is in charge of the ship’s repairs, may already know that, but hasn’t said anything yet.

It is possible that a solution will emerge in the course of future investigations on Astoria, so we would like to postpone the conclusion on this matter for a while if possible .

Our days passed day by day in a delicate and strange balance.

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