I woke up the next morning, my fingers tangled in silky red hair. The ice queen who had melted for me last night was now curled up on my chest like a kitten. Her soft curves pressed against me, bringing back vivid memories of our passionate encounter. The way her cold exterior had given way to fiery desire, combined with her stunning figure, had been utterly intoxicating.
I savored the feeling of her warmth for a few more moments before gently extracting myself. As much as I wanted to stay in bed all day, we had responsibilities to attend to. I helped her dress, stealing kisses between buttons and zippers.
Just as we were finishing up, the entire house began to shake violently. The chandelier swayed dangerously overhead as tremors rocked the foundation. Grabbing Morina's hand, I rushed out to the living room where we found Clem and her mother looking panicked.
"Big brother Nobita! Mom! Come look!" Clem called from the balcony, pointing urgently.
I hurried over, following her gaze to a nearby mountain. My eyes widened as I saw thick plumes of smoke billowing from its peak. Whatever was happening, it couldn't be good. The ground continued to rumble ominously beneath our feet as we stared at the frightening scene unfolding before us.
"What's going on? Dad said this planet's volcanic activity should have stopped long ago!" Clem said, puzzled.
Clem turned to her mother. She was just as confused. "Could it be entering an active period again?"
Another, stronger tremor hit. Clem and her mother nearly fell, and I grabbed them quickly to steady them.
From behind, Morina watched, her expression tightening for reasons I couldn't quite read.
As the shaking subsided, I let go and told them, "Don't go anywhere near that side of the mountain."
"I'm going to find Uncle Camoran and Morina's dad so we can discuss this."
"Nobita-oniichan!"
"Nobita!"
Clem and her mother looked worried.
"Don't worry. I'll get this sorted," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt.
I planned to head into town. Morina decided to come along. I figured town wouldn't be dangerous, so I didn't argue. But for some reason she'd gone quiet and distant, not saying a word the whole way. That was nothing like her warm mood last night after the celebrations. How could she change so much overnight? I honestly didn't get it.
…
…
Elsewhere, at the Galtite Mining base, a machine like a giant drilling platform thundered on. The towering central pillar pulsed with red light.
"Good. Keep shaking the planet's core this hard," Head Boss ordered, facing the underlings below.
"Head Boss, shouldn't we leave soon?" Borgant asked nervously. The two henchmen—one fat, one thin—nodded anxiously behind him.
"Scared by a little fire? How are you supposed to do anything big?" Head Boss snapped, glaring at the lot of them.
"When the core's vibration index reaches its peak, this machine will emit a blue glow. After that, all that's left is to press the final button."
"At that moment, this planet will vanish from the universe."
His face was ice-cold. Borgant and the other small fry shivered beside him.
…
…
By the time Morina and I reached town, Galtite Mining's airships were circling overhead, blaring a warning.
["Attention residents of Koya Koya Star! Evacuate this planet immediately. Due to crustal shifts, Koya Koya Star is expected to explode within a week. Time is running out!"]
They repeated the announcement over and over.
I thought, yeah—this has Galtite Mining written all over it.
The town was in chaos, which made sense. What didn't make sense was what most people were saying.
"Why hasn't that Earth boy come help us yet?"
"Why didn't he eliminate the danger beforehand?"
"So irresponsible!"
At first I was angry. After a while, I just had no words. Human nature—once it fails a test, it fails it again. They never seem to learn. They're the same people who abandoned Morina's father back then.
I've seen a lot in my previous life; I wasn't going to let a few ingrates get to me. Some folks are just thankless no matter what you do. Getting mad at them would only make me the fool.
But even if I kept my cool, Morina couldn't.
She'd already been fed up with most of the settlers. Now, hearing them badmouth me—someone close to her—she couldn't stand it. She pushed into the crowd on the square, furious.
I tried to stop her but couldn't. I could only sigh.
At the square's center, in front of the statue of Morina's father, stood the former captain—now the mayor—along with Camoran and the chubby father of the boy I'd saved earlier.
They addressed the crowd from the platform.
"We're arranging evacuation ships urgently. Please stay calm!"
The crowd roiled.
"Where's that Earthling? Why hasn't he shown up?"
"And what about Clem's family? Are they planning to have the Earthling save only them?"
Hearing this, I wanted to shout, You know what? You're right—I only want to save Clem's family and Morina. Who do you think you are? I held back. I decided not to show myself yet. Let them stew.
But Morina, burning with anger, stormed up onto the platform.
"The volcanic eruption is this planet's problem," she said. "What does that have to do with an Earthling?"
The crowd quieted.
"You're always relying on someone else—so much that it's become a habit," she went on. "Whenever something happens, no one wants to reach out their own hand. Just like with my dad."
Camoran stepped forward to explain. "Morina, we wanted to save Dr. Burns, but if we'd stayed in that energy wave any longer, the ship would have been in danger. Besides, he's safely back now."
"That doesn't erase how you abandoned him," Morina said, her voice icy. If not for me, she might never have seen her father again. "And when my dad strongly opposed selling Garutite ore from this planet, you ignored him and did it anyway."
"You sold out this planet just to make things easier for yourselves."
"That's not how it was. Our immigrant group was deceived by Galtite Mining!"
Camoran faltered.
"We've never forgotten about your father," the mayor added.
Morina only found that hypocritical. "Then why, after my dad went missing, did none of you try to confirm whether he was alive or dead?"
"And after Galtite Mining deceived you, why didn't you take the initiative to confront them?"
"You made the mess, but no one cleaned it up. You didn't even show the attitude of admitting you were wrong."
Her scornful gaze left them all speechless.
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