The sun spilled its gentle, radiant light across the sky, and beneath its warmth, the once-damp sea breeze shed that lingering trace of moisture, leaving behind a freshness laced with the faint salt of the ocean.
Everything about it seemed to declare: today was a fine day for setting out on a long journey.
But just as Andrew and Hoshimi Miyabi were about to walk out through the gates of the Astral Outpost and set off on their way, an extra figure appeared this time — one radiating an overwhelming sense of presence.
Sunlight fell across his bronze skin, setting off muscles so sharply defined they seemed to gleam.
A massive Tachi stood upright beside his hand, like a pillar sturdy enough to prop up the heavens.
Unfortunately, the Shock Eel head swaying in the wind completely ruined the whole aesthetic, instantly turning what should have been a solemn scene into something utterly absurd. And that wasn't all.
As the two of them drew closer, Andrew noticed something else — the man was sitting on a white plastic chair with a backrest, one that looked achingly familiar to Andrew, and that, at a glance, was obviously not something native to this world.
An aura of overwhelming strength radiated outward, and Andrew swore he could almost hear some inexplicable drumbeat pounding in the background.
Andrew hadn't run into him at all while at the outpost, and had assumed the guy had been dragged off again to do grunt work on some emergency commission. He never expected the man had been camped out here the whole time.
Watching Sapphire Star, clearly off on one of his eccentric episodes again, Andrew rubbed his forehead and grumbled, "Old geezer, what are you scheming this time?"
But Sapphire Star completely ignored Andrew's jab, the long Shock Eel head swaying slightly with his movements. In a low voice, he said, "If you want it, you'll have to come and take it yourself."
As he rose from his seat, Andrew finally understood the real reason that ordinary-looking plastic chair had managed to hold Sapphire Star's massive bulk so steadily.
To keep the chair from being crushed flat under the combined weight of his body and his gear, the old geezer had actually been hovering above the seat the entire time, never truly sitting down at all!
He hadn't been sitting at all — he'd been holding a horse stance in a sitting position!
At that, Andrew was well and truly out of comebacks.
Ignoring Andrew's reaction entirely from start to finish, Sapphire Star turned to face the two of them, his expression dead serious, and continued, "You already know the rules."
Watching him carry on regardless, like some cutscene that had to play out to the very end no matter what, Andrew grumbled again, "Come on, aren't the gear and weapons you made from your materials already on our bodies? What more do you want me to take, old geezer?"
"Don't tell me you've got some secret treasure stashed away, and you've finally decided to pass it down to your precious disciple?"
Faced with Andrew's continuous ribbing, Sapphire Star finally turned to snap at him, "Shoo, go on, don't get in my way, kid — I'm not here for you this time!"
"The vaccine objective's done, the beads have all been taken, every crop within several kilometers of the outpost is gone, and you've bought up most of this cycle's supply quota outright — didn't even leave the Felynes their dedicated Silvervine allotment."
"And most importantly, you took so many materials from my stockpile to make gear — and after all that, you're still eyeing whatever treasure I've got left?!"
With that, Sapphire Star glared at the Kushala Daora armor on Andrew's body, his anger flaring even higher.
Then, looking utterly disgusted, he went on, "And you, kid — you actually tipped off the Second Cohort Leader ahead of time, so that guy vanished right when I was only halfway through showing off!"
"I haven't even settled that score with you yet!"
Somehow, it felt like that last grievance was the real reason behind Sapphire Star's fury — the one and only reason, really.
At the same time, Andrew, hearing all this, went completely silent.
After all, this time he was genuinely in the wrong.
Never mind anything else — just taking enough materials from Sapphire Star's stockpile to craft an entire set of master-tier gear was already a huge advantage in itself.
Not only had the required materials been massive in quantity, but they'd also all been top-tier.
Not to mention that, this time, Sapphire Star apparently hadn't even come looking for him.
"This is my most treasured possession. If it weren't for the fact that little Miyabi is a fellow enthusiast of mine, there's no way I'd ever bring it out, understand?!"
There really was a treasure?!
Honestly, even Andrew hadn't expected Sapphire Star to actually have a real treasure!
But Sapphire Star's next move instantly jogged Andrew's memory of exactly what he'd forgotten, and he began regretting that his first move on spotting the old geezer hadn't been to grab Miyabi and beeline the other way at full speed.
Except now, regret came far too late.
Sapphire Star pulled out, seemingly from nowhere, an enormous sack of Shock Eel headpieces in nearly every color imaginable, and spread them out before Hoshimi Miyabi.
In an instant, the space before the two of them was covered in Shock Eel headpieces — and there were even two identical pairs of every single color!
Beaming, he turned to his fellow enthusiast and said, "Now, now, little Miyabi, don't mind him — just pick whichever ones you like."
As if worried she'd hesitate to actually take any, he quickly added, "Take as many as you want — your Uncle Sapphire Star has a full spare set of every color back in his storehouse. These ones here were made specifically for spreading the faith."
"Ugh…" At the same time, seeing what Sapphire Star's so-called treasure actually was, Andrew finally remembered exactly what he'd overlooked.
Believing he'd already made it through this particular ordeal now that they were about to leave the outpost, he'd unconsciously let his guard down.
And this was exactly the moment the old geezer had been waiting for!
Back when they'd first arrived, the two of them had agreed that Sapphire Star would gift Miyabi a headpiece — but Andrew had derailed the topic and stalled it out.
In the days since, the subject had come up now and then, but Andrew had always managed to dodge it, narrowly slipping past with the art of stalling.
No wonder the guy hadn't seemed the least bit anxious back then — he'd been lying in wait for him this whole time!
Old geezer, doing this — that's just despicable!
Unlike Andrew's inner turmoil, Miyabi's eyes lit up instantly at the sight of the sea of Shock Eel headpieces spread before her.
Still, in response to Sapphire Star's invitation, she instinctively turned to look at Andrew, her eyes full of anticipation.
It was just like a child, offered a gift by someone else, instinctively turning to look at the person they depended on, to confirm whether they were really allowed to accept it.
On top of that, Sapphire Star was glaring at Andrew with an expression that clearly said, shake your head and I'll draw my blade.
This was the first fellow enthusiast he'd met in years who shared his passion for Shock Eel headpieces — not even his own disciple was going to stand in his way!
Faced with both their gazes, Andrew had no choice but to nod, resigned.
Even without his master glaring at him, just facing Miyabi's hopeful eyes alone, he doubted anyone — no matter who — could have brought themselves to say no…
Watching Miyabi eagerly picking out colors, Andrew could only silently mourn, for a brief moment, on behalf of Section 6's one and only reliably normal member.
But at this point, it was already too late to say anything.
He could only hope she wouldn't come looking to settle a score with him later for corrupting her Section Chief.
Maybe, seeing all her teammates on board, Young Miss Tsukishiro Yanagi would choose to go along with it too, just to keep the group aesthetic consistent.
But Andrew had forgotten one legendary inequality: acceptance does not equal approval.
Agreeing to wear gear gifted by her own Section Chief, and going after the guy who'd corrupted said Section Chief — those were two completely different matters, start to finish!
While Andrew's thoughts galloped off on their own wild tangent, Miyabi, as if she'd already had a plan in mind, quickly picked out five Shock Eel headpieces in five different colors from the dazzling array.
But she didn't put them away right away.
Instead, she quietly walked over to Andrew's side and held out one of the red Shock Eel headpieces to him.
"Andrew. Gift."
Combined with the stack of green, blue, pink, and yellow Shock Eel headpieces still in her hands, the five colors together gave Andrew an odd sense of déjà vu.
Something like a five-color Sentai squad in New Eridu.
Come to think of it, was this supposed to be a reference to the Toei Sentai teams from his first life, or New Eridu's own Astral Knights?
With the red headpiece, did that make him the protagonist by default?
Wait, no — wasn't his role supposed to be more like the late-joining reinforcement hero?
Or maybe, like the legendary Four Heavenly Kings, it was just common knowledge that a supposedly "four-person" squad like Section 6 actually had five members?
Whatever chaos was spinning through Andrew's head, though, back in reality he faced Miyabi's hopeful eyes and, bracing against Sapphire Star's teasing look, decisively tucked the headpiece into his arms.
Ah, whatever — no point agonizing over it.
Once the mask was on, nobody would be able to tell who was who anyway — so fine, Super Sentai it was, as long as Miyabi was happy.
As for whether Young Miss Tsukishiro Yanagi would come after him for this…
With Miyabi around, he'd probably be fine.
...Probably.
Just then, Sapphire Star, wearing the expression of a man who felt his legacy was secure, looked at Miyabi, gave a satisfied nod, and suddenly spoke up. "Whatever the nature of you two's relationship, at the very least, as Andrew's representative, I hereby give my approval."
"...What?"
Andrew, who'd been half zoning out, choked on his own spit at Sapphire Star's sudden declaration. After a few coughs, he blurted, "Old geezer, what nonsense are you spouting? Miyabi and I aren't like that!"
"Besides, back in that other world, I've already got girlfriends — three of them, actually!"
"...???"
Andrew's explanation, rather than clearing things up, only made Sapphire Star the one left with a face full of question marks.
"What the hell?! Three?!"
Sapphire Star had originally meant to give the kid's relationship a reassuring stamp of approval right before they parted, since Miyabi's unconscious behavior around him had already made things pretty obvious.
Instead, what he heard left him questioning his entire life.
All he could say was that New Eridu's live-for-today, drink-while-you-can mentality had genuinely shattered the worldview of this old fellow, who'd grown up his whole life in a conservative environment.
Sapphire Star instinctively turned to look at Miyabi, only to find her taking the news with an expression of perfect, matter-of-fact calm.
That, of all things, was what left Sapphire Star completely stumped.
There was no scene he hadn't witnessed before (RIP) — but this particular scene, he truly never had.
As for Miyabi, though —
Hearing with her own ears that Andrew had girlfriends didn't surprise her in the slightest — after all, watching Andrew's interactions with Phaethon during the campaign against Nineveh had already made it obvious enough.
If anything, she would have been genuinely surprised if he didn't have any.
Besides, someone like Andrew, who laid his relationships out openly like an open hand of cards, was actually considered to hold unusually high moral standards in New Eridu.
At the very least, that beat someone who claimed to have no girlfriend before you got to know them in detail, only for you to discover, once you actually got close, that every position was already taken — girlfriend, fiancée, lover, companion, childhood friend, master, fan, even the spot reserved for a pet.
Don't you agree, legendary Proxy of another parallel world?
This time, though, Sapphire Star's silence stretched noticeably longer than usual.
Was this right?
Was this... really okay?
But in the end, he chose to respect the social norms of other worlds, and quietly let the topic drop — one that was simply beyond his comprehension.
Young people's affairs were best left for young people to sort out themselves. He, meanwhile, would stick to keeping company with his own aibo, as he always had.
No, wait — next time, he had to make that brat bring back photos of his girlfriends!
Not getting to see what the kid's girlfriends looked like would be a real loss!
Life is always accompanied by farewells.
The brief reunion was drawing to a close, and the final, short farewell had truly arrived.
The usual teasing and horseplay masked the emotions underneath, as Sapphire Star gazed at Andrew — the boy who had, step by step before his very eyes, grown from an awkward youth into the man standing here now.
The air fell quiet once more, with only the faint sea breeze brushing past the two of them standing at the gate.
Neither wanted to be the first to speak, because to speak again would mean the farewell had truly begun.
And this reunion, four years in the making, had lasted a mere four days.
But in the end, it was Sapphire Star who moved first.
He raised his hand and gave Andrew's shoulder a light pat, just as he had countless times before when encouraging that once-green boy, and said softly, "Go. Go accomplish what's yours to accomplish."
Then, looking at Andrew before him, his tone carrying a seriousness Andrew had never heard from him before, he added:
"The Astral Outpost will always be your home. If you ever run into trouble you truly can't handle, come back anytime and call for backup."
"Don't push yourself too hard. Your master here isn't dead yet, you know!"
Then, lightening up, he added, "Besides, calling for backup when you can't win a fight is a proud tradition among us Hunters. That's exactly what the flare every Hunter's required to carry is for, isn't it?"
Listening to Sapphire Star's advice, a smile spread across Andrew's face.
He didn't refuse. Instead, he nodded earnestly and said, "Don't worry, Master. If I ever run into something I truly can't handle, I'll come straight back to call for backup, as fast as I possibly can."
"That's exactly what I said before I set out too. Just don't go complaining that the trouble I've run into is too much for you, when the time comes."
Hearing Andrew's promise, Sapphire Star's face broke into a matching smile.
With everything they'd wanted to say now spoken, the two of them didn't linger on more words, choosing instead a clean, decisive farewell.
Andrew blew the whistle that summoned his wyvern.
Once its claws had hold of the wyvern, he scooped Miyabi up and flew off toward the spatial rift they'd arrived through.
Sapphire Star turned and walked off toward where the Commander was stationed, while Andrew, in turn, set off on the journey back to New Eridu.
____
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