Epilogue: Their Fates have been Sealed

While Hiroshi and his men were still in Hashidate and pulling off a trade war, the library-observatory building of Kiko Centralized University situated in the academy lands outside of Naka, a meeting was being held where the highest-ranked scholars and professors are talking about a certain thing that they are observing at the sky for the past 4 months.

"We have used our most accurate and powerful optical telescopes to map out the celestial bodies since Lord Iwasawa has provided us this observatory. As such, we can conclude that this star is nowhere our past known ones."

An old man named Shinzo Kamaji, who is the head administrator of the University, spoke up while pointing a stick at the large celestial globe in the middle of the table. There, he pointed at the place in the sky where their unidentified star is located.

"What could this mean? It would be impossible for there to be a new star forming out of nowhere, wouldn't it?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that it is impossible. I would just say that it's not normal. As you may know, the Astrology department keeps their eye on the sky for the entire 16 hours of night sky during the winter. To say that we missed a star in our investigations would damage our credibility with the Allied Navy who depends on us to adjust their celestial navigation globes."

As the professors and deans continued to converse, one man's audible clearing of throat made all of them to quiet down to let him speak.

"Gentlemen… It seems like we are missing the point here, don't we?"

"And what point are you talking about, Professor Fumikage Ryuusui?"

"About labeling it as a star, administrator Kamaji."

This is Fumikage Ryuusui, 3rd-born son in the Fumikage clan and 5th of the 7 children of the Clan leader. He is a tall young man with a mild expression on his elegant face that makes him quite the eye candy of ladies. However…

"I know you are a genius, Professor, but this conversation is way out of your league and specialty. In the first place, why is a medical biologist even invited in a meeting of the Astrology and Cartography department? Why don't you just visit one of your nursing classes and be the apple of the eye of the young women out there?"

"I would, if that will let me acquire more knowledge. But it is not and never will be."

According to his own words, he is a man who has no time to giggle with women. His one and only reason to come out of his personal laboratory and study room is to gain more knowledge.

"Che-!"

"What a high-chined brat…"

For the professors in the meeting room who has studied and labored for years upon years to gain their knowledge and be qualified enough to work in the university, the presence of this young man who has either rivalled or surpassed their knowledge is their sole source of pain. But they cannot discredit him in any way.

"He didn't come here as a professor for medical college, he's here as the ship captain of IJN Hibiki who will be assisting you in your off-shore astrology study at the northern sea. And I believe Captain Fumikage right here has the capability to be an astrology expert as well so long as you give him the right books."

The one who spoke to his defense was the War College administrator and also the highest-ranking military general in Kiko named Shimura Nobisuke. His jab towards the professors who heard him tell them that Ryuusui can overturn their bad opinions was something that made the old men to look away in either embarrassment or frustration as what he said is most probably right.

"Well, in any case, we need your words about this unidentified object before we make any move. Iwasawa-sama has warned us about comets and asteroids since it may pose a danger to our nation. So please give me an answer…"

The old men continued to argue in one way or another but instead of them, it was a sweaty university student from the observatory dome at the other room who ran towards the meeting room in full speed just to announce something.

"Sirs! The unidentified star is approaching Kiko!"

Everyone who heard that stood up from their seats and ran to the observatory dome. There, they attached some kind of wide-angle lens on the eyepiece to allow everyone to see what was happening.

"…This is-!"

"Impossible, impossible indeed!"

The star that used to glow dimly before was now as bright as any other star. It is also becoming larger and larger, signifying that it is approaching their position.

"Everyone! Calculate the trajectory and see if it will hit any of our settlements!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

They went to work quickly, each of them taking on work that they specialize at. They scribbled high-level equations on blackboards and entered mathematical functions on a mechanical calculator to accurately solve them until a shout echoed in the dome.

"North, north-east! At the northern sea or the islands out there."

With that information taken, Nobisuke and Ryuusui went out of the room to properly prepare for an expedition.

"Assemble your crew, captain. We will leave by dawn."

"Yes, sir!"

For Shimura Nobisuke, this is nothing but a simple expedition with the navy. But it will soon be apparent that it will not end as how he wants it to be.

Meanwhile, in the Kyoga Sanctum in the imperial capital city of Hitachi, a woman dressed in a shrine maiden outfit was swinging a metal torch around a pattern made of burned snakeskin and maple leaf ashes.

"Summon!"

With a shout, she burned the pattern with her metal torch, and it glowed until a random young man appeared in front of her who seems to be confused about his surroundings.

"Failure, failure, failure!

"What…?"

"You two! Take him to the room and explain everything to him!"

The shrine maiden shouted as if she is frustrated about something. She ordered two junior shrine maidens to bring him to another room.

"Where... where?!

Indeed, what could've pushed her to the limits for this to happen.

"Just where are you?"

In the Imperial Capital of Hitachi, the Kyoga sanctum is known as the closest temple to the Imperial palace. And thus, it is a very affluent compared to the other three sanctums.

And its head priestess is someone finding someone by summoning them.

"Where are you, Miyazaki Hiro?!"