Big Love From Ultra Deep Space ch9: Starry Sky

It is now 9am.
I'm proud to announce

45th Yuukei Festival

that Yuukei High School's culture festival,
the Yuukei Festival, is hereby open!

I see you twinkling.

AAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Eeeep...!
That was amazing...!

The elaborate props made it feel so realistic...!
Ten-sama is really enjoying herself...!
Hyesh...

Looks like you really are bad with jumpscares, Lulu.
Sorry.
So it appears...

Exhausted

It's Terachi and Princess-chan!

Long time no see~!
Seena-sama!

All together, I see.
We were thinking of hitting the haunted house too!
Did you two already go in?

The quality was splendid...!
It was amazing. To think they'd put out something this high level at a culture festival...
Someone's acting pretty hyper today.
Heh~
For reals? I'm excited now~

So like, did you two see Megu's play!?
Hey.
Eh!?

Is it finished already?
Just the first showing.
It was hilarious.

You were a perfect fit for the wicked sister role.
This seriously blows.
I took a video. Wanna see?
Huh!?

I would love to watch it.

Don't watch it!

Hey, Seena! Quit screwing around!!
Oh.

1-I 2F Puzzle Animal

Terachi~ Lulupoyo~!
Kiho!

Friend of yours, Terachi?
Yeah, from another class...

Are you from Terachi's neighborhood too!?
You too!?
Neighborood?
That's just what they call it.

My class is doing a puzzle thing, so come on over if you want!
I'm pretty dumb, though. Think I can do it?
Sure! It'll be fun!
Eh~ I think I like this kinda thing.
They sure hit it off quickly...

A while back...

I told you about how I snuck out of the castle to go to a food stand, yes?
There was a festival near the castle.
I always wanted to go there just once.

But despite how I look, I was still the princess,
so I had to quietly watch from the corner.
...I was jealous of everyone else having fun.

...Hah

I am sorry for talking about something like...
That makes today different then, right?

You can mingle and have fun all you want too, Lulu.

Let's go!

Yes!

p10

Ah.

What's wrong, Lulu?
...Plushies?

300 yen a go

Welcome~!

You get five throws. Get three in the goal and win a keychain.
Get all five in a row and you can help yourself to a large plushie!

...Want one? Wanna try?
N-No!
I very much lack the motor reflexes required...!

Shall I do it then?
Eh?

p11

Go pick out the one you want!

p12

F-...
Five successful shots in a row!!
Alright!
Amazing! Amazing! You were amazing, Ten-sama!

I was mostly showing off, so I'm glad they actually went in.
Go on and pick one.
Are you really sure?
You are the one who succeeded, Ten-sama...

Yeah.
I did it because I wanted you to be happy, Lulu.

Kyu~

p13

W-
Well then, the one on the far left...
That one, please.
Okay~
Thanks for the treat...

Hah~...

That was rough...
I sincerely apologise, Ten-sama...! It is all my fault...

To think we'd get swarmed by outsiders...
You okay, Lulu?
It's the alien.
The alien!
Yes...

p14

But it made me happy.
Even if it was just out of curiosity,
it feels like a lot of people have welcomed me today.
...I see.

But it is pretty exhausting...
Wanna take a break somewhere?
Yes, let us do that!

Oh.

Good, it's unlocked.

p15

What is this place, Ten-sama...?
It's a vacant classroom that's being used for storage.
The door at the back is always unlocked. Maybe it doesn't even have a lock.

Oh my.
I am surprised you know of such a place.

...Did you know the rooftop where we eat lunch is technically off-limits too?
EH!?
Nobody else knows that the lock's broken and you can just waltz in.

..I sometimes came here when I felt like running away.

Ten-sa...

p16

!?

Wah...!

So pretty...
Wah~
It's a planetarium.
I knew there was one here, but I didn't think it still worked...

So it is an imitation of the starry sky? How lovely.
...

p17

...Hey, Lulu.
You got a minute?

p18

You mind if I talk
...about myself?

...Back in middle school,

I had a friend I was close with.
She was smart and kind...

p19

Despite her short stature, she was always acted majestically to make up for it.
I felt nice being around her.
It felt like we were the closest beings to one another.

I was pretty tall and didn't look very womanly,
so people would often say we looked like a prince and princess when lined up together.

...I wasn't exactly against
being called cool or a prince.

...But at some point, that all changed.

p20

Ten.
Why did you dance with that underclassman at the bonfire dance?
Eh...?

Well... I never promised I would dance with you, Sakuya...
...I
thought I'd be dancing with you.

Hey, Ten.
What do you think about this?

What's wrong?
Well...

p21

That girl wanted me
to play the role of the prince like everyone else said.
It kept on escalating
until...

Just stop it already...!

I
am not your prince, Sakuya...!

...
...How cruel.
Hah

p22

Why would you say such a thing?
...I rejected that girl by saying something cruel
and hurt her...

From the next day onwards, the friends I used to get along with started to ignore me.
Then it became the whole class, and then the entire school.
...When I found out why, I was astonished.

...Apparently,
I had stalked that girl and tried to force a kiss on her.

p23

Hard to believe, right?
...Even I thought it was a stupid rumor.
But what was even harder to believe

was that I saw that girl spreading that rumor herself...

...I was scared.

No matter how honest I try to act,
my form can be changed by someone else's words.

You want me to take that rumor back?

p24

After all this time...
So what?
Who would believe you?

...So I figured I should just give up.
That I was just the type of person who'd make people believe such rumors.

If I don't get involved with anyone,
...if I don't believe in anyone,
I don't have to fear the possibility of getting hurt...

p25

After that day I ran away, after my feelings that had become a total mess had settled down,
there was one thing I understood.
It's that I

was terrified of the act of "believing".

My classmates believing that girl when they don't know anything.

Lulu believing in me when she doesn't know my past.

I wonder if there's an essential difference between the two.
Yeah, right.

p26

I wanted someone to believe me.
I was happy that you did.

...I know there's no right or wrong answer,
but...
...It saddens me

that the act of believing in someone
brought you so much pain, Ten-sama.

p27

We are imperfect beings.
Believing in someone
might cause someone to get hurt.

But
believing is not all about losses.
After all, Ten-sama,

it is because you believed in me

that I was able to feel your kindness.

p28

Even if someone else's world changes your form,
please always remember
the form that you yourself want to be
and the things that your belief has saved...

Aah.

I will be sure
to always remember that too.

You're always

p29

saving the me that I couldn't save.

...How pathetic. That's twice I've let you see me cry now...
You may cry as many times as you wish.

...You spoil me too much, Lulu.
...Fufu.

p30

Hey, Ten-sama...
!?

...Wh-
What the...!?

Are you okay, Lulu!?
I am fine. What about you, Ten-sama...?
I'm okay too!

p31

What the heck just...

There's someone over there...

Another alien...?

Why...?
Princess Lulucielamo!!

p32

13th princess of Anukamula,
Lulucielamo-sama!!
I'm here to pick you up!!

Warning