On January 3, 3459, <> had advanced to a position where the planet Hale was thought to be.

It took a long time because it was slowing down and proceeding cautiously.

<>. We will be at our position in 6 hours.

This is a communication through the relay base.

In Horai Island, Hannah, Zion, Marikka, Saki, Goose, Vivian, and others who were staying there had returned home.

And Erza went back to her parents' home.

Jin wanted to go with her, or should have gone with her, but he stayed behind because of Hale's problem.

"Hmmm, they are probably about 300 million kilometers apart, right?"

The orbital radius is about 150 million kilometers, which means that Ars and Hale are separated by a diameter.

"But there is no communication delay?"

> "It would be strange if I didn't think so.

"It would be strange if I didn't think so. In this world ...... or even in space, the speed of light is 300,000 kilometers per second, right?"

<<

"Oh, I see. ......"

E=mc^2. This equation is said to be a consequence of Einstein's special theory of relativity.

E = mc^2. m is mass and c is the speed of light. It is possible that the speed of light in this world (not in the sense of planets, but in the sense of all space including the universe) is faster than the speed of light in the other world including the earth.

"I can't rule out that possibility, since there is magic."

Considering the efficiency of converting free magic element (ether) into energy, there is a possibility that the speed of light c is 3 billion kilometers per second.

At least, there is no perceptible time lag in communication with a place 300 million kilometers away.

"Let's leave that problem for another time, but first we have to deal with the immediate problem."

Jin himself is not so dexterous that he can solve many problems in parallel. And, for this problem, even the direction of the answer is still unknown.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Five hours passed, and the planet Hale appeared before <>.

<

The wards that were said to be there were not there.

Was the information wrong or have the circumstances changed? This will become clear in the future.

In a word, the appearance of Hale resembles the fourth planet of the solar system, Mars.

Reddish brown and light green earth, white snow or ice at the poles. There are some areas that appear to be oceans, but they are only about 20%.

There were only a few green areas on the land.

"It's kind of ...... desolate looking, isn't it?"

Still, the old man ordered the use of the "peepers" to see if the ground might be more comfortable than he had expected.

"I am also concerned that there are no barriers that are supposed to be there."

The light green area is probably a grassland. They were scattered around the equator and the Tropic of Cancer.

"Yes. Let's check the images from the Peeper telescope.

* * * *

gets close enough to visually observe Hale.

There are no boundaries or barriers, and no moving objects have been observed on the surface so far.

"First, let's observe the surface while circling, and at the same time, let's use the <> and <> to search for free magical element (ether) activity."

Cosmos 501 gave these instructions and checked the condition of the ship himself.

* * * *

"Oh, I see."

Since it was not practical to stay in the command center all the time, Jin took a break on the way, but came back when he received a call from the old man.

<<<> has circled Hale. As expected, no significant activity has been observed.

"I see. ......"

The video showed the surface of the earth.

"...... is weathered."

<>

"As I recall, there were two groups, the emigrants and the remainers, and the remainers were the returners to nature and the hermits, right?"

<<>

"Wait, then what about the and the ?"

"Nah. ......"

Jin folds his arms and thinks.

"What about the possibility that he went underground?"

<

"I guess so."

Jin then fell silent and looked at the scenery of Hale projected on the magic screen.

The landscape was mostly wilderness, but there were grasslands with short grasses and sparse bushes in some places.

"It looks like an arid environment.

>

"I don't know about that. ......"

Jin had no idea about the life of a planet.

Then the image changed.

There are no high mountains, they are all rounded.

"Yes."

Or it is possible that they have all been used as resources.

"Oh?"

Something glowed.

"Tell to expand over there."

<

The image is zoomed in.

"...... the transparent dome?"

Jin thought that it might be a dome made of cubic zirconia, which is considered a resource in the demon territory.

"We finally found traces of human habitation, didn't we?"

The location is a plateau near the equator.

There is a high mountain to the north, which makes clouds and rainfall moderate, and a grassland has developed.

Three more what appeared to be broken former domes were found.

"I wonder if a few houses were clustered together. I wonder if they were part of a faction. ......"

then investigates another location.

Along the way, Jin stopped to eat and rest.

After 12 hours of observation, <> had completed his observations of the surface of the planet Hale. Here is what he found.

.

"Well, yes. Now it's up to us to investigate underground, but I think it's a long shot.