"Sense of urgency..."
Beltira softly repeated Gawain's words. Her gaze fell on this "mortal" who could confront gods without changing his expression, and a thought suddenly arose in her mind:
What in this world could make even a person like this feel a sense of urgency?
Perhaps only dangers from beyond the known world...
"Ever since that signal appeared, your nerves have been somewhat tense," she could not help saying. "Others probably cannot tell, but I noticed it—you think that signal is a major threat? Its sender... although you sounded optimistic just now, it seems you have already concluded that they bear us ill will."
"No, I cannot determine whether they are hostile or friendly yet. But the existence of that signal alone should put all of us on alert," Gawain said, glancing at Beltira. "If it truly came from another civilization deep in the distant sea of stars—then that civilization is completely unknown to us. And complete unknowns mean anything is possible. They may be more advanced than us, more powerful, perhaps highly aggressive. Even these signals themselves may be some sort of trap...
"Of course, the opposite may also be true. But we cannot place all our hopes on things conveniently turning out that way.
"And in some ways, this unknown is even more dangerous than the 'divine disaster' we face. At least we have begun to come into contact with and unravel the mysteries of the gods. At least we roughly know where their limits lie. But as for a strange civilization deep in the sea of stars, we cannot even determine what form of life they take."
Beltira quietly listened to Gawain. Then she softly said, "For countless years, the mortals of this planet have walked alone through the night. There were no other lights in