We slowed down and put a little distance between ourselves and those Dark Moon People. Raising an eyebrow, Viska said, "That Earth City they mentioned was probably where those Expeditionary Forces lived back then. Just like we guessed, that expedition hundreds of years ago definitely had something fishy going on."
"Heisenwood was Earth's old name," I said with a nod. "Looks like the people on Dark Moon still use a lot of terms from before that war. They even still call their own planet Redemund."
Joe, however, did not care what names like "Heisenwood" and "Redemund" meant. He was no fool. After hearing the Dark Moon People's conversation, the first thing this elf thought of was the Expeditionary Forces that had vanished centuries ago. Other than them, who on Dark Moon would want to cross the Bridge of Heaven and Earth to "go home"?
He rubbed his hands hard, his face one-third shock, one-third delight, and the rest utter helplessness. "Th-this... what should we do? Could they be talking about those Expeditionary Forces from back then? They really didn't die? No, no... we still can't be sure... But Earth City really sounds like a name the Expeditionary Forces would have given it. The Dark Moon People wouldn't name one of their own cities something like that... Could Mother really still be alive? Should we follow those people to Earth City? Can we blend in? If we show up in front of them looking like this, will it cause trouble—we aren't sure those Dark Moon People were talking about the Expeditionary Forces and their descendants, are we?"
I shot him a sidelong glance. I knew this young elf, who had been fairly calm before, was getting a little muddled now. But that was only natural. General Angelie, commander of the Expeditionary