After a simple registration at the laboratory, we set off for Guyana, a plateau country in northern South America.
For the first time in my life, I saw Dad's business skills in action, and I finally understood how Dad and Mom worked whenever they went on business trips...
Aside from being useful during tracking, Mom did no work at all. Whenever we arrived somewhere new, she was only responsible for wandering around and eating, while Dad handled all the negotiations himself.
She had arranged a van locally ahead of time and personally drove us to the launch center. Whenever we passed through a local town, Mom would take the local currency Dad had exchanged in advance, bring Doggy and Mono with her, and get out to buy all sorts of local snacks.
I wasn't very interested. Compared to other places, this country was rather underdeveloped. The so-called towns felt like small, low-tier settlements. They were fairly clean, but there was nothing particularly appealing about them. The only thing that could be called scenery was probably the dark-skinned Magical Girl Natives.
The space center, however, was quite modern. It covered a vast area, and its roads were broad, but most of the staff here were white, as if the place had nothing to do with the locals...
Why was Europe's rocket launch center in South America, anyway?
While I was still mildly puzzled, Dad had already driven into the building's garage. After getting out, he tossed me a translation device and led us into the elevator.
"Let's go! First, we'll take a look at the equipment you'll be wearing into space, as well as the members of the survey team going up with you!"
Mom said this while holding a bag of roasted beans she had bought locally. I had no