"Right, so you'll reach Mio City tomorrow."
"Yes. I've done all I can, but I've reached my limit, so I'll spend tonight in Yusuga City."
"I'm sorry. Given my situation, I made an unreasonable request."
Around eleven that night, Cynthia called Hikari.
Considering that Hikari had originally been at Stark Mountain, reaching Yusuga City in roughly half a day was a fairly reasonable pace. As far as Cynthia knew, Hikari wasn't particularly good at flying through the skies. At least, she couldn't fly at top speed as skillfully as Kaim and Staraptor. Still, since they had reached Yusuga City, they must have been traveling at a decent speed.
"It's all right! You asked me, Miss Cynthia, and Kaim is in trouble too. I'll do everything I can!"
To Hikari, though, it was no great burden. Doing whatever she could for the people she cared about came naturally to her. So far, she wasn't worried about anything; she was simply happy to help.
"...Thank you."
"Yes. I think I can get there by noon tomorrow. I'll contact you again when I arrive."
"All right. Good night."
"Good night! Please give Mr. Kaim my thanks!"
With that, Hikari hung up. For now, barring any unforeseen trouble, she would reach Mio City tomorrow. Hopefully, everything would be over then.
But would it really be over?
Cynthia didn't think things would end there. Even if Hikari managed to do something for the sleeping people, there were so many of them that she might find herself overwhelmed.
At the same time, it was true that they had no leads on a solution other than Hikari. Faced with the discouraging situation, Shirona let out a long sigh.
Almost at the same moment, she heard the lock turn.
When she looked toward the entrance, Kaim and Staraptor