Consolation Ceremony (9)

Surrounded by formidable foes—the residents of Sutherland, Commander-in-Chief Savis, Commander Cyril, and Commander Curtis—I warily braced myself, wondering what to do.

Hmm, I’m surrounded on all four sides, as if they’d seen right through my desire to run away.

What on earth should I do?

I was desperately trying to figure out how to escape when I suddenly realized something important and cried out.

“C-Commander Cyril! I forgot to ask, but has the memorial ceremony ended? I don’t think I’ve heard the order to close it yet.”

Could it be that I’d disrupted the ceremony by jumping into the sea?

The thought suddenly occurred to me, and I looked at Commander Cyril with concern. He gave a small nod.

“You’re quite right to notice that. According to the program, all that remained was to announce the end of the ceremony. But since even I, the person in charge, jumped into the sea, it still hasn’t been brought to a close. It would be unthinkable not to formally end such an important ceremony, so I’ll return to the venue and bring it to a close.”

“Oh! Th-then I’ll go too!”

I hurriedly tried to tag along with Commander Cyril...