Chapter 124: Dual Threads

Mebius had originally been asked by Hikari to verify this matter. He could have simply sent a message to Hikari after checking, without needing a formal handover in person, but since his Chief Instructor was coming, Mebius decided to tag along.

Taro had been ordered to escort Hiroyuki back to Earth. Captain Zoffy had even suggested he take a vacation while he was at it, noting that the previous batch of Space Garrison members had finished their term three days ago, leaving a perfect window of time.

This was the first time Taro had ever heard his eldest brother suggest a vacation, and the tone had been subtle—not so much a "suggestion" as a "reminder." It took Taro a beat and a half to realize that his brother was urging him to seize the chance to spend more time with Hiroyuki... or rather, with Taiga.

And so, here he was.

He did not know that as he left the Space Garrison Captain’s office, his eldest brother was silently sighing and shaking his head behind him.

Zoffy recalled asking Hiroyuki earlier if Taiga had ever spoken to him about his father. Hiroyuki had shaken his head, admitting honestly that they hadn't had the chance to talk before they were plunged into battle against monsters, and after he was injured and fell into a coma, there had been no opportunity for conversation. However, he had indeed learned some things about Ultraman Taro in his "dreams." He knew Taiga's father was a powerful warrior, a hero of the Land of Light, the Chief Instructor of the Space Garrison, and a role model for every Garrison member.

Hiroyuki had naturally recounted the contents of the episodes he had seen regarding Ultraman Taro—his battles on Earth, his fight against Belial, and so on—treating them as things he had "learned."

The more Captain Zoffy listened, the more something felt off. Weren't these all just records of Taro's battles? And they were all classic combat cases included in the training manuals for the Space Garrison's reserve members.

The sagacious Captain immediately began to suspect that Hiroyuki's so-called "dreams" might actually be fragmented memories belonging to Taiga; otherwise, the information could not be so accurate.

So, was it possible that Taiga had learned about his father entirely through textbooks?

At this thought, Zoffy glanced at his brother beside him. Taro, listening to Hiroyuki list his glorious achievements, assumed it was Taiga who had told him, and he was currently basking in a mix of embarrassment and secret delight.

Zoffy: "..."

The Captain of the Space Garrison, the proxy of the Star’s Voice, the invincible Captain Zoffy, had been a son and a brother, but never a father. He truly had no advice to give his younger brothers who were now parents themselves. He was simply older, had seen more parents and children, and felt it was only natural for them to spend more time together.

Looking at his brothers' behavior, Zoffy began to doubt his own assumptions. Was his thinking flawed, or were his brothers' actions the problem?

Well, two against one—an overwhelming disadvantage. It must be him. Captain Zoffy conceded the point.

Back then, the still-skeptical Captain had cornered Taiga, who was lurking in the museum, to ask him what he thought of his father. The boy’s eyes had flickered, his tone filled with reverence, calling him a powerful, great existence and his own goal for self-improvement.

Very good. A standard answer.

Zoffy suspected that if he grabbed any random Garrison trainee and asked for their impression of the Chief Instructor, he would get the exact same response.

When pressed further, Taiga couldn't say anything else, merely repeating the same phrases.

Now that he thought about it, of course—to Taiga, a hero who appeared in textbooks was defined by his power and greatness, and he would certainly have been constantly lectured by teachers and instructors to take such an elite warrior as his role model.

Zoffy understood. To Taiga, Chief Instructor Taro was perfect in every way, except for the one thing that mattered: he was his father.

Did the status of being your father really get in your way?

It really did.

People couldn't help but compare him to his father in his youth. The looks they gave him never rested truly on him, but passed through him to fall upon a phantom that didn't exist behind his back.

This annoyed Taiga so much that he could only find a corner to hide in for peace.

Whose problem was that? Was it the people's? Was it Taiga's? Or was it Taro's, who had remained invisible throughout all of Taiga's experiences?

Zoffy couldn't manage these things anymore. Beyond his duties in the Garrison, being responsible for his brothers as the eldest was already his limit. If he had to manage his brothers' next generation as well, would he have to split himself in two, or perform a duplication jutsu?

Fine. He had already performed a "duplication" of sorts, so he decided to send this father-son pair to Serizawa. If they couldn't be helped, then so be it—no need to force it. Perhaps things would naturally resolve themselves, like with Seven and his son.

Zoffy was anxious, Taro was bewildered, and Hikari was brimming with enthusiasm, grabbing the Chief Instructor—who was starting his vacation today—and demanding to accompany him.

Taro nodded in agreement before asking in surprise, "You're taking a vacation too?"

"It's official business," Hikari stated matter-of-factly. "I need to test the Taiga Spark system Hiroyuki possesses, but the equipment has already been moved."

Ever since Hikari discovered that the Taiga Key acted as an energy conduit, transforming energy from the "mysterious fourth dimension" for Hiroyuki's use, he had submitted an application to reopen the frozen Taiga Spark research lab to use the equipment within. To his surprise, the application was rejected by the system—the equipment had already been checked out.

Now that he knew the equipment was being moved to Earth and the paperwork was all in order, Hikari had no other choice. He didn't mind using the equipment elsewhere, and surely it wouldn't hurt to borrow it during a lull.

When Taro showed up offering to take Hiroyuki back to Earth, Hikari was relieved that he had collected all the necessary biological samples. He decided to hitch a ride with Hiroyuki to Earth to complete his follow-up research; Taro’s flight speed in his light-ball form was top-tier, far faster than Hikari's slow trek through space.

After all, lingering in space too long invited trouble—like bumping head-first into a Bemstar...

Hiroyuki was once again cradled in Taro's hand. They had already verified that Hiroyuki was unaffected by the Land of Light’s intense gravity or the Difflator rays, so Taro didn't need to deliberately put up a barrier. Their research results showed that the Difflator rays passed straight through Hiroyuki's body—not because their penetrating power was so strong it shredded his DNA, but because they treated him as if he were nothing.

Hiroyuki’s resistance to the intense gravity seemed to function on this same principle: if an object didn't exist to begin with, it naturally wouldn't be affected by gravity.

Hiroyuki had said he could adapt to the space environment, which likely followed the same logic.

They took off from the Garrison’s dedicated launch platform. Taro carried the hitchhiking Hikari, cradled Hiroyuki in his hand, and transformed into a red ball of light, streaking across the starry sky like a fiery meteor.

Watching his brother—who was taking his first formal vacation since joining the Garrison—depart, Captain Zoffy could only offer a silent prayer for the Sixth Brother's smooth journey, before returning to his desk to continue reviewing documents.

Could splitting himself in two halve his workload?

Yes, and no.

The greatest benefit of dual-threading, of course, was the ability to process double the workload.

Zoffy and Serizawa sat down with their lists, and together they tallied up the work that had been impossible to start due to lack of time, along with plans that had only existed on paper but never had the hands to implement. Now, they could finally begin to put them into action.

Both of them were very pleased.