She was not part of the blue Earth visible beyond the window.
In complete weightlessness, Kanzaki Kaori's black ponytail waved unnaturally, and she spoke into a spiritual communication item. As she was using that rather than a radio, she had to be speaking with someone magical rather than someone scientific like the people from the submarine or the rocket control center.
She had relied on the power of science for the launch.
However, the rest would fall under the realm of magic.
"I have finished connecting the designated spiritual item. Can you monitor things from there?"
"W-we can detect the signal. It does not seem that you made any mistake in the connection," responded a girl known as Itsuwa.
"There are sure to be some differences when using magic developed to be used on Earth. After all, they include the use of the cardinal directions and Earth's condition. I'll be careful here, but it should be easier for you to carefully monitor the subtle changes in the values. I would appreciate it if you would stay alert."
"We are constantly checking on the changes, including the effects of other heavenly bodies. Currently, nothing is outside the acceptable margin of error, including the power related to the tattva that flows from the sun and alters in elements by rotating around the Earth. As long as there isn't a sudden flare causing a massive amount of solar wind, we estimate that there will be no errors that would hinder the mission."
Of course, the science side had given them the records of solar wind and sunspots.
With the communications line still open, Kanzaki headed for the hatch of the spaceship. Instead of walking, she kicked off the wall and floated there.
Whenever she moved her body even slightly, a metallic clanking noise could be heard.
Due to the lack of gravity, she could not feel its weight, but Kanzaki was wearing something like the breastplate from Japanese-style armor. She also had some kind of jumbled-up device on her back that looked like a bunch of metal parts folded up.
If she were walking on Earth's surface, all of it would have weighed her down quite a bit.
As a Saint, she may have managed, but an average athlete would have been crushed.
However, if someone who specialized in researching space saw it, they may have frantically tried to stop Kanzaki. They would have said that heading "outside" with such light equipment was suicide.
It was not just an issue of breathing. Before one would suffocate, they would have to avoid quickly dying due to the issues with the pressure and temperature.
"Equipment check is complete. I am about to open the hatch and head out. There is still oxygen in the ship, but that does not matter, right?"
"There is a danger that the difference in pressure will damage some of the equipment in the ship, but it shouldn't be a problem as that is just a disposable ship. But all of the air will move to leave the ship when you open the hatch, so be careful."
"…If the spiritual item could be damaged by something like that, it would not be able to head out there or reenter the atmosphere."
Kanzaki grabbed the hatch's handle with one hand.
"If you leave it be, it seems the spaceship will reenter the atmosphere in half an hour and it will naturally burn up in reentry. The report said the reentry angle is set to annihilate the ship, so you don't have to worry about it."
"Understood. I'm going."
"1000. Starting now. Good luck."
After hearing that voice, Kanzaki unhesitatingly spun the handle.
After making three revolutions, a slight gap opened between the hatch and the wall. Immediately afterwards, the hatch itself was blown out into the pitch-black void. That propulsion was created by the remaining oxygen in the ship. The gas flowed in the direction with the least pressure.
But Kanzaki did not lose her balance.
The strangely shaped breastplate she was wearing automatically maintained her balance.
(…In Japanese legend, stories about the heads of oni or nobles with a grudge flying through the air are not exactly rare.)
Kanzaki thought while slowly heading "outside".
(There are also stories of swords that could pursue that kind of malignance. Well, those are just a few of the many stories of weapons that automatically fight, such as the ones from Norse or Celtic traditions.)
She turned around, and could see the entirety of the spaceship she had been on. It was almost cone-shaped. The ship was more lead-colored than silver, and its basics were probably not too much different from those of a Cold War-era spaceship. However, the technology inside had been majorly changed.
The cone-shaped ship reflected a dazzling light.
It was being bathed in the sunlight.
Both the visible light and the invisible cosmic rays did not lose much energy there when compared to the surface surrounded in an atmosphere, so they could travel much farther. The area directly bathing in the sunlight had to have a surface temperature of nearly four hundred degrees.
But there was no hint of pain on Kanzaki's face.
If she was not protected from that kind of thing, she would not have even been alive.
Kanzaki was calm enough to appreciate the oddly near and clear moon and the sea of stars that could not be seen due to the atmosphere and the light sources on Earth.
"Are you having any problems?"
"Not currently. It's just that this is my first extra-vehicular activity. I have a few backups set up in case of any unexpected situations, but please monitor my situation closely."
As she spoke, Kanzaki looked down at her feet.
There was no sense of up or down there, but her stance was that of one looking down.
"…I can see the target."
There were white clouds robbing the Earth of its blueness, but there was a giant cross-shaped structure that looked as if it were pushing aside those clouds. Due to its altitude, it was not affected by the atmosphere as much. As such, it seemed to have clearer borders than those of the great landmasses on the surface.
Kanzaki split off a bit of the magic power flowing through her entire body, and sent new magic power through the breastplate. She checked on the circulation, and then a change occurred in the breastplate.
The metal parts that were folded up on her back opened wide. It looked like steel angel wings and also like a Japanese sword in the way it displayed beauty in the slight curves amidst the sharpness.
"I am beginning my descent."
"I will be monitoring your angle of reentry."
"As long as I can safely make it into the atmosphere, I will be able to land on Radiosonde Castle," Kanzaki said as she slowly moved toward her home planet.
Her speed slowly but surely increased.
"After all, it would be hard to miss a target that huge."