Chapter 135: Exile

“You’ve wanted to...” Taro began, but swallowed the words "to take action against Toregia" and instead said, “to have Latoregia join this project.”

His elder brother’s expression was one of relief, as if saying, “So you finally understand.” He explained, “Because I know he frequents this planet often, I established this base here. Such a significant undertaking couldn’t be hidden from him. As long as he finds it interesting or curious, naturally he would come knocking.”

“I only need to wait here for him to come willingly, and things will turn out as they have now.”

Captain Hasumi’s tone grew earnest at this point. “It’s not just you, Taro. I, the commander, and the council—we have not given up on Toregia. Though our motivations differ, do you know why?”

“The Land of Light has a population of over twenty billion, yet how many truly exceptional scientists are there? Twenty? Probably not even ten, and all of them are already in research positions,” he said with a helpless smile. It was a familiar predicament—even among the prominent scientists, few were willing to stay holed up in labs and research institutes.

Moreover, because these scientists are so precious, almost any reasonable request they make is granted, including joining the Space Guard or going to the front lines.

Yet it was obvious that even if Hikari requested to patrol interstellar space like an ordinary guard member, he would not be assigned routes far from Ultrastar. After the mission at the Monster Graveyard went awry, he couldn’t even get patrol duties and was limited to circling near Ultrastar, randomly capturing subjects to bring back to the lab for experimental cooperation. Recently, any research project he was involved in never lacked warrior data samples.

Talent does exist. With a large enough population, geniuses inevitably emerge. But it’s a matter of sheer numbers. The upper echelons of the Land of Light reckon it takes over a billion, nearly two billion people, to produce a single scientific genius. Every newborn is like a lucky bag; you have to open two billion such bags to draw one SSR-level scientific prodigy.

But merely producing an SSR-level genius embryo isn’t enough. There are no dazzling sound or light effects upon “opening the bag,” no celestial signs. Talent is talent—it’s not innate knowledge. Without proper enlightenment and educational resources as follow-up investment, how would anyone know which child is that SSR-level prodigy?

Fortunately, the Land of Light is extraordinarily wealthy in resources, and the astronomical educational investments are made without hesitation (though they never needed to hesitate to begin with). One can only imagine the immense investment behind every outstanding scientist’s emergence.

Thus, the upper ranks strive to avoid losing these rare geniuses. If possible, none should be harmed; all should remain diligently at research institutes, fighting on the front lines of development.

But fate rarely aligns with plans.

One can imagine the anxiety felt by Captain Zoffy, Captain Mary, and Commander Kane when Hikari was barely pulled back by Captain Mary, weak and murmuring, “My revenge is complete anyway... The chase caused much destruction and hurt many people... There’s no point living... just let me die.” It’s also understandable the immense pressure Zoffy faced in inviting Hikari to join the Space Guard, enabling him to officially support Mobius on Earth.

After listening to his elder brother’s account, Taro was momentarily at a loss for words. At first, he was glad—not only did he want to bring Toregia back, but his brother, father, and the council all shared that desire.

Yet, as his brother had pointed out, their motivations differed.

To them, Toregia was “valuable,” and precisely because of this value, he was worth their attention.

But in Taro’s heart, Toregia was priceless; their friendship was beyond value.

“Unfortunately, Toregia’s situation differs from Hikari’s and cannot be generalized,” Captain Hasumi concluded. “In short, Toregia cannot return to the Land of Light. He can’t go back, nor does he want to.”

“Hmm... What? Why?” Taro looked up in surprise. Weren’t they just saying no one had given up on Toregia? If everyone was still trying, how could it suddenly be that he couldn’t return?

At that moment, a pale blue light appeared to Taro’s right. Turning to look, he saw an Ultraman signature—clearly not meant for him, and the message was encrypted.

Captain Hasumi merely glanced at it, evidently understanding the transmitted information, then sent back a confirmation.

After this, he smiled and answered Taro’s earlier question, “Why can’t Toregia return? Because he has been officially exiled by the Land of Light. Of course he can’t return.”

Suddenly, Taro stood up, stunned and unsure of what to do. He stood motionless for a moment before noticing the captain calmly seated, gesturing for him to sit back down.

As always, the captain possessed a calming presence that brought ease to others with simple gestures.

Taro composed himself and sat back on the bed.

“What... what’s going on? When did this happen?”

Taro wasn’t unwilling to accept it, just... surprised. After all, Toregia had been “notorious” for so many years. In the Land of Light, he had shifted from a missing person presumed dead to a confirmed living but elusive black-ops figure. The Land of Light never made any formal arrangements or actions against him; even the last time they cornered him was coincidental, not a deliberate hunt.

Exile meant the Land of Light officially no longer recognized Toregia as a citizen and refused him entry.

Upon reflection, Taro bitterly smiled. For Toregia, it made little difference. He had long self-exiled, refused to acknowledge his identity as an Ultra of Light, and rejected Taro’s invitation to “return with me to the Land of Light.” Toregia would never return, and Taro had known that all along.

“This just happened,” Captain Hasumi indicated where the Ultraman signature had disappeared.

“Five minutes, or maybe ten minutes ago. It was just issued by the Space Guard Headquarters.”

Silence filled the room. After a few breaths, Taro finally grasped the gravity of the situation. He looked up, locking eyes with his brother, who sat with hands clasped, and quietly asked, “Was this your request?”

Since this captain had kept Toregia here and had official backing from the Land of Light, all official actions regarding Toregia must be coordinated with him.

“Exactly.” Captain Hasumi raised an eyebrow slightly. Taro remained silent for over ten seconds but quickly discerned the underlying logic. He nodded and said, “Just before you entered, I sent the request for the Space Guard to issue the exile order. Procedurally, exiling a researcher from the Science and Technology Bureau requires only the Space Guard captain’s approval—no need to alert the commander or council. Naturally, it happens swiftly.”