Last Man On Earth When There Is No Earth ?

Planet Rooster, great canyon outside Gram city, Seven

"How about hiring me?" Standing in front of us with the space craft behind him was a male Herara with white fur. About five feet tall which made him look smaller compared to the ones we met before. His arms looked thicker. His hands were closer to paws than hands, and his claws were out a little.

He wore a pair of gray pants with oversized pockets and boots so large they made one think he is bigfoot. On his belt a number poached were strapped and at his side hanged a tool set much like what you would see on a mechanic.

Cold may not be a problem since all that fur is covering him, but to think he was fine going out while topples. I can't se his back but the straps on his arms and face were light blue.

The most notable thing about him are the huge googles on top of his head, seeing them I almost mistook him for one of those mechanic characters you usually find in steampunk settings. But with no oil stains and how clean his fur looks I was reminded that we are in more of a sci-fi one.

Hands in thee air, the pilot/mechanic short CGI cartoon character looked at us with confusion. As the silence went on uninterrupted he finally spoke again only to repeat what he just said

"Um… I asked how about you hire me?"

"… you serious?" I think I speak for all three

"Four"

"Well, I don't think it's something to joke about in this situation…"

'He is serious'

"He is serious, alright"

The Male Herara slowly lowered his hand, careful not to make any sudden movements that would push Jar into blowing his head. He scratched his left cheek as he smiled awkwardly . It's funny how I can tell his expression even though he has a tiger face, those Herara guys really do resemble cartoon characters.

"We killed your captain, you know?" With ghost girl up in he air on the lookout for any surprise attack, and Lilia standing in the front row covering for me I saw no use to keep my battle ready posture, so I straightened my back and unequipped my gauntlets.

"…yeah… it saddens me to hear he is dead but…" the fur covered guy heaved a long sigh then shrugged his shoulders "they planned on killing you anyways so I can say they got what they deserve,"

It's hard to tell if that was a lie. The guy seemed nervous. Maybe he had some confidence that we won't hurt him, but now that guns are pointed at his face panic was crawling it's way up his back.

"He is one of them right?" Lilia adjusted her grip, pointing the head of the spear at the guy intently "I think we should deal with him, I don't want any risks"

Jar was one step ahead, shuffling through the wanted files in her book "his name is Logan Thundercloud, he is registered as an affiliate of the Verta clan but… doesn't have any major offenses?"

Wait… Thundercloud? What's wrong with those aliens naming sense? First it was Lilia Stoneheart, then Blitz Firestone, and now we have someone called Thundercloud?

"What's so weird about it? I mean, they call you by a number"

'Yeah, I'm not saying we didn't have some of those back on earth'

"Oh~! I see you already know about me, there goes my chance to introduce myself" the Herara male, called Logan relaxed for a moment, letting out the breath he held in

"Who said you can lower your hands?"

On Jar's command, and her guns pointed at him once more, Logan Thundercloud -lol- raised his arms in the air again mumbling "sorry" with a weak smile.

In an attempt to Hold the giggles inside I stared at Logan Thundercloud with a straight face before saying

"So… should we kill him?"

"hey! Hold on for a moment! I didn't do anything I deserve to die for!"

"Well, it's would be a pain to deal with you, and your bounty isn't worth the hustle so…"

"But you need a pilot, right?"

"Where did you hear that?"

"I'm sure you are already aware that we… were kinda spying on you for the past few days"

"Well…" of course knew, it's just hard to know who it was with all those muscle golems ogling Lilia like they never saw anyone like her.

"Don't worry, I made sure that you are left alone when in private"

"…"

I hope it went over Lilia and Jar's heads. This guy knows, his eyes told so. If the one who tailed us for the past few days is that same little thief then she might have heard some things a kid shouldn't hear, well, it would be a problem if no matter who did it, so I think I should be thankful for his decision?

"Look, all I ever did was flying the ship , nothing else. I did my best not to get involved with the shady business but they got me anyways"

"You worked for a pirate group, I say that's more than enough"

Lilia is right, you can't avoid the blame just because you drive the escape car.

"Well… I know my hands are not clean but…" the awkwardness in his voice disappeared along with his smile. His expression became serious and he looked my way before suddenly bowing

"This may be my only opportunity to start a new life! Could you at least consider it, please!"

"…."

"…."

"….."

"….ok, you are hired"

Jar , Lilia and even Iris were taken by surprise at my nonchalant decision making. They forgot about the fur covered guy in front of us as they lowered their weapons for a moment

"Wait! No matter how you look at it this person is a criminal! You can't just take him in!"

"That's right, Seven! He used to work for those people you know! How do we know he is being honest? For all we know he could still be loyal to the clan!"

"I know I know, We can always deal with him if we want" yeah, I don't have any bases for this decision, but I also don't feel this dude is a bad guy.

"If someone needs help to turn his life around what kinda person would I be if to not aid?"

Everyone stared at me blankly. Wait… did I perhaps say something really cool just now? The Male Herara was the first to snap out of it. He bowed his head deeply as he loudly spoke his thanks

"THANK YOU! THANK YOU MR.SEVEN! no, MASTER SEVEN! MASTER SEVEN,I WILL DO MY BEST TO NOT DISAPPOINT YOU!!!"

Lowering her spear Lilia silently asked me for the reason behind this choice. Her eyes seemingly confused,

"she probably thinks letting a comrade of the people who tried killing you go is one thing, but helping him is going too far" with nothing to look out for Iris slowly descended to my side . Not only could she read my mind, but it also seem like she could read Lilia's too.

'Am I being too kind?'

"More than the average person, not killing him should have been more than enough"

Though she lowered them, Jar didn't put her blasters away. She heaved a long sigh, as she spoke I sensed a hint of tiredness in her voice

"Even if you decide to take him in…" her yellowish green eyes dug holes into the fur covered guy " he still is a wanted criminal. You might get in trouble with the union if you don't turn him in"

"Actually… that is also one of the reasons why I asked to work for master Seven"

"Just call me Seven" I don't think I can handle another guy calling me master.

Scratching his left cheek with his retractable claws, Logan looked at me first then at Lilia who has yet to show him any sign of trust

"uh... yea… I think I'm already asking for too much but…if someone with the right status posts a bail bond for me…. Of course I will pay all the units needed in advance so…"

"I see… but why does Lilia have to do it? If you already have the money why don't you just pay it yourself?"

"it's not that easy. You need someone with a high rank in the government or the military to free a criminal from their charges" Jar seems to be displeased by what she just said "in addition, once you get someone out they are put under your supervision for a certain amount of time, a probation period in other words"

"hmmm…. I think I get it now…"

"During that period, any offenses he commits became the responsibility of the one bailing him out, which means if Lilia agreed to help, she would have to face any trouble he causes after he once again free" Iris to it on herself to continue the explanation like it was the normal thing to do. The way she looked at the fur covered guy told that she shares Jar's disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e at the idea he proposed.

"Hmmm….." certainly, that may be a lot to ask from Lilia, after all she doesn't seem too happy about my decision.

But now I understand why he chose to ask us for help. It's a great opportunity indeed. If he managed to convince the warrior graduate Lilia to vow for him the authorities would surely look past his previous crimes.

But it hasn't been too long since she got her license. I can imagine her getting in trouble for abusing power, or at worst case they may not even take her seriously.

'I don't think I have a say in this. Without her I may have been executed for assaulting military personnel'

"So you finally understood? If she did this and something went wrong she would lose all her credibility"

Yeah… we can all agree it's too early for her to make such important decisions.

"Hmmm…oh! I know!" a wild idea appeared "we just need someone with high status right? How about I do it?"

I'm the king of my own planet after all. The leader of a one man nation, the highest of status anyone could earn!

But sadly, me taking on that burden doesn't seem possible as Jar slowly shook her head

"Even if you are the only owner of a whole planet, you are not a part of the union. And without a civilization of a certain number you can't even join "

Ugh… well, I'm out. All we can do is wait for Lilia to decide. But as we waited for a few minutes like frozen statues exchanging looks every now and then, someone called for the fur covered guy from inside the ship

"….Looogaan….ya~~~wn"

We had all made the mistake of assuming the guy in front of us was the only one in there. Lilia turned her spear toward the fur covered guy while Jar pointed her guns toward in the direction the voice came from. But unlike those two I couldn't move as the one slowly coming out of the ship wasn't someone I felt I should fear.

It's the little thief. The blue haired small cat-girl who stole my book the other day. A blanket was covering her body so I couldn't see her tail, but her ears her ears that moved a little as she slowly walked toward the other guy with her eyes closed seemed real.

"O-o~h! You are awake already , Blue!"

"un… what's -ya~~~an- going on? mnmm" the rubbed her eyes a little before slowly opening them, then looked at us one after the other with a half asleep expression.

Her daze vanished as she began to realize what's going on, she was about to say something when "atsu!" a cut little sneeze stooped her.

"Aaa! Blue! You know it's cold out here! Go back to your bed before or you will get sick!"

"Um… Logan…." Ignoring all what he said she reached with her small hand from inside the blanket and gently pulled his arm. Blue -that's her name, I believe- slowly began retreating behind Logan until only her head peeked out

"Un… did they come here… to kill us too?"

I gulped down audibly. I can't believe what my eyes are seeing. It may be because she just woke up, but the way she spoke, her lack of expression, the way she acted.

Man, she is way cuter than I ever thought!!

"Tche…"

I hear the ghost who was floating silently until now click her tong. I don't know why, and I don't care either, but it appears she is pissed at something.

"Now now, you don't have to be afraid" the fur covered guy went down on one knee and gave the little cat-girl a head pat "I told you before right? They aren't bad people"

God f.u.c.k.i.n.g damn it!! Is he showing off? He is showing off!? Does he plan on using her cuteness to persuade us?

Opening her eyes after Logan pulled his hand -paw- again, The little thief looked at us from the corner of her eyes. She then asked in a very low voice making sure we don't leave her sight

"Um… didn't they. Kill... Giran and the others?..."

The fur covered guy fixed the blanket that began to slip revealing her right shoulder "like I said, you don't have to worry about that. Now, go back inside before you catch a cold"

Yeah, she better not catch that cold.

I felt like teleporting right in front of them, just so I could finally learn what it feel to head-pat a real, living and breathing cat-girl, but before I could take a step I noticed someone else had started marching toward them.

It was Lilia. Seeing her come their way Logan stood up changing his friendly vibe as he glared at her and bared his fangs, then with one hand he pushed behind him little Blue.

Lilia stopped for a moment and noticed she still has her spear in hand. She turned it off and returned it to its bag then continued approaching the two Herara one step at a time. Doing that seemed the tension between them and the fur covered guy allowed her to come closer.

Lilia crouched down in front of the Blue who escaped behind Logan once more, but a few seconds later she peeked her head out looking at Lilia with fear in her eyes and her ears pressed down.

"don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you" Lilia whispered in a sweet voice as she extended her hand out. Blue was scared, she closed her eyes as her petite body shivered. But when Lilia's hand touched her head the little cat-girl finally began to relax.

I almost cried blood. I don't know whether I should be angry and sad that Lilia beat me into it, or be happy that she managed to understand the right way to treat a cat-girl without me having to teach her.

"I will do it"

Lilia turned to Logan who looked like he was on edge the whole time. She let go of Blue's head and stood up and spoke in a very serious tone

"I will vow for you"