Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut Vol. 2 by Keisuke Makino

Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut Vol. 2 by Keisuke Makino

Author:Keisuke Makino [Makino, Keisuke]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: light novel
ISBN: 9781685798109
Publisher: Seven Seas Entertainment
Published: 2022-07-15T07:00:00+00:00


***

Only one cosmonaut would go public after the success of the manned launch, so Lev and Mikhail were not photographed together. They talked with a florist, ate ice cream, and stared up at the beautiful facade of the church. There were countless citizens around them, but nothing they did drew any attention, since they were still little more than unknown air force privates.

Lyudmila stood by the photographer, eating a second ice cream and throwing out the odd comment like “Why so glum?” and “Can you make eating that look a little more enjoyable, please?” Apparently, she was having a good time. She seemed more like a director than someone with a hand in the cosmonaut selection.

The four of them circled the square and arrived in front of the mausoleum. Mikhail took a copper coin from his wallet, closed his eyes in prayer, and threw it skyward.

The coin landed at Lev’s feet. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“This is where all the paths to the Union’s future began,” Mikhail replied, pointing at the ground. “It’s only natural that we pass through here on the way to space. I’m just paying the fare.”

The coin he’d thrown was from 1936—the year he was born.

Lyudmila stared at him. “You wear that cool, collected mask all the time, but you’ve got a cute side too, huh?”

Mikhail turned away, his face flushing red in a rare show of embarrassment.

“Well, I guess I should pay the fare too,” said Lev, deciding to copy Mikhail with a copper coin of his own. He didn’t have one from 1939, though; the coin in his wallet was from 1943.

Lev’s shoulders drooped with disappointment, but then he realized that was Irina’s birth year. She’d told him she was seventeen. In that case, he’d pray for her. He’d pray that a rocket carrying her dreams would fly to the moon.

“Hup!” Lev grunted, throwing the coin with all he had…and losing track of where it landed. “Huh? Where’d it go?”

“Oh dear.” Lyudmila chuckled. “Let’s hope that’s not a portent for a potential cabin landing…”

As they walked around the square taking photos, a white building—the Military Institute of Medical Science—peeked through gaps between the other structures. Irina was in there now. Lev looked at the hospital and pictured her. He worried about her examinations, and he hoped the institute’s employees were treating her as well as other test animals that survived. They had all been treated as “things” before their launches, but were loved upon their return and given the royal treatment in place of medals.

Given the way the Delivery Crew saw Irina, however, there was every chance she was being treated as a “cursed species,” chained up and—

“Not feeling well, Lev?” Lyudmila ran the stick from her ice cream along his neck.

He jumped in fright. “Eep!”

“You need the hospital?” Her tone was soft, but her deep green eyes were sharp. They were not the eyes of the woman who’d watched them and laughed, but of a political leader.

“No… I’m fine, thank you.”

“Good to hear.



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