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On the way back home after leaving the study room, Rogi asked Yona:
"Yona! Who exactly is EAT?"
Yona thought seriously about Rogi's question before answering.
"Well... EAT said he came from a very distant planet.
And that he came here after receiving some kind of command..."
Rogi's eyes sparkled. "Hiii! An alien, right?!"
"That's right! But he's not a monster."
Yona answered as best as she could with what she knew, but it was not enough to satisfy Rogi's endless curiosity.
"Why did he come here? Has the teacher seen EAT too?" Rogi asked, but Yona shook her head.
"No, not yet."
"Why?! I feel like if the teacher saw him, we'd understand everything clearly!"
"Well... it hasn't been that long since EAT came here. Maybe just a bit over two months?"
Rogi looked extremely frustrated, as if she couldn't understand.
"What? It's already been two months, and that's all you know? Aren't you curious? I have so many questions right now!"
Yona scratched the back of her head and replied.
"Now that you mention it... yeah. Maybe... we were too busy playing."
"When did you first see him?"
Urged by Rogi, Yona began to unravel her memories.
"Well... it was when we were playing late at night at Dabi's house, planning to sleep over."
Yona recalls the night when she first met EAT.
---
Two months ago, at Dabi's house
Dabi struggled up the stairs, hugging a pillow as big as himself, heading toward his room.
When he opened the closed door, a cheerful advertisement was playing on the radio.
Inside the room, Yona had already spread books and snacks all around her, sitting in the middle and writing something intently.
She kept flipping through books to check things, then continued writing.
So focused was she that she didn't even notice Dabi entering.
Dabi carefully placed the pillow he had been holding onto the bed.
There, a towering pile of pillows gathered from all around the house had already been stacked up—Dabi's own "spaceship" stood proudly.
Now it was time for him to transform into a space warrior and fight imaginary monsters.
As he climbed onto the spaceship, Dabi's face became more serious than ever.
Dabi and Yona, each absorbed in their own play, kept stuffing snacks into their mouths, chewing like rabbits.
Having finished preparing for battle, Dabi cast a sharp gaze toward Yona.
Dabi: "Doctor, preparations for launch are complete. Give the order!"
Yona: (without stopping her writing) "Very well, space warrior! Launch and protect the peace of the universe!"
Dabi: "Then space warrior Dabi, launching! Vroooom~!"
Just as space warrior Dabi launched dramatically, a lively song by the popular singer T.z began playing on the radio.
In an instant, both Dabi and Yona got carried away, stopped what they were doing, and began dancing to the music.
After dancing excitedly until the song ended, Dabi quickly ran back to his spaceship.
At that moment, Yona called out to stop him.
Yona: "Who are you? How dare you step into this place!"
Startled, Dabi quickly turned around and faced Yona, then shouted back with determination.
Dabi: "I am space warrior Dabi, who came here to defeat the Space Demon King!"
Yona: "Gasp! So you are that space warrior!"
Yona: "But that won't do..."
Yona: "How dare someone like you challenge our great Space Demon King!"
Yona: "Before you can even meet him, you'll have to defeat me first!"
Dabi: "You dare challenge a space warrior! Who are you?!"
Yona: "I am Poltsris, the strongest general who serves the Space Demon King!"
Dabi frowned slightly.
Dabi: "Polchi-sseu?"
Yona: "Not Polchi-sseu! It's 'Poltsris'! Pol! Ts! Ris!"
Dabi: "Got it! Come at me, Polchiris!"
Yona: (momentarily losing energy) "Is the name too hard? Should I change it now?"
Dabi: "No, no~ just go with it!"
Yona: (regaining energy) "Alright! Come at me, space warrior!"
Dabi fought Yona in an imaginary duel using an invisible beam sword.
But overwhelmed by General Poltsris's momentum, Dabi gradually stepped back.
As the situation turned unfavorable, Dabi decided to use his last resort—transforming his pillow spaceship into a robot.
Dabi: "You're pretty strong! Then I'll transform!"
Yona: "Ah! Don't tell me—you're trying to become the legendary robot!"
Dabi: "Transform! Meteor Light!"
Yona: (breaking character) "Huh? What does Meteor Light mean?"
Dabi: "I don't know! Anyway—transform!"
At that very moment—
as if by coincidence, the lights in the room suddenly went out, and darkness filled the space.
Dabi: "…Huh?"
Yona: "Ah… it's a blackout… I'm scared…"
Dabi: "A blackout? Why all of a sudden?"
The children, confused in the darkness, searched for each other.
Then—
after a short moment—
a blinding white light burst forth from the center of the room.
And at the center of that light—
stood EAT, wearing a white coat, emitting light from his own body with overwhelming presence.
---
Yona and Rogi, who had stopped walking, sat down beneath a large willow tree.
Yona asked Rogi:
"What should we do? Should I continue? It's going to be really long."
Rogi thought for a moment, then looked at Yona.
"Keep going. Dad's not home right now anyway, so let's continue. Go, go!"
Yona nodded and continued the story.
"That was the first day we met EAT."
-4 A END
