Listen, all!
From this day forth, this man, Senku, is the new chief of Ishigami Village!
Ishigami Village?
Yes, Senku.
I've known about you for a long time.
Your name is Ishigami Senku.
Thanks. Everything finally makes sense now.
If everyone on the planet was petrified, who first made this village?
Why do you and Kohaku clearly have foreign blood in you?
All the mysteries are solved.
No, sorry... None of it makes sense to me.
Yeah. How does Senku happen to have the same name as the village?
Wait, Ruri, you knew about Senku?
I probably come up in your priestess mythology, don't I?
Yes.
Mythology? You mean like Momotaro with the gorilla and all that?
No wonder you people know about folk tales
and giant animals you would never have seen before.
Yeah, Ruri-nee taught us about all kinds of things.
The stories the priestess uses to pass down knowledge to the next generation,
the Hundred Tales.
Ruri.
This last story, the hundredth,
is believed to be a true story that happened a long, long time ago.
The story my mother told me was very powerful, and very kind.
The hundredth story of the Hundred Tales.
Its title is...
"Ishigami Senku."
A Tale for the Ages.
Why do you keep following me, Moon?
Even if I juke it really hard, it follows me ten billion percent of the time.
Ever since he was very young, the boy, Senku, showed interest in anything strange.
Maybe it has a crush on you, Senku.
I don't need that crap right now.
I'm talking serious science.
What kind of preschooler are you?
The reason the Moon looks like it's following you
is because it's super-duper far away.
It's especially far away for me, since I failed the astronaut exam.
I don't care about your wistful poetry right now, either.
My leg cramped up in the middle of the clothed swimming exam.
I was never a good swimmer to begin with.
That was rough.
When's the next time they'll be recruiting astronauts?
Who knows?
It's something like once per decade.
I'm going to space.
An astronaut!
What I want to become.
That's a great dream.
Well, when you grow up...
No, I'm going immediately.
Senku loves space as much as I do,
but he thinks for himself and builds things for himself.
He was thoroughly hooked on the fascination of science.
Hirosue University.
What's your next class?
My grades are so bad.
JAXA Accepting Astronaut Candidate Applications.
Accepting Applications for Astronaut Candidates.
JAXA astronaut candidates...
The first time they've hired in ten years.
Accepting Astronaut Candidate Applications.
Science Lab.
What are we doing with this thing, Senku?
My hand's moving on its own!
What the heck?!
Of course it is.
I'm sending electricity straight into the muscles.
What is this weird suit?
My limbs are twitching and doing breaststrokes on their own!
The clothed swimming test is your biggest issue with the exam, right?
We'll pound the motions into your muscles
with the electrode training suit from hell.
I can't swim in this thing!
Astronaut Selection Exam Venue.
He made that crazy suit himself? In fifth grade?
So was it actually useful?
Of course not.
I figured.
Though...
Senku made it just for me.
I had to swim in it, even if it killed me.
In the end, I managed to make it through the clothed swimming test,
and I made it here to the interview.
I'm going to become an astronaut and go into space, no matter what.
And I'm going to work for science.
That's the only way I can repay Senku.
5 Years Later -
The crew has begun boarding.
The launch of the Soyuz rocket is about to commence.
- There's also an astronaut from Japan. - Hey, are you terrestrial TV?
Online?
Planning a long-term stay on the International Space Station...
Either way, this is live, right?
It's Ishigami Byakuya-san!
Senku, knowing you,
you probably aren't watching the broadcast, but just in case...
I'm going to bring home tons of scientific gifts for you.
Just wait!
Oh, shut up.
Shoot, I gotta go. They're going to leave me behind.
Wait, is that your dad, Ishigami-kun?
Let me see!
Students, class is still in session.
The man who started the first generation of Ishigami Village...
was Ishigami Byakuya.
My father.
This is the Soyuz.
Commencing final preparations for docking with the International Space Station.
Docking successful.
Welcome to the International Space Station!
Y-You've had a long journey.
Pleasure to work with you.
Sorry about my husband.
He's got a huge voice for someone with no balls.
I'm Ishigami Byakuya.
This is Shamil.
Nice to meet you.
Why are these hallways so narrow?
I'm not the same as y'all.
I spent 50 million dollars to buy a seat in the Soyuz.
I'm a space tourist, I'll have you know.
And this is how you greet me, Diva Lillian?
Don't tell me you don't know me!
N-No, of course I do.
I even have your CDs.
Then you get it, don't you?
I do.
C-Calm down.
Do you really?
Why are you laughing, Byakuya?
I could have kept it up a while longer.
Jeez!
Sorry, it was just so bad.
Who even talks like that?
What a way to start our stay.
Stop laughing and make her stop, old man.
I'm truly sorry, everyone.
I'm Lillian Weinberg.
I look forward to this coming week.
I'll try my best not to get in the way.
I thought the next week was going to be hell.
You got us good.
If you were being serious, one more minute and I would have killed you.
I'm Dalia. Nice to meet you.
That trembling giant over there is my husband, Yakov.
I thought I was going to have a heart attack.
Dalia and I were both doctors.
Talk to us if you ever feel sick.
That's reassuring. Thank you.
Yakov's good to have around.
It's his second time in space, after all.
He's a bit of a wimp, but he's a veteran.
Why are you acting like you're such a hotshot?
Knock it off, old man.
I'm kind of a big deal.
You, too. Don't get full of yourself.
The girl behind him is Connie.
She was a staffer at NASA.
I-I'm...
I'm a huge fan of yours, Lillian-san!
Huh?
That came out of nowhere, Connie.
Um...
That's all.
Come on, Connie-chan.
Get in there and demand an autograph.
Go on!
May I... have your... autograph?
Sure, of course.
Thank you!
Did you see my assist?!
Well, I guess it's time to set the stage for a proper greeting for Diva Lillian,
who spent 50 million to get here.
This'll be our background music for the rest of the trip.
Agreed!
Let's play it at least a hundred times a day.
No! Please, no! That's too embarrassing!
I'm sorry, I really am!
That concludes my mini-concert in space.
I'm not masochistic enough to want to sing live
in front of my astronaut buddies,
so you'll have to let me off the hook now.
See you, fans!
Aren't y'all going to use the comms, Shamil and Byakuya?
To contact your family or anything?
No need.
I don't have family.
What about you, Byakuya?
I have a son named Senku,
but he's a bratty kid, like Shamil here.
He has no interest in staying in touch.
He's probably focused on his research right about now.
The distribution of posts about stone swallow figures
being found around the world is proportional
to the distribution of swallow populations.
Calculating statistical significance would be overkill.
Which means these stone figures are real swallows that have been petrified.
Swallows being petrified all over the world?
That's so insane, it's hilarious.
This is exhilarating.
Can't sleep?
Sorry, was I too loud?
So loud, my eardrums popped.
Sorry about that.
You really like singing, huh?
I've been singing my whole life.
Since you were a kid?
I picked up a record in the trash one day.
I've been listening to songs every day since.
Then, one day, my record player broke down.
After that, I started singing for myself.
Singing was just so much fun.
I want all kinds of people from all around the world to hear me sing.
If it makes people appreciate the world and feel glad they were born,
that would make me so happy.
Just as I felt back then...
Sorry about that.
This is seriously embarrassing.
Hey...
Would you mind letting Senku hear you sing someday, too?
Of course.
Hey!
I'm miso soup!
Help me!
I don't want to get eaten!
Whew, I'm flying!
Zero gravity!
I'm free!
Oh, no, you don't!
What are you doing?
Want to try some Japanese, Shamil?
This nutrient jelly is enough for me.
For every meal?!
D-Don't you get tired of it?
Here.
What's that? Noodles?
It's ramen that I had custom-made.
It's the same taste you can get at the popular spot my son Senku and I frequented.
I don't deny that you have good taste, but you're pampering us.
The Space Agency people are here to work.
Humans don't need to have fun to survive.
Come on, just try it.
It'll shock you.
See?
Isn't it scary good?
Really? Can I try some?
No...
Look.
Outside the window.
At Earth.
Senku!
Why?!
I can't get in touch with either NASA or Roscosmos!
Is it broken?
No, no one's responding.
N-No one's responding over amateur radio, either.
That light...
Something must have happened on the surface.
Something terrible.
L-Like a nuclear war?
Don't even talk like that!
Yes!
The Internet works.
Is anyone tweeting about the situation?
No good.
Everyone around the world stopped posting at the same time.
I know! The live cameras!
There!
What the hell is this?
Statues?
Is this even possible?
Oh, God...
We shouldn't do anything rash.
Let's wait here.
There are seven billion humans on the planet.
Let's wait for the survivors to contact us.
They'll help us!
Wait for how long?
A month?
Two months?
With humanity in this state,
we don't have any hope of a rescue out here in space.
Let's go back to Earth.
What are you talking about, Byakuya?!
I told you, there are seven billion people!
Someone will come help us!
No, Yakov.
We're the last six humans.
Wait for help?
You're wrong.
We're going to help them.
All seven billion humans.
A Hundred Nights and a Thousand Skies.
Next Episode.
A Hundred Nights and a Thousand Skies.
This is a work of fiction, but the plants, animals, and production methods described are based on reality. Foraging and making things on your own accord is extremely dangerous and, in some cases, illegal. Please do not imitate without expertise.