
Yejue
Pathfinder from Anita Energy Company wielding exploration equipment, she occasionally boards The Eternal on her way back to her Anita dormitory from the Chaos Space. She maintains a cheerful older sister demeanor in both work and life, a contrast to her partner Caroline's temperament. As a pragmatic doer, her dream is to become a successful person who can afford a big house, making her very concerned about salary, promotions, raises, and other material things... According to her, all her efforts are to make money. However, this honesty is reassuring. At least once paid, she completes her work earnestly — provided she doesn't argue with her partner midway.
Born into a regular family in Shoggolith City, Yejue is the eldest daughter and is responsible for looking after her younger siblings. As a child, she had to cramp in one room with the other kids, and her only entertainment was the short while she was allowed to watch television after school. It was through the screen of the old TV that she saw the brilliant, spotless skyscrapers and the impeccable lifestyles of the elite that almost seemed unreal, and from then on, she silently wished to also become this successful in the future!
More than a decade has passed. Now, whenever Yejue returns from a mission and flops onto the train seat caked in dust and mud, she will think about her childhood wish while exhausted. Well, her destination is indeed Anita's Researcher's Dormitory, its surroundings are pleasant, and the company has pretty good benefits, not to mention she even got a little pay raise this month... but somehow, she feels like this differs from the success people generally envision.
The employees of Anita Energy's second division all have different responsibilities and do different work despite being known as "Gardeners" as a whole. Caroline and Yejue met when they were both assigned as "pathfinders," and because they're both incredibly competent and have compatible personalities, they're often semi-forced to work together.
A pathfinder's main responsibility is to go on field explorations in the Chaos Space and draw a map so that future research and pioneer teams can carry out their work more easily. Yejue, who's more cool-headed, favors the mapping process to be no-nonsense, and yet usually, at this moment, Caroline would've already rushed out fearlessly miles away. This is the biggest disagreement between their partnership, which has prompted all sorts of other mild conflicts.
"I totally wasted time majoring in civil engineering in university... If only I knew I'd eventually have to catch my partner in the Chaos Space for a living!" grumbled Yejue with a sigh. Still, she always finds Caroline, who loves going off on her own, and returns safely from the Chaos Space alongside her partner.
Even after Yejue joined the workforce, her first requirement for clothes was practicality due to the habit of having to save time to study while she was schooling. But after her colleagues gave her some recommendations and reminders, she began slowly trying to make her practical outfits more aesthetically pleasing too, albeit only for a short while.
Once she became a certified Gardener, she was crestfallen at the thought that she'd never get to wear normal clothes anymore, and so she went to dye her hair into a bright pink color that she'd always wanted, which turned out surprisingly good. Hence, her spontaneous hairstyle remains to this day.
Though Yejue may be pleased with her new image, when she finally got a long break from work and went home to visit her family, her mother immediately gave Yejue an earful for her hairstyle. "What in the world did you do to your hair? Look at the mess of colors. How can you be a role model to your siblings this way? And where's your boyfriend? Have you found one?"
Yejue didn't end up dying her hair back into its original color, but her mother's disapproval still dealt quite a heavy blow to her. She had gone through so much to attain some achievements at work, only to end up being criticized by her family. This made her feel like she still wasn't successful enough.
Outside of her career, her family's foremost expectation for her was to find a good man... but she genuinely had no idea where to start looking for one. While ruminating about life and the world, she even went to study old astrology books and learned much relevant knowledge, but up until now, Yejue is still stumped by her relationship problems, or the lack thereof. The one thing she did learn, however, is how to take advantage of the weather during rainstorms to summon another bolt of lightning onto Chaos Remains.
Yejue is especially proficient at all kinds of household chores. From spring-cleaning the whole house to sewing buttons, nothing fazes her. The Eternal happens to have several crew members who lack general knowledge and don't know how to take care of themselves, so Yejue has become somewhat of a sisterly figure who looks after them all the way she would her younger siblings. Needless to say, nagging is also part of the deal sometimes, though afterward, she always takes it up upon herself to teach them what to do in the same situation the next time.
In the past, Yejue didn't give much thought about her life outside of work, and even her job of assisting The Eternal was only done according to the responsibilities specified in the contract. However, here, she came to know lots of different people and saw different sceneries, and this train gradually became a vaster world in her eyes.
She met and became the big sister of many new "brothers and sisters," her relationship with her partner has eased up marginally, her work is going fairly smoothly, and her income has also increased... It seems she who has been trained by various utilitarian demands is presently discovering the fine balance of what belongs to herself. Of course, if her wish of finding her significant other can also come true...
I'm Yejue, dispatched by Anita Global Energy. Conductor, right? Nice to meet you!
Hm? Did you call me here on purpose? Haha, you have good taste!
I'm also one of the best among the Gardener's Pathfinders. I'll satisfy all your requests.
Caroline? Oh, right, she's my colleague... But! The route maps I draw are more accurate than hers!
Don't worry. I'll use all my knowledge and experience to guide you to your destination via the best route. Hehehe, you just watch!
This job has some risks. But in this era, there are very few jobs that are absolutely safe, right?
A Pathfinder's work is actually about repeated investigations and calculations. But Caroline... ah, forget it. Don't mind.
I have younger siblings back home... Huh? Why aren't you surprised at all? Do I behave like an older sister...?
Phew... Exhausted. Hm? Did you reserve the shower for me?... Thanks. I won't stand on ceremony then.
Looks popular? Who me?! No no no, I've never been in a relationship... What's with that look... So what if I've never been in one!? Got a problem with that!?
I don't come from a good family background, so when I received Anita's offer, my entire family was ecstatic.
My younger siblings were rather mischievous when they were young, and often got beatings from me. But they're much more well-behaved now, hehe.
Both of my parents were busy working, so I was the one who cooked at home. Want a taste? It's actually not bad.
When I first came here, I really wanted to end my assignment early and return to Anita. But now... I'm so grateful to be here. Really, it's great.
I'm not trained in combat, but there's no choice now except to try!
All right, I'll be nice this time and open up a path for you!
Think you could stop me with this?
You shall all be the proof of why I deserve a raise and promotion!
I'll seek a new route for you.
Hmph! I gotta "properly question" HR later for the shitty job they assigned me...
Hey! If this affects my performance evaluation... this is no laughing matter...
I'm unstoppable! At this rate, my raise and promotion will no longer be a dream. Hahaha!