Did he know? Maybe he didn't. Maybe that all tied back to him viewing things more trivially than he should have. It quieted Aoba again, at least for a few moments.

"... Maybe I don't," he admitted, since keeping his opinions to himself had already been remarked upon. Let's see if he could avoid falling into that pitfall again.

"Everything has happened so fast on my end, I keep assuming things will continue that way. The portals that go from Midorijima, to Steelport, to the City, are just one long walk now that I know that path. I guess that's my own kind of hopefulness, like yours is for the Earth going back to normal. You tell me not to be sad about how the Earth is now, so... is it really that different from not being sad until I see you again?"