──Has his irresponsibleness already ran out? (TLN: Agatsuma, perhaps)
Several days had pa.s.sed after the Officer, Agatsuma Eiji, was coerced by the masked figure clothed in black.
Moments earlier, Agatsuma had went to use the restroom at the convenience store 50 meters away; when he left the store, Agatsuma had thought he had lost track of Shinichi; he breaths out a sigh of relief. (TLN: upon finding Shinichi again)
Including himself, there are only a few other Countermeasure Task Force member arranged for this stakeout team.
A little bit of the Masquerade’s magic power is used and it makes an appearance around the neighborhood.
Throughout the whole town, among all the people in the area, there is no big change. (TLN: Agatsuma’s team is monitoring Shinichi)
The person in question, Shinichi, must not learn of their actions or the situation.
Agatsuma focus all his effort onto surveying the surrounding area; a complete display of his superior skills.
Agatsuma needs to expose the routes that are uncovered, and then dig up any evidence that can be found.
A few days later, he is truthfully astonished by his incompetence.
Meanwhile, as he was leaving the neighborhood, he spoke arrogantly to himself.
And thus her independent actions gives her the opportunity to capture their enemies.
The work had yet to begin despite 3-4 days had pa.s.sed. Except for the other Countermeasure Task Force member, there was no one else to spy on.
Thinking positively, it is still too early to see any voluntary moments; Agatsuma continues to monitor Shinichi.
For the sake of protecting a secret, he is willing to use his secret power against those hiding behind the scenes.
Nonetheless, it was essential but in no way was it important; he just had a feeling. (TLN: Agatsuma)
Although, there was no real objective in him leaving the neighborhood.
「………… is this place really the same j.a.pan on planet Earth, truly?」 (Shinichi)
There are a bunch of very tall buildings lined up together. In view, there are people littered all around. Those were the thoughts that had leaked out. (TLN: Shinichi)
The area is a convergence of government offices, corporate offices, and public inst.i.tutions. In this district, at this time during the weekdays there are a large amount of adult men dressed in business suits.
Although the person is also wear the same type of suit, there is a sense of incompatibility when compared to the others.
In addition, some familiar Earth based themes could be seen in mixed, but they were somewhat different.
「 Hey! Please don’t stop in the middle of the street.」 (???)
「Eh, Ah, excuse me.」 (Shinichi)
Not able to stop trembling? (TLN: Shinichi)
Feelings of vertigo?
At that period in time, a wealthy looking madam is in the middle of walking her pet.
「Umm…………」 (Shinichi)
However, in this scene Shinichi is frozen in a dumbfounded expression with his mouth open.
Although. It is made of a steel body and it has a black visor, a sensor type model; it is not a living being.
「Well now, Joseph-chan, let’s get moving?」 (random madam)
『Woof!』 (Joseph, mechanical dog)
The celebrity looking madam casually pa.s.ses by Shinichi who is in a daze.
In the past robot dogs were popular; they shouldn’t be compared to a common toy.
And now, what should be done? Shinichi has reaching his limit; he is being overwhelmed by his surroundings.
After a while, Shinichi becomes unable to comprehend the concept of ‘a pet from Galesto’.
A considerable number of domesticate animals were introduced, excluding dangerous living beast. However, the Amaryllis Fox is an exception because of its physique; due to their high Status humans find them difficult to control.
The drone was originally designed for combat support.
It was possible to use it as a partner for new recruits. However, the people of earth didn’t need to use it as a bodyguard. So, it was adjusted to be a pet. When the drone was put on sell in the market, it became popular among the wealthy.
「……… somehow things have became painful……」 (Shinichi)
He tries to see the current world with his own eyes as much as possible. (TLN: Shinichi)
In his hometown, Shinichi continues to receive cultural shock and become perplexed by the situation.
Ever since he drifted here 1 month ago from Farandia, he couldn’t help but feel that the big change was unwanted.
Rather, he felt so from the beginning. The common sense he knew of belongs to other parallel world, and thus the bewilderment and shock was that much greater. (TLN: Farandia)
「……… this reminds me of the past, how unpleasant.
2 years ago, I was more of a good child……」 (Shinichi)
And once more, compared to 2 years ago his current self is greatly different; he now holds unpleasant emotions.
About the language, about the culture, about magic, about dangers, and about Monsters.
Little by little, Shinichi became thankful to those people. (TLN: the people who saved him)
「Why did I never questioned my father’s instructions?
Ah, stop, just stop. At that time, where did my obedient self disappear to?」 (Shinichi)
He had reached the point where he would always doubt what others told him. (TLN: Shinichi)
Bit by bit, it started to stand out; he couldn’t help but believe that his state of mind could no longer return to that of his former self.
The current situation had caused him to recall about how much he had changed,
──Do you desire power? (mysterious voice)
──Uh! (Shinichi)
Too much has been done, for one had accepted foul play too often.
In one’s mind, lingers the greatest mistake of one’s life, therefore one will not chose to recognize the mistake. (TLN: replace ‘one’ with ‘you/your’)
The place called a library is very convenient.
It was necessary for him to borrow and the read articles; it wasn’t difficult for him to get access. (Shinichi)
Earth’s media publishing is far more liberal; there is no need to have a discussion about how to sneak in and investigate ・ to read. (TLN: Shinichi)
Aside from being a decoy, today Shinichi came here with another objective in mind.
His purpose is to investigate various incidents and events that had happened in the news from those days. (TLN: referring to the time during and after parallel world announcement)
Even so, the technology from the parallel world had been innovative. The system that is used for searching and managing books had been greatly improved. Traditional paper books had been digitalized and are now displayed on half of the computer screen.
The computer even has a built in miniature camera. There doesn’t seems to be a downsized usb port nor a disk drive. At first, Shinichi was shocked when he couldn’t see the computer.
Why didn’t Shinichi use the other type of PC? Because he doesn’t understand how to operate it.
Nine out of ten, Earth’s technology advancement is not from the two cooperating, but rather it may had been a unilateral sponsorship of Galesto’s technology. (TLN: 9/10, is a probability)
──The day the technology was release must have brought tears to the eyes of many engineers.
『When the parallel world announcement was made many people in the development field loss meaning in their research.』 (TLN: news article, perhaps)
Shinichi recalls the conversation when Agatsuma was being blackmailed.
As Shinichi was making his way through the bookshelves, in the corner of his mind he stores the information that had been gathered.
In his head, he is able to speed read through the information and and natural process it.
To be able to comprehend the information one would need to be an expertise in the field, not at an average level.
He had heard various things from before, but Shinichi wanted to investigate and confirm the parts he was unsure of.
Everything Shinichi had learned came together: the significance of the pursuers disturbance at the bookstore not too long ago, society, and the trends.
While looking through a published magazine Shinichi sees the highlighted merits from the exchange.
The problems of pollution and clean energy generation were solved.
The fact that there wasn’t a demerit made Shinichi question it all.
He had a feeling that a ‘minus’ is media censorship. (TLN: the negative demerit)
Shinichi makes indirect a.s.sumptions about the reason.
Above all, the people here had “accepted” the existence of the parallel world.
Anyhow, Shinichi and his companion are in a disagreement. (TLN: the Amaryllis fox)
First of all, “that” should not have been accepted. (TLN: the issue with the parallel world, perhaps)
One after another, Shinichi ponders over the daily morning newspapers that had been released during the duration he had been caught in the dimension hole.
In j.a.pan, the announcement was made in the afternoon; only important announcements are made at that time.
『The Day of The Parallel Worlds Announcement』 at every end of society there was an uproar; the ma.s.s media was in a frenzy trying to keep up with their viewers; on the internet there were various conjecture buzzing around.
“Is today finally Judgement day!?” (random person)
“Is a giant meteorite going to fall from the sky!?” (random person)
“Is it the beginning of the campaign for world conquest!?” (random person)
“Is it the first contact with alien lifeforms!?” (random person)
Based on the amount of sufficient information from countries all around the world, He knew something globally had occurred. Shinichi laughs at the thought of all the speculations that must have been fly around.
There was also development in the sciences; Earth’s resources were traded for technology.
j.a.pan was the first country to get ahead because it is a country that is known to welcome many cultures.
However, that was only an illusion. There is no evidence and it can’t be investigated.
As Shinichi had thought, there are too many questions and restrictions.
Two days later, on the other hand the people of Gales...o...b..gin to advertise their technology.
If one didn’t think about it, on the surface it was merely the people of Galesto cosplaying in western clothes. They manufactured a humanlike all-purpose-machine and presented is as a large photograph.
There were also books published based on other people’s reaction.
“Really a parallel world!?” (random person)
“Is it not too sudden!?” (random person)
“Isn’t ‘April Fools Day’ still one month away, it’s not a lie right!?” (random person)
“The existence of aliens is more believable!?” (random person)
When the news was received the majority of people were bewildered and in a state of confusion.
In those days, and now, Shinichi believes that there are still some who have doubts.
There were vast amounts of information pertaining to Galesto; Shinichi reluctantly narrowed downed “events” that weren’t related to Galesto.
──Hey, what sort of unstable place is this country that I have returned to!?
Shinichi had forgotten he was in a library and loudly shouted out.
In all due respect even if it appears that way, the fact that information is being regulated gives Shinichi gooseb.u.mps.
It is possible that perhaps because of the regulations a few stories in j.a.pan were altered.
Once again, if one were to closely examine the conditions of a few countries annually, they would be surprised by the increase. (TLN: rebellions, perhaps)
However, the real problem is the incident’s origins.
The ‘ringleaders’ with opinions that typical differ weren’t there. (TLN: a.k.a. negative people)
Because there were no opinions that greatly differ, the complete picture did not add up. Shinichi surmised that those bitter opinions had been removed.
“Our lives have become unreasonable after the exchange with Galesto!” (random person)
This was probably likely.
Employment rates and income rates had declined.
What on Earth was the cause?
One year later, on the civilian side of things, in the newspapers and on the bookshelves for some reason there are numerous publications related to Status. Shinichi picks some up.
On Earth, this acceptance of exchange is considered “to be” very important.
On behalf of Galesto’s historic culture, it seems to be common practice on the grand stage when addressing the public. And 1 year later, this was how the networking with the civilian population came to be. Thus, various places began to resemble a political system that is a combination of a government like system and an aristocrat like system.
The Status system, the evaluation of abilities, resembles a merit system that is discriminative.
──Shinichi had an unpleasant premonition.
This Status doctrine, preferences, may have brought about inequality.
The evidence can be found if one were to closely examine the Status system that was composed───
「Ahh!?」 (Shinichi)
───Shinichi forgot where he was and shouted out loud.
However, he couldn’t help it. Shinichi had located the article pertaining to Status, on his right. (TLN: PC monitor)
On his left, he reads the latest articles published about Status and then compares the 2 to help him understand it.
The article on the right contained information about the evaluation of a person’s Status, ability Rank. Individuals with a high Rank have a duty to defend against threats. Those with a low Rank owe others and are tasked with miscellaneous duties.
It seems that these division of labor were drawn up based around the threat of Monsters.
The article on the left, Status, a person’s ability Rank is a system that represents their value. Regardless of high or low the standard is that each generation is to be newly evaluated.
The System is skewed in favor of individual who excel.
What is the meaning of this?
When Shinichi double checked the publication related to Status, the notations didn’t match up.
There were numerous publications. Which two should be chosen? Shinichi searches for one with a neutral thesis.
Society’s general opinion, or perhaps an earthling, but Shinichi prefers a j.a.panese person’s opinion.
Shinichi steadily scrolls back to the lastest article.
Shinichi carefully reads both articles while comparing them. The perception of society began to drift away; something came into view. (TLN: he see it what it truly is, perhaps)
Presently, officially Status was first announced as a new standard for roles. Galesto informed society and persistently tried to popularize the standard.
It became a trend to favor people with high Rank and the practice became instilled.
This must be that “something” that caused the rebellion among those people who had lost.
The origin is 『the j.a.panese people misunderstood Galesto』. They took the meaning too literal.
For the sake of coming to term with the absurdity of a parallel world they took one exceptionally broad method of understanding.
And thus, it was a misunderstanding, a mistake. The idea of a perfect society is the main contributor. The origin was taking things too literally.
Especially, the Status doctrine. As it was, it is a comment that was misunderstood and had just happened to spread.
Based on the ability doctrine, the elites who received it worn a mask of morality and judged those who didn’t. (TLN: received ability)
“The ability of a person cannot be measured.” (random person)
“The judgement of Status disregards human rights.” (random person)
There were some reasonable proclamations, although, Shinichi thought they were “narrow minded” opinions.
They took into account the parallel worlds methods; it was the deciding factor. The j.a.panese values has a certain pride, an extreme criticism that is outright “crazy” and thus it couldn’t be helped. (TLN: j.a.panese have an extreme fear of criticism, perhaps)
Through an unlucky chain of events the networking only deepened the misunderstanding. (TLN: working with Galesto, perhaps)
As for Galesto, the aristocrats maximized on the Status doctrine by giving it their blessing, therefore increasing its exposure in the media. The difference between Rank in Status was cultivated and expressed.
On camera, the n.o.bles of Galesto, made a declaration that high Rank individuals have an obligation duty and that they should be proud of it. That was not lip-service, in itself, it is proof that they risk their lives everyday. (TLN: the n.o.bles)
That was sincere.
At least in Farandia, in comparison this level of pride wasn’t seen.
The way of the aristocrats had been rarely seen; long ago, the j.a.panese people use to support that ideology.
In those days, in the footage Shinichi saw there were no techniques nor abilities being used.
Status was used to enchant the body but the effects varied.
Shinichi judgement is based on the knowledge of Status from Farandia. Slender young boys and girls were single-handedly pinning down burly men. In those days, people saw it as a shocking spectacle; it only hasten the misunderstanding.
At first, when Shinichi had arrived on Farandia he was also surprised. Shinichi recalls the memories of when he saw the figures of a brigand of young children, the same age as himself, vigorously exterminating Monsters.
──It changed his sense of values.
More or less, Shinichi has become accustom to this truthful knowledge. (TLN: basically knowledge he had to accepted, perhaps)
The j.a.panese people were unaware of the proper way in which the n.o.bles carried themselves. They only saw the sensational news of renown fighters being unilateral defeated. (TLN: by slender children, perhaps)
Ironically the mistake was realized but it had already spreaded.
Natural the official information isn’t available, however, it is once again what Shinichi had surmised. Incidentally, it is not possible to investigate them and find out whether or not it is correct. It is not possible to contact Galesto nor is it possible to travel to their country. Much about them is relatively unknown.
As far as Shinichi knows, ability has no real connection to the flesh.
And thus, this has become the current state of j.a.panese society. Shinichi thinks back to the day he had returned and to the time he had undergone an examination. Shinichi can now understand the significance of the words that were spoken by the female doctor and Rinko.
『You also are, unfortunate.
With a Rank of only this amount, it seems this child who has returned will merely be a hindrance.』 (female doctor)
『……… don’t worry, I’m an Earthling, so mind your own business.』 (Rinko)
In j.a.pan those who have a low Rank are not treated well. For Shinichi, this meant trouble. Her words held meaning; when Rinko had retorted that she was an Earthling, Rinko had declared that she wouldn’t mistreat Shinichi.
It seems that the female doctor’s contempt couldn’t be heard because of the translation problem.
Shinichi who had returned to the current hardships of j.a.pan is annoyed and troubled.
As one would expect, thanks to the 8 year time lapse, everything’s not okay and his time had diminished.
Nonetheless, in this era discrimination had not disappeared. People still hold onto misguided knowledge and they continue to do so.
At the civilian level the notation of “a high Rank is amazing, and remarkable”, this mistake is not yet deeply ingrained.
Because of this j.a.pan had accepted numerous cases of misunderstandings and mistakes. World-wide in regards to the success and failure of the people who partic.i.p.ated in the exchange, j.a.pan can be used as a model example.
Is it even possible to call it a blessing?
Despite it all, why didn’t j.a.pan improve on the important parts of the foreign country’s knowledge that wasn’t understood.
Previously, in regards to the j.a.panese people as a whole, ignorance was also exchanged.
And, the exchange with Galesto can also be included to this conversation.
「Isn’t this island country mentally completely harmful?」 (Shinichi)
While returning a book to the shelf, he mutters to himself and a sigh escapes.
His feeling are heavy. Anyhow, the mistake is difficult to comprehend.
If the circ.u.mstances were clearly different he would have noticed, but the original was mixed in and it became difficult to understand. (TLN: hint, what is the t.i.tle of this series)
How a high Rank person is treated is a mistake and is not corrected.
Things that can threaten Earth are few. In addition, to the many years of peace, j.a.pan couldn’t comprehend its essences. (TLN: essence of peace, perhaps)
Nevertheless, it was something j.a.pan fabricated under the influence of Galesto ideology, that was the source of it all.
Truly, a troublesome and inconvenient story.
──However, it is still a peaceful story.
But, once it become a genuine fight, whether they are a Monster or a human, they had best prepare themselves.
As a person’s Rank raise and they overcome hardships to improve, it seems they may not be powerless afterall.
However, will they be useful on the battlefield? But, Shinichi has doubts as to whether they will be about to return home safe and sound.
「……… is it understood, do they know?」 (Shinichi)
A few years ago there was an article in the newspaper. It had a similar story. And one photograph.
Whenever Shinichi sees that photograph with the figures of people in terrible condition, he remembers the pain that was felt.
“This is the antic.i.p.ation of a new star!” (random headlines, perhaps)
“The new high Rank j.a.panese person.” (random headlines, perhaps)
“In the future, I want to get a job that lets me protect everyone.” (random headlines, perhaps)
Two junior high school students are displayed, a boy and girl with the same face, they are fraternal twins.
At that time, scouts and businesses were keeping an eye on them; people are expecting great thing from their future.
「…… it was difficult supporting mother.
Although, that is also a part of the reason, as well…… 」 (twins, perhaps)
It is love, although, it is a photograph somehow the feelings could be touched.
In modern times, it isn’t a choice for a mother to be relieved by their child obtaining social guarantee and privileges in that profession.
Shinichi thinks back to the moment he was reunited with his siblings again; it was a little sad, but it was pleasant.
Soon, Shinichi will be 16 years old.
Perhaps, he is being favorable to his family members, but Shinichi thought his little brother is becoming a handsome man, and his younger sister is becoming a beautiful woman.
Although, his age and stature had changed, Shinichi’s important feelings have not.
When all is said, he will protect them and will be their ally. Shinichi wants to always be able to lend a helping hand.
But, it is sad to say, the current him only had a limited common knowledge of this world and cannot function well here.
At this point in time, Shinichi is deciding on approximately which person or threat to shut down.
In addition, with the current state of affairs there is still the restriction on the public flow of information.
「helplessness……」 (Shinichi)
And thus, the significance of Shinichi’s existence poses various danger to his family.
If this world’s society learned of Farandia existence, the issue could cause his family to fall apart. There was nothing Shinichi could do about it; he had no leverage to negotiate with.
──How much time, how much effort?
They have 8 years worth of high Rank; he does not have entry level ability in Status. To an extreme extent it has become an “increasing trend”. As expected, Shinichi’s power is too useless.
「………… foolishness?」 (Shinichi)
For a moment he believed it was futile. If power is shown, who would stop? (TLN: rhetorical question, perhaps)
In reality, I want to say it is wonderful; I really do.
The things oneself had done, one wants to be able to boast about it.
Nothing can be done about the hinderance that he had become.
「I shouldn’t do, anything unreasonable.」 (Shinichi)
Gradually and at long last he had a simile with a purpose, although, the only thing Shinichi could do was mutter.