This is a translation of a j.a.panese novel. You can read the
This is a work of fiction, with depictions of violence such as death of many people at a time. It is not suitable for readers under 15.
Chapter 15 (part 1) is here!
Have had some health issues lately which I"d rather not dwell on, but I"m a bit better now and I"m almost finished with all my exams, so back to work!
By the way, if anyone is interested in editing this novel, contact me at [email protected]
Anyway, here"s the Chapter, I hope you"ll enjoy it!
Chapter 15: The false front and the real plan (part 1)
After we agreed on the rough edges of the new business plan, mister Oba had the staff start studying how that would work in practice, as well as all the legal aspects of providing electricity to private ent.i.ties.
Once the plan was finalized, we sent a request for approval to headquarters, and we"re now waiting for their final decision.
Until then, the mining farm plan cannot go any further, so I decided we"d start working on a new plan for the megsolar plant"s building.
Well, it"s not really a new plan as much as it is a simple re-use of the plan we made for the mining farm"s building.
Since we"ve already spent a long time on that, there is no real need to bother studying or thinking of anything in particular to re-use it.
In other words, I can afford to take an actual break from work for a while.
Now that I"m legitimately free, I"ve decided to put the population-reduction plans that I"ve been polishing for so long into practice.
"Ichikawa, would you run an errand for me?"
I figured Ichikawa must be free now that the mining-farm project is in suspension, so I gave her a business order.
I don"t know if it"s because she"s happy to have some off-time for once, but she"s been acting pretty soft towards me lately.
The way she adresses me is also more respectful than it used to be, too.
It must be because she thinks it would look strange from an outsider"s perspective to see a 20-looking girl talk to some shabby, older man like she"s his superior.
"So, what do you want me to do?"
"Go to j.a.pan and buy some end-of-year Jumbo tickets for me. Two or three should be enough. Do the same with the Tokyo lottery. I"d also like you to buy various things over there for me over the course of a month. I"ll send you instructions in time."
"If you want to buy stuff in the name of the company, can"t you just ask someone at headquarters to do it for you? That would be a plus on the accounting side of things, too."
"You"re right, but some of these purchases are kind of… for my personal use…"
Ichikawa looked at me with a big grin.
"Kageyama, are you saying you intend to send me on an official business trip using company money for your own personal matters? You"ve got some guts."
"Haha… Alright, forget about it then, I"ll manage somehow.
Anyway, that was it. Catch you later then."
"Hold on, I didn"t say I wouldn"t do it. But I want you tell me what you"re thinking of doing. If you need money, then I can buy you a ticket from a big lottery on my way back from America."
"Ah yes, I"ll take you up on that. Pick one that will bring results soon. The closer the winning date, the better. As for what I"m thinking of doing, I don"t mind telling you."
That night, I explained my idea to Ichikawa, while being careful not to touch on the subject of population reduction.
In the end, when we finished listing up everything Ichikawa would have to do in j.a.pan, she complained a bit saying "I finally get to go back home and yet you"re giving me so much stuff to do… What"s this, blackmail?".
Even so, a few days later, she was already on her way to j.a.pan.
Back at my place.
After seeing that Charlotte was busy studying, I went on my bed for some rest.
But that rest was no meant to be.
Everything in my sight suddenly turned into a white s.p.a.ce.
"Goodness… What in the world have you been doing all this time? Ever since I gifted that special power upon you, you"ve been using it for personal financial gain and to attract the interest of the opposite s.e.x. I hope you do not intend to recklessly copulate and make the population grow even further. "
This is the white room I saw on that day.
And just like on that day, "him" is standing in front of me.
He sounds a bit irritated. Then again, he"s also talking like he"s in some kind of play today for some reason, so that might not mean anything.
"…It"s been a while. How have you been?"
I greeted him while trying to sound as calm as possible, swallowing back what I really wanted to say.
This guy is the reason I"m in Nigeria, the reason I have to think of ways to decrease the population all the time. Although it"s not like I"m not getting any help, he"s still responsible for my peaceful life as an engineer turning upside down.
Those days seem like a distant dream now.
"Ah yes, the people of your country do value these sorts of greetings.
Thank you for asking, I am doing fine. But I would not say as much about my pitiful computer."
He finished that complaint with a long, exaggerated sigh. Can his machine translate irony and sarcasm? I guess that much should be expected from a higher being.
"It"s not like I"ve been taking my time for no reason. The human body is quite fragile. If I act recklessly, I could be putting myself at risk. I have to take many things in consideration to avoid that."
"I certainly hope you"re being truthful. Then, which ideas have you come upon so far?"
"The population in my country is decreasing as we speak. There are various reasons for that but I"d say the main one is that the cost of supporting a person to adulthood in my country is far too high. Parents simply don"t want to take the risk of having multiple children. "
"Hmm…"
"If I can recreate those circ.u.mstances in an area where the population is increasing exponentially, I"ll be able to restrain that growth."
This was inspired to me by Aida"s "Mount Fuji and the hanging bell" idea. Well, I say inspired, but the truth is I straight up copied it.
Going by this idea, all I"d have to do would be to switch the population growth distribution to a bell curve at an accelerating rate. That way I can peacefully lower the increase in population.
It"s a pretty great idea, if I say so myself.
"That is an interesting idea indeed… By your ‘country", you mean j.a.pan? I see your point, but you may not necessarily be able to witness that same decrease everywhere else. More importantly, the current state of j.a.pan was not built by the hands of one or two people. Can you truly accomplish this on your own?"
"While I don"t think it would be easy, I don"t think it would be impossible either. An isolated, pessimistic society built on the foundations of a high level of education and high costs of living, with all the economic disparity that results of that. By recreating those conditions, I might be able to succeed."
"That sounds like a very long-term plan. You know, the man that worked for me before you managed to very quickly erase 60 million people. It certainly did not take him decades."
My predecessor sur gave it his all.
Whoever that was.
Again, I don"t want to know.
"But you have to consider that the ability you gave me is a bit inconvenient to use. It makes my face look strange, and it can take a lot of time to use it. Still, I do have to admit that it"s very fit to mess with the economy that drives the world"s current society.
By intervening here and there, I could replicate what took 50 years to happen in j.a.pan in only 25 years."
"Hmm, inconvenient, you say… Well, you seem to have found some use for it anyway, haven"t you?"
"Yes."
"Still, I will seriously work on making it more easy to use.”
Translator"s note: Part 2 very soon.
I"ll repeat this in case you"re interested and didn"t see it: By the way, if anyone is interested in editing this novel, contact me at [email protected]
Can"t really pay you since I"m not getting paid myself, but you"ll get to read the chapters ahead and all, which is always nice. Plus everyone will get faster releases, which is extra nice!