El. Psy. Congroo.
Volume 1 Chapter 2 Part 3
Chapter 2: An Imperial Majesty's Punch
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You can grab the PDF here.
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——I am so tired.
For now, that is all I have to say.
After finishing the conference with the Eldant Empire’s Empress Petrarca and her aides——to be honest, it was more of a meet-and-greet——we got back onto the bird carriage that had carried us here, and are currently going back to my “boarding house” together.
In other words, the house where Miusel and Blük are waiting.
“......You sure gave me the chills.”
The person who said that with a wry face was Minori-san, who is sitting right beside me.
“All because you back talked to that Lord Koldbal all of a sudden.”
“Please don’t remind me. I am profoundly regretting it right now.”
My shoulders are completely drained of strength.
At the time, I couldn’t help myself and had simply snapped, but......depending on the situation, he might have gotten even more enraged and it would not have been strange for him to sentence me to death. As Petrarca is still a child, there is no doubt that the real power of the country is being held by that knight Galius and Prime Minister Zahal and the other adults in their circles. To be honest, I am still unaware of exactly how much power they hold and the extent of what they can make happen.
Even though we are being treated as ambassadors of a foreign country, this place is still the Eldant Empire. If they really wanted to, they could make up any reason they wished to kill us for.
The moment I fully realized this——rivers of cold sweat ran down my back.
“He just continued staring at me the entire rest of the time......”
I spoke in almost a moan.
Up to the very moment when we left the audience chamber, Galius’s eyes never left me for a moment. His expression had been calm, but......it felt to me like his stare was stabbing into me, and it made me extremely uncomfortable.
“He sure did.”
Minori-san nodded.
“It seems like he’s taken quite a fancy to you, Shinichi-kun.”
“......Hah?”
I frowned and raised my voice in doubt.
“How come? I’d understand if he took a dislike to me and started to detest me.”
“But somehow, there was a strange sort of heat in his gaze, wasn’t there?”
“It did, but......”
I had attributed that heat to anger, though.
“Most likely, there has been no one like Shinichi-kun in his life so far, so the exchange must have felt quite fresh to him......”
“What are you......
What are you getting at——is what I wanted to ask, but I understood before I finished asking.
It is something that I sort of regret understanding.
“......Wait, don’t tell me......”
In manga and anime and light novels and games, there are many stories in which the line “they have never met anyone like that before” is a flag for a certain kind of love......in other words, it is a common trigger for someone to fall in love with someone else. Well, it’s true that someone fresh would seem attractive, and those emotions can naturally develop into romantic feelings, but——
“......Minori-san.”
I stare at Minori-san with reproachful eyes.
From among the people around me, this person is near the better end of the spectrum. More like, she’s the first person who I should rely on. ‘Should’ being the operative word here. But I’m starting to feel slight qualms about that.
“Minori-san, are you possibly a fu......”
“Whatever are you talking about......?”
This WAC tried to cover up my words with her own while playing dumb.
No good. This person is rotten. Isn’t this too soon——
——or not. As I’d thought. Minori-san has apparently been a fujoshi from the start, and is completely in the midst of fermentation.
There is a genre centered around gay relationships between handsome men that is called “yaoi,” and the girls who are fond of that genre are called “fujoshi.”
(T/N: The word for fujoshi is made up of fu, which means ‘rotten,’ and joshi, which means 'girl.' That’s why Shinichi says she’s rotten. Not because she’s a terrible person, but because she’s a fujoshi. So, fermentation means she’s way beyond just being rotten.)
From what I’ve heard, these fujoshi have pretty remarkable imaginations
For them, material is not limited to only human guys, but also includes anthropomorphizations of countries and buildings and trains and whatever have you. Furthermore, they can also instantaneously decide on which side is the seme (the male role) and which side is the uke (the female role), after which they start panting from their own imaginations. For such fujoshi, interpreting the unending stare that a young, handsome, male knight directed towards me in a sexual way, even if the gaze is actually filled with anger or contempt, is a mere walk in the park.
“Please spare me from imaginations towards strange directions.”
“I don’t think it was my imagination......according to rumors, the knight Galius swings that way from the start, which was a strong reason for why he was allowed to become one of Her Majesty’s close aides.”
“Eh? Ah——could it be......”
A person of the opposite gender in a position so close to a girl of marriageable age.
Between people close to each other both in public and in private, it is especially easier for romantic love to blossom. However, when the two are both powerful people, then things can get troublesome. One merely has to peruse our world’s history to find clear examples of this.
Therefore, the “clearly over as a man” Prime Minister Zahal and the “not interested in girls” Cabinet minister Galius were able to firmly establish themselves as Petrarca’s left and right hand men. It is a very natural and easy-to-understand composition.
“Generally, throughout history, homosexual love has been relatively common, you know.”
So said Minori-san.
Somewhere deep behind Minori-san’s glasses, I see glitters of a weird anticipation. It’s very troublesome for me.
“I already knew that, but regardless, I have absolutely no interest in that direction!”
To be honest, I am a relatively conservative otaku who can’t even handle trap characters——male characters crossdressing with female clothing.
For the briefest of moments, I imagine myself in a “rosey” relationship with the knight Galius, then I sigh. More like, I think I felt my gastric juices backflowing along with that sigh.
(T/N: More fujoshi trivia. Roses are the symbol of the whole yaoi genre, so the word here is not “rosy,” which means “bright/promising,” but “rosey,” which is a word I just made up which means “with lots of roses.”)
“So......”
For now, I forcibly change the topic of conversation.
“I suppose this means the royal audience part is over and done with. So, what specifically am I supposed to do for this job?”
All the talk about spreading otaku culture in a parallel world seems too vague, and I can’t see the goal at all.
“Nn—......”
Matoba-san, who is sitting across from us with his back to the coachman, tilts his head. When we headed to the Eldant Palace, he was already there before us, but it was because he was there to make the necessary arrangements to ensure a smooth audience. Where he is actually staying at is, apparently, the mansion, which is currently serving as both AmuTec’s employee dorm and company head office. In other words, he is currently going back together with us.
“——Koganuma-kun.”
“Yes?”
Matoba-san and Minori-san both look at each other.
At the same time, they remove their magical rings——then they look at me.
Those looks seem to be urging me to do something.
“............”
Are they telling me to take off my ring too?
In the first place, we can communicate with each other just fine even without the rings, so there’s no problem with taking them off. Thinking about it, not taking them off might actually cause problems instead——
(Oh right. The coachman.)
They probably don’t want the coachman from the Eldant Empire side to hear what we’ll be talking about.
What is with this dangerous atmosphere?
But then again, there’s no point in me digging in my feet here. I take off my ring and make sure that they see me putting it into my pocket.
“Thank you. After all, it’s not wise to let the Eldant side know our full position. Of course, that includes the fact that we have no cards at all in our hand.”
So said Matoba-san.
No, wait a second. Did this guy just casually say something of extreme importance?!
“Frankly speaking, even we have no idea.”
“Wai-......What on earth does that mean?!”
After being dragged all around the place, now I only get a “we don’t know”?!
Lowering the ends of his eyebrows with a troubled face, Matoba-san continues.
“We have a clear idea of the goal that we’re aiming for, but the methods to be employed towards that goal have not been decided, so we’re kind of being driven into a corner. After all, there has been no precedent.”
“............”
Here it is. Government officials and their overdependence on manuals.
Well, it’s not like I don’t see where they’re coming from, but this is a very intractable position for me to be in.
“I believe I’ve said this before. No matter what, we also start from the appearances. So we write up the laws, we set up the organization, we buy the land, we secure the budget, then we just have continuous meetings about what to do next. This is the model timeline for most pubic works projects.”
“Please don’t say it like you’re bragging about it.”
“This is self-mockery. Anyhow, it is because we are self-aware about this, that we decided at the beginning stages of the project that it is better to not do anything unnecessary. In actuality, the traditional arts that we tried to introduce were not received favorably.”
Matoba-san shrugged his shoulders.
According to what he said after that, this “Far East Cultural Exchange Promotion Bureau” was created because the government didn’t know what to do with the question of a parallel world and needed an entity to shove all the responsibility onto.
It stands to reason.
If this was a project with the full weight of the government behind it, then there is no way that someone like me would get hired for it.
Exchange with a parallel world is a situation that the country of Japan has never confronted before. No. Strictly speaking, I believe it is a situation that has never confronted before in the entire history of the human race. Originally, this would have called for a grand announcement so that this situation can be tackled together as a collaborative effort with foreign countries.
But apparently, the Japanese government is thinking of on monopolizing this “exchange with a parallel world.”
If exchange with this “parallel world” goes well, there is the possibility that the Japanese government could pay back, in one go, the tremendous national debt that had accumulated over repeated seasons of deficits. Ever since the past, international commerce has always been the best method to enrich a country. There are those who assert that the success of Dubai, which is now famous for its rapid economical growth, is in part due to it properly maintaining its harbors, as motivated by its understanding of the importance of maritime trade.
However, if the existence of this “parallel world” is accidentally publicized, other countries would most likely find all sorts of faults with Japan to allow themselves a foothold in.
If that happens, then Japan’s “slice of the pie,” as it were, would become only one among several, one among tens, or perhaps even one among more than a hundred.
Either way, “we could possibly profit greatly from this so we cannot just leave it alone” so “if possible, we want Japan to monopolize it and not let the other countries know about it” are the decisions that were made.
And yet......the current government is a certain political party that had been on the opposition party side up till last year.
This being the first time they’re in power, these politicians have yet to fully understand the current state of the government. Bureaucrats being bureaucrats, all they’re doing is order absurd system reforms and budget reallocations, causing utter pandemonium. In such a state, there is no way that they have the spare energy nor time nor money to properly handle the incomprehensible issue of a parallel world.
In the end, the Far East Cultural Exchange Promotion Bureau, with limited authority and budget and personnel, must explore for a way to establish commerce with the Eldant Empire by itself——it’s a terrible situation all in all.
“Your job is, in short, to manage AmuTec, which has already been established here for the purpose of cultural exchange with this world. With that said, however, I will take care of all the documentation and routine tasks and duties, as well as the various negotiations with the Eldant Empire. What is expected of you is to bring over and sell entertainment works that the people of this world, be they citizens of the Eldant Empire or even people of other countries, can become passionate about. That is all you have to do.”
I already knew all that.
It’s just that the scope of the conversation is so large that I’m at a complete loss.
“Regardless of how much of an otaku I am, I am not a proper critic, nor am I a pro in the sales industry, nor am I a creator. You know that, right?”
“Well, to be blunt, part of our attitude in hiring you was ‘let’s give this guy a try as we have nothing to lose.’”
Matoba-san readily acknowledged it.
Well, as the annoying stuff is being shoved all around, and as the project itself is top-secret, there won’t be anyone reproaching or criticizing us for small mistakes here and there. Other government officials would be leery of commenting, for fear of being told “oh, then we can leave this project in your more capable hands.” The citizens, well, what they don’t know about, they can’t complain about. So, to some degree, we can take things at a rather carefree pace, according to Matoba-san.
“There is no need for you to think too deeply about it. Continue bringing in more and more of what you like and what you find interesting, and all will be well.”
“......U-n.”
Even if I’m told that, I’m still not sure exactly where to begin.
More like——
“This magical ring.”
I took out my own from my pocket.
“Putting this on still won’t enable the wearer to read written Japanese, am I right?”
“So it seems.”
Matoba-san nodded.
“This is apparently some sort of telepathic equipment.”
“......Ahh. I see.”
In other words, it is not that “words are getting through.” In actuality......we are speaking in Japanese, while Miusel and the others are speaking in the language here. The reason why we can understand each other is apparently because it is our thoughts, and not our words, that are being transmitted.
“But if that’s the case, then games and anime are completely out, right?”
If mutual understanding is happening due to telepathy, then it wouldn’t work if one side is a machine without a mind. In other words, if I play anime DVDs, because the DVD player doesn’t have a mind, Miusel and the rest wouldn’t be able to understand it.
“I see. That is indeed a problem.”
“In the first place, didn’t you say that their reception to anime was pretty good?”
If I remember correctly, he had told me that among the several kinds of Japanese culture introduced, it was otaku culture that was the best received.
“You are indeed right, but......Isn’t anime relatively easy to understand even without the lines?”
“Anime is hardly children TV shows. There are anime that go into philosophical debates in the middle of war, you know.”
Like Gundam, for example.
“Well, it is still true that among the several things that we brought to them, they showed the most interest in anime.”
Originally, the concept of movies did not exist in this world. Therefore, it is only natural that their interest would be perked when shown “moving pictures.” Even if they didn’t fully understand the content of the anime, the beautiful art and the cute characters were attractive enough in their own right.
“Even manga and light novels would be rather impossible. I believe the literacy rate here is quite low, isn’t it? How can we tell them to read the works from a foreign country? What resources and personnel do we have for translating?”
“It’s proving to be a challenge.”
Matoba-san shook his head with a troubled expression on his face.
“For now, because communication is possible thanks to these magical rings, translating has been put on the back burner. There would be a lot of problems if a famous linguistic professor disappears out of the blue, after all.”
“............”
Yea, yea. A former home security guard youngster disappearing out of the blue would cause no problems, no need to rub it in.
“Even so, to make any progress at all, we must secure a translator before anything else.”
“U-mu......”
Matoba-san groaned in response to my words.
I feel like we are seriously lacking in both budget and human capital.
The completely indiscernible future is, as can be expected, only giving me a sense of unease.
♥♦♣♠
“............”
After opening my eyelids, I stir from my laid down position and sit up on my bed.
The inside of the room is as dark as if ink had been poured in. It is because the sun has set quite a time ago.
However, I am having a bit of trouble falling asleep. Part of it is due to the audience in the afternoon having been too stimulating for me. The other part is that when I think back on various things, I keep getting cold sweat. Either way, I can’t calm down at all.
“......Might as well go grab some water, I guess.”
Stretching out my hand towards the chest right beside the unnecessarily large bed, I grope for a small article that had been placed on top. Grasping an antique made of shakudo forged in the shape of a hanging bell flower, I use a weakly curled fingertip to give the hanging bell part a light flick.
(T/N: Shakudo is a gold/copper alloy, typically 4-10% gold, rest copper.)
At once......accompanied by a quiet whoosh, a flickering flame comes to life inside the hanging bell, gently pushing back the surrounding darkness.
This is a kind of magical tool that gives off light for a while after receiving a small physical jolt. It is apparently a very common lightning tool here in Eldant. A spirit of light has been locked up inside or something like that.
Speaking of which, even in our world, there are sea-fireflies. If you put those into a cup and shake it, they’ll get surprised and give off very bright light. The logic is probably the same, with the only difference being that spirits are used here instead of plankton.
“I’m sorry.”
After apologizing to the spirit or spirits inside, I let down my feet from the bed, wear my shoes, and start walking while using the light to illuminate my path.
I go down to the first floor, and go through the dining room.
Where I’m heading towards is the kitchen deeper within. According to Minori-san, in this world with neither water treatment facilities nor waterworks, every single cup of water must be boiled for purification. Supposedly, water that had been drawn normally would start to spoil if left alone for three days——
“......?”
All of a sudden, my feet stop.
The reason is because I’ve noticed light spilling out from the door gap.
I frown while musing over who it would be this late in the night——but there’s no point in only thinking about it, so I take the metal doorknob in my hand and push the door open.
The entirety of the kitchen is made with bricks. The room stretches to the left and right, and the floor is completely covered with ceramic tiles. At one end of the room is the kitchen counter. Of course, there is no gas stove. Instead, there is what looks to be a kitchen hearth with a large pot hung above it.
In the middle of the room is a table made of wood. At its edge are kitchen knives and chopping boards and other tools. It is probably the place where all the pre-cooking preparation is done.
And at that table......
“Danna-sama?!”
......Miusel is sitting there.
She had turned around while looking quite startled.
“This late at night......has something happened?”
“Not really. I just wanted to drink some water.”
“I would have brought it up if you’d only called for me. I will prepare it immediately.”
“No, no, no.”
I raise a hand to stop Miusel, who is in a fluster and was about to rise from her chair.
“I’m not really that thirsty at the moment, and I thought you’d already gone to sleep already. Rather than that, what were you doing?”
Thinking that perhaps she’s doing the preparations for tomorrow’s breakfast——I look towards the table, but all the cooking implements have been pushed to the side, and in their place are a pen and a sheet of paper that I recognize.
It is the hiragana table that I had given Miusel.
“Eh. Could it be......you were studying?”
Looks like I’d hit the bull’s-eye.
As if an embarrassing part of her has been seen, Miusel’s face turns slightly red and looks downward.
“As Danna-sama had deigned to give this to me......”
Her gesture seems so innocent that my heart is going doki doki!——but let’s leave that aside for now.
When I look at the other piece of paper to the side, I see hiragana transcribed densely on it. The number of characters on that other paper is not normal at all. Most likely, this girl is literally being sparing with her sleep for the sake of studying.
“Staying up late is bad for your body. It’s already late, so how about you continue tomorrow?”
“The majority of my day is occupied with work. Furthermore, this is something that Danna-sama had seen fit to give me, so......I really want to learn it.”
Uwah. Why would this girl say something like that with upturned eyes. Is she trying to moe me to death?
But when I give it a second thought——during almost all my waking hours, Miusel is close by and serving me in all sorts of ways. There is cooking and cleaning and laundry and miscellaneous tasks. I had the understanding that this is what maids do, so I hadn’t thought much of it, but it’s normally impossible for a single person to maintain an entire mansion. Blük seems mostly in charge of the outdoors too.
Apparently, the time when Miusel can be free to do whatever she wants is extremely limited.
Knowing that she is devoting her precious time to study, my chest now feels a bit hot.
(T/N: ‘Hot’ in a “passionate teacher” sort of way, as her motivation and diligence makes her “worth teaching.”)
“In that case, then I’ll accompany you.”
Pulling out the chair next to Miusel, I sit down.
“N-, no, how coul-! For Danna-sama to give up precious sleep time to help me study, such a thing......”
Miusel furiously shakes her head in a very obliged manner.
However, I lightly tap the chair that Miusel had been sitting in earlier, indicating for her to sit back down.
“I’m now wide awake anyways. Come on, take a seat.”
“But......is this truly alright? It would already be more than I can hope for if I can receive your guidance only when you’re not busy!”
“No. For this sort of thing, being reserved would only make it really hard for me to stay......”
I laugh wryly with the ends of my eyebrows drawn downwards, but——for a moment, I see a perplexed expression on Miusel’s face as she blinks a few times.
She looks like she doesn’t know what to do.
Was what I said really that strange?
“......Danna-sama is...”
Slowly, a smile blooms on Miusel’s white face.
Just like how a flower blooms——might be a bit of an old way of putting it, but that is how it truly looks to me. Her usual clumsy and hesitant self is also really cute, but it is cute the way a bud is cute, and is not all of what this girl has.
Ah seriously, this girl is just way too cute!!
Furthermore......
“...a slightly unusual person.”
......she even went and said something like that.
Seriously, if this is a game, then that’s definitely a flag! What? I’m already very close to the Good End with this girl?! Choices, where are my choices?!
(T/N: As in, so that he can choose the choice that brings him to the Good End. He’s not trying to opt out of this situation.)
And other such agitation is sweeping throughout my brain, but I do my best to suppress it and not let it show on my face.
“Is, is that so?”
“Yes. Only a tiny bit eccentric.”
Oh man, those words are making me so itchy with embarrassment!
Miusel plops herself down on the seat next to mine, and gives me a slightly bashful smile.
“Well then......may I truly take you up on your offer?”
“If you’re fine with someone like me, I’d be glad to be of service whenever you wish.”
Captivated by her, I gave a slightly theatrical and pompous answer.
Oh no, did I try too hard to show off? Feeling uneasy at doing something I’m not used to, I sneak a peek at Miusel. However, the half-elf girl is pouring an enthusiastic gaze towards the hiragana table, with a somewhat delighted expression on her face.
