The story of Kanata Amakake, the young wolf feared by the Mechanist Army and known as “Kenrou,” begins.
*Author’s Note: This work is also being posted on Narou. For the reasons stated in the previous postscript, the latest updates will be posted on Narou first. The update pace for the Nocturne version will remain the same as before. I aim to write more than 10 episodes per month. Episode 31 will be uploaded to the Narou version on November 4th.*
*Addendum 6:06 AM: Episode 31 upload complete.*
Marika-san suddenly appeared in my room. Unfortunately, at this moment, I was…
I was pushed onto my back in my room, with Lilith, wearing pajamas and cat ears, straddling me in a mount position.
“Hey, God, why do you keep being so mean? You have a bad personality, you’ll never make any friends!”
“If you have something to say, I’ll listen. Say it before you die.”
“There are… circumstances deeper than the ocean…”
“Do you want to be sunk in the ocean? That’s too far and troublesome. Settle for a mountain. There are plenty around, so you won’t run out of places to bury bodies.”
“Do you intend to kill me? Please spare me.”
I grabbed Lilith’s shoulders and stood up, getting off the bed.
“Are you tidying your hair, you brat, even putting on makeup? It saves trouble, which is good. Hurry and change, the propaganda department is here in the strategy room.”
“Right, where did I put my military hat? No one wears them in the Garden, so I put it away.”
“Do you need a military hat? We’re known for being renegades. There’s no need to dress formally.”
I took her words to heart and changed into my usual clothes, not something fancy. I kept the top button undone.
“Well then, Lilith, I’m off.”
“Yes, yes. I think I’ll go back to sleep. Don’t forget our promise, okay?”
“Yeah, later.”
Marika-san and I headed to the small strategy room.
In the strategy room, there was one interviewer, one recording staff member, and two camera crew members waiting for me.
I wasn’t particularly nervous. It was just the army’s propaganda department; if I said anything problematic, they’d just reshoot it and edit it later.
Besides, Marika-san would be there with me, so there were no elements of anxiety.
The female interviewer, wearing round glasses, began speaking to the camera.
“Now, we would like to interview Captain Marika Hikari, the leader of Crystal Widow, an ace battalion of the Asura Unit, which continues to achieve exceptional results among the one million soldiers of our Alliance Army.”
Ah, so that’s how it is. It was a two-person interview from the start. No, Marika-san was the main focus, and I was just a bonus.
Marika-san answered the interviewer’s questions coolly, clearly, and concisely. She was clearly experienced.
“Now, let’s hear from the promising new star of the Asura Unit, Sergeant Kanata Amakake.”
Whoa, here it comes. Calm down, I already rehearsed with Lilith yesterday.
“I am Sergeant Kanata Amakake. I am honored to be able to fight as a member of the glorious Alliance Army.”
“Even though you’ve been assigned for less than two months, you’ve achieved outstanding results. Please tell us the secret to your remarkable achievements. Is it your loyalty to the Alliance Army?”
She’s a bit off, isn’t she? If loyalty won wars, that would be a different story.
“I don’t particularly think my achievements are outstanding. They’re normal in the Asura Unit.”
“I’m surprised. Such phenomenal achievements are considered normal, a truly reassuring statement. As expected of the rising star of the Asura Unit, hailed as the strongest in the Alliance Army. I feel the difference between you and ordinary new recruits, and I’m sure it’s being conveyed through the camera. It’s no wonder that Sergeant Amakake is the nephew of Lieutenant Colonel Agito Kuga, also known as ‘Hyoro’ (Ice Wolf)! What kind of presence does your great uncle have for you, Sergeant Amakake?”
I knew this question was coming, and it was an unpleasant one. But I didn’t want to lie and say I respected Agito.
“I’ve never given it much thought. My uncle is my uncle, and I am myself. The battlefield is a world where one’s lineage doesn’t matter.”
Since Marika seemed to be using “atai” as her pronoun, I figured using “ore” wouldn’t be a problem.
“Are you cool because you’re the nephew of ‘Hyoro’? However, some may expect you to be the reincarnation of ‘Hyoro,’ the strongest soldier in the Alliance Army, right? I, too, am moved by the revival of the wolf’s lineage!”
This woman is persistent. Move on from Agito. I finally understood how the children of pro baseball players or celebrities must feel.
“Whatever the form, if I’m expected to do something, I’ll just strive to meet that expectation and fight.”
“As the nephew of ‘Hyoro,’ Sergeant Amakake is indeed a cool soldier like his uncle. Regarding Sergeant Amakake…”
Seriously, woman, read the room! Can’t you see the aura of ‘I don’t want to be associated with Agito’ emanating from me!
“…This guy isn’t called the nephew of ‘Hyoro’. Among our group, he’s called ‘Kenrou’ (Sword Wolf).”
What?! Marika-san, what are you suddenly saying! This is the first I’m hearing of “Kenrou”!
Oh, right, she said she’d give me a nickname. But she should have told me sooner!
“Kenrou! So Sergeant Amakake is indeed from the wolf lineage connected to Agito, the ‘Hyoro’!”
“No, Agito has nothing to do with it. …I’ll say it again because it’s important: his fangs are by no means inherited from Agito! He’s a wolf who bares his fangs and fights with his own will! He’s still a cub wolf, but I will raise him to be a wolf who fights with his sword as his fangs, Kenrou!”
Marika-san, who had been calmly and steadily answering the interview until just moments ago, revealed her true passionate nature.
…Thank you, Marika-san. For understanding my feelings.
Since Marika-san strongly declared that she would raise me as a wolf, the interviewer seemed so excited that she could completely ignore my rejection of being related to Agito.
“Sergeant Amakake, the rising star of the Asura Unit called ‘Kenrou’! Do you have any message for the new recruits who have joined the Alliance Army to fight for justice, just like you?”
She’s probably expecting me to say something like “Fight without fear of death,” right? I’m not going to give her that much of a compliment.
“…Don’t die, I guess.”
Sister, your glasses fell off.
“…Uh… ‘Don’t die.’ That’s a very profound message. Because if you die, you can’t fight for the Alliance Army! ‘Don’t die, but fight without fear of death’ has a deep meaning…”
I raised my hand to stop the words of the sister whose thinking was so out of sync with mine. I’m sick of it.
I’ll just say what I want to say. This is my declaration.
“W-What is it? Sergeant Amakake, is there something…”
“…Just one last thing. Not to the soldiers of the Alliance Army. To all the soldiers of the Mechanist Army.”
It seemed my earnest words reached the sister, a master of carefully chosen words, as well.
“Y-Yes, p-please.”
As we’re watching, I’m sure the Mechanist Army is also watching the Alliance Army’s propaganda department’s digital paper.
With determination, I put my resolve into words. So as not to leave any “paper moths” in my heart.
“…Do not stand before me with the will to fight! If you do, I will assume you have accepted death! …That’s all!”
I stood up, saying, “Let’s go,” to Marika-san.
Before Marika-san and I left the room, the interviewer sister thanked us with a foolish voice.
“…Uh… um… Thank you for… sparing your valuable time… I guess?”
Be quiet. I feel sick, damn it!
I walked away with long strides down the hallway, wanting to get away from those nauseating propaganda people as soon as possible.
I already disliked the propaganda department because of the Natsume incident, but today I’ve come to hate them.
“‘Do not stand before me with the will to fight! If you do, I will assume you have accepted death.’ What a line. It was cool, Kanata.”
“Don’t tease me. I’m really feeling sick! What are those people?”
Marika-san shrugged her shoulders and said,
“Don’t get angry, don’t get angry. They’re not people to be taken seriously. Their job is to provoke.”
“You forgot ‘irresponsibly’.”
“That’s right. Agitators have never taken responsibility, no matter the era.”
“They’re the most infuriating kind of people. I have more respect for the soldiers of the Mechanist Army, who are at least risking their lives.”
“They want to create an idol to inspire the soldiers. They can’t understand or even try to understand other people’s circumstances.”
“The script is already decided, and under the guise of an interview, they write a story to fit it. In their script, I’m supposed to be a soldier happily ready to die for the Alliance Army, chasing the shadow of my great uncle. How useless.”
I’m not a comic actor, so I don’t want that role. I have no obligation to meet their expectations.
“That’s about right. Well, they are the Alliance Army’s propaganda department, so it’s somewhat understandable. Their job is to improve the Alliance Army’s image… The problem is the mass media, who just regurgitate the news sources provided by the propaganda department.”
“Do mass media that only pander to power have any real value? I’m also disgusted by mass media whose motto is only anti-authority.”
“Kanata, whether in the present or the past, the media has never once spoken for justice. Regardless of whether they are pro-war or anti-war, what the media reports as news are simply the media’s opinions and convenience. Think for yourself and find your own answers without being swayed by biased reporting. That applies to everything. Well, you, who cultivate natto bacteria in your brain, probably already understand.”
Marika-san clearly distrusted the mass media completely.
After seeing Marika-san off, I headed to the hangar to borrow a vehicle to go to Rocktown.
The natto bacteria in my brain were diligent, thinking about things that someone of my low rank couldn’t do anything about.
Today’s theme is politics and mass media, quite a serious topic.
…I don’t trust the mass media much either. It’s been like that since I was in my previous world.
It’s frustrating, but my distrust of the mass media is probably influenced by my father, Kouhei Tenge, who was a bureaucrat.
According to my father, he could understand politicians elected through elections claiming to represent the will of the people, because they had the backing of votes.
Although some politicians might steal votes with their looks and sophistry, that was still the will of the people.
Therefore, as a bureaucrat, he would respect the intentions of even a foolish politician who was only good at appealing to popularity and was more foolish than him.
…My father was arrogant, but he was a believer in democracy. Well, that’s commendable.
The problem with the mass media is that there are idiots among the reporters who mistakenly believe they represent the will of the people without any substantiation.
Anyone can become a reporter if they pass the entrance exam. However, the mass media’s entrance exam is not the will of the people.
Politicians are voted out if their ideology and beliefs diverge from the will of the people, but the mass media are not subject to the scrutiny of public opinion.
My father used to say that if they diverge from the will of the people, viewer ratings or circulation might drop.
…Kouhei Tenge’s opinion might be a quibble, but I also think it’s not entirely off the mark.
The problem is that those in power in this world are often not elected.
It’s either dictatorship through inheritance or a “vote of confidence” called an election, but in any case, a privileged class is rampant.
Since a system where dictatorial politics is accepted is in place, I hope the Commander will try hard to become a dictator.
I don’t think dictatorship is good, but I believe that if it were the Commander, they wouldn’t annihilate those who express their selfish opinions based on their own convenience, whether they are politicians of the masses or self-righteous media… though they might ignore them.
I’m a small-minded man; I’ll leave the grand schemes to those with bigger minds.
For me, it’s far more important for Lilith to grow into ideal breasts than to establish an ideal political system.
I will upload episode 31 of the “Hanzo Arc” this morning, November 4th. I plan to update the Narou version daily until episode 35.
After a lead of about 10 episodes, the pace will slow down.
The Nocturne version is scheduled to be updated every 2-3 days as before. These are just plans, of course (laughs).
If I don’t dedicate the entire three-day weekend to writing, it will be impossible to get ahead on the Narou version… so I guess I’ll be pulling an all-nighter tonight.
I really don’t want to delay the updates on the Nocturne version just to get ahead on the Narou version, so I’ll do my best.
