REIWA JIGOKUHEN - Chaotic Disturbance of Reiwa Era

Chapter 67 - Election Campaign

Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture: Urban Area

The roads leading to their hometown were all deserted. The Kan-etsu, Joshin-etsu, and Hokuriku expressways were only somewhat busy with long-haul trucks transporting goods. The concept of road congestion itself seemed far away, due in part to the suspension of non-essential and non-urgent transportation and the switch to rail transportation.

However, as they entered the city, the view from the window of the campaign car began to change. The National Emergency Economic Transition, or "NEET" program, had made it impossible for many people to commute to work or travel far, but they have begun to do what they can now in their immediate vicinity. Public facilities were hosting various workshops, grassroots events were encouraging the disenfranchised, and volunteers were assisting the elderly who were unfamiliar with electronic devices. Taking a quick look, they saw old wartime farms have been established in the park where a good number of people were hard at work.

"I suppose this is what Reiwa should have."

Muto, who was an assistant to the Prime Minister, the minister in charge of time-space cataclysm countermeasures, and the deputy head of the task force, muttered with deep emotion.

"I hope that later generations will say that this was the best of times."

"Sir, Prime Minister Churchill is a real person in this world."

Kawai, the private secretary who had been entrusted with most of the local affairs, was quick to quip.

Muto responded that he was right and recalled the plan for the war against Britain. The only thing that had been decided was to bomb London for the time being, since they were currently occupied with the "Occupation of America." It was ironic that the person involved in the formulation of the plan used Churchill's words.

"Well, anyway, everyone is anxiously awaiting your arrival," Kawai smiled good-naturedly. "You are now the hope of this country."

"No offense, but you're buying what they say too much. However..."

Just then, the campaign car turned a corner in a deserted office district and entered the Kanazawa Station roundabout. A large crowd of supporters had packed the area. More than a thousand of them were the people who had sent him to Nagatachō and to whom he must give his all. Muto's eyes, which had been limited to the view of the Prime Minister's Office, took sight of the faces of men and women, young and old.

"First, we must win the battle here."

Muto was very enthusiastic.

"And I will bring back the ordinary, everyday life. I promise you that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Noda City, Chiba Prefecture: Private University

The college student due of Chie and Tomoko attended a campus they rarely came to. Since the place they usually attended was destroyed in an air raid, they decided to have their lectures here. Therefore, they rented a room-sharing house five minutes away on foot and moved there with only the bare minimum of luggage. Tomoko's father took care of all the formalities, but they had no idea how he did it during this period.

These girls had come to the temporary club room of the geology circle after their afternoon lecture. It was to install the reporting software on the club's computer, just as the director, who was basically lax in all things, had told them. "The purpose was to earn a little money for the club by participating in the Kachikachiyama Project," a distributed computing project sponsored by the Disaster Prevention Research Institute. However, about half of the profits were likely to be spent on "Ekimei," a bishojo sci-fi online game that the group was addicted to.