REIWA JIGOKUHEN - Chaotic Disturbance of Reiwa Era

Chapter 106 - Those Who Face

Genzan: Genzan Air Base

"Munakata, you were right..."

Sub-Lieutenant Kobayashi, also a member of the 13th class of Navy Reserve students, murmured to himself as soon as he returned to the officer's quarters.

He had been one of the people who had witnessed the dramatic changes in the homeland when he crossed the Sea of Japan on a special passenger ship that had recently arrived at Genzan Harbor. In relation to the Japanese government of the Reiwa era's disclosure of the Time-Space Cataclysm to the world, information was beginning to be released to military personnel on active duty in advance, and the entire country was in turmoil. If someone was willing to risk their lives to fight for their homeland, they would end up becoming like Urashima Taro in a group without even realizing it. Anyone who could remain calm in the face of such a reality would be nothing but a madman.

"I also met with you, who has become very old."

"Is that so? I have lived a long life, haven't I?"

"People were so happy to see you... but it's too strange. Why are there two of the same person?"

"That's my line."

"Right, my bad."

With an apology came a heavy silence. Kobayashi, feeling somewhat desperate, took a sip of his treasured brandy and said, "But I died in battle in May of this year and was enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine. The world has become too strange, and I can't catch up with the understanding... Are you saying that it's better to die in battle even now?"

"Hey, don't jump to conclusions."

Munakata thought it was an inevitable reaction while deeply worried about his comrade-in-arms.

He had known the truth for nearly six months and had been vacillating and unable to speak about the incredible facts, or even been thrown into a frenzy. However bizarre and fantastic it may have been, the conclusion was that there was no choice but to accept it. On the other hand, Kobayashi had just begun to realize it, and still needed more time.

"But really... we can only think that we're already dead, can't we?"

Kobayashi murmured with a blank expression, and after a while, his expression returned to somewhat normal.

"Hey, what are you planning to do from now on?"

"I graduated from the Toshima Normal School, so I thought I'd become a match teacher if I became a reserve. Well, it'll probably be in Korea or Manchuria, but both places still need a lot of middle school teachers."

As he spoke, Munakata remembered his meeting with his older counterpart who had lived beyond 100 years old. In the original timeline as well, he had become a teacher after the war. Moreover, it seemed that the current Prime Minister of Japan in the Reiwa era, who is now leading the country, had emerged from among his former students.

"Besides, I don't know the cause of this Time-Space Cataclysm, but maybe in a few decades, a genius who can solve them will be buried around here. I want to make sure that such talent isn't left buried."

"In a few decades, huh... it's not like the world will immediately return to normal," Kobayashi disappointedly remarked as he gazed out of the window, as if searching aimlessly for his homeland on the other side of the Sea of Japan and time.

But after a while, Kobayashi's gaze returned to his immediate surroundings. He took another sip of brandy, which seemed to act as a kind of tonic for him.

"So I guess I have to find something I can actually do..."

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