"Hey, Nakagawa-kun!

Long time no see!

Still at it lately?

You know, that.

Waaahahahahahaha."

"No, no, not at all.

It's no fun getting old."

"You've gotta concentrate when you work with clay.

If you put it off for a long time, your senses get dull, and there's no point!!"

"Sensei, allow me to introduce someone.

This is Major Takano."

"Very nice to meet you.

Thank you for taking time to meet with me today. I truly appreciate it."

"Ah, I really didn't make time for you, actually.

I was told that I could have some good raw sea urchins!!

Sea urchins are good for you, did you know? Rich in vitamin A, and they are good for your skin.

Women like sea urchins, right?

Waaahahahahahaha!!"

It is true that sea urchins are rich in vitamin A, but compared to spinach, it's not anything that's worth making a fuss about.

Well, none of that matters right now.

He just seemed like an unpleasant man, so I wanted to criticize him.

These men are the directors of the Alphabet Project who control the funding for the Irie Institute.

They are also people who are in the position of being able to offer their opinions to those directors.

To put it in a simpler way, they are the new owners of the Irie Institute.

Although not as much as Uncle Koizumi was, they are also leaders and influencers in various fields.

I have to be very careful not to upset them.

And therefore, there's no way I would have had the ability to call them in.

By using the influence that the Koizumi faction once had, I finally managed to get this chance.

Uncle Koizumi, who gave me his full support and made everything go my way, is not here anymore.

I'm on my own from this point on, and I will open up a path.

But this stage just doesn't belong to me today.

I can't let the people who offered me this chance lose face, so I have to wait patiently until it's my turn.

My primary objective today is to explain what a prominent research subject the Hinamizawa Syndrome is, and acquire an indefinite extension for our research.

They only ever think about money, so they aren't even realizing the hidden potential of Hinamizawa Syndrome.

They don't recognize that it's worth spending a lot of money on.

This is not mere research on the existence of an unknown parasite, but something that may overthrow the basic foundations of anthropology.

A Nobel Prize wouldn't even be enough.

......It won't be easy trying to explain all that to men who know nothing about any of it, but I have to.

That's why I spent many hours making these straightforward support documents.

Sometimes, we make documents confusing on purpose because we don't like dealing with uneducated people, but this time, it's different.

I can't look down at them. I must sincerely try to make them understand.

The accessible support documents are there in a huge pile.

It feels like we're wasting time eating traditional Japanese food in such a relaxed mood.

I want to get to the point and explain to them in detail so they can understand.

...But there is the saying, "luck lies in the last helping."

...I have to be patient right now.

"Hmm.

To be frank, I thought the Alphabet Project we've seen wasn't that good.

In the end, it's been nothing but a sandbox for the old men with their heads still stuck in the Pacific War."

"Nothing but a sandbox for those old men to craft their dreams of Imperial Japan's revival with money that isn't theirs.

Do you know how much public funding was wasted on those delusions?"

"From what I've heard, there are already prosecutors poking people like Okuno-sensei and trying to pin embezzlement on the old board of directors."

"Waahahahahahahaha.

That's what you get for trying to suck up to those old men.

Of course, none of it can be made public, so I guess they'll be held responsible or demoted in another form.

This is what the country gets for letting these ghosts of the war run around freely all this time!

Boy, these grilled sea urchins are fantastic!!

Waaahahahahahaha!"

"Well, this is harsh...

I realize it's extremely difficult to ask this of you all when you feel that way, but...

Might I have a moment of your time?"

"Ehh, you're from the Irie Institute, aren't you?

You're researching some kind of local disease in Nagano or Gifu, right?

Uhh, what's going on down there?"

"The board has decided to halt the research for military applications.

The research project itself is to wrap up within three years as well.

Oh, no, sorry, that's still being discussed.

Anyhow, our work is scheduled to be shut down within a few years."

"Ah, yes!!

I remember now.

The Irie Institute had a bad reputation even among the old board of directors.

After all, it sucked up huge funds with barely any inspections."

"I don't know why, but someone high up kept pushing for it for some reason.

Because of that, nobody could really say anything about it and it was left alone."

"But you know,

that guy loved to flirt around with women, so maybe that had something to do with it, wahahahahhahahaha!!"

Is he implying that I slept with Uncle Koizumi?

He's insulting both of us.

But I held my anger in.

I can't let myself be bothered by something like this.

"......Anyway, today, I would like to explain to you the details of our Institute's research and ask you to reconsider your decision.

I truly appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to attend this meeting today."

"Well, I guess they don't give out free sea urchins for nothing, huh?

Waahahahahahaha!"

I explained to them how much the Hinamizawa Syndrome mattered while being very careful not to go too fast.

I tried to let them know that the syndrome's potential is not limited to small things like military applications, but is much more meaningful than that.

It may explain ideology and religion.

It may even shake the very definition of a human being.

I took my time to explain as slowly and clearly as possible.

I'm not confident that all of it had gotten through to those boorish men, but I'm happy if they understood even just a part of it.

As long as they understand how much of a magnificent discovery Hinamizawa Syndrome really is.

"Thank you, Major.

...Hmmm, I see.

...Hmm."

"We would like to discuss among ourselves, so could you please excuse yourself?"

"...Yes.

Thank you."

Obviously, they can't discuss in front of me.

I left all the documents with them.

All I could do now was hope they viewed them favorably.

I left the room and closed the sliding door.

The room next door is a preparation room, so I was to head there.

But I stopped.

...I shouldn't have done it, but I tried to listen in through the sliding door.

"Well... wahahahaha, I don't know what to say.

I feel sorry for everyone on the previous board of directors."

"...I know how you feel, hahahaha.

Koizumi-sensei pushed this so strongly..."

"I met him once before, when he became founding director of XX Pharmaceuticals. He seemed like a very intelligent person to me...

Hmmm..."

"I guess you just can't win against age!

It makes you realize how important it is for humans to know when to pull out."

"But it is a fact that this very rare disease called Hinamizawa Syndrome really exists.

So not everything is a delusion..."

"I hear the Irie Institute has already succeeded in identifying the disease and developing a treatment?

Isn't that enough?"

"In modern Japan, we have to be careful with things that might make neighboring countries nervous.

And military-related issues are the most sensitive ones.

So, at the very least, we must erase the fact that research for military purposes has been going on for the past few years immediately."

"Is that separate from simply discontinuing the military research, then?"

"Yes.

Even if we stopped it immediately, the fact that this Hinamizawa Syndrome was being researched in order to create a biological weapon remains.

We should hide that fact no matter what purpose the research ends up being used for.

If possible, it would be best if Hinamizawa Syndrome just disappears."

"That's true.

If the disease remains, then sooner or later, someone will become curious about it and dig up the hole we filled.

I think we should follow the decision of the board of directors, and as soon as the Irie Institute eradicates this disease, we should have them destroy all evidence of their work before disbanding."

"Hmm...

I guess that's for the best.

It's not even a matter of a Nobel Prize. It's just useless for post-war Japan."

"Besides, this disease has existed for hundreds of years, right? And we've made it this far without any problems.

From the start, I thought this amounted to little more than just poking around in the bushes."

"Me too.

I don't doubt the existence of the syndrome,

but Dr. Takano, who discovered the disease, is exaggerating more than a little!"

"He had quite a unique interpretation of things.

First of all, I've never heard of a parasite that's capable of controlling people's thoughts.

It's just too much."

"If we tried to explain religions with this, then Buddha, Christ, all those people would be--what was it again? 'Queen carriers'?

If we tried exposing something like this, we'd be attacked by every nation on the planet!!"

"Religion is pretty scary nowadays...

Wa ha ha ha!!"

"If there are parasites that live in animal brains, then I guess we can say there are parasites that live in human brains too.

But for them to control human thoughts? Wahahahahaha!!

That's a bit too unique, you know."

...As I peeked in through the gap in the sliding door, I became trapped within an unbelievable sense of deja vu.

This is my first time experiencing this, but it doesn't feel that way.

I don't know why, but the memory is so sad

and so painful...

Huh?

......Huh?

Why... tears?

Before I realized it, I saw a very nostalgic carpeted room on the other side of the sliding door

instead of a room covered in tatami mats.

The room is filled with the smell of dust mixed with the smell of some evaporated medicine, but it's very soothing to me just the same.

And there...... is my grandfather.

His article that he poured his heart into was made a mockery of, yet he wasn't even allowed to cry...

This isn't a delusion.

Because within the documents I left with those men, there are a lot of references to the article my grandfather wrote.

So I'm not surprised for my grandfather to be standing right there, explaining it to them himself.

...Together with my tears from seeing the sight of my beloved grandfather,

I watched these men insult and belittle his masterpiece.

I have seen this sight before.

And the sight should have ended there.

But why is it repeating before my eyes?

I can only blankly peek through the sliding door at this strange world where reality and illusion overlap.

"The Major is a little strange

and Koizumi-sensei, who believed in something as ridiculous as this, is a little strange too...

But the strangest one of all is the person who wrote this article in the first place."

"It blends together expectations and delusions, and looks more like fiction than a thesis.

I think this will be a big hit once it gets published, you know."

"You're absolutely right!

I have a friend who's the head of a publishing company.

I bet he'll love this!

Wahahahahahaha!!"

"This is not a laughing matter, gentlemen.

A huge amount of money was poured into this over the past few years.

The worst thing is that the equipment used to gas the villagers in case of an emergency have already been procured.

Our people must never learn about this."

"For such a plan to exist is scary enough, but if people find out about this equipment, the whole country will turn against us.

On top of that, the cost to maintain this equipment is enormous!!"

"You don't really think it's being maintained, do you?

Surely this whole project is some kind of money laundering scheme.

What did they say, anyway?

If one girl dies, the whole village will go crazy at once? What kind of comic book is this?"

"Exactly!

Someone actually believed such a childish story and put a huge amount of money into it. Now that's crazy!

What's truly ridiculous is that someone actually took these documents seriously!"

As he said that, he placed the documents down with an exaggerated gesture.

Actually, I should say he slammed them down.

Because the papers ended up scattered all over the floor.

"You're too right, wahahahahaha!!

Ah, excuse me,

I need to use the bathroom."

One of the men stood up

and stepped

on the papers.

And they weren't the papers on the tatami mats,

but the ones on the carpet.

Right there, I can see my grandfather filled with heart-rending sadness.

Yet, he can't let it show on his face.

Grandfather's expression didn't change.

...Yet, it seemed distorted to me. I could see the walls of my grandfather's study crumpling and twisting behind him.

".........!!!"

I jumped into the room.

I grabbed onto the man's legs. I don't hate him.

No, it's not whether I hate him or not. Sure, I hate him, but that's not it.

I just can't forgive the feet stepping on my grandfather's article.

"Don't!!

Don't step on them!!

My grandpa wrote these. Please don't step on them!!!"

"...Uh, oh... sorry......"

Those feet are still stepping on the papers. I tried to make them move.

But they won't even budge, as though they've grown roots.

So I begged as I grabbed onto his legs.

I tried to pull the papers from under his feet.

But I can't move his feet. I can't pull out the papers.

"Don't step on them...

don't step on them...

My grandpa's...

don't

...don't step on them..."

My sobbing echoed in that silent room.

Just like it did back then...