chapter3 · 047-ep47

Episode 47: An Unregistered Gate

Takatsuki Ryōsuke.

Assistant policy secretary to Representative Mibu.

The moment that title came out, the murmurs of the Awakeners quieted a little.

"It's only natural that you're all uneasy."

Takatsuki continued in a quiet voice.

"The Awakener Development Program is currently suspended temporarily. What roles Beginner Awakeners can fulfill under these circumstances is an extremely important issue in designing the system going forward."

Designing the system.

An extremely important issue.

Just because of who was saying those words, it suddenly sounded like an official initiative.

If I were really in Aizawa-san and Segawa's shoes, I probably would have been swept up by those words in an instant.

"For this on-site inspection, we will responsibly proceed with the formal report to the state and all necessary procedures. It will not be handled in a way that holds any of you personally accountable."

The participants looked at one another.

Segawa's expression loosened a little too.

Aizawa-san still looked anxious, but she'd heard Takatsuki's words.

This was scary.

But a proper adult was saying it was okay.

So maybe it was safe to trust him.

She looked like she was thinking something along those lines.

But Takatsuki hadn't said, "We've already gotten permission."

We will responsibly proceed.

It won't be handled in a way that holds you accountable.

When you listened knowing it was suspicious, it just sounded like a string of suspiciously convenient words.

This guy was seriously nasty.

Thinking that, I activated my phone camera from behind the materials.

I was recording while being careful not to make any sound.

Takatsuki, Kanzaki, and the Awakeners gathered in front of the Gate all fit on the screen.

I didn't know whether this would become evidence.

But it was better than leaving nothing behind.

"Today's work is only a simple inspection near the entrance. We won't go deeper inside. If any danger is confirmed, we'll withdraw immediately."

Once Takatsuki finished saying that, Kanzaki stepped forward.

"Let me add something."

Kanzaki began speaking in a gentle voice.

"We'll be asking you to carry supplies and perform simple inspection work. We aren't asking you to fight. Should there be any monster activity, our staff will handle it."

The men in work clothes nodded lightly.

They had faces that said, We're used to this. Leave it to us.

If they really could be left to handle it, this wouldn't be such a problem.

"Participation is voluntary. If you're uneasy, you're free to decline here."

Kanzaki said that.

The words themselves were kind.

But being told, "You can go home if you want," after coming all this way didn't make it easy to leave.

There were other participants around.

Takatsuki was there.

Kanzaki was there.

The staff were there too.

And the daily pay was thirty thousand yen.

Participation is voluntary.

You can decline if you're uneasy.

As a formality, I thought it was perfect.

"What do you think?"

One participant quietly asked the man beside him.

"If it's only near the entrance..."

"And it's thirty thousand yen a day."

"But it's a Gate, right?"

"If there's someone connected to Representative Mibu here, isn't it probably okay?"

Their quiet voices reached me.

Everyone was uneasy.

But they all had reasons not to leave too.

Segawa was the same.

It probably wasn't that he was completely reassured.

But Takatsuki appearing had given him material to justify his decision.

"See? It's legit."

Segawa quietly said to Aizawa-san.

"But..."

Aizawa-san didn't nod right away.

"They said only the entrance. They said we won't fight."

"Yeah..."

"If it's weird, we'll leave."

Segawa said it to Aizawa-san.

Or rather, it sounded like he was telling himself.

But after coming this far, standing in front of the Gate, being given an explanation by Takatsuki and Kanzaki, and seeing the other participants remain...

Could they really leave when it started to feel wrong?

It looked deeply suspicious to me.

"Then, those who will participate, please come this way."

Kanzaki gestured toward the Gate.

The participants slowly started moving.

They didn't all move at once.

The first person stepped forward.

Seeing that, another followed.

If someone else was going, then I would too.

That kind of flow formed right in front of me.

At last, Segawa took a step forward too.

Aizawa-san stayed where she was, watching his back.

Stop there.

That was what I thought.

But that wish didn't reach her, and Aizawa-san followed after Segawa.

So they were going after all.

I gritted my back teeth behind the materials.

Then should I just come out and stop them?

No, coming out alone would be easy.

If I called out, I might at least be able to stop Aizawa-san.

Segawa and the other participants would probably hesitate a little too.

But in that moment, Kanzaki and Takatsuki would return to their public faces.

What were they planning to do inside the Gate?

Why had they gathered Awakeners?

Was there something connecting this to the video incident?

It would all end without me finding out any of it.

And even if I stopped them this time, it wouldn't mean much if they did the same thing somewhere else.

No, it wasn't that it wouldn't mean anything.

Stopping Aizawa-san and the others would matter plenty.

It would, but.

This was probably my only chance to leave evidence.

Through my recording phone, I watched the scene in front of me.

Kanzaki.

Takatsuki.

The staff in work clothes.

A Gate outside national management.

And the participants disappearing into the Gate one after another.

Segawa.

Aizawa-san.

They too vanished beyond the distortion.

The staff in work clothes followed.

Kanzaki was the last one remaining.

Kanzaki stopped in front of the Gate.

Then he looked this way.

At the spot behind the materials where I was hiding.

I hurriedly hid myself.

But at the same time, I remembered something.

That man's Job.

Fighter.

Sharp senses that could detect the presence of not just people and monsters, but anything.

It had been the same back then.

When we were eavesdropping outside Meeting Room Seven, that guy noticed us too.

Same thing this time.

Kanzaki knew I was here from the start and had deliberately said nothing.

When he glared this way a moment ago, the corner of his mouth lifted just a little.

You come in too.

Maybe it was my imagination, but it felt like that was what he had said.

Then Kanzaki faced forward as if nothing had happened and entered the Gate's distortion.

Only Takatsuki and I remained outside.

Takatsuki stood there for a while, looking at his phone.

I didn't move.

I didn't stop recording either.

Takatsuki and the Gate were at the edge of the screen.

After a while, Takatsuki made a brief call to someone.

"All participants have entered the Gate. Kanzaki-san has gone inside as well."

That was all he said before hanging up.

A short report.

But I had recorded that Takatsuki was at this site, and that he had told someone the participants had entered the Gate.

At least I had that.

Takatsuki gave the area a quick look, then walked away as if nothing had happened.

I didn't move right away.

Even after he disappeared from sight, I waited a little longer.

There was no sign of him coming back.

Only then did I stop recording. I figured it wouldn't be great to have only me holding it, so I sent it to Mibu too.

Just in case.

"Phew..."

I let out a short breath and stepped out from behind the materials.

Then I approached the Gate.

Aizawa-san and Segawa had gone inside.

Kanzaki was inside too.

This was about as much as I could learn from outside.

"So, what do I do?"

We're supposed to be told not to approach Gates without permission right now.

Entering one was obviously even more out of bounds.

Even I understood that much.

I understood, but.

After seeing all this, I didn't have a conveniently easygoing enough brain to wait quietly outside.

"I have to go in, right?"

I made up my mind.

No, maybe the moment I came here, I'd already made up my mind deep down.

I took one deep breath in front of the Gate.

Then stepped inside.