I Came Back but the World is Still a Fantasy!?

Shinichi was so immersed in his investigations that he even forgot to have lunch. After putting all of the materials back to place, Shinichi went to the eating area within the lounge of the library and found himself a seat.

It was a bit late, but Shinichi decided to have his lunch. He took out something wrapped in a large handkerchief from his bag.

This something wrapped in handkerchief was something that Rinko had given to him after he couldn’t give her a clear answer on whether he was coming back home for lunch or not.

—Boxed lunch! Alright!

Today too Rinko was happily fulfilling her role as a ‘mother’.

Shinichi never even told her ahead of time that he was going out. As such, she must’ve prepared this boxed lunch just in case.

She gave it to him so naturally when he went out that Shinichi was left confused.

Behind that small body that did her job properly was a powerful person.

How she managed to end up married to his dad was still a mystery to Shinichi.

“Still, I wonder why she filled my boxed lunch with nothing but sandwiches?”

When Shinichi spread open the sandwiches, he saw that it was filled with brightly colored ingredients.

Her cooking leaned heavily toward western cooking, but he found it too difficult to point out.

He simply felt too much like a freeloader.

Shinichi really wanted to eat white rice and miso soup, but Shinichi just couldn’t bring himself to say something so selfish.

“HAMU, NGU… It’s no luxury, but it tastes good.”

Because it was seasoned and made differently from convenient store food, it had a unique taste about it that made Shinichi eat it with relish.

Eating was one of the few things that Shinichi still looked forward to, so he enjoyed it to the full while thinking about the things to come.

Thanks to the improvement of the search function of books and articles, Shinichi was able to complete his investigation.

To be more precise, Shinichi had already exhausted his honest and upright sources. But…

“NGU, MOGU… But I wonder why there are places where they’re meticulous and places where they’re sloppy.

Maybe it’s just my bad habit that’s making me feel like there’s a conspiracy in the air.”

Shinichi was too involved in the shadows behind nations in Falandia.

So whenever he found things that didn’t add up together or simply suspicious things, he can’t help but start thinking that there’s a conspiracy in the works.

In any case, it just didn’t make sense. The announcement to the public, the reason they started interacting, and the way they went about things…

The issue of resource shortage would be easier to handle if the private sector could also trade.

At the same time, the government could also start using otherworld technology without having to hide.

But despite approximately 30 years of interaction and secrecy between two worlds, the announcement to the public was too sudden and chaotic, making it seem as if they had merely been postponing dealing with the issue.

Although it is understandable why they would prioritize the reconciliation of the entire thing over the negative effects, but if they knew that right from the start, then they should have announced it earlier and slowly gained recognition from the public. Doing so should have made everything less chaotic.

The more Shinichi investigated, the more he got the impression that the government, the industry, and the military were really prepared.

When the otherworld was revealed to the public, all the devices and tools that were launched then were outfitted on the self-defense force and the different armies of the nations of Earth to appeal to the public.

Obviously, the same was also true for the government that’s been interacting with them for the past 38 years.

But in spite of that, the announcement to the public and the negative effects that came with it reeked of sloppiness.

It makes one wonder which side it was that really wanted the public announcement 8 years ago.

Or did something beyond both sides’ expectation occur that left them with no choice but to make the announcement?

Unfortunately, the answer to such questions could not be found even in the sea of books within the library or in the endless internet.

So long as the information open to the public was sequential on a yearly basis, then the information Shinichi wants is presently impossible to procure.

…If he limits himself to legal methods, that is.

“…Wait, wait!

Calm down me. There’s no reason to search even the skeleton-filled cabinets of the government.”

Shinichi pondered where he could get more information on Garesto.

But as ideas were popping in his head, he suddenly hit the brakes.

Shinichi only came here to know what a normal person in this time period and world should know.

If he went any further than this, he would end up involving himself in that dark world behind the scenes of society.

Did he want to throw himself into the giant whirlpool that was the interaction between two worlds? Shinichi asked himself.

If the world they were interacting with was Falandia, then he would have to involve himself, as he would have a duty to.

The moment he was ‘selfishly’ entrusted the mask, he had to become involved with the world hidden behind the society of Falandia.

But that had absolutely nothing to do with Earth or Garesto.

There was no reason for him to stick his head in something so troublesome.

“Habits are really scary.”

Shinichi wryly smiled. It really wasn’t easy to get out of a habit that’s been cultivated for two years.

Shinichi bought a can of apple juice from the vending machine and wet his throat.

That nostalgic taste and sweetness touched Shinichi, allowing him to reset his thoughts.

He had to investigate and think about things concerning his future.

Although his dad and his stepmom hadn’t said anything, he couldn’t stand still forever.

Given his age, he should be going to school… But where?

In the first place, he had yet to study the basics taught in middle school, so perhaps he should start there.

Shinichi bit his sandwich and started chewing again as he wondered to himself what he should do.

He ate with great relish as he did.

“Excuse me, but can you move aside?”