53. Welcome Reception

Thank you for the typo report.

The operation concluded—somewhat miraculously—without any casualties. This means that, for the first time, the secondary core has become the sole Agirakana core. Currently, repair work is underway at the location where the primary core once existed, as well as in the surrounding areas. Since the only escape route for the explosion’s energy was through the slit section, which served as the interface with the outside, the blast energy that leaked through that slit caused widespread destruction. Apparently, the repairs will take a considerable amount of time.

Once that is complete, the currently operational secondary core will activate the original one for the final time, transfer its functions to the original, and then cease to exist—completing the operation.

This operation wasn’t for Agirakana’s sake, not really—just mine and Earth’s. Given that, I’d planned to skip Maria’s welcome party today, even if the operation succeeded, if someone had died.

But fortunately, the ground forces suffered minimal casualties, and the injured personnel are said to recover in two or three days. Considering that Agirakana’s bioids take two or three days to heal, it must’ve been a serious injury—still, if they’re healing, attending the welcome party seems acceptable. Ain, too, showed no noticeable change despite the primary core’s destruction; he was just Ain as usual, which was reassuring.

Maria’s welcome party today is scheduled for 7 p.m. at a sushi restaurant in Ginza, set up by Ichijō.

The attendees were four: Maria, Ichijō, me, and Ain, newly freed from Core’s avatar—plus Reika Ryoka, a woman Ichijō is on cordial terms with, making five in total.

I didn’t immediately recall Reika Ryoka’s name, but then remembered she was the one whose genetic information ranked second only to mine—back when she’d briefly been guarded by drones.

At the Embassy, we arrived as a foursome and were led inside through a sliding door to a private room. The middle-aged man in a white chef’s jacket who greeted us seemed to address Ichijō as “owner,” which made me wonder—what exactly had this guy been up to in my absence?

As soon as we sat down, Reika appeared without delay, and promptly poured beer into everyone’s glasses.

“Thank you for having me, a mere outsider like myself.”

“Reika-chan, what are you saying? The people here don’t fuss over small things—just relax.”

Nodding with cheerful smiles all around, including me.

Maria, claiming to be fifteen and thus legally adult, has told the shopkeeper she’s an Agirakana human—so there’s no risk of being reported for underage drinking. Strictly speaking, foreign nationals are subject to Japanese law, but if no one reports it, it’s effectively fine. The two of us—me and the bioid—would just feel pleasantly warm no matter how much we drank, like a legal loophole; Reika-chan probably feels the same. The only one I’m worried about is Ichijō.

“Then, let’s raise our glasses in celebration of Maria’s arrival at the Embassy!”

“Thank you all.”

The first course was a simmered black mackerel roe from Sagami Bay, said to have been caught this morning. I picked up my chopsticks and was surprised—this was delicious. I’d never tasted it before, but its rich flavor seemed tailor-made for sake, far too good for beer. Let’s just say the host’s footing the bill for today’s welcome party.

Considering it, I hadn’t touched money in the past decade or so, so I hadn’t brought a wallet. Best to play it safe and go with Sushi-Oh today. Wait—Ichijō’s going with the Daiginjo from Tama? Still knows how to pick the good stuff, huh.

That was the gist of the self-congratulatory tale about Ichijō’s performance as special assistant in my absence. The guest of honor, Maria, sat quietly, listening to the chatter around her, eating the served dishes in moderation, and letting her glass fill with drink—drinking quite heavily, in fact.

Ichijō had, it seemed, done well in my absence—holding not only the original title of special assistant to Agirakana’s representative, but also, notably, the position of external special advisor to the Hōzōin Group, and chief executive officer of the Nichia Group. She also held board seats at several other moderately significant corporations.

The Nichia Group is a corporate conglomerate primarily led by Agirakana, encompassing Nichia Communications—the nation’s largest communications infrastructure provider; Nichia High-Speed Transport, which handles intercontinental cargo shipments via space freighters between Japan and friendly Southeast Asian nations; Nichia National Construction, a construction firm contracted to manage decommissioning of spent nuclear fuel and retired nuclear power plants; Amour, a diversified entertainment company centered on AMR-based tourism, investments in lodging facilities across Japan, solar cruise ventures, and video games and content production leveraging Agirakana’s military-grade VR technology; as well as Nichia Farm. This subsidiary operates agricultural and aquacultural space stations—known as farm stations—where feed crops, plankton for fish feed, and small fish are cultivated and farmed for export to Japan and its friendly Southeast Asian partners.

What was even more startling was that, though I’d completely forgotten about it, the owner of the ○○ Manufacturing Plant that had effectively fired me was none other than him—apparently, he’d fired everyone involved back then, too. He’d apparently held a grudge deeper than mine.

As for Miss Reika Hōzōin, I’d only met her once, when Ichijō brought her to the Embassy during her high school years. Now, she’s serving as president of the Hōzōin Group. The previous head of the Hōzōin Group had styled himself Grand Commander, but with the group’s expansion, the current leader has opted for the title President instead.

According to Ain, who told me later, a circular economic zone centered on Japan has now formed, encompassing various Southeast Asian nations. The Nichia Group and the Hōzōin Group are said to be the driving forces behind it. Given how amicably the two group leaders get along, rumors are circulating that the Nichia and Hōzōin Groups might merge in the future. It would be quite a hurdle—Nichia being fully privately held, while most of Hōzōin’s constituent companies are publicly listed—but then again, considering the two of them, they’ll probably figure something out.