Otherworld Company Chapter 218: It’s Not What You Do, It’s What You Can Do.

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　The air in the room that had been calm earlier suddenly froze.

　The once calm gazes have sharpened a little, and the thoughts that used to be leisurely are now quicker, as if they were at work, scrutinizing the incoming information and preparing for it.

　My mind was clear as if a switch had been flipped.

　On the other side of the TV, the leader of the terrorist group was saying a lot of things, all of which sounded like he was out of his mind.

　It is far from logical,

“We have seen it! That figure that surpasses even God! Our actions are for them!” (Terrorist)

　Is he drunk?

　Or should I say crazy?

　If you’re drunk, you’re narcissistic; if you’re crazy, you’re fanatic.

　It’s common to sacrifice something for an ideal.

　However, it must be done within one’s own means.

　When you ask others to sacrifice for you, it is not a sacrifice, but a harm.

　The average person cannot understand the thinking of the man on the screen who is delusional that he is right.

　At least I can’t understand it.

“This world has become impure! ! We have to cleanse this! ! For that, a ritual is necessary!” (Terrorist)

“…” (Jiro)

　I’m thinking it’s been beeping at me for a while now, but I don’t look away from the screen.

　I know I need it to get as much useful information as possible.

　But it is past midnight.

　I feel sleepy.

　I am lucky that I don’t have a headache, but I feel heavy.

　The calm atmosphere that had been in the room until a moment ago disappeared, and a tense, if not prickly, atmosphere filled the living room.

“Yes, yes, we are on standby.” (Suela)

　Suela is calling the supervisor by telepathic communication to inform her that Kaido and her team are involved in a terrorist act and that it is an urgent matter, even though it is late at night.

　Probably, although Kaido and others who are testers are involved, it is unlikely that the company will directly intervene in this case.

　Unlike the time of Amelia, the location is Japan, and it is beyond the scope of the Demon King Army to intervene.

　The wait Suela is talking about probably doubles as a wait-and-see approach.

“ I’m not sure if it’s a blessing or a curse, but you never know what experience can do for you.” (Jiro)

“This time, I would say it was a blessing.” (Memoria)

“Memoria.” (Jiro)

“You’re trying to figure it out on your own again. It’s a problem typical of Jiro.” (Memoria)

　The reason for this is that there is no immediate solution to the problem.

　Normally, the criterion would be to take action immediately, but having the peace of mind that even if something does happen, you can buy a certain amount of time is a big deal.

　Because of this type of experience we have in combat.

　Thanks to this, they will be able to deal with any problems that may arise, and there is no need to worry that Kaido and my party will run amok with a self-righteous sense of justice, which is often seen among the younger generation.

　Experience has also equipped them with standards and distinctions between what they can do and what they cannot do.

　Therefore, they do not overconfidently believe in their power, control their emotions, and are not motivated by personal feelings.

　That is why nothing is happening on the other side of the TV screen.

　I decided it was better to gather information.

“The problem is the others…” (Jiro)

“Well, Mr. Kaido and the others are fine, but the others…” (Suela)

“Yeah.” (Jiro)

　It is not Kaido and the others that I am worried about, but the general public who are caught up in this kind of terrorist activity.

　The people around Kaido and my companions will probably be appeased by Kaido and my companions, but the people who are out of that range cannot be covered because of the restrictions on their movement.

　Not all of them, but most of them have never experienced the act of fighting or resisting violence.

　Kaido and the others were special, but most of them had never received any training.

　In what era was the last time we were told ordinary people can fight?

　That’s why, from my point of view, that space looks like a bomb that could explode at any moment.

　Chaos, tension, fear, anxiety, and a spirit that wields a sense of justice with the aim of improving and eradicating these elements.

　Not all of them, but any of these things are present in the average person.

　If you shrink back in fear, that’s okay; if you stifle your anxiety, it’s a sign of calm.

　But the scariest thing is to start thinking about what you can do.

　Emotions can be suppressed but cannot be detached because of our defense instincts.

　And the lid to suppress it will be light without training and experience.

　If the amount exceeds a certain level, the emotions will push up the lid and overflow.

“Please, please stay quiet.” (Jiro)

“Who are you telling that to?” (Memoria)

“Both. Both the terrorists and ordinary people.” (Jiro)

　I say my wish earnestly.

　What I said was a wish as I told Memoria, but it is literally just a wish.

　Unless I have awakened to some divine powers, there is no way I will be granted such a thing, and my wish will probably never come true.

　Even now, tensions among the hostages are increasing by the minute, and stress is building up.

　And the emotions that overflowed at the conclusion of the event would certainly be deleterious in that environment, destroying the atmosphere of that place.

　It is a folly like sticking a needle into an inflated balloon.

　In the current situation where it is obvious that the other party is acting irrational, insane, and dangerous, perhaps those who have the courage to use their sense of justice will use words of common sense to make the right argument and criticize you for being wrong.

　If that happens, the other side of this screen will probably be a sight that even grown adults, let alone children, will not be able to bear to see.

　I can’t help but worry about when such people will appear.

　The fact that there is definitely someone among the hostages who could be an element of uncertainty who might do such a thing stirs up my anxiety.

　But I can’t help thinking about it.

“Master……” (Himiku)

“…I’m sorry, bad habit.” (Jiro)

　I cool my head by looking at Memoria, Himiku, and Suela, who is worried about me even though she is in a conversation.

　I took a deep breath, almost like a sigh, and slowed my sprinting thoughts.

　It’s a bad habit of mine.

　Whenever a problem arises in front of me, the first thing I do is try to solve it myself.

　Rather than thinking that relying on others is being selfish, but rather a threatening thought that I have to do something comes forward.

　I think it’s a bad habit.

　There is almost nothing I can do, and it is worse to worry about Suela and the others.

　That’s why I need to be careful, so I slowly lean back against the backrest.

　I can’t do anything.

　With that in mind, I was about to suggest that I take a day off today, praying for the successful resolution of this incident.

“Who is it, at this hour?” (Jiro)

　My phone, which I had left on my desk, rang to notify me of an incoming call.

　At first I thought it might be one of Kaido or the others, but there was no noticeable change on the other side of the TV screen and the standoff continued.

　With a question mark hovering over my head as to who it might be then, I picked up the phone and my eyes widened when I saw the name on the display.

“Mother?” (Jiro)

　Why is my mother calling me at this time, and at this hour?

　My head is filled with questions at the thought of hearing from someone who is supposed to be overseas at this very moment, but I dismiss it as just another call from that unconventional mother and pick up the phone.

“Give me a hand, son.” (Kirika)

“Is that the first thing you open with early in the new year? Please explain.” (Jiro)

　I stifled a sigh at his mother’s demand for help at the first sign of the new year, but I let it go as usual and asked for an explanation anyway.

“Are you watching TV now? ” (Kirika)

“Yeah, all the channels are filled with news of the terrorists.” (Jiro)

“Yes, that’s it, we’ll stop it, so please help me a little.” (Kirika)

“Wait a minute, no, wait a second. Why are you suddenly trying to get your son do police work, while making it sound like asking for help for a market trip?” (Jiro)

　I’d say it’s annoying, but she’s always been a mother who behaves recklessly, as if her son would always understand, but this is the first time something like this has happened.

　I thought something might be wrong.

“*Sigh*” (Kirika)

“This one who wants to sigh is me. Did something happen?” (Jiro)

　When Suela and Memoria learned that the person on the other end of my call was my mother, they turned to see if something had happened, and Himiku, who had never met my mother, seemed surprised when Suela told her that it was my mother. I can’t worry about it now.

“Do you remember that my parents’ house is a shrine?” (Kirika)

“Yeah, but I don’t remember going there for a long time.” (Jiro)

“Well, that’s because I was avoiding it.” (Kirika)

　The only time I ever met my grandfather and grandmother at my mother’s parents’ house was when I was a child when I was in the single digits.

　My memories of that are vague, to some extent I have memories of playing in a very large field when I was a child.

　I knew that my mother, who traveled around the world, was not on good terms with her parents.

　So I myself had little contact with my grandmother and grandfather.

　I wondered what my mother’s family had to do with this case.

“Does your family home have anything to do with this incident?” (Jiro)

　I thought about it, but could come up with nothing but commonplace scenarios.

　No, I decided that if I tried to guess something other than the usual, it would be too far-fetched, so I asked him honestly.

“I’m calling you like this because there is a connection. Did I tell you that my family is the family that monitors the seals that have been handed down from generation to generation?” (Kirika)

“No, this is the first time I’ve heard of such a Chuunibyou setup.” (Jiro)

“You see, I ran away from home because I didn’t want to be tied down to that kind of tradition. It makes sense that we haven’t talked about it.” (Kirika)

　I wonder where my initial nervousness went when I hear her laughing, but at the same time I feel nervous.

　As expected, the answer that came out was already outlandish, and I already had a bad feeling about the fact that I was not an ordinary person.

　I wonder if it’s genetics that makes trouble love me, and I urge my mother to continue.

“Even I didn’t believe it back then. Even when my parents told me that I was a shrine maiden with a once-in-a-millennium talent, I didn’t really thought much about it, so I just studied about the shrine and then eloped despite my parents’ objections. Well, I’ve still remember some of the legends. All of these stories were like fairy tales, so I skipped a lot of training because I thought there was no way this would happen in real life. I just got a call from my parents. I was going to ignore it this time, but they seemed really upset, and my intuition was telling me that it was a dangerous, so I couldn’t ignore it.” (Kirika)

　The more I listen to it, the more I smell trouble.

“Jiro, watch the TV.” (Memoria)

“Oh?” (Jiro)

　At that time, Memoria tugged at the hem of my clothes and urged me to watch TV, and there was a live broadcast of breaking news broadcast in subtitles at the top of the screen.

“You may be just be watching this one, but it’s not just happening there. There are seven places in the country. Your grandmother says there are seven places in the country that are being taken over.” (Kirika)

“Seriously?” (Jiro)

　The name of the prefecture was listed followed by the name of the shrine, and the bad things my mother had said were beginning to become a reality in the reports of terrorist incidents in which worshippers who had also come to the shrine for two years were being held hostage.

“Mother, what’s going on?” (Jiro)

　Then, as far as I know, my mother, who I think is the strongest human being, asked me for help.

　I confirm the events that I think my mother wants to deal with.

“I don’t know.” (Kirika)

“If you don’t know, didn’t mother’s parents explain?” (Jiro)

　But that’s my mother.

　As I had imagined, she did not betray my expectations.

　I don’t know whether I should learn from her or chide her for her recklessness in taking action in spite of the fact that she doesn’t know what is going on. [T/N: Sounds familiar, right Jiro?]

“You think I’m going to learn about the situation in such detail? I cut off the story right when that old lady started talking about history, such as ancient seals and land veins, and omitted what I needed to hear.” (Kirika)

“You didn’t do that, please, you didn’t.” (Jiro)

　I feel like sighing and wondering what kind of attitude I should have when my own mother has come to rely on me, but I think it’s too late now.

　When I lament that that’s what’s important, my mother on the other end of the phone laughs, and I feel a little uneasy.

　Ever since I started working in this job, I have learned the importance of information.

“Well, no matter how much you complain, nothing will start. If you are a man, please live up to your mother’s expectations. Then I’ll gie permission to the third one too.” (Kirika)

“Did I tell you?” (Jiro)

“Just a hunch. How many years do you think I’ve been your mother? You won’t be hiding anything for another 30 years.” (Kirika)

“Mother you are human, right?” (Jiro)

“If I’m not human, you won’t be human either, right? ” (Kirika)

“Mother is a human.” (Jiro)

　That’s why I have to do something about this reckless mother, but with things like this being said, my sermon probably has no meaning at the level of Buddha’s sermon.

　What’s more, she even knows about Himiku, who I haven’t introduced yet.

　I have no luck.

“By the way, my hunch is that there will be two or three more.” (Kirika)

“Stop it, it’s not funny.” (Jiro)

“Hahahahahaha! Don’t be embarrassed, no need at all. The fact that my son is popular is proof that I raised you well! Don’t worry, I’ll praise you lots!” (Kirika)

　And there is no point in continuing to talk to a mother like this.

　I let out a sigh and started talking.

“*Sigh*, so? What should I do?” (Jiro)

　I asked, smiling at the fact that she wouldn’t give me the option of not helping out, and that she had somehow gotten involved.

“Well, you just have to take that bomber down. Easy peasy.” (Kirika)

　I was forced to stifle a sigh at my own mother’s standard of easy.

Note for the Day

Do what you can.

While finding what you can do.

T/N: Mrs. Kirika gave her prediction. So, who are the three possible waifus? I feel like Evia and Ina are potential candidates.

If he gets another waifu, I hope he stubs his toe at least once a day, for as long as he lives. …I am not jealous, that I am not!