Saikyou Series Volume 2 S1chapter 2

Jinrui Saikyou no Jun'ai – Nisioisin
p. 11-15

Well, I’ve gotten busy again. Not quite enough to say I’m in vogue, or that I’m working nonstop, but I’ve been receiving so many commissions lately that I can talk about the time when I was cut off from work as if it were a fond memory. Nah, it’s a bit much to call being shunned by the whole world a fond memory, but in any case, it was definitely an extraordinary experience. A lot happened after that; I very nearly got banished from Earth in the guise of contract work. Too much happened, enough to make me do some rare self-reflection about whatever the heck I did to become so disliked. Well, I might do self-reflection, but I don’t do self-restraint; isn’t that one of my charm points? But they say gossip only lasts 75 days, and when all the commotion had died down, some real work, the time when I can feel my life’s purpose, started coming back to me. That said, though; I know it’s odd—or rather, I know it’s selfish—but the busier I get, the more I think it’d be nice if I had a bit more free time.

“I wonder about that, my dear friend. One could say that the world is more stable when you’re busy.”

That’s how the great thief Kouta Is.h.i.+maru appraised my current situation, when we met on the job (as enemies). Are you one of my critics? No, you’re just having a laugh at me, aren’t you. Even so—well, if I can maintain world peace by working hard, then it would be my honor.

“No, that is not what I meant, my dear friend. If you aren’t working, then aliens start arriving, and G.o.d himself becomes desperate to keep you occupied. You really ought to have something to do, regardless of what it might be. It seems G.o.d is aware of how unpredictable you are when bored.”

G.o.d? Hmph. That’s not like you. If a wonderful guy like him exists, then people like you and me would never have been born in the first place.

“G.o.ds are not omnipotent, after all. Surely he feels responsible for producing a failed creation like you, and has devised various measures to keep you fenced in. So you won’t destroy the world in a fit of boredom.”

That is the purpose for which you were originally created.

Said Kouta, as if I were some kind of ultimate weapon. Well, I can’t argue with that point. But if you say I’m a failed creation of my fathers’, and a failed creation of G.o.d’s… I think a ladylike phantom thief liable to steal the halo off of G.o.d himself would be more of a failed product, one created on a whim, than me.

“Hmm. Still, that is quite perfect. Failure and success are just different perspectives, after all—either way, if the business is thriving then all is well. While you gaily toil away, my dear friend, I simply sneak around taking your leftovers.”

The leftover she was stealing was a bronze statue valued at several hundred million dollars—though, for a bronze statue, it was as big as a building. What part of that is “simple”? Is she some kind of magician? Even I couldn’t do that. …Anyway, I don’t know how serious Kouta was being (in the first place, it’s rather doubtful whether that ill-natured, slippery woman is ever really “serious”), but if world peace is brought about by me being swamped, then my work starts seeming more and more meaningful. I took any sort of job I could get my hands on, big jobs and small jobs, from mediating wars to looking for lost kittens. And then, one day…

“You Jun Aikawa?”

During one of the teensy bits of free time I had between jobs, someone called out to me—with a voice precise enough to pa.s.s through the eye of a needle, but still rough.

“You’re so red, I could tell from five kilometers away.”

Liar. No way you could tell from five kilometers away; I’m not luminescent. I wanted to give that as a retort, but I held back. Why? Because I was happy—happy at the respect the guy was showing me. As if to snarl, he was glaring at me through glittering sanpaku eyes that looked like they might really be gazing from five kilometers away. His hair was garishly spiked, as if prodding the heavens themselves; it seemed to be a vivid a.n.a.logy for an aggressive personality.

“What are you grinning for? Something funny?”

He looked puzzled, so I apologized. Sorry, sorry, I just got a little happy; I couldn’t help it. I mean, work has gone back to normal, but it’s been a while since a character appeared who knew who I was and still was this hostile.

“You trying to say I’m young?”

Well, actually, I’d say he’s very young. With the exception of the sanpaku eyes, nothing about his appearance suggests he’s anything but a young teenager; there’s no doubt he’s a youngster. One of those kids from the generation that knows nothing of the Great War, where I started being called “Overkill Red”. These generations are advancing smoothly, aren’t they… So, what do you want to do? Gonna fight right here?

“If I didn’t want to change location, I’d have attacked you from the back without saying anything. I waited for you to be done working.”

Hmph. That’s pretty stalker-ish. I didn’t sense him watching me while I was working, though… Doesn’t seem like concealing his presence is a specialty of his, but does this mean he’s a pro player? Which family are you from?

“I’m me. Just me. I’m not from the Killing Names or the Cursing Names, or the Kunagisa Organization, or the Four G.o.ds and One Mirror—just a private citizen. Same as you and Kouta Is.h.i.+maru.”(1)

Oh, he knows about Kouta too? Really? So there are youngsters like that around. He’s got some backbone in him, for a youth these days—even if saying that makes me seem all the more grown-up. And it’s my nature to want to smash that backbone of his to pieces (I really haven’t grown up). All right, fine. Escort me to wherever it is you want to go. Ah, before we go, can I ask your name? Even if there’s no one to tend to it, a gravestone needs a name, right?

“Matsuri s.h.i.+megiwa. Seventeen years old.”

Young, aren’t you. And that’s a good name too.

Footnotes:
(1) In the Zaregoto-Saikyou-Ningen universe, there are four “layers” of society.
Those not born into special power are the “outer” layer, which is where most people are, including Ii-chan, Jun, Kouta, most of ER3, etc.
The “economic” layer consists of five large business conglomerate families (zaibatsu), together called “Four G.o.ds and One Mirror” after the characters in their family names. Iria Akagami is an exiled “princess” of one of these zaibatsu.
The “political” layer also consists of several zaibatsu, all of which are under the control of the Kunagisa Organization. Tomo Kunagisa is of course a member of the Kunagisa family that operates the organization, and her older brother Nao is its leader.
The “violence” layer is made up of a large number of a.s.sa.s.sin clans and their branch families, who generally work as mercenaries and boast near-supernatural powers. The “Killing Names” clans kill people up front—though the Zerozaki clan is an exception, as they mostly kill for sport—while the “Cursing Names” clans kill more indirectly, through deception and poison and such. Hitos.h.i.+ki Zerozaki and the Niounomiya siblings are members of Killing Names clans.