Pathway to Japanese Literature

1

Under the sun, the Earth was in twilight.

In his country directly beneath that twilight zone, the solemn Eighteen o’clock time signal began to shake the hearts of a million residents.

“Ah, it’s Eighteen o’clock.”

“It’s time for the Eighteen o’clock Music Bath.”
“Now, everyone—hurry to your seats without delay!”

In the Alicia District, only three remained: Dr. Kohaku, male student Pen, and female student Bara.
Before hearing the time signal, the three opened the door and rushed out into the blue corridor.

In that blue corridor, seats made by bending thick silver-glowing metal pipes into spiral shapes were lined up far into the distance.

The three sprang onto their respective seats—each marked with their names—with brisk hops.
As if triggered by this movement, three yellow circular windows opened in the ceiling, from which a shower of yellow wind cascaded down onto their heads.
It was a refreshing wind shower.

The three waited in silence for the Music Bath to begin.

Dr. Kohaku was a middle-aged man—his jet-black long hair combed back as if smoothed by hand, clad in equally jet-black clothing. His frame was slender and streamlined, his stature leaning toward the taller side. He possessed refined features, and beneath his somewhat pallid skin, a passion seemed to simmer quietly yet vigorously beneath—as if bubbles were rising. Dr. Kohaku settled deeply into his spiral chair, rested his elbows on his knees, and appeared deep in thought. Occasionally, within his eye sockets, his thick eyelids twitched heavily. Beneath them, his eyeballs appeared tormentedly writhing.

Male Student Pen was young, just like Female Student Bara.
Pen slowly and stealthily stretched his hand toward Bara, who was sitting next to him, and touched her plump buttocks without her noticing.

Slap!

It was Female Student Bara’s silent reprimand.

The back of Pen’s hand swelled red.
Yet Pen’s hand pleaded and tempted.

Bara’s hand whispered against the back of Pen’s hand.

“Just wait two more hours.”

And yet, Pen’s hand persisted in its plaintive plea.

"I might be gone before two hours pass."
"So you—at least now…"
"Shh! The alert signal’s gone off."

The loudspeaker began bellowing toward the corridor.
“In the neighboring Arishiro District, they’re one person short!” came the warning.

The three turned their heads to the right in unison from their seats and looked toward Arishiro District.
The moment the door opened, a man came flying out from inside.
And in a state of utter fluster, he leapt onto his seat like a frog.

“Oh, that’s Paul for you. Ah ha ha!”

Pen laughed.

“That defective battery was surely dissecting himself again.”
“What a repulsive man.”

Bara spat with a scornful puff.

At that moment, the entire corridor was dyed in purple light rays.

Dr. Kohaku abruptly raised his head.

And turning toward the two students,

“Now then, Music Bath.
Raise both hands—”

Dr. Kohaku gave the instruction.

When the three raised their six hands high, a faint moaning-like music could be heard from underground.

“Tch! Damnable No. 39—you soul-stealing bastard!”

Pen cursed obscenely within his heart.

National Music No. 39 transmitted through the spiral chairs, gradually intensifying.
Dr.Kohaku stared fixedly into space.
Female Student Bara kept her eyes closed, lips twitching spasmodically.
Male Student Pen ground his teeth with a grating crunch while greasy sweat trickled down his forehead.

The National Music grew increasingly violent, searing through the residents’ brains like scalding water.
Throughout the purple-drenched corridor, beast-like groans erupted sporadically as the walls reverberated sharply like cannon-struck metal.

Purple inferno!

Carrying the residents' oily sweat and moans, the Music Bath pressed onward.
And thirty minutes passed.
The purple light rays gradually faded until eventually, from the yellow circular window as at the beginning, a refreshing wind showered over the people’s heads.

It was the conclusion of the Music Bath.

The residents atop the spiral chairs looked up at the ceiling as if waking from a nightmare, then gazed around at their neighbors.

“Ugh, the Music Bath’s over.”
“Come on, get down quickly.”
“At the factory, mountains of fibers are waiting for us!”

“Hmm, I need to make up for yesterday’s missed quota today.”

The residents jumped down from the spiral chairs with explosive vigor.

Pen and Bara followed behind Dr. Kohaku—who was as lively as if he were a different person—and returned to Alicia District with energetic strides.

2

A phone call came from Aroa District.

Dr. Kohaku went to the telephone and pressed the button.
No sooner had ripples formed on the mirror-like surface than a face buried within President Milki’s beard emerged.

“Your Excellency Milki. Long live the Milki Nation!”

Dr. Kohaku gave his greetings.

"Oh Doctor, I'd like to have a brief private discussion."

Milki moved his beard and spoke.

Understanding, Dr. Kohaku turned around and ordered both Pen and Bara to go to the adjacent workshop.

The two gathered up the documents they had spread out on the desk in their arms and, as if fleeing, pushed open the door to the adjacent room and exited.

“There is no one else remaining in the room now, but what precisely is the matter you wish to discuss?”

“Ah, well—it’s nothing in particular, but I wish to express my respect to you, Doctor.”
“Thanks to the Doctor’s formidable Music Bath, our nation is kept in perfect order.”
“When they complete the Music Bath, every last one of them becomes as though reborn.”
“Each and every one comes to burn with the same national ideology and apply themselves to their duties with the same zeal.”
“They all bend to our will.”
“It’s exactly like they’ve become machine-like humans.”
“Even the most vicious criminals transform into model citizens after thirty minutes of Music Bath.”
“They all possess impeccable health.”
“Having such splendid residents is also thanks to you, Doctor.”
“I express my deepest respect...”

“Your Excellency, please state your business clearly.”

“Hmm,” Milki’s beard quivered.
“Then I shall speak plainly: regarding those artificial humans you’re currently researching—I think it would be better to discontinue that project.”

“Are you ordering me to discontinue the artificial human research?”
“And why would that be?”

“What I mean is—through the 6 PM Music Baths—haven’t all residents acquired ironclad ideology and ironclad health?”
“They are ideal humans.”
“Then why persist in creating artificial humans?”
“The research consumes half our national treasury.”
“What justification exists for such expenditure?”
“I maintain that with the Music Bath system, artificial humans become superfluous.”
“Doctor—your response?”

“I understand what Your Excellency is saying.”
“Allow me some time to consider this.”

“Please do so—oh, I had forgotten.”
“My wife says she wishes to see you.”
“Could you come tonight for a brief visit?”

“Understood.”
“I will come at 8 PM tonight.”

In the adjacent workshop, Pen and Bara were diligently continuing their calculations.
The two were so engrossed in their work that they didn’t notice each other.
Even there, the Music Bath’s efficacy proved remarkable.
In this nation, the hour following the Music Bath held utmost value.
All critical tasks were accomplished with superhuman capability within this brief span.
National defense shields, nutritional provisions, and composite bacteria—all underwent refinement or redesign during this period.
Once this time elapsed, they would perform labor requiring no creativity, or else play or sleep.
The 6 PM Music Bath transformed every resident into a temporary genius while subjugating the remaining twenty-three hours to wholesome national ideology.
The Music Bath’s essence lay in generating vibrational music from the central sound facility that permeated the underground—transmitted via spiral chairs into human cerebrums to massage brain cells and forge uniform yet superior standard humans.
Currently employed was National Music No.39—a composition Dr.Kohaku had exhaustively refined under President Milki’s directives—music engineered to produce so-called Type39 Standard Humans.
The Type39 model represented citizens molded to fulfill thirty-nine presidential decrees regarding ideal national conduct.

We shall refrain from enumerating all thirty-nine clauses here, but among these provisions were particularly stringent conditions established by President Milki such as: Article 1—Loyalty to the President; Article 2—Possession of an indomitable spirit; Article 3—Abstention from alcoholic beverages; Article 4—Prohibition of smoking; Article 5—Maintenance of health through four hours of sleep; Article 6—Recognition that any man with a beard must be the President; and so forth.

When Dr.Kohaku completed this system, President Milki became ecstatic with delight.
Having tested it on the nation's most heinous criminal as an experimental subject and succeeded in instantly transforming them into an ideal human exactly as desired, it was no wonder Milki nearly collapsed from astonishment.
Thereupon President Milki ordered this successful Music Bath to be broadcast nonstop through radio for twenty-four hours to citizens, but this plan was abandoned due to Dr.Kohaku's opposition.
This was because the Music Bath abnormally stimulated brain cells—prolonged exposure would destroy them and cause sudden death in humans.
Thus it came to be limited to thirty minutes daily under current ordinances, following the Doctor's recommendations.
Yet President Milki had been contemplating that given any opportunity, he would implement longer durations to completely strip away the citizens' souls.
Earlier he had offered greetings like "How splendid that complete humans have been achieved," but these were mere empty flattery.
In truth, citizens neither maintained perfect tension for twenty-four hours as the President hoped nor lived free from complaints and dissatisfaction.

3

It was past nineteen o'clock.

Nineteen o'clock—in old timekeeping, this would correspond to 7 PM—but in this buried underground nation, there was neither dawn nor dusk, only perpetual life beneath artificial light.
The sun cast listless rays upon the surface that served as the roof of their country.
Not a single butterfly flew across the surface.
Due to frequent wars, the surface had been ravaged by bacteria and poison gas, presenting a desolate landscape where not even a single blade of grass grew—let alone any living creatures.
Only the surviving humans, along with a few livestock and parasites, burrowed underground and perpetuated their species.

It was past nineteen o'clock, as mentioned earlier.
In a private room in the Alicia District, Male Student Pen and Shoe Worker Paul from Arishiro were engrossed in conversation while licking honey from a jar.

“Hey now, this is completely absurd!”

Paul said while making an exaggerated gesture to urge Pen on.

“Yeah,” Pen had a slightly perplexed expression.

“It’s not just ‘yeah,’ Mr. Pen.
“Our freedom is being restricted and our individuality ignored.
“By nature, we humans want to smoke cigarettes too.
“And we want to drink alcohol too.
“That bastard His Excellency won’t let us smoke or drink! Where’s the meaning of life in this?”

“Hey, I’m asking you, don’t raise your voice like that.”
“If someone overhears us, that won’t end well.”

“Look, if someone heard this, they’d surely think it’s perfectly reasonable. Anyone who doesn’t think this is reasonable is just some poor fool still getting duped by that No. 39 music.”

“Speaking of which, Paul. It seems Your Excellency Milki’s prized Music Bath isn’t working well on you, huh?”

“Hmm.”
“Of course that’s right,” Paul declared, throwing back his shoulders proudly.
“This is a huge secret, but go ahead and touch my butt.”

Pen did as told, eyes gleaming with curiosity as he touched Paul’s buttocks over the trousers.
There his hand met something rough-textured like a woven bamboo basket.

“What the— What is this? What’ve you got stuffed in here?”

“Heh heh heh. Get it now?”
“This here’s a vibration dampener I spent a whole year compressing fibers to make.”
“You know how that Music Bath crap barely comes through your ears—nearly all of it rides up from the corridor’s spiral chairs into your body.”
“So long as you’ve got this dampener planted on your ass, it blocks a solid chunk of No.39’s vibrations coming through those chairs.”
“That’s why I don’t get zonked out on that man-eating music!”

“Hmm... I see. But that’s an awful thing to do. What’ll you do if that gets found out?”

“If it gets found out, I’ll think Mr. Pen blabbed. Listen. Otherwise there’d be no way for them to know. I’m really good at moaning like I’ve been hit by that man-eating music. Greasy sweat comes pouring out too. You probably don’t know this, but there are hidden microphones on the front of the seats. That’s why our groans get transmitted straight to the Prime Ministry’s Surveillance Office.” Shoe Worker Paul’s groaning was clearly visible on the self-recording device. If someone forgot to groan, the alarm would sound. “I don’t make stupid mistakes like that.”

Pen looked increasingly dumbfounded.

There was a man among his close friends who smugly deceived His Excellency Milki—a man with sharp eyes and a keen nose.
Behind excessively strong politics lay an excessively strong reaction.
Pen thought it wasn’t just Paul’s sin.
And when talking with Paul, he even felt the anesthesia of the Music Bath gradually seeping away.
He thought that he too, like Paul, was one who blasphemed against His Excellency Milki.

“Hey Paul.
“Come to think of it, you should be careful with Bara.
“That woman’s been scorning you, calling you a defective battery.
“If Bara finds out this secret, it’ll be a disaster.”

“Isn’t Bara your wife? If you’d just act responsibly, there’d be no risk of it getting found out.”

“Nah, Bara’s a woman sharp as any man. She’s beyond my control.”

“What’s this, Mr. Pen? Don’t spinelessly whine when you’re the husband.”

“Well, I’m thinking of quitting being a husband. Being stuck with a woman like that just makes the world feel even more dreary.”

“Well, are you serious about that? If you split up, you’ll have to find another wife—but do you already have someone in mind?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I guess there’s no such thing as a kind and compatible woman. Hey Paul. I wish you were my girlfriend instead of my guy friend.”

“What do you mean ‘girlfriend’?” Paul opened his mouth into a circle and blinked his eyes rapidly. “Mr.Pen, do you really think so?”

“You’re really asking if I mean it?”
“Of course I do.”
“Why’d you ask that?”

Paul wordlessly grasped Mr. Pen’s hand and pulled him along.
And pulled him into the shadow of the folding screen standing in the corner of the room.

There was a rustling sound of clothes rubbing together.
Paul’s jacket was draped over the folding screen with a dry rustle.
Then, with a clatter, a leather item hung down.

At that moment, Pen’s astonished voice could be heard from inside.
Overcoming Paul’s restraining voice, Pen shouted loudly.

“—Ah, so this is it.”
“So those rumors about you dissecting your own body were true.”
“What the—this is major surgery!”
“I suddenly became disgusted with you!”

4

As promised, it was exactly 8 PM.

At the entrance of Aroaa District stood a single human figure.
He was a tall and slim man.

The nameplate read "Mrs.Milki".

The door slid downward without a sound.

Inside were walls covered in pure white damask.
From them emerged a beautiful woman as though sculpted in relief.
From her chin downward clung a form-fitting garment of pure white silk—or rather, the latest fashion resembling a full-body suit reaching wrists and ankles—over which she trailed a wide gown of paper-thin flexible glass that shone with crystalline transparency.

“Oh, Dr.Kohaku! You’ve come!”

At the sound of Mrs.Milki’s voice—like the ringing of a silver bell—the man reverently knelt before her.

“I pledge my loyalty to you, Mrs.Milki.”

Mrs.Milki chuckled softly and guided the doctor to a back room.
It was a salon adorned with gold and red latticework, decorated to dazzling excess from ceiling to floor alike.
In the center of the room stood a large glass table, upon which luxurious crystal vessels were crammed in tight formation.
A lavish dinner had been prepared.
Mrs.Milki ushered the doctor to the chair facing her.

In the center of the large glass table stood a somewhat elevated shelf-like structure.
When Mrs.Milki pressed the button, an elevator-style transport device inside the shelf began moving with an up-and-down reciprocating motion.
From beneath the table, old wine and fine dishes quietly rose and were mechanically carried before the mistress and Dr.Kohaku.
The used dishes naturally descended beneath the table and vanished from sight.
When Mrs.Milki raised her 1937 vintage wine glass, Dr.Kohaku raised his glass as well, as if in counteraction.
When Mrs.Milki picked up a bee larva and brought it to her mouth, Dr.Kohaku followed suit.
And in those intermittent pauses, conversation was exchanged.

“Doctor.
“The Music Bath of your design is producing splendid effects.
“Your Excellency Milki is also exceptionally delighted.
“I too do not hesitate to express my respect.”

Dr.Kohaku silently lowered his head.

“However, Doctor,” Mrs.Milki set down her wine glass, “while the Music Bath’s achievements are significant, I cannot help but be concerned that it simultaneously brings about great evils.”

Dr.Kohaku kept his body rigid and moved only his mouth,

“Evil?”

“Because it rebels against humanity.”
“National Music No.39 consists solely of rulers’ arbitrary control conditions.”
“It was modified purely for maximum convenience in manipulating humans, with no consideration given to whether such modifications could be reasonably imposed upon living people.”
“In truth, thanks to that Music Bath, citizens have become unrecognizably superior in physique, vitality, and conduct.”
“Yet discarding humanity has simultaneously caused toxins to accumulate within citizens’ bodies.”
“This accumulation continues day and night, and will soon reach its breaking point.”
“I believe some citizens already recognize this toxin buildup.”

“Even if there is an accumulation of toxins, does not the daily six o’clock Music Bath resolve it?”

“It only appears resolved.”
“It may truly resolve them temporarily.”
“Yet it does not resolve them completely.”
“Anesthesia remains anesthesia however far administered.”
“A sage like yourself cannot possibly be unaware of this.”

“Mrs.Milki.”
“I have sworn loyalty to Your Excellency and am but a scholar who operates solely according to His commands.”

“Silence, if you please.
“You may claim to be merely a scientist who invented the Music Bath and Artificial Humans, but how could you possibly be just a scientist?
“You are not merely a scientist—you are a politician several degrees superior.
"You are such a great man that Your Excellency Milki cannot even approach your stature."

"I humbly feel your words go too far."
"I am nothing more than a single citizen who pledges loyalty."
"I am but a human who can at most act faithfully according to your commands."

“How could such a thing be possible? How much better it might be for you to rule this country than for Milki to do so. If you were to become ruler, I myself would become a hundred times happier than I am now. Doctor, turn this way and look into my eyes. Please look at my trembling lips. In this world, there exists no man to whom I should dedicate my soul and body other than you. Now, please embrace me. Command me. I will do anything for you. If I—Milki’s foremost beauty—were to merely part my lips and speak a single word before our citizens... My true reverence and love are for Dr.Kohaku—if I were to say,‘Everyone, pledge loyalty to Dr.Kohaku,’a million citizens would undoubtedly comply at once.Now,let us build an even better nation through this! Let us build a new nation that thoroughly develops human desires—love,sexual desire,preferences,and all! Now,hurry and embrace me.”

Mrs. Milki undulated her supple reptilian-like body and rose from the chair.
Then she flung her entire form onto Dr.Kohaku's lap.

5

“Well, aren’t you going to do something?”

With that, Mrs.Milki—perched on Dr.Kohaku’s lap—let out a startled cry.

Dr.Kohaku offered no response whatsoever, continuing to stare fixedly ahead.

“But your body is cold as a corpse’s.”
“My own has grown icy—as though laid upon ice.”
“How utterly grotesque.”
“You are truly alive, are you not?”

Dr. Kohaku chuckled dryly.
“I may seem alive, yet also seem dead.”

“Wh-what?! Say that again!”

And it was at that very moment that Mrs. Milki clung to Dr. Kohaku’s chest.

The entrance door burst open violently, and someone came clattering into the salon.
One was Your Excellency Milki; the other was the wire-haired female minister, Minister Asari.

Mrs.Milki leapt from Dr.Kohaku’s lap quicker than one could see.
Your Excellency Milki bared his large eyes from within his beard and raised his iron-like fists while,

“What a splendid scene I’ve been treated to.”
"The law prohibits romantic interactions between the President’s wife and commoners—I never thought I’d live to witness such a spectacle."
“Whether you knew it or not, this blasphemous display has been broadcasting nationwide on television since earlier.”
“Not only We are aware—the entire nation knows.”
“Given that, I trust you’re both fully prepared for the consequences.”

he pressed Dr. Kohaku.

Dr. Kohaku remained coldly composed even so.

"If it had been broadcast nationwide on television, then the words I spoke in this room should have been understood."
"That should prove my innocence."

Then from behind, Minister Asari thrust forth her resentful, reddish face,

“Doctor, this is truly regrettable indeed—but in the television broadcast, only your actions were visible. The audio had cut out entirely, and the loudspeakers didn’t make a single sound.”
“Therefore, not a single citizen knows what you said.”

“What?! To broadcast only our actions and not our voices—how can such an absurdity be permitted?!”
“Not to contradict Your Excellency’s words, but according to the ordinances, television broadcasts must always be accompanied by radio.”

Dr. Kohaku broke his long silence and suddenly began speaking eloquently.

“Ha! Ha! Ha!” Minister Asari laughed derisively. “The ordinances are issued by Your Excellency.”
“If we assume that Your Excellency today issued an amended ordinance stating that television and radio do not necessarily require simultaneous broadcasting, then the Doctor’s protest becomes meaningless, does it not?”
“And I have the honor to humbly state that today, such an amended ordinance has indeed been issued.”
“Therefore, broadcasting only television does not constitute a violation...”

“That is an unforgivable deception.”
“This is a malicious scheme deliberately crafted to misrepresent our relationship.”
“This is baseless slander.”
“What reason exists for this deception?”
“Explain this deception.”

Dr. Kohaku spat fiery words from his upright body.

The bearded Excellency visibly paled.
However, at this moment, he issued a command in a voice trembling violently.

“Debate is futile.”
“Minister Asari, execute the two of them as We initially ordered.”
“That!”

Your Excellency Milki no sooner spat those words than he rushed outside with Minister Asari in tow and slammed the door shut.

Up until this moment, the beautiful Mrs. Milki, who had been leaning against the wall observing, was so shocked by this turn of events that she attempted to rush out of the room alongside them.
However, the door didn't budge even slightly, as though it were a wall of iron.

"Oh, please open it!
What are you going to do with me?
Your Excellency, this contradicts our agreement!"

Mrs. Milki pounded on the door like a madwoman.
She kept pressing the open-close button switch, but the closed door showed no sign of moving again.

At that moment, from somewhere within the room came a hissing sound, like steam escaping from a pipe.

Mrs. Milki was the first to notice it.
Her crimson-painted, supple fingers constricted her own rounded throat.

“Ahh, poison gas!”
“Why are you killing even me?”
“Ughh—open this—open it, please!”

The ash-white poison gas hissed with a low sound, crept across the floor, swirled like mist, and gradually rose higher and higher.
The area around Mrs.Milki's throat rapidly turned a deep crimson.
Her five slender fingers were also turning red.
And those red droplets scattered onto the white satin of her chest.
Mrs.Milki, with a pallid face, had her entire body heaving like bellows from her ragged breathing.

Dr.Kohaku stood in the ash-white poison gas as if he were a statue.
Mrs.Milki's suffering form appeared not to register in his eyes.
He also appeared to be deep in thought about something.

However, he suddenly began to walk.
He started darting around the room like a squirrel.
And he seemed to be intently examining every surface of the surrounding walls.

This scene inside the room could be viewed from outside through television receivers with crystal clarity.
By one wall, Mrs. Milki twisted in agony.
Dr. Kohaku kept running circles like a madman.

Your Excellency Milki and Minister Asari Madam were peering fixedly at the television receiver.
The pair maintained an abnormal fascination with how the situation in his room kept transforming.

However, the two of them soon realized the danger to their eyes.
Dr. Kohaku's face filled the television receiver's screen.
He had finally discovered the transmission camera's lens.
Sure enough, in the next instant—as Dr. Kohaku swung a chair high above his head—the screen flashed like a mirror before the image vanished with a heavy thud.

The two of them took turns standing before the receiver and turning its dial, but no shadow reappeared on the screen.
The television apparatus monitoring the room's interior had been completely destroyed.

Your Excellency Milki and wire-haired Minister Asari Madam exchanged glances.

“The feed’s gone.”
“What am I to do?”

“It’s no longer visible, and that’s just as well.”
“Since it’s already evident they’ll both perish, you see.”

“They’ll certainly die, won’t they, Madam Asari?”

“There will be no issues.”

As they exchanged these words, a thunderous explosion resounded from Mrs. Milki’s chamber.

“Ah!” Your Excellency Milki cried, clamping hands over his ears. “What in blazes caused that commotion?”

“Your Excellency, let us go and see quickly.”
“Dr. Kohaku may have broken through the door to escape.”

But the door was shut tight, just as before.
After conferring, the two decided to try opening it.
The electrician on duty immediately supplied power, so the door slid smoothly downward as before when the button was pressed.

The two rushed into the room.
It appeared a great explosion had occurred—all traces of those lavish decorations had vanished, leaving devastation so severe one would want to look away.
They saw scattered arms and legs of a man and woman lying on the floor.
As Minister Asari tried to retrieve them—the moment she took a step into the room—the floor erupted into a sea of flames with a booming roar, as if it had been waiting.
Even Madam Asari—the courageous stateswoman renowned for her bravery—found herself at a complete loss, frozen in place with no strategy left to employ.
The scattered limbs remaining on the floor were also completely engulfed by the flames.

Thus Mrs.Milki and Dr.Kohaku were seen to have been reduced to smoke in Aroaa District.
However where the source of the explosion had been remained unknown.
If pressed to consider it could only be thought that Dr.Kohaku had brought it in.
But why Dr.Kohaku had brought explosives and chosen to blow himself up—this aspect of the matter remained utterly incomprehensible to Your Excellency Milki.

6

The ones who never even dreamed such a thing had happened to Dr. Kohaku were the male student Pen and the female student Bara.

The two were in Bara’s private room, constantly engaging in mischievous antics.
However, before long, their excitement vanished without a trace like fog scattered by a gale.
And then they found themselves sighing separately in listless weariness.

They separately wondered what was so unfulfilling.

“Lately, you’ve been far too cold.”

Pen said to Bara.

“But that’s mutual, so there’s nothing to be done about it.”

Bara said while stroking the rubbing doll by her pillow.
The rubbing doll was a popular toy that provided tactile pleasure through friction.
It was something that the citizens, prohibited by ordinance from the pleasure of smoking, had recently discovered as a substitute enjoyable habit.

“Haven’t you come to dislike me lately?”

“Hmm—who can say.”
“Anyway—I’ve been unbearably irritable lately.”
I can’t exactly pinpoint where or how—lately—it feels like this indigestible residue keeps accumulating inside my body day after day—and there’s nothing I can do about it.
“I can’t help feeling mental uremia will set in any moment now.”

“When you say that, I can’t say I don’t feel somewhat the same way—but ultimately, you’ve grown sick of me and must have found someone else to yearn for.”

“Oh, that’s a lie. It’s not just you I’ve grown sick of—perhaps I’ve come to loathe all of humanity itself.”

“If you come to hate all of humanity, that’s the end.”
“I’m not like that.”
“It’s not like there isn’t someone I loathe most.”
“I just told Paul, ‘I’ve come to despise you.’”
“That guy’s a repulsive creep.”
“It turned out just like you said.”

“What do you mean by ‘as I said’?”

“See? You said Paul’s been dissecting himself, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, that thing.”

“That’s right. Paul’s performing surgery on his own body himself.”
“It’s appalling.”
“Just between us—that guy’s trying to change his sex.”

“What? Change his sex?”
“Oh! Then—tell me everything!”

“Even if you ask me to explain, isn’t it already clear? That guy’s using surgery to abandon his male identity and become a woman.”

“What?! Is that even possible?”

“Even if you ask whether it’s possible—it’s practically already done. I’m completely sick of this.” “It’s the disastrous outcome of ultra-shortwave surgical methods advancing—letting people perform arbitrary surgeries on human bodies as easily as sculpting.”

“In a world where even artificial humans can be created, such things become possible.”
"But for a living human to change their own sex—this is a wonderful resolution."
“What a brilliant conception.”

Bara suddenly sat up from her bed, her face showing intense excitement, and thumped her flat chest with her thick arms.

“Disgusting.”
“Why are you making such a fuss?”

Pen frowned and exclaimed.

“Why, that’s a marvelous thing.”
“Well done, Paul.”
“That person was too good to be just a shoe worker.”
Now that you mention it, she had sensed something like this before.
That was the only escape route for us oppressed humans.
No—it was rebellion against this political system.
That soul-congealing Music Bath at 6 PM, the smoking bans, the alcohol prohibitions—what freedom remained for us?

We are guaranteed eternal life and youth through advancements in medicine.
The only ways to die are through execution or particularly ingenious cases of suicide.
We don't have to bear children—except when there's a special government order...
When someone is executed, a woman selected by the government conceives an infant through surgical artificial insemination, enters the National Reproductive Hospital to give birth, and replenishes one human being—that's all that's needed.
The purpose of sexual desire being reproduction belonged to ancient times; in our modern age, we know nothing beyond sexual desire for its own sake.
Our Milki Nation has stripped away every human freedom and granted us only this new independence—the freedom of sexual desire.
But until now, we hadn't known how to fully enjoy that freedom.
Paul is brilliant.
He truly is Milki Nation's greatest hero.
He transformed sexual desire into sport and conceived the idea of escaping sexual constraints to liberate humanity into a new world of freedom.
I no longer need to remain an eternal woman.
I can become a man too.
"Pen, if I were to change from woman to man, would you still feel about me as you do now?"

Pen was dumbfounded, battered by Bara’s impassioned speech.
At that moment, he let out a sigh of relief and parted his trembling lips toward Bara.

“How terrifying.”
“You becoming a man…”
“This is the end of our relationship.”
“I keenly feel that the pain of living has now increased by one more thing.”

7

Due to an urgent call from Minister Asari, Male Student Pen and Female Student Bara had to abruptly leave the room.
That was because Minister Asari had received notice that she and His Excellency Milki would be visiting Alicia District in five minutes.

The two of them skillfully transferred between express conveyor routes and finally returned to Alicia District by the appointed time.
“Dr. Kohaku isn’t here—I wonder what happened.”

“Well, I wonder what happened. It’s strange that the Doctor isn’t here even though the time has come, isn’t it?”

The two of them immediately noticed Dr.Kohaku's absence.
Fearing His Excellency Milki's reprimand, they split up to call around and search every room, but Dr.Kohaku was nowhere to be found.

"You checked inside the lab cupboards and under the desks too, didn't you?"

Pen asked.

“Of course,”
“I did everything I could, but the Doctor is nowhere to be found.”
“They’re saying no one knows?”

“No one knows?”
“Who do you mean by ‘who’?”

“Ohoho, who do I mean? Everyone, of course.”

Bara—perhaps thinking something—softened her worried expression and smiled bashfully.

Before long, a commotion suggesting Minister Asari’s arrival could be heard outside.

Pen and Bara dashed toward the doorway.

“Ah—this is—”

“Why—Your Excellency—”

We had thought it was Minister Asari’s arrival, but in reality, she appeared as part of the retinue—and there, standing imposingly where none had expected, was His Excellency Milki.

Minister Asari barged into the room, disregarding Pen and Bara.
And turning away in a manner that made it unclear who she was addressing,

“Dr.Kohaku of Alicia District has been executed today due to a scandalous incident involving Mrs.Milki.”
“Therefore, the head position of Alicia District will be temporarily assumed by this Minister Asari.”
“Furthermore, Female Student Bara is hereby appointed temporary deputy director.”

“End of statement.”

Pen and Bara trembled as if struck by lightning—through Minister Asari’s words alone had they learned of Dr.Kohaku’s tragic end.

That Dr.Kohaku could have committed scandalous acts with Mrs.Milki was unthinkable. He had shut himself in his laboratory, devoting nearly every hour to work. Neither opportunity nor inclination for such disgrace could have existed for him. Yet a scandal there had been—what manner of depravity could it have been? Moreover, Dr.Kohaku was Milki Nation’s foremost—no, its paramount scientist. He had been the nation’s treasure. By His Excellency Milki’s decree, he had designed and constructed all cultural facilities. Executing this doctor equated to national suicide. Who would assume his work henceforth? What recklessness marked this death sentence! Among his projects, what would become of endeavors like the artificial human program—now midway through development with vast national funds expended? The two disciples suddenly felt the ground vanish beneath them, as though a chasm thousands of fathoms deep had opened.

“Now then, I hereby order Deputy Director Bara.”
“Inspect the entire Alicia District that belonged to Dr. Kohaku together with His Excellency.”
“Proceed with the tour immediately.”

Being called Deputy Director made Bara somewhat proud, but guiding through Alicia District was rather a nuisance for her.

But orders were orders.

Reluctantly, she began with the next workshop and guided His Excellency Milki’s entourage through each room.

The Alicia District was entirely on the same level.
And the number of rooms—both large and small combined—amounted to sixteen.
However, Dr.Kohaku was the only one who knew all sixteen rooms inside out; Bara knew nine rooms, and Pen merely six.
Residents of the same district were supposed to be permitted by ordinance to know every corner of the district, but Dr.Kohaku had broken that rule and restricted access to the laboratories in proportion to their duties.

The tour up to the Sixth Room concluded without incident.
There was no doubt things had changed, but not to such a shocking extent.
There, Bara turned back to the group and said, “From the Seventh Room onward lies primarily the secret research laboratories for artificial humans.
“From this point onward, things have changed a bit—please bear that in mind…”

She did not forget to add this caution.

Upon entering the Seventh Room, there indeed stood large-scale power-driven machinery lined up like a forest.
Everything consisted of atomic decomposition mechanisms using artificial cosmic rays—divided into twenty-four units, each distributing transformed voltage through numerous branch lines.
One wall presented a scene resembling knitted yarn viewed through a microscope, formed by these distribution conduits.
And everything being kept in a state as silent as the ocean floor made this room even more terrifying.

Upon entering the Eighth Room, they found themselves in a reference specimen room.
It was a place that could be called a museum of artificial humans, where every conceivable model conceived by human ingenuity since the 4th century BC had been displayed.
There were approximately seven hundred varieties on display: marionette-like contraptions, armored warrior-like figures, relay-type models controlled by radio waves, and forms covered with artificial flesh that had grown increasingly human-like.
These artificial human specimens, as though entering a hall of mirrors, directed uncanny expressions toward the ceiling, their eternally hardened shoulders intertwined shoulder to shoulder.

Pen rubbed his hands together and opened his eyes wide in excitement at the grotesqueness of the rooms he was seeing for the first time.

“This is the Ninth Room.”
“It will get a bit noisy.”

Bara said in a guide-like tone.

His Excellency Milki exchanged glances with Minister Asari and made a slightly uneasy expression, but soon the two of them stood before the doorway leading to the Ninth Room, puffing out their chests, stiffening their elbows, and forcing themselves to put on a bold front.

Bara, for some reason, was strangely hesitant to open the door even though she had said she would guide them.
Minister Asari had already noticed this and flew into her signature hysteria.

“Now then, hurry up and open the door.
If you keep dawdling, it won’t do you any good—I warn you!”

Minister Asari glared at Bara.

Even so, Bara fidgeted and hesitated while taking out a handkerchief and dabbing at the sweat on her forehead.
Pen became frightened as he watched this and withdrew from the doorway.

The female minister’s face gradually reddened.
The blood of fury welled up.

“You won’t open it, huh? If you won’t open it, I’ll open it and enter. But you better be prepared for punishment later.”

When Minister Asari tried to push the door open, Bara hurriedly leaped forward.

“Ah! It’s dangerous—please wait! If you open the door like that, it’ll explode!”

8

“Explosion!”
Upon hearing this, Minister Asari shuddered violently—she had recalled how an unexpected explosion tore their limbs apart when she tried to murder Dr. Kohaku in Mrs. Milki’s room.
“Very well,” Bara said, “there’s no alternative. I’ll activate the safety device first before opening it.”

Bara appeared resolute now, standing before the door without hesitation as she began rapidly spinning the three dials left and right.
Blue, red, and yellow pilot lamps flashed in succession.
Gradually, the door started sliding inward without a sound.
The group peered nervously through the widening gap at the room’s interior.

“This Ninth Room is where the Doctor keeps the prototypes.”
“Please do not tease the creatures inside too much.”

Under Bara's guidance, the group cautiously stepped into the room.

The moment they did, something startled them more abruptly than anything else.
Unexpectedly, a nude woman stood in the room and cast a sweeping glance over the group’s faces.

The nude woman appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen years old. She had a beautiful physique of pure white with a lustrous sheen, as if molded from solidified milk. What particularly drew the eye was her cherubic face. She was a beauty so rare that one could search the world and not find her equal. She somewhat resembled the Venus de Milo, though it might have been more accurate to say she approached an angelic likeness. Showing no trace of shyness about her completely nude form, she turned toward the group with a sweet smile.

“What a stunning beauty!”
His Excellency Milki shouted with unrestrained lecherous delight.
“What’s that woman’s name?”

“She has been given the name Annette.”

Bara replied in place of the girl.

“What? It’s called Annette? A rather good name—but I think it deserves a more fittingly gentle one.”

“But Your Excellency, you mustn’t misunderstand.
Annette is an artificial human.
Please take a good look at her body.”

“What did you say? Are you telling me to look at the body?”

His Excellency Milki widened his eyes like saucers and scrutinized Annette’s entire body.

“Oh, I see.”

When His Excellency’s gaze lowered downward, he involuntarily let out a stifled laugh. It was because he had discovered an incomplete part there in her human form.

“Now then—allow me to provide an explanation. The creatures kept in this room are all prototype organisms created by Dr. Kohaku. This piglet-like quadruped over here has a body and internal organs made from artificial meat, and has had a Shepherd’s brain transplanted into it. And over here is a monkey implanted with a human infant’s brain…”

Bara stood before the wire mesh and began explaining each specimen in turn.

It was a biological exhibit of utmost grotesqueness.
Not a single creature appeared normal.
There were also forms shaped like humans.
A human from the breasts up was submerged in a large glass vessel filled with yellow liquid.
He held a glass tube in his mouth with both hands, continuously sucking up purple liquid with slurping sounds.
Examining the liquid's source revealed a complex chemical apparatus whose endpoint connected to the vessel's yellow liquid.
This formed a circulatory motion where yellow liquid turned purple midway, passed through the upper-half human's body, then reverted to yellow.
Bara explained this was an experiment in novel nutrient absorption.

Even during Bara’s explanation, His Excellency Milki was fidgety, his attention frequently stolen by the artificial human Annette.
Minister Asari’s eyes clearly reflected this development, causing her to gradually grow pale until her entire body trembled violently.
Yet His Excellency Milki showed no sign of noticing such matters and finally broke away from the group, returning to where Annette stood.

“Beautiful Annette,”
“What are you doing in this room?”

Annette, like a mindless mute woman, simply kept beaming with a smile.

“Ah, Your Excellency!” Bara rushed over with a panicked expression.
“Annette is a prototype, so she won’t respond unless addressed with a special code, you see.”
“She doesn’t understand the Milki language.”

“What do you mean she doesn’t understand the Milki language?”
“That’s truly inconvenient.”

Though he had said that—whether it was what one might call vacant beauty—His Excellency found himself increasingly drawn to Annette’s loveliness.

At that moment, Minister Asari gnashed her teeth as if unable to contain herself, then quickly approached Annette.
Then, drawing the knife she had concealed within her robes with a glint, Minister Asari gripped it in a reverse hold and swung her arm to deliver a single thrust aimed at Annette’s heart—but at that critical moment, Bara, her face pale, threw herself bodily at the minister’s wrist with decisive force, narrowly averting disaster.
However, Minister Asari was in a frenzy.
Bara was also terribly agitated.

“Minister, what are you doing?”

“That’s none of your business.”
“By my authority, I will kill this artificial human.”
“Kindly wait before killing her.”

“What are you getting in the way for? It might be wrong to kill living humans, but why is killing Artificial Humans made of machinery wrong? This botched woman—just looking at her makes me sick to my stomach. I will kill Annette by my authority.”

“No, no! You mustn’t kill Annette. Annette has been working in this room taking care of the prototypes for many weeks since she was created. She has been conversing with us and has grown close to everyone. She is no different from a real human. Killing that… That’s—that’s going too far!”

Bara seized the hand of Minister Asari, who was gripping the knife, and resolutely refused to let go.

“Hey! You’re defying the Minister, huh? Fine! I can’t let this go on any longer!”

“But Minister Asari, won’t you please reconsider—and besides, if the doctor has died, then unless we properly care for the remaining artificial humans, no one else may ever be able to create them again. That would be the greatest loss for the Milki Nation.”

“How presumptuous of you to call it the greatest loss.”
“Ohoho, I see—you’re in love with this artificial human, aren’t you?”

“……”

As Minister Asari firmly seized Bara’s hair and attempted to yank her down in a fit of pique, His Excellency Milki—aghast at the sight—finally bellowed out a thunderous rebuke.

“Wait, Minister Asari.”
“In the name of Milki, we shall not permit any harm to come to this artificial human.”
“Artificial humans are valuable research assets for the nation.”
“We have paid eighty billion rucuru for this research—you must not kill her.”
“Put away the knife.”

“Your Excellency,” Minister Asari said, seizing Milki’s lapel, “I shall obey your command.”
“But now swear to me—”
“Please ensure that Your Excellency refrains from addressing this botched artificial human as you would a real person.”

“Hmm.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
“You know perfectly well I have no ulterior motives, don’t you?”

At these words, Minister Asari suddenly narrowed her eyes and bashfully flushed crimson.

In the corner of the room, Pen was grimacing all by himself.

"What the... This isn't amusing at all.
That Bara has gone and fallen in love with an artificial human, and the Minister was having an affair with Your Excellency Milki.
In that case, I didn't have to hold back either.
My friend Paul the shoe worker went and changed his body into a woman's form—he must've done that because he wanted to be with me.
Alright—I'll go settle this properly now."

9

It was the next morning.

Your Excellency Milki and Minister Asari were sharing breakfast together.
Minister Asari was wearing sleepwear, yet Your Excellency Milki was dressed in outdoor clothes.

“Your Excellency slipped out of bed late last night, didn’t you?”
“Trying to hide it won’t work.”
“Where on earth did you go?”

“N-no, it’s just that… well…”

“It’s no use trying to hide it, you know. My subordinates mentioned that they had spotted Your Excellency near Alicia District just a while ago.”

“Are you claiming they saw Us—this very Us—in Alicia District?”

Your Excellency Milki widened his eyes in shock.

"For what purpose did Your Excellency go to the trouble of leaving your bed late at night?"

"Our business? None in particular—you mustn't misunderstand."
"Didn't We just investigate Alicia District yesterday and confirm that?"

"What exactly have you found out, Your Excellency?"

"That is—that is to say..."
"Yes, We investigated Alicia District yesterday but could only inspect up to the Ninth Chamber."
"As for beyond the Tenth Chamber, if you try to force them open, they're set to explode—it's quite the predicament."
"However, not inspecting beyond the Tenth Chamber would leave unpleasant evidence that there exist areas within the Milki Nation where Our absolute authority does not hold sway."
"Since that was extremely regrettable, We went to investigate whether there might be some means to get inside."

“That’s quite a bold thing you’ve been doing lately.”
“And were you able to enter beyond the Tenth Chamber as Your Excellency desired?”

It was Minister Asari who sneered.

"No, it didn't work."

"You should have realized immediately that it wouldn't work—"
"And why did you remain in Alicia District until morning?"

"I was merely endeavoring to ascertain a method to open the door."

"Ah, is that so, Your Excellency?"
"I couldn't possibly fathom which door Your Excellency deigned to attempt opening."

Minister Asari turned toward the blue parrot perched on the golden roost nearby and extended a morsel of crimson meat skewered on her fork's tine.

The hungry parrot opened its beak and lunged at the meat before it could even see it.
But soon, the sound of the meat chunk falling to the floor with a plop was heard.
The starving parrot unhesitatingly dropped the piece of meat it had finally managed to grab.

“Oh dear, Pinto,” Your Excellency called the parrot’s name, “are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

Then Minister Asari answered in place of the parrot.

“No, Pinto is fit to burst with health.”
“But he’s saying that artificial human meat tastes awful and doesn’t suit his palate.”

“What? Artificial human meat, you say?”

Your Excellency Milki leapt up from his chair in shock.
When he looked at Minister Asari’s feet, a large golden basin was filled with red meat chunks piled mountain-high.
And into Your Excellency Milki’s widening eyes came the sight of blood dripping from the golden basin, trailing all the way to behind the far curtains.

“Hmm, you did this, didn’t you?”

Your Excellency Milki, who had dashed to the curtains like a flying creature, saw beyond them a jumbled mass of dismantled precision machinery.
At the end of the jumbled mass of machinery was attached a beautiful woman’s face.
Though somewhat pale, it was beaming an innocent smile.
The moment he saw that, Your Excellency erupted in fury like a volcano.

“Wh-why did you kill her?”
“Why did you kill Annette?”
“You’re jealous because Annette’s beautiful, aren’t you?”
“After I expressly ordered you not to kill her—why didn’t you comply?”
“Not even a minister gets mercy when things come to this!”

Yet Minister Asari sat down calmly in her chair and was taking a drink from her glass.

“Oh, do be quiet.”
“I did so precisely out of consideration for the Milki Nation.”
“If it became widely known that Your Excellency is dallying with artificial humans during this emergency, imagine how the citizens would riot.”
“Now is precisely the time to implement the emergency measures I have long proposed.”
“I believe there can be no doubt that Your Excellency, in your wisdom, understands this.”

Your Excellency did not oppose Minister Asari’s words.
But he turned away and soliloquized.

"It’s the same as being in a cell without bars."
"I can never obtain a beautiful woman again."

Minister Asari pretended as if she couldn’t hear His Excellency’s soliloquy.
And after seating His Excellency back at the table as before, she began earnestly expounding on matters of national policy.

“Now then, Your Excellency Milki.
“Our nation shall implement emergency measures starting today.”

“Emergency measures?”
“And what precisely do you propose to accomplish with those?”

“Beneath the Milki Nation lies an inexhaustible wealth of gold deposits.”
“At this juncture, we shall excavate all of that within the coming week.”

“Who will do the excavating? Mining all that in just one week? First off, there aren’t enough workers, and the machinery isn’t even ready!”

“That’s no trouble at all. Please leave it to me.”

“Just leave it to you, huh? Hmph—this’ll obviously fail anyway. If Dr. Kohaku were alive, he’d execute this splendidly, I imagine... But you—you may be a politician, but you’re no scientist whatsoever.”

“Scientists are only needed at the beginning.
Once we’ve come this far, it’s just a matter of operation.
Executing grand undertakings through skillful operation—that can’t be done by anyone but politicians.
Science will never conquer politics, but politics always conquers science.”

“I thought so too – at least until yesterday, you know.”
"But ever since meeting Artificial Human Annette, that conviction has begun to waver."
“Ah, beautiful Annette.”
"In the depths of the Tenth Room in that Alicia District, there might be hundreds or even thousands of artificial humans more beautiful than Annette."
"Truly, science is a great power."

“Gold is better than science.”
“I will excavate the underground Gold within a week and turn every road, room, ceiling, and wall of the Milki Nation entirely into Gold.”
“What a magnificent plan this is!”
“The Milki Nation shall dominate the world through Gold!”

“Dominate the world?”
“Iron surpasses gold.”
“You cannot wage war with gold.”

"No, with sufficient gold, countless nations would defend us with iron instead of the Milki Nation. Indeed, were we to invite the chancellor from any country that wages war against us and promise them even a single chamber wrought of gold, no further conflicts would arise."

"Would matters truly resolve so simply? I maintain no such optimism."

As they were saying this, a faint sound reached them from afar—it was the all-too-familiar melody.
Ah, the Music Bath began.

“Ah… Music Bath?
“Isn’t this the Eighteen o’clock Music Bath?”

His Excellency blinked— “Wait. It’s eight o’clock now. The Music Bath has started by mistake.
“Hey! What are those in charge doing?!”

Then Ms.Asari, showing not the slightest sign of panic, turned to Your Excellency Milki and spoke as if admonishing a child.

“Yes, it’s the Music Bath. Starting today, I’ve changed the Music Bath ordinance. From now on, I’ve decided to conduct the Music Bath every hour—that is, twenty-four times a day. Then the citizens will work close to twenty-four times their previous amount. Once that occurs, sleeping and eating will no longer be necessary. As long as we administer the Music Bath, its stimulation will make them work like draft horses for another hour and a half without fatigue. After that, we simply administer the next Music Bath.”

“That is reckless. Even the deceased Dr. Kohaku never planned such a thing.”

“Dr. Kohaku was innately cunning, which is why he deliberately limited the Music Bath to once a day. Otherwise, Dr. Kohaku himself would be made to work twenty-four hours nonstop, you know. I have known that from the very beginning. Unless one is a politician, it is impossible to truly maximize national efficiency in every single matter. Science can only exhibit its true power when conquered by politicians.”

At this moment, in the depths of His Excellency Milki’s ears, the anguished groans hacking from the citizens’ mouths as the Music Bath marched on were vividly perceived.

10

Your Excellency Milki, in a demeanor of displeasure completely different from yesterday’s, paced back and forth with heavy footsteps around the room.

Minister Asari sat before the radio-wave vanity, incessantly stimulating her glands while doggedly addressing Your Excellency Milki.

“Your Excellency will come to thank me ere long.”
“Your Excellency may not know this, but even now within our nation—during those enervated hours when the Music Bath’s efficacy wanes—they perform unspeakable gender surgeries! Men transform into women, women into men! Deeds too vile to utter have become epidemic!”
“Should such practices spread, imagine how despondent the citizenry would grow!”
“Your Excellency is too indulgent toward the citizens.”
“Granting them time to sleep, eat, think, or play is utterly futile.”
“Such indulgences serve only to steer them toward lassitude and depravity.”
“The current proliferation of wickedness stands as irrefutable proof.”
“That is precisely why I augmented the Music Baths to twenty-four hours—to rescue both nation and citizens.”
“Should even this prove inadequate, I shall devise my ideal ceaseless Music Baths.”
“Thereby we could command the entire populace uniformly left or right as one commands a single man.”

“You’re completely taking away their freedom, then.”
“There was no need to go that far yet.”

“No, there’s no telling how much happier this will make the citizens.”
“Because the citizens will have not a single thing left to worry about.”

“I refuse.”

“Your Excellency lacks the qualities of a politician—that’s why you think that way.”
“Then comply like this.”
“If Your Excellency were to entrust the entire responsibility of governance to me—a born politician.”
“And then Your Excellency will retire.”
“Then how much more carefree you would be!”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”
“That is a conspiracy.”
“I am the eternal ruler of Milki Nation.”
“I won’t entrust it to you!”

“Ohohoho.”
“No matter what you say, both this nation and Your Excellency are already mine.”
“I am now the wisest person in this nation, after all.”
“Your Excellency has no path but to rely on my power, after all. Ohohoho.”

Minister Asari thrust out her high-cheekboned face and laughed brazenly.

Your Excellency Milki had finally realized—only now—that he had fallen prey to Minister Asari’s machinations and lost both his beloved Mrs. Milki and Kohaku, the god of wisdom. He stamped his feet in vexation, but regret could not precede its cause.
He now became aware that he himself had sunk to becoming Minister Asari’s kept man.

About thirty minutes had passed when suddenly, an emergency alarm sent shockwaves through the entire Milki Nation. What was this—what could be happening?

The citizens, upon hearing the alarm blaring at alternating high and low pitches, turned pale with shared anxiety as if by prior agreement and gathered before the loudspeakers.
It had been issued by Astronomy Department Chief Hoshimi.

“Emergency Alarm!
Astronomy Department Chief Announcement.
At 8:40, observers discovered a strange rocket ship ten degrees southeast of Polaris. Through continued observation, they confirmed the vessel’s course was heading directly toward our Milki Nation.
“The estimated convergence time with our nation is 23:00 the day after tomorrow.”

The Martian rocket invasion!
That the Martian race would launch an invasion had been imagined for centuries.
The curtain had finally been rung down on that dreaded invasion.

Now that I thought of it—over these past ten days—they had noticed radio signals from unknown transmitters frequently interfering with receivers.
They must have been emitted from the Martian rocket ship.
At that very moment, the Astronomy Department detected its form within their electronic telescopes.

“Should there be an invasion from Mars, it would never be a peaceful one,” Dr.Kohaku had long asserted.
That fear had now manifested as an undeniable fact that could no longer be concealed.
Where could the purpose of the Martian assault lie?
The residents of Milki Nation believed it lay in the inexhaustible gold deposits buried deep underground within their nation.
Throughout all ages, those who amass wealth have to vanish because of that very wealth.

In the face of the impending national crisis, the conflict between Minister Asari and His Excellency Milki had no choice but to resolve itself naturally.

“Your Excellency, I believe we must severely reprimand the astronomy department staff’s negligence in failing to notice until now the Martian rocket ship arriving the day after tomorrow.”

“We will consider that later at our leisure. Rather than that, it would be better to have them observe what kind of attack weapons that rocket ship is carrying and report it as soon as possible.”

While he was saying this, a report from the astronomy department came through the speaking tube.
It was Chief Hoshimi’s voice.

"—Observation has become extremely difficult.
Yes."

“What on earth is going on, hmm? I doubt your patriotism.”

“No, Madam Minister Asari. All members are burning with patriotism—rather, they’re overexcited. Even when made to operate the observation equipment, none can calmly complete precise observations. Compared to their usual proficiency, they can only demonstrate about fifty percent efficiency.”

“How utterly undisciplined humans are! Then why don’t you observe it yourself?”

“I’m no different. My brain seems paralyzed.”

“Then shall we give you another Music Bath, hmm?”

“No—that’s unacceptable. Because the Music Bath is numbing our brains.”

“Tch. I won’t hear any more excuses. And if you fail to fulfill your duties, I’ll send punishment officers at once.”

“Madam Minister,”
“If you would grant me death like Dr.Kohaku’s execution,”
“I’d rather die now than watch myself degrade further.”

“Silence, Hoshimi. You are hereby relieved of your duties as Chief and will be confined. The position of Astronomy Department Chief will be entrusted to Deputy Lunami.”

“Ah, Lunami. That pitiful Lunami cannot manage the role of Astronomy Department Chief.”

“Why? Why is that?”

“That physically and mentally weak Lunami has become completely overheated by the Music Bath; far from conducting any observations, he’s running amok, belting out patriotic songs in a voice that could tear his throat while smashing the astronomy department’s precious equipment left and right with a spanner.”
“He couldn’t endure the stimulation of the Music Bath and has pitifully gone mad.”

“That’s absurd! —I’ll go see for myself immediately.”
“You’re lying and trying to scare me.”

The call was severed there.

Minister Asari began preparing herself.

Your Excellency Milki approached Asari from behind with a worried expression and said, “It would be problematic if you went to the astronomy department, hmm. Rather than that, we must issue orders to the reconnaissance and bombing squadrons against the rocket ship’s imminent attack as soon as possible and prepare for combat, or we’ll miss our chance.”

Minister Asari puffed out her cheeks with a huff.
Nevertheless, she abandoned going out and immediately called the reconnaissance squadron commander and bombing squadron commander on the television phone.

However, on the reception screen, the figures of the two they were searching for did not appear; only an empty square wall was visible.

"What's wrong with those two?"

“What’s wrong with both of them?” said Your Excellency Milki.

“No, the 10 o’clock Music Bath has just begun.”

Indeed, the melody of the Music Bath was faintly playing in the distance.
The two commanders, in order to comply with the Music Bath ordinance, had gone out into the corridor and were sitting in their respective seats.
Your Excellency Milki displayed an expression of fury,

“What? This is problematic.
“Are you going to let them soak in the Music Bath while neglecting combat preparations, hmm?
“The very idea that the entire citizenry would abandon their posts for Music Baths during this emergency—such a preposterous situation is unthinkable!”

“That isn’t true. If we don’t do that, we can’t possibly control the entire citizenry as we please.”

“You intend to say that even if Martian rocket ships fire poison gas shells, in our nation we’re currently in the middle of a Music Bath, so they should kindly wait until it’s over, don’t you?”

Your Excellency Milki contorted in bitterness.

11

A notice arrived that the Music Bath had concluded.
Thereupon, Minister Asari promptly summoned the two squadron commanders of reconnaissance and bombing before the television phone.
The two showed their faces before the screen.
As if by prior agreement, they rolled their large eyes wildly with hollowed cheeks and wheezed like asthma patients.
Having never witnessed squadron commanders so utterly haggard in all her experience, even Minister Asari flinched.

Mobilization and combat preparations were solemnly decreed.
The two squadron commanders, their gaunt faces manifesting loyalty’s pallor, humbly accepted the orders.
Minister Asari forgot all prior melancholy and indignation, expressing supreme satisfaction.

“How about that, Your Excellency? I have never seen those two squadron commanders trembling with such fervor before.”

“I see... I’ve grown tired of looking at citizens’ faces.”

“My, my – Your Excellency’s nerves are rather delicate.”
“Oh, it’s perfectly all right if we leave matters to those two loyal commanders.”

And then it was after only about four or five minutes had passed.
The television phone’s bell rang, and the faces of the two squadron commanders appeared on the screen once more.
The faces of the two looked haggard, as if they had aged five or even six years in just those four or five minutes.

The two commanders stated that they had conducted an emergency muster of the soldiers and taken roll call,

“—As a result, though the soldiers’ morale remains exceedingly high, they have uniformly suffered health deterioration, and not a single one is fit for combat.”

they brought an astonishing report.

Minister Asari did not immediately believe it.
However, as she pressed them with various questions, she regrettably came to accept the facts: every soldier had become feverishly intoxicated by the Music Bath, resulting in an eruption of those who had gone mad, those on the verge of madness, those who had lost 20% of their weight in a single day, and those whose internal diseases had explosively worsened and collapsed.
The reconnaissance and bombing squadrons, whose duty was to repel the enemy and protect us, were annihilated without having fought.

Milki Nation was now in a suicidal state.

Minister Asari’s 24-session Music Bath ordinance had resulted in a dreadful collapse within less than three hours.
The only ones who remained warmly plump and well-fed appeared to be Minister Asari and Your Excellency Milki—the sole individuals exempt from undergoing the Music Bath.

Meanwhile, from the astronomy department, reports of the Martian rocket ships' approach kept arriving moment by moment through increasingly feeble voices.

"What am I to do?"

Your Excellency Milki no longer even tried to hide his look of despair.
The squadron commander then spoke from within the screen.

“Of course, in this state, we have no choice but to let the Martian rocket ships enter Milki Nation without resistance.”
“If we had at least a hundred strong soldiers here, the capital could be temporarily held.”
“No—even if we can’t gather a hundred, fifty soldiers would still be of some use! But now in our squadron… Ah!”

Hearing this, the Minister twitched her eyebrow, and it seemed some resolve had taken hold of her.

“Oh! The final plan?” Minister Asari suddenly shouted.

“What do you mean by ‘the final plan’?”

“Yes—it is the final plan. It involves breaking through the door beyond the Tenth Chamber in Alicia District and extracting Dr. Kohaku’s closely guarded artificial humans from within. Then deploy them into combat positions.”

“Ah, artificial humans!” Your Excellency Milki clapped his hands, but his expression grew concerned. “But can there truly be such robust artificial humans deep within Alicia District? Moreover, that door is sturdy. If you try to force it open, it will explode.”

“Oh, that hasn’t been confirmed yet, but I have a feeling that’s the case.”
“No matter what sacrifices it takes, I will open that door.”

“No matter what sacrifices?”

The squadron commander frowned and asked pointedly.
Thereupon, Minister Asari stood abruptly in the center of the room, trembled with martial fervor, and suddenly issued a decisive command.

“The bombing squadron shall advance to Alicia District and immediately destroy the door.”
“The Reconnaissance Squadron is ordered to stand by as the reserve force.”

The two squadron commanders within the screen solidified expressions like those of dying fish.
Your Excellency Milki groaned “Ah—” and threw himself down onto the sofa with a thud.

In Alicia District, both Pen and Bara—any trace of their former selves now gone—had withered away like everyone else.

Male Student Pen was drawing some unintelligible mechanical diagram on his drafting board, the surface thoroughly soaked by ceaseless drool streaming from his lips.
The female student Bara, who had become male, clattered away at a calculator, persisting in reckless efforts to divide an unsolvable equation down to hundred-billionth decimal places.
And like one gripped by feverish delirium, he would occasionally call out Annette’s name from that room.

Into the dark asylum-like Alicia District suddenly stormed the bombing squadron.
Like a mudslide came the exhausted and utterly spent soldiers of that vast squadron...
Pen and Bara were startled and clung to the wall like bats.

At the squadron leader’s command, work began to destroy the Tenth Chamber’s door.
Work that normally could be handled by one person now couldn’t be managed even by twenty.
Clinging to oxyhydrogen flame cutters, spineless men perished in rapid succession.
The slightest labor abruptly stopped their weakened hearts.

Minister Asari was in her private room, receiving the reports that came in moment by moment, and growing increasingly displeased.
Upon hearing that corpses now lay piled before the door—that they could no longer even retrieve the bodies, let alone open it—Minister Asari finally issued an advance order to the Reconnaissance Squadron she had kept on standby as a reserve force.

But what could one hope for from a Reconnaissance Squadron that was like a communal household of similarly gravely ill patients?

Even so, the door was finally destroyed.
However, when the brave soldiers of the Reconnaissance Squadron saw yet another door firmly closed beyond that one, they collapsed like rice stalks bowing to the wind, awkwardly falling onto their backsides.

Minister Asari formed a national squadron and dispatched them.
After that, the Second and Third National Fronts were dispatched.
However, the entrance and exit of the Tenth Chamber didn’t budge an inch.

To encourage them, the music of Milki Nation played incessantly. But for them, this stimulus exceeding maximum dosage did not encourage—it merely hastened their collapse. And so, at last, the only capable individuals left in Milki Nation were Your Excellency Milki and Minister Asari, alone.

Minister Asari still refused to halt the advance command.
She was like a woman possessed.

The two finally left the room and advanced along the hallway toward Alicia District.
The two received their first baptism of Music Bath.
The two found it pleasant.
However, the further they advanced, the more the high-tempo Music Bath steadily steamed their brains.
A nausea-inducing discomfort steadily intensified.
Finally, the two stumbled and tumbled into the entrance of Alicia District.

Demonic wails pierced the air; corpses lay piled in heaps.
The two shuddered and surveyed their surroundings.
The unyielding door deep within appeared to mock them both.

“Shall we go?” Your Excellency Milki asked.

“Let’s go,” Minister Asari replied without hesitation.

“Then let us charge at that door.”

“Very well, then.”

What purpose drove them to charge at the door—even that now seemed unclear to the two.
Burning with the spirit of martyrs and submitting to their own command, the last two of Milki Nation resolutely charged at the iron door.

In that instant, the two felt their entire bodies enveloped in yellow sparks.
That was the end.

The two lost consciousness as if they’d leapt from a cliff—in that instant, the room returned to the silence of a hundred-year-old graveyard.

But at this moment, had someone listened closely, they would have noticed a strange noise—a grating, dragging sound as if something were being hauled deep underground.
The strange noise grew gradually louder, swelling up from underground through the thick walls.
No sooner had a clanging metallic sound echoed out than—miraculously—the black iron door of the Tenth Chamber on the front wall, which until now had seemed as immovable as a massive foundation stone, began gradually sliding inward in silence.
Who could be opening the door?

Who could be inside the door?

From the opened entrance of the Tenth Chamber emerged none other than Dr. Kohaku himself—the man everyone had believed to be dead.
He appeared in bizarre armor that made him look exactly like a beetle.
Behind him, no less than five hundred artificial humans resembling Annette stood lined up in silent formation.

Dr. Kohaku turned the first dial attached to his armor.
A pale red flame flared up in the discharge gap at his shoulder.
Then, the melody of Milki Nation’s Music Bath that had been audible in the distance until now stopped dead, as though a switch had been flipped.

Next, Dr.Kohaku turned the second dial.
The artificial humans who had been following Dr.Kohaku slipped wordlessly past him and filed out in perfect formation.
Two of them remained in the room in place of Pen and Bara.
The artificial humans each assumed key positions in place of the Milki citizens.

Dr.Kohaku now turned the third dial.

Then，a quiet，and refreshing melody began to flow.

Soon，the face of an artificial human appeared on the television phone screen in the room.
He turned toward Dr.Kohaku and opened his mouth.
“The musical score stipulated by Milki Nation’s ordinances has been completely destroyed.”
“In its place，the humanity-praising Music Bath has been initiated.”

Dr. Kohaku quietly nodded.
A new Music Bath praising humanity!
Would the heaped corpses of Milki Nation revive upon hearing this new Music Bath?

However, the cold corpses did not move, like tombstones.

Dr. Kohaku entered the command room housing a grand control panel and skillfully manipulated five hundred soulless artificial human units.

The electric cannons continued firing heavy shells at the Martian rocket ships with a growling groan.

—By the hands of the artificial humans.

Hundreds of attack rocket boats soared straight skyward from the earth's surface.
Underground, shells, poison gas shells, and demagnetization shells were being produced in heaps.
All were produced by the hands of the artificial humans.

And Dr. Kohaku, with a tranquil heart, listened enraptured to the melody of the humanity-praising Music Bath resonating from afar.

Humanity-praising music.
Was it being performed for the Milki citizens who had become cold corpses?
Or was it being performed to transplant human souls into the beautiful artificial humans created by Dr. Kohaku?
No—it was a funeral dirge performed for the autocrat Kohaku, the sole surviving human.
For Dr. Kohaku—a man of exceptional intellect—reviving the heaped dead of Milki Nation had been no great difficulty.
However, Dr. Kohaku had no such intention whatsoever.
A scientist is, after all, such a cold being.

However, Dr. Kohaku was striving there to build the utopia he had long envisioned with firm conviction and great confidence.
Dr. Kohaku had previously realized Minister Asari’s malicious plot and sent an artificial human identical to himself to Mrs. Milki’s room to be blown up—this was done both to prepare for this day and to ensure no evidence remained that the one who had exploded was an artificial human.

Enveloped in the new humanity-praising Music Bath, Kohaku’s emerging artificial human nation now embarked on the construction of a new world.