Chapter 123: Full-Day State of Emergency

"Mr. Fusaishi—"

"Lord San?!"

The backstage staff and subordinates gasped in unison. Many eyes turned toward Fusaishi San, and security personnel hurried over to ask if he was feeling unwell.

But Fusaishi San merely shook his head slowly, declining their concern. He sat down again, returning to his chair. He seemed to have regained his composure. The others pulled their gazes away, returning to their frantic work.

Yet, Fusaishi San’s body was trembling. He was shaking because he had noticed something—something that defied logic.

In the live broadcast, the window behind Mio Ito, who was connected with the Prime Minister, was open. Through it, one could see the distant Prime Minister’s Official Residence and the faint silhouette of a flagpole.

But... there was only the pole. Just a bare, empty pole.

He clearly remembered that just before he had arrived at the National Diet Building with the Prime Minister, he had glanced over inadvertently. At that time—

"Right behind the small building, the cherry-star flag of the Prime Minister of Japan was flying atop the pole, waving toward the building."

But now, the cherry-star flag was not flying. There was nothing there.

There could only be one reason for this.

This was not a real-time live connection. The Mio Ito on the screen had to be a recording. And on the day that recording was made, it was not a parliamentary session day, so the flag at the Official Residence had not been raised. Therefore, even the conversation between the Prime Minister and Mio Ito was a pre-recorded deception disguised as a live broadcast.

But... why use a recording to fake a live link?

Using a recording to mask a live feed could only have one purpose: to suggest that the person was "still there." The implicit message was undeniably: "They are no longer here."

Moreover, for a conversation between the Prime Minister and a recording to appear this seamless—where they responded to each other line by line as if it were truly live—would require an extraordinary amount of effort and numerous rehearsals. In his view, the Prime Minister did not have the energy to stage such a performance.

Then... when could the Prime Minister have possibly found the time to rehearse this charade? And if Mio Ito was not there, where was she now?

Fusaishi San stared intently at the broadcast, his head throbbing as if his brain were about to explode. A terrifying conjecture began to take root in his mind.

"It can't be... How could such a thing be possible... But... it is the only explanation."

Fusaishi San’s facial muscles twitched, forming a grotesque expression that was neither a cry nor a laugh. He felt that he—no, not just himself, but all of Tokyo, and indeed all of Japan—had become like insects stuck in the web of a Joro spider, unable to escape no matter how much they struggled. One moment they were in heaven, and the next, they had fallen into a fiery hell.

...No! There was still hope!

Fusaishi San’s face turned crimson in an instant, and he stood up abruptly from his chair.

"I must stop this!"

He took a quick, deep breath, preparing to notify all backstage staff to cut the feed—but just as he was about to do so, the broadcast screen changed once more, shattering all his expectations.

...

On the podium, the "real-time connection" between the Prime Minister and Mio Ito ended.

The assembly members and reporters below could no longer contain their curiosity. Hands shot up, and the room erupted in noise as everyone vied to ask Mio Ito more questions, aiming for the achievement of "conversing with the first transcendent being in human history."

"Prime Minister, I want to talk to Miss Mio Ito too!"

"I represent Tokyo Broadcasting System; I have questions for Miss Mio!"

"Does Miss Mio have a boyfriend?"

"I just received news that Miss Mio was a high school student, is that true?"

"Is it true that Mana Mizuhara, who was abducted by the U.S. military, was a student at the same school as Miss Mio?"

"What is the relationship between Shizudai Academy and Tokiwadai Academy?"

"Has Miss Mio considered becoming an idol or something like that?"

But these clamoring voices seemed not to reach Mio Ito’s ears. She shook her head with a slightly apologetic smile, lowered her head in desolation, and the screen went black.

"My apologies. Miss Mio Ito is still in a very low state of mind. She feels a degree of responsibility for the deaths of those citizens, so she is still undergoing psychological counseling."

The Prime Minister also gently declined the reporters' requests with a soft voice and did not reopen the video link. The assembly members and reporters below were indignant, demanding continued access—

"Prime Minister, please persuade her!"

"Please do not monopolize the right to converse with the transcendent!"

The atmosphere off-line was tense, but the online discussion boards and live chat feeds were being flooded with a barrage of angry comments.

"I want Miss Mio! I want Miss Mio!"

"This dirty old man just wants to keep her all to himself!"

"Has he already done something unspeakable with her?"

"They’ve probably already done it! Outrageous!"

Amidst the chaos, the Prime Minister remained composed. It was not until an assistant hurried up from the floor and handed him a small slip of paper that he took it, lowered his head slightly, and the smile on his face gradually faded.

The assembly members and reporters also gradually grew quiet. Everyone knew that a message delivered to the Prime Minister at such a moment must be of staggering importance. Although this Prime Minister had already delivered many shocking announcements to the nation and the world today, the tension continued to mount in waves. Everyone was curious to see what kind of spectacle he would perform next.

The Prime Minister did not disappoint.

Or rather, the shock was too great.

Because at that moment, the words he spoke—heard by the vast majority of Japan and over two billion people worldwide—carried the force of a nuclear detonation. And this was not merely a metaphor.

"I hereby announce that, from this moment on, Japan is in a state of national emergency. Everyone must immediately leave their homes and seek shelter in the nearest underground facility.

"Because I have just received news... several Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States have landed in the waters near Tokyo. We cannot rule out subsequent nuclear strikes by the United States on the Tokyo region—take note, this is not a warning! All Japanese citizens, enter underground bunkers immediately!"