This chapter is basically an infodump with a small, very small, almost imperceptible foreshadowing of what this arc will be about.
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"Ahhhmmm…" With a yawn, Kaito got up that Monday morning.
He had a normal morning: ate breakfast, spent some time with his family, and then watched TV.
While watching the news, Evil activated once again, showing him that things were still happening that affected him, or would affect him sooner or later.
Luckily, Kaito no longer had to worry too much about figuring out what was going on. After all, now he could ask someone who actually knew.
With those thoughts, he entered Gaia, as he usually did.
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In a luxurious, old-fashioned living room, two young people were sitting face to face. Between them, a table with a delicate teapot and served cups.
On one side, Kaito: black hair, red eyes, and a carefree look.
On the other, Kaguya: the same features, but more delicate and refined. She held a teacup, drinking with elegance, while Hayasaka stood firmly behind her, completely silent.
Kaguya placed the cup on the table and spoke in a cold voice.
"What are you doing?"
"What am I doing?" Kaito asked, confused.
"I mean… do you know what time it is?" said Kaguya with a trace of weariness, as if she had been waiting too long.
"Is it nine?" Kaito asked, not understanding the problem.
"Exactly, nine! You said you wanted to talk about something important with me, and you show up only at nine?"
"It's not like there was a rush or anything…" Kaito replied, brushing it off as he stretched to wake himself up, "don't worry so much about those details."
Kaguya watched him in silence. Her expression showed a hard-to-read flicker, a spark that vanished as quickly as it appeared, before returning to her icy normality.
"…You are right, there is no rush. Fine, what did you want to talk about?"
"Right," Kaito suddenly grew serious, "do you know what the government is planning?"
Kaguya's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"You noticed?"
"Not completely. Thanks to my skills I can tell there is something strange… but I don't know exactly what it is." Kaito smiled. "Luckily, now I have you."
"I don't need flattery. Let's talk seriously," Kaguya replied, with that same cold voice as always, "Hayasaka."
"Yes, Kaguya-sama," Hayasaka replied, pulling from the shadows a board full of information.
"You brought that from Earth?" Kaito asked, surprised.
Kaguya let out a small laugh, as if she had heard something ridiculous.
"Of course not. If things could be brought from the real world, then…" for an instant a chilling smile curved her lips before returning to calm, "I had this built in Gaia. It may seem like a waste, but improving work efficiency, even by 1%, is never a waste."
"So… all that information is about what I suspect. I'll read it."
"Not necessary, I will summarize it for you."
"It's fine, I can read on my own."
"That is not the point," she cut him off sharply, "I am your subordinate and your right hand. There must be a power structure."
"But…"
"No buts. Listen," Kaguya closed the matter immediately, leaving no room for objections.
"First, let me tell you this: whatever you think the government is doing, it does not even come close to what they are really doing. If they succeed, most Lords will probably decide to flee to Gaia to be safe… at least until the government reaches them here as well."
"Is it that serious?" Kaito asked, surprised.
"That serious."
Kaguya took a breath and began her explanation.
"The government's plan, according to what I have investigated, is divided into four main phases.
Phase 1: Generation of distrust.
This already happened. You probably know that during the first days when the Lords synchronized part of their abilities, there was chaos. How many do you think caused problems?"
"Around 10%?" Kaito replied.
"Wrong! The real number was between 0.5% and 1%. Most people, just like you, think it was about 10%. But that was only made up. In reality, in most of Japan, if you had gone out during those days, you would not have noticed anything unusual. However, the news broadcasted reports nonstop, amplifying fear."
"I see… so they made the population believe the chaos was greater than it really was."
"Exactly. But there is more," Kaguya looked straight at him, "Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, Kyoto… these are the cities where the Lords supposedly caused the greatest destruction, listed in descending order. Do they sound familiar to you?"
"They are the busiest cities in the country."
"That's right. And it seems suspicious that precisely in the most populated cities, where chaos would have the greatest impact, the supposed attacks happened. Maybe it's a coincidence… but I doubt it."
Kaito remained silent, processing the idea that there had never been a "Lords' Rebellion" as they had made him believe.
"Oh, and before moving on to the next phase, it is worth mentioning that semi-government-controlled guilds were also founded, which generated rejection among many Lords.
Phase 2: Alienation.
The concept is simple: separating the Lords from the rest of the population in everyone's mind.
After the first phase, although things seemed calm, the truth is that the Lords left a terrible first impression. And in this world, first impressions matter. Once made, they are hard to erase. This way, any negative news about the Lords will be easier to accept than a positive one.
For example: recently a piece of news spread comparing Lords to hikikomoris. Most of them abandon Earth forever to live only in Gaia. At first glance it seems irrelevant, but what they did was anchor both names in the public's mind. And since Japanese society usually ignores hikikomoris as an "outside problem," now that same perception is applied to the Lords.
There are even rumors that the government will build exclusive villages for Lords. And not only villages: also apps, shops, and services that only they will be able to access.
Many Lords celebrate this without realizing the problem: they are being isolated.
And meanwhile, more and more news appears every day about their strange habits, acquired in Gaia, that only they understand.
The result is simple: when the population no longer considers them part of their own… they will not care what happens to them."
Kaguya did not wait for a reply, she simply continued.
"Phase 3, the current one: Semi-control.
You know that Lords opposed guilds being under government control, right? And yet now most accept it. Do you know why?"
"Of course… because conditions have improved a lot since then" Kaito replied after thinking for a moment.
"Exactly" Kaguya nodded, "in just three weeks, the guilds offer better pay, better tasks, better rewards. And most importantly, the government, which was supposedly meant to supervise them, has not interfered at all.
For the Lords, it looks like an ideal deal.
But the general public knows nothing about this. To them, the Lords, who seemed so reluctant at first, ended up happily accepting government control.
And every time a Lord commits a crime, the media makes sure to highlight that he was not allied with the government.
In short: the 'good' Lords are with the government, the 'bad' ones are not.
This way, little by little, they instill the idea that it is natural for the government to control them.
For now they have done nothing more, but this process is ongoing, and it will likely intensify in the future.
Finally, Phase 4."
"Total control" Kaito interrupted.
Kaguya smiled.
"Exactly. That is still to come. Maybe they have hidden phases, maybe other plans… but the most certain thing is that the government's ultimate goal is to exercise absolute control over all the Lords."
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+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)