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53. Story of outside the special ward
When I came back after taking a shower, Mom was making breakfast. And Sis, was nowhere to be seen.
As for Grandma, she was quietly reading the newspaper in the living room.
“Take-chan, good morning. You must be hungry after finishing a long morning run, right? Wait for a while, soon it’ll be ready.”
“Okay. Mom, good morning.”
I looked in the kitchen, but Sis, was nowhere to be seen.
In the end, I sat in front of Grandma in the living room.
“Grandmother, I’ve something to ask.”
“
what is it?”
With legs crossed on the sofa and weight resting on the armrest, Grandma looked at me curiously.
“Tell me about things outside the special ward.”
That was the first thing that came to my mind when I found out Grandma was coming home.
Perhaps, “Taketo Souya” wasn’t interested in that, I couldn’t find much knowledge about it in the memories.
So, I thought that if it was Grandma, who must have gone to various places for work, would know a lot.
“Hmmm
 you could’ve just watched the TV. Not enough?”
“What I want to hear are not things that have been filtered. I want to hear more from the actual person who lives there.”
“

I see. I guess, everyone is interested in the outside at least once.”
With a satisfied expression on her face, Grandma began to think.
For a while, she had a pondering look.
As I waited patiently for Grandma’s words, Mom said that breakfast was ready.
“Let’s talk after eating.”
“Yes.”
When I sat down at the kitchen table, Mom asked, “What were you talking about?”
“Just about how you’ve raised him well.”
“Oh my
”
Mom looked happy.
After finishing breakfast in silence and waiting for Grandma, she told me to wait in the living room.
When I went to the living room as I was told, there were two newspapers on the table.
Why two?
When I looked closely, one of them wasn’t the one our family subscribed to.
As I was tilting my head, Grandma appeared with a cup of tea.
“So, what do you want to know about the outside?”
“Various things
 I guess?”
“Hmm

 Even though it’s outside the special ward, it varies. For example, from the highway, you can see splendid houses. But, if you walk to the inner of the place, you would find buildings as old as the old days.”
“Why is it only the nice house that can be seen from the highway?”
“It’s the same with the special ward, it’s all thanks to the land acquisition. It’s not just the site of houses. If the forests, fields, and rice fields get in the way, the country will buy them at a high price. Thanks to that, many can live a good life.”
“I see

 so if you want to know about an area well, you have to go deeper.”
“That’s right. Every well-organized place is neat and clean, but there are many places that aren’t. The road that isn’t paved, it’s fine if it’s covered with gravel, but if it’s bare soil, and raining here and there, cars will get stuck.”
In the original world, there were no unpaved roads
.. at least as far as I know.
“Will the tires slip in the rain?”
“Right. Also, do you know this? The bare soil road, the area that isn’t passed by tires, will have grass growing.”
It’s a sight I’ve never seen before. But
 Why not pave it in the first place?
“Is it the country that maintains the roads? Or the prefecture? Does the country not have enough money?”
“National highways are under the jurisdiction of the country, but the rest are prefectures, cities, and villages. And most places, lack of budget.”
“Lack of budget
”
Probably because the population is simply too small.
There’s also money to spend on maintaining the special ward. Special wards are made up of money poured in from all over Japan after all.
“Well, in the end, the budget of each prefecture, hangs on the decision of the Lord.”
“Lord?”
A word that didn’t fit modern times was mentioned.
“Oh, you don’t know?”
“Hmm
 we’re talking about each prefecture, right?
 But, isn’t the top one called the prefectural governor?”
From the memory, “Taketo” desperately tried to memorize the prefectural capital. So, it can’t be wrong

“The Lord of the “Kazoku”. After all, the people who rule this country are the nobility.”
“Umm
”
I dig up the memory, but nothing like that came up.
I knew about the Kazoku. In short, something like the aristocrat in western countries.
In this world, modern history turned different because World War II never happened.
That was why the nobility system had not been completely lost.
“So, they’re led by a Lord of those in the “Kazoku”?”
“Well, that’s what they’ve decided. But, there are various families in the Kazoku. For example, Nagano Prefecture and Ishikawa Prefecture have been led by the Toki clan, you’ve learned about that in history class, right?”
“Yes
”
“Right now, it’s called the Toki family, and they still rule over those two prefectures. It’s true that each has a governor, but if they ignore the intentions of the nobility, “this” will be their end.”
Saying so, Grandma imitated beheading.
In Nagano, the Toki family seemed to have power.
Asking more, like Western aristocrats, it seemed that there were high and low ranks among Japanese nobility too.
There were nobles who had power on a prefecture-by-prefecture basis, and there were others who only had power on a city-by-city basis.
What they had in common was that they live in the area and could only exercise power there.
But, within their area, they could act like a king of that said area.
“Because the nobility owns the land. They can always fill their stomach with no problem. What an enviable story, right?”
There used to be a castle and a castle town. Now it was just a town with a mansion of the nobility.
However, since the land in the town was still owned by the nobility, it was said that a huge amount of money came in every month just from the rent of houses, shops, buildings, factories, parking lots, etc.
“That’s why, Lord

 but, isn’t it the same as before?”
There was a time when Japan was divided into provinces like Suruga, Sagami, and Musashi. And in this world, the influence of that time continued to this day.
“It is what it is. So, back to the story outside the special ward, such a city is developing. After all, it’s a home of a Lord.”
“I understand. The more developed the place, the more profit they get, right?”
“Right. On the other hand, there are small towns and villages that aren’t under the influence of the nobility. Such places are, miserable. Even if they’ve worked hard and built their own infrastructure, it’s the nobility who have the authority to approve it. With the tip of their little finger, they can easily raise or lower your water bill.”
After that, Grandma told me many stories about things outside the special ward.
What I found out after hearing her stories was that, only the special ward and its surroundings, were quite blessed.
In rural areas, the areas around the nobility had developed considerably, but the areas between towns and places where the nobility didn’t take a breath in, were miserable.
In addition, the local rules, or in short, the intentions of the noble family were strongly reflected in the region.
Well, in the end, there were many things that you can’t understand unless you actually go there, but

“
The scenery outside the special ward that you see on TV is the home of a noble family. I’m sure there are many special ward residents who think that’s the norm outside.”
I’m glad that I asked.
When I went to the second floor to return to my room, Sis looked so exhausted in the middle of the corridor.
And for some reason, “Gugigigigi”, such a weird noise came from her.
So I stepped over Sis and returned to my room, without looking back.
◇
While Taketo was taking a shower


“Buy me a newspaper, in five minutes! No “late” in my dictionary, understand?!” (Satoko, the Grandmother)
“Yes!!” (Aki, the Sister)