April 10, 2055 – 3:26 p.m.

"If, by some accident, the leader disappears and is not immediately replaced, the crowd becomes a community without cohesion and strength."

Another year has passed since the laxative incident. It is now April 2055, Jin has just finished his studies, and the Gotha government continues to function without any problems.

Junna has arranged to meet Jin in a common room at Gotha to celebrate his graduation. To this end, Jin is walking quietly through the corridors of the second floor of Gotha, reflecting to himself as he heads to the room indicated by Junna.

"I managed to finish everything in just two years... I knew I was smart, but I didn't think I could accomplish such a feat. Well... after all, I had nothing else to do here, and without friends, it's easier to concentrate on my studies. Anyway, I expect Junna to finally reveal something to me as agreed."

Jin continues walking and arrives in front of a closed door. "This should be it."

Jin opens the door and finds Junna and the other Gotha members inside throwing confetti in his direction, leaving Jin stunned as he certainly did not expect all those people. Everyone present congratulates him on his graduation.

"Well done, Jin!" says Arai, the Member of the Biology.

"Congratulations!" exclaims IT Member Sakamoto.

"Graduating in such a short time is truly an incredible achievement," says Economics Member Ueda.

"Worthy of our Jin!" adds Suzuki, the Jurisprudence Member.

"Well done," congratulates Chemistry Member Chiba shyly.

"Great job, kid," is the compliment chosen by Tsuji, the Member of the Medicine.

Psychology member Fujimoto, mathematics member Ishikawa, and engineering Member Satō also congratulate Jin on his achievement. Jin, for his part, is extremely embarrassed. In fact, within the Gotha, he has had almost no contact with anyone except Junna, so this is essentially the first time he has spoken to the various Gotha members since he was judged two years earlier.

Junna, who is the most excited of all, cannot contain herself and runs to hug him.

"Congratulations Jin, you did really well! You did even better than I expected."

"T-thank you, Junna."

"Your result was so incredible that all the other Gotha members decided to take a little break from work to celebrate you... well, not quite all of them..."

"Actually, Domon, the physics member, is missing." Observes Arai, the Biology Member.

"He must have been too busy with work," suggests Satō, the engineering member.

"Let's not talk nonsense, we all know that man doesn't like Jin very much," points out Suzuki, the Jurisprudence Member.

Junna then tries to calm everyone down.

"Come on... let's not take it out on him. It's a legitimate choice, no one can force someone else to interrupt their valuable work to attend a little party like this... in fact, we should be grateful to him for his commitment to the Gotha project, while we are here having fun. Later, I'll go to his office and bring him a slice of cake as a thank you for his tireless work."

At this point, Ueda, the Member of Economics, puts a hand on Junna's shoulder and further supports her statement. “Well said, Logic Member Miura... So let's get this party started! It's been years since we've been in such an informal setting at Gotha. We usually spend our days in our rooms and offices without even meeting each other, except for Council meetings, so let's not waste this opportunity!”

Everyone present cheers and begins to celebrate. Jin cuts the cake, while the various members of the Gotha eat and drink happily, chatting among themselves and challenging each other to various games such as darts and video games.

At one point, Junna gets everyone's attention by tapping a teaspoon on the champagne glass she is holding.

"Dear colleagues, I am happy to see the smiles on your faces, but now I would like everyone to focus for a moment on the guest of honor. Jin, please come here, you have to give a speech."

Junna points to the chair that had been assigned to Jin, from which he had moved away to challenge Ueda, the member of the economics department, to a video game match. However, the boy does not seem very enthusiastic about the proposal. "B-but I'm playing right now..."

"Don't worry, I'll turn it off!" exclaims Ueda, ending the game the two were playing in a car racing video game.

"Hey! I was winning!"

Ueda laughs, aware that he would have been defeated if he hadn't turned off the console. Meanwhile, everyone present begins to cheer Jin's speech in unison.

"Speech! Speech! Speech! Speech! Speech!"

Ueda and Suzuki grab Jin by the arms, lifting him up and carrying him towards Junna in a very playful mood.

"Stop! I don't want to do this! It's embarrassing!"

"Come on... you're a genius! You're not going to wet yourself over a little speech" replies Suzuki.

"Come on, come on, we're all eager to hear you" Ueda retorts.

Jin continues to struggle to escape this unfortunate task, but at a certain point he notices that the chandelier above Junna is showing small signs of giving way. Without thinking twice, Jin breaks free from Ueda and Suzuki's grip and runs wildly towards Junna, throwing himself at her and tackling her to the ground a few meters away. A moment later, the chandelier falls on Jin's chair, near where Junna was sitting.

The two remain on top of each other for a few seconds, looking intensely into each other's eyes. This moment is interrupted by the rest of those present, who rush over to check on them.

"Hey, you two, are you okay?" asks Tsuji.

"That chandelier was about to fall on her head" adds Arai.

"It would have crushed Miura, the Member of Logic, for sure," Ishikawa points out.

Jin gets off Junna's body and helps her up, then reassures everyone. "Yes, we're fine."

"Thanks to you... that chandelier would have hit me otherwise" Junna points out.

"It's incredible that something like this could happen right here" exclaims Suzuki.

"It would have been a tragedy!" says Chiba, almost crying at the scene she witnessed.

Junna approaches the chandelier. "A tragedy... caused by someone."

"You mean it wasn't an accident?" asks Arai.

"I'm afraid not. Look..." Junna points to the part that connects the chandelier to the ceiling. "It's been corroded."

"Who could have done such a thing?" asks Sakamoto.

"The same person who left a threatening letter for Jin some time ago and then broke into his room to contaminate his glass of water with laxative" replies Junna, who, after a few moments of silence, dictated in part by the commotion her revelations have caused among those present, resumes speaking.

"I know that many of you were unaware of these facts. Unfortunately, they were not serious enough to warrant the conviction of the individual who committed them, or at least we had no evidence to prove the attacker's guilt. The only thing we know is that it is one of us... someone who has access to the Gotha building and knows the sensitive information discussed in the Council."

The revelation causes even more confusion, with those present discussing among themselves with increasing fear and concern.

"Esteemed colleagues... if what Member of Logic Miura says is true, we must take action. Even in this case, the target of this attack was clearly Jin, since that was his chair" says Arai.

"But who could have such a grudge against him?" asks Ueda.

"Perhaps someone who is unhappy about his return. In my opinion, it could be one of those who voted for his death sentence two years ago and did not accept the Council's verdict to save him."

"Don't look at me... I've already made things clear with the Member of Logic, Miura. As far as I'm concerned, the choice I made at the time was a mistake that I would not repeat" declares the Member of Medicine, Tsuji, and immediately afterwards, the Member of Chemistry, Chiba, does the same. "The same goes for me! I was just afraid, but now I have faith in Jin and want to protect him from this individual who is trying to eliminate him!"

After both the Member of Medicine and the Member of Chemistry clarified their positions to the group, everyone's attention shifted to the Member of Engineering Satō, a 50-year-old man with curly brown hair and eyes of the same color.

"Why are you all looking at me now? You don't think it was me, do you?"

"You also voted against saving him, didn't you?" Arai asks.

"Yes..."

"Then you can understand our suspicions."

"B-but I would never do such a thing."

"Then why did you vote that way?"

"The thing is... it's just that..."

Since Satō is unable to respond to Arai's pressing questions, everyone present begins to demand answers and accuse him.

"Come on, spill the beans!"

"Yes, hurry up!"

"He's definitely the culprit. He can't come up with any excuses."

At this point, Satō bursts out in a loud scream. "Shut up!" After managing to silence everyone, he continues to speak with the same fervor. "You don't understand! None of you ever understood how brilliant that man was! I am considered the best in the field of engineering, yet I never understood how that machine worked. He didn't need us, he built it himself even before I joined the Gotha! An absolute genius, far superior to us in our own fields. Compared to him, Arai knows nothing about biology, Suzuki knows nothing about law, Ueda is ignorant about economics. He could have ruled the entire nation on his own, yet he wanted us by his side... why do something like that? Why create the Gotha Council?"

"What you say is true... he was superior to us in everything, even in our own subjects, but I still don't understand your decision to sentence him to death once he reappeared as a young boy" Arai retorts.

"I was afraid he had come back to wipe us out, to get rid of the Gotha... you all know very well what happened after the accident. Today, the Gotha does not have the power it once had, but it continues to rule Japan, managing to make this place ideal for living, without crime and without oppression. That's why I made that decision... a Gotha without Jin may be weaker, but it is certainly more democratic."

Junna laughs at this last sentence and joins in the discussion. "Democratic, you say? What's democratic about 11 people deciding for millions of others... but don't get me wrong, Engineering Member Satō, it's not even a selfish way of operating. On the contrary, the Gotha is a symbol of altruism. The most educated people in the country sacrifice their lives locked up in this building to enable a better life for everyone outside through their work."

“W-well then, he could have done it all himself, couldn't he? Why create the Council with 11 members? He could have been the Gotha himself.”

“He may never have said so, but it was clear that his desire was to keep this utopia going forever. When people began to see him as a god, for example by erecting statues in his honor, he realized that he could not allow people to identify the Gotha only with him, or the world he had worked so hard to build would disappear the moment he died. Thanks to the establishment of the Council with its 11 members, Gotha will live on forever, even beyond his own person. As much as you may have feared and hated him after that incident, I am convinced that he was still rooting for us, so that the world he had created could endure over time.”

Satō sinks to his knees, exhausted by the truths Junna has made him understand. "Member of the logic Miura... at this point I have only one last question... if your desire was truly to have us continue to govern the country, why didn't you instruct us on how the time machine works?"

Jin shivers when he hears about the time machine, while Junna answers this last question. "Because it is too powerful an object, he couldn't allow it to fall into the wrong hands, and then for him that machine was only the means to achieve this utopia, it was not necessary for its maintenance... he left that task to us."

Satō, in a faint voice, still has something to say. "Now I finally understand..." The engineering member turns to Jin. "I'm sorry I voted for your death sentence two years ago, but a fool like me has only now managed to understand. Now that you're back, you can teach us how to continue the Gotha project forever."

Jin is paralyzed and unable to say anything, so Arai steps in and asks Satō a question. "So it wasn't you who carried out these vile attacks against Jin?"

“Of course not! My only mistake was that vote.”

"So we still haven't found the culprit."

However, Junna disagrees with Arai's last statement and gives her verdict in a peremptory tone. “Yes, we have found him. Now that the shepherd has returned and all the lost sheep are back in the fold, only the wolf remains outside.”