Solnus 8. Not the Heir; The Heir; An Impromptu Spectator Who Wants to Become a Matsuri Participant; Gates and the G Symbol

5741 days, or 15 years, 8 months, and 2-3 weeks before The Circumadversum Omatsuri, one evening.

Let's go back to X = {Bành Đức Hải, Guruh Dwi Cahyo}. This time, The X is enjoying dinner with their mother and father. The X's older brother—the X's only sibling—is not eating with them because he has to work the night shift as a convenience store employee.

While eating dinner, they discuss The X's statement that he plans to someday work in Japan. Both of X's parents support this plan. The X's father says, "I'll give you some extra money so you can buy Japanese language textbooks."

X said, “Thanks, Dad. But I’ll tell you, besides buying books, I’ll probably use the money to buy an online application course package.”

X’s mother immediately commented, “Online courses? Is that really it? Are you going to buy them for gaming or streaming?! Don’t think I don’t know about things like that.”

X replied, “Really, Mom, Dad. I’m serious. If necessary, Mom and Dad will come and witness me paying for the online application.”

X’s father commented, “Yes, yes. It seems you’re serious. Remember, really use your extra money wisely. Remember, you can’t waste money. You can even buy your favorite guitar because you saved up and received extra money from your parents for your good performance.”

X’s mother commented, “What Dad said is true. Remember, you’re not the heir to that big company or that one. We’re just ordinary people.”

(000)

5741 days, or 15 years, 8 months, and 2-3 weeks before The Circumadversum Omatsuri, one night.

Eiru's four-year-old mind suddenly remembered something. She immediately asked her older sister, who was still driving, "Onee-chan, if I become a musician, who will look after Dad's shops? You said Dad has a lot of big shops?"

Marika Inman Anno certainly knew what Eiru meant by "Dad's many big stores," which are their family's energy and mining companies. Marika responded with a laugh, "Ha ha ha ha, don't worry, Ei-tan. Onee-chan will take care of those shops."

Eiru asked, "Really?"

Marika replied, "Yes, that's right. To take care of those shops, I need to go back to school. I'm going to study abroad."

Eiru asked, “Ermmmh, so onee-chan is really going far away? To a place with the same name as me?”

The place Eiru was referring to was “England.” Eiru’s nickname, Ei-tan, is similar to “Eitan,” which in Japanese is an abbreviation of the country England.

Marika replied, “Yes, that’s it. But I’ll come back here often, and in return, Ei-tan can visit me with my dad and mom.”

Eiru immediately had an idea. “Then, how about Mom and Dad and I go with Onee-chan abroad too?”

Marika shook her head. “I’m afraid we can’t do that, Ei-tan. Mom and Dad have to work here.”

Eiru remained silent, as her idea of ​​moving abroad with her family was not achievable.

(000)

5741 days, or 15 years, 8 months, and 2-3 weeks before the Circumadversum Omatsuri, one night.

A girl whose family was moving abroad in the next few months suddenly shouted, “Mom! Dad! Look! There seems to be a matsuri over there!”

The Fotiou family car was on a hillside road, allowing them to see the lights shining in a town below. Argyris confirmed what his daughter had seen and immediately offered, “Yes, there’s a festival. Would you like to come along? How about it?”

“Yes, yes, yes, yes!” Seira replied enthusiastically.

Namiki, meanwhile, replied, “I think that’s fine.”

Argyris’s wife and daughter both expressed their agreement in their own ways. After entering the city and approaching the matsuri location, Argyris immediately maneuvered the silver SUV to find a parking space. Luckily, there was still a parking spot not too far from the site.

Seira Ito Fotiou, Namiki, and Argyris Fotiou immediately got out of their car. The three of them walked together. As they walked, Seira made a request: "If there's lemonade and shrimp dishes there, can you buy them for Seira?"

Argyris agreed, "Yes, you can."

Then Seira expressed another wish, this time one that didn't have to be fulfilled immediately: "One day I want to participate in the Matsuri, or at least sell something at it."

Namiki responded to her daughter's wish, "That's a good hope, wanting to participate in the Matsuri ritual or sell something at it. To do that, you always have to take care of your health. To be involved in the Matsuri, you have to be strong. If you want to be a stallholder at the Matsuri, that's great too; it would be a fun experience. To be a great vendor, you have to be smart."

Namiki gave her daughter some good advice. When Seira expressed her desire to become a matsuri participant or a vendor, one of the first things that came to mind was the yakuza and matsuri. Namiki knew that some matsuri vendors were affiliated with or controlled by the yakuza. Of course, Namiki wouldn't discuss such matters with her eight-year-old daughter.

Seira didn't ask what she didn't know; she responded to her mother's suggestion, "Of course! Seira will be strong and smart!"

It didn't take long for the Fotiou family to cross the makeshift gate built into the ground to enter the Matsuri location.

(000)

5741 days, or 15 years, 8 months, and 2-3 weeks before The Circumadversum Omatsuri, one night.

John Anatole Holland felt as if he were entering a gate into a cave. Professor Kimura's silver SUV had passed a gate in the floor of Buriki kan no Barakku that had just opened. Just before the gate opened, Holland's eyes caught sight of Professor Kimura pressing a cell phone-like device that his senior apparently used to open the gate.

Holland also remembered what Professor Kimura had said as the silver car entered the gate: "Hello, World! Hello, Groundwork!"

Holland wondered if the "Hello, World!" he had heard meant the same or a similar thing as the term used for the most basic computer program. But he also wondered if the phrase "Hello, World" might refer to something else. Holland wondered, "Could it be that this phrase indicates that Buriki kan no Barakku is the gateway to a new world?"

Holland had also thought about the phrase "Hello, Groundwork." He thought "groundwork" was a term that could mean "the required preliminary work, initial inquiry, and vital steps needed to prepare for a larger project, study, or development, ensuring a well-grounded and solid basis for larger and future works."

However, Holland still considered another possibility: "Groundwork—could it possibly mean working underground? Literally working underground? Or perhaps working underground or in secret? Professor Starwood mentioned that if you join, you'll feel like an outcast."

Holland, his head filled with questions, was still able to concentrate on observing his surroundings. He was still aware that the SUV had passed through a gate in the floor and was on a new level. With a quick glance, he noticed that the floor was almost identical to the previous one, with not many objects on it.

Holland's eyes still glanced as Professor Kimura operated his phone's unlocking device. A gate quickly opened again on the current level. Like the previous gate, it opened by sliding downward. Professor Kimura immediately moved his car down the gate-bridge, sending the car to the lower level.

On the current floor, Holland noticed a greater variety of objects. He carefully examined the new room. Several partitions divided the space into compartments. Several doors, seemingly connected to unknown locations, were also visible. However, what caught Holland's eye most was a large symbol or logo painted in a corner of the room's wall.

The logo was a combination of two nearly identical objects facing opposite directions, one facing left and the other facing right. The two objects resembled two yellow ginkgo leaves, each with a short twig. One leaf appeared to have a slight tear.

Between the two ginkgo leaves in the logo, a silver silhouette appeared. Holland could see, between the silhouette and the outline of the inner ginkgo leaf, what appeared to be a written letter "G." Holland wondered, "After Hello World and Hello Groundwork, now a symbol with the letter G?"