Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

'With the construction machinery working so fast, won't those Japanese construction workers lose their jobs?'

This was the first boring thought that came to Hachiman Hikigaya's mind.

But then he immediately thought his idea was funny.

'What am I thinking? Wouldn't they lose their jobs even without those things?'

Hachiman Hikigaya took off the hat he wore while working. His back felt like it was about to give out.

He was already this tired just working part-time; he didn't know what those girls who were also dragged here to work would look like.

Honestly, he really wanted to know, and he really wanted to laugh. He wanted to laugh so much that tears almost came out. He was experiencing the life of a corporate slave in advance.

Well, it couldn't really be considered a corporate slave, as corporate slaves in Japan generally referred to the city's corporate elites.

These workers who maintained the city's operations were actually just corporate weeds.

Because corporate slaves could speak up about their human rights, corporate weeds couldn't, because it was difficult to get attention.

The basic necessities for these nearly two hundred thousand students were already very troublesome. Hachiman couldn't imagine how much money it would take to organize a group to manage them.

The ratio of civil servants in Japan was at least one for every forty people. To manage these two hundred thousand students, they would need five thousand managers, and those were specialized management positions.

Hachiman couldn't imagine how much profit a student organization like that could make.

Supervision? Was this a joke? Were they serious?

Hachiman still didn't even know who was managing him. He just knew that he couldn't escape this so-called 'Academy City.'

The hottest topic on the internet right now was 'Academy City,' and those circles of terrifying steel walls.

When you saw such large steel walls steadily descending from the sky, you couldn't help but feel terrified.

You'd be afraid of the walls suddenly collapsing, showing everyone the might of the espers. Those things were definitely not made from those 'tiny' steel furnaces they had nowadays.

Those were gigantic and terrifying steel walls. Under those walls, things like the city's right to sunlight didn't exist.

Those were steel forged by Tesla directly using the thermal effect of electrical arcs. They were formed into huge blocks from the start. It was a type of extremely cheap finished steel that, when thrown onto the market, could destroy a large number of factories.

Compared to the so-called military threat, this 'Tesla building cheap, scrap iron walls' was what really scared people.

The military threat was just turning them into dogs, while building steel was making some people not even worthy of being dogs.

But these fantastical things weren't a big deal to Hachiman.

Ever since he saw the 'sun' fall to the ground, he became enlightened.

The Academy City, the superpowers, the new humans, all these seemingly bright futures painted for everyone were all just ways to take something they didn't care about, but was very important, from these ordinary people.

'Student organization? I'd be stupid to join a student organization!'

Hachiman could clearly see that he didn't know if ordinary students in the future would have problems, but if he foolishly joined those student organizations, there would definitely be intense conflicts.

"Hikigaya, what are you spacing out for? Finished with lunch?"

His blond classmate also took off his hat and sat next to Hikigaya.

The two sat by the flowerbed on the side of the street and started eating.

"Shirogane, how's the news from your sister's side? Did you get the money?"

"Ah, it's okay. It's just that my life here is a bit harder, but there aren't any other problems."

Shirogane looked at his phone, reading the chat logs with his sister, feeling relieved after confirming the family's financial situation.

"Our old school rarely covered things like accommodation, utilities, internet, and now there's an opportunity like this. I think that Academy City really wants to make a difference. I just checked the new research institute. Many companies have foreign names, and they are all famous companies after I looked them up online. They have some pretty powerful connections here…"

Hachiman Hikigaya listened to Shirogane's rambling, absentmindedly nodding.

He asked, "Shirogane, there are nearly two hundred thousand students in our batch, it's a mixed bag. If we're talking about management positions, then there will be over a thousand students managing Academy City in the future."

"If we consider the next three years, with a new batch every year, the student population in Academy City will remain at around six hundred thousand. At that point… do you think they'll have students create a public service organization?"

"......"

Miyuki Shirogane wondered if he had misheard him. Wasn't this an esper-themed light novel about high schoolers? Why were they suddenly talking about politics?

"Hikigaya, we're still in high school, right? No matter how much we think about it, it's useless, right? Those children from rich and powerful families will certainly be the ones in charge."

Miyuki Shirogane wasn't wrong, but he wasn't entirely correct.

Hachiman knew that even if it was just for show, they would maintain a certain proportion of students from ordinary families in the organization. Those students would be used for grunt work, taking the blame, and filling up the numbers.

"You're wrong, you need to understand this."

Hachiman Hikigaya pointed at the construction mechs on the street, and the huge city wall that was visible in the distance, saying, "These things, the mechs, the superpowers, are all the same for students in Academy City. In actuality, there isn't a big difference between their starting lines."

"They can take the lead temporarily due to their family's wealth and power, but compared to the differences in the outside world, they aren't actually that far ahead. This is definitely an opportunity for students from ordinary families."

'Hikigaya! What are you talking about?! Hikigaya! Snap out of it!'

Miyuki Shirogane hadn't felt much upward pressure, but Hachiman Hikigaya was someone who had been directly pressured by espers.

"Hikigaya, why are you saying these things? Aren't we being a little too familiar? We're just ordinary siscon high schoolers, please be realistic!"

Hachiman Hikigaya shook his head and said, "I am being realistic. It's because I'm realistic that I'm telling you this. I'm not worried that you'll spread this, I'm worried about something else. Everything has both advantages and disadvantages. If all we hear about are good things with no drawbacks, then I start to worry if I'm missing something."

He looked at Miyuki Shirogane seriously and said, "You have a family with a little sister, and I also have a family with a little sister. You wouldn't want to be in some kind of inexplicable danger here, right?"

'Is he trying to scare me? Seriously?'

Miyuki Shirogane lost his appetite. He was dumbfounded by Hachiman's words.

'What happened to him?'