Chapter One: New Tokyo Doesn’t Believe in Love (A Seedling in Need of Care)

Land of Wa, New Tokyo.

Under the current rule of the Celestial Government, this place is also known as “Academy City.”

The train sped through the tunnel.

A rush of wind howled past his ears.

In the slightly crowded carriage of the Hanzomon Line, passengers gripping the handrails swayed gently with the motion. A high school-aged boy, just like the other “phone zombies” around him, kept his eyes glued to his phone, occasionally glancing up to survey his surroundings. His gaze inadvertently swept across the train window directly in front of him.

In the pitch-black tunnel, the bright interior lights made the window’s reflection especially clear, showing the image of a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old boy. Under his black hoodie, his figure looked a bit thin and frail, his complexion pale as if chronically malnourished. Yet, the features beneath his slightly long, slanted bangs were so striking that he could be called a Tokyo heartthrob anywhere.

Edward Harris glanced at his reflection in the window, then let his gaze drift to the side, passing over the image of a “couple” reflected in the glass.

The man was probably in his forties, and judging by his attire, likely held a section chief or higher position at his company. Though his hairline was receding, he exuded the air of a workplace elite.

The girl beside him was much younger, in her twenties, with an innocent look like a fledgling just entering the workforce. In the crowded carriage, she nestled up to the middle-aged man, looking every bit the picture of a delicate, dependent bird.

That age gap...

Either a sugar daddy or an affair.

True love?

Sorry, New Tokyo doesn’t believe in “tears.”

......

The phone’s camera lifted slightly,

Aimed at the window.

Focus...

Edward Harris lightly tapped the virtual shutter button on the screen.

The next second, without the usual flash or shutter sound, the image was already frozen on his screen.

It had to be said, the custom phone provided by the detective agency had such high resolution that even photos taken of reflections in the train window came out clear, and there was no unshuttable flash or sound.

Edward Harris snapped a few more photos before lowering his head nonchalantly, continuing to play the part of a train “phone zombie.”

But in his heart, he sighed softly, his expression a bit helpless.

There was no helping it—not that Edward Harris had a particular hobby for covert photography, but everything was for the sake of making a living.

Living in Tokyo is no easy feat.

Even in New Tokyo, it’s the same.

In Edward Harris’s mind, he couldn’t help but recall the phone call he’d received half an hour ago, after his high school classes ended and he was working part-time as a disciplinary committee member in this area.

On the call, the unscrupulous uncle who provided him with lodging while he studied in New Tokyo shattered Edward Harris’s “dignity” with just half a month’s rent reduction, forcing him to take on this so-called “big job.”

And that unscrupulous uncle’s detective agency—which, in Edward Harris’s opinion, could go under at any moment—probably considered marital infidelity investigations its biggest cases these days.

That’s right, the middle-aged man Edward Harris had just secretly photographed was the main subject of this infidelity investigation—his wife, suspecting him of cheating, had commissioned the The Bennett Detective Agency to collect evidence for a divorce case.

As luck would have it...

A week ago, this same man had also hired the The Bennett Detective Agency to investigate his wife. After getting the evidence and seeing the photos of his wife with another man... and all sorts of bizarre props he’d never even seen before...

He’d cried his heart out.

Who would have thought that a week later, he’d become the main character himself.

Edward Harris tapped the shutter again.

......

The speeding train stopped at one station after another, doors opening and closing, people getting on and off, then roaring back into what seemed like an endless dark tunnel.

Suddenly, the LCD screen on the train wall, which had been playing ads, switched to show the image of a disheveled girl. Her clothes looked a bit tattered and dirty, but what drew the most attention was her short silver hair and the pair of milky-white cat ears on either side of her head—on closer inspection, they really did look like the ears of a British Shorthair from a previous life.

If it had been half a year ago, when Edward Harris had just arrived in this world, he might have wondered if those ears were fake, designed to cater to some weird catgirl fetish.

Now, he no longer had such doubts.

After spending half a year learning about this world’s history, Edward Harris figured that what he was seeing was probably a catgirl... no, a catwoman, a “Celestial” catwoman. Judging by her pupils and features, she might even be a mixed-blood catwoman—most likely a descendant of the mixed marriages between Celestials and humans, a policy implemented by the Celestial World Government over five hundred years ago to abolish racial segregation and maintain their rule.

“Wow! She stole eighty million yen worth of jewelry?”

“A catwoman is from the Celestial Cat Tribe, right?”

“Heh, I’ve always said, there aren’t many good ones among the Celestials.”

“Shh! Careful! Don’t let the Celestial Government’s Night Judgment Bureau hear you.”

“......”