The morning mist over Amencho Town smelled faintly sweet today, of all days. April 1st. In the center of the plaza , Maskman stood at attention more rigidly than ever before. Beside him stood the engineer Spice, collar straightened on his coveralls, holding a holographic list.
“…Today, a new recruit has been assigned to the Amencho Town Guard. Maskman, I’m counting on you to train them.”
At Spice’s solemn tone, Maskman’s shoulders trembled faintly. “A new… recruit. At last, I have someone under me. The time has come to pass on the heart of justice .”
His voice, muffled behind the mask, carried more dignity than usual. He had stayed up all night writing “The Ten Commandments of a Hero of Justice” for this very day. But where Spice pointed to introduce the “new recruit,” there was no one at all — only Spice’s own homemade autonomous drone, rendered “invisible” by the latest optical camouflage technology, hovering silently in place.
“…Spice, where’s the new recruit?” “Right in front of you. A ’transparent rookie’ equipped with the latest AI. It will learn all your instructions and support the town’s peacekeeping .”
It was an April Fool’s prank Spice had cooked up. But to Maskman — painfully shy, yet someone who found courage only through the filter of a “mask” — an invisible recruit looked exactly like a kindred spirit: someone else who fought while hiding their true self.
“…I see. The ultimate stealth hero, protecting the town while hidden from view. I like it. Follow me, rookie!”
Maskman began delivering a passionate speech to the empty air — about a hero’s loneliness , the conflict of never showing his true face, and the pride of protecting the town. From the shadows, Kopo and Minico watched, grinning.
“Bro, Maskman’s totally pouring his heart out to an empty drone.” “Shh, quiet, Minico. …But I’ve never seen him talk that fired up before. Turns out there’s a pretty hot-blooded frog under there.”
Kopo felt a small pang of embarrassment at his own usual need to look cool.
In the corner of the plaza, Sonchō sat under the weeping cherry tree, sipping new-fiscal-year tea and chuckling, “Feh-feh.” “Lie or truth — new employees and heroes both start out as nothing more than ’transparent beings, not yet anyone.’ How you go about adding color from there is what makes life interesting.”
Suddenly, Maskman stopped walking. He turned to where the invisible recruit was presumably standing and quietly held out his own spare mask.
“…If you’re ever afraid to show your true face, I’ll lend you this. Until then, I’ll be your shield.”
At that instant, an error flashed on Spice’s terminal. The AI drone, unable to fully parse the illogical data of Maskman’s “passion,” had short-circuited.
“…Well, well. What was meant to be a lie ended up simulating a real bond.”
Spice muttered, sounding exasperated , though his face looked oddly satisfied. When April Fool’s Day ended, the invisible recruit vanished — but in Maskman’s heart, a genuine sense of pride, as a “senior,” had been firmly engraved .
【Today’s Motif: April 1, 2026】
- April Fool’s Day: A day where lies and truth intertwine , framing Maskman’s sincerity .
- New Fiscal Year / Company Induction Ceremonies: New beginnings, and the start of senior-junior relationships.
- AI Agents and Optical Camouflage: 2026’s cutting-edge technology, projected as one of Spice’s gadgets.
This is an English translation of “仮面の真実と、透明な入社式”, part of Tales of Amencho Town (蛙鳴町奇譚).