At the hour morning dew was dampening the cobblestones , only the window frame of Kopo’s room wasn’t glowing with the orange of dawn , but with the pale blue light of a monitor.
“…Right. North district, conquered. Next, the port area!”
In front of a monitor Spice had assembled from junk parts, Kopo wasn’t glaring at his “Map for Frog World Domination,” but at the map of a virtual city modeled on the real one. Ever since Minico brought over last night’s paper saying a new world would be unleashed “today,” Kopo’s eyes hadn’t closed once. It had already been twenty-three hours.
“Big brother.”
Through the gap in the door, Minico held up this morning’s paper.
“There was a car in France that drove for twenty-four hours straight.”
“Not now, I’m busy. The southern hideout , I’ve got to—”
“It says night came again and again, and it rained too, and they kept driving the same track anyway. Toward the finish line.”
Kopo’s finger stopped, just for a moment.
“…What’s so great about that?”
“That no matter how many mornings pass, it’s still there.”
Minico said only that and disappeared down the hallway.
Looking out the window, May morning light was streaming through the weeping cherry’s branches. From the direction of Dragon God’s Lake, a wind carried the mingled smell of earth and water. The virtual city on the screen had no smell like that at all.
Kopo slowly set down his controller. He pulled out his “Map for World Domination” and, with a pen, planted a small flag on Amencho Town. Not on a conquered place — on the place where he himself stood, right now.
Stepping out onto the veranda , the cobblestones, cooled by morning dew, pushed firmly back against the soles of his feet.
It was a real morning.
Margin note: The “flag of conquest ” Kopo had planted in the virtual city that morning was never saved, and had vanished by the next day. Amencho Town’s flag is still there.
【Today’s Motif】
- Grand Theft Auto VI Release Day: The long-awaited latest installment in the series, beloved by gamers worldwide, released on May 26th. A major title centered on the domination of a virtual city.
- 24 Hours of Le Mans: The pinnacle of endurance racing, held annually in France. Continuing since the first race in 1923, drivers keep to the same track through the night, with the goal of reaching morning.
This is an English translation of “仮想の旗と、本物の朝”, part of Tales of Amencho Town (蛙鳴町奇譚).