Culture Shocks
Reiwa 2 August 1
Minato sipped on his green tea as he looked out the window from his office in the Kantei. The sounds of cars driving past could be heard from outside, more frequently than in the past few months. In less than a year, Japan would be completely self-sufficient in oil and natural gas, or so he had been told by numerous experts and business executives, and so fuel restrictions were being gradually loosened. He even sighted an airliner in the distant cloudy skies, as some airports were resuming air traffic. It was not a Boeing, but one of Mitsubishi's SpaceJet models, probably enjoying a trial flight. The company was scrambling to develop alternatives to the Boeing airliners, with strong government support.
Minato sat down, and frowned as he took another look at the provisional estimates on fiscal allocation ending July, and the various items that were receiving funding. Since the transfer, the government had unprecedentedly ramped up public spending, with much of the funding directly provided interest-free by the Bank of Japan to bypass the liquidity constraints of the bond market, effectively giving the government access to unlimited money. This massive fiscal expansion was meant to mitigate the enormous consequences wrought by the transfer, and to a lesser extent by the COVID-19, by financing the overseas economic projects and its massive supply chains, to adjusting the domestic economy to the loss of global value chains by supporting indigenization, and by steering off the economic depression and mass unemployment in general by boosting aggregate demand. As such, and because he had been preoccupied with the broader details of the overseas economic projects, the scale of the budget and the number of spending items had reached such a degree that Minato himself had lost track of it.
Which was why he was grappling with some of the spending items. A hundred trillion yen just on "discretionary spending"? Just what was included in that spending item? The description was obscure, but implied that a lot of it was to supplement the functionings of JAXA. Something about "asteroid impact avoidance". Minato had a bad feeling about this. He would have to convene a meeting at some point, involving the full Cabinet and other people involved in government budgetary issues. Hopefully someone there would have the answers.
Reiwa 2 August 3
At the headquarters of the Japan Meteorological Agency, in the operation room, many employees were staring at the latest satellite footages, completely gobsmacked. A whirlpool was seen on a large digital screen, surrounded by the rest of the ocean and the outlines of a large island. That in itself might have not been that remarkable, were it not for its size…
"N-no, no! There has to be a mistake! Impossible!" several people burst out.
The Director-General hmmed. "That has to be at least five kilometers across, if not ten. Far wider than the actual depths of the waters, I think. And not an eddy, but an actual whirlpool..."
One of their prominent scientists shook his head in disbelief. "The satellite must have been infected by space dust or something! What it shows goes against everything we know about fluid dynamics..."
"Perhaps this is better approached on a quantum level, rather than on a classical one?" another scientist suggested.
"It's still impossible. There is no way a whirlpool can be that big! Do you realize how fucking ridiculous that is?! Ten kilometers across, that's the size of… of Paris! It would swallow any ship in sight, even the largest oil tanker! Even Seawise Giant!" He continued raving.
"It's like magic," someone muttered. "First the transfer, then the sea monster and the mind control thing, now this…"
The Director-General signed. "It can't be helped. It is what it is, unless it can conclusively be proven that the image is the result of some technical error or bug. Now we need to convince the journalists at the press conference that we are in fact no lunatics…"
The 6th day of the 8th month, 7999 A.C.
Jeod could not help stealing furtive glances at the two foreigners as the three of them slowly walked off the wharf and onto land. Everything about them was so… different.
As they walked through the harbor, he noted that their footwear seemed to be some kind of sandals. Looking at their faces, he could see that, although they did not differ meaningfully in skin tone from the majority of humans in the Empire, their facial features were still noticeably different. It would not be too hard to pick them out from the rest of the city dwellers of Teirm, even had they not worn their distinctive clothing.
He saw the wonder and amazement that filled their expressions. The woman, Marie, in particular made no attempt to hide her excitement as they approached the gate that led into the rest of Teirm. She seemed especially surprised by the size of the wall. Tsubasa's demeanor was more muted, but Jeod saw him looking at the guards who stood at the entrance, pikes in their hands, with a curious glance, almost as if they were something novel.
Perhaps he has never set foot in a city before? Jeod reasoned. After all, most people haven't, and guards patrolling walled entrances must be quite a striking sight to the common villager and farmer. Judging by the reactions from Marie, she is in a similar position. Although that makes me curious how they got on the ship…
He heard them talking quietly to each other in their language, or mostly Marie to Tsubasa, and was struck by how quickly the words rolled off their tongues. Their language seemed to be spoken more quickly than the common language. Then he saw Marie turn toward him, and she addressed him in an inquiring tone: "Eto…" She pointed to herself and stated: "Marie." Then she pointed to him and said: "Jeod." Then she walked the short distance to the white wall and pointed to it, with a questioning glance at Jeod.
"Ahh… wall," Jeod finally filled in. "Wall," he repeated slowly. Marie tried to pronounce the word, though it came out somewhat accented. In fairness though, he had heard some farmers enunciate things almost as poorly, even though they had spoken the common language all their lives.
Finally they had passed the portcullis and were on the cobblestone street, surrounded by the rather grim and dilapidated mostly wooden buildings that characterized the outer parts of Teirm. He saw them both wrinkle their noses, especially Marie who also coughed once or twice. I suppose that's not an uncommon reaction from villagers setting foot in a city for the first time, not used to the smells, Jeod thought. Jeod himself was very much used to it, although he did think it could get a little unpleasant at times, when too much excrement and rotting animal entrails piled up in one spot. But if that was the price of living in a city, he would gladly accept it. Besides, Teirm was one of the better cities in the Empire in terms of odor, even if it had nothing on the elven cities of Du Weldenvarden. But the elves were, well, elves.
"Welcome to Teirm," he told them, even though he knew they would not understand. He was relieved to see that the smells of the city did not seem to detract their overall curiosity and excitement; their hungry gazes shifted between all the sights before them, trying to take everything in. Jeod was slightly jealous of them; to be able to experience the awe of seeing a city for the first time. But mostly he was glad and slightly excited on their behalf. Their excitement - mainly Marie's - only strengthened his resolve to play a good host and give them a good experience of what the city had to offer.
The buildings got taller, more ornate and well-maintained as they walked deeper into the city. Marie would occasionally inquire about the words for things in the common language by pointing, and Jeod swore her pronunciation improved as the inquiries went on. He also noticed that particularly Marie walked with a lack of the cautiousness and vigilance usually seen in most city-dwellers, the latter's mindset fueled by the crime-ridden reality and other risks and dangers of living in a city. Jeod wished he could tell them to be more alert and less trusting of everyone surrounding them, but he had no way of communicating his apprehensions. It did not help that they stuck out like Kulls among dwarven younglings, with their garments. At least Tsubasa seemed to pick up some wariness in his expression as some strangers started looking at them with suspicion.
As he took another quiet appraisal at the foreigners, he also thought that they, along with the other foreigners he had seen on that pier, possessed a certain refined mannerism and self-restraint not even found among all nobles.
He suddenly heard the jingling sound of coins as Marie fished for something in her leather bag, only to give the silvery coinage to the nearest miserable street vagabond. Jeod was momentarily taken aback, not just by the odd act, but also the fact that they had brought with them currency from their home country, even though it should not have been a surprise. He wanted to take a closer look at their coins, but could not think of a way to communicate his request without appearing to be in the act of panhandling.
Tsubasa, by his expression, seemed to be skeptical of her actions, and muttered something to that effect. Or so Jeod guessed.
He glanced up at the mostly clear sky. Judging by the current position of the sun, it was one hour or two past midday. Still a good time for a midday meal.
They finally stopped before his favorite tavern, the Glazing Poultry. The pleasant aroma of cooked meat, fish, and cinnamon filled his nose, and he saw that Marie was no longer wrinkling her nose. "This is a tavern," he said, emphasizing the last word as he pointed to the door and surrounding building of stone and wood. "Here we will eat." He mimicked an eating man. He then beckoned for them to follow him inside.
The boisterous chatter quietened as they walked deeper into the tavern. The two foreigners received some stares, curious as well as wary ones. Jeod saw Tsubasa stiffen for a moment, until Marie took his arm, murmured something, and guided him to follow Jeod.
They took their seats at a wooden table as the chatter around them returned to what it had been. Jeod cast furtive glances at the two, trying to discern their impressions of this place. The Glazing Poultry was one of the finest taverns in all of Teirm; clean, kept in good conditions, just enough spacious, and cozily decorated. Most importantly, the food was always delicious, and even the occasional noble would stop by to enjoy a well-seasoned white poultry.
From what he saw, they seemed utterly fascinated by the place, like it was a novel experience, and Jeod found himself wondering. I suppose taverns such as this do not exist in a great number of villages, especially destitute ones.
As he was the only one who could speak the common language, he took the orders for all of them to the serving wench, who stared curiously at the two foreigners. He was about to pay, but Marie beat him to it and handed a few coins to the wench. Probably a few too many; while the value of coins were chiefly determined by their weight and the metal they were made of, even the daftest of farmers could see that those silvery coins were worth no less than the crowns issued by the Empire. Unless they were made of lead.
Jeod wanted to protest, as customs demanded that the host be the one to shoulder the costs, but how was he going to make himself understood? Meanwhile, the serving wench had finally stopped gaping and left their table.
It struck him that with how carelessly this young woman parted with her coins, she had to be fairly well-endowed. If so, she either had to be of noble birth, or at least born into a wealthy family, or she had managed to marry a wealthy husband. Or both, like Helen once was. He cast a glance at Tsubasa. Were they married? Probably not, as they did not have rings, unless the customs in their lands were different.
He really wished he could inquire more about their lands, and was starting to feel frustrated by the language barrier.
A couple people approached, no doubt curious about the foreigners, but when Jeod informed them - and loud enough for other surrounding tables to hear - that the two foreigners did not speak the common language, they were not bothered again.
As they waited for their food and drinks, Marie tried to strike up a conversation with him, even though she barely knew a word of their language, instead communicating through gestures, pointing, and various sounds. He tried to respond the best he could, but was often not sure what the topic was about. She pointed to various things, asking for the words in the common language, and even intentionally mispronounced things to learn from Jeod the word "no". She even mimicked leaving their table and then returned, waving and making a greeting sound as she looked expectantly at Jeod, until he finally realized what she wanted and responded back with a common greeting phrase, which she copied.
She's really trying to learn our language, Jeod thought.
He was just teaching her to count to ten - which she had requested by pointing to and folding her fingers - when the food and beer arrived.
"Thank you," Marie said to the wench, and Jeod was stunned.
The main course was a stuffed suckling pig served on a copper platter, accompanied by potatoes, carrots, turnips, sweet apples, and various herbs and other seasonings. "Suge," Marie said to Tsubasa excitedly, though the latter only made a noncommittal sound. Then she looked at Jeod while pointing to some of the ingredients. "This is?"
A little dumbfounded, Jeod did his best to answer. As they dug in, Jeod was surprised by their good table manners. It was hardly what he would expect of peasants and villagers, or even many a commoner in Teirm. Then again, with her wealth, Marie could not be a mere farmer. And neither could Tsubasa, or Marie would refuse to be anywhere near him, much less deign to address him. It would be beneath the stature of someone of her wealth. Jeod was different in that regard as he tolerated the lower folks despite his once formidable wealth.
On the other hand, they seemed to struggle somewhat with actually picking up the food. For some reason, they refused to use their hands for eating, instead relying solely on their wooden spoons, producing a somewhat comical sight. In the end, they gave up and started using their fingers.
He saw Tsubasa sniff suspiciously at the beer, before giving it a small taste. To Jeod's dismay, he did not seem to like it very much. This is considered good beer in Teirm! The spirits of their homeland must be quite different from here…
As they finished eating their meal, he saw Marie dig for something in her bag. It was a piece of parchment, on which was a drawing of the sun and land beneath, made with simple thin strokes. Marie pointed to the sun, and Jeod, who was by now used to her antics, quickly answered with the word in the common language.
It turned out Marie had quite a few pieces of parchment, and they spent several minutes going through them. Then the wench came to collect their tableware, and out of courtesy Jeod lifted the pieces of parchment lying on the table... wait a bit.
This is not parchment. The material was far too smooth, and, now that he thought about it, its color was far too light and too uniform. The thing he was holding was almost white in color, as opposed to the unevenly distributed yellow-brown he was used to.
This is elven, Jeod realized. What did they call it… paper? Made directly from wood, I reckon.
Jeod's heart started to pound with excitement. This meant that their country had extensive contacts with the elves, a race who spoke the ancient language! For Jeod knew that the elves of Alagaësia had spoken the ancient language before they had even arrived on the continent, so it was only logical to assume that the elves beyond Alagaësia also spoke the language of magic.
Even if he had not known this, he should have at least tried communicating with them in the language of truth. Jeod wanted to curse himself. Why hadn't I thought of this before?
After making sure no one but them was within earshot, he opened his mouth, trembling slightly from the anticipation, and asked in the ancient language: "Do you understand me?"
Tsubasa stared at him questioningly, while Marie politely asked in the common language: "What?"
Jeod's heart sank. While he could see both of them appeared surprised, he knew it was only from the reverberating power behind the ancient language, and not the meaning of his words. He could see it in their eyes. They had not understood what he said.
Did that mean that the elves their country was in contact with did not speak the ancient language? Or were they in fact not in contact with any elves? But how then did they get those pieces of paper, as only the elves could make something so intricate? Maybe the two foreigners just did not know the ancient language, contacts with the elves regardless. More and more questions filled his mind even as he felt the disappointment from his failure at communicating.
"I'm sorry," Jeod said in an apologetic tone. "I thought you could speak the ancient language." He saw Marie nod, then quickly entering a discussion with Tsubasa, which Jeod could hear was of a more serious nature than before. Her expression had also shifted from being lighthearted to a more sober one ever since Jeod had uttered the words of power.
Even though Jeod could not understand a word of what they were saying, he could guess from the context. Not only did they not speak the ancient language, they had reacted with surprise to its power, suggesting their familiarity with the language was very limited, perhaps even nonexistent. He would bet his remaining crowns that they were trying to figure out the mysterious feeling they had felt when he had spoken those words. He frowned. They must be unfamiliar with magic, like most commonfolk. He was starting to regret using the ancient language.
But then they stopped their conversation with what sounded like an agreement, and Marie resumed her cheerful demeanor as if nothing had happened. Tsubasa, however, seemed more thoughtful than before, which was saying something.
Hoping to get them to quickly forget what had just transpired, he suggested they take their leave from the tavern, communicating through a mixture of words and gestures.
"Yes," Marie said, while Tsubasa nodded. The pace with which the young woman was picking up the common language continued to astound Jeod.
Once they were out on the cobblestone street, Jeod knew it was time to convince them on what he had planned next. "Jeod pointed around to the many buildings surrounding them while enunciating the word "house." Marie nodded, probably already familiar with the word from her earlier questioning with the parch- the papers.
Jeod pointed to himself. "My house," he said. "We will go there, all right?" He gestured for them to follow him.
Marie looked at Tsubasa for a moment. When he seemed to be assenting, she said to Jeod: "Yes Jeod! We you house."
As they walked to his abode, and Jeod turned to look behind his shoulder as he sometimes did, his gaze locked on a dark corner, where he thought he saw a ball of black fur with a pair of red eyes staring at the back Tsubasa, before his line of sight to the spot was blocked by the walls of a building as they continued walking.
The butler Rolf greeted them as they arrived at the doorsteps, and seemed somewhat befuddled as the two foreigners both bowed to him in response. Marie even managed to utter an accented "greetings".
They followed Jeod inside his mansion and took it all in with curious glances. He wondered if they had ever been inside a house this big.
Jeod saw them stopping right at the entrance, eyeing him questioningly, and then Marie pointed to her footwear.
"Shoes," Jeod said quickly. "Or sandals. Sandals."
But Marie shook her head. She then slowly demonstrated taking off her footwear…
"Wait!" Jeod exclaimed. "No wait, there is no need to do that," he added. Inwardly, he was once again surprised for the umpteenth time this day. Do they not wear shoes inside their homes where they come from? Jeod found the notion of not wearing shoes indoors very hard to grasp. Though now that he thought about it, he did remember reading in some obscure work that some elves preferred to be barefoot, a tidbit he had dismissed at the time. But given how uncomfortable it would be to walk the floors of most human homes without shoes, Jeod could not fathom what those two were thinking.
He did not see Helen around, and guessed the woman was fuming in her room, or the like.
Jeod motioned for them to follow him as he showed them around his mansion. They both looked appreciatively at his collection of books when he showed them his study, which he took as a good sign. Marie cast him a questioning glance as she approached the bookcase with an outstretched hand, and when he nodded, she picked up one of the books and carefully flipped through the pages. The way she familiarly handled the book suggested to Jeod that she had done it before. That means she can read, which is more than can be said for most. In an average group of ten people, only one would know their letters.
Then she sighed however and pointed at the writing while shaking her head at Jeod. I suppose the language barrier manifests itself even in writing.
They did not linger in the study for long, and soon they left for the scores of doorways.
This was the part Jeod was unsure about. He wanted them to stay in his mansion for a while, so he could learn more about them and their distant lands, for the good of the Varden and Arcaena, as well as to sate his own unending curiosity. Given how quickly Marie was picking up the common language, in perhaps just a few months she would be able to communicate with him passably, if they were to stay. There was also the question of sleeping arrangements. It was common for peasants to share beds, be it with family members, or between strangers as was often the case with travelers in inns.
But among the nobility and the wealthy, there had developed a custom for individuals to sleep in separate beds or even separate rooms. After all, having your own bed was a sign of great affluence, and with it also came the expectation for the wealthy host to offer the same to his guests, if his guests were not peasants, however unlikely the latter was. Jeod, unusual as he was, would offer the same consideration to peasants as he would to the nobility and the gentry. Besides, his guests may not be peasants at all.
With slight hesitation, he opened two doors next to each other, revealing a room furnished with two beds and nightstands, a window and curtains, and a few other amenities.
He saw the realization in their eyes, and then they started chattering in their quick language. Finally, Marie turned to him and said a heartfelt "thank you" before fishing for coins in her bag. Curious as Jeod was about the coins, he eagerly received them before thinking through his actions. Then he instantly regretted it as he realized he had just received payment. Feeling his honor as a good host smarting, he immediately tried handing the coins back, only to be rebuffed by Marie.
I guess it can't be helped, Jeod thought. He looked closely at the near-dozen coins he had received, feeling the surface of the metal with his fingers. Then he froze in shock.
This is silver! Actual silver! They certainly aren't mere commoners...
The carvings on the coins were curiously sparse, and at first glance they looked plain, if a bit unusually smooth. But as he examined them closer, he was struck by how detailed, how precise the scarce sculpting was. Even the smallest etchings - few as they were - were well-defined. He compared the coins and found the carvings on each of them to be exactly identical. Whoever the smith was that had hammered these coins, his name would surely be immortalized for the coins alone! The idea that there was a human whose metalwork perhaps rivaled that of dwarves and elves… it filled him with unexpected pride.
After a while, he was approached by Marie, who held a piece of paper showing a man… defecating on some stool? Jeod struggled to find the words to describe the act. Once he had, Marie pointed again at the picture and then at herself and Tsubasa.
Ah. He supposed they did not feel inclined to take their needs to the outside street or some corner of the house. Luckily he did have a few latrines and chamber pots in his mansion, which he promptly guided them toward.
After he had opened the door to where the latrines were present, he saw Marie wrinkle her nose in disgust. Tsubasa muttered something, then went inside and closed the door.
Jeod glanced at Marie who stood outside the door, probably waiting for her turn to use the latrines. Jeod was not sure if he should leave them to it and go downstairs or to his study, but he did not have to think long about that as he heard a call from inside, and a response from Marie.
The two exchanged a few words from each side of the door, then Marie met Jeod's curious expression with a hesitating one as she picked up a piece of paper from one of the pockets of her garment. Jeod, expecting her to show him the contents on the paper for him to enunciate, was surprised when she instead put it close to where her bottom was under the garments, then made a show of scrubbing. She seemed rather embarrassed doing so.
Jeod stared dumbfounded at the bizarre display. What was she doing? "I'm sorry," he said carefully. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you are asking of me."
Marie shot him an exasperated look - an expression he was not used to seeing on her face - then spoke to Tsubasa in a reluctant, apologetic tone.
A long, tense moment passed. Then the door opened, and out came Tsubasa. Marie patted his shoulder and murmured something as he passed by, a look of defeat on his face.
Just what is going on?
Later Marie came to him as he sat in his study trying to find out as much as possible from his books and scrolls about encounters with other civilizations beyond Alagaësia and solutions to language barriers, and she pointed to a piece of paper. Jeod was relieved to see that they, or at least she, had recovered from her earlier dismay. He was still unsure what had transpired to have caused such reactions in them, but had tactfully left them be so they could sort it out.
The drawing showed a picture of a man… bathing?
"Bathe," Jeod said. "Bathing."
Marie then pointed to the drawing and to herself, and Jeod realized what she was asking for. And it left him puzzled. They don't stink, he thought. Nor are they covered in dirt and grime. And yet she was asking for a bath.
So she doesn't think bathing is dangerous? thought Jeod. After all, it was believed by many that bathing was harmful to one's health as it opened the pores of the skin to the air, allowing foul miasmas to seep through and causing many a disease. Especially the dreaded plague. From what little he knew, this thinking was disputed by the elves, and even the dwarves did not seem to have the same reservations toward bathing as humans did.
"House," Marie said. "Bathe. House bathe." She gestured to the many buildings visible outside the window.
"You want to visit a bathhouse?" Jeod asked while also gesturing to the outside. Marie nodded.
Jeod rose from his seat. "All right," said Jeod. "I will show you Teirm's only public bathhouse."
"Tsubasa," Marie said, while pointing to approximately where his room was. Then she left the study, presumably to ask Tsubasa to accompany them.
Some half an hour later and late in the afternoon, they stood before a fairly large and opulent building made purely of stone. Jeod had explained by drawing on a piece of parchment that inside would be two enclosed spaces, one for men and one for women, each with a pool of water, and he truly hoped Marie had understood him.
As he and Tsubasa entered the male section of the bathhouse and looked out over the pool of water, which was under an open roof and surrounded by stone columns, he thought that a warm bath might not be so bad after all, even if it was bad for his health.