ASAHI NO NISHISEI - Rising Sun Goes West (2)

National Foundation Day (End)

January 11, 2040

Lucinia Trading Base, Elmstacia Empire (Demi-Human Empire)

With 31 days to go before returning to Earth, the last of the escort ships dispatched outside of Japan, the Sakura-class frigate Sakaki was scheduled to depart from this Lucinia Base on this day. This trading base, which had been home to over 700 Japanese at its peak, was already turned into a ghost town, as were the other concessions and bases. The Japanese repatriation from the continent would be accomplished by the departure of the Sakaki, carrying the few remaining Self-Defense Force officers and civilians.

"Soldiers of Japan... here!"

As a young SDF officer headed up the ramp to board the ship, a young rabbit girl, a Lucinian resident, handed him a bouquet of flowers. Numerous people are rushing to the port to see off the Japanese who are leaving the country. In a country where demi-humans make up the majority of the population, almost all of the people in the crowd to see off the Sakaki are atypical.

"Ah, thank you."

The SDF officer, receiving the bouquet, took it with a smile and patted the girl's head. The rabbit ears sticking out of her head twitched.

"...Are you really going away? Aren't you going to protect us again?"

The rabbit girl tugged at the SDF member's uniform with her slender arms. The Self-Defense Forces had protected this city twice during the Japanese-Crossnellyard War and were heroes to the residents of this city.

"...We are, but we'll always be thinking of you," the young officer said, and with a bouquet in his arms, he boarded the Sakaki.

On the other side, two men were about to say goodbye to each other.

"Then... Shibata-sensei, we will never see each other again."

"Yes... be well."

Kanemitsu and Shibata, doctors who had been sent to the clinic at the Lucinia Base, said goodbye to each other. Shibata, who chose to stay in this world, and Kanemitsu, who chose to return to Earth with the other Japanese, parted ways and will never see each other again. Kanemitsu then boarded the Sakaki, followed by the young SDF officers. On the deck, the captain, Commander Genzo Wakashimazu, and the first mate, Lieutenant Commander Tsubasa Misakino, watched them board the ship.

"Are we... will be really okay? ...The disappearance of Japan should have dealt a crushing blow to the world's economy, which was on the verge of collapse by 2025. Worst of all... Earth may have been destroyed in a nuclear war."

While preparing to return to Earth, Wakashimazu was anxious about returning to Earth.

"I wonder what East Asia would look like when China, North Korea, and South Korea are decimated by the East Asia War... and the loss of USFJ."

The fall of China and the disappearance of Japan would have caused tremendous losses to the economies of the planet. How can people be at peace in a world where the global economy is in a tailspin and unemployment is high?

"Since China's nukes were confiscated by the UN in return for postwar reconstruction aid, I believe that Asia is dominated by India and Russia. Taiwan, Tibet, and East Turkestan may become independent... then China would be a world of chaos reminiscent of Somalia."

Misakino envisioned the possibility of a divided China. It would not be difficult to imagine the path that China would follow with the loss of the Chinese Communist Party's power.

Later, the Sakaki, carrying the last of the repatriates, set sail for Japan. The citizens of Lucinia cheered as their heroes left the port, waving numerous Japanese flags in their hands. The crew lined up on deck to say their final farewells and salute the port. There were tears in their eyes.