The day after her second fishing trip with Diode, Terra left for work in the fan-shaped Antiquity District of Idaho's Year 10 Ring. Terra was in the media storehouse, which resembled an archive built on the ruins of an ancient, nameless castle, sorting through the 3,000,000 files damaged during the early days of the Circ Calendar when the minicell on the back of her hand received a call. She really didn't want to field a private call at work, but it appeared to be from the Council of Elders. Simply ignoring it was pointless, so she opened her palm to answer.
“Yes, Terra Intercontinental speaking.”
“Greetings. How do you do? I am Salem Dishcrash.” A middle-aged man wearing a gray servant dress she had never seen before appeared on her palm. He greeted her with a smile. “This will be shot. Would you happen to be available at the moment?”
“Not really, I'm at work.”
“Work? But is your pillar boat not currently docked at the pier? Do you happen to be occupied with maintenance work?”
“Ah, no, I'm at my job as a livestreaming officer.”
“Livestreaming officer? So, you have not become a fisherman, then?”
“I'm doing that too, but I used up my clay allotment and am taking a break for the time being. So...”
“I have been informed it was a large catch that generated more than two months' income. Yet, you still find it necessary to continue with make-work?”
“Make-work? Really. I happen to very much enjoy my distribution work. It's fun digging up interesting old articles and showing them to other people. They're delighted with them. Are you saying my work here is a bad thing?”
“No, not at all. There is nothing bad nor wrong with it—only, it is probably not work befitting a fisherman.”
“Now see here!” His comment had predictably set Terra off. “I wasn't recognized as a fisherman even when I said I wanted to work as one, so I'm going to keep working here too. Dishcrash-san, was it? You work for the Council of Elders, huh? How about you all formally recognize me as a fisherman before telling me off like that?”
“Precisely the reason I called.” Dishcrash extended his hand as he smiled and nodded. “The Council of Elders extends its invitation to a meeting regarding the fisherman-like conduct of Terra Intercontinental-san and Kanna Ishidōrō-san, to begin at ten o'clock. Please prepare yourself to be in attendance."
“Meeting?” He disappeared. Terra absentmindedly stared at her left hand. She hadn't been given much time, as it was already after nine. The coworker seated next to her, Makia, had watched all of it.
“Tell-Tale, what was that about just now?”
“Who knows. Maybe... a bid to deceive me with a complicated argument and talk me out of my pillar boat like a bunch of swindlers?”
“Don't get started with the delusions now. Those guys will be here before you know it. But what he said about a big catch... you got married? When?”
“Well, uh...”
Just then, they heard a high-pitched knock from the archive's door. A receptionist who had just left returned in a hurry. “Terra-san, Terra-san! A liaison from the Council of Elders is here!”
“Makia, we’ll talk later, okay?”
Although they'd worked together for six years, the four-year gap between the two made Makia something more like a half-superior, so they didn’t have a close relationship. Terra felt that if they talked about her boarding the pillar boat while unmarried—and with another woman at that—she'd only get laughed at. So, she was thankful she had managed to escape that conversation.
Mr. Dishcrash had a memorable personality. He was a thin man with good posture, soft sideburns resembling cream puffs, and narrow eyes which seemed to smile at first glance. “Ooh, this seems promising,” he said, looking up at Terra in admiration. He puffed out his chest and began to guide her.
A shaft descended from the Year 10 Ring, near the inner circumference of the donut-shaped Idaho, towards the outer circumference. There, in the Year 250 Ring, the current Council of Elders had established an office partitioned off with shiny, precious chrome.
Terra was brought to what seemed to be a small waiting room. Like a kid waiting for a staff member, she sat quietly on the sofa tapping her fingertips in boredom. She wondered why the downcast figure next to her wore an inboard plumber’s simple fishing pants and an old-fashioned hat like the ones Terra saw in ancient books.
Terra absentmindedly stared at the person for a moment, unable to recognize them. The small figure looked over at her and spoke up. “Terra-san?” Silver hair spilled out as she doffed her hat. A familiar face appeared; it was the girl she had parted with the morning before.
“D-Die-san, what are you doing here?” Terra said, slightly surprised by Diode's disguise.
Diode, on edge for some reason, frowned. “I could ask you the same thing,” she replied.
“It's more like I was summoned here. They told me it had something to do with our fisherman-like conduct.”
“...Ahh, so that's what this is about?” Diode glanced at Dishcrash, standing behind Terra, and sighed deeply. “I see, so you’re also being condemned alongside me.” She looked relieved.
Terra leaned over to her side. “Don’t tell me you thought I was on their side.” Diode's cheeks quickly turned red, and Terra smiled at seeing she'd guessed correctly. “Don't feel bad about it. It’s easy to distrust everyone and everything when you don’t know anyone around you, isn't it?”
“...I'm not that paranoid. It's just that since you belong to this clan, I figured you’d be treated differently than me.”
“It's fine, I'm not exactly in good standing with them either. Seems like they're mad at me, too.”
A boisterous smile grew on Diode's face as Terra made light of their situation. “So, how about we pick a fight together?”
Terra nodded at her smile—then stopped that thought in its tracks. She had been to multiple meetings with the Council of Elders regarding her pillar boat since inheriting it, but this was her first time one of their subordinates had summoned her directly. It gave her a really bad feeling.
“As much as I'd like to say ‘gladly’, would holding back for now?”
“Huh?”
“You'll go jumping ship again if it gets hard for you to stay here, and I'd like to avoid that. I want to keep fishing with you. So, can you trust me to do the talking for now? We can consider picking a fight later.”
“Ahh, well... if you insist.” Diode reluctantly nodded and extended her hand. Terra was quite surprised by how easily she accepted, having expected her to put up more resistance. Relieved, Terra lightly took Diode's hand in hers.
“Huh.”
“Huh?” Diode’s face was full of surprise. She seemed bothered by something other than the handholding, but she averted her eyes and said, “It’s nothing.”
“By the way, Die-san, what's with the clothes?”
“Ah, I'd prefer if we considered that later, too, please.”
She smelled like food waste in her current state. Terra was curious as to why Diode was willing to put up with dressing so shabbily, but didn’t press the matter given the bargain she just made.
They waited for forty minutes without being served even a single tea-like before they were brought into another room at ten o'clock. It wasn't a normal office or conference room; with the surrounding rostrum looming over them, it looked a lot more like a courtroom. Several figures stood above it. Dishcrash remained on standby along the wall at Terra's back. She gulped nervously.
“Terra-kun,” a voice sounded. “So, you have come. My apologies for towering over you like this. This was a design choice made 50 years ago.” A slender man in the prime of his life bent forward. The dark skin on his manly face was weathered and bordered by a white mustache and hair.
Terra more or less nodded in response. “There's nothing we can do about things that have been tall from the start.”
“That's right. You yourself are the living, breathing example of that. I have seen you on Main Street and at W.E.B. on multiple occasions. This may be our first time being face-to-face, but it does not feel like a first meeting. Certainly, you must be the tallest woman in our clan, hm?”
“Yes... that's probably the case.”
“It is something worthy of praise. Have you ever met a taller woman?”
“I have not.”
“So, there can be no doubt. While we are at it, we can say that your superlatives extend well beyond just your height. It is our honor to have you here.”
The man laughed cheerfully. At times like these, Terra would usually force a smile and think ‘I just want to sit down’, but she wasn't in any position to request a chair. The room didn’t seem to have chairs to begin with.
He hadn't introduced himself, but his face was so well-known he didn't need to. The cheerful, sociable man was Clan Chief Xeon Highhertz Endeavour, the clan's sole Elder and its head fisherman. He was 62 years old.
“One.”
Hearing the voice beside her, Terra looked over to see Diode calmly standing with her index finger casually pointed at the floor.
Apart from Xeon, the faces of the others at the rostrum weren’t clear. Terra noticed they were only projected avatars—those individuals were actually somewhere else, meaning the Council of Elders couldn’t be bothered for this. They might break in if an argument grew heated enough to interve, but for the moment, Xeon was the only one speaking.
“Now, before we move on to the important matters at hand, there is one more person I would like to greet. Diode-kun—that is how you have introduced yourself, so it will be fine to use that name here, correct? Or would you prefer your real name? You may be small and cute”—“Two.”—“but it seems you have arrived on our ship by your own show of strength.”
Terra instinctively glanced at Diode again. Her partner muttered quietly, now making a peace sign at her thigh. She gave a short response with a 20,000-kilometer stare. “Please, call me Diode.”
“Very well. I believe you have already grasped the fact that our clan greatly values individual freedom. While I may be only passingly familiar with the customs of other clans, I am certain life on the Endeavours’ ship is much more pleasant than with JT and Pollux. What is your opinion, Diode-kun?”
“It does seem habitable compared to the Pollux.”
“You are quite correct. And the JT?”
Diode, still facing an imaginary horizon, shut her mouth.
Terra leaned over and whispered, “Would you like me to answer instead?” Receiving a mumbled response, she straightened herself and answered for Diode. “Her experience with the Jack-of-All-Trades was colored by a mistake on her part, so she can't give a fair assessment of them.”
“Hahaha, what an interesting young lady. She seems rash but principled. I have taken a liking to her.”
“Thank you very much.” Relying on the habits and fortitude she had cultivated over many years, Terra smiled and nodded. Xeon seemed to be in a good mood, and their discussion might be headed in a positive direction.
“It is a shame that I must tell this to such an affable pair, but allow us to proceed straight to the point. As I have inherited the will of the early Endeavours, who established our livelihood around Fat Beach Ball, I am entrusted with the duty of guiding both our clan and the fleet into the future. To that end, it is desired that a proper pair make use of your pillar boat.”
It wasn’t even slightly positive. Terra felt a little discouraged, but having already braced herself for this, she maintained her smile and responded. “Uhh, Clan Chief Highhertz–”
“Terra-kun!”
“Yes...?”
“I do not mind if you call me Xeon.”
“...Xeon-san. I've had multiple meetings like this with the Council. Yes, my pillar boat has been grounded for a while, but my understanding is that its grounding does not currently have a big impact on our clan's profits and expenses. Has that situation changed? Could it be that someone sank?”
“I appreciate your concern, but all eleven of Endeavour's fishing families, yours and mine included, thankfully remain in good health.”
“Then if that's the case, the situation hasn't changed, right?”
“That is correct, it has not. Only that—and I am assuming you understand this just as well as we do—nobody expected your situation to persist for six years. We of the Endeavour clan have been tolerating it for a good while now.”
“I'm really sorry about that... It might sound like I'm making excuses here, but I have been trying hard to marry a good man.”
“A 'good man'?”
“Yes? Ah, um, these last few times, I have been more particular about my partner.”
“That is an admirable attitude. Of course, we know about that aspect of yours—striving to fish properly before solidifying yourselves as a married couple.”
“Ah, thank you... though I'm really sorry I couldn't achieve an outcome that satisfied everyone's expectations...”
“You have been working hard. Not only that, I must say that you have shown promise from the start. Despite the clear disadvantage of your height”—“Three.”—“your fascinating appearance compensates for it. You also have an incredibly cooperative attitude, so there has not been a single case of your rejecting a partner after meeting them face to face. That is truly wonderful—Diode-kun, is there something wrong?”
Xeon looked at Diode after she whispered a single word, pausing for a response that didn't come. “However,” he said, turning his eyes back to Terra, “you have been turned down every time. That means you failed the fishing trials with your possible choices, correct?”
“Yes...”
“You must be aware that you yourself have made us listen repeatedly to your yearnings to sail your own pillar boat. However, Terra-kun, despite being blessed with a talent for decompression, you have found nothing but misfortune.”
“I'm sorry, I'm the one who's at fault.” She had no excuses. Terra hung her head.
“No, no.” Xeon calmly waved his hand. “Please do not misunderstand me, I am not blaming you. That is just the natural result of a difference in ability. Besides, you have an excellent reputation as a livestreaming officer. Although I have only recently looked into it, I do believe you could please a great many people in that arena. Do you understand what I am getting at, Terra-kun?”
“I understand.” The conversation touched a sore spot that, until now, had been handled much more gingerly. “Even though I'm talentless, I’m still holding onto the boat, and that's not good.” The inside of her nose stung; she found herself sniffling. Just then, she felt a light tug at her sleeve. Diode gave her a look and repeatedly pointed back and forth between herself and Terra.
“Huh?” Terra asked.
Diode, clearly frustrated, flapped her hand in front of her face over and over like she was trying to deny something. It looked like she wanted to say that Terra being untalented wasn't true. Diode's humorous gestures, faithfully keeping her promise to let Terra do the speaking, caused a chuckle to escape Terra.
“Yeah, you're right. Um, Xeon-san. This may be presumptuous of me, but it's not like I'm completely incapable of being a decomper.” Diode frowned again in denial as Terra spoke, but she chose to ignore it for the moment. “I haven't been able to fish the normal way with any of my marriage candidates so far, but I can successfully fish with Diode-san.”
“Hm.”
“So, well... we would like to contribute to the clan's catch if possible. Would it be possible, Xeon-san?”
Maybe he hasn't received our catch report. Terra's face was full of anticipation as she raised the matter, but the Clan Chief became gravely serious, looking at her with his chin held between his fingers.
“Terra-kun, it seems that you have not heard me clearly, so I will repeat myself. I said that as the Clan Chief, I have the duty of guiding what we inherited from our clan and fleet into the future. You understand, don't you?”
“...Yes.”
“No, you do not. Tell me, what is it we have inherited and are guiding into the future?”
“Things like our family name... or our hopes?”
“Our bloodlines. When fishers become husband and wife, they will entrust their fishing techniques and boat to the children they bear. That structure is the core of our society, is it not?”
Terra was momentarily speechless. That was another sore spot of hers. However, considering what the two of them were doing, she had expected this point to come up.
“Excuse me, Xeon-san.”
“What is it?”
“There are regular couples without kids, aren't there? And those are unavoidable because of personal matters, right?”
“Yes, naturally. Those situations are unavoidable.”
“And if by chance, when those couples happen to be fishers, we have a system which allows them to pass down their fishing techniques and boat, don't we?”
“Yes, there is an adoption system. It allows our long-established fishing families to select a youngster suitable to bear the responsibility of inheriting their boat.”
“So, if that's the case–”
“Hold on, Terra-kun.” He firmly interrupted her and bent forward from the rostrum. “Are you possibly suggesting that you wish to take advantage of our exceptional adoption system so that you two can casually fly your boat for leisure in place of linking our valuable fishing lineages together with others? Is that what mean to suggest?”
“Huh... no.” Terra grew pale, not expecting Xeon's opposition to be so fierce. “I thought that it could be a solution to our problem...”
“Did you really think that solution would be adequate, Terra-kun?!” Xeon asked forcefully. Terra shrugged. “Do you understand what you are asking? You want to take an aid system intended for those with genuine troubles and justify its use for reasons that stray from the straight and narrow. Imagine we do as you suggest and allow just anyone to inherit and board a pillar boat. What would become of our traditions if that were to happen? Our successors? Everything would be completely ruined! Do you think that is okay?”
“No, I don't think it's okay. That's really not what I'm trying to say.”
“Really? Do you really believe that? Very well, are you also capable of explaining why women are not twisters, then?”
Terra's mind instantly blanked. “That's–”
“Terra-kun?”
“That's, um, well–”
“Thank you for providing us with an actual example, Terra-kun. That is exactly what I am referring to.”
“Huh? What?”
Losing track of the conversation confused Terra even more. Xeon gave her a deep nod. “That is your answer. Women have difficulty reacting to unexpected situations. What would you do if you were at FBB and a sudden downburst hit you while you were in a fight with a myriatonne bachi orca at the 8000 pressure level? Nothing. You would fall in headfirst. Only the capable should expose themselves to such danger.”
“That's... that's true, but... but Die-san’s not bad at a–”
“There are numerous methods to make it appear that way. However, we are straying from the topic at hand, the main point of which is that a twister and a decomper must be united by a strong bond. For the twister to be capable of fighting FBB's relentless, merciless nature, the support of the decomper is indispensable. For the decomper to weave the proper net, direction from the twister is indispensable. What kind of relationship is capable of doing that? Not just for the sake of enabling the continuation of your lineage, but for the very sake of survival itself. What is the proper form for that pair to take? Well, Terra-kun?”
“But, but we–”
“You...?”
Terra found herself at another loss for words. She was taken with an incredibly odd feeling. That the world was so vast she could exist in the close presence of something she knew nothing about. She didn’t know exactly what she was being denied, but she had a strong hunch that something was wonderful—and even if she could put it into words, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference here.
“I, I–”
“You were on strike four before, and that was strike five. Don’t ask Terra-san that.” The voice was resolute. Terra turned to her side and saw Diode wiggling all five fingers. “I put up with it five times, okay?”
“So, that's what you were doing?”
The girl dressed like a boyish plumber nodded once. She stepped in front of Terra. “Clan Chief Highhertz.”
“Yes, Diode-kun–”
“I'll be calling you Xeon. You've been absolutely shameless in spouting a bunch of sophistry. Seriously, do you not feel any shame in nitpicking others, deciding your own facts, or feeding your ego by acting like you’re being helpful, Xeon?”
“What did you just say?” Xeon raised his eyebrows and shut his mouth.
“Die-san!” Terra tugged on Diode’s sleeve.
“Well, Xeon, you must have accumulated an extensive history of failure and cover-ups by your age, so it's no surprise you’ve lost your sense of shame and remorse and they’ve decayed well past being worth keeping. Looks like it's not enough for you to wave the rotten tatters of your pride—wait, maybe that’s just a filthy rag— at me, an outsider, but shoving them in the face of one of your own, Terra-san, in your gross, backhanded way is so disgusting that anyone who saw something so inexcusable would find entirely new and unforgettable dimensions of disgust. So, despite this being a pain in the ass and us not having the time to get into every single detail, I'm going to give you the chewing out you deserve. You can thank me later. So, going through this in order first, don't mock others’ height—don't ridicule their body, period. There’s absolutely no way someone gets to your position not knowing that you can’t mock a woman and judge her from appearances alone. No way, right, Xeon?”
“Diode-kun, Diode-kun!” Xeon's face turned deep red as he shouted. The two heard footsteps as Dishcrash approached them from behind.
“Please mind your words.”
“So even you would like to join in roasting him too?” Diode said as she turned to face him. Her question didn't register with Terra, and naturally, it didn't register with the liaison, either.
At a loss for words, he replied, “What?”
Diode had gone completely out of her mind, just like Terra expected.
“The position of Clan Chief should naturally be dignified and noble, so don’t you find it pretty insulting to be forced to ignore the drivel pouring out of his mouth? If what he said about carrying forward what your ancestors left to you is true, then don’t you already have something worthy of leaving to future generations? Do the Endeavours simply decide that others are inferior without proof, then behave like deeming them useless and ostracizing them is acting in their best interest? Do you really think that’s okay?”
Dishcrash's face was filled with surprise, “Whew, if we are going by that logic–”His words were drowned out by the loud sound of a fist slamming the rostrum.
“Diode-kun!” Diode slowly turned around. The elder clan leader's eyes were blazing, and he began to speak through clenched teeth. “I have quietly listened to everything you had to say. I hope you are aware that I can arrest you solely on the basis of contempt. What is the point you are trying to make?”
“I would only be repeating myself, but of course, if you require further assistance in insulting yourself–”
“Knock it off with the pointless, annoying argument!”
“But who started those pointless arguments?” The girl, so small a man’s sneeze could blow her away, proudly puffed her chest at the rostrum. “Aren't you basically saying that those who excel at fishing are the ones who make history? Yet, you kept bringing up pointless stuff like preserving our lineage and womens’ incompetence. Why’s that?”
“That is not what I was saying!”
“Then what were you saying?”
“Are you trying to turn this into a contest? This is an unacceptable way to settle our discussion!”
“You’re talking like you want to settle this discussion, Clan Chief Highhertz. How about putting your amazing reflexes to use dealing with unexpected situations like dodging bachi orcas in FBB's skies—that is, if you are better than a woman.”
“You're stepping into the abyss, little missy!”
“But that's where I came from?"
To translate Xeon's shout to an older mode of speaking, it essentially meant the same as 'go to hell'. Diode's calm retort intercepted his words and exploded invisibly in mid-air.
Terra watched with her jaw agape as they went at one another. While a population of 20,000 might be small, Xeon was their leader, so an argument or even mere disagreement in a dispute with him was a potentially serious matter for Terra. Yet, Diode was squaring off with him, and, as casually as pushing trash into the can with a sandal, arguing splendidly.
It was a reckless act certain to ruin them, but a historical feat nonetheless. Up until that point, there were nothing but shadows on the surrounding rostrum, but one-by-one, their faces were beginning to show. Their argument had apparently caught the Council of Elders’ interest.
With all eyes turned towards him, Xeon declared, “I cannot turn a blind eye after you have gone this far. I can impartially judge your real abilities, but are you sure that is what you really want?”
“If anything, you'd better not get defiant and chicken out, or else I’m going to shout that you did from the middle of the Wharf. I hope you’re prepared, Your Excellency,” she sneered.
“Wait, please wait a moment!” Dishcrash spread his hands and stepped in. “Clan Chief, please forgive my insolence, but we have strayed off-topic. Fundamentally, this matter concerns the appropriate course of action we should take with Miss Terra's pillar boat, not issues related to Miss Diode's skill.”
“Excuse me!” Terra reflexively shouted. “If that's the case, I think the end result will be the same. I can't fish with anyone other than Die-san! So, if she's no good, then I'm also no good!”
“This is dangerous,” Dishcrash whispered to her.
“Huh?”
Xeon pounced on the opportunity while Terra was confused. “I hear you loud and clear, Terra-kun,” he shouted. “That simplifies matters. To settle this issue, the Council of Elders will judge Terra-kun and Diode-kun's abilities with a bachi orca catch. In the event they do not achieve superior results, we shall seize the Intercontinentals' pillar boat. Happy now, Diode-kun? You brought this on yourself.”
“If it's about being better, I have no objection. If you're going that far, then you will have no problem with our becoming fishers if we win, right?”
“Right. If you win you can become a fisherman, a swordsman, whatever you want. But that's only if you win!”
The entire Council of Elders had become spectators to their shouting.