Not long ago, he had watched Belfast pull a small Handheld Computer from somewhere—probably some kind of ship-rigging storage space—and perform a dazzling series of operations on a holographic Light Screen. She had successfully fabricated identities, entry records, and every other necessary document for the two of them. She had even hacked into a bank, opened an account, deposited money out of thin air, and finally secured them a property with astonishing efficiency.
The World Wide Web had been invented and popularized in 1989, marking the beginning of the modern internet's maturation. Therefore, Japan naturally had internet access in 1996. After all, SoftBank and Yahoo had already jointly established Yahoo Japan that year, while "internet" had become one of Japan's ten most popular buzzwords the previous year.
That had made Belfast's criminal activities immensely convenient.
(You're really good at this, Belfast. Is this kind of criminal activity also a skill a maid has to master?)
Thanks to Belfast's incredible efficiency, Jiang Lianqiu and she were no longer undocumented residents in this world. They now had identities.
—The children left behind by a pitiable couple from Shenzhou who had developed their careers in Britain, amassed considerable wealth, and then tragically died together shortly after giving birth.
And the loyal maid who had served that couple for many years.
Jiang Lianqiu could fully understand why Belfast had chosen Britain as their "place of development." She was the Royal Head Maid, after all.
But choosing Shenzhou as his parents' homeland...
"Young Master looks somewhat East Asian, and so does the name recorded in the Starport archives. So Belfast took the liberty of arranging an identity for you. To avoid potential trouble in the future, it is indeed better to take advantage of the lack of smooth information exchange between countries and make your parents' nationality that of a third country."
That was what Belfast had muttered to herself while finalizing their identities not long ago.
His parents had come from Shenzhou and traveled to Britain to build their lives. Now, their only child lived in Japan. They had shifted across three countries before and after; Belfast had truly gone to great lengths to keep all possible trouble to a minimum.
Jiang Lianqiu was very satisfied with that.
As expected of the perfect Head Maid.
While he was thinking about such random things, Jiang Lianqiu suddenly heard a woman's voice.
"Oh my, are you the new neighbors?"
"Yes, ma'am. Good day."
Jiang Lianqiu blinked.
He understood Japanese. Before transmigrating, he had at least taken it as an elective course in university.
As for why he had chosen Japanese—it was simple. The school required students to either pass CET-4 English or obtain a certificate in another foreign language in order to receive their graduation and degree certificates.
Poor Jiang Lianqiu had been badly held back by his failing English score in the college entrance examination. Out of a perfect score of 150, he had not even managed to get ninety, leaving his overall score only about twenty points above the first-tier university cutoff.
After entering university, he had come to hate the sight of English even more. Even the CET-4 gave him endless headaches. In the end, he had been forced to minor in Japanese, only meeting the graduation requirements after obtaining the certificate.
As he listened to Belfast converse fluently in Japanese with a woman whose voice alone evoked the words "elegant lady," Jiang Lianqiu went completely numb after catching a few pieces of information.
"...Oh my, this child has the same birth date as our Eriri. Were they both born on March 20?"
Jiang Lianqiu: "...?"
"They were even born on the same day, month, and year. How wonderful~"
Unable to even turn himself over, much less sit up and see whether that elegant lady was Sawamura Sayuri, Jiang Lianqiu suddenly found his vision darkening.
A woman with silky black hair tied into rather childish twin tails leaned over him. Dressed in a gorgeous kimono, she smiled as she looked down at Jiang Lianqiu in the stroller.
"Hello, little one~"
The beautiful woman reached out and gently poked Jiang Lianqiu's soft cheek.
"This child is so adorable! Much cuter than our Eriri... Damn it, why did I want a little boy but end up with a daughter? I really want to trade our Eriri for this little cutie!"
"My apologies, ma'am. Young Master is someone I must serve for the rest of my life."
"Ah, pardon me. I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Sawamura Sayuri."
The elegant lady straightened up and politely greeted Belfast.
Jiang Lianqiu: "..."
So it really was you, Sawamura Sayuri.
So this Earth was actually Saekano?
And by some absurd coincidence, he had become Eriri's next-door neighbor?
Belfast chatted with Sawamura Sayuri for a few more minutes. After agreeing to visit later with a gift, she bade Sayuri farewell and brought Jiang Lianqiu into the villa.
Although housekeeping staff had already been arranged to clean the place beforehand, Belfast still tidied up the villa all over again by herself, at a speed and efficiency that left Jiang Lianqiu amazed.
By the time all preparations for moving in were completely finished, the sun was already close to setting.
"Young Master, according to the customs here, Belfast should take you to visit the neighbors."
Belfast leaned down in front of the stroller and seemingly pulled a gift out of thin air.
With the gift in one hand and the stroller in the other, Belfast took Jiang Lianqiu out of the villa. Before long, they arrived before the gate of the neighboring Sawamura residence.
The instant the doorbell rang, Sawamura Sayuri's voice came from the intercom beside the gate:
"Is that Belfast? I'll be right there~!"
The automatic gate to the courtyard slowly slid open. At the same time, the villa door inside the yard was opened from within. Sawamura Sayuri stood in the doorway, smiling as she waved at Belfast.
Yet her eyes remained fixed on Jiang Lianqiu in the stroller.
Poor Eriri. It seemed that she had barely been born before her own Mother had already abandoned her affections for someone else...
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