Departure and Arrival

Far from bustling, glamorous Tokyo, let us set aside what happened next with the private jet that took off at midnight and turn our gaze farther away,

to another part of the world, eight time zones behind Tokyo, where a Night Sky scenario had just ended.

Italy, Rome.

Here, it was still the beautiful sunset of day's end.

Completely different from Tokyo's endlessly sprawling streets lined with modern white high-rises and filled with clamor, Rome's scenery was ancient and nostalgic, its rooftops and brick walls tinted an old golden hue.

From a bird's-eye view, the sense of history emanating from the city's monuments, churches, and museums would make you

feel the awe of its passage through Ancient Rome and the Renaissance.

So many famous historical sites you knew well were located in this city, but precisely because of that,

the city's modernization efforts had run into considerable trouble when dealing with those relics.

The underground metro was manageable, but the bus routes aboveground were truly absurd.

The stop that ought to have been directly across the street

might require directions from three different locals before you could find it somewhere several streets away,

and you might even have to cross a river along the way.

Also, a city's cultural depth had little to do with whether its local people were good or bad, so despite being a world-famous tourist destination,

this city actually had an especially large number of thieves and pickpockets.

All right, the remaining details could wait until next time. There was only one more thing that needed mentioning: the country with the smallest territory and lowest population in the world,

the Vatican was here.

Rome Train Station, platform.

The timetable on the large screen scrolled downward as announcements echoed through the station. All kinds of people on