Jesse Monde was a gatekeeper, a probationary member of the Door Organization whose ambition was to become an honored Disciple of the Door.
But becoming a Disciple of the Door was no easy feat. It required astonishing willpower and sincere faith.
Failing the advancement also meant death. The mortality rate was simply too high.
Jesse had never dared attempt it. Though he had a dream, he had been clinging to that dream for forty-two years.
He had never personally weathered the Door Organization's upheavals, but he had watched newcomers become veterans, then Disciples of the Door far beyond his reach.
He had also seen brave, fearless newcomers grit their teeth and force a breakthrough, only to end up in psychiatric hospitals.
"Whew, summer's here again."
Jesse looked up at the sky. The sun blazed overhead, and cicadas chirped endlessly in the trees, as though sacrificing their own lives.
If they stopped calling, they might never have another chance.
He had no desire to unravel the mysteries behind it, yet a question arose in his mind: Do cicadas scream their hearts out because their reproductive instincts drive them to?
"Whew!" He lit a cigarette and let out a long breath, the smoke ring shimmering in the sunlight.
At the entrance to the Second-Tier University on Koi Continent, female students in uniforms with miniskirts were already greeting him with smiles as they walked through the gate.
Dressed in his security uniform, Jesse reflected on how he had started standing guard at eighteen. Forty-two years had passed, and he had seen so much come and go.
Now, even the long, shapely, pale legs beneath those young students' fluttering skirts failed to stir any interest in him.
Just then, a neatly groomed young man with bright eyes and a straight back slowly approached, stopping