If you were to ask how long that city has been in existence,
no-one would be able to tell you for sure.
In Eastern Europe, there is a story that tells of a boy...
...who made a deal with the Devil for a large sum of money,
and then destroyed an entire village.
If this story is referring to "that" city,
Then there is a place that existed in the Middle Ages that meets that description.
But, in the end, this is no more than analogical reasoning.
Financial district.
Understood.
Satou-san, I thought it wasn't time for your deal yet.
I'm doing a bit of observation today.
You really shouldn't place bets. Nothing good will come of it.
I know that...
It's just ob-ser-va-tion.
Well... it's not as if...
...any fewer people will get burned there than with a deal.
This is my 51st time through this gate.
Of those times, only 11 of them have been for deals.
I'm nothing more than an amateur Entre.
ikinuku tame ni kikonda
生き抜くために着込んだ
In order to survive
kimi dake ga mieru yoroi wa
君だけが見える鎧は
I donned an armour only you could see
mie to gaibun ni obieta
見栄と外聞に怯えた
I stood in fear of appearance and reputation
oroka no hate no genjitsu
愚かの果ての現実
And the realisation of a hopeless end
karada kishimu hodo dakishimete yo
身体軋むほど抱きしめてよ
Hold me tighter until my bones begin to crack
isso kowashitekureyo
いっそ壊してくれよ
Please, just break me apart
kara no ore no naka ni wa mata
殻の俺の中にはまた
Down to my next empty layer
nan no itami mo nai
何の痛みもない
It doesn't hurt at all
And my face gets smaller and smaller
sara ni chippoke na ore no kao da
さらにちっぽけな俺の顔だ
ne
ね
Hey
nige mo kakure mo shinai kara
逃げも隠れもしないから
I won't run or hide
koko kara dashitekure matoryoushika
ここから出してくれマトリョーシカ
So get me out of this Matryoshka
The scale of the financial district...
...is proportional to the economic condition of its country.
Even among the collective financial districts of each nation,
the Far East Financial District is huge.
Georges.
Deal... observation... transfer me.
This city is filled with a myriad of people.
Among them is a man that is, in essence, leading this city by the horns.
As well as the young boy he's trying to win over.
Hmm?
Did I get here too early?
The future resulting from his second battle will determine this city's future.
That was the hunch I had.
Five days earlier
You're running from the game.
You're running from the issue of your parents as well.
Concentrate only on the possibilities that you yourself can achieve.
I'll be waiting... in that city.
I don't want to be like you.
Is there something wrong with that?
The organisation that I am affiliated with...
...is one that struggles to understand the true form of the financial district.
Just what is the purpose of the financial district?
Just what influence is Midas Money having on the real world?
I've received a broad range of knowledge related to the financial district,
but that information is said to be mostly from traitors...
...who continue to travel between worlds.
Yoga Kimimaro, Heading to school
School... huh?
Hmm?
However, I haven't come any closer to the heart of matters.
That was big...
Uh... dammit, why Taiyaki?
No matter the country, an area that becomes a centre for financial activity...
There are investigators from my organisation dispatched to each of these areas.
I was stationed here in Tokyo.
I've got a general idea of who everyone is just by travelling to and from the financial district.
The person that my organisation has taken interest in is Mikuni Souichirou.
We have no idea what his main occupation is.
To tell the truth, he simply has too many titles, making the reality itself seem false.
President's Office
President's
Inspector
Board Chairman
The title that makes the most sense is...
...Advisor to the Ministry of Finance Investment Agency.
But in reality... governments, ministries, financial agencies, major corporations...
He is a creature who applies pressure and influence to all of these in secret.
However, this is nothing more than the outward face of a man who lives behind the scenes.
His name is regarded as a taboo, and it almost never appears in the mass media.
Mikuni Souichirou, after returning home
The side of him that remains hidden, unbeknownst to the majority of the world...
The true face of the man who is trying to organise a mutual fund group...
...in order to invest Midas Money in this world.
That is what I'm searching for.
You've been stopped here for quite a while... is something wrong?
Oh? A new face! Where's Azuma-kun?
Huh?
This area has always been under my surveillance...
...and there's never been anyone in my unit named Azuma.
Why on Earth was I given the right to access that city?
2 months and 2 weeks earlier
Hello?
Huh? A deposit?
What... is this?
I don't recall taking any money under the table.
Good evening.
This was the first time I, as a member of an organisation,
set foot into the financial district.
I haven't seen you since you graduated high school, have I?
Are you taking care of yourself properly?
Yeah... I'm managing somehow.
I won't bother you if you are...
You came so suddenly. I was just surprised.
Sorry... Well, actually I...
I have a lot of things I want to ask you, Aunt Kyouko.
What? About my brother and his wife?
Uh... well... yeah.
I just haven't had much of a chance to ask properly.
They were wonderful people.
They really cared for you.
Stop trying to comfort me.
But it's the truth!
Don't think so badly of them.
Okay...
But... up until their disappearance, it seemed they were really prospering...
...trading stocks, or something...
They were profiting?
I can't quite remember... and there apparently aren't any records about it.
I'm so sorry. That's all I have of my brother's stuff.
No, that's fine.
Well, when you finish, make sure to pack everything up.
Got it.
Thank you.
Ah... what's this?
Midas... could this mean...?
What's going on, Dad?
Masakaki?
I don't know anything about that. He's probably at the bank.
How do I call him out?
I told you, I have no idea!
Are you freaking out?
Hey, you're kind of...
...acting weird.
I have no choice, since you're the only one I can ask!
Fine, then why don't you come here?
Whether you have a deal or not, you can still come to the city, so...
...find him on your own.
I see...
I'll go right now!
You sure are worked up.
Shut it!
Deals happen once a week.
I'm frequently called out on Wednesdays.
You're able to name your own opponent, but...
A woman, huh? How rare.
I'm not a fan of idle talk!
...it's not something that I've ever done.
An asset's instinct is to protect its Entre.
Open deal.
Grue!
Mezzo Freeze Out!
In addition, until an Entre gives an order, they cannot attack.
The attacks are called "flation"...
...and are divided between three levels: Macro, Mezzo, Micro.
[MEZZOFLATION]
[EBO]
To put it simply: Large, medium, small.
Eek, again?!
W-What the hell?
Micro is 100,000 and above. Mezzo is 1,000,000 and above. Macro is 10,000,000 and above.
Such is the cost to activate each attack.
I myself have never used Macro-flation.
Over there, huh? Take this!
If you go bankrupt during a duel, you will be exiled from the financial district.
That bitch took me lightly...
Huh?
I always win small... or lose small.
I compete as if I may fail at any given time.
The reason I never choose my opponent is to make this technique easier to execute.
[CLOSING]
Crap... I missed my chance for a photo again.
I'm the same as that boy.
I'm often saved by the strength of my asset.
Well... that's not something I would know anything about.
My dad came to this city, didn't he?
Are you saying that the reason I was invited here had nothing to do with that?
That is a complete coincidence.
There's no way that can be true!
You sure have guts.
So soon after coming to this city, you're already bothering Masakaki.
Oh my! Here we have Mikuni-sama!
What business might you have today?
Sorry Masakaki,
Hmm?
today's business isn't with you, but with this one here.
Huh?
Hmm?
Where are we going?
Just follow me.
Yoga?
Ah... I remember him.
Really?
Please, tell me everything. Please.
Just what relation are you...
I'm his son.
Oh? Really, you are...
That's really-
Do you know what happened to my father?
What would you do if I told you?
I want to know. That's all.
Hm...
Huh?
He was an amazing Entre!
He was always absorbed in deals!
He probably made quite a bit of money.
However... he suffered a crushing defeat and went bankrupt.
And then...
When you go bankrupt in this city, it means that you've used up your future.
Without showing his face to his family,
or contacting his place of work... on a set of iron bars in a park...
He was reported to have hanged himself.
He wasn't carrying an ID.
The local government took care of the corpse.
I'm not going to put it lightly for you.
Your father died. That's all I know.
Is there anything else you'd like to ask?
What kind of person was he?
I didn't so much as gossip with him, so I can't say much about his personality...
...but it seemed like he was obsessed with his money.
He seemed to be completely obsessed with earning even the smallest amount.
Your father was the definition of a penny pincher.
Ah, but to think that you're his son...
I wonder if your strength in battle was inherited from him...
Well, make sure you don't get swept away like your dad.
What I mean is to prioritise living in this world over the real world.
That's the trick to staying alive.
This is my favourite place.
A spot from which you can look out over the entire city.
Do you feel like you want to keep making deals?
I could never feel like that...
You understand now, don't you...
...that your father didn't simply fail at his business and toss you aside.
If he hadn't got involved in this crap, he wouldn't have had to die.
He should have been living a normal life.
It's no different than throwing me away... as well as my mother.
I wonder why your father was earning money?
Huh?
His purpose for earning money.
My father earned money for personal gain.
He earned money for the sake of money.
That's the same as my father then.
When I was still a child, my family faced a financial crisis.
My little sister had an incurable disease.
I thought that, with enough money, a cure could be found,
but my father poured money into his company instead.
Because of that... the company grew.
The first time I received money from here...
...what do you think I spent it on?
I took over my dad's company.
I succeeded.
I stole everything from him.
If my dad was alive, that's exactly what I'd like to do.
Even if you don't realise it, the influence you receive from your parents is pretty large.
That's why I've become the kind of person I am now.
But you have a completely honest personality.
I have no memory of my father.
That probably comes from being raised by my mother and grandmother.
Probably.
Take a look at this.
There's nothing written in it but numbers.
There's nothing about me, my mother, or anything else, for that matter.
He really was a penny pincher. A father like that-
It was for his family... I expect.
Wasn't the reason he was earning money for his family?
All you ever say is that you want things to be normal. That you want things to be stable.
That really means that you want to earn money only for yourself.
Even if your circumstances are different, you're just like my father.
You're worse than your father, who dug a hole for himself.
I believe that money is precious because it can be used for something other than yourself.
Do you not have anything like that?
That "something".
If you don't, then all you have to do is search for it.
However, even if you find it, if you don't have money set aside for it, nothing can happen.
Continue making deals.
Earn money and use if for that "something".
If you use your money, you can benefit someone.
If you just let it pile up, the only person who receives happiness is you.
Even if you achieve happiness through such small pleasantries,
you can never share a grand happiness with those around you.
I surpassed my father, and now I'm using the money I earn from deals to help this country.
What will you do?
There's still time until your next deal.
Be sure to think about it.
Q!
Kimimaro!
Stay away...
Why?
Go back in your card...
What's up with you?!
Not inviting him into the guild was quite the exception.
My job is to report any and every happening in this city to my organisation.
I'm not given any commands.
Simply to report, nothing else.
1 month earlier
One time, when returning to headquarters, I asked:
You're not going to do anything?
The Midas Money is flowing into reality as we speak.
We must stop this!
I know.
And I understand the consequences.
It's true that the Midas Money is flowing into reality.
But the people up top are probably calculating the risk of stopping the flow.
There's a possibility that stopping the flow could create a serious condition.
You do understand that, don't you?
All you have to do... is report to me.
That's it.
The world is twisted and warped.
As this is reaffirmed, it swells and worsens.
IMF International Currency Fund
This may be a problem that is out of my reach...
Even so, I think that something's strange.
Something isn't right.
Does that black, disgusting money have some purpose?
Could it lead to some salvation?
What kind of effect is brought about from having one's future held as collateral?
And just what should I do?
Present
He came.
Show me.
I'll be watching over your future.
It's up to you whether you end up my enemy... or my ally.
Kimimaro... Kimimaro!
To meet a student in a place like this...
When did you start coming here... Yoga?
mado kara sotto esukeepu shite
I silently escape from my window
yoru no machi ga
and the nighttime city,
RPG ni kawaru
becomes an RPG
yajirushi ni sotte izanawareta
Following an arrow marker, I'm being led
iromeku sekai
to a world brimming with colour
hajimari no aizu hibiiteiru
A sign that something is beginning can be heard
karadajuu koikogareru
and my whole body begins to yearn
kimi ni aitakute hashirinuketeku
I break into a run, wishing to see you
yami wo tobikoete
and break through the darkness
kuraimakkusu nante
It doesn't matter
konakutatte
If we reach a climax
ichi ka bachi ka no kiken na kake datte ii sa
I'd even take a high-stakes bet
ki wo hiite
Anything to get your attention
kimi ni ima hamacchaitainda
I want to think only of you
sekaijuu wo azamuitemo ii
I'd turn my back on the entire world
ima sugu te wo hiite
Take my hand now
A or B ja nai ya
It's not a choice of A or B
rikutsu ja nai ya
It's not something to reason about
sekaijuu no subete no nazo yori
More so than all the mysteries of the world
shiritai kimi no kokoro wo
I want to know your heart