While Riding the Bus on a School Trip, We Time-Slipped to a Military Facility Just Before World War I
Third-year middle school student Shinta Shinjo is on a school trip to Tokyo. He's a bit of an oddball otaku who loves history and war games. But the trip is being led by a frustrating teacher, Mr. Bando, who keeps badmouthing Japan and the Self-Defense Forces, much to everyone's annoyance.
Suddenly, as the bus passes under a large torii gate, a blinding light engulfs them. When Shinta opens his eyes, he finds himself at the Tokyo Arsenal in 1900. Real soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army surr
While Riding the Bus on a School Trip, We Time-Slipped to a Military Facility Just Before World War I - Kaneda-sensei's Small Courage—Protection in the Name of Isolation
A dull ache lingers on the back of my neck.
It's the lingering sensation of the military sword that nearly took my life just moments ago. I scratch the back of my neck. It's a nervous habit. But I can feel my fingertips trembling faintly.
" All personnel, disembark from that vehicle."
Colonel Arisaka Nariakira's low voice echoed across the square.
Through a break in the clouds, the evening sun shines through. Long shadows fall across the brick factory walls. The air is cold, and the smell of burning coal drifts from somewhere.
The bus doors open.
" W-We're getting off...?"
Someone's trembling voice.
I exchange a glance with Kaga. Behind his black-rimmed round glasses, Kaga's brown eyes look huge. His naturally light-colored perm is more disheveled than usual.
" Let's go, Kaga."
" Yeah."
When we step off the bus, soldiers with fixed bayonets are lined up on both sides.
Red-centered caps. Brown boots. Everyone's faces are tense, and the muzzles of their rifles are pointed at us.
(*This really isn't a movie shoot, huh.*)
I think that obvious thought once again.
The ground is dirt, mixed with gravel. Through the soles of my sneakers, I feel a gritty, crunching sensation. Just moments ago, we were on asphalt, and now the ground already feels different.
It's a small thing, but that difference suddenly terrifies me.
" E-Everyone, it's okay... Your teacher is here with you..."
Ms. Kaneda calls out to the students in a trembling voice.
Her face is deathly pale, and the black ponytail gathered at the nape of her neck quivers in tiny shakes. Even so, she's trying to stand at the front of the students.
" It's nothing serious... Really, it's okay..."
As she says this, Ms. Kaneda fiddles with the ends of her hair. It's a habit she has when she's worried.
Seeing her like that, my chest warms just a little.
(*This person, even though she's this scared...*)
She's a new teacher, timid, always flinching around Mr. Bandou. The type who even holds her breath in the staff room. But now, she's standing before the students as a teacher.
" Shinjou! Why did you prostrate yourself like that! To those militarists!"
A shrill voice came from behind.
I turn around to see Mr. Bandou, his arms pinned by soldiers, his salt-and-pepper slicked-back hair disheveled as he shouts. His sanpaku eyes are glaring with rage.
" Don't be fooled, everyone! By these anachronistic bastards!"
Mr. Bandou's voice echoes off the factory walls, sounding unnaturally loud.
The expressions of the surrounding soldiers grow even harder.
(*You've gotta be kidding me...*)
I scratch my head.
" Souta, isn't that bad again..."
Kaga whispers in my ear.
" Yeah... what a pain."
I let out a small sigh.
Colonel Arisaka's hawk-like black eyes turn toward Mr. Bandou. The white hair at his temples seems to bristle with anger.
" Gag that fool."
" Wh-What are you doing! Do you intend to violate freedom of speech!"
The soldiers produce a cloth.
Mr. Bandou's shouts become muffled.
But his eyes still glare fiercely, glaring at us.
(*Tch... Now the students will be even more scared.*)
My classmates are all huddled together, trembling.
Some of the female students have started crying.
Surrounded by soldiers, we are marched inside the factory.
Smoke rises from the chimneys.
The sound of hammers striking. The sound of scraping iron. The sounds of a factory making something can be heard from all around.
This is the Tokyo Artillery Arsenal—the place where the Type 30 infantry rifle is made.
(*I've seen this so many times on the game screen.*)
In the game Strategic Commander, there was a mission to capture a Meiji-era weapons factory. Brick walls. Dirt roads. Chimneys. Everything looks exactly like those graphics.
But it's far colder and far more terrifying than it was on the screen.
The walk was about one hundred and fifty meters.
In the northeast corner of the factory grounds, an old wooden building comes into view.
" Here. The Sixth Quarters. You will be staying here starting today."
One of the soldiers announced.
Four single-story wooden buildings stand in a row. The walls are old and blackened, cracked here and there.
I knew this place was originally officers' quarters. I read about it in the game's reference materials.
(*Six eight-tatami-mat rooms... huh.*)
But even with that knowledge, it doesn't change our current situation at all.
" All of us... in here...?"
Someone said in a trembling voice.
Ms. Kaneda begins guiding the students into the building.
That's when it happened.
" Don't screw with me! Putting us in a prison like this!"
Mr. Bandou had removed his gag and was shouting.
I don't know how he did it, but the cloth around his mouth is peeled off. His face is bright red, veins bulging at his temples.
" You are all being deceived! These militarists are trying to crush the free thought of the future!"
The soldiers all level their bayonets at once.
Colonel Arisaka's face turns ice-cold. The furrow between his brows deepens. His right hand—the hand with burn scars from a gunpowder experiment—moves to the hilt of his military sword.
" Silence."
His voice is low, but the air around us crackles with tension.
(*This is bad.*)
I almost jump forward.
But someone moves before I can.
" Mr. Bandou!"
It was Ms. Kaneda.
Her voice was tearful.
But even though her legs are trembling, she stands firmly in front of Mr. Bandou.
" Please don't endanger the students any further with your personal ideology!"
My eyes widen.
Beside me, Kaga also holds his breath.
After all, Ms. Kaneda could never stand up to Mr. Bandou. Even in staff meetings, it was always "yes" and "I'm sorry"—she never voiced her own opinion.
That Ms. Kaneda is now shouting at Mr. Bandou.
" I-I will take responsibility and monitor this person. So... please. Separate him from the students."
Ms. Kaneda bows deeply toward Colonel Arisaka.
Her ponytail hangs forward, her shoulders trembling.
(*Ms. Kaneda...*)
Something tightens deep in my chest.
A new teacher, timid, always flinching around Mr. Bandou.
But now, as a teacher, she did the most important thing.
She mustered her courage to protect her students.
" Kaneda! Are you betraying me!"
Mr. Bandou roars.
" Don't get ahead of yourself! A new teacher like you!"
But Ms. Kaneda kept her head bowed.
Colonel Arisaka stares down at Ms. Kaneda for several seconds.
The wind blows.
The smoke from the chimneys drifts slowly.
" ...Very well."
It was a quiet but clear voice.
" Take that man to the room at the far end of the quarters. He will be monitored separately from the rest."
The soldiers move.
They take Mr. Bandou to a room in the corner of the building.
" Remember this! Shinjou! It's because children like you beg for their lives on their knees that Japan remains stuck in the past!"
As he's taken away, Mr. Bandou even snaps at me.
But I say nothing.
I just watch Ms. Kaneda.
" It's okay. Your teacher is watching over you properly."
Ms. Kaneda tells the students, her voice still trembling.
Tears were spilling down her face.
But her face looked just a little stronger than before.
(*You're amazing, Ms. Kaneda.*)
I murmur in my heart.
Evening came.
" Shinjou Kamiki. And the one with the glasses as well."
Colonel Arisaka calls only me and Kaga outside the quarters.
The sky is dyed a madder red, and the factory chimneys stand as black silhouettes.
" The report to the Arsenal Director will be tomorrow morning. By then, show me a glimpse of this so-called future technology you speak of."
The Colonel's voice is cold.
" If this is a farce, you will be treated the same as that madman."
He means Mr. Bandou.
I exchange a look with Kaga.
Behind his glasses, Kaga's eyes glint slightly.
(*We have no choice but to do this.*)
I take a clear file out of my bag.
It's material I copied at the National Diet Library. Conceptual diagrams of World War I aircraft. Three-view drawings of the Zero fighter from World War II. Specification tables for various artillery pieces.
" Kaga, I need your chemistry knowledge."
" I know. We're explaining the improvements to the Type 30 infantry rifle, right?"
We spread the materials on the ground.
The sun is setting, making the text a little hard to read. But we can't complain about that.
" First, the Type 30 infantry rifle has a caliber of 6.5mm. This provides stable ballistics and low recoil. However, to improve accuracy, the sealing of the chamber needs to be enhanced."
" For that, it's effective to adjust the play in the bolt-action mechanism to the micron level. That requires gauge tools treated with nitriding, and... based on my knowledge, the chemical formula for nitriding is—"
Kaga continues.
We take turns, beginning to explain the improvement points for the Type 30 infantry rifle.
Colonel Arisaka listens silently, arms crossed.
His expression doesn't change.
But—his black eyes glimmer faintly.
" ...Nitriding, you say? Such a surface hardening technique exists?"
His voice felt slightly softer than before.
" It does. However, it's difficult with the current equipment in this factory. But instead, case hardening can get us reasonably close."
I continue.
" And regarding the sights. Currently, they're just simple open sights, but if we add a simple optical lens here..."
Kaga's voice gets faster when he talks about things he likes. That felt reassuring now.
The Colonel begins carefully examining the documents, one by one.
The hands of an engineer, scarred with burns, trace over the blueprints of the future.
Night fell.
All forty-eight classmates and Ms. Kaneda are gathered in one room of the Sixth Quarters.
Inside the room, there is only one lamp.
It's dim. No smartphone lights. No electricity.
Everyone is wrapped in futons, shivering.
" Will we be able to go home..."
" I want to see my mom..."
Someone starts crying softly.
Then, like a chain reaction, everyone's faces become anxious.
Kaga pushes my back.
" Souta, you should say it."
" Huh... Me?"
" You understand the current situation best. We believe in you."
Kaga's voice is calm but serious.
I stand up.
Everyone's eyes gather on me.
(*What a pain... but.*)
I scratch the back of my neck. The wound hurts a little.
But that pain, strangely, calms me down.
" Everyone, listen. I will absolutely get us all back to our own time. So tomorrow, Kaga and I will talk things out with the Arsenal Director. Please believe in us."
It was a trembling voice.
I can't say anything cool.
I'm just the guy who normally talks about games with Kaga in the corner of the classroom.
But seeing everyone's faces, I felt I had to say it.
" I'll go with you too. I am a teacher, after all."
Ms. Kaneda stands up and lines up beside me.
" I won't leave it all to Shinjou-kun and Kaga-kun. I will protect you properly, too."
Her voice still trembled a little.
But it was a much stronger voice than before.
" So, everyone. Could you believe in us and wait, just a little?"
Ms. Kaneda smiles.
It was a tired face, but a gentle smile.
I felt the atmosphere among my classmates relax just a little.
But—from the next room, Mr. Bandou's shouts can still be heard.
" Open your eyes! You're being deceived!"
His voice is getting hoarse, but it doesn't stop.
I let out a small sigh.
(*That guy is amazing in his own way, too...*)
Kaga laughs quietly.
" Well... thinking we'll be hearing that all night is a bit disheartening."
I can't help but let my mouth relax a little too.
" Right? I seriously want to tell him to shut up."
We look at each other and share a wry smile.
(*Well, tomorrow it is.*)
I grip the clear file tightly.
Inside are the aircraft blueprints from World War I. The Zero fighter blueprints from World War II. Memos on improvements for the Type 30 infantry rifle.
This is our only weapon.
(*We've just gotta do it.*)
The lamp's flame flickers unsteadily.
A small light falls inside the room.
Sta
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