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Chapter 10 – The Toranomon Incident

“You know, Onii-sama, I had a really scary dream.”

“A scary dream? Try telling me about it. It might make you feel better.”

Yes. Telling this handsome man was definitely the right choice.
Besides, since he’s an army officer, I figured it would be safe to rely on him.

“Um… In my dream, tomorrow morning, The Prince Regent was attacked near the Imperial Palace.”

“Tomorrow morning? The Prince Regent? Attacked near the palace? That does sound like a scary dream. But why do you say it’s happening tomorrow?”

(Oh no, I was too specific! No, I just have to push through!)

“Um, well, in my dream, Father was talking about it. He said something terrible had happened. There was a calendar in the room, and I remembered the date.”

“I see. That’s impressive. Did your dream father say anything else?”

“The Prince Regent was safe, but the bad guy used a… ‘shikomi-juu’? And he also said ‘tiger’, ‘America’, and ‘kagu’.”

“‘Shikomi-juu’, A concealed gun? A tiger near the Imperial Palace… Ah, there’s Toranomon nearby. Then, could it be the U.S. Embassy? And ‘kagu’… Smell? Furniture? What does that mean? …Anyway, you remembered all that? That’s amazing, Reiko.”

Ryuya Onii-sama, who can perfectly understand my toddler speech, first showed a serious expression before quickly softening again.

Meanwhile, I was shocked at myself.
I had only faint memories of it, yet suddenly, the materials I had once seen appeared clearly in my mind, as if I am reading them again.

This cheat-level brain… is seriously a cheat.

I almost wanted to escape from reality. Because of that, I hesitated for a moment before responding to Onii-sama.

“…U-uh-huh. It was so scary I couldn’t get it out of my head.”

“That must have been terrifying. But don’t worry—leave it to me, your unc-… I mean, your Onii-san!”

“Yes! Onii-sama!”

At my beaming smile and cheerful voice, he flashed a dazzling grin, and with a dramatic flourish of his cape and a “Well then.”, he swiftly strode away.

That was unmistakably the movement of someone taking action.
His movements, sharp and precise like a true soldier, were completely different from the relaxed demeanor he had just moments ago.

(Huh? He believed me just like that? I mean, sure, my explanation was pretty detailed for a dream, but shouldn’t he have asked more questions or even doubted me? Or… is this what a true ikemen is like? The type who grants every little wish of a young girl? Isn’t he too much of an ikemen? No wonder he’s already married with a kid at twenty-two—no woman would ever let him slip away.)

Thinking that, I found myself too curious to stay put, so I moved to follow the ikemen who had just left the room.

As I peeked into the hallway, I spotted the too-handsome Ryuya Onii-sama speaking with my grandfather, Kiichirou.

They were conversing in hushed tones a little distance away, so I could only catch bits and pieces, but from what I heard, he seemed serious about investigating this.

Meanwhile, my grandfather—no, my father(since he told me to treat him like one)—had an expression I rarely saw.

Gone was his usual laid-back, absentminded daytime persona.
Instead, his face had turned sharp and serious, resembling that of an elite military officer.

And when their conversation ended, he directed that intense gaze straight at me.

It lasted only for a moment, but it was sharp enough to send chills down my spine.
Yet in the next instant, his usual gentle expression returned, along with the warm gaze he always gave me.

I awkwardly returned with a smile and quickly retreated to my room.

(That old man is definitely a cunning fox pretending to be harmless. So scary. I need to be careful not to slip up.)

I braced myself, but Grandfather didn’t ask me anything.

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I found out that history had changed the next day—December 27th, just past noon.
While having lunch with my great-grandfather and the others, an urgent message arrived.

The messenger only whispered into Great-Grandfather’s ear,  but I managed to catch a few words—”Prince Regent”, “attempted”, and the like.

That alone threw the entire mansion into a flurry of activity, yet no one questioned me about anything.

I learned the details of the incident from the newspaper the following day.
It reported that while Crown Prince Regent Hirohito was traveling by car outside Toranomon, a suspicious individual carrying a concealed firearm was apprehended by none other than my Onii-sama, Second Lieutenant Ootori Ryuya, preventing any harm.

And the would-be assassin, despite not being interrogated, freely confessed that he had intended to assassinate the Prince Regent, instantly turning the event into a major incident.

According to the article, my Onii-sama’s presence at the scene was purely coincidental—he had been on his year-end holiday and was visiting the Imperial Palace for a New Year’s prayer. 

A perfect excuse that both earned him extra credit while also avoiding suspicion.
As expected of Onii-sama.

In one section of the newspaper, there was also a dazzling summary of his impressive career.

Graduated from the 33rd class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy.
Top of his class in every stage—local military preparatory school, central military preparatory school, and the academy itself. 

It was already assumed that he would graduate as the top student in the Army War College next year as well.
On top of that, he held high ranks in kendo and judo, and being a cavalry officer, was also an expert equestrian.

Moreover, coming from a financial conglomerate family, he wasn’t just knowledgeable in military affairs but also well-versed in economics, making him a highly promising figure for the future.

And now, with this major achievement under his belt, his reputation skyrocketed.
Perhaps because he was just too handsome, the newspaper even published his photograph.

(Come to think of it, this newspaper is owned by the Ootori zaibatsu, so of course, they’d print a family member’s photo. The amount of space they’ve dedicated to him is insane… Wait a minute—didn’t I just change my brother’s future way more than Japan’s history?)

At this point, I couldn’t think otherwise.
And since this was no small incident, my Onii-sama was relentlessly summoned by important figures afterward.

The Yamamoto Cabinet, which had narrowly avoided a mass resignation, awarded him a commendation directly from the Prime Minister and Admiral, Yamamoto Gonbee.

Even though the Crown Prince (Prince Regent) was unharmed, the fact that an assassination attempt had actually taken place would have forced the Cabinet to take responsibility and resign.
Because of that, behind closed doors, Onii-sama was showered with praise from various figures.

That’s how serious incidents involving the imperial family were.

Since he had prevented it from happening, the Cabinet remained intact.
However, due to security failures, officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the police, and other departments were held accountable, with many facing disciplinary actions and resignations. 

Some officials, despite not being directly responsible, felt they couldn’t forgive themselves and voluntarily stepped down.

As for the perpetrator and his family, despite the crime being an attempt, the assassin was sentenced to death.
His father, a member of parliament, took responsibility by fasting himself to death—an extreme turn of events.

Meanwhile, Onii-sama met with a series of high-ranking Army officials, including Army Minister Tanaka Giichi.
Moreover, because he had saved none other than the Crown Prince, he was even granted an audience with the Genrō—the elder statesmen of Japan. 

Some members of the imperial family also personally praised him.

At this rate, he was practically meeting every influential figure in Japan of this era.

And just when it seemed like the only thing left was for the Ootori family and Ootori Zaibatsu to formally honor him, yet another unexpected invitation arrived.

“So now it’s the Duke Mouri’s residence? This is getting exhausting…”

That was an unintentional complaint that slipped from my Onii-sama’s mouth as he rested at the main estate.

Since the Ootori family had the background—no, the pretense—no, the actual history of being Choshu domain samurai, certain people, remembering this fact, decided they too had to offer their praise, and so they summoned him.

And apparently, even Duke Mouri himself bestowed words of praise upon him.

(Duke, huh… Unlike in an isekai fantasy, dukedoms were fairly common in this era of Japan, so they don’t really feel that prestigious. Besides, there are plenty of imperial family members who could be considered dukes in Europe.)

At the time, I could still think of my brother’s recent events in a detached manner.

But this undoubtedly meant I had altered history.
The weight of that realization slowly began to creep in.

Thinking about trivial things like this was, in a way, my own form of escapism.

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The Toranomon Incident

On December 27, 1923, in Toranomon, Kojimachi Ward, Tokyo City, Crown Prince and Prince Regent Hirohito (later Emperor Showa) became the target of an assassination attempt by anarchist Nanba Daisuke.

It was one of several terrorist incidents that frequently occurred after the Great Kanto Earthquake.
As a result, the Second Yamamoto Cabinet was forced to resign en masse to take responsibility.

This resignation caused further disruption to the post-earthquake reconstruction efforts.

The United States took particular interest in the incident, as the assassin was found among the crowd in front of the “America-ya” Western furniture store in Shiba Ward, Kotohira Town.

Additionally, the assassin’s father was a politician.
After his son’s crime, he took responsibility by fasting to death, leaving a vacant parliamentary seat—one that was soon filled by Matsuoka Yosuke.

It’s astonishing how history is intertwined in such an intricate web of cause and effect.