Soil 24

Soil, Volume 3, Chapter 24 (pp. 191~214)


<191>
[tape]Police//Do Not Enter


<192>
=You know how the world is about to end, right?

"The Second Utensil"

=We have no future in the first place.
=And since we have no future, we have no sins.

=That's why I don't consider your stupidity to be a sin, Seki.
=Everything's temporary, and off the cuff anyways.
=...Don't eat your boogers.


<193>
=In the Gishiwajiden it's written, "Men of all ages possess imprints on their front and self..."

=Front refers to the face... And self refers to tattoos on the body...
=In ancient times, Japanese people tattooed their entire bodies as an incantation to prevent themselves from getting lost at sea...

=S-S-S-So those are scales!?
=You're admitting that they're scales, aren't you!?

=Look, I told you it's just to understand the spirituality of the Jomon people...
=D-D-Don't move!!

=I-I'm the eighth champion of the Kamikawa Station Sports Swordfighting Tournament!
=I'm even going to be in the regionals soon!


<194>
=Sports... What?
=Doesn't that sounds so pathetic it makes you sad?
=Sh-Sh-Shut up, middle schoolers!

=I'm finally drawing closer to the crux of this case!!
=I'm about to accomplish something as a detective!!

=FLAP
=CHUK

=WHIP
=Th-Th-Th-Then the "salt!?"
=What about the "salt!?"

=You purchased the meteorite containing alien "salt!"//I saw your name on the store records!
=Wh-Wh-Wh-What was your objective!?


<195>
=Wh-Why has a mountain of "salt" that shouldn't even exist on the Earth appeared in this town!?
=E-E-Explain yourself!!
=I mean like, why!? How come!?

=A-Alien?
=Meteorite?

=Inside that drawer...
=Drawer!?
=Open it, middle schoolers!!
=THUD THUD

=RATTLE
=Huh!?

[box right]Dove Cookies
[box left]Persimmon Seeds


<196>
=P-Persimmon seeds and Dove Cookies...!?
=...Look inside.

=The persimmon seeds contain the "Zag Meteorite" I imported,
=And the Dove Cookies contain a stone ornament excavated from an empty lot in "Soil."

=It may look like a normal stone ornament, but it's actually made of O. Chondrite... It's a meteorite.

=Do you see the blueish crystals of rock salt on the sides?


<197>
=Both of them contain Xenon 129 and Argon 40...
=Which existed over 4.5 billion years ago, and are two of the oldest minerals in the solar system...
=They're virtually non-existent on the Earth.

=Which means...
=A similar meteorite landed in this area during the Jomon Period...

=And the ancient people...
=Viewed this "foreign object" from the sky as a religious device, and used it to sculpt the ornament...


<198>
=I was thinking about using that as a theme for my thesis...
=I imported the "Zag Meteorite" in order to run a comparative analysis...

=But...

=But...!?

=Then the "salt mountain" suddenly appeared in the school yard...


<199>
=The blueish tint caught my eye...

=So I ran some tests, and...

=It was exactly the same...
=As the "salt" on the meteorite...?

=I'm the one looking for an explanation...
=Forget about my thesis...
=That thing refutes every single geological and archeological finding ever made...


<200>
="For all the truth, all creation, all secrets of yore. Can be told in an instant,"
="By then they're no more..."

=Quit playing dumb, alien!!
=AH
=You may fool a detective, but you'll never fool the Paranormal Investigation Team!!

=What've you done to the Suzushiros!?
=Tell us what you were doing on the "night of the blackout!!"
[x3]SPLOSH
=Hot hot hot hot hot hot hot!!


<201>
=I was with you two, remember!?

=What!?
=Oh!

=You told me there was an unidentified creature in the underground parking lot of the train station,
=And I was forced to come along as the club supervisor...

=We got trapped inside because of the blackout,
=And we couldn't get out till the next morning, remember!?


<202>
=Yeah! The time with caught that raccoon, right?

=Hey Tomiyama... Wanna come to my house and watch some really perverted videos?
=Oh! Sounds good!

=What genre of pervertedness are we talking about?
=Most of your stuff is a bit too bizarre for my taste.
=J-Just come, alright...!

=RATTLE
=BATHUMP


<203>
=I-I'm so sorry about this...
=Oh no... I'm sorry for causing this whole confusion...

=But still, the real "man with scales" must be somewhere...
=And he must really have something to do with the crux of this case...

=Umm...

=I don't know if an amateur should be saying something like this...
=This is just my personal opinion, but...

=There's a term called the "second utensil" in Jomon study...
=It's used to refer to things like that stone ornament. Relics that seem to have no practical use whatsoever...


<204>
=Most of them are just explained away as items of religious significance,
=But some are just so incomprehensible...

=Trying to reason with those relics doesn't get you anywhere...
=They seem to exist just for the sake of existing...

=I think this world contains "mysteries" that are meant to be solved, and "mysteries" that aren't meant to be solved...
=Pure "mysteries," I guess...
="Mysteries" that exist just for the sake of it...

=Perhaps this case...
=Also falls into that category...


<205>
=...This enigma...
=Has no explanation...

=You may search forever...
=But there will be no answer...


<206&207>
=Because this "mystery..."
=Was never meant to be solved...


<212>
=Nnnn.... Nn...
=Nnnnnn.... Ahh
=Ahhhhhh


<213>
=Nahhhh....

=Nnnnnah...

=Nnnah...

=Nn...


<214>
=Ahhhhhh!!!
=BZZZZZT

=Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!