Naturally, the Awakener Association was not unique to Japan. Every existing nation had signed the Awakener Basic Treaty, establishing and running its own Association in accordance with it.
The “Japan Headquarters” was simply one such branch, as each country had its own. There had once been talk of merging them into a single global body, but the idea collapsed when no one could agree on which nation would host the “World Headquarters.”
The reason lay in the treaty itself. Put simply, “No organization or individual outside the Awakener Association, founded and run by awakener, shall hold authority to command awakener.” In plainer terms: “Don’t you dare interfere in awakener business.” This treaty was universal. The only countries without it were those where awakeners had fled—nations destroyed in monster disasters.
Awakener, as a rule, had no desire to run governments (though some individuals had gone into politics). Nations were still run primarily by the non-awakener majority.
But in this society, awakener existed—privileged superhumans. With nations consumed by the threat of monsters, there was no longer room for wars against each other. The awakeners were the only ones able to fight this new enemy.
That sounded lofty, but in truth, most awakeners cared little for power. Early on, the Association had chosen to treat the strongest awakener as celebrities. That policy stuck.
“And that,” explained Akai, “is the Ranker system.”
Rank was calculated from many factors: strength, popularity, contributions. It was a standardized, near-perfectly fair system. There was no “World Ranking” (the political fights would be catastrophic), but each country had its own list.
The top five of each were known as Top Rankers, the de facto faces of their nation.
No. 1: “Hero” Aozora Youta
No. 2: “Professor” Mano Tsukiko
No. 3: “Fortress” Doma Takeru
No. 4: “Submarine” Suzuno Shion
No. 5: “Black Witch” Sendou Sarina
These were Japan’s Top Rankers.
Aozora Youta, No. 1, was said to possess overwhelming power—but he was a wanderer, roaming the world and rarely reachable. He held the top only because his strength was absolute.
No. 2, Mano Tsukiko, held a unique job and contributed greatly to the development of tools powered by magic stones. Her rank came more from research and invention than combat—but that was a contribution all the same.
“She’s not weak, mind you,” Akai added.
“She’s said to be absurdly strong. Ages ago, some fool tried to kidnap her—and the terrain around her lab was completely altered. Famous story.”
No. 3, Doma Takeru, lived up to his title. The undisputed top tank. A quiet but earnest young man, polite in conversation. But he almost never left Gunma—specifically Kusatsu. Short-term work, perhaps, but never long-term. They even called him the “Kusatsu Fortress.” Yet when battle came, no one had ever defeated him.
“These three are called the ‘Unshakable Three,’” Akai explained.
“The other two? Their places change more often.”
“Hmm.”
At the FoxPhone flagship store in Akihabara, Inari listened, nodding thoughtfully. Apparently, after the recent Itou incident, she herself had entered the ranking. Her blue awakener card had turned black.
Cards ranked from gold, silver, bronze, black, green, blue, red, yellow, to white. Inari had skipped green entirely. Akai’s card was green, meaning Inari now outranked her.
“Still, it’s amazing. That last incident shot you straight to No. 98.”
“How many ranks exist in all?”
“One hundred. Even making the list is an achievement.”
Outside the top 100, there wasn’t even calculation. Akai, like most, was unranked. For Inari to jump in so suddenly was proof of extraordinary merit.
“Well, I understand this ranking, or whatever it is. But truth be told—I care little for such things.”
“That sounds exactly like you, Miss Kogami.”
After all, Inari barely accepted requests sent through FoxPhone. If she cared for fame or money, she’d take them all. Akai understood well enough she had no interest in such things.
“By the way, I know No. 5. But what sort is No. 4?”
“Ah—No. 4 is a young one. About 18, I think. Specializes in underwater combat.”
“With the Akabane and Itou affairs lately, he’s probably busy,” Akai added.
“Indeed. Likely so,” Inari agreed.