Megami Buchigire - Chapter 40

” Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was which Tokugawa again?”

In a classroom in an absolutely normal middle school, currently splayed over a desk is an otherworlder aka summoner apprentice aka middle schooler aka Elte-san.

Elte-san is here because she was unable to escape the law of compulsory education, but actually, due to her status as a summoner apprentice, she’s already received a fair amount of education.

But whereas in the sciences she can apply her previous knowledge here and there, the social studies that she had absolutely no prior knowledge of are torturing her every single day. It’s already to the level where she would really like it if historic generals would just be named Jirou or Saburou in order. 1

“Are you alright, Elte? By the way, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi is the shogun who was famous for the ridiculous Edicts on Compassion for Living Things law. He’s the son of the third shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu. The first half of his rule was great but the latter half was the Edicts that I mentioned just now and also a bunch of other things” 2

“Oooi, if you dump it all on Elte at once she’s going to overheat.”

Elte-san is currently surrounded by her classmates. Apparently her identity as an otherworlder hasn’t stopped her from safely fitting in with her class.

Incidentally, though the Edicts is famous for being a bad law, at the start it was merely the concept of ‘let’s treat living beings with respect.’ But everyone just ignored him so completely that he got upset about it and sent it out again and again.

It did have the good aspect of forbidding the abandoning of pups, and though the Edicts were immediately repealed after his death, this mentality still remained.

“In the first place, why is the compulsory education of this country at such a pointlessly high standard? You guys aren’t even going to become magicians so why would you learn arithmetics? What’d you use it for?”

“More like, magicians use arithmetics?”

Japan has a thoroughly educational system that is prominent even by global standards. As a result, the Japanese populace boasts an almost 100% literacy rate, a standard that sounds amazing but doesn’t really feel particularly amazing.

Incidentally, Japan’s high literacy has already been a thing since several hundred years ago. Back during the Edo period, the rate was already more than half if you look solely at the commoner class, and more than 90% if you look solely at the nobility.

This was due to Japan’s characteristic system of temple elementary education and the people’s diligent thirst for learning.

While we’re on the topic, it should also be noted that depending on the region, it was the girls who had a higher percentage of school attendance.

It is said that male chauvinism is quite prominent in Japan, but in the commoner class there are actually quite a significant percentage of households where the wife has more power than the husband.

Please don’t say the ‘husbands are great when they’re healthy and not home’ line. You’re going to make dads all over the country cry. 3