M.O.N and Talk

After breakfast, Zombina, Tionishia, Doppel, and Manako decided to head back. They get a message that Smith is awake and going to work, so they have to be there to help her. Smith's and their work was essential. They were a special forces unit that solved problems between demi-humans and humans.

Humans and demi-humans who live together are not always at peace without conflict, and problems will arise from these two groups. Certain demi-humans were considered 'weird' or unnatural due to their physique and appearance, especially those not from their home country. On the side of the demi-humans, some of them considered humans to be 'dirty' and 'disgusting' creatures.

A few years ago, since the appearance of the first demi-humans in the media caused these things to be 'normal' to happen, there were those who ignored it and others who paid attention to it. But now it's different. Both parties have made and agreed upon the Interspecies Protection Act between humans and demi-humans. Of course, the punishment imposed if someone violated was no joke. They committed acts of violence and threatened the peace between humans and demi-humans.

The Interspecies Protection Act covers not only humans and demi-humans. It also covers non-humans and different species that may not have been identified. The Interspecies Protection Act is still new, so there are some loopholes. For example, a law strictly prohibits acts of violence between species. At first glance, the rule was not a problem, but there was a big gap there. As long as it doesn't hurt physically, it's okay. That means verbal abuse can still be done, and those verbally attacked cannot fight back with physical force. The options are to fight back verbally, stay silent, or run.

For the work of Zombina, Tionishia, Doppel, and Manako, they are the special security unit of the demi-human side, and they are Monster Ops: Neutralization or MON for short. Of course, the human side also has security units such as the police and military, and several organizations maintain peace, such as the Heroes. Several secret organizations operate in the shadows that protect the peace, such as Chuuma Ninja.

MON will only solve cases related to crimes committed by demi-humans. Besides that, they also solve problems that occur with demi-humans. The point is MON only takes care of demi-humans and the trouble they cause. All MON members are demi-humans which means they can use violence against demi-humans to cause trouble.

Smith and MON's relationship is very close, especially with the Zombina group. She is the supervisor, liaison, and person in charge of reporting all cases resolved by the MON of the Zombina group.

Smith's job isn't all that. She's also a cultural exchange coordinator between humans and demi-humans, especially demi-humans from other countries. She once offered Kimihito to become a host for the Bill on Cultural Exchange Between Species.

***

Back to the time when Kimihito and Smith were waiting for orders at Stile.

"Tell me, Kimihito, are you interested in demi-humans?" She asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" He was confused about what the woman in front of him was talking about.

"Hmm? Don't you understand?"

"Your question is so ambiguous, you suddenly asked about demi-humans."

Honestly, Kimihito did think that Smith's question was so ambiguous. He didn't understand what she was referring to as 'Interested' to the demi-human species because of the many meanings of the word 'Interested'. He was pretty confused at the moment.

Glancing at him with her piercing gaze, she then asked, "Sigh… You know what my job is?"

"I don't know!"

"I work as a cultural exchange coordinator."

"Demi-human culture exchange?" He asked.

"Right… "

"But is it necessary? I feel weird about that."

"Do you know? Demi-humans don't just exist in Japan. They exist all over the world."

Kimihito already knew about it, even with limited information on his television at home. He thinks their goal of creating a cultural exchange program is not to exchange cultures. It's like there's a more important reason than that.

"Each country has its uniqueness. For example, the population of demi-humans in this country is dominated by demi-humans of the type dogs, deer, bears, cats, and many more. But Japan has a special kind of demi-human that doesn't exist anywhere but here."

"Youkai, right?" Of course, he knows that Youkai is Japanese demi-humans.

"Youkai, dragons, fairies, and the others are different. The government agreed to bridge the cultural exchange. They come to Japan to learn Japanese culture, and the demi-humans in Japan can also learn about foreign cultures. Of course, that's all if they want it."

"And the humans will participate to become the host of the demi-humans? Am I right?"

"It's like that, so someone takes care and guides them while they are in a cultural exchange program."

"But the program isn't just 'that', right?" said Kimihito with a bit of hesitation.

"What do you mean?" Smith, who heard it, became confused by what he said, but she knew for sure that he had concluded something.

"Do I need to explain?"

"Fufufu~ I don't understand what you mean." She answered with a laugh.

'But your expression says you understand.'

"Breeding, that's the main reason, right?"

"Why do you think like that?" At this point, she was sure there was nothing to hide from Kimihito.

"Huh… I've heard that there are several species of demi-humans that are 'unique' about them like there are no males in their species, so they have to bring in males from other species to reproduce, and that's usually from humans, right?"

"But after the Interspecies Protection Act was enacted, they couldn't do that anymore. Apart from that, some have a 'weird' marriage culture, so most of them leave it and choose to follow the modern marriage culture."

"The host is a husband-to-be, and the demi-human is a wife-to-be, teaching foreign culture aims to prepare the wife for the husband's life. The cultural exchange program is like a household simulation to me. If the program goes smoothly, they will likely get married. Plus, the declining birth rate in Japan makes such a program very welcome and welcome by the government."

It would not be strange if Kimihito thought so. What he believes, the cultural exchange program is undoubtedly not short. It may take months or even years. And over time, there must also be a special relationship between the demi-humans and their host.

"Fufufu~" She just laughed after hearing all his words.

Adjusting her sunglasses, then she said, "There is nothing more that I can hide from you, Kimihito Kurusu."

"..." Explaining everything made his mouth dry. He felt like he wanted to drink immediately.

"You can even guess what the next move will be."

"The next step? What do you mean?"

"Hmm? As you explained at length earlier, inter-species marriage will be legalized."

"W-wait, so what all I said just now hasn't happened yet?" He was pretty surprised to hear that 'Will' happened.

"That has happened. Several couples are married, but their status is not published. Apart from breeding problems, some demi-humans seriously want to learn about the culture."

"Well, it can't be that everyone's reasons are the same."

It was normal. Not all demi-humans who took part in the cultural exchange program would be 100% marital. It is undeniable that most of them want to learn foreign cultures because maybe that was their goal from the program's start. It's completely legit.

"So… Back to the main question, are you interested in demi-humans, Kimihito?"

"..." He didn't expect Smith to ask the same question still.

"It would be a lie if I hated them. Maybe I'm quite interested in demi-humans."

"Oh… Glad to hear that." She was glad that Kimihito didn't hate demi-humans and that it allowed her to rely on him in case of trouble.

If Kimihito knew what Smith was thinking, he might get out of Stile and leave her. Unfortunately, he didn't realise that his answer would affect his future life. But that's for later.