"...Well, I introduced myself but she had no reaction at all."
Sadao reported to his boss what happned the last night.
"Didn't your way to do it follow the manual,did it?"
The boss asked him rigidly.
"I believed what I said was right,but..."
"But?"
"It might be my fault to do it keeping lying down.You do it usually while you're standing."
"You're talking about good form.I know,as you told, earthlings care if it is good form or bad.We never care about form.Well, earthilings have various character,so some wouldn't respond to right greetings.Don't worry about the past.Then,what happened with her after all?"
"I...erm..."
Sadao had hesitation in saying that.
"What? Is there something wrong?"
"I don't remember."
"What? What the heck are you saying?"
Actually Sadao didn't remember anything after that.He started off with self-introduction to her he had just met though. When he noticed she had gone away it was morning.He didn't know what happened.He told the boss it as it had been.
"Come on! Get it together! If an earthling live in your house with you it is going to be problems.Could it be that you chose a shared house?" The boss said.
"Shared house? What is it?"
"It is a house where some people live in together and they split the rent.Maybe,so your house's rent is low."
Sadao thought the boss had a point.
"So, are you saying because the woman pay the rent half, the rent is low?"
"Possible.Make sure.But..."
"But?"
"Ah,OK. Never mind."
The connection was cut after the boss said it.
Sadao was an alien who had come to the Earth,from the planet 'Neeu', in order to investigate the ecology of earthlings. Of course,his name "Sadao Takahashi" was an alias prepared for his job.The boss had been dealt with reports coming from each place on ,in the mother ship floating in space.So there were some or many -Sadao didn't know how many - comrades on the Earth, besides Sadao.
According to the investigation results in the past, earthlings weren't so dangerous. Rumor said a massive investigation had started on Earth.In a situation like that, Sadao applied for it at his own will and was supposed to be an undercover agent in some place in Japan.
Sadao didn't know how they would do after getting enough results, only who knew it was the top brass.Maybe they'd build the friendly relationship,or invade,or something else.
The past results said that the technology level of earthlings were lower than neeulings' - lived on the Neeu.It was said that earthlings' mental were not ready for aliens coming because of it. Before, some neeulings met earthlings on the Earth,without chaging their appearance into a earthlings', the earthlings had a strong rejection reaction to them.
It seemed that who earthlings can talk to at ease were only earthlings.And they valued the appearance and the from.Neeulings were able to change their appearance as they liked,so it was easy to change their appearance into earthling's. And it was easy to go undercover on the Earth.They could also communicate with earthlings by speaking language used on Earth.But they had a huge flaw in communication with the earthlings.It was that they couldn't read earthlings facial expressions,so also couldn't make their facial expressions naturally.
Earthlings became able to make facial expressions naturally,without being taught.When they were happy they smiled, when they were angry they had a angry look.Those were made subconsciously,in response to their feelings.And earthlings became able to read others feelings by their facial expressions.But in case of Neeulings, they needed to make their expressions consciously because they were able to change their appearance,their appearance never changed subconsciously,in response to their feelings.So they didn't have a concept of 'facial expressions'. For them it was extremely difficult to make facial expressions and read it like earthlings did.
Their immediate objective was to understand the ecology of earthlings more deeply and become able to communicate with earthlings better.It they built friendly relationship with earthlings,maybe they could keep it after they revealed their indentity.In that sense,this investigation might be the foundation of friendly relationship with earthlings.
Whatever the top brass considered,what Sadao could do now was to complete his job.He headed to the real estate agency in order to find what happend in the house.
Neeulings leant that keeping smile was important, in communication with earthlings.But they didn't know natual smile.The maunal just said the important things were to raise both corners of mouth and to lower tail of the eyes.Sadao made smile as the manual said.
"A woman was in the bedroom."
Sadao said.
"...uh...it is...as I thought."
The agent answered with the look saying as if he had heard of that many times.
Sadao asked,keeping smile.
"What do you mean? you said 'as I thought'. I was told that a woman had been killed in the house but not a woman lived there."
The agent forced himself to smile because he didn't know what Sadao was thinking, smiling artificially.
"Mr. Takahashi, you're funny."
"You flatter me."
Sadao didn't know what was funny in the conversation though,he answered the words as the manual said before thinking.He made a straight face consciously because the manual said it was natural to change facial expressions a little - they could use only 2 'smile' and 'straight face' though.And he tried to make sure of a fact.
"Ah, the woman is a human?"
The agent got surprised because Sadao asked weird question with a straght face.
"What are you saying? You're funny."
"You flatter me."
Sadao thought the woman must be a human due to the agent's reaction and to need changing the subject because if he keep asking about the question the aganet might suspect his identity.
"Do you mean the rent is low because of her?"
"In short, yes."
He thought he had chosen a shared house as the boss had said, the contract didn't say so though.He judged it was his own fault because he knew how diffucult to communicate with earthlings properly.So it was not good to pursue the agent with the questions.
The angent said,while Sadao was thinking.
"What would you do? Would you leave the house and live in other? If you do that you don't need to pay any penalty because...it happens often."
Sadao didn't know what the agent said.
"Would everyone who lives the house give up living soon?"
"Yes."
"The reason is the woman?"
"Probably."
Sadao smiled artificially again.
"Is there anything wrong with her?"
The angent got surprised again because Sadao asked him a strange question.Fortunatly or unfortunately Sadao couldn't read it.
"You're funny."
"You flatter me."
Sadao answered again as the manual said.
"If you woulnd' care about her you could keep living there."
"Ok.I consider it. I'll be back if I have something."
Sadao left there.Any way, he couldn't decide if he changed the house he lived himself.Because he would needed the boss' permission to do that.And he thought the situation would be good oppotunities.