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Child in Time

Child in Time

Child(チャイルド) in(イン) Time(タイム)
Chairudo in taimu
Chapter Info
Release Date July 27th, 2012
Chapter FLAG.196[1]
Volume Volume 20
Arc Heart of Jupiter Arc
Chapter Guide
Previous
Beyond the FLAG
Next
Steering Wheel

Child in Time is the 196th chapter of The World God Only Knows.

Synopsis

Looking at himself in the mirror

Looking at "himself"...

Not noticing what had happened to him, shrunk Keima talked on, saying that he wished to go home, play games and pass out. Elsie, astonished by his shrunken body, asked if he was the "Nii-sama" she knew of. Even though Elsie told him that he was now a child, Keima only cared about the surroundings, noticing how it had become nighttime. Elsie tried to get his attention, but he continued to ignore her cries. Finally, she brought out a mirror to show how Keima looked like. When Keima saw how he has become a child, he finally realized what has happened to him. Keima exclaimed, wondering if this was the effects of a parallel world. But as he tried to comprehend, he looked up at a nearby house, seeing that it was his old house.

Keima was surprised by the sight of his old house, since for him, it was destroyed by the earthquake 10 years ago. Someone then called out his name. It came from Keima's old house, and when he looked up, it was a young lady calling out. Whether or not she was Keima's older sister, or a close relative, the young lady childishly roared at Keima, telling him that when young children comes out at night, demons will appear.

The living room

Living Room

Because Keima is supposedly mature, though with this young body, he does not react. He noticed that this young lady was actually his mom. He commented how she was now young, which pleased her.

As she carried Keima towards their house, Tenri's mother exited the house, as it seems she was visiting. Elsie watched the two mothers converse about vegetables and other lady's talk, unable to step in. When Tenri's mother finally left, Keima finally accepted the fact that he had traveled back in time. Elsie made the same remark, talking of what Tenri talked of earlier. Keima and Mari entered the house, into the living room. Mari told Keima to clean the games on the floor, but Keima was making certain that this was his old house. He approached the calender, seeing that it was July of the year 200X. He wondered why he had been sent to this time period.

Excited over Game Chair 1

Excited over "Game Chair #1"

His attention was drawn away when he saw his "game chair number 1". It was the first chair used for gaming, while the current one was his third. As he day-dreamed in this chair he had lost in the earthquake, he also looked back at old games, such as the third game he had completed. Elsie, who was outside this whole time, knocked on the glass door. Keima apologized for moving off track. He told Elsie that he finally has seen that this is reality, not a dream. He asked Elsie if she had any idea why they have to do this, but she too has no idea.

Something had fallen, and Keima looked down to see the pouch with the glass orb. Elsie commented that it was what Haqua and Nora had. Mari called from within the house, which Keima responded to. He told Elsie to hold the orb, and to also refrain from meeting his mother. With a short explanation, Elsie understood his command. Keima headed to where Mari was calling from, which was the bathroom. To his surprise, Mari was inviting him into the bath with her, since she believed he's the young Keima. Being mature in mind, Keima was not willing to do this out of embarrassment. Seeing how embarrassed Keima was, Mari felt joyful of his "normal" reaction, since he usually had an absent-minded attitude. Happy that Keima was acting like a "normal" child, Mari hugged and kissed little Keima, against his will.

While Keima struggled to get away from Mari, Elsie outside was listening to this slight uproar. wishing to help Keima in this situation, she looked at the contents of the bag she was carrying. But to her disappointment, everything within was either something useless or her personal belongings. Within the house, Mari showered Keima casually as she talked about how his dad was still on his trip. She forcibly placed themselves in the bath, and enjoyed counting to ten while holding her breath. But she grew worried, since she had to buy glasses for her deteriorating vision. She told Keima not to get bad eyesight, but he already knew of his future, and silently claimed that he will get bad eye sight.

Mari happily singing, Keima feigning sleepiness

Mari singing, and Keima feigning sleepiness...

Keima took his time in the bath to think of what was occurring. Why was he sent to the past? The biggest problem was his appearance. Why did he come to this world with a child's body? If he was supposed to be sent to the past, his 17-year old body should remained, yet he's in a child's body, as if his mind was the only thing that transcended time. What was purpose of being in this situation? Keima also wondered what had happened to his actual 7-year old self. As Mari sang happily, Keima faked that he was getting sleepy.

Light from the orb

Light from the orb...

She saw this and agreed to exit the bath early and get to bed.

In bed, Keima acted spoiled and demanded to sleep with Mari. Seeing the situation he was in, Keima wanted to have his mother asleep. He would be unable to move freely with her awake. On the rooftop, Elsie held the glass orb, wondering if Keima was ready or not. Suddenly, the orb shined, thereafter sending out a thin light towards a certain direction. Elsie wondered what this light was. In bed, Keima was having trouble staying awake, as his mother sang a lullaby. He too was wondering something: "How come children get tired so quickly?"

Trivia

  • Calender July 200X

    Calender July 200X

    Based on the given calender in this chapter, the technical timeline Keima was in should be in 2010 or beyond, since "ten years ago" is in the 21st century. But this does not make sense based on past evidence, which proposes that Keima's regular timeline should be in the year 2007, making "ten years ago" the year 1997. The calender also points out that, if the July calender is truly correct, the year is either 1995 or 2000. But, because it is in the year 200X, "ten years ago" is the year 2000, and Keima's regular timeline the year 2010, making things more illogical, unless the calender does not correspond to the real calender/timeline.
  • The title is a reference to Deep Purple's song, Child in Time.

References

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