IT’S THE END OF THE OF THE (OTHER) WORLD AS WE KNOW IT On the other side of a wormhole connected to Japan is a fantasy world called the Holy Eldant Empire. The Empire isn’t on the best of terms with the neighboring Kingdom of Bahairam, where there’s just been a major disaster. Amatena and Clara, of the Baharamanian army, are right in the middle of it all when who should they run into but Myusel’s mother, Falmelle! With her Foreseeing Eye, she makes a prediction: “Bring Shinichi here, and things will be resolved!” That’s how Kanou Shinichi, General Manager of the otaku-goods business Amutech, finds himself heading for Bahairam once again, this time with his friends in tow. But the fate of the entire enchanted world might be riding on him! Is this going to be his final fantasy?!

HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE SHINICHI? On the other side of a wormhole connected to Japan is a fantasy world called the Holy Eldant Empire. A guy named Shinichi is the general manager of Amutech, a company established to foster cultural exchange there—otaku culture, that is! Lately, Shinichi has gone back to his old shut-in ways because—well, if you’d been through what he has, wouldn’t you? Minori’s trying everything she can to get him to come out of his cave, but in the meantime, the world outside the mansion is… under existential threat?! Shinichi’s not the only one with a tale to tell, though: everyone’s favorite cross-dresser Hikaru and the lizardman couple Brooke and Cerise also feature in the second Outbreak Company short story collection!

So you’ve got the Eldant Empire, a fantasy world somehow connected to Japan by a mysterious “hole.” And you’ve got Kanou Shinichi, general manager of Amutech, a company whose whole purpose is to promote cultural exchange with this new land—using otaku stuff! Shinichi’s father is a master at churning out popular light novels, but then word reaches Shinichi that his dad’s series has been put on indefinite hiatus. Shinichi may have kept his family at arm’s length in his days as a shut-in, but he can’t ignore this, and makes plans for a visit home. His Eldant friends, worried that this is another ploy on the part of the Japanese government, convince the JSDF to let them send Myusel and Elvia along as bodyguards. Call it the first Eldant embassy to Japan—and they have a lot to learn. An unexpected interloper, a series of accidents, and more international [interdimensional?] intrigue are waiting in the wings for Shinichi and his friends!

The year is 20XX, and Shinichi Kanou is a pretty typical otaku: he loves anime, manga, games, and light novels, but his devotion to the two-dimensional hasn't always made him the most popular guy around. What he doesn't know is that Japan has discovered a portal to another world in the vicinity of Mount Fuji. The people of the Eldant Empire, though, only have eyes for one of Japan's traditional exports: pop culture. Enter Amutech, a purveyor of "general entertainment" that's secretly run by the Japanese government. Shinichi lands a job as the company's general manager. Now he finally has a chance to put his nerd know-how to good use spreading the otaku gospel in the Eldant Empire. And wait... he has to work with a half-elf maid, an empress, AND a female soldier to get the job done?

Almost nine months since the first recorded case, the novel betacoronovirus; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has now passed 18 million confirmed cases. The multi-disciplinary work of researchers worldwide has provided a far deeper understanding of COVID-19 pathogenesis, clinical treatment and outcomes, lethality, disease-spread dynamics, period of infectivity, containment interventions, as well as providing a wealth of relevant epidemiological data. With 27 vaccines currently undergoing human trials, and countries worldwide continuing to battle case numbers, or prepare for resurgences, the need for efficient, high-quality pipelines for peer-reviewed research remains as crucial as ever.

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The Politics and Crisis Management of Animal Health Security addresses the 2001 foot and mouth epidemic in the United Kingdom - one of, if not the, most significant crises ever to face the UK farming industry. Underpinned by interviews with politicians and bureaucrats and with significant primary documentary analysis the book shows that the crisis was a critical juncture in how disease outbreaks have been planned and managed ever since. The author explores how this event affected policy and governance arrangements for managing subsequent disease-induced threats (such as avian influenza and bovine TB) and concludes by considering the ’temporality’ of lesson learning by the UK government including the current and future challenges associated with managing incongruent risks (e.g., flood protection, swine flu and Ebola). This book provides students of public policy and administration with a significant illustration of how key concepts and analytical lenses from public policy can be applied to the study of the contours of practical policy change.