The Shunin (主任, roughly “chief” or “senior clerk”) is the protagonist of Astrae Oratio and the role the player takes on. “Shunin” is a job title rather than a name, and the whole cast addresses the player that way.
Who is the Shunin?
The Shunin starts the story as a low-ranking local public official in Tokyo — and, crucially, as an ordinary person. The official profile is explicit that he is not a magician and has no special abilities. Despite that, he is abruptly transferred to the Special District Office, the agency that administers every magic-related affair in Tokyo, and ends up as its only official employee.
From then on, every problem involving Tokyo’s hidden magicians lands on his desk: territorial disputes between clans, incidents in the wards, and the odd attempt on his life.
Role in the story
- Boss: Hiwagishiakari Ai, the Commissioner who arranged his transfer without asking.
- Bodyguard: Doll, a wooden guardian the Commissioner built to keep him alive.
- Support staff: the chaotic Dominion Management Council branch crew.
- Mediator: as a public official and dominion administrator, he is expected to settle disputes between magician clans, which the game frames as administrative work. See Dominion.
How other characters see him
The official profiles suggest the Shunin attracts a lot of attention for an “ordinary” clerk:
- Kujo Yuria came from Kyoto specifically to kill him.
- Vita Neri of the Ashen Dawn calls him the most dangerous man in Tokyo.
- Mitsukoe Runa has decided he will be exactly her type — in about ten years.
- The retired butler looking after Anna M. Battenberg treats him as a future son-in-law candidate.
- Shiranui Ren occasionally watches him with a predatory look.
Trivia
- The official site also lists a “Shunin (Cursed)” variant: one morning he wakes up from a nightmare and finds he has turned into a cat.
- Official English text refers to the Shunin as “he”.