Difference between 〜たことになる and 〜ることになる when both are describing a past result

Question

1. 都立校とは思えない充実した設備を誇るうえ、数年前に創立されたばかりのため内外装も損傷がほとんどない。もちろん旧被災地の高校らしく、地下シェルターも最新のものが設えられている。

そのためか入試倍率は低くなく、「家が近いから」だけの理由で受験を決めた士道は、少々苦労をすることになったのだが。(Date a live, novel1)

2. 「さて、二人とも。今日来てもらったのは他でもない。ーー宇宙空間を漂っていた先の精霊が<ラタトスク>の手に落ちたことで、彼らの元には累計一〇体もの精霊が集まったことになった」(Date a live, novel16)

The context for 1 is that the text is introducing the background of the school and the protagonist, 士道, who is a high school student. The sentence in question is a flashback of how he worked hard and passed the school entrance examination.

I think I understand the overall meanings of the two quoted texts. But I’m wondering, since “苦労” and “集まる” are both past events, why don’t we use 苦労したことになった in the first sentence (but we do use 集まったことになった)? Generally, what would be the difference between 〜たことになる and 〜ることになる when both are describing a past result?

Answer 1

The ~ることになった can mean a past result, but it references the future in relation to the preceding phrase. If you use ～ることになった in 2, e.g., since the speaker is speaking about the present, it would seem as if 精霊 will 集まる in the future (but it has already been decided). In the first, the reference time is 受験を決めた (in describing 士道), so while the overall sentence is in the past, 苦労をする is a future action relative to 受験を決めた士道.

Answer 2

It seems to me that, in Japanese, the position of the speaker plays an important role of deciding which form to take. Where is the speaker standing on time-scale or in time perspective?

In the first example, the speaker is standing at the time of Shido's entrance examination, because he is introducing the background of the school. From this point of time, he is looking at Shido's 苦労, which can be said to be the future event. This leads the speaker to use 苦労をする, but not 苦労をした. Yes, you said 'The sentence in question is a flashback of how he worked hard and passed the school entrance examination.' In order to create the desired effects of this flashback, the writer is supposed to vary the (time) position of the speaker.

In the second example, the speaker is standing at the time of 二人がきた今日. From this point in time perspective, he is looking at 精霊の集まり, which can be said to be the past event. This leads the speaker to use the past form of 集まった. But the expression of 集まったことになった sounds to me rather redundant. By using this redundant form, the writer is sure to put much emphasis on the great number of 100.