Chapter 588: Unknown Future (1)
“There’s nothing more frightening than stupid people having faith… Thinking about it, I realized that it’s referring to individuals like you. You don’t know how this continent works, what’s here, what’s going to happen. How nice would it have been if you were as still as the rest? Belief, my ass… How can you still say that even after you witnessed the scene caused by the demon contractors?”
“I think… what you just told me… answers the question.”
“What?”
“Every intelligent creature living here deserves to live with their own thoughts and self-judgment. They must have their own convictions and act freely according to their own will. That’s what it means to be a human… gasp… that’s how humans should live.”
“…”
“Thank you for making me realize it once again… about what you think about the people… and how you look at and treat them. I’m grateful to you for proving that my choice wasn’t wrong.”
He kept breathing heavily as if it was hard for him to talk.
‘That’s just bullsh*t.’
It was so ridiculous that I was on the verge of laughing.
‘Intellectual creatures? Judge by themselves? That his choice wasn’t wrong?’
The thought that he had watched too many anime shows that supposedly weren’t available on the continent came to me.
“You must have watched too many cartoon movies. I can’t understand what you’re talking about at all… Who else loves the people as much as I do?”
“They are not stupid. They aren’t stupid and can stand up on their own. I … I just think that your way isn’t right. You might have thought of yourself as the continent’s medicine, but you’re not. You are the continent’s cancer. You’re nothing but a dictator who deceives the people and standardizes their ideas. You’re the one who’s making them ignorant. You’re the one who’s making a fool out of them.”
“…”
“The continent is decaying. Your greed… is destroying the entirety of it.”
“You’re good with words, Mikhail. I used to like that about you. Are you done?”
“Although this job ended in failure, I’ll never regret that I rebelled against you. I thought I did what I had to do…”
“I don’t know what I did so wrong for you to be driving me into the corner like this.”
“I don’t pretend like you really don’t know.”
“Even though there were a few things that bothered me, all I did was for the continent. While you may feel that I have deprived them of their rights, the result of my contribution to the continent does not change. Turn your head and see how far the continent has developed. Let’s go over the State first. You must have forgotten the fact that the State used to be called an empire.”
“Nothing has changed. It just changed from emperor and empress to Oscar and the Chairman, from nobility to council. The revolution was not a victory for the people. It was for you. Although it has been pleasingly labeled as divine democracy, the current State cannot be seen as a country that aims for democracy. It is just a means of securing power by selling the name of God. More than half of the council is made up of your people, and you hold power over all the media and administrative agencies. It isn’t democracy. It’s simply a power shift. Rather, to a more vicious leadership.”
“Haha, the democratic fighters who participated in the imperial revolution would be very disappointed to hear that. Who was the one who ripped the hierarchy system out of the old State?”
“It no longer makes a distinction between commoners and nobles, but it cannot be said that the stratum has disappeared… The State is still part of that system. It was you who made that stratum.”
“There is no denying that the quality of life has improved as a result.”
“The gap between the rich and the poor has not narrowed.”
“You think so much about the people like that but wanted to ignore the pain of workers.”
“I feel sorry for them, but…”
“Their sacrifice was for a great cause. Whew… You’re amazing and fun. It depends on how you look at it. Gosh… The sin you committed was a sacrifice for a great cause… I don’t know why you don’t think that’s what I did.”
“…”
“…”
I saw Mikhail shutting his mouth for a moment. He didn’t look embarrassed. Even when I thought about it, it sounded like sophistry.
“Well, I will not deny your words.”
“…”
“But let’s go over this. I respect humans. It’s not like you think that I’m denying or looking at humans as stupid. Where in the world is there a person who denies individual possibilities? I’m not trying to control their enlightenment because I think of humans as fools. Rather, the problem is that the bastards are too smart.”
“…”
“If only one is smart, there is no problem, but it is a different story if said intellectual individuals unite and fight together.”
“You…”
“Well, I wouldn’t have paid much attention if it wasn’t uncommon. It doesn’t matter what happens, who fights with whom, and if they do some bullsh*t that I’m not aware of. I only need to eat well and live well… but you know what? The situation I’m in right now isn’t a situation where I can just look at such bullsh*t, Mikhail. Is it true that you said that you believe in humans and that I should believe in them as well?”
“That’s…”
“Look at the results of that. Why would someone reliable do this? Try to remember and look at what happened when the public was left to make a choice. You don’t even have to look for it that hard. Start from what happened recently, then look at them in turn. No, before I came in, what was the state of the continent a few years ago? How peaceful it was that would make you miss the old days. I didn’t know how happy it was to shout for freedom of the people and try to make them benefit widely.”
“…”
“I think the fertility rate and the economic growth rate have soared. It must have been peaceful. There were no quarrels, and you must have been having a great time. I guess it’s wrong for me to join the continent. It seems a lot different from what I knew, isn’t it?”
“…”
“It wasn’t like that, you know. The war never ceased, and many people had been dying of famine. The continent was in a situation where there were more bad events than good ones, and everyone roared at each other and encouraged everyone to dive into crimes. I know that for a fact. My memory is not bad.”
“Are you saying that you’re right?”
“Right now, just look at the Republic. Those from the Order are also really stupid individuals. They shouldn’t have lived in the past. Jin Qing, didn’t you know that he wasn’t a clean person in the first place? He is a war criminal. The Republic was the one that caused the war, and it was the State and the Blue Guild that was in the victim’s position. Where did the Republic start it? Every time skirmishes took place within the battlefields, dozens of people were killed. What about the different races? Tens of thousands of interracial slaves suffered and were discriminated against by the humans that you love. The battles with the different races were never-ending, and the strong trampled the weak, and the weak trampled those even weaker. They quarreled due to petty reasons and pointed their swords at each other. What do you think, Mikhail? I’m not bragging about me, but what would it have been like without me? Do you think humanity would have united as one and made a decisive step toward a new future?”
“…”
“Why couldn’t humanity move toward a better reality during the thousands and tens of thousands of years of the continent’s history? Even though you believed that humans enjoyed free and inconspicuous lives without any control, why couldn’t they make any progress toward development? Aren’t you curious? I can’t answer that, so if you can, please let me know, Mikhail.”
“It’s just self-rationalization. You are rationalizing dictatorship.”
“Who’s to say that’s true?”
“What are you saying…”
“I’m doing this sh*t here because of the baggage I’m holding. There is no such thing as a grand plan or goal as you thought. To exaggerate a little, I’m doing this to take care of my people. I’m not saving face, but let’s look at the results. Hey, who do you think is the reason that the war on the continent ceased entirely?”
“…”
“Who do you think it is that made the people who’d been struggling for tens of thousands of years without meaning shut their mouths for a moment and work toward a collective goal? Let’s assume from now on that I leave the judgment to the individuals and release all control.”
“Your way…”
“As I was saying, I disagree with your opinion. Nevertheless, suppose you, the Order, and the reactionaries created the world they wanted. Maybe there will be a day when you are as happy as you say you would be, and everyone would be able to laugh. I think that for an instant, all human beings may realize the love of humanity, shed tears of lament, and hold hands. But I have a lot of doubts about that scenario. I don’t have any reason to make that choice when I’m under stress due to being placed in a situation I know nothing about.”
“Your methods are wrong.”
“Where cubs appear, water would eventually be dirtied, plates would be smashed, and all the paintings you’ve drawn would be destroyed. Will you let them keep running around wildly? Considering such a big risk, can you still preach about being free or removing control? I did what I have to do to achieve the best outcome. I learned from the history of humanity so far, rather than from the buzz of idealists chasing clouds, Mikhail.”
“…”
“Humans such as you are the villains in boys’ comic books. I don’t want to save the continent while leaving all of the threats unattended. Did you think that a comprehensive human like me is just wasting millions of gold coins into the walls we’re building without any reason?”
“Well, that…”
“Jihye.”
“Yes?”
“Please bring Yuno Kasugano here.”
“I shall do that.”
“Thanks.”
“I don’t even need to show the facts. But just because I know my words wouldn’t make any difference otherwise, I’ll show them to you.”
Lee Jihye left the room. Mikhail looked as if he’s trying to thinking about something.
There was soundproofing magic applied, disallowing Cho Hyejin from hearing the conversation we were having, but she seemed to be roughly predicting the flow of it.
Contrary to my worries that I would have to wait for a long time for them to get back, Yuno Kasugano slowly began to enter my sight.
She wasn’t one of the people I hadn’t seen in a long time. After taking the Chairman position, I sometimes had to meet with Kasugano.
She nodded, quietly greeting me. I wanted to have a simple conversation since the situation didn’t even require long words.
As I gestured slightly toward Yuno Kasugano, I watched her slowly approaching Mikhail.
“What are you trying to do now…”
“Shut up and look straight into her eyes.”
“According to your will…”
“Don’t be delusional. Look at her eyes.”
The moment Mikhail’s eyes met hers, he slumped down as if he lost his consciousness.
I, too, immediately started to feel the sensation of being sucked into a different place.