I can't make the decision to sacrifice the five old people or the young worker. I don't say anything after the countdown ends.
[Ju]It looks like you can't make a decision. Well, let's see what happens next.
[Ju]Because you aren't able to choose which way to pull the lever in time, the train derails due to inertia... You soon hear the sound of wailing, explosions, items breaking, and liquid spraying all around you.
[Ju]Most of the young people on the train lose their lives before they can even see the city they plan to build. Even if someone is lucky enough to survive, they no longer trust you as the train conductor because of this incident and choose to leave.
[Ju]At this time, you remember that there are six people who survived because of your mercy. When you run over to untie them and set them free, you find that...
[Ju]They aren't at all grateful to you about the train not running over them. Instead, they think the accident is caused by an error in your judgment and believe that maybe no one would have died if you did your job as the train conductor properly.
[Ju]See? A person who can't even take care of their own train is ridiculously trying to save everyone. This is clearly unrealistic. All these signs prove that you... are not meant to be a decision-maker.
[Ju]You made the same decision that Sara made that year.
Since he said that I "made the same decision that Sara made that year," it must mean that they faced the same problem back then. In that case...
[player]What choice did you make?
[Ju]Me? Haha, of course I chose to move to the right. This way, everyone has a bright future. Isn't that great?
[player]I don't know the model answer to this question, but I know it isn't right to choose the left or the right.
[player]We can't actively hurt others just because our own interests are threatened. No one has the right to decide the fate of others.
[Ju]Haha, aren't the interests of the young people on the train important? Because of your hesitation, they have lost their lives, dreams, and futures. Haven't you also unilaterally decided their fate?
[player]I haven't given up on them. Although trying to save everyone looks unrealistic, that alone shouldn't stop us from aiming to achieve this objective.
[player]There are many things we can do before the train hits the track and derails, such as slowing down the train, trying to stop it, asking for help, or getting others to save the people on the tracks... We can always find a glimmer of opportunity.
[player]It's too cruel to give up on someone else's life without trying to do anything.
[Ju]Opportunity... Opportunity? Hahahahaha...
Ju starts laughing to himself like he has heard something really funny. His shoulders keep moving up and down, and he soon bends over and puts his hands on his knees to support himself as he laughs loudly and uncontrollably.
After a while, he stands and rubs his eyes with his hands before he looks at me.
[Ju]You're too funny. You made me laugh so hard I started crying.
[Ju]Well, do you think you're Soul's opportunity?
[player]I... I don't know, but I'm willing to try my best.
Clap--Clap--Clap-- He claps three times crisply, then pulls out another envelope from his inside pocket as an afterthought and hands it to me. It's almost as if a blue robotic cat's dimensional pocket is hidden under his plain-looking jacket.
[Ju]I can't wait to see what opportunities you'll bring to Soul then.
I leave the park with the envelope. When I arrive at the door, I see Ciri leaning against a tree next to the road, and impatience is written all over her face. At her feet is a weak, pitiful, and helpless messenger clown who looks completely disillusioned with life. The moment he looks up and sees me, I seem to see a glimmer of hope return to his eyes. The clown stands and runs into the park like he is fleeing for his life.
Having noticed my return, Ciri doesn't bother to stop him. Instead, she walks towards me quickly.
Under Ciri's questioning gaze, I briefly explain the conversation I just had with the clown. Of course, I also tell her the story about the train that the clown told me.
After listening to my words, Ciri thinks for a while and seems to have made a decision.
[Ciri]Since Ju has told you the general situation of what happened back then, I'll tell you the whole story so you don't have any wild thoughts.
Ciri and I walk over to the chairs in the rest area and sit down. Ciri looks a little sentimental at this time.
[Ciri]Ju and I were both adopted by Sid, the second-generation leader of Soul when we were children. Unlike Sara, who grew up in a rich family and joined Soul because she loved dancing, we had been touring everywhere with the troupe since we were young, and we were used to the fickleness of human nature.
[Ciri]However, even though Sara hasn't been a part of Soul for as long as us, it doesn't mean she loves Soul any less than us. She is kind, cheerful, and approachable, and everyone in the group likes her a lot.
[Ciri]Sid and Sara were both born into wealthy families and received similar educations since they were young, so they had a similar outlook on things. That's why Sid chose Sara to be the third-generation leader of Soul instead of Ju, who had always been working hard to become Sid's successor. In his eyes, Sid was favoring Sara over him.
[Ciri]As you know, Soul used to travel throughout the world when performing on tour, and the group has had a practice of taking in people who had no home to return to since the first-generation leader led the group. After spending so much time together, we became more like family than colleagues.
[Ciri]This kind of relationship has both advantages and disadvantages. One disadvantage is that Soul now has a large number of old, feeble, sick, and sometimes disabled people who contribute little to the group, which has made our finances increasingly tight... By the time Sara took over as leader, we were already struggling to make ends meet, and we mostly performed to make a living.
[Ciri]Ju noticed this problem a long time ago. He believed that it would be better to deal with the problem once and for all no matter how painful it would be rather than prolong the agony. Instead of letting these people become a burden to Soul, he wanted to make them leave Soul and find their own way to survive.
[Ciri]Sara regards Soul as her home, and the members as her family. She believed that only they themselves could decide whether they would leave or stay, and not even the leader could make that decision for them.
[Ciri]Sid decided to make Sara the leader because he thought Ju was too radical, whereas Sara was more accommodating to the dispositions of all the members.
[player]What about you?
[Ciri]Me?
[player]Didn't you want to become the leader?
[Ciri]I'm used to being a loner. The position of leader is a burden to me.
[player]What do you think about Ju and Sara's disagreement?
[Ciri]Actually, wild beasts often choose to abandon the old, feeble, sick, and disabled to preserve the rest of the population. This isn't anything strange in nature, so I won't judge whether Ju or Sara is right or wrong. They are both trying to protect Soul in different ways, and even I have my own way of protecting Soul.
[Ciri]I have chosen to stay with Sara because my intuition tells me that Sara is able to give Soul a brighter future.
[Ciri]Okay, that's the end of the story. PLAYER, you've always been a person who has strong opinions, so I won't ask you to side with any of us. You just need to continue doing what you think is right.
[player]Hmm, yeah.
Neither Ciri nor I pursue this topic further. Instead, we open the envelope Ju gave me after a moment of silence and find a hand-drawn map inside it. Based on the feeling of familiarity I get from this soul painting, I believe Ju drew this himself.
As the street name is marked, it's easy to tell that the destination is a club in the east side of the city. In fact, it's only a few streets away from the Raven hideout we visited yesterday.
Ciri and I exchange a glance and decide to show Soumu this map.
By the time we arrive at the Raven hideout, it is already well past the time we agreed to meet Soumu. On the way there, my quick-witted brain works furiously to think of an explanation for our lateness.
After thinking about it, I decide that the best solution is to show him the map and tell him we've found a suspicious place.
However, the scene in front of the hideout is not what I expected at all. There are two groups of people confronting each other on both sides of the street, and the tension is so thick that no pedestrians dare to pass through them.
Fortunately, this street isn't a main road, or else each person would be fined 5,000 Coppers for obstructing traffic.
Shijukara sees us from a distance and quickly calls for us to go over to him and stand behind Soumu together. Speaking in a low voice, I ask him what is going on while Ciri stares at the other side with a serious look on her face.
[player]What's going on?
[Shijukara]The people standing opposite us are from Strix based in the west side of the city, and they've always been at odds with us. They are just a gang of barbaric information dealers though, so you don't need to be scared.
[player]Why have they come here today? Are they here to fight you? Is this a gang fight?
[Shijukara]Yea, they're here because of you. Somehow, they found out that Raven is helping you find some red-crowned cranes, so they suddenly came here today and said they would tell the boss this information in exchange for a favor from the boss.
[player]Did your boss accept?
[Shijukara]Of course not. That's why we're all stuck here.
[player]Oh, so even you know that the situation is very tense.
[Shijukara]Nonsense! I'm not stupid.
If this is the reason... I think for a moment, then I take the map out of my pocket and hand it to Soumu.
[player]Aniki, please take a look at this. I've found a suspicious location.
I didn't really expect that this excuse would come in handy. I'm so smart.
The young man wearing a hat at the very front of the people across the street looks at me with interest and suddenly starts speaking.
[???]PLAYER.
I'm a little surprised when he calls out my name from the other side of the street, but what surprises me even more is that Shijukara also looks at me with a shocked expression, as if he had only just learned my name.
Slightly confused, I turn to look at the young man.
[player]You know who I am?
[???]Of course.
The man laughs and claps his hands to tell everyone to be quiet. After that, he speaks in a loud voice.
[???]Listen up, everyone. The person standing in front of you is "the famous guardian of Mahjong Soul Shrine's priestess, the best friend of students of Asaha High School, a core non-staff member of Soul, an esteemed guest of Samu Corporation, Kazuha Saionji's only disciple, an honorary customer of Éternité, the senpai who is a confidant of Aotsuyu Middle School, and the leader of the children of Central Park..."
Whoa, I didn't expect the prefix to my name to be so long. It makes me feel kinda embarrassed, but yes, that's me. Keep going because I love to hear it.
[Soumu]You can leave now.
Soumu, who had just finished reading the map, seems unable to understand the lively atmosphere and interrupts the person's words. What a shame. There are still many prefixes to my name that can be shared with everyone.
Soumu waves the map in his hand at the other side. His tone is three parts of ridicule, four parts of disdain, two parts of indifference, and one part of smugness. In short, I can tell from his tone that he really hates the young man on the other side.
[Soumu]You want to exchange such a common piece of information for a favor from me? Kutsuji, you seem to be regressing as you age.
The other person ignores his words and looks at me instead.
[Kutsuji]Since he's already said everything, I won't bother to introduce myself.
[Kutsuji]PLAYER, do you know that you can also ask me to help you? I can do whatever Soumu can do and even do what Soumu can't.
[Kutsuji]Well, think about it. Do you want me to help you take care of everything else?
After he speaks, I can feel everyone's eyes on me, especially the eyes of Soumu, who is only 30 centimeters away from me. His fierce gaze and tight muscles on his forearms tell me one thing, that is, he will tear me in half if I dare to nod.
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