Wealth, poverty.
The difference between the rich and the poor.
High academic achievements, inferior education.
The gap between education.
The city, the countryside.
The gap between regions.
The young who were not blessed, the old who were.
The gap between generations.
This Japan is a society of gaps.
I have only shown one part, but it truly represents both heaven and hell.
The important thing is, that for the most part, circumstance is by no means something that cannot be changed. If a man of poverty can grow to become wealthy, a man of wealth can also fall into poverty.
If one is displeased with the disparity between regions, they may head into the big city.
While understanding the logic, I still had nothing.
Born in the countryside, extremely poor, and a pathetically poor academic history.
With my physical strength also only average, even if I was endowed with perseverance, it is not as if I was a hard worker.
If I ever looked strong enough to have the characteristics of a fighter, that was simply my youth.
However, without realizing this potential, I spent my life wasting most of my time away.
I was, indeed, a man crawling on the dirt.
Without the expectation of anything resembling a bright future, there was only the simple possibility of living a pathetic life.
However, with my own hands, I cut open my future.
Because I had one thing, just one, that I possessed more than anyone else.
That was, my " ambition ", to keep consistently fighting without halt.
[TL Note 1 : There are two meanings for the word translated into "ambition":
1: Ambition, aspiration
2: Sinister plans, treachery.
There isn't really anything indicating it was used with the second meaning but I wanted to let you know. The author might have also used this word on purpose to indicate both meanings.]
No matter what, I will rise up to the top of this country.
I have lived up until now with that one idea in my heart.
That ambition alone was what supported my life.
As I faced my 25th years of age, for the first time, I gained eligibility to be elected in politics.
I had saved up a sum of 3,000,000 with my part-time job.
With this, I was to become a politician, a member of the assembly, and make a name for myself as a man of great fortune.
A faint, hard to achieve dream. Taking the election lightly, I failed in a way that was painful to even watch.
It would have been fine if it had ended there, but as I could not even reach the minimum amount of votes, the 3,000,000 that I spent all my life saving up was confiscated.
Poverty resolution, clean politics, countermeasures against the declining birthrate, wage increases, NO WAR.
I thought that if I simply lined up some lip service, the election would be easy.
A shallow and foolish idea. Anyone can think of and realize shallow ideas like that.
What mattered for winning the election was which organisation you belonged to, and who you were under.
Whether you can differentiate friend from foe and endure being wrapped up for the long haul.
What happened after that?
Did I think that I was ruined?
I wanted to join the ruling party, the "Citizen's Party", and started my first step as a politician.
That's correct, after two years, I entered the election again, and was elected.
From when I was 27 years old, I succeeded in reaching a position where I could put all of my life, my heart and blood, into politics.
Perhaps I was able to become the winning side, then, but… for me, being elected was not the goal.
Most of all, the world of politics isn't so easy.
No, it would not be an exaggeration to say that, in a certain meaning, it is a deeply dark world.
Because, even if I had the spirit, I was nothing but a young and alone parliament member with no shield or power behind me.
Half of the people who are able to rise up, are second or third-generationers granted the privilege at the time of birth.
The sons of big politicians, ignorant, foolish and unaware of the impending crisis, are just repeating their dull delusions on TV day and night, like carbonic acid losing its air.
There are those who make a name for themselves in the entertainment world, and move over to the world of politics.
Most of them are nothing more than crowd attractors, but they still have a bigger chance than nameless politicians like me. It's an ironic story.
As such, the methods for me to make a name for myself as a politician... The choices I had were limited.
To take on the dirty work in the shadows that no one wants to do.
A role in which if I failed, my life as a politician would have been over... or, depending on the case, I might even have received a criminal complaint against me.
By taking this on by my own volition, I was able to slightly increase my presence inside the party.
Before long, as the hidden sword of "Naoe Sensei", who bound together many factions in the Citizen's Party, I had my hands in all kinds of evil deeds. Mediation of underage girls, bribery, espionage to hostile organizations.
Once I was assigned to this project, the boundaries between right and wrong were removed for the sake of success.
There were times when I would come in contact with Yakuza or other criminal gangs and resort to violent means.
I had no time to rest, and, as I continued to challenge, before long, I was gaining influence inside the party; when I was 36 years old, I was able to gain some political power.
However... from this point on.
In order to jump into the center of the political world, more achievements, and transgressions, would be necessary.
*Illustration
A newborn, one month old baby.
The first time I saw my child through the glass, he was staring blankly at the ceiling.
No special feelings came up in my mind.
If I was forced to say, the only feeling I had was the relief that my key to move the people upstairs had arrived.
For almost around a year, this is what I had been waiting for.
"We've completed the health check."
"Any problems?"
"Currently, there aren't any problems. No problems were found in the EEG and all the other tests. The results of the DNA analysis were also all good."
Tabuchi, completing all of the tests, looked at the results and gave me his report.
"I see."
We can't allow anything to stop us at this pre-start stage.
With this being cleared up, I could say that I was able to go through the first stage.
"You may come in direct contact with him now."
"No need. Just like all the children up until now, start the tests right away."
The White Room project is already on the fourth stage. There is no need to waste time.
I stopped to look at my child, who was being carried out with my instructions.
If I enter him into the White Room, I suppose I will not be seeing him for a long time. Right?
"Wait a bit."
I headed down to my son, who was behind the glass that separated us.
Being directly in front of him, I could once again feel this small life close to me.
He could not hold his head up, so I slipped my hand behind his neck, and gently picked him up.
"You are Sensei's son, after all. A rigorous education is awaiting you from now on, but I hope you can achieve the results that—"
"What are you saying? Get ready for the photographs right away."
"Huh..?"
Tabuchi was stunned, as if he did not understand my intent.
"I'm sending my child, who is even more important than my own life, into the White Room. You should capture this determination and tension with a camera. It will be important promotional material for the next fund-raiser."
A parent giving away a child he has no interest in, or a parent wanting to hold on to his child but giving him away for the sake of the future.
I don't even have to think about which one would pull more eyes at the galleria.
"Huh...? Ah, o-okay."
Tabuchi, hurriedly taking out his phone, took a photograph and video of me holding my child.
After about a minute of this performance, I put the baby down.
"Take him away."
"U-understood."
I put my sight away from the baby, and started preparing for the coming event.
"Anyhow, all the necessary preparations have been completed. Please connect me to Sakayanagi."
It had been about 10 years since I stepped into the world of politics.
Outwardly, I've been slurping muddy water with a smile on my face, but that ends today.
I'm starting a new life for myself here.
I will use and sacrifice anything I can, including my own child.
Even Naoe Sensei, who reigns as the absolute authority, is nothing more than a stepping stone.
He is an enemy; one that I will eventually have to surpass and crush.
"If you don't want to die, you have to struggle for yourself. Kiyotaka."
Whether you are a baby or an adult, in the end, you have to do everything yourself.
Your circumstances may be awful, but, unfortunately, it is the same way for me.
If you had been raised as a family member under me, you would have been even more neglected. In that sense, I could say that you are still off to a good start.
I quietly closed my eyes by myself, in the room where my child had disappeared from.
However, you never know what life will bring.
I never thought that I would have a child of my own blood in any shape or form.
The turning point came around 4 years after I started working under Naoe Sensei.
That's right. It was then, when I learned of the White Room project's existence.