150: Fiction

“It’s said that history repeats itself; that it’s easier to do harm than it is to do good…”

“Some of the criminals who pulled the strings that led to the tragedy at SS have not yet been brought to justice.”

“And now they’re repeating their past once again, this time to achieve what they’ve long since desired.”

“That is the truth behind this. The criminals when driven into a corner doubled down and became frenzied—like a terrorist organization.”

“Then they went on a rampage, Crazy:B a ticking bomb in their hands.”

“What is it that they wanted? Unfortunately, the authorities are still investigating that matter—”

“But perhaps they are simply throwing a tantrum. Perhaps they hate idols.”

“It could well be that it’s their own fault that they’re so unhappy, but they just pushed all the blame onto idols and assumed they were at fault.”

“Thinking about what they could possibly do to hurt the idols they so hated, even if only a little—”

“They targeted ES, the headquarters of those idols.”

“They sought out the way to cause the most harm to our beloved idols and all the people who love them, and they decided on ES as the target of their terrorism.”

“We mustn’t diminish the impact of this attack just because they didn’t come at us with a real bomb in hand.”

“Even if no one suffered physical injury, our hearts and our honor have been wounded.”

(—Along with our stock prices. Hmm, I see. So that’ll be the angle you’ll use to tie this up.)

(Well, that’s the safest option. I don’t particularly mind if what Saegusa-kun says is true, or if he’s just running his mouth.)

(I have no problems, so long as we can find a solution that everyone agrees on.)

(Those responsible for the scandal at SS are now committing those same crimes again without remorse… This explanation is easy to understand, and it’s an event which is still fresh in everyone’s minds.)

(Criminals who don’t meet justice by the hands of the law will continue to repeat their actions over and over again.)

(That’s what people who can’t separate legal principle from human nature want to believe.)

(If someone is judged evil, they will strike without mercy.)

(No—if the law won’t judge them, then these people will enact their own divine judgment. It becomes a chance for them to punish evildoers, as if they were in their own tokusatsu show.)

(They may be in different positions, but what they’re doing is no different from the terrorists who ignore the law and do as they please.)

(Suppose there’s a criminal who by nature is neither repentant nor remorseful even after being judged by the law, and who therefore will continue to repeat their crimes without end.)

(For such a person, trial, punishment, and even incarceration hold no meaning whatsoever. They will not reflect; they will not repent. But that’s exactly what the victim wants.)

(Or rather, they want the criminal who hurt them, or who hurt something or someone they love, to shout their apologies—as they burn for eternity in the flames of hell.)

(That is nature of humanity. It is a society of barbarians—no, animals, where people punish others extrajudiciously.)

(However—we are humans who possess intelligence and reason, so that’s not how society works.)

(Even if one desires such endless torture, it will never be given to the criminal they so hate. Therein lies the contradiction, the discontent.)

(There is still no cure for the pathology of this modern society—)

(—Or at least, that’s how it was meant to be. But I see now: Does Saegusa-kun intend to create one?)

(To create a convenient “villain,” one who can be beaten down, blamed endlessly…)

(The “villain” doesn’t even need to exist on Earth. In fact, the opposite makes things even more convenient.)

(The reality is that those who were responsible for the scandals at SS have been brought to justice.)

(I personally assisted with the investigation and ensured it was carried out thoroughly, so there’s no mistaking it.)

(However, the public cannot be so sure. They cannot deny the possibility that a villain still remains unchecked.)

(It’s probatio diabolica—the impossibility of proving something that doesn’t exist.)

(Which is why Saegusa-kun claims that the true villain is an abstract image which cannot be physically disproven.)

(A common enemy to all those who love idols, this group of criminals who caused the scandal at SS—)

(This ambiguous evil which has neither name nor face is presented as the culprit.)

(Every crime, every sin, everyone’s hatred—It’s all gathered together for that imaginary evil to bear the weight of. It’s cathartic for us to beat it down, curse it, and trample upon it as a community.)

(And as a result, everyone is distracted from their worries. They derive pleasure from knowing that they were able to enact justice.)

(I did the same thing with the Five Oddballs—living, flesh-and-blood people who actually exist in our world.)

(If they aren’t real, then no one gets hurt. It truly is just like those tokusatsu shows Chiaki loves so much…)

(They can get the satisfaction of persecuting and repudiating a vague, fabricated evil, and no real, living person gets hurt.)

(Perhaps I should have done the same back then.)

(There might have been a chance to fulfill my dream without having to wound, to kill the idols who I loved so much—who could have become my friends.)

(No, never mind that. The logic you’ve concocted is sound: to frame an imaginary villain as the criminal and push all the blame onto them.)

(But do you earnestly believe that will settle things, Saegusa-kun?)

(You’ve forgotten something crucial.)

(It’s Ryuseitai and Akatsuki, their beloved idols, who have been spit on, defiled… The ones who have been hurt are real, corporeal human beings.)

(Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, flesh for flesh… People demand equal compensation for that which has been taken from them.)

(There is some solace in an imaginary battle between good and evil, but it can never truly satisfy.)

(I, too, was once content just to enjoy the stories in books from safe within my hospital bed.)

(But we are mere animals living in reality; there are things that simply cannot be sated with the world of fiction.)

(If you can’t see that, Saegusa-kun, then you still know nothing about humans.)

……

(Hm. From the look on his face, it seems Amagi Rinne-kun is of the same opinion.)

(It seems he is more than a shallow, frivolous fool, despite the impression he gives off.)

(…I’m glad I’ve prepared ALKALOID to be my trump card. Depending on how Amagi Rinne-kun proceeds, we’re still facing a bit of turbulence.)