Hikigaya Hachiman still hadn't touched the threshold of the second stage. He was naturally a soft-hearted person. Sometimes, his work required him to be enthusiastic and outgoing, but that didn't mean it wasn't an act.
Life is unpredictable, circumstances change. Just as Hachiman never imagined he'd live to see the day men and women could swap genders.
He certainly never expected his good bro Shirogane to make the news, single-handedly demolishing the old theories about gender differences.
The simple question, "Are you willing to grant power?" had ripped open the darkest curtain of human nature.
Clearly, Shirogane Miyuki's declaration on gender and power had brought the conflict squarely into the open.
At the same time, the Security Trainees even received a piece of news: someone in prison had somehow managed to get medical parole, transformed into a woman, gotten pregnant, and then returned to prison.
That instantly poked a hornet's nest across the globe, sending judicial and public opinion into a frenzy.
It's likely that Westerners had never in their lives imagined such a play. They expressed a desire to try it themselves and were already preparing to storm kindergartens with guns.
You see, compared to the Yamagami Doctrine, this was a whole different level of ambition.
Academy City couldn't exactly be called a den of demons in the outside world, but it might as well have been a Chaos God Nest in the eyes of humanity. Nothing that came out of it failed to cause a massive explosion.
Many suspected the Far East government had unearthed some pre-human civilization or stumbled upon alien technology. Unfortunately, they had no proof, and with the combat power of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy standing guard, they couldn't get in.
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Today, Nakamura Shin was a man. He looked much more normal than he did as a woman.
But it was precisely this matter-of-fact normalcy that made Hachiman sense how abnormal Shin truly was.
This person was like being up close with one of those high-presence big shots—like being received by a national leader. No matter how much you cursed them in your heart, in that moment, you'd be moved to tears of gratitude and thereafter walk the legendary path of loyalty.
In fact, when Hachiman looked back at history, he always doubted the price of such loyalty. At the very least, he believed the Far East's tradition of gekokujō—the low overthrowing the high—was a good thing. At least it taught those bastards a thing or two about bottom lines, lest they forget who was holding up the foundation from below.
"It's no use asking me about the Board Chairman. Many have come to me already, always wanting to use my identity for something. But guess what? Even if I refuse, why don't they dare to do anything to me?"
Nakamura Shin poured Hachiman a cup of sake, completely unconcerned that the boy was a minor. His face held a detached, serene expression, like a saint who had shed all worldly desires—the perfect candidate for a邪教 (heretical cult) priest.
To Hachiman, this person had already reached a state of indifference towards their own life. This forced him to take a sharp breath.
Would a person with everything to lose go head-to-head with a madman who cared for nothing? No.
Hachiman admitted that if he were one of the rich and powerful bosses of Academy City, he probably wouldn't dare to cross the current Nakamura Shin either. Understanding道理 (principles) was never the scary part; the world was full of people who knew the principles but couldn't live by them.
What was terrifying were big shots like this, who had grasped some bizarre principle and were willing to die for it. This was the legendary prototype of the ultimate villain.
"Because you have nothing?"
"No. Because I now have everything." A smile hung on Shin's face. Hachiman didn't have any advanced skill in reading people's eyes, he just looked suspiciously at this "Holy Mother" cult priest.
"Do you know why you're the one always running around? Why you're as busy as a cog in a machine, yet you can never find your place, like a puppy on a leash? This leash feels like a form of protection to you. One day, if your master loses their grip, you might get hit by a passing car on the road."
Shin's analogy made Hachiman feel a surge of unease, as if this was bound to happen one day.
"Because you're a pushover. Your entire being screams, 'I may be smart, but I'm easy to bully.'"
Shin's words struck Hachiman like a bolt of lightning. He felt as if he had been seen through completely, almost mistaking Shin for a kindred spirit.
That's right. He was a pushover. But what was the point of bullying him?! It only proved that he could be bullied, that he was a pushover. It served no real purpose.
"You're smart, but you're not smart enough. Or rather, you've been blinded by the old world order. The old world was one that ran on rules, but Academy City doesn't play by them. This place is like the New World just after the Age of Discovery. The strong thrive, the weak perish."
"It only took six months from the signing of the Declaration by United Nations to the start of the Battle of Stalingrad, and in just one short year, the entire course of the war took a major turn. The old farmer tilling his fields in India would never have felt the immense psychological conflict brought about by this change."
"Do you still think of yourself as that old Indian farmer? Since you're not, why do you still face the changes of this world with his mentality? This is the second time you've used your status as a Security Trainee to ask me for information you want."
"The cowardice rooted in your heart is laughable to behold. It makes one want to walk over and give you a couple of slaps. Most importantly, you know your own cowardice, yet you're desperately unable to change yourself."
Shin's frankness made Hachiman's face flush red. He was at a loss for words.
The shame reminded him of being falsely accused of stealing as a child. After they searched his bag and checked everyone in the class, they found he wasn't the culprit. But in the end, no one cared about his feelings. They couldn't even be bothered to apologize.
Similar things didn't just happen to him. Hachiman knew of countless such incidents. The old Far East education system had always retained this shameful aspect.
"Coming to me will only let more people see your weakness and find excuses to use you. So, you shouldn't have come to me. Instead, you should look back and see what you ought to be doing."
"Let go of all the burdens on your shoulders. Those things aren't so-called bonds, nor are they responsibilities. They are the cowardly excuses you cling to, preventing you from moving forward. I hope you won't casually use your official title the next time you act..."
"You don't even dare to use the authority of a Security Trainee to pressure me. How could you possibly think you could get the answers you want from me?"
"Taste this cup of sake that a minor should not be drinking."
Shin handed him a small cup of sake. Hachiman hesitated for a moment, then took it and drank it down in one gulp.
The taste of alcohol was somewhat unpleasant, but the discomfort quickly transformed into a thrill that broke through a long-held taboo.
That's right. Academy City had never had a rule against selling alcohol to minors. But the rules of the Far East were still tacitly followed, never actively changed.
A question popped into Hachiman's mind.
'What is it that's truly restraining my actions?'