Chapter 141
‘That’s because politics is fundamentally… yeah. It’s a discussion about how to distribute limited resources. No matter how fairly you distribute them, there will inevitably be people who take a loss, and what’s more, the total amount of resources is gradually decreasing, so the dissatisfaction of those who receive less is bound to grow.’
[Test Subject, there is a problem with that argument. If there are those who receive less, there must also be those who receive more. However, the Citizens I have gathered information on through the Test Subject’s senses have, without Exception, all harbored dissatisfaction toward Politicians.]
‘People are like that. There are no such people who are one hundred percent satisfied, whether they receive a little or a lot. And also… what was it called? Ah, right. The sample. There’s probably an issue with the sample size too.
As you know, our bar is located in the Lowest-Tier Outskirts Area, and the average income of the people here isn’t on the high side. It means they receive less distribution. Naturally, those kinds of Customers are the ones who mainly gather at the bar. Furthermore, people usually drink alcohol when they’re having a hard time.’
[So the environment for information gathering itself is the home Ground of dissatisfied Citizens. Understood. In that case, looking at the city as a whole, are there more people who are satisfied than those who are dissatisfied?]
“Uh… that might not exactly be the case either.”
[Why is that? Wasn’t it because the proportion of satisfied individuals was higher that the Elected Persons were elected?]
‘Politics is something everyone can participate in, but that doesn’t mean everyone can participate equally.’
[If I understand correctly, didn’t all Citizens Possess an equal number of voting rights? If not, the Citizens' power would not be able to influence policy properly.]
‘That’s true. The principle of Equal Suffrage or whatever is valid. One vote per person. No matter how bad Dusk City is, it hasn’t gone completely Crazy to that extent.’
[Then why is it that everyone cannot participate equally?]
‘Voting rights aren’t the only resource needed for politics. There are many things, but the most representative one is, of course, money. Money solves a lot of problems well. I haven’t experienced it myself, but politics itself is probably a massive Headache, meaning it takes a filthy amount of money.’
[In politics, the influence of those with a lot of money would be greater than that of those with little money.]
“Well, probably. They could sponsor a specific Politician and provide Political Funds, and having a lot of money naturally means having greater influence in society, so they could introduce Connections or help build a track record… the methods are endless. In a certain sense, money is a resource with a much higher value than a voting right.”
And naturally, there are far more Poor people in the World than Rich People.
It is a democratic Political System that adopts the Principle of Majority Rule, but by some Irony, there are cases where it listens to the opinions of the minority rather than the majority.
‘Of course, to Project that kind of influence, having just a decent amount isn’t enough; you’d need an absolute ton of money. You’d also need the means to produce that money and the people under your command. You’d need to own a corporation.’
[So that was why the Citizens were cursing the corporations and Politicians, because together, they erase the influence of Ordinary Citizens in politics and make the distribution of resources unsatisfactory.]
“Something like that, probably.”
[Then ultimately, hasn’t the significance of everyone holding power and being able to participate in politics become meaningless? Why continue to maintain a system that is both inefficient and meaningless?]
“Uh…”
Here, I was at a loss for words for the first time.
As someone who was merely clumsily applying concepts learned in modern society to the 22nd century Dusk City, answering the questions of this Artificial Intelligence full of curiosity felt increasingly overwhelming.
Even more so when it was a matter concerning the city’s new Political System, something that Professional Political Scientists would debate.
There was no way I would know something like that.
‘That’s… probably because the current state is the best option available.’
[Why is that?]
“Uh, well, shifting to an oligarchy led entirely by Minority Power Holders would cause issues with Citizen backlash, but making the power held by each Citizen completely equal is close to impossible, and there are also the Equity Issue, as well as the backlash from Rich Persons, corporations - especially Megacorps…”
Just as I was rambling in my head in perplexity, someone tapped my back with perfect timing.
‘Anyway. Let’s talk about that later.’
[Understood.]
Thanks to that, I escaped the barrage of questions from the Assistant in my head. When I looked around, a familiar figure had his arm resting on my shoulder.
“Tony?”
“Yo, Aaron. Why are you spacing out like that? You shouldn’t be distracted during work.”
Oops, I got caught.
I reflexively tried to make an excuse, but soon gave up and meekly admitted it.
He brought me here to do Cocktail Service, but I was busy giving a Law and Politics lesson to the Artificial Intelligence in my head, so I had nothing else to say.
“Sorry…Was it that obvious?”
“Well. I might not have noticed if you hadn’t carved a bushy mustache onto El Valentine’s face.”
“…!”
Startled, I took a look, and sure enough, he was right.
A thick Ice Mustache was covering the philtrum of El Valentine’s beautiful face, a face that even earned her the nickname 'Dusk’s Most Beautiful Politician in History'.
Because I was carving without thinking, the faces of the two mayoral candidates mixed together, their combination giving birth to this bizarre hybrid.
“Um… it has personality, at least.”
“It’s overflowing with so much personality that I doubt the Customer will be able to Accept it.”
The only fortunate thing was that this Customer was a generous and gentle Regular Customer.
Even after seeing the beautiful woman Mayoral Candidate’s glass with a bizarre mustache, he didn’t get angry at all and instead liked it, saying it was funny.
After making one mistake, my rhythm was broken, and I couldn’t get my act together. There was a Minor second crisis where I almost poured the red Frozen Strawberry Pulp Pack of the Frozen Strawberry Margarita into the glass meant for the Blue Margarita, but thanks to Tony helping me from the side, I somehow managed to fix it and move on.
“Are you sure you’re okay? Just what were you thinking about to make such a ridiculous mistake?”
There was no way someone as observant as Tony wouldn’t notice that this wasn’t due to my lack of skill, but a mistake born purely out of negligence.
He had every right to be annoyed, but rather than his blind Scolding, I could feel a subtle consideration in the way he playfully nudged me with his elbow while speaking.
“There’s only one change that’s happened to you recently… is it perhaps because of that?”
At Tony’s words, my Adam’s Apple bobbed with a gulp before I even realized it.
Was that a change that happened to me recently?
Did the presence of the System Assistant squatting in my head create a Meaningful enough difference to be glaringly obvious on the Outside?
I was just wondering if my occasional spacing out or talking to myself was that noticeable.
“Living with Sey?”
“…Gah.”
“Of course, it has to be that. You Punk. You really are a man after all. Pretending you weren’t! Who knew you had your eyes on our bar’s Ice Princess? Just how did you do it?”
Glare.
The moment Tony uttered the nickname that a certain someone absolutely hated, a sharp Cocktail Pin flew in from somewhere at an invisible speed with a whoosh - .
“Hup!”
It was an Attack that made me wonder if it was a Killing Move, but despite how he looked, he was a Former Net Diver.
Tony, who came from a background as a super-elite talented person, let out a bizarre shout and easily dodged the flying pin.
“Okay. I didn’t know you were listening. I thought you were busy working. Sorry!”
Sey’s Cold glare pierced from the opposite side. Under a gaze that felt like it could Pierce his heart, Tony raised both hands in a Sign of Surrender and apologized with an affable smile.
As if this was a familiar situation, Sey placed the stainless steel pin he had raised and loaded for another shot back onto the bar, and only then did he let out a Sigh of Relief.
“Phew, I almost died.”
“You’re really something, Tony. I don’t know about anyone else, but I could never pull a prank like that on Sey.”
Even if I mustered up the courage, throwing a few jokes was my limit. And even then, it just ended with us chuckling at each other.
Teasing or bothering Sey with her nickname? It was something I couldn’t even imagine doing.
It wasn’t that we weren’t close. We had been living together for over a month, hadn’t we? We ate together, exercised together, commuted together…
We were close. I could proudly say that I had gotten very close to Sey.
Unlike the past, which was blocked by a subtle Invisible Wall and awkwardness, I was now able to treat Sey like a friend.
We made small talk, and sometimes even had physical contact…Though there were times when it felt burdensome in various ways.
However, there were times when I felt envious seeing Tony and Sey joking around so casually.
It really seemed like they considered each other close friends, giving me a strange feeling of being alienated since I couldn’t do the same.
Was it because, separate from getting close, the person known as Sey still left me with the impression of being a Mysterious object of admiration, someone with whom I had to maintain manners and boundaries?
We had definitely become friends, but I had a premonition that we could never become best friends like that.
It might be one thing if it were Tony, but acting so mischievously toward Sey was literally impossible.
Even though I could now easily joke around with a Customer I was meeting for the first time, like the Ajje Chandler I met last time, my playfulness would freeze solid when it came to Sey, whom I had known for much longer.
Perhaps noticing the regret in my voice, Tony spoke in a Meaningful tone.
“Yeah? Then should I tell you?”
“Tell me what.”
“Here’s the reason why I can play pranks on Sey, but you can’t.”
Reason, my foot.
“That’s probably because you’ve known her longer. How many years did you say you two worked together? Three years?”
“No. Not that. It’s simple.”
Tony grinned and said.
“It’s because you like Sey, unlike me.”