Who Is the Doormat For?
The American South of the nineteenth century was hungrier than anyone for the emergence of heroes.
Why else would they be so obsessed with me?
Because they wanted to project themselves onto a hero and find vicarious satisfaction, something to dilute the bitter taste of their own humiliating defeat and poverty.
In that sense, the KKK were the perfect clowns to fill the fantasies of the South’s white population.
Even if James Serget was already called the South’s beloved Cotton Fairy, a new hero was always welcome.
Besides, our middle-school-syndrome-ridden organization known as the KKK was a purely white group with not a single Black or colored person among us.
It was only natural that they fit the tastes of Southern whites perfectly, and the newspapers that received this information competed fiercely to elevate them.
Of course, I had been subtly leaking information behind the scenes without the papers realizing it. Even so, I made sure to thoroughly conceal the fact that the KKK were far beyond common sense — utterly steeped in chuunibyou delusions.
The public does not want the truth.
What they want is the thrill of victory and sweet illusions to comfort their defeated selves.
And so the South became addicted to the lie that these were true patriots who had established a company to export cotton all the way to Asia — the pride of the white race — and poured out their wild enthusiasm.
Every time these wildly fabricated heroic tales decorated the morning papers, the Dixie boys’ shoulders swelled with pride and the KKK’s stock price soared without limit.
Some churches even began offering prayers during Sunday services for the crusaders who had departed for Japan.
At this point, it was no exaggeration to call it mass hypnosis.
But the brighter the light, the darker the shadow it casts.
“Sir, this can’t continue.”
Leo arrived with a report and pressed hard on his throbbing temples.
The usually ice-cold man’s face was etched with deep exhaustion.
“The local staff say they’re dying inside. These people keep doing increasingly idiotic things. It’s getting impossible to cover for them.”
“How bad is it? Don’t tell me they tried lecturing the Japanese again?”
“If it were only lecturing, we’d be lucky.”
Leo let out a heavy sigh and set the report down on the table.
“Last week they decided to show off a ‘white man’s dance’ in the factory yard and nearly burned down the material warehouse with a campfire. The Japanese workers had to douse it with water. If they hadn’t, an enormous amount of raw cotton would have gone up in flames.”
“…Are they insane?”
“That’s not all. They claimed they were teaching English to the Japanese, so they cracked whips and made them chant ‘A! B! C!’ in unison. The local merchants are terrified. They’ve been begging our staff to please do something about these people.”
The stupidity was so far beyond imagination that I couldn’t even laugh.
No matter how much I anticipated their behavior when making plans, they always managed to exceed my expectations.
Their ignorant courage was so impressive it bordered on awe-inspiring.
“It’s funny, but honestly more frightening than I expected. They say the most dangerous fool is one with conviction, and that’s exactly what we have here.”
“I believe I should go myself. If I don’t go and adjust their pace, there’s a real chance they’ll be driven out before we even make any money.”
“You personally?”
“Yes. Nick and Will have been struggling, but they aren’t enough to control those mad white men. I need to go and coordinate things.”
That made sense. At the moment the KKK were being hailed as a great organization representing the white people of the South. Not even the smallest blemish could be allowed to appear in the papers.
If they were expelled from Japan, some people might start to suspect something was off.
“All right. Go. It’ll be hard work, but we’re about ready to move on to the next stage anyway. It shouldn’t take too long.”
“Understood. I’ll prepare to depart immediately.”
As Leo bowed and turned to leave, a thought suddenly occurred to me and I called him back.
“Ah, and Leo.”
“Yes?”
“When you get to Japan, please give my regards to those friends of ours.”
Despite how I might look, I do have a conscience.
I should at least offer a proper farewell to people I might never see again.
Leo understood my intention perfectly and gave a faint smile.
“Since it’s their final journey, I’ll make sure to send them off properly. After all, they’ve played their roles as clowns quite splendidly for our sake.”
After Leo left, I sank deep into my chair and opened that day’s newspaper, which was once again singing the KKK’s praises.
Media really is terrifying.
When it sets its mind to turning someone into a hero, it can implant a distorted perception regardless of the facts.
Because the public only sees what it wants to see and believes only what it wants to believe.
Why go to the trouble of elevating them?
You have to pile the sandcastle as high as possible so that others will look up and say, “Wow, there’s a massive castle there.”
If you fall from a low place you only scrape your knee, but if you fall from an airplane, your body will be pulverized beyond recognition.
The higher you build a sandcastle with no substance, the more unimaginable its destructive power will be when it collapses.
Soon, everyone would witness it.
Just how ridiculously the towering white pride they had built would come crashing down.
Since Leo was going himself, there would be no variables. All I had to do was sit in the best seat in the house and enjoy this spectacular suicide show.
Hadn’t I once said we needed a doormat to step on as we advanced?
I admit it.
You really were excellent doormats.
I’ll be sure to tread firmly as I pass over you.
It was astonishing.
If I had to summarize Leo’s first impression after being dispatched to Japan, that single word captured it perfectly.
To be honest, before coming here I had wondered if the staff were simply reluctant to cover for the KKK because of wounded pride.
Watching a bunch of worthless idiots strut around was stressful enough. On top of that, they had to clean up after them and then deliberately give them credit for the results.
I could understand wanting to half-ass it. But what I found when I actually arrived was that the depths of the KKK’s stupidity surpassed all imagination.
“Hey! Where the hell did the luggage for this side go? How dare you deliver a white man’s baggage so late?”
“But they told us to unload the other side first…”
“Shut up! Can’t you see I’m in a bad mood? Huh?”
At the docks, shouting and pointing at Japanese laborers had become routine. Inside the factory, they would gather the workers while the machines were running and preach about white superiority.
Even the British merchants who witnessed the spectacle eventually clicked their tongues and came looking for Leo.
“Mister Leo, please do something about those men. I’m so embarrassed to be the same skin color as them that I can’t even show my face in public!”
“I’m truly sorry. We’re in a difficult position as well.”
“What, is America so eager to imitate the great powers that it’s exporting lunatics now? What are you going to do if the Japanese start treating all Westerners as madmen?”
Leo gave a bitter smile and pulled a thick envelope from his coat, pressing it into the British merchant’s hand.
“Please be patient just a little longer. Our chairman will take measures soon. In the meantime… I hope this can offer some consolation.”
“Ahem. Well… I do understand Mister Serget’s position…”
As always, money had the answer.
The British merchant cleared his throat awkwardly and slipped away with the envelope full of goodwill.
Leo sighed and headed for the factory.
The local staff already looked half-enlightened, as if they had given up on life.
“Director, you’re here. Do you know what those lunatics did today? They tried to climb the factory chimney to plant a KKK flag and nearly fell to their deaths.”
“…Were they injured?”
“They’re fine. They landed on a pile of cotton bales. Then they jumped up shouting ‘God protects the white man!’ …I really wanted to kill them.”
Killing intent burned in the employee’s eyes.
Leo patted his shoulder encouragingly.
“Just endure it a little longer. The chairman has a grand plan. The harder you work, the more certain your compensation will be.”
Leo immediately got to work.
He didn’t stop at cleaning up the mess the KKK made. He performed the miracle of wrapping their shit in gold.
“Grand Dragon, this month’s sales have broken all previous records.”
“Oho! As expected! My charisma is working!”
Forest, who had now completely lost his mind just like the other Grand Dragons, trembled with joy as he stroked his mustache. Leo responded with the most respectful tone imaginable.
“Indeed. Since you personally command the field, the Japanese merchants don’t dare harbor any disloyal thoughts. As expected… there was a reason the Invisible Dragon trusted you and sent you here.”
The exact words they most wanted to hear.
The conviction that their abilities had been recognized, and their bond with Serget.
The moment those words left Leo’s mouth, Forest and the Grand Dragons’ lips split into wide, foolish grins.
“Hahaha! You’re quite something. For a Negro, you’re remarkably quick-witted.”
“That’s right. Honestly, I was a bit uncomfortable with you at first, but seeing how you work, you’re different. As expected, the Negroes who serve the Invisible Dragon are on another level.”
One executive placed a hand on Leo’s shoulder and gave him a thumbs-up.
“Though your skin is black, your heart is that of a noble white man. I shall specially bestow a title upon you.”
“…A title, sir?”
“Yes! The claw of the Invisible Dragon. Invisible Claw! How about it? Quite magnificent, isn’t it?”
“……Pfft!”
Behind them, Will’s shoulders shook violently as he poured tea. He was clearly biting his lip to hold back laughter.
Meanwhile, Nick’s eyes sparkled with envy. He stretched his neck out, trying to draw attention in hopes of receiving a similar title.
Leo nearly lost control of his expression for a split second, but with superhuman patience he forced the corners of his mouth upward.
“It is an honor. I will serve in a manner worthy of such an excessive title.”
“Hahaha! Good, very good!”
Once the KKK had smoothly taken control of the Japanese market, their rears — which had been searching for new prey — began to fidget.
“Grand Dragon, don’t the Japanese monkeys submit to us now without us even needing to lift a finger?”
“Exactly. To be honest, it’s gotten rather boring. Don’t we need a new stage to achieve even greater glory?”
Finally.
I was wondering how to get these bastards moving, and the time had finally come.
Leo cheered inwardly, but outwardly he put on a troubled expression and shook his head.
“However… we have not yet completely dominated the Japanese market. If you leave your position, I’m not sure if we can handle it…”
“Nonsense! Invisible Claw! Why such weakness from you? Isn’t it the job of capable staff like yourself to clean up afterward?”
No, no. It’s not Invisible Claw.
Interpreting Leo’s tightly shut eyes as weakness, Forest slammed the table and spread out a map.
“We must advance to a more progressive stage. According to the information we’ve obtained, there is still an undeveloped niche market between the Qing Dynasty and Japan.”
The place his finger pointed to was a small peninsula nation attached to the side of the Qing Empire.
“What was it called again… Chosun? I believe that’s the name. You may not know this, but they are a race that worships pure whiteness. In other words, they are inferior monkeys who exist solely to serve white men.”
“Ooh… How did you even investigate something like that? Truly impressive.”
In reality, the strategic planning office had kindly slipped the information through the gap in the KKK’s lodging door, but the correct response here was to pretend ignorance and flatter them.
The KKK executives chuckled and shrugged.
“Information gathering is a knight’s basic virtue. Chairman Serget and Serget Cotton should be grateful to us.”
“Indeed, indeed. With the same skill we used to sell cotton to the Japanese monkeys, we’ll open up the market in that place called Chosun as well!”
Of course they should be grateful.
How could we not be thankful when they were volunteering to become firewood and burn themselves for the sake of our company?
“Understood. Since you have already made up your minds, I shall remain here and pray for your triumphant success.”
“Farewell, Invisible Claw. When we meet again, I’ll give you a pair of gloves that suit you perfectly.”
It’s been hell being with you all this time. Please never let us meet again.
Leo bowed deeply, seeing off the heroes on their final journey.