My Secret Identity I've Been Hiding
My Secret Identity I've Been Hiding
My story was a long one.
The reactions of the Labor Theorists in the room varied widely.
Some were furious, and some stormed out of the room, unable to contain their indignation.
And most of them were thrown into extreme confusion.
Their eyes trembled, and the strength began to drain from their hands.
Those who, only moments before, had been crying out more passionately than anyone to complete the revolution began to wander aimlessly, like a flock of sheep that had lost its purpose, because of what I had said.
But even so, I did not stop speaking.
"You despise religion more than anyone, but in the end, you will transform into the most religious group of all. The book 'On Capital' will become your scripture, and the leader of the revolution will become your prophet. In your blind hatred and rage toward the capitalists, you will sacrifice absolutely everything in order to defeat them."
And they would eventually seize power.
Because the unfortunate, impoverished laborers were overflowing in number, while the capitalists were, in the end, a minority.
The revolution would succeed.
But what came after was the problem.
"In the end, you will succeed. You will seize power. But that power will not be used for the workers. Once the revolution has succeeded, there will be nothing left to stop you. Unrestrained power will change you. And gradually, you will become corrupt."
The ideology that had risen up for the sake of the workers would no longer be for the workers.
It would be for the few revolutionaries.
It would become nothing more than a pretext used for the sake of the handful of people who held power.
"Anyone who refuses you will be branded a capitalist's dog and executed. So that the workers can fight and win against the capitalists, and for the sake of the revolution, the workers will be subjected to grueling labor. And in the end, you will create a world where everyone is equally poor. And within that world where everyone is poor, only the revolutionaries will be full and wealthy."
The Backyard Furnace.
The Great Leap Forward.
The destruction of forests and floods.
People starving to death.
The Gulag.
The Ukrainian Famine.
The Killing Fields.
An unethical, nauseating dictatorship utterly devoid of human rights.
The sight of pot-bellied dictators—who had committed acts so vile that no capitalist could ever be more depraved—telling the laborers who were starving to death, unable to eat, that they had massacred them for their own sake.
I explained all of this to the people in the room.
"Mr. Lenaro. You will end up killing many people. And even after you die, your body, incapable of decay thanks to embalming fluid, will be placed inside a glass case and venerated as a religious saint. You will be a being who kills more workers than any capitalist and yet is worshipped by them."
"......"
"That is the end of what you are now setting out to do. History will remember you as beings who began with compassion for the workers but ultimately brought suffering upon them greater than anyone else."
When my very long speech came to an end, the room was filled with silence.
Perhaps it was because these words were spoken by a Seer officially recognized by the Pantheon.
No one dismissed my words as absurd nonsense.
This time, instead,
I extended my hand to Karl Lenaro.
"Once you become consumed by aversion and hatred and begin to shed blood, even an ideology that began with compassion for the workers will inevitably end up corrupted and defiled. Trust me. My way is correct. Even after Karma Company and the Order of Grace enter the picture, you will still be needed. Because the necessity of keeping the capitalists' boundless greed in check will still exist."
"......"
"Only, we will not do it with guns and bombs. Capitalists are necessary, and revolutionaries are necessary. Both are necessary for the workers. Revolutionaries are needed to speak for the workers, and capitalists are needed to provide jobs for the workers. Please, listen to me. Join me, Mr. Lenaro. There is a way to win through non-violent methods, not through violence."
Karl was unable to answer for a long time.
And it seemed that his silence struck someone as frustrating.
"What are you doing, comrade?! Are you telling us to believe that kind of bullshit?! Did we not come this far for the revolution?! You must rise up!! Rise up and fight!! Must we not carry out the revolution for the workers?!"
As one man began to shout, others who agreed with him began to rise, one by one.
"Hear, hear!! The capitalist pigs can only be punished with blood and bullets!! Let us rise up, comrade!! Let us blow up the police stations as originally planned and carry out the revolution for the workers!!"
"What are you hesitating for?! Isn't what this so-called saint is saying, in summary, just that he's going to bring in yet more capitalists?!"
"On top of that, he says he's bringing in the Order of Grace!! They're capitalists and a religious order! Comrade!! There is simply no way we can trust them!!"
Seeing them shouting, I shouted back at them, refusing to back down.
"The Order of Grace provides free medical treatment! If you don't believe me, send someone to the capital and confirm it for yourselves!! They, more certainly than any organization in the empire, are the ones who can treat the sick people of this place!!"
"Shut your mouth!! You capitalist pig!! The revolution can only be achieved through the blood of capitalists!!"
"And what about the workers' blood that will be spilled in the process? What countermeasures do you have for yourselves, who after seizing power will run rampant wielding an uncontrollable power in the name of the workers? The future I described will simply be realized!! Please, trust me!! Karma Company is different! We will operate differently from the factory owners of this place!!"
"You expect us to believe that kind of talk?! All capitalists are the same!! Those bastards are a race that simply needs to disappear!!"
"Are you here to fight?! Or are you here to improve the treatment of the workers?! Have you not been utterly consumed by hatred, leaving you looking as if you've completely forgotten your compassion for the workers?!"
At my tremendous shout, the people fell silent.
I extended my hand to them as well.
"Your way will ultimately lead to ruin. Follow me. Choose to do so of your own will. You are needed. I need people who will fight against the greed of the capitalists. People who will do so through dialogue and negotiation, not with guns and knives."
I did not want to use Absolute Hypnosis.
I couldn't, either.
I didn't know every Labor Theorist in a city with a population exceeding a million, and even if I did, I couldn't hypnotize each one individually.
I desperately hoped they would take my hand.
Karl Lenaro stared blankly at my outstretched hand for a long time.
And he, too, like I had done, did not take the offered hand.
"I need time to think."
That was Karl Lenaro's answer.
"I cannot decide right now."
"Comrade Lenaro!!"
"What do you mean by that?!"
"It's the revolution! The general strike is already underway!! At a time when we must seize this opportunity to accomplish the revolution, what kind of talk is that!?......."
The Labor Theorists yelled, but Lenaro did not bend from his position.
"Not yet. I need time to think."
"No, what do you mean?! The general strike is already in progress!! When could be a better opportunity than now?! Comrade Lenaro!!! We must act now!! Grant permission to blow up the police stations!! Grant us permission to feed those capitalist pig bastards lead bullets and bombs!!......"
"Did I not say not yet?!"
Karl erupted with a roar, suppressing the Labor Theorists.
"Before the saint came to us, armed struggle was the only way. I believed it was the sole means to liberate the workers. But now that the saint has come among us, it has become possible to consider other methods. If it is possible for no workers' blood to be spilled, I wish for it not to be spilled."
"Comrade Lenaro!!"
"I have heard of Karma Company. And the rumor that the saint beat up one of the capitalist pigs who was exploiting workers in the capital. I have also heard stories that he raised wages in the factory districts and improved the treatment of workers. The saint's argument is not groundless."
"Are you saying we should change the world by relying on capital, rather than through revolutionary struggle by the workers?!"
"And that is why I am saying I will think about it! I need more time to watch and judge. Whether we should proceed with armed struggle, or heed the saint's words, or combine both methods. I cannot make a judgment right now. After I have looked into Karma Company and the Order of Grace a little more, I will make my decision......."
Some of the Labor Theorists began to vent their fury at Lenaro's words.
"How can you still call yourself a revolutionary after that?! Even though you have seen with your own eyes how many workers have died at the hands of those capitalist pigs! Even ordering them punished with lead bullets and bombs wouldn't be enough, and now you are saying you'll seriously consider bringing in religious capitalists who aren't even from the Scrap Yard?!"
They pounded on the table.
And stamped their feet.
Making a racket, some of the Labor Theorists began to protest violently.
"Let's drive out the saint!! Comrade!! We have no need in the revolution for a lackey like that who will only serve to fatten the bellies of capitalists!! Haven't we been preparing for this for a long time already?! Let us punish the capitalists with lead bullets, Molotov cocktails, bombs, and blades, as we originally planned!! That is the only way!! Comrade!!"
Karl Lenaro clenched his teeth so hard that blood began to trickle from his lip.
It was clear to anyone that he was grappling with tremendous inner turmoil.
"Comrade Lenaro!!! Come to your senses!! We must do it now! Right now!!"
The fury of those screaming at the top of their lungs seemed to have crossed the line entirely.
A rage bordering on madness, to the point that if Lenaro hesitated even once more, it would not have been strange for them to draw a pistol, aim it at his head, and fire.
They looked like monsters who had been consumed not by compassion for the workers, but by hatred for the capitalists.
I understood that it was difficult for them to accept my words, but that state was excessively dangerous.
[Activating Skill: Absolute Hypnosis!]
I used the skill on the Labor Theorists who were shouting.
It seemed necessary to calm their anger.
"First of all, calm down........"
[Skill cannot be used on the target!]
......What?
Wasn't I told it could only be used on living creatures?
Those people were clearly living creatures too.
Just what on earth was going on?
"Comrade Lenaro!! Ignore that kind of talk!! Drive out the saint!! And let us accomplish the workers' revolution!!"
As I stared at the shouting Labor Theorists, I could not help but feel a chill down my spine.
There had been exactly two types of cases where my skill had failed to work.
One was on corpses.
That is, when I had tried to use the skill on a target that was not alive in the first place.
And the other was Iomene.
I had been rejected when I had tried to remove the wings grown by the Fragment of the Evil God.
I immediately opened the lid of the Locket hanging around my neck.
The moment I felt the distinctive vibration indicating that the Psychic Amplifier had activated, I cast Time Stop.
Then, I released the time stop on the bodies of the three Labor Theorists who had been shouting especially severely at Karl Lenaro, along with the region of space surrounding them.
"You must see the revolution through!! Comrade Lenaro! Don't be shaken!......Huh?"
Only then, as if sensing something was wrong, the three shouting Labor Theorists turned to look at me.
I slowly unfastened my belt and gripped it in my hand.
After strengthening my body's muscle power using Body Modification, I threw a question at them.
"What are you people? Why doesn't my ability work on you?"