3 bar menu

Volume 5 Trouble File First Second Half Part 7

Curious after hearing Ishi’s words, Izayoi opened the car’s window and breathed the air into his lungs. The city that they were currently driving through could be said to be on a more rural side than not, but even so, the scent of freshly grinded coffee beans could definitely be smelled in contrast to all the other typical smells of the city in the countryside, so apparently there was either a coffee processing plant or a big café nearby. However, even if he were to explain to Ishi what coffee was she would probably not understand it, but more importantly. . . . since Ishi was lacking most of her internal organs, it means that her digestive system is not working properly and the only kind of food she could digest properly were the jelly-based processed foods that could be absorbed by what was left of her digestive tract as soon as possible. If she were to try to drink or eat anything other that those kinds of food, it would end up causing her an immense amount of excruciating pain. But even so, Ishi still inhaled the air filled with the aroma of coffee and looked around with great interest painted all over her face.

「This smell is bitter, but it is also delicious at the same time. . . . you know, I think I read in a book once that caffeine, the main ingredient with which coffee is made is the world’s most widely consumed psychoactive drug that can get you addicted to it in no time and make you feel as if you have to continue to drink it or else you will not be able to continue functioning normally, so I guess you can say that in a sense drinking coffee is kind of like getting yourself enslaved, the only difference being that with caffeine the people are doing this to themselves willingly.

「. . . . . . . . . 」

The way in which she put is sounded somewhat strange, but, well, essentially, she was not wrong. That being said, Izayoi could not stop himself from wondering why did the only knowledge that Ishi seemed to be possessing was of such strange, peculiar subjects?

「You are certainly correct in thinking that caffeine is like a drug, but even if it is addictive, it is much less dangerous than the substances that we usually associate with the term 「drugs」. Moreover, as years go by, the demand for coffee around the world only seems to be growing, but even though growth and cultivation of the coffee plants and their beans might look like quite a lucrative sort of business, then most of the time the money made from selling coffee do not go back to their countries of origin and those who cultivated the plants and the beans.」

「Really, even though it is so popular, the original manufacturers do not get the money that they rightfully deserve?」

「Not only that, but it does not look like there is going to be any improvement in that particular branch of business anytime soon.

「But. . . but that is so not fair! Why is no one trying to do anything to change it?!」

「Well, the answer to that question should be quite simple, at least for this region of the world. At the end of the day, I guess it can all be boiled down to the bad habits and negative influences that started during the time when the slavery was all the rage still being alive and well thanks to those who actively work towards keeping them alive.」

Just like Izayoi said, nowadays the demand for both coffee and cacao beans is on the rise as it was never before, but that ever-increasing demand did not mean that the wages for all the manual laborers who were working on the coffee and cacao plantations in the conditions that could often be described as downright deplorable were going to go up as well. What was happening instead was quite the opposite thing, actually: the more work there was to do on the plantations, the less the workers were getting paid. The only thing that remained unchanged were the prices of the coffee when it was finally being shipped from its country of origin to the rest of the world, and with each passing year, these prices continued to skyrocket.

And as for those who had to work on taking care of those coffee and cacao beans. . . . . . . . well, in most cases, the original workers from the time when the plantations were first established were the slaves who were forced to work with them by the pioneers who brought the original species of tea and coffee with them during the age of exploration and later in the times of colonization, so I can be said that those who do all the work in the modern industry of coffeemaking that grew more and more industrialized and commercilized are the descendants of the slaves who originally worked with them.

All in all, when it comes to the money that are being made from the process of cultivating and selling coffee, less than ten percent of the total earnings ever goes back to their countries of origin, and the coffeemaking industry as a whole is regarded as one of the more problematic ones where the implementation of any changes for the better might not be possible, even if there are plenty of people who wanted to make that change possible.

Soon after they finished that conversation, Canaria came to join them on the car’s third floor, laughing as if she just heard something incredibly funny. Could it be that she was listening in on everything that Izayoi and Ishi were talking about?!

「That was quite an unusual conversation for a pair of brats to be having, you know? But since we are already on the subject, if you want to know more about the development of liberty and the coffeemaking that happened before the establishment of slavery and after it has been officially abolished, then why not study the Latin American religion?」

「Latin America. . . . . you mean Voodoo and other black magic practices like that?」

「Not quite. The main hub of Voodoo is around Haiti. I do not know all the details about it, but I think that I once read in some book that it is a nation dominated mostly by the black-skinned people.」

「Well, well, well, I see someone is surprisingly knowledgeable here. For all the negative PR it is getting nowadays, there is one thing that Voodoo has definitely done right: it was against slavery, and if you look it up, you are going to find many interesting stories pertaining to that subject. I think I might have some of the books about it with me right now, so I can give them to you to read while we are still on the move if you want.」

「Uhm. . . . .while it is a very tempting offer, I would like to see as much of the scenery outside while I still have the chance to do so. I read more than enough books back at the facility, so now I want to focus on the world outside rather than on the ones described in them.」

Ishi politely refused Canaria’s offer to read the books about the religion of Latin America, and she bowed her head down apologetically. And just like that, until they have reached their destination, the three of them enjoyed lots of pointless chatter about all things big and small while Ishi continued to stare outside the window, marveling at all the images and sceneries that were flashing by her. But she was not the only one who was enjoying herself right now. For some reason, for Izayoi, this entire ride and the scenery outside of the car seemed to be fresher and more vibrant than usual. He was used to spending time with Canaria, but being in the presence of someone who was his peer and whom he could talk to was a whole new experience for him as well. They were born in completely different situations, grew up in completely different ways, and it could even be said that the very essences of their beings were direct opposites.