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Volume 5 Trouble File First Second Half Part 8

It is probably going to sound very strange, but whenever Izayoi was talking to both Ishi or Canaria, he felt like they were the people who shared the same outlook and perspectives on many things as him, and whenever he talked to either of them, he could always say that he was having a genuinely pleasant time.

「Well, there were some negative influences and effects on it during the times when enlightened thought and liberalism were developing all around the world in the past. According to what Canaria once told me, the current Japan is well on it’s way to becoming a Dystopia by turning itself into a society based on the model of mutual surveillance.」

「. . . ..A Dystopia? So Japan had politicians who want to have such a tight grip over the populace?」

「No, to tell you the truth, the politicians in Japan are rather laid-back, if not downright slothful. What I meant by that is that Japan is being plagued by a sense of overall obstruction, behavioral restraints and the decline of diverse ideas that arise from the society as a whole and its social structures devolving into the one the people are constantly monitored and judged by others in pretty much every aspect of their lives.」

That was what Canaria said to Izayoi when they were leaving Japan. The average standards of living, the constant need for the redistribution of wealth and the people’s right for the freedom of speech being suppressed. These were the problems that Japan was struggling with ever since the end of the war and the dawn of the modern age, and with every passing year these issues only seem to be growing, without showing any signs of slowing down.

And the worst part about it is that such a state of thing was not due to the politicians of the national diet tightening the yoke of control around the people’s necks, but due to a change in the social structure that has become more closed than ever before in which the ideal image was being 「perfectly average」without ever rising above the norms, and if someone tried to stand out in any way, the rest of the society around them would mercilessly crack down on them in an attempt to correct them from that path of 「none-averageness」. In the present day, when the number of people living on earth has reached around seven billion, it would be nigh impossible to create a society that could be fully controlled by purely legislative means, and if the governments attempted to do something like that without proper preparations beforehand, it would only end up in the masses breaking out into violent protests and quite possible even riots.

It might sound ridiculous, but the truth of the modern-day society is that oftentimes it is not worth it to have outstanding talent and be overly successful, because the prejudice and the social stigmas that you are going to be facing because of those things not only from the people in power, but from those who are close to you as well. That was what Canaria was worried about those few years ago: that with the way that things were, Japan was on a surefire course towards becoming a mutual surveillance society where the few people holding the reigns would control the entire populace and its collective unconscious by removing any and all elements that would stand out from what was universally agreed to be th established norm.

「.  . . However, Japan is well above the average norm when it comes to the moral education of the masses, if there will ever be an opportunity for it to do so, then the whole country is going to take the chance to go beyond Dystopia, and trust me, it has all the potential needed for doing so.」

「. . . . to go beyond Dystopia?」

「Yeah, what she said. What are you going on about now, Canaria? Beyond Dystopia? And what would that supposed 「beyond」 even be? Some kind od super controlled society? Or perhaps super regulated society?」

「Now, do not be a moron, Izayoi, of course it is not going to be something like that. What Japan and we the Japanese people are heading towards with our current course of progress is definitely going to be. . . . . oh. I am afraid that even though this discussion of ours has taken quite an interesting turn, we will have to postpone continuing it until some other time, because we should be approaching our destination pretty soon.」

Canaria looked at the clock on the car’s wall with a smile and waved her hand, indicating that the time for philosophical disputes was now over.

「You should be able to see it any minute now. Because without looking at it first, you will not be able to start your journey.」

「And by 「it」, you mean. . . .?」

Ishi asked while tilting his head, because all that they cold see outside of the car’s window was the blue sky, the sun shining high above it, and the endless horizon that sprawled out as far as the eye could see. But, but maybe, just maybe. . . . maybe that was exactly what Canaria wanted Ishi to see, Izayoi thought to himself. After all, even though they are something that the vast majority of the people inhabiting this world seem to be taking for granted, it can be said that the most magnificent things that the nature had to offer for us are those we either do not see of fail to recognize their true value until it is too late.

「Fufu, now might be our best occasion to do so, so let us go out to the camper’s top deck. When it comes to these kinds of experiences, the first bite is always the most delicious~~.」

Prompted by Canaria’s cryptic words, the two of them looked at each other and then climbed on top of the camper exactly as they were told. And when they got out, an entirely different kind of wind than before began to blow against their faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and then they saw it. A deep blue, sparkling landscape spreading way beyond the surrounding hills. When she saw that beautiful scenery for the first time in her life, it forced Ishi to literally stop breathing on the spot.

「No way . . . the sea? Is. . . . . is this the sea?!」

Izayoi stopped himself from laughing at Ishi’s amazement, and simply smiled at her. Now that she knew that they were near the sea, Ishi realized that the wind that was blowing against her cheeks was not just any ordinary wind, but the salty sea breeze. Before she even realized it, she was already putting one hand onto her cheek just so that she could scoop the salt particles onto her finger so that she could have a taste, and then immediately grimaced due to how salty it actually turned out to be.

When they reached the beach a short time later, Izayoi already knew what he had to do before Canaria even suggested anything. Before the camper’s door even opened, Ishi was practically shaking with excitement that she was no longer able to contain, but when Izayoi offered to help her get out of the car and go towards the shore, she shook of his outstretched hand, saying with stars in her eyes that she wants to go their on her own two feet, using nothing but her own strength to get there. And sure enough, she managed to get to the shore just fine, but when she was faced with the small waves that were making their way to the beach from the ocean, she immediately fell over face-first into the water due to not being able to keep her balance properly.

「 . . .! ! ! ! 」