Scarlet Snow, Pale Water

Chapter 2: The Velocity of Salvation and the Coldness of the Hearth

As the election campaign intensified, the web of "election purification" spun by the state authorities tightened around the daily lives of citizens with abnormal persistence.

One afternoon, as Yukino was walking down the street, a sudden gust of wind knocked over the proletarian party candidate's campaign sign, sending it clattering onto the roadside. As Yukino rushed to pick it up, an honest elderly grocer living nearby lent a hand to help her stand it back up. It was at that exact moment. From the shadow of a utility pole, a Tokko officer wearing a black cape leapt out like a beast pouncing on its prey.

"Hey! You've participated in an illegal election campaign!" "W-what are you talking about? I was only putting back a sign that fell..."

Ignoring the old man's plea, the officer violently twisted his arm behind his back. Koji, rushing to the scene, felt his vision turn blood-red at the sheer absurdity. "Hey, stop! What are you doing to an old man!"

Just as Koji clenched his fist and was about to lunge at the officer, Yukino threw herself onto him from behind, desperately pinning him down with her slender arms.

"No, Koji! If you use violence, it's all over! If we rely on force, we'll fall into the same mud as those merciless beasts!" "Let me go, Yukino! How can we stand by and watch this? If we don't strike back, they'll never learn!" "If you fight back here, we will be branded as 'mere rioters.' That old grocer, our words, everything we've worked for—it will all be buried in the dark! Please, put your hands down!"

Feeling Yukino's trembling and hearing her desperate cries against his back, Koji lowered his fist. Biting his lip, the metallic taste of blood spread in his mouth. He had no choice but to swallow his rage and helplessness along with the blood. The old man was loaded into a police car and taken away.

At the same time, Shintaro stood in the office of his superior at the Ministry of War. He slammed a document detailing the tragic reality of the farming villages and the corruption of the politicians onto the desk, demanding a direct appeal by the military and a reconstruction of the state.

"The military must lead the charge to sweep away this corrupt vested interest! Unless we dissolve the parliament and redistribute wealth under the Emperor's name, the tenant farmers will perish!"

In the warm room heated by a hearth, puffing on a high-grade cigar, the superior officer did not even look down at the document, but simply tapped his ash into the ashtray. "A soldier does not meddle in state affairs, Lieutenant Nozu. There is an order to things in this world. Everything must be handled in accordance with the legal order established by the state."

"That legal order is starving our people to death at this very second! If we wait for your 'order,' how many more daughters must be sold before you are satisfied?!" To Shintaro's roar, the superior officer replied coldly: "Stand down, Lieutenant Nozu. Any further remarks that disrupt military discipline will be met with appropriate disciplinary action."

At his superior's cold words, something inside Shintaro shattered completely. (A legal resolution is nothing but the self-satisfaction of those with full bellies. To protect this rotten law and parliament is to save no one from tomorrow's starvation.) Within Shintaro, any lingering hope for peaceful means died without a shred of mercy.

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