episode_0072

It might be surprising, but I tend to go out quite often.

I visited publishers and academies every week, and I enjoyed the anticipation of novels I was seeing for the first time by choosing books at bookstores every cycle when new books were released. Of course, when it comes to translating plagiarized works, Shion does most of the work, and since I don’t know much about current events or social issues, Shion organizes and informs me separately.

But even if I just pick up a book at a bookstore, there is something I hear.

“The yellow wall was broken?”

“Okay. I heard that the monk Paul destroyed it with a hammer.”

Most of these are so shocking and absurd rumors that people talk about them all day long.

So was the story of how the most respected monk in the empire suddenly destroyed a wall in the capital with a hammer. It appears that the monk will be fined for vandalism.

“No, why? That wall isn’t really a barrier, but there’s no reason to tear it down, right?”

“How do we know what he thinks? He is a person who devoted his life to service and faith… Maybe he was dissatisfied with the empire’s policy toward the monastic order and expressed it in an unconventional way.”

“Huh.”

“If you’re curious, let’s go look at the collapsed wall together.”

“That would be okay. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen what’s beyond that yellow wall. At best, it’s a wall a little higher than eye level… .”

“Are there just one or two such walls in the empire? The only ones who would overlook something like that would be kids who like to climb high places.”

“Well, that’s right.”

I wasn’t particularly interested in those issues.

I just thought that something unusual happened like that and moved on. The difficulties and confusion of the world and human affairs had little influence on my reading of the book.

However, just because I didn’t pay attention didn’t mean it didn’t affect me.

Although I wasn’t interested in the issue.

Sometimes, an issue comes to me out of interest.

“Writer! A guest came from church!”

“Oh, is Cardinal Garnier here? I haven’t heard anything special… .”

“No! You are a monk and a monk of the Order!”

“Yes?”

Monk Paul, who had been fined for destroying the capital’s ‘yellow wall’, came to the publishing company.

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[“As long as they remain free men, no science will give them bread. Then, in the end, they will offer up their own freedom at our feet and say, ‘It would be better for you to make us slaves, so please give us food.’”]

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” Author Homer, thank you for meeting us. He is said to be Paul, a monk.”

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

It was a request for a meeting whose meaning I did not understand, but since I already had a fairly deep relationship with the church, I accepted the meeting without much pressure. I had heard stories about him from Protestant priests and Cardinal Garnier.

An outstanding scholar, a poor monk, a devout priest, and a sincere servant.

The most faithful monk who symbolized the imperial order was Paul. While the parish priest led the religious life of ordinary believers, the monastic priest was a person whose life itself served as an example of religious life.

So there was no reason not to meet.

“I hope it’s not rude for me to come to see you.”

“Oh, of course it’s not rude─.”

“Because from now on I am going to ask the author for a rude favor.”

“Yes?”

“I would like you to lend me the author’s name.”

I didn’t understand so I looked at the monk blankly.

The monk seemed to think that he was waiting for further words, and immediately continued to explain further.

“Recently, I was disciplined by the church for breaking the yellow wall. Because I was a monk, the church had no choice but to pay a fine. By the way, do you know about ‘Beyond the Yellow Wall’?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. I know that such a wall exists, but… .”

“Is that so? It’s a little surprising. I thought the author wrote ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ after seeing that place.”

“Yes?”

“No, maybe it was guided by the Holy Spirit─, well, the ‘yellow wall’ is a wall that separates the poor from the citizens. There, ‘non-working people’ gather and live on food rations. In return, they do not come inside the yellow wall and live on the ground like shadows.”

The monk explained to me the role of the ‘yellow wall’ and its history. Everything was discussed in detail, specifically, even parts that were not well known to the public.

Only then did I understand the identity of the ‘discomfort’ I had previously felt in the capital.

I learned about specific ways to maintain the appearance of a capital city full of vitality and passion where there are no disabled people, poor people, or anything helpless.

“It’s a separationist policy… . About unproductive citizens… .”

This world was running more delicately than I could have imagined.

This is a world where statistical methodology was chosen over scientific methodology due to the existence of ‘magic’. And ‘Beyond the Yellow Wall’ was a thoroughly coordinated means of governance based on such statistics. In order to lower the crime rate in the capital and increase productivity, a ‘place in the capital but not the capital’ was created.

To prevent such separatist policies from becoming a problem, the poor were tamed through food distribution policies and churches.

I’m not sure if this can be called a problem.

This was not a means of ‘racial discrimination’ like apartheid, nor was it simply a means of ‘showing off’ like the wartime administration of a dictatorship. It was literally close to dividing even ‘social value’ by using ‘productivity’ as the standard.

Due to this policy, poor people who cannot work can make a living, and citizens of the capital can work with pride and stability in a stable city with a low crime rate.

Of course, this may not be an ideal policy either. Policy is something that changes with the times and times, and neither the ‘Eternal King’ nor the ‘Great Empire’ can create an ideal policy. In that respect, this policy is very… It was just a reasonable policy.

“I think the current yellow wall should disappear.”

“Well, why do you think that?”

“Because we need the truth. People must know that blocking the view with a wall does not mean that the presence of people on the other side of the wall disappears.”

And the monk said that this ‘yellow wall’ should disappear.

For a very simple and clear reason that does not take into account secular policies. Because it was the ‘truth’, he argued, people should know.

“Do you think that uncomfortable truths should also be revealed without reservation?”

“There is no discomfort in the truth. Only persistent and reliable lies make people uncomfortable.”

“Hmm… .”

“Do you think my thinking is wrong?”

“No. That’s right.”

I kind of agreed with that opinion. A policy that relies on ignorance will ultimately try to keep people ignorant.

Right now, there is simply a wall slightly higher than eye level blocking the view.

But then, when people grow taller, should the walls be made higher? Should we install barbed wire on the wall because people are recklessly climbing over the wall, and ban filming beyond the wall just because video technology has developed?

Eventually, that wall would either become useless or become a barrier to more thoroughly isolate less productive citizens.

And the result was likely to be a ‘barrier’.

Just as discrimination creates separation, separation will also create discrimination. The wall of ignorance was in itself discrimination and hatred towards each other.

“In that case, I would like you to lend me your name. By borrowing the infrastructure of the welfare foundation run by author Homer, we plan to demolish the ‘yellow wall’ and expand the role of the existing church almshouses to separate them into ‘almshouses’ and ‘charity houses.’ Thus, a society where people recognize each other and work together within the capital city─.”

“That seems difficult.”

“Yes?”

“Ex-convicts, drug addicts, poor people, disabled people… . They will not be able to blend in with the atmosphere of the capital. The empire, which is concerned about social chaos, will not accept it, and neither will its citizens. The citizens of the capital are already accustomed to this atmosphere.”

“… Still, it is necessary. If you have enough time, eventually─.”

“Yes. It will take time. But it should be a time to accept the existence of ‘truth’, not a time to adapt to the chaos and unpleasantness of society.”

In response to my answer, monk Paul lowered his head.

In fact, he probably knew it too. That society would not want to promote the existence of ‘people who can make a living without working’. There is a difference between simply existing and being present in a visible place.

If there are people who are jealous of people who work hard, there will also be people who are jealous of people who don’t work hard.

And this will deal a fatal blow to the productivity of the empire, and as a result, the capacity of the entire society will decline, creating a society where no charity can provide for the poor.

“Then what can I do? ?”

“Isn’t there only one way to turn the truth into a scandal?”

“Yes?”

and.

All these policy, social, moral, theological, economic, and ethical issues were none of my concern.

There was only one fact that interested me.

Monk Paul’s storytelling about people ‘beyond the wall’ is quite interesting.

“Let’s write it as a book. Everything that monk Paul saw, heard, and felt beyond the yellow wall.”

“… Will people read it?”

“When it comes to publishing, I’m willing to lend my name. If you wish, you can make every reader in the empire aware of the existence of the book written by the monk. I will also write a recommendation.”

Literature turns ignorance into a scandal.

Therefore, the most powerful literature was ultimately ‘truth’.

“Let’s write a book.”