Wasn’t This a Night Game

My Hidden, Secret Identity

My story was long.

The reactions of the labor theorists in the room were varied.

Some were furious, while others, unable to contain their indignation, stormed out of the room.

And most were in a state of utter bewilderment.

Their eyes twitched, their hands losing strength.

Those who, just moments ago, were passionately calling for the revolution to be completed, began to waver like a flock of sheep that has lost its shepherd.

But I didn’t stop speaking.

“You hate religion more than anyone, but in the end, you will transform into the most religious group of all. ＜Das Kapital＞ will become your bible, and the leader of the revolution, your prophet. Blinded by hatred and anger towards the capitalists, you will pour everything you have into defeating them.”

And in the end, they would seize power.

The unfortunate and impoverished workers were abundant, while the capitalists were ultimately few in number.

The revolution would succeed.

But the problem came after that.

“Eventually, you will succeed. You will seize power. But that power will not be used for the benefit of the workers. Once the revolution succeeds, there will be no one to stop you. Absolute power will change you. And gradually… you will become grotesque.”

The ideology born for the workers was no longer for them.

Only for a handful of revolutionaries.

A mere pretext used by the few who seized power.

“Anyone who rejects you will be branded a capitalist dog and executed. Workers must fight and win against capitalists. And endure brutal labor for the sake of the revolution. And ultimately, you will create a world where everyone is equally impoverished. In that world of universal poverty, only the revolutionaries will be full and rich.”

Backyard furnaces.

The Great Leap Forward.

Deforestation and floods.

People starving to death.

Gulags.

The Holodomor.

The Killing Fields.

An unethical and nauseating dictatorship with no human rights.

No capitalist could commit acts more atrocious than these, yet the sight of bloated dictators, having perpetrated these deeds, telling starving workers that they were massacring them for their own good.

I explained all of this to the people in the room.

“Mr. Karl Renaro, you will kill many people. And in the end, even after death, unable to be preserved, you will be enshrined in a glass case like a religious saint. You will kill more workers than any capitalist and yet be worshipped by them.”

“……”

“That is the end result of what you are trying to do. It began with compassion for the workers, but history will remember you as those who ultimately caused them the most suffering.”

As my long, drawn-out speech ended, the room was filled with silence.

Was it because it was the pronouncements of a seer, recognized by the Pantheon?

No one took my words as mere, delusional ramblings.

This time, conversely,

I extended my hand to Karl Renaro.

“If you become consumed by hatred and resentment, and start spilling blood, even an ideology that began with compassion for the workers will inevitably become corrupted and defiled. Trust me. My way is right. Even after the Karma Company and the Grace Order arrive, you will still be needed. The need to check the capitalists’ endless greed will still exist.”

“……”

“Just not with guns and bombs. Capitalists are needed, and revolutionaries are needed. Both are needed for the sake of the workers. The revolutionary is needed to speak for the workers, and the capitalist is needed to provide jobs for the workers. Please, listen to me. Join me, Mr. Renaro. There is a way to win without violence.”

Karl remained silent for a long time.

And his silence seemed to frustrate someone.

“What are you doing? Comrade? Are you telling us to believe such drivel? Haven’t we come this far for the revolution?! You must rise up!! Rise up and fight!! Shouldn’t we be starting a revolution for the workers?!!”

As one person began to shout, others, one by one, began to rise in agreement.

“That’s right!! The capitalist pigs can only be punished with blood and bullets!! Let’s rise up! Comrades!! Let’s blow up the police stations as planned and start a revolution for the workers!!”

“What are you hesitating for?! When you boil it down, that so-called Saint is just talking about attracting more capitalists!”

“And he’s bringing in the Grace Order too! A capitalist religion! Comrade! There’s no way we can trust them!”

Seeing them shouting, I shouted back, not backing down.

“The Grace Order provides free treatment! If you don’t believe me, send someone to the capital and see for yourselves! They’re the only ones in the Empire who can reliably heal the sick here!”

“Shut your mouth! You capitalist pig! Revolution can only be achieved with the blood of capitalists!”

“And what about the blood of the workers that will flow in the meantime? What about your plan to control everything with absolute power, claiming it’s for the sake of the workers? The future I described will come true! Please, believe me! Karma Company is different! It will be run differently than the factory owners here!”

“Believe that crap?! Capitalists are all the same! They’re a species that needs to be wiped out!”

“Are you here to fight?! Or are you here to improve the workers’ conditions?! You’re so consumed by hatred that you’ve forgotten all compassion for the workers!”

My booming voice silenced the crowd.

I extended my hand to them.

“Your path leads only to destruction. Follow me. Do it of your own volition. I need you. I need people to fight against the greed of capitalists. Not with guns and knives, but with dialogue and negotiation.”

I absolutely didn’t want to use hypnosis.

Besides, I couldn’t have.

I couldn’t possibly know all the labor activists in a city with over a million people, and even if I did, I couldn’t hypnotize them all individually.

I just hoped they would take my hand.

Karl Lenaro stared blankly at my outstretched hand for a long time.

And like me, he didn’t take the proffered hand.

“I need time to think.”

That was Karl Lenaro’s answer.

“I can’t decide right now.”

“Comrade Lenaro!!”

“What does that mean?!”

“It’s a revolution! A general strike is already underway! We must seize this opportunity to achieve the revolution, and that’s…!”

The labor activists cried out, but Lenaro wouldn’t budge.

“Not yet. I need time to think.”

“No, what do you mean?! A general strike is already underway! When could there be a better time than now! Comrade Lenaro!!! We have to do it now!! Allow us to blow up the police station!! Allow us to feed the capitalist pigs’ dogs lead pellets and bombs!!…”

“Didn’t I say not yet?!”

Karl roared, silencing the labor activists.

“Before the Saint came, armed struggle was the only way. I thought it was the only way to liberate the workers. But now that the Saint is among us, we can consider other options. I don’t want the workers’ blood to flow if it can be avoided.”

“Comrade Lenaro!!”

“I’ve heard tell of Karma Company. Rumor has it the Saint roughed up one of those capitalist swine exploiting the workers in the capital. Word also got around that they raised wages in the factory district and improved conditions for the laborers. The Saint’s arguments are not entirely without merit.”

“You’re saying we should court capitalists who are run by religious types?!! Abandon the worker’s revolution, the struggle to change the world through their own strength, and instead rely on capital?!!”

“That’s why I said I’d consider it! I need time to watch and weigh things. Whether we should resort to armed struggle. Whether we should heed the Saint’s words. Or perhaps, pursue a hybrid approach. I cannot make a decision just yet. I will decide only after learning more about Karma Company and the Grace Order…”

Some of the labor ideologues began to voice their indignation at Renaro’s words.

“And you call yourself a revolutionary?! You of all people have witnessed the deaths of countless workers at the hands of capitalist pigs!! We should be ordering retribution with lead and bullets, yet you’re seriously contemplating bringing in religious capitalists who aren’t even from the scrap yards?!”

A table is struck.

A foot is stamped.

Some of the labor ideologues began to protest violently, making a deafening racket.

“Drive out the Saint!! Comrade!! We don’t need such a lackey, fattening the bellies of those capitalists!! Haven’t we been preparing for this for ages?! Let us punish the capitalists with lead and firebombs, with bombs and blades, as originally planned!! That is the only way!! Comrade!!”

Karl Renaro clenches his teeth until blood trickles from his lips.

He was clearly wrestling with a monumental decision.

“Comrade Renaro!!! Come to your senses!! We must act now! Right now!!”

Their anger, spewing forth in squawks and cries, had clearly crossed the line.

If Renaro hesitated even once more, they might very well pull a pistol, press it to his temple, and fire in a fit of near madness.

They didn’t seem motivated by compassion for the workers anymore, but rather consumed by a hatred of capitalists, transforming them into something monstrous.

I understand it’s difficult to accept my words, but this state of being is excessively dangerous.

[Casting Skill: Absolute Hypnosis!]

I cast the skill upon the shouting labor ideologues.

Their anger needed to be quelled.

“Let’s all calm down for ju……..”

[Skill cannot be used on the target!]

……Huh?

Didn’t it say I could only use it on living beings?

Those people are clearly living beings, though.

What in the world is going on?

“Comrade Renaro!! Disregard such talk!! Drive out the Saint!! Achieve the worker’s revolution!!”

As I stared at the screaming labor ideologues, I felt a sudden, chilling dread.

There were only two types of beings my skill hadn’t worked on before.

One was corpses.

When I tried to use the skill on something that wasn’t even alive.

And then there was Iomene.

When he tried to rid himself of the wings that had sprouted from the shard of an evil god, he was refused.

I immediately snapped open the locket that hung around my neck.

The distinct vibration of the psychic amplifier activating washed over me, and in that instant, I cast Time Stop.

Then, I released the hold on time surrounding the bodies of the three labor theorists who were shouting intensely at Carl Renarro, and the immediate space around them.

“The revolution *must* be completed!! Comrade Renarro! Do not waver!…….. Huh?”

The three labor theorists, as if only then realizing something was amiss, turned to face me.

Slowly, I unbuckled my belt and grasped it in my hand.

Having enhanced the strength of my body through modification, I posed them a question.

“Just who *are* you lot? Why isn’t my ability working on you?”