The story, names, characters, places, locations, and laws in this work are fictitious.
No identification with actual ideas or beliefs is intended.
Mr. Seizaki, thanks for your hard work.
Well, I was really surprised.
The voting results are in.
Four people voted neutral, 48 in support, and 48 in opposition.
The faction in favor of the suicide law and the one against it both captured the same number of seats.
The vote to decide whether the suicide law is right or wrong...
If you only look at the numbers, the vote looks evenly split.
However, we must admit that this vote is a victory for the faction in favor of the law.
So everyone's been killed, huh?
It's not your fault, Mr. Seizaki.
That's right. There's nothing anyone could have done about it.
Sekuro's death is the only one that the police determined as murder.
Everyone else was determined to be a suicide.
And the police are trying to cover up the group suicide to avoid a scandal.
As a result, they still haven't started a large-scale investigation
into Officer Sekuro's murder... so it seems.
It can't be helped. By the way...
I heard Itsuki made an appearance right after the vote.
Today, Mayor Kaika Itsuki spoke before an audience of staff members at the Shiniki City Hall.
I guess he finally succeeded in making it into Shiniki City Hall.
I wonder what's going to happen now, Mr. Seizaki.
Magase!
Magase.
Prosecutor Seizaki.
Sekuro.
Prosecutor Seizaki.
What does justice mean to you?
Justice?
I... I...
It really is big!
I'm coming!
Zen?
You've received another package.
ZEN SEIZAKI
WHICH ONE IS BAD?
There's no way for Nomaru to stop Itsuki now.
Now that he's lost his title after losing the mayoral election,
he has no choice but to grit his teeth while watching Itsuki take off.
Yeah.
Also, as for the group suicide, I can't publish an article about it.
I see.
I believe you, of course.
I tried probing through NHC and the police department.
And even though I was able to confirm that the group suicide really did happen,
you're telling me it was all done by just a single woman.
Without any proof, the article would just sound like I was writing about the occult.
Sorry, Zen.
The Shiniki Suicide General Support Organization,
a center supporting people who have chosen in a correct manner,
was established today in Shiniki.
Approximately three weeks have passed since the enactment of the law,
which happens to coincide with the group suicide that occurred on the 6th.
It's me. Seizaki, can you meet me tomorrow?
Yes.
Then come to the government office in the afternoon.
But I'm not supposed to go out.
I don't care.
We're in front of the Shiniki Suicide General Support
Organization right now. Have a look. There's a long line.
I'm sure you've heard about it through the news.
Shiniki is starting to put the suicide law into effect.
Nyux, the drug for euthanasia, was announced in a highly public manner.
Now all the pharmaceutical companies will be allowed to manufacture generic versions of Nyux.
In other words, the suicide drug is going to spread around the world.
And now they've even opened a center for supporting suicide.
I'm sure that more and more people are going to opt for suicide.
But...
the number of people committing suicide impulsively has decreased.
The times could be changing.
SUICIDE DECREASING TREND
Even though it's different from the ideal vision that Mr. Nomaru and I had.
Seizaki.
I put you through a lot of grief.
Sorry.
I'm resigning as of today.
I'm old already.
Once you're my age, you can't change the way you think.
But you should keep thinking.
Think about what is right.
Think about what justice is.
I am terribly sorry.
Lift your head.
It's nothing to apologize about.
-They were just fulfilling their duties. -But--
I'm the one who consented to the plan to kidnap Itsuki.
I'm the one responsible for it.
Thanks for your hard work on such a hard case.
Can I ask you one last thing?
Are you the one who let Hiasa go alone?
Yes.
I see. You can go.
I heard you were a tomboy when you were a kid. Is that true?
That's right.
Wow. I can't believe you're an actress now.
Asuma. Let's go shopping now.
Okay. I'll go get my hat!
Zen.
Asuma and I are going to be fine.
You should chose the path you believe in.
Hey! Hurry up! Let's go!
Okay!
Dad, see you later!
-Well, we'll be off now. -Yeah.
Let's ask some people from around town for their opinions. Excuse me.
Do you know about the Suicide Support Organization?
CANADA HAS ENACTED THE SUICIDE LAW.
No way.
-I saw it on the news. -What did you think?
Honestly...
Are you Zen?
Who are you?
I'm Samuel Hardy from the FBI. We can speak in Japanese.
FBI AGENT SAMUEL HARDY
What does the FBI want from me?
The group suicide that happened at the NHC center.
You were there.
Tell us what you know about that incident.
I promise I'll give you all the information I have.
But I have one condition.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WASHINGTON D.C.
Hello. Nice to meet you.
My name is Alexander W. Wood.
Everyone calls me Alex.
Forty-seven years ago,
I was born into a normal family in Boston.
I grew up surrounded by my parents' love.
But I was a sickly child.
I was always sick with a cold the whole year.
I always spent my weekends going to the hospital.
When I was a kid,
it was hard not being able to study or play because of my illness.
Then one day, I made up my mind.
If I was going to be stuck living like this my entire life,
then I'm going to try doing everything I'm able to.
I used every method I could think of and I finally conquered it.
That experience was a huge factor in deciding how I live now.
Consider all possibilities and contemplate them to the extent that time permits.
That's how I've lived until now.
When I entered college,
I started living in a dorm.
That's where I found out about Explorer Online.
It's also known as EO.
I got addicted to that game immediately.
Even though no one told me to, I stayed up all night every day...
and became one of the top players in the game.
Then one day, I met a beginner.
Nice to meet you.
I just started playing EO.
Can you teach me how to play?
Piece of cake.
So which weapon should I buy?
You don't have to buy a weapon in the beginning.
You'll get a better weapon later on.
There's a monster I can't beat. What should I do?
You need a strategy for defeating powerful monsters.
Thanks for teaching me.
If you don't mind, can I take you out to dinner?
I knew the player was female.
She said her name was Emma.
I really regretted going.
A guy like me who couldn't do anything except study and play games,
and a girl like her who looked just like a model, would never work out.
Goodbye then.
I was really looking forward to meeting you.
But you were thinking about something else the whole time.
Seeing what I look like must have made you feel inferior.
That's why you got scared and wanted to run away.
Have confidence in yourself!
You have your own strengths, in which you won't lose to anyone.
You're a legend in EO.
The strategy you invented completely changed how people do battle.
The mining deposit you discovered caused people to build a new city.
You accomplished something that no one else could, and you did it all by yourself!
Well, that was just because I did it little by little--
No matter how much you deny it, I'm going to affirm the way you live!
Eight years after that unusual encounter,
Emma became my wife.
This is my son Oliver.
Unlike me when I was a child,
he lives his life enjoying good health.
Even though I had a happy family,
there was something I couldn't stop thinking about.
Why did a beautiful woman like her become my wife?
I've thought about it for all these years,
but I still haven't found the answer.
But I still believe that most problems in life
can be solved if you keep thinking about them.
That's the way I live.
GRENOBLE, FRANCE SUICIDE LAW ADOPTION DECLARED
Alex?
How long are you going to stay in there? It's almost time for work.
Okay. I'm coming soon.
You were thinking about something again, right?
But there's always a time limit in the real world.
That's my biggest problem.
-France, huh? -I suspected they'd do this.
TAYLOR GRIFFIN SECRETARY OF STATE
They have a high suicide rate in the first place.
They have a stable society and their citizens are bored.
When humans have too much time on their hands, they're always up to no good.
ASSISTANT NICHOLAS MILLER
Well, then, I wonder what Luca is thinking.
I bet he's going to say something bold again.
He often says inappropriate things out of carelessness.
He's a person who often causes trouble.
But that's just his own way of presenting himself.
He's actually a calculating imposter through and through.
Thanks for your hard work. So, France?
CHIEF OF STAFF EDMUND GIULIANI
Grenoble.
It's three hours from Paris with a population of 150,000.
It's not big.
Compared to Shiniki.
Anyway, we're having a telephone conference?
I've already proposed it.
I like how you're so fast.
I don't think we have to be in such a hurry though.
It's a delicate matter.
I don't want to give off the impression that the government isn't being serious.
Everyone dies.
If you call it a delicate matter, no one's going to be able to grow old in peace.
Where's the second city?
It's Halifax in Canada.
So it started one month ago.
Shiniki.
A new initiative proposed by an island country in the far east
was broadcast around the world in the news.
At first, it was just a fire on the other side of the ocean to us here in the United States, but...
Now that it's spread to the country next to us...
But I wonder why those two cities hurried to adopt the new law?
The two cities that followed in Shiniki's footsteps both have universities.
Maybe it means that people who are good in academics are more likely to want to die.
Approaching death isn't a smart thing to do though.
Animals don't commit suicide, right?
Knowledge and death both gather at the same place.
-Hi. -Amazing! It's AWW!
You were talking about the suicide law just now, right?
It was on the news just now.
What do you think?
I'm not sure.
You're right. It's not something you can answer in a short time.
Honestly, I don't think that suicide is something good.
But I also think it's not right to say that no one is allowed to die, no matter what.
I see.
But I don't want to die yet.
But as long as there's no penalty, I don't mind dying in the game.
Punishment, huh?
Yes. Regarding that issue, we're in the process of coordinating within the party.
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Am I correct in saying that the government of Japan
is going to dismantle Shiniki once you've finished coordinating within the party?
Well, I'm still trying to coordinate in regards to the conclusion as well--
Opinions are split within the party.
It's still going to take some time.
Excuse me. I've just received an urgent notification.
Sorry. Let's talk about this again later.
He's just trying to keep up the bluff.
The government of Japan has lost control of Shiniki completely.
Yeah. The Shiniki Initiative had some illegal aspects to it in the first place.
And Kaika Itsuki has control of the proof.
The government of Japan is afraid of this turning into a scandal and can't do anything.
I never thought the bullet would come from Japan.
Having a missile fired at us would have been easier to handle.
This is an indiscriminate attack by an ideology.
It's terrorism.
Hey, Dad?
What's going on with that?
Are you talking about the suicide law?
I thought suicide is wrong.
But three cities have already said they're going to allow suicide.
That's why me and my friends are all confused.
Isn't suicide bad?
To tell you the truth,
even your dad doesn't know whether suicide is bad or not.
Really?
Yeah. That's why I'm researching it now.
Did you find something?
Want me to tell you?
Yeah.
I never knew this before either.
The bible doesn't actually say that suicide is a sin.
Then does that mean it's okay to commit suicide?
Well, I'm not sure.
I've just started to think about suicide myself, too.
-News flash. Our latest reports-- -In Grenoble, France--
Now four cities have adopted the suicide law.
We weren't expecting this.
I can't believe it's happening in Hartford, in our own country.
This country is not going to waver over something like this.
You're early.
What's the situation?
This was completely out of the blue.
The CIA doesn't have any information either.
Have you notified him?
An hour ago.
I'm letting you know now. It's still going to take a lot of time.
They don't call him a thinker for nothing.
How much time?
The longest it's ever taken.
Mr. President.
The fourth city, huh?
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ALEXANDER W. WOOD