MIKA LET OUT A SIGN OF ADMIRATION as she looked at the wads of cash laid out on the white table.
"There's 50 million. I made them get it in cash, just like you wanted. It won't be traced back to you."
I told Mika without making eye contact.
The amount excludes all expenses incurred during the pregnancy, such as delivery and hospitalization.
"Politicians really have an abundance of money and everything at their disposal, don't they? Was it easy for you to get 50 million?"
Mika said sarcastically, dressed in a suit she was probably not used to wearing.
"Money is important, but I have plenty of it to live on. That's the world on our side."
Mika laughed at me as I spoke in a matter-of-fact manner.
"The fact that your child's born doesn't affect your heart in the slightest, does it?"
"Are you going to tell me that you've awakened to motherhood now?"
"No way. If I had, I wouldn't have given the child away. To me, the whole process of conceiving and giving birth to that child is work. Nothing more, nothing less."
I was relieved to hear that.
I could see in her eyes that she was speaking the truth; it wasn't Mika's superiority talking.
"I guess I was right in choosing you after all."
"Well, I don't know if the job's worth it. I almost regretted it when my belly started to grow and the morning sickness got worse. I came here to complain or something, but when I saw all this money in front of me, I didn't care anymore."
Even for Mika, who'd been receiving a monthly salary of well over a million yen, a lump sum of 50 million is a different story. I don't want to hear her complaints. When it comes to surrogacy, etc., I paid more than twice the market rate, even if it's estimated at a high level.
"Normally, we'd have to pay almost half of this to the government."
"That's right... You have to earn about 100 million to save 50 million, right? I can't help but think you're crazy if you have to pay almost half of it in taxes."
Touching the surface of the wad of cash, Mika laughed a little.
"Have you ever paid taxes properly?"
It's said that many people in professions similar to Mika's don't pay taxes.
"Come to think of it, I can hardly remember. Well, maybe I'll pay them when I start a new job, who knows? Anyway, how are you these days, Atsuomi? Any change?"
"I'm sorry, but I'm busy and don't want to talk too long. Let's just get on with what we have to do."
I took out the contract and held it out in front of Mika.
"If you're going to take the money, write it down. You have the rights to the child until you sign here."
"You fret too much. Don't worry, I only had a baby for the money. I have no regrets."
Mika had no intention from the beginning to refuse the money offered to her, and once again expressed her willingness to accept it.
"No matter what happens, I'll never be allowed to identify myself as the mother in my life."
This may have sounded insistent, but it was very important.
If Mika, who's familiar with the underworld, tries to get the child back, the possibility that the White Room's existence will be exposed cannot be denied.
"I know. Don't talk about me to him either."
"I won't. I don't have to."
"Can you just tell me what's going to happen to him?"
I haven't told Mika anything about the White Room.
It was understandable that she was concerned about what will happen to him.
"That's none of your business. Once the deal is completed, we're done."
"Yes, yes." Mika signed the contract as if she understood that there was nothing more to be done.
"Is this okay?"
Judging by the handwriting's pressure, there was no hesitation at all.
I guess she wasn't at all worried if she was so sure.
Mika gave instructions to take the attaché case containing the money into Mika's car trunk.
It was a bit risky to carry such a large amount of money in cash, but Mika and I agreed to avoid transferring the money through a bank.
"Well, I'll be on my way."
This was the last time I saw Mika and the last time we spoke to each other. As I was about to leave without saying a word, Mika took a few steps before stopping.
"...Don't you want to ask me what I'm going to do now?"
I couldn't read her expression.
However, I could make out that there was a hint of emotion in her voice.
"I'm not interested. You're free to go to that host or fly abroad with the money."
She was slightly surprised but then smiled as if she understood.
"You knew? You knew about me and him?"
"Even if I don't investigate, people around me will investigate on their own."
"How long have you known?"
"Before I asked you to marry me and have a baby."
"Didn't you suspect me of being a distrustful parasite"?
Mika narrowed her eyes as if she was playing a trick.
"That was before I suspected it. You could've predicted that I would do a postnatal exam, and if by any chance you were carrying someone else's child, you'd lose your reward. It's an impossible choice."
"Hmm, yes, indeed."
"But you did a good job of restraining yourself. I must commend you for keeping your secret meetings with him to a minimum during our married life, and for being so careful that the host would never find out."
I don't know if the host really wants to make Mika happy, though.
At the very least, Mika's fortune, including the 50 million, should be over 200 million.
Five or ten years—until the money runs out, she is guaranteed a happy life with her host.
"Atsuomi… Did you ever think you'd like me?"
"You'll do anything for yourself and money. That's the biggest thing I appreciate about you."
"I think you're missing the point… No, I'm sure that's the whole answer."
I've never had any special feelings for Mika.
And at the same time, this woman has no feelings for me either.
All these sympathetic words were an act to make herself look good.
She likes young, good-looking, well-spoken men who value themselves and their money above all else.
That is Mika.
"Goodbye, Atsuomi."
"Wait. This is my present to you."
Three million on top of the fee I'd originally prepared.
I gave the consolation money, a "parting gift," over to Mika.
"You don't have to go that far, I'm not going to sell this to a weekly magazine. I've done a lot of black-hearted things with you, too."
Mika has a lot of things that she doesn't want exposed.
"Of course. That's why this is a pure, open, and honest gift. You don't have to take it if you don't want it."
I reached over and pulled the money back, but Mika stopped me with a laugh.
"There's no reason not to have the money to build your own home," she said.
"I heard that land is getting more and more expensive these days."
"You don't know the underlying reasons why land prices are going up, do you?"
"I don't know. I don't care. I'm just interested in the money."
"That's just like you. You know, it's gonna be a while before you can officially marry someone."
"That's because I'm supposed to be your wife back in this country."
Until we've put the child in the White Room for a while, it's necessary for us to be publicly established as husband and wife.
"Not for long. If you can wait two more years, then you can do whatever you want."
For this purpose, I've already given her the divorce papers filled out, only excluding the dates for me and Mika respectively.
"One last thing, if you have a name picked out, I'll file it under that name."
Eleven days have already passed since the birth of the child, and unless additional steps are taken, there are only three days left.
"I don't even have rights to the child, but you're letting me decide?"
"A name is just a symbol. No matter who names the child, what's inside of a human being is the same."
After a short pause, Mika spoke the child's name.
"Then Kiyotaka."
"A very good suggestion, that's just like you."
I was a little surprised at this unexpected turn of events.
"I just thought that this would be the name you'd remember," she said.
"That's fine. I'll accept it."
"You really are a very calm and level-headed person, aren't you? It'd be normal for people to lose their temper in this situation. Naming a host that I'm crazy about... That's insane."
Mika started to walk away. This time she didn't stop.
"Goodbye Atsuomi, my time with you has been a valuable experience for me. For better or worse."
After Mika left, I wrote "Kiyotaka" on the list.
With that much money in her pocket, she shouldn't have a single complaint.
I gave up my child as a representative of the White Room.
If I can make a track record, I can say that the money was a small price to pay.
As long as Kiyotaka is useful for at least 5 years, it doesn't matter if he breaks down after that.
There's no need for one's own child to be excellent.
"She was quite a nice lady, Ayanokouji-san."
Tsukishiro, who was waiting in the next room, appeared with a smile as usual.
"You've had a hard time, too, haven't you? I made you play detective."
"I'm a jack-of-all-trades, you know. But are you sure you can trust her? You might consider getting rid of her if you have to. She may stay quiet while she has money, but from the looks of her, she'll run out of it in a few years. Or, could he run away with the large sum of money?"
Yes, you never know with people.
In the future, when she loses the money, Mika may appear in front of me again.
But I hope she's smart enough not to do so.
No matter how dirty and worthless your soul is, it's not pleasant to die for nothing.
"It's always a good idea to make the first move, but it depends. Mika's disappearance creates other risks. We need her to be a mother for now."
It's clear that I'm not attached to the child due to the circumstances. If this is revealed by the person who was my wife, my credibility in the business world will be lost all at once.
"You're right. It's as you say."
"In a few days, the child will be in my hands after the tests are completed and he'll begin the experiments as a fourth-generation student."
"It seems like your son will have a tough life ahead of him, just like you."
Those words sound like pity, but Tsukishiro has no such feelings.
■■■
On the day Kiyotaka arrived, I gathered Suzukake and the other researchers.
"Ayanokouji-sensei, this is the curriculum for the fourth-generation students who'll be starting this year."
Tabuchi operated a computer with dark circles under his eyes.
I looked through the materials projected on the big screen as he explained them to me.
When Suzukake was chosen to lead the second-generation students, he created a curriculum with 10 difficulty levels.
This time, the fourth-generation students will be given a difficulty level of 4.
"The dropout rate for those who are five, the first-generation, is 14%; the dropout rate for the second-generation students, who're two, is 6%; and the dropout rate for the third-generation students, who're one, is currently 6%. It's predicted that more than 20% of second-generation children will drop out by the age of 5, and more than 25% of third-generation children will drop out in the future. We've been raising the difficulty level in stages, but we're taking it a step further for the fourth generation."
The higher the level of difficulty required of the children, the stricter the passing line will naturally become. In particular, Suzukake's curriculum is structured in such a way that the difficulty level increases drastically after the children reach the age of six—when their foundations have been solidified.
It wouldn't be surprising if the first-generation's dropout rate also increases rapidly in the future.
"In fact, how much will change by continuing to increase the difficulty level?"
"We only have three data references, but even if we compare the first and third generation's abilities at the same age, the lowest performing students increased by 11% and the highest performing students increased by 37%, respectively. This proves that the educational method proposed by Suzukake-san is connected to the improvement of human abilities."
The research so far seems to be going well.
If we continue to educate our students in the right way, we'll eventually be able to produce children who'll be incomparable to the first generation.
However, it'll take many years to achieve this.
"There have also been some significant changes. As a typical example, we've analyzed the dropout's aftermath and found that there were some problems. One is the extremely low ability to adapt to society. The reason for this is already clear—it's due to the fact that they've lived 99% of the time only in the White Room. In particular, first-generation students understood the outside world only through materials' and pictures' fragmented depictions. It'd be impossible for them to imagine and draw cityscapes in their minds. The second and third generations showed some improvement as they began to learn through the use of images, but they lacked the everyday knowledge that Japanese children should have. Vending machines, streets, shopping malls, convenience stores, and supermarkets in the city, and their lack of recognition through hands-on experience caused a great deal of discomfort to outsiders. They may remember them in words and letters, but without actual experience, a natural response is impossible."
"So? What's the solution?"
"It'd be easier if we could take them out of the White Room, or to put it more simply, to have some kind of extracurricular activity, but of course, that's not going to happen. The more people we have outside the White Room, the more we run the risk of the public knowing about the facility, and the impact that has on young children is immeasurable."
Ishida continued his explanation and pulled out a pair of large goggles. "That's where the virtual console comes in. Using VR, children will be able to travel, learn, and memorize anywhere, at home or abroad." Souya followed in agreement.
"Ishida-san's idea isn't bad. It's great that they'll be able to virtually understand the minimum common sense that they should learn. Even if it's in a virtual space, it can be imprinted as an experience by walking around in a perfectly reproduced world. The structure is the same when we go out into the outside world, so I think our adaptability will be much better than ever before."
It's a small price to pay for such a facility where you don't have to go outside.
I agreed and approved the additional budget.
"The content of the curriculum seems to be fine."
Tabuchi nodded in satisfaction, and Ishida and Souya stood up as well.
"I don't mind if we use the virtual console. You can attempt anything else you want to try. But I would like to have a different curriculum for this fourth generation."
"'Different', sir? What changes would you like me to make?"
I glanced at Suzukake, who had been sitting quietly.
"We are adopting the Beta curriculum."
I told him, and the researchers tensed up.
"...Huh? What did you... just say?"
Suzukake was probably the most surprised of all.
"I said we are going to adopt the Beta curriculum. Don't make me say it again."
Suzukake created a curriculum with 10 levels of difficulty.
Compared to third-generation students, it's natural that the curriculum will be more rigorous and thorough upon birth, but the difficulty level increases significantly after age six when the foundation's being built. Even I, who don't know much about education, judged the Beta curriculum to be unfeasible in light of the first-generation children's limitations and discarded the Beta curriculum.
"I explained to you at the time that we had created a curriculum with 10 difficulty levels, but the Beta was a different dimension that would never be reached. In effect, we considered the fifth or sixth level to be the limit of human development."
"I'm sure of that. It's impossible to even compare the second and third-generation curriculums to the Beta curriculum. The current curriculum up to the third generation isn't easy to follow, and the results aren't remarkable at all. In such a situation, bringing up the Beta curriculum would only destroy the sample material…"
"I know that it's necessary in research to increase the difficulty little by little. But it takes time to climb up the stairs a single step at a time. I would like to see the human limits this one time in the White Room. I don't care if they all drop out."
"Of all the times… with your son here?"
"My son is the one who will receive the most rigorous education. This is a great opportunity. If we can create even one success in the Beta curriculum, it will lead to future research."
"...But what kind of criticism will I get from our supporters?"
"That's why I said I would adopt the Beta curriculum for my child's generation. It's for the sake of research. Feel free to tell me, and I don't care if he dies."
Everyone, including Ishida and the others, were stunned and speechless.
"Really… Are you sure you want to?"
As a researcher, Ishida may be eccentric, but he hadn't strayed from the path of humanity.
That's why he was so aggressive with me, but he must've realized that this was my decision.
"Yeah. The next fifth-generation students will be assigned the level four curriculum that was supposed to be assigned to the fourth-generation students. The fourth generation is the only exception. We can't easily implement an inhumane curriculum when there's no future in sight."
It wouldn't be too late to change the curriculum after all the fourth-generation results are in.
"I've prepared a reasonable sample of children for this one session."
I show them the list of the children who'll be in the fourth generation, which I had kept secret up to this point.
"This is—74 in all! That's more than twice the number of kids in the third generation!"
"Almost all of them were picked up from the 'have-nots' so that they can be used and discarded."
The Ohba group and the black market brokers connected to them aren't cheap, but a big sample is always better than a small one. I hope these people have understood how serious I am. In reality, however, only a few of the "have-nots" are children of businessmen. They must be dreaming of great growth in a harsh environment. They took the offer without any responsibility. However, I'm not telling the researchers which of the children belong to families of businessmen. I don't want that to get involved in any way.
Suzukake, who had been listening in silence, walked up to Ishida and the others who were reluctant to join the meeting.
"I myself have come to understand many things since I started working with Ishida-san and the others. There are certain lines that one must not cross as a human being, to the point that I regret having created the Beta curriculum. I can only see the results of the collapse, but still, as long as Ayanokouji-sensei insists on doing it, we are obligated to carry it out."
"But—!"
"As Ayanokouji-sensei said, this is a special case. It's also a great opportunity for me to reject the reckless curriculum that I myself have created."
Suzukake has grown up a lot over the past few years as he continues to be a leader.
They constantly clash with each other over the content of their research, but in the end, Ishida and the others nod their heads in agreement, acknowledging Suzukake's enthusiasm and determination.
"It's my responsibility to be the one heartbroken, and I'll be thoroughly involved in the education of the fourth-generation students." As a representative of the White Room, I should be there to witness the results myself.
"...I understand what you're saying. Of course, I will follow your instructions. But first, may I make a suggestion on how to deal with the dropouts?"
"What do you mean?"
"To be clear, the dropped-out children's abilities far exceed those of ordinary people. I'd say that's a good accomplishment. It's too good to throw away…"
"At what success level are you talking? Do you think our goal is to get into a top university or to win some random competition?"
"No, that's not–"
"That's fine on the surface. But the real purpose is completely different. To protect this country from the world, to make this country strong, and to create people who have the power to run this country."
There's no way to create mere honor students who can succeed when sent over to politics.
What's needed is the ability to outperform others.
A person with an unyielding, unshakable will of steel.
Only those described by others as monsters can make a breakthrough in this current corrupt political world.
"The well-known dropouts are carefully cared for and returned to their parents. As long as they have extraordinary abilities, they will be somewhat satisfied."
"...And what about the nameless children?"
"As planned, send them to the facility we've set up and let them run wild. Of course, they'll be trained not to talk about the White Room."
"However, it will be very difficult for them to become independent and integrate into society."
"So what? We educated them. They may have problems, but they're still better than their peers. They have every chance to rise above them. Do you have a problem with that?"
Tabuchi is the only researcher who strongly believes in the general idea, and he is the only one who is resistant to it.
That's why we have to give him a firm warning.
"Shut up and follow my orders. If someone disobeys my orders, I will cut them off without mercy, even if it's you. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir. Excuse me, sir."
A cell phone rang. It was Sakayanagi.
"I'm going to be out of the office for a while… We'll continue our discussion, including how to address the Beta curriculum."
I went out into the hallway and answered the phone as the door closed behind me.
"Ayanokouji-sensei…"
"What's wrong, Sakayanagi? You seem very gloomy."
"I didn't want to contact you like this, but I heard that your son's been born"
"Oh, I'm sorry I haven't been in touch. Things have been a little hectic."
"...Are you sure you're okay with this? Your long-awaited son?"
"This is what I had in mind when I decided to create the White Room. I don't think that a man who educates abandoned babies can have a proper family."
"But that's a bit of a leap, isn't it? The babies in the facility come from unfortunate backgrounds, having been abandoned. They are rather happy to be able to grow up in the White Room without any problems. But your son's different. He deserves the love of his father and mother."
"I've already made my decision."
On the other end of the line, Sakayanagi gasped.
"I'm sorry to do this over the phone, but I have one thing to ask of you."
"A proposal…?"
"You're going to have a baby soon. I'm ready to accept your child if you need me to."
"I'm not as strong as you. I can't be as strong as you. For the sake of our unborn child, my wife and I will raise it with all the love we can muster."
"I see. I knew you would say that."
If it's Sakayanagi, an excellent child with a legitimate education will be raised.
Will that be one of the achievements that I personally look forward to?
■■■
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