Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner Chapter 102 - 24: Seeking Nothing

"When I grow up, I want to be invincible."

This was the declaration of ambition made by Sazaki Gen at the age of seven.

Sister Toyama did not object, because the dreams of other children were even more juvenile: "I want to be a Gundam pilot," "I want to be Ultraman," "I want to develop a potion that prevents pretty girls from pooping," "I want to be Sister Toyama’s groom"... all impractical fantasies.

Toyama Kinn patiently explained to them: "Gundams don’t exist, but pilots are just as handso as Gundam pilots," "Ultraman is a special effects show, and the directors who make these shows are even more impressive," "I’ve confiscated the weird H-books in your room," "By the ti you grow up, I’ll be an old lady"...

In the end, she smiled gently and said, "Everyone is like a rough gem, and in the future, you’ll surely beco talents useful to society."

She always taught the children this way. The welfare institute exists because of the love and care of society. She hoped that when the children beco adults, they would help others within their abilities, spread love, and give back to society...

"I refuse."

Sazaki Gen thought everyone was ridiculous. How could nearsighted people beco pilots? How could a colorblind person beco a director? A guy who reads H-books every day dreams of becoming a scientist? By the ti he grows up, Sister Toyama would have reached nopause!

Once you have desires, you have weaknesses.

Sister Toyama was the sa, yearning for intangibles, realizing her life’s value through caring for children.

He voiced his thoughts in public and also disclosed the hiding place of another little yellow book, drawing angry glares. That night, he was covered with a blanket and beaten by the children, leaving him bruised and swollen.

He cried and complained to Sister Toyama, who reprimanded the children, and from then on, everyone started ostracizing Sazaki Gen.

"That guy is a weirdo, always likes to point out people’s shortcomings."

Not only the children but even adults thought so. The caregivers at the welfare institute didn’t like Sazaki Gen because he pointed out their unhappy marriages, mortgage pressures, and the pain of losing a child early.

Sazaki Gen wasn’t doing it for any reason, he just liked to say what he saw, and at the age of seven or eight, he was already that annoying.

In his early years, he often fantasized that his life was a TV drama, where everyone was an actor, and there was a hidden cara when he wasn’t watching. As the sun set, kicking stones and standing alone in the yard, the viewers in front of the television would hear a voiceover: "Sazaki Gen was born lonely. This talent is both a gift from the heavens and a curse from a Demon"...

Sazaki Gen didn’t mind. When the day cos that he doesn’t need to ask for help from anyone, he will be invincible. No one can threaten him using his weaknesses, and no one can make him do things he doesn’t want to do.

Exchanging loneliness for freedom was a bargain for him.

"Gen, you’re very talented; you might beco a good police officer and spot the weaknesses of bad guys,"

After comforting him, Toyama Kinn seriously taught, "To be useful to society is the only way to find a place within it."

Sazaki Gen sneered at the second sentence but took the first one to heart. After reaching adulthood, he attended the civil service exam and successfully entered the police academy.

On graduation day, the Mobile Team ca for a special recruitnt, and senior officials from the Police Departnt ca to inspect. The instructor called him into the office and asked how many cadets he saw on the way. Sazaki Gen unhesitatingly said four: one greedy, one lustful, one who admired strength, and one who was a fool.

The instructor was pleased and asked if he wanted to be an undercover agent. Sazaki Gen naturally said no, even when the superior officer moved him emotionally and explained the benefits, promising at least a promotion to Inspector after the undercover mission, he was unwavering. He said he didn’t want to because he genuinely didn’t want to.

As long as he had no weaknesses, no one could force him to do what he didn’t want to do.

The more stubborn he was, the more the senior officials of the Police Departnt valued him. A person who wasn’t moved by external things was rarer than a giant panda.

Kaga Keido personally persuaded him: "The economy is getting worse, and that welfare facility will soon close. Sazaki, you wouldn’t want your younger brothers and sisters to be out on the street, right? And the Far Mountain Caregiver, at her age, if she loses her job, she might go bankrupt. The insurance, pension, and dical fees would all stop..."

Sazaki Gen fell silent.

He thought to himself that this was the last ti, the last ti he would ask for help from anyone. Once he finished this task and repaid the welfare institute’s kindness, he’d owe nothing, and his only remaining weakness would be severed.

After being expelled from the police academy, Sazaki Gen joined the Inakawa Association. He dressed in a flamboyant suit and tattooed the characters for loyalty and righteousness on his body, specializing in collecting high-interest loans.

Using his sharp mind, he quickly rose to a middle managent position in the branch, helping with accounts and lending.

On a regular afternoon, while doing bookkeeping at the company, a custor ca in for a loan. A junior led the person in, he greeted casually, and upon looking up, he saw a familiar face—the classmate who loved hiding H-books, now having found true love, planning to marry and wanted a loan for a down paynt and wedding expenses.

Gen called him an idiot, reminded him that he said it before: reading porn all day led to no future? Now he wanted to sacrifice his future for a woman, creating his own weakness, how stupid could he be!

He didn’t lend him a single cent and kicked him out.

After so ti, another acquaintance ca. This person had heard Sazaki Gen was in the Inakawa Association managing loans, so he asked for a favor. He claid to be making a movie that would be a box office hit as soon as it was released, but an investor pulled out midway, so he wanted to borrow money to finish it.

Gen watched the half-finished product, a sloppy black-and-white film with n in costus fighting, the plot was garbage. So he repeated what he’d said as a child and drove him away.

Next, three or four more people approached him for high-interest loans. After leaving the welfare ho, they all lived poorly, being orphans without connections or background during Japan’s economic collapse. Competing with illegal immigrants for labor work was tough—they worked just for als, securing a partner ant making it in life.

Gen beca more steadfast in his belief that only those without desires could survive in a world where the strong prey on the weak.

Until one day, Toyama Kinn ca to him, asking for a favor.

She was truly old now, her previously pretty face lined with wrinkles, and her once black and shiny hair turned gray by ti. He heard she always worked at the welfare institute, never dated, never married.

"Yuuta is dead... beaten to death by debt collectors... Akira disappeared, turns out that woman was a marriage scamr... and Yutahito, Yousuke... they’ve also..."

Toyama Kinn sat before him, covering her face and crying, "The welfare institute has been harassed by Yakuza wanting to buy the land cheaply... I tried, but reporting to the police didn’t help... I’m begging you... Gen, for the first ti in all these years, I’m asking you... make them stop, don’t lend money to the kids anymore."

It took Sazaki Gen twenty-seven years to forge himself into an impenetrable rock. But on that night, in front of that frail old woman, he realized he was filled with vulnerabilities.