"Here, Lin, this is for you."
The owner of the store where Zero worked handed him a bottle of soda. Zero, who was tidying up and preparing to end his shift, glanced at it but didn't take it.
"Haha, it won't be deducted from your wages. My treat." The owner laughed heartily and forced the drink into his hand.
"..." Zero was in charge of the front-desk checkout, so he immediately noticed that this bottle of soda was one of the most expensive drinks available.
"When you applied for the job, I asked about your family situation, and you told me you were an orphan, right?" The owner also opened a bottle of soda. In his store, employees could drink whatever they wanted. He was warm, straightforward, generous, treated his employees well, and had good people skills. "If you have any difficulties, just tell me. I also had a hard time when I was young, so I know it's not easy for you."
"I'm fine."
"Haha, don't lie to me. Toughing it out isn't what a good kid does. I really like you, kid. You're capable and honest. It's alright; you can come to me for advice anytime."
Zero hadn't lied to the owner. Zero worked several jobs. His physical and mental stamina allowed him to manage multiple jobs perfectly. He had no financial difficulties and his life was orderly.
However, the habit of people believing what they want to believe was a common thing.
"You know, society is getting more and more technologically advanced. I can barely keep up with you young people." The owner started chatting while Zero was organizing. He was a chatterbox, and a silent listener was his best companion. "But people are getting further and further apart. There's more scheming and distrust. Back in the day, there weren't so many 'fake beggars' and 'insurance scammers.' People are getting smarter, but they're getting worse."
"As someone older, let me warn a young man like you who hasn't seen much of the world yet: people are very complicated. Always thinking of a person as simply good or bad will cause you a lot of trouble."
"And people always follow the crowd. Which side of a person, good or bad, is revealed depends on the environment they're in. So, being a purely good person or a purely bad person is much harder than being an ordinary person."
"It's okay to have some bad thoughts occasionally, but before you do something irreversible, I hope you can listen to the voice coming from your heart."
The owner smiled broadly, looked at his watch, and quickly stood up: "Ah, look at the time. No more talking, no more talking. My wife and daughter are waiting for me to go home for dinner. Remember to lock up, Lin."
"Okay."
"Let's chat more tomorrow. I have plenty of life experience to share with you."
Good people and bad people, huh?
Zero didn't actually distinguish people in such a simple and crude way, but the owner did provide him with a framework. The two noisy voices in his head finally quieted down a bit.
He often pondered what he should do.
At such times, one consciousness would often tell him to simply love humanity unconditionally. They were his compatriots, and he should believe in the light deep within their hearts. The other consciousness wouldn't stop this one; it would only occasionally emerge.
He had once possessed a happy life and family, so there was no need to experience tragedy again.
But a certain voice deep inside whispered, asking Zero if he truly knew what humanity was like.
The prerequisite for loving something is knowing the essence of that thing.
So Zero restrained himself from "loving" humanity. Perhaps being an observer was the best choice.
"Ding-dong~"
It was time for work again.
Zero picked up his shoulder bag. Without looking at anyone else, he walked out of the classroom. There weren't many places willing to hire an underage person, and even though his funds were somewhat sufficient, he had to be prepared for unemployment.
"Wooo—"
An ear-piercing siren wailed past. Zero looked coldly as the police car disappeared ahead.
Did something happen?
The direction the police car was heading was the same as the store where he worked. This gave Zero a feeling of unease. He tried calling the owner's phone, but there was no answer.
He quickened his pace, rushing toward the store.
Soon, he arrived.
In his gray-hued world, some things stood out vividly, such as...
Blood.
He stared expressionlessly at the dejected owner being escorted into the police car, the corpse on the ground, and the fruit knife plunged into the corpse.
...
"...Why did you come to see me?"
The owner lowered his head, unsure whether he was afraid to look at the child before him or simply didn't want to.
"As you can see, I killed someone. It's ridiculous, isn't it, looking like this?" He gripped his hair, then let it fall limply. "I just told you so many grand theories, and here I am, becoming the negative example so quickly... Heh heh, anyway, don't follow my example. Go back."
But Zero, his face expressionless beneath his mask, asked in a detached, cold voice: "Boss, why did you kill him?"
"...Why? Of course, because he was a scumbag! He once tried to take advantage of my daughter. That day, he tried to steal something from my store. When I caught him, he tried to stab me with a knife! I just accidentally stabbed him!"
This was the first time Zero had seen the owner in such a hysterical state. He was supposed to be a gentle middle-aged man.
"So... was he a bad person?"
"Of course, he was a bad person! Am I a bad person? I hired you when you had nowhere to go. I'm so good to everyone. I even wanted to give that guy a chance to repent, wanted to let him drop the knife and leave, but what did I get in return?"
"That's why I told you that society has deteriorated! Why should I be locked up here for killing a bad person? I have a daughter and a wife. I have so many people who love me. Can you understand that?"
Zero shook his head silently.
People who love him...?
Zero had always been alone, so he couldn't understand the meaning of the owner's words, "people who love me."
He only knew one thing.
"But Boss, you made a mistake."
"..."
"The moment you killed someone, you also became a bad person. The fact that you weren't ruled as justifiable self-defense or excessive self-defense means that you intended to kill him directly at that moment, not 'accidentally' as you claimed."
"..."
The owner's eyes froze for a moment, then turned cold.
A coldness that Zero was familiar with, one he had seen in the eyes of countless people.
"Boss, you have become the 'bad person' you spoke of... No, just an ordinary person, because you said people cannot be judged as just good or bad..."
"Get out."
"..."
"Get out of here!"
Zero walked out of the detention center. He looked up, and a drop of rain landed on his head.