Soil 12

Soil, Volume 2, Chapter 12 (pp. 113~136)


<113>
[sign]Soil New Town Council Assembly Hall


<115>
=Uhh... Hello, citizens of "Soil New Town..."

=We'd like to thank everyone for agreeing to come to the station today, and...


<116>
=Hey! Mr. Katakuri!

=What's the meaning of this!? Why are we all crammed in here!?
=What do you want from us!?

=And during a funeral, too. How disrespectful...
=The entire town was watching us!
=That's right! Our children were there, too!

=This is tyrannical!
=Are the police allowed to do anything they want!?
=Well... You did agree to come with us, so...

=We know!
=That's why we're here!


<117>
=Besides, if we refused, who knows what people would say behind our backs...
=Yes...

=That's exactly what we were going for.
=Stoooopid.

=You guys won't stop bitching around, so we're gonna take care of you all at once!
=Just be grateful that you didn't get handcuffed!

=So uhhh... We have a separate room...
=Where we'll be hearing from each of you individually...


<118>
"Business"

=Right.
=Any explanations?


<119>
=Like, "That's my evil twin sister," or something.

=This puts you on the suspect list for sure, doesn't it...
=SMIRK SMIRK

=CLICK
=You better fess up to everything you did. Tell us everything you know.
=Want me to go write up the warrant for your arrest right now?

=Mr. Yokoi's really on a roll today, huh?
=He loves nagging and forcing people to confess like this.

=Excuse me, sir!


<120>
=Umm, I just got a message from Detective Tamura,
=They found a large number of boxes stored in the assembly hall...

=All of them...
=Contained "salt..."

=S-
="Salt...?"
=TZZ~

=Yes... Rough crystals of it...
[x2]=DIG


<121>
=Most likely to be "rock salt..."
[x2]=DIG
=Hey, Mr. Tamura!
=Stop digging your finger in like that!

=Oh my.
="Rock salt?"

=Yes.
=I add just a tiny bit when I water my flowers.


<122>
=Ooh, it's salty!
=The minerals and iron content brighten up the flowers.
=You can use it for cooking, too.

=Now that explains it. Your flowers just look completely different.
=Do you import it on your own?
=This is so good to know.

=Must be a secret! A secret for professional floral designers!
=I just have a smattering of knowledge from when I was single.

=I can share some if you'd like?
=Oh, really?
=Thank you!


<123>
=It all started with Ms. Noriko Suzushiro...
=At the flower arrangement class...

=I-I-I-I-It's "salt," sir!
="R-R-R-R-R-Rock salt!"
=T-T-T-This will finally clear up everything...!
=Your noise is bleeding, Onoda.

=The "rock salt" really did make the flowers bloom beautifully...
=Everyone began talking about it...

=So the town council came up with the idea...
=Of turning it into a "business..."

="Business...?"


<124>
=What if we make it a membership system?

=We each recommend this "rock salt" to our friends,
=And we get an introduction fee if they buy it.
=Then that person goes and shows it to their friends.
[x2]=SQUEAK

=Any housewife would be interested in a side business.
=That's true.
=It would distribute the profits more evenly than just selling it from the town council.

=How about it, Mr. Council President?


<125>
=Just a little extra allowance in our pockets.
=Yes, like a club activity.

=It will make everyone in the town just a little bit richer.
=And it adds some fun in our daily lives,
=Right?

=...Sure, all the development projects for "Soil" have been suspended...
=And we've had to cancel all 'em plans to invite businesses into the town...

=Seems like... The town just ain't as happy as it used to be...

=I tried plantin' flowers thinkin'...
=Let's at least keep our minds nice an' rich, but...

=Yeah.


<126>
=If it makes the townspeople and the flowers happy.

=Let's ask Mrs. Suzushiro for the supplier's number right away...!
=Everyone's going to be so excited!

=Yep, I've got nothing to worry about.
=I trust the people of this town.

=Hmph.
=Multi-level marketing, huh.

=...We didn't think of it that way at first...
=It really was just a little game for some extra allowance...


<127>
=But when the membership increased, the profits also shot up...
=And everyone just started getting a little greedy...

=We stocked up huge amounts of the "rock salt..."

=And stepped up the sales efforts to try and get back our investment...

=Before anyone knew it, this whole chain reaction occurred...
=And the town council lost control of the whole situation...


<128>
=By the time every flower in the town had blossomed beautifully...
=Meaning, by the time the "business" had spread all across "Soil..."

=Everything collapsed...


<129>
[x3]=RUB

=...Ultimately, we were left with huge amounts of excess stock...
[x3]=RUB
=And nearly all the citizens had lost money...

[x3]=RUB
=...It wasn't just about the money...
=The worst part was...

=All the relationships in the town were torn apart...

=In just a matter of months...


<130>
=So? Then what?
[x3]=SNIFF
=You went back and blamed the Suzushiros for starting the whole thing?

=...We knew we were blaming the wrong people...
=After all, Mrs. Suzushiro had only introduced us to the supplier. She didn't take part in the "business" at all...

=But I guess...
=We just had to find a way to get rid of our irritation...

=Hoo—Man! These "ordinary people,"//They sure are freaky huh, Onoda!?
[x2]=SNIFF SNIFF

=Bu-B-B-But, all that just to get some payback...?
=W-W-Weren't there other reasons...?

=No...
=That was really all it was...


<131>
=Well...
=Except...

=Maybe it was...
=The way the couple reacted...

=Reacted...?

=It was so strange...
=We couldn't figure it out...


<132>
[x2]=UCK
=ECK

=WAHH...
=UCK... UCK...

=WEHHH...
=EHHH...
=UCK...

=WAHHHHHH
=AHHHHHHH

=HICK... HICK...
=ECK... WEHH...


<133>
[x3]=ZRICK

=Kento...?

=GRAB


<134>
=HOO HOO!
=MM!!
=MMM!!

=HEE HOHO!
=ZZ
=ZZT
=HOO! HOO!
=MMM!!
=MM!!

=HOO HOO
[x2]=MM!!
=HEE HEE


<135>
=EE...!


<136>
[x2]=EE...!

=EE...!
=EEE...!
=EEEEK...!

=EE!
[x2]=ICK!