She Was Both Called God, as Well as Satan - By しまもん (Shimamon)

SWBCGAWAS c84

Chapter 84 - Volunteering for the Earthen Army

*(E/N: A fair warning, it appears that this chapter is from the POV of the focus character, not the Last Human like usual. The focus character is a girl.)

"Another failure to meet quotas... again..."

With these words, the supervisor deliberately let out a loud sigh so that his colleagues around him could hear.

"You are the only one who failed to meet the quota this month.

Aren't you ashamed?

Aren't you sorry for your peers?

...Why is that!?" (1)

The superior's glossy black hair ruffled, as he shouted at me, who was standing dazedly.

I took a deep breath, sipped some water, and sat down in my office chair.

(...Here we go...)

(I don't know if this is a sermon or a stress relieving "speech"...)

This is a recruiting station for the Earth Army here on Earth.

The Earthen Military prides itself on operating without resorting to barbaric conscription.

Under this nonsensical premise, all Earthen soldiers supposedly consist of volunteers.

...However, in reality, these "volunteers" aren't much different from conscripts...

No... Truthfully, conscription might actually be more civilized...

If I were to briefly describe the truth of the Earthen army, it is "an army made up of volunteers under duress."

This is probably the best way to describe it.

Yes, the Earthen military is supported by "forced volunteers." 

There are many inequalities that Earthlings living on this planet must endure.

These consist of not only economic barriers, but also racial barriers, ethnic barriers, and barriers on place of origin.

Particularly tragic are those with white hair who are economically impoverished.

Nowadays, the darker someone's hair color, the more privileged they are.

Conversely, the whiter their hair, the more subject they are to discrimination.

The law supposedly bars discrimination by hair color, but this is only on paper.

Dark haired folk are given preferential treatment in every aspect, including, but not limited to, education, medical care, employment, and government services.

On the other hand, white-haired people constantly suffer from discriminatory practices.

This is the unspoken truth of global society.

This is something I constantly been reminded of ever since I was born.

Nineteen years ago.

I was born to white-haired parents who were in extreme poverty.

They could not afford to have me in the hospital, so they had no choice but to ask a nurse they knew to deliver me at home.

When I was born, I heard that my parents were happy, but inwardly they must have been extremely anxious.

My father worked at a nearby military factory, but his salary was barely above minimum wage. (2)

My mother also worked part time to support our family, but a white-hair salary is very limited.