Three Days of Happiness

minimum one can fetch for lifespan. Since you have thirty years and
three months remaining, you will be able to leave here with up to
300,000 yen.”
I laughed then not because I took her words as a joke, but because I
couldn’t help but laugh at myself when faced with such an awful
reality.
And there on the form were my results, an order of magnitude
below my expectations.
---
“Of course, this in no way indicates a universal value. This is strictly
the result that is in accordance with our standards,” the woman
said, as if justifying herself.
“I want to know more about those standards,” I said, and she gave
an annoyed sigh. She must have gotten the question hundreds,
thousands of times.
“The exact evaluation is done by a separate consulting body, so I
don’t know the specifics myself. But I’m told that factors like degree
of happiness, actualization, and contribution can greatly affect the
value. ...In short, the value is decided based upon how happy your
remaining life will be, how it will make others happy, how many
dreams are achieved in it, how much it contributes to society, and
so on.”
The sheer impartiality knocked me down yet again.
If I just wouldn’t be happy, or just wouldn’t make anyone happy, or
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