Getting one person to fall in love with another was somewhat difficult, because everyone had different standards for what "love" meant.
Some people thought that as long as the other person was of the opposite sex and alive, that was enough.
But others had all kinds of harsh conditions, with requirements for details so exact that every finger had its own standard.
But hating someone was much simpler.
All it took was for someone to say a few nasty things, especially when the person being hated had no direct connection to one's own interests. In that case, the effect of badmouthing was especially obvious.
Once someone's first impression had been ruined, people found it difficult to like that person—or group—again.
Pelius's family had not made no attempt to suppress public opinion. They had tried, but the results were far from obvious.
"We can't just do nothing!"
The situation had clearly gone beyond what Pelius and his family had imagined. As more victimized girls stepped forward, the military's reputation had begun to collapse.
Large numbers of protesters had also appeared outside some military offices.
They held up signs bearing slogans such as "Bring the perpetrators to justice," shouting and cursing toward the military bases.
The more the military ignored the matter, the more society's restlessness accumulated. Everyone knew this matter had to have an outcome.
But producing that outcome was not so easy.
Pelius's office was already packed with military officers. They were all his most loyal subordinates, and worry could not be hidden from any of their faces.
The military was different from the political world. People here did not conceal their emotions very much, nor did they need to.
Regardless of whether they disliked someone, as long as that person was their superior, they had to carry out his