It seemed to me that this world has a serious shortage of both logic and kindness.

We never choose anything at all. Things happen. Or not.

In a sense, I'm the one who ruined me: I did it myself.

Someone once said that nothing costs more and yields less benefit than revenge,” Aomame said. “Winston Churchill. As I recall it, though, he was making excuses for the British Empire’s budget deficits. It has no moral significance.

I wasn't particularly afraid of death itself. As Shakespeare said, die this year and you don't have to die the next.

I was dying. Like all the other people who live in this world.

Even when I ran my bar I followed the same policy. A lot of customers came to the bar. If one in ten enjoyed the place and said he'd come again, that was enough. If one out of ten was a repeat customer, then the business would survive. To put it another way, it didn't matter if nine out of ten didn't like my bar. This realization lifted a weight off my shoulders. Still, I had to make sure that the one person who did like the place.