第５２３堀：いつかこの手紙を読む君たちへ (Part2)
"Ah, sorry. I didn't explain myself well. A fellow countryman of mine is resting at the Kamishiro Ducal House. A letter mentioned that they held a cherry blossom viewing party by surrounding the trees."
*“...You should have said that sooner. You’re making me look like the mean one.”*
"My bad, my bad. I was just a bit flustered myself."
*“In that case, I’ll prepare some sake and other things. I’ll send them over once the Gate is connected.”*
"Thanks."
*“And... did that person have any grudges?”*
"They said their days here were a mix of joy and hardship. But, all in all, they said it wasn't a bad life."
*“...I see. That’s at least some small comfort. Honestly, why are all the people in that world such blockheads? *Sigh*... I’ll visit the grave myself later, but for today, Yuki and Taiki, you two handle the hosting. I’ll send Taizo over as well.”*
With that decided, the conversion of the underground shrine into a dungeon began at a rapid pace.
"Hey. Where do you think the best spot for the cherry blossoms would be?"
*“Hmm. Looking at this diagram, here, here, and here.”*
"Looking at it like this, this shrine looks exactly like the one at Souta-san's family home, doesn't it?"
*“Indeed. And the reason it’s unnecessarily spacious is because he wanted to plant cherry blossoms there. And that spot over there was Souta’s favorite place. Though, sleeping on top of the tree was a bit sacrilegious.”*
The Water Dragon turned its gaze toward a spot where a lone stone monument stood.
"That is where the first generation... no, where my Kamishiro family rests for generations," the Duke said, and Kagura approached the grave to begin cleaning it.
"Yuki-saaan!! I brought the sake!!"
"Yuki!! Wait, whoa!? Is this really a shrine!?"
Taiki and Taizo arrived from behind the main hall of the shrine, carrying various items. Since setting up a dungeon only takes the press of a button, the rest was just logistics. I had left that to Steve and the others, and we had been preparing for the viewing party. Now, everything was ready.
"Alright, everyone, gather 'round."
Once I confirmed everyone was present...
"Here we go."
I pressed the button.
In an instant, flowers bloomed all around us. Full-bloomed cherry blossoms.
"............This is... Sakura."
"......Beautiful."
*“Oh... ohhhhh...”*
The Kamishiro family stood there, stunned. Then, a breeze blew, sending the petals dancing through the air in a flurry of pink snow.
"..."
The three of them stood speechless, staring at the scene before them. In the meantime, we spread out sheets beside the gravestone, under the large cherry tree, and laid out the food.
"It is... truly magnificent, but am I allowed to participate?"
Catherine looked incredibly hesitant. Well, she had been feeling like an outsider until now. But it’s a cherry blossom viewing—there’s no such thing as an outcast here.
"Lady Catherine. Please, don't worry about it."
"Eh? Um, who might you be?"
"Ah, my apologies for the late introduction. I am Taiki’s uncle, Taizo. I get along well with Yuki here, too. It seems you’ve taken good care of them."
"N-no!? Not at all!? Thanks to Yuki-sama, Baide was saved!!"
"Haha, well, let’s skip the stiff formalities. A cherry blossom viewing is for anyone who finds these flowers beautiful."
"I-I see."
"Well, you’ll get used to it. Now, Yuki, shall we have those three join us?"
Taizo-san looked with a wry smile at the three—or rather, two people and one dragon—who were standing there frozen.
"Hey!! We’re starting the viewing!!"
"Ah!? My apologies for leaving the preparations to you. Kagura, let’s help!"
"Y-yes!"
*“...A nostalgic sight. And you even have refined sake. Well, as expected of an emissary of Amaterasu Omikami.”*
Stop it. Please stop calling me by that name that makes that useless goddess sound so impressive. It makes me, her errand boy, sound like I hold some kind of honorary position. It’s basically a form of identity fraud, after all.
As I was feeling that subtle discomfort, Taizo-san handed a bottle of sake to the Water Dragon.
"Water Dragon-dono. It is your role to let him have a drink, isn't it?"
*“...My thanks.”*
The Water Dragon accepted the sake and floated in front of the grave.
*“To think we could have a viewing like this. Souta, drink to your heart’s content today. You used to only steal sips of your father’s sake or the offerings, but you don’t have to worry about that today.”*
Saying that, it poured the sake over the grave.
*“Is it good? Don’t drink it all by yourself. Make sure to share some with your family—some sake from home.”*
When the bottle was empty, it placed it beside the grave.
*“Now, let us drink as well. To this wonderful meeting today, and to the cherry blossoms... Cheers!!”*
"Cheers!!"
The rowdy celebration continued late into the night, and due to the resulting hangovers, our departure was pushed to the day after tomorrow.
Well, I suppose that’s a good enough reason.
You always get curious about what happens in the next chapter of a manga, don't you!!
It’s late April, but I decided to bring in some cherry blossom content. It’s a certain kind of wish for us Japanese people, isn't it? Like this, Souta was finally able to see the cherry blossoms.