The most attractive thing in the whole courtyard is undoubtedly the grape vine trellis in the corner. Of course, it's not just because I'm thirsty and want to have some fruits after walking for so long, but also because my intuition tells me this vine has a story. As I sit on the bench under the vine trellis, a sweet aroma with a slightly herbal smell hits my nostrils, giving me an irresistible urge to close my eyes and take a deep breath. [Hideki Akechi]Grapes are in season right now. Want to try some? [player]Can I? Hideki answers my question with his actions. He picks a bunch of grapes, washes them with water from the well, and hands them to me on a plate. The grapes are plump, with a watery figure faintly exposed under the purple skin, pretty much inviting people to eat them. I take one grape and bite it gently in my mouth. Its sweet and sour juice fills my mouth instantly as a cool feeling travels from the tip of my tongue to the bottom of my heart, banishing the summer heat from my body. [player]It's so sweet... [Hideki Akechi]My grandma personally selected this grape seedling, and she especially requested for the sweetest breed. When I was planting it later, I accidentally broke a leaf by stepping on it, which distressed grandma for a long time. [player]You planted it yourself? Wow, that's interesting all right, but it's difficult for me to imagine you sweating profusely with your sleeves rolled up as you dig holes and fill them up. [Hideki Akechi]Now that I think about it, it was really hard. I had to make more than a dozen trips back and forth just to transport the sandy loam soil. After planting it, I had to fill it up with soil and pack it tight myself... However, the only thing on my mind was: "I'm about to have my own grape vine", so I didn't care about how tired I was physically. [Hideki Akechi]If I knew at that time that this vine would become a place to get shade as well as a stage of horror, maybe I wouldn't have been so eager. [player]Stage? Grape vines? It's very misleading if you only say half of your sentence like this... [Hideki Akechi]To be precise, it was my grandma's exclusive stage. The branches and leaves of the grape vines all reach out for the sun, forming a patch of green shade over the bench. Hideki sits down beside me, and the light shining through gaps leaves mottled dots on his clothes. [Hideki Akechi]During the day, this vine is a hero who holds an umbrella to block the sun. When the sun sets, it shows us another side of itself. [Hideki Akechi]The branches and leaves prevent moonlight from pouring in, making this part of the bench darker than everywhere else. When the evening breeze blows, the whole grape trellis will make a rustling sound, as if something is hiding behind your back... [Hideki Akechi]Grandma loves to tell me ghost stories in an environment like that. For example, the tale of the little girl in the red suspender dress, the 13th step that suddenly appears, the rattling sound beside the railway, the woman wearing a huge mask who suddenly appears after school... [player]And then she will take off her mask and ask you: "Am I beautiful"? I've heard that story. She'll try to kill you no matter what you say. I was troubled by this for a long time. [Hideki Akechi]Haha, yes. You can laugh at me if you want, but after hearing this ghost story, I found an excuse to make our butler, Mr. Ayame, drop me off and pick me up for a whole semester. [player]Haha! Does this count as childhood trauma that your grandma inadvertently gave you? Did she know about it? [Hideki Akechi]It wasn't really inadvertent. That was basically grandma's goal. [player]Huh? [Hideki Akechi]Because of my father's influence, I am used to keeping everyone at a "safe distance" from me to prevent them from knowing what I really think. I was also like that with my family. [Hideki Akechi]But grandma disagreed with that. She believed that the whole family is the backup of every member in it, so everyone should be close to each other. [player]Which means your grandma told you a ghost story on purpose to make you ask for help? [Hideki Akechi]Yes, you're absolutely correct. Grandma would also deliberately scare me occasionally. I guess this counts as one of her... bad habits. [player]What did she do...? [Hideki Akechi]Oh, I've been meaning to ask you. Where did you buy the doll on your shoulder? [player]...What doll? Hideki suddenly mentions something completely irrelevant to what we were talking about. I stare at my empty shoulders for a while before realizing... Is it possible that he saw something supernatural?! While I'm thinking this, a cold gust of wind blows by my ear, making my hairs stand on end. Frightened, I move to the other side and grab Hideki's sleeve. [Hideki Akechi]Things like that. [player]...STOP RIGHT THERE! I don't want to have any nightmares tonight! [Hideki Akechi]PLAYER, you can lean on me. I'm most willing to lend you my shoulder. [player]Is this how your grandma used to comfort you? [Hideki Akechi]Grandma likes how I held her hand tightly when I was afraid. She said that's how a child should act, and that they should crawl into the arms of adults when they are afraid. So, although I was no longer frightened by ghost stories when I started high school, I still occasionally pretended to be scared to cheer her up. [Hideki Akechi]It's been a long time since I've sat and chatted with anyone under the grape vines like this since grandma passed away. Thank you for agreeing to come. Now that I think about it, since I met you, I seem to have done many things I never thought I would do. [Hideki Akechi]But I don't dislike that and even find myself hoping for these things to happen sometimes. For example, when you moved towards me without hesitating just now, I suddenly figured out that I want to see more sides of you and show you more sides of me, Hideki Akechi. Hideki holds my hand and looks at me. [Hideki Akechi]If it's possible, please let me be someone you can rely on. [player]I... [Hideki Akechi]You don't have to answer me so soon. I just want to tell you how I feel. Please don't let this weigh on your heart. The flowers blooming in the morning sun swing their petals, and a breeze picks up in the peaceful courtyard, making the grapevines rustle, as if they have answered for me. Hideki smiles with his eyes and extends an invitation to me again. [Hideki Akechi]This fragrance... Do you want to try some pagoda tree flower cakes? [player]Aha, it's rare for you to change the subject so abruptly, Hideki, so... what exactly is this pagoda tree flower cake? [Hideki Akechi]In short, it's a dessert made out of flowers. [Hideki Akechi]According to folklore, if you plant a pagoda tree in front of your door, wealth will come naturally. Almost every household in this old town will plant a pagoda tree outside their door, so the courtyard is filled with the fragrance of its flowers every summer when the flowers bloom. Adults will pick the flowers and make them into desserts, and some gluttonous children would even secretly pick the flowers and eat them directly. [player]Elders like your grandma should believe quite strongly in folklore and feng shui. So there must be pagoda trees planted here too, right? [Hideki Akechi]Yes, there's one outside the courtyard door. Do you want to take a look? [player]Of course. I also want to have a good taste of these pagoda tree flowers. [Hideki Akechi]I'll pick some extra flowers for you then, but remember to wash them thoroughly before eating them. [player]Got it! Hideki insists on taking care of the physical flower picking activity, which gives me a lot of free time to look at this tree that "was transplanted here since the Akechi family bought this old home and has witnessed all the history of the Akechi family." It really is... a massive pagoda tree. According to my visual inspection, not even two people are enough to fully hug its trunk. Being in such close contact with the tree makes me feel that I have been infused with the rich fragrance of the pagoda tree. [player]Hmm? There seems to be some pattern carved here. A familiar badge mark on the trunk catches my attention. If I remember correctly, this is a magical seal that appears when a hero and a heroine sign a contract in a classic manga many years ago. Counting back the years since this manga was released with my fingers, I come to the conclusion that the only person who could have carved this mark on the trunk is Hideki. [Hideki Akechi]You're really observant. Even I've forgotten about this. I think I did this when I was in elementary school to record a buried secret. [player]Is it similar to how the protagonist of the manga writes a letter and puts it inside a tree hole so he can take it out and give it to his crush when he grows up? Secrets are seldom delivered accurately. This type of plot usually belongs to the deeply affectionate deuteragonist. [Hideki Akechi]I did get the idea to bury a letter for myself from the manga, but it has nothing to do with a crush. Come to think of it... it's been almost ten years since I buried this secret. [player]"Ten years has passed! Let's welcome the return of the Dragon King!" According to how the manga goes, everything will be revealed now. [Hideki Akechi]Haha, you do make some sense. Let's get moving then. Thanks to Hideki's proactiveness, we dig down vertically along the marks on the trunk and soon find a slightly rusty iron box. He reaches out to brush off the dirt on the iron box and keeps rubbing its corners like he is hesitating about something. [player]Should I give you some privacy? [Hideki Akechi]That's not it. I'm willing to share everything about me with you. It's just that this letter... I was ten years old at that time, and I had a massive argument with my father. I was very emotional when I wrote this letter and write many of my negative and extreme thoughts in it. [Hideki Akechi]Now that I think about it, even I think those conflicts are insignificant, but they put tremendous pressure on me when I was just ten. Hideki has always shown everyone his capable side and rarely reveals his fragile and confused emotions. I take a step forward and stand opposite him. [player]Whatever is written in that letter, it is part of the past that you can't change. What's important in life is the present and the future. [player]Our predecessors teach us to use history as a mirror to learn what we've gained or lost. If you treat the letter of the past you're holding as a mirror, maybe you'll have a better idea of what you really want. [player]After all, the Hideki Akechi I know isn't someone who runs away from things. Chirp A sparrow flies over suddenly and finishes my sentence. Hideki's eyes are surprisingly bright as he gently opens the box that has been buried for many years. To our surprise, the letter inside the box isn't the letter of resentment and anger he wrote as a child. [player]"To my grandson Hideki, if you see this, I hope you think of me and smile." Huh...? [Hideki Akechi]This is... a letter grandma wrote to me. I woke up in the middle of the night and discovered your little secret by accident. I swapped your letter without your permission. Although I don't know if you'll come back for it in the future, I still want to say sorry to you. Hideki, are you now a junior high school student, high school student, university student, or have you already started working? Have you found someone you like yet, or are you still always alone? Haha, don't be shy. You know grandma won't make fun of you. Actually, none of those questions are what I care about the most. What I really want to ask you is: are you living happily now? Happily. Yes, that's the word. Whether you're an ordinary person or the future successor of the Akechi family, your happiness should be the only criteria that you base all your decisions and actions on. Grandma hopes that you are opening this letter in a happy and cheerful situation. That's my only expectation for you. —Your grandma who loves you forever. This short letter contains all the expectations of an elder for her grandson, and it is surprisingly concise. Through the gentle and neat handwriting, I feel like I can see the kind old woman who is sitting in front of a table worrying about her grandson late at night. [Hideki Akechi]Since I was a child, my father taught me that I need to grow up to become a good politician and shoulder the responsibility of the entire Akechi family. He arranged a lot of homework for me, which took up almost all my time, to ensure I would be an outstanding successor to him. [Hideki Akechi]But I'm not a robot who can accept and follow all his instructions perfectly. The more pressure he put on me, the more I wanted to resist... [Hideki Akechi]Although I ran for the position of president of the middle school student council and the president of the mahjong club, deep in my heart, I have always been rejecting matters related to them because I feel that my personal success reflects the success of my father's education. [player]But you're so suitable for these roles, don't you think? [Hideki Akechi]Yes, so I tried to ignore that feeling and the joy in my heart. When I did this, I felt happy and at ease. [Hideki Akechi]I never wanted anyone to discover that, especially my father, but it seems like it isn't important anymore. Hideki folds his grandma's letter again and stores it carefully in his bosom. [Hideki Akechi]The letter lets me know that I have always been loved by many people too. My life belongs to me. I don't live for my father's or my grandma's expectations. [Hideki Akechi]I shouldn't be swayed by other people's opinions and perceptions because I am irreplaceable in my own life. If I am to answer grandma's question now, I think... I am happy, and I will choose a life that makes me happy in the future. [player]I'm sure your grandma will be happy if she could hear you say that. [Hideki Akechi]Thank you... I'm sure she'll be even happier if she knows that I brought you here to our family home because this directly answers another question she asked in her letter. [player]...Eh?! The sun hides behind the clouds, creating the most suitable atmosphere for the moment. Hideki walks up to me and raises his hand to take a petal that has fallen on his head. [Hideki Akechi]In the future, can I invite you to come here with me often? [player]Yes... We can't disappoint our elders, right?
