Chapter 1130. Before Sunset / Idea and Reality
「 Thank you very much 」
Halfway to the mansion, we went to Nagisa’s flower shop and picked up Mariko.
If Kaan Momoko-neechan is visiting, then we need Mariko who knows her best.
It’s close to the hotel in front of the station so Katsuko-nee came over.
「 Haiji, guard Nagisa 」
「 Yes 」
Haiji’s going to remain in the shop.
「 Nagisa-san’s in the middle of serving customers, and so I’ll tell her that you visited 」
「 Yeah, please do 」
Oh, I see her smiling and talking to the customers at the shop.
Let’s not disturb them.
「 Then, see you later 」
Katsuko-nee smiled at Haiji from the driver’s seat, then she starts the engine.
「 Haiji, she’s better than me at dealing with the customers. I was surprised 」
Mariko says as soon as she enters the car.
「 Well, that girl’s trained in various ways since childhood so there’s hardly anything she doesn’t know 」
Haiji’s raised in a red-light district in Europe, then took the short-term bodyguard course in the academy by herself, and thus, she became a bodyguard.
All that despite her age.
Even after coming to j.a.pan and becoming Mariko’s bodyguard, she’s doing business by introducing an alumnus from the academy in Europe.
She’s a girl with a nose for profit.
「 It helps that her various talents are blooming. After all, we want as many people with talents in our family as possible 」
Katsuko-nee said.
「 That’s true, our family lacks a lawyer or someone in the legal profession 」
Mariko said.
「 The lawyers of Kouzuki house is helping us for now, but it would be rea.s.suring if our family has a lawyer too 」
「 Should I look for one? All I have to do is find someone young, beautiful, and a lawyer that Kou will like, right? 」
Hey, Mariko.
「 Don’t overdo it. The society of lawyers is quite small. Lawyers have to be affiliated with a bar a.s.sociation or law firm, right? If you just look for a good-looking lawyer, then there’s the fear of discovering the secrets of our family. Most of the ma.s.s media are close to lawyers. Some of them are connected to anti-government groups too.
Katsuko-nee said.
「 Rather, it’s much better if one of you become a lawyer in the future 」
Someone among us?
「 I don’t think that’s for me 」
I’m dumb. I’ll never remember the laws.
「 Me too, I don’t think it’s suited for me. I want to do business no matter what 」
Mariko said.
「 Kana’s too flashy that she’s not suited for the legal profession. What about Megumi? 」
Megu?
「 Not Megu. She stops thinking with reason when she’s angry. She doesn’t have the nature of defeating someone in an argument with logic 」
「 Oh, that’s true 」
Mariko agreed.
「 What about Mitama-san? How about studying law? 」
This time, she talks to Mitama, but…
「 In law, it takes time to slay your opponent… 」
「 We have to use our bodies to prevent the fire from falling to our Lord 」
Mitama and Kinuka have no other interests than being a bodyguard.
「 Speaking of which, Shirahata-san did mention earlier that she wants to be a lawyer in the future, right? 」
I recalled.
「 Right, that girl is good. But, only if she doesn’t lose that dream in five years… 」
Katsuko-nee says sadly.
「 It’s going to be okay. All we have to do is support her so she doesn’t lose that dream 」
Nagisa and Katsuko-nee didn’t abandon their dreams even when they’re prost.i.tutes.
「 Right. We just have to follow her up… 」
Katsuko-nee in the rear mirror shows a small smile.
「 Uhm, if we’re looking for a lawyer, then why not make someone in the family a politician instead? 」
Mariko gave a momentous decision.
「 Fujimiya Reika-san’s quite popular throughout j.a.pan right now that if she stands as a candidate, I think that she’ll definitely win. If we ask Kouzuki-sama, I’m sure that he’ll create connections with influential political parties 」
True, that mysterious battle show of Rei-chan vs. Kyouko-san…
Kyouko-san, an internationally wanted criminal wants to do as she pleases, and Rei-chan, a commanding officer in the Kouzuki SS trying to stop her. Their special program of fighting once every three months is broadcasted, and they continue to have high TV ratings.
Yukino’s mysterious unt.i.tled TV program is like that too, but still.
Rei-chan and Kyouko-san’s fight has no connection to the business world.
Anya-san, Kyouko-san’s subordinate is also a beauty, and the Banbarubie girls also displayed some absurd fights.
They fought on top of a baseball stadium dome last time.
「 That’s Mariko-san’s misunderstanding. Kouzuki-sama may have a lot of acquaintances in his circle, but, he never displays any hints of supporting some party 」
Katsuko-nee said.
「 He can’t have a close relationship with politicians. We never go beyond a business relationship either.
「 Why? 」
Mariko asks.
「 I wonder. That’s for Mariko-san to figure out herself 」
Katsuko-nee said with a bright tone.
「 I think it’s wrong to think that if you have a politician in the family, you gain a lot of flexibility 」
I said.
「 Politicians aren’t like that. Worse, when you get involved in politics, you just drag in various troubles in your way 」
「 I wonder? 」
Mariko thinks.
「 Hey Dear, since you always have a conversation with Kouzuki-sama… 」
Katsuko-nee tells me.
「 Yeah, he always teaches me a lot of stuff… 」
Jii-chan always talks to me, saying. “Do you know about ***?”
Well, in my case, all of it is unknown to me.
「 Has Kozuki-sama talked about “Ideas”1 in one of his stories? 」
「 “Ideas?” 」
Shadow of Death? Test Drive? Alveolus? 2
「 You know, something about “doctrines.” About democracy, socialism. Something like that. The belief that “the society has to be like this.” Having the foundation of concept to change the society through politics 」
「 I don’t think I heard that one from him 」
I replied to Katsuko-nee.
「 Huh? Kouzuki-sama, what kind of ideological standpoint he has? 」
Mariko asks in surprise.
「 What’s an Ideological standpoint? 」
「 I mean, I’m asking whether he’s right or left? 」
「 His d.i.c.k? 」
Mine’s leaning to the left.
「 Stupid, I’m talking about political right and left 」
「 No, if I recall correctly, Jii-chan’s always been on the first during his student days 」
He talks about the fun he had during his university days, playing baseball with his friends several times.
「 First? What ideology is that? First doctrine? 」
「 It’s not ideology. It’s baseball 」
「 Why are we talking about baseball now?! 」
Err.
「 Okay, I’ve had enough. Kou. Katsuko-san 」
Mariko speaks to Katsuko-nee.
「 Kouzuki-sama’s the representative of a large enterprise and is the man who ties up the whole n.o.bility, and so I believe that his ideology is closer to the conservatives… 」
Katsuko-nee;
「 I don’t know anything. I mean, no one knows what ideology Kouzuki-sama supports nor his political standing 」
She smiled.
「 It’s unknown? 」
「 Yes. n.o.body ever brings that up as a topic 」
Oh.
「 Speaking of which, Jii-chan always teaches me a lot of information and he tells me something along the lines of “Actually, it’s like this,” or “The truth is, it had to be like this,” but, he never talks about how the country or the society should be based on his thoughts 」
「 Naturally. After all, think of his status 」
Katsuko-nee said while smiling wryly.
「 He can talk business with everyone in the political and business circles, but, he can never talk about his beliefs 」
「 Why? 」
Mariko asks.
「 You’ll have to think of that yourself again. If you know why then you’ll understand why our family shouldn’t approach politics either 」
Katsuko-nee replies.
「 I can understand 」
Arisu speaks.
「 My grandfather was also like that. Kurama Kaku group is mainly a hotel management group, our customers who are politicians use our place, but, we will never support any politician or party 」
「 When you support politician A, it will create a trench between the other politicians 」
「 Kurama house’s hotels and traditional inns will no longer be used 」
Arisu said. Mitama and Kinuka added.
「 Ah 」
Mariko raised her voice.
「 Kurama Kaku group has high-cla.s.s hotels and long-standing traditional inns that everyone uses, and so it should have politicians from big parties using it, but still, we have to use caution. Even within the ruling party, there are factions, and there are politicians who are supposed to be at the center of the mainstream of the largest faction that can easily lose their position 」
Katsuko-nee said.
「 Gaining an ally also means you gain an enemy. Especially with politicians, they’re fussy about that 」
「 Yes. Therefore, I believe my Late grandfather tried to avoid getting close to certain political seniors. 」
Arisu said.
「 I’m not born from n.o.bility so I hardly know much about the common sense among the n.o.bility 」
Mariko looked down.
「 No, even among the n.o.bility…my father, Mizushima house has a deep a.s.sociation with a particular political party. Not all of the n.o.bility draw the line with political groups. Mariko-oneesama, you don’t have to mind it 」
Karen consoles Mariko.
「 Although, my father was like that, and that’s why he had Kouzuki-sama’s house infiltrated, and got punished by excluding him from the n.o.bility 」
Mizushima house let Tendou Otome, an underling of the Kansai Yakuza infiltrate a party in the Kouzuki mansion…
They’re stripped of their status as n.o.bility, and Karen, their daughter, became my s.e.x slave as a punishment.
「 You know, I remember this conversation I had with Jii-chan 」
Right, Jii-chan told me this before…
「 He talked about politics and ideology once 」
If I recall…
「 Err, when was the Great Depression? 」
I asked the girls.
「 The first century of the Gregorius calendar? 」
「 Mitama-oneesama, that’s the “Great pope” 」
Mitama and Kinuka said.
「 The great depression was in 1929 」
Mariko tells me.
「 Oh, yeah. During the 1929 Great depression. Jii-chan talked about this first; Err, “Even now, n.o.body knows what’s the specific reason why the Great depression happened” 」
「 That’s not true. The cause was the dark Thursday when the Wall Street stocks plummeted 」
「 Nonono, that’s not what he’s talking about Mariko. As for why did that crash happened… 」
「 That’s…well, there were a lot of main factors. The idea that the laissez-faire economic policies of pre-Keynesian capitalism would all work out with the ‘invisible hand of G.o.d’ is supposed to have been a disaster 」
「 Mariko-san, that was an a.n.a.lysis result post-event, right? That’s not what Kouzuki-sama’s telling him 」
Katsuko-nee holds back Mariko.
「 Yeah. According to Jii-chan, the cause of the Great Depression was actually a combination of several causes on a global scale, and it is not something that can be identified in a single word. It’s messed up, complicated, and has a lot of primary causes 」
I continued.
「 But, to those who were alive at that time who were talking to each other, they make conclusions like “This is the cause,” or “It’s his fault,” or “It’s that country’s fault” 」
「 It’s the politician’s fault, the social system’s fault, an enterprise’s fault, or a nearby company’s fault, something like that 」
Katsuko-nee understood.
「 Yes, Jii-chan mentioned that in any age, it’s entertainment for the common people to say that “Something’s wrong,” or “we’re losing money because of something.” Even without knowing the cause, they say; “This is the cause, this is their fault,” and start cursing 」
「 Saying that it’s entertainment is a little harsh, but that’s very much like him. But there are certainly a lot of people who mistake complaining about a blanket statement like that as political activism. In the end, people only think that they understand, but in reality, they don’t understand anything nor have any desire to understand. They just complain about it, making a target of their frustration 」
Oh, I see.
Katsuko-nee also heard the same story from Jii-chan.
「 But that kind of ‘dissatisfaction’ can lead to revolution 」
Mariko said.
「 True. And after the revolution, everything they spearheaded as “bad” will be destroyed. Even those who actually didn’t do any harm. They just decide that it’s “bad,” and so it has to be destroyed, that’s how the ma.s.ses agree 」
Katsuko-nee replied.
「 Be it an individual, enterprise, or a social system, they destroy it nonsensically. Then, that new ideology creates a new society, but… 」
Katsuko-nee looked at Mariko.
「 Many of the former Eastern states were supposed to be ideologically socialist, their names also said so. But the truth is, it’s just dictatorship. Isn’t that right? 」
「 Yes, I heard that it’s the fact 」
「 Why do you think that’s happened? 」
「 I don’t know 」
Mariko looks confused. Katsuko-nee;
「 Ideology is just that, an idea. The idea of “the world should be like this,’ and the reality of “the world is like this,” is different. It’s one thing to have ideals, but it’s another thing to be able to realize those ideals, and that requires a different kind of effort, doesn’t it? 」
Yeah.
「 And yet, many of the former Eastern countries thought that they could establish an ideal state simply by setting up an only ideal idea. They say “this country is a great nation because it’s built on great ideas.” “Ideas,” and “reality,” are two different things. Therefore, they become bankrupt. You can’t make a good company with just “ideas.” You need to take time and effort to make your “Ideas,” a “reality” Your ‘ideas,’ is nothing but a castle in the sky until you change that “ideal” to “reality.” There’s no “ideal” country yet 」
That’s why you can spread out your “ideology,” and it’ll only become “dictatorship”
「 It’s scary, but there are still countries in the world where people are suffering from inexcusable oppressions even though they only impose their “ideology,” and advertise internally and externally that “this country is a wonderful country because it’s governed by a wonderful ideology” 」
Oh, that’s true.
「 We in Kuromori house prioritize reality more. After all, our lives deviate from law and morals. There will always be powers hostile to us, and so we’re already occupied by facing reality 」
Katsuko-nee said.
「 Therefore, we have no time to talk about “ideas,” or “ideology.” No matter how much we talk about “the world should be like this,” our reality won’t change. We have more things to do. Therefore, we don’t rash to our ideologies. We accept politicians as our customers, and we only listen to them as our job. But, we don’t bite on the subject of political ideas. It’s meaningless after all 」
「 Meaningless? 」
Mariko asks.
「 We have no time to respond to such a huge ideology of “what to do with j.a.pan,” that the politician masters ask. I mean, even if we think about it, we can’t do anything about it anyway. It’s more important to take care of things around you, right? Instead of whining about something so big that it’s out of your hands 」
「 So there’s no interest in joining in politics? 」
「 We could never partic.i.p.ate. We’re people from the other side after all 」
Katsuko-nee smiled.
「 It’s the same thing as what Karen-chan said earlier. We have our customers. If we support a politician, we’re irritating customers who have a vested interest in that person. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be wiser to pretend to be a stupid woman who doesn’t understand a single thing about politics and ideology? 」
They entertain people from politics and business, and so they’re avoiding political talks.
「 Is that the reason why Kouzuki-sama doesn’t touch politics and ideologies? 」
Mariko asks Katsuko-nee.
「 No, that’s not it. That was our reason as to why we’re not approaching politics and ideology. Mariko-san, you have to find the answer as to why Kouzuki-sama does the same by yourself 」
Oh, right.
Katsuko-nee made sure that I didn’t tell her the answer Jii-chan gave me.
That’s why she purposely interrupted me.
「 Kou, do you know why? 」
Mariko looked at me.
「 No, I don’t get it though. What do you think, Mariko? 」
I respect Katsuko-nee’s thoughts and didn’t tell her what Jii-chan told me.
Mariko.
「 I don’t get it either 」
「 Then, take your time to think about it. Next time, you can ask Jii-chan when we meet. Anyway, Mariko, you should try finding the answer your way 」
「 Okay 」
The truth is, the answer is simple.
Kouzuki house, meaning, the n.o.ble family that has a long history, a family that is also in control of such a big enterprise…
Their very existence is already an embodiment of an ideology.
In short, j.a.pan is a country that allows such a family to exist.
If this was a dictatorship, they’ll take away all of Kouzuki house’s power and a.s.sets. There will be no clan.
『 Of course, I do have some feelings I want my next generation to inherit as the head of a n.o.ble family 』
Jii-chan said.
『 However, that doesn’t mean that I think that it’s okay for Kouzuki house to remain standing even if j.a.pan, as a country, is destroyed. Kouzuki house is a n.o.ble family that will continue together with the country. Our family history is close to the history of j.a.pan 』
Kouzuki house is a n.o.ble family that lasted since the Muromachi period.
『 One day, the political system of j.a.pan may change, and the country might no longer allow the Kouzuki family to exist. It could lead to the destruction of the Kouzuki family. However, when that happens, I believe that we should accept the decision of the state. Well, if that’s not the j.a.pan Misuzu, Ruriko, Yoshiko, or you all want, then just run away to another country. This country will not die. But, the Kouzuki family is not allowed to leave j.a.pan. We will perish in this country. I’m prepared to leave the future of my home to the decision of the people, the will of this nation 』
Jii-chan said.
『 That’s why the head of the Kouzuki house will not voluntarily approach any political ideology. It’s shameful for the Kouzuki house to reach towards politics to change the fate of the house. It must not happen 』
That’s Jii-chan’s pride.
『 It’s also the wisdom for the Kouzuki house to not become a target for those who declare that “this is bad, that is bad.” Becoming involved in politics creates a high likelihood that you’re seen as an enemy by such people. If the political system changes, the new government might identify us as the enemies of society. Naturally, I’ll abide by the decision of the j.a.panese people, but I don’t want to increase the likelihood of Kouzuki house destroying itself 』
Kouzuki house is a family with lineage and economic power.
If they conspired with a politician, giving it political strength.
Many people will antagonize that.
If people gather hostility, someday, Kouzuki house will collapse.
Therefore, Jii-chan is not getting involved with politics.
「 I only look at things on the surface level 」
Mariko said.
「 I wonder? But, since it’s a rare opportunity, consider the various angles and find out how Jii-chan thinks? 」
I replied with a smile.
Mariko needs that view.
「 Yes. Oh, we’re arriving 」
Mariko’s right. I see the usual scenery outside the car window.
It’s already 2:30 P.M. when our car arrived in the mansion.