Chapter 64: Eternal Minato (1)

Eternal Minato (1)

On the 30th of August, right before the second term, a boy was visiting the estate of the Eternal Minato family. It was Takuya.

“Welcome and thank you for coming all the way out here,” Yukishiro greeted.

“The estate of the Minatos sure is a magnificent sight to behold.”

This was Takuya’s first visit to the estate of the Minatos and thus he couldn’t stop himself from genuinely admiring the size and extravagance of the compound, thinking that they truly deserved the title of Eternal.

“Our matriarch, my mother, said that she would like to greet you, Takuya-sama.”

With Yukishiro acting as guide, they proceeded further into the estate. Many eye-popping furnishings adorned the rooms while the building was surrounded by a dreamy garden.

Even Takuya was completely spellbound by this flashy residence which perfectly fit the term luxurious.

“Welcome, Takuya-sama. I’m Yukishiro’s mother, Saori Mochizuki.”

Saori awaited Takuya in one of the reception rooms. Takuya answered Saori’s graceful smile with a smile of his own.

“It is an honor for me to be allowed to meet you, the matriarch of the Eternal Minato.”

At a glance, it looked like a friendly greeting, but the same couldn’t be said about the inner workings of either.

“Please take a seat. The second term is going to start very soon. I have heard that you have carried out your Service Activities very proactively during the first term.”

“Yes. I’ve set reaching C-Rank until the end of the first year as a personal goal.”

“Oh, that is very diligent of you.”

Takuya and Saori went on with a harmless chit-chat. Meanwhile, Yukishiro quietly watched both.

“Takuya-sama, your Service Activities have been admirable. Please get along with Yukishiro from now on as well.”

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“Yes, of course I intend to do just that,” Takuya said while directing a smile at Yukishiro.

Yukishiro responded with a smile of her own.

“How silly of me. Even though you took time out of your busy schedule to visit, I have been occupying your time with my talk. Yukishiro-san.”

“Yes.”

“Please give Takuya-sama a tour of our garden.”

“As you wish, Mother.”

On the surface it looked as though Takuya had finished the conversation with Saori without any issues. Next he walked through the garden with Yukishiro leading the way.

It was Takuya who broached the main topic as Yukishiro was explaining the flowers and trees growing in the garden.

“You know, right?”

It was a question devoid of a subject. But, it was doubtlessly passed on to Yukishiro, even without spelling it out. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

“Yes.”

“Is that the reason why you invited me to this place for the first time?”

Katsuya, Iori’s partner, had visited this estate many times by now. Ever since his first visit, he wanted to spend as much time as possible at the estate of the Minatos, as long as it suited the circumstances. A room for Katsuya’s sake had already been prepared as well.

“I was not able to receive your approval when I invited you before.”

“Back then…well, I thought it was still too early.”

Back during junior high school, Yukishiro had invited Takuya. But, at that time, he didn’t accept her invitation.

“Why?”

Yukishiro muttered in front of a beautifully blooming marigold.

“Why did you do that without discussing it with me?”

For a split second, Takuya wondered what she meant, but he immediately understood that she likely meant all of it.

“Is it wrong for me to do what I want?”

“That is not the case. I would never deny you to do what you wish to do, Takuya-sama. But, if you had consulted me beforehand, things would have progressed without creating unnecessary friction.”

A wind blew through the garden.

“Since I do not want you to misunderstand, I will be honest with you. I believe that your thinking has changed from before ever since you started to deepen your exchange with Layla-san. I do not intend to reject those new thoughts of yours. I am your direct affiliate. I think first and foremost of the things beneficial for you. The same can also be said about your indirect affiliates.”

Takuya silently listened to Yukishiro’s every word.

“Please allow me to hear your thoughts, Takuya-sama.”

Takuya replied to her straightforward question.”

“I want freedom.”

“…Are you not free right now?”

“If I wish for it, most of the things will come true. But, that is limited to the range of what you people allow me to do.”

“It is not you people. It is the state of society.”

“Your father…is merely living his life.”

“…”

The matter of Takuya having visited Yukishiro’s father without any prior warning or consultation naturally didn’t stay hidden from the Minatos.

“He hasn’t been facing any discomfort.

“Mother is not a woman who would cause her husband to live in discomfort.”

“At the same time, he didn’t have any freedom whatsoever.”

“Takuya-sama, you have started to use the word freedom whenever it suits your convenience. Not a single person in this world can live without having any obligations and ties.”

“Even if that’s the case, don’t you think our…the men’s circumstances are way too awful?”

At long last, she was able to hear Takuya’s true thoughts.

“What do you wish to do, Takuya-sama? Do you want to increase the privileges of men?”

“I guess it’s something along those lines.”

Along those lines…

The 16-years old boy in front of her was far too ignorant and naive. Yukishiro could only feel something akin to pity for him. She was at the same age as him, but as someone who had matured much faster than normal, Takuya looked to her like a small manchild.

“What about the future of the men who are so precious to Nihon? What will happen to me after I marry you and you give birth to my child? I’ll grow older while doing Service Activities for the women with close ties to Minato and once I become an old fart, I’ll be forced to recuperate in the countryside.”

“That is wrong.”

“What is? As a matter of fact, that’s what happened to your father, is it not?”

“Mother went along with what my Father wished for himself.”

“I’m telling you that the extent of the hope, which she has fulfilled for him, is quite limited. I mean he’s a man. It’d be fine for him to live his life by doing business, expanding his operations, and earn some money by himself, no?”

“If you wish for such a way of life, Takuya-sama, I will assist you in this as much as I can.”

Yukishiro was frantically trying to somehow guide Takuya. Takuya wasn’t an idiot by any means. He had been cherishingly raised inside the gentle cage created for him by society and so he simply didn’t understand just how difficult life outside the cage was. She thought that everything would be alright, if she continued to teach him step-by-step.

But, Takuya’s next words shattered Yukishiro’s hope.

“Then yield the Minato family headship to me.”

“Wh-!? T-That’s…!”

“You can’t, right? Even though you constantly tell me that you’ll help me, you dislike the idea of passing the family headship to me, don’t you?”

“The Minato family headship and supporting you are two different pairs of shoes!”

Even if Yukishiro had said that she would make Takuya the family head of the Minatos, he didn’t know what would come next. Takuya was unable to consider the future. After all, everything would be prepared and carried out to his liking, if only he wished for it. He couldn’t even imagine that nothing but ruin would await both at the end of that route.

“Takuya-sama, you must not hurry. Let us think together how to get society to adopt one idea of yours after the other. Please…please change your approach on this.”

“One after the other, huh…? Well, you might be right that I’ve been hurrying too much.”

“Please set up an occasion for us to discuss matters together with Layla-san and her friends, once the second term starts. We will consider the future of your class together.”

Even if Takuya agreed with Yukishiro’s thinking here, it’d be meaningless, if he changed it as soon as he met Layla in a place without Yukishiro. It was indispensable for Takuya, Yukishiro, and Layla to act in concert.

“Don’t worry about Layla. Once she graduates from high school, she’s going back to Mir anyway.”

“Layla-san, whom you made your direct affiliate, is going back to Mir?”

Yukishiro didn’t know that Layla didn’t wish to become Takuya’s girlfriend or wife. Yukishiro didn’t feel like understanding the values of Mir women, but if Layla had grasped the values of Nihon, she should desire to become Takuya’s girlfriend and wife after having become his direct affiliate.

“Since I don’t want to be misunderstood, let me tell you: it’s not like my thinking has been influenced by Layla.”

But it has.

Yukishiro couldn’t believe Takuya.

Isn’t he aware of it himself? Maybe he’s truly convinced of that?

“Recently I have heard quite a bit about the Mir Kingdom. I don’t feel any yearning towards that country. Did you know? Men are allowed to do whatever they like in that country, but it’s not like they’ll succeed at anything. In the end, they’re merely dancing on the palms of the women.”

Even though Mir men would start the businesses, women would often exploit those endeavors. Among them, some women even got pleasure out of inciting the men, who couldn’t go against them, for the sake of it, just to pull the carpet under them when necessary.

“I’d absolutely hate to get exploited by women like that! I’m going to gather the men and build a society of men! Right now, the men are being separated. Isn’t that right? Aren’t the women preventing the men from gathering and possessing power!?”

That society of men he’s trying to build takes the unpaid labor of women for granted. This sort of thinking is bound to fail.

“You cannot give birth to children, if we’re gone! Right? In that case, give us more freedom! Don’t just ask for our support!”

Some men will likely agree with Takuya’s opinion, if they hear it. They will clamor about getting more privileges and freedom while whining about their circumstances. They will continue to shout from inside their soft cages.

The clothes Takuya is wearing right now, the food he ate today, the water he drank yesterday, the disposal of his excretions, the room allowing him to live in peace and warmth…

He doesn’t understand just how many women are supporting his lifestyle behind the scenes, how many women have threaded through an unbearable history of pain and suffering to make this life possible, and how much blood has been shed for this…

The boy in front of me is merely begging for treats.

Neither society nor the state have an existential need for Takuya. When it just comes to making children, another man will do just as fine.

Some women might have been judged as being most suited for artificial insemination with Takuya’s sperm as outcome of their gene analysis. But, it’s not like this applies to all women. And even if Takuya were to be gone, another man would likely be close to perfect for those women to replace Takuya’s sperm.

Takuya had been acknowledged as an excellent man during junior high school. And that allowed him to place Yukishiro, the next matriarch of the Eternal Minato, next to him.

Even our Eternal Minato will naturally vanish if it turns into something that’s not being accepted by society, and yet… At this rate, Takuya-sama will…

Yukishiro ended up believing that she might have led Takuya to misunderstand things about her as the next matriarch of Eternal Minato, one of the five major families of Nihon.

“I am very happy that I was able to hear your thoughts, Takuya-sama. But I still believe that it is necessary for us to discuss this together with Layla-san.”

Judging that continuing with this talk would just trigger Takuya pointlessly, Yukishiro decided to bring their conversation to a close. Probably guessing it from her atmosphere, Takuya also stopped his passionate sermon.

“I’ll tell Layla about the discussion.”

“Thank you very much.”

“I’ll be going back home now.”

“Allow me to send you off then.”

“No, bidding farewell here is plenty.”

Takuya turned around and requested a servant of the estate, who was standing somewhat apart, to guide him.

“Let’s meet again in the second term.”

“……Yes.”

After Takuya left, the marigold sorrowfully swayed in a sudden gust of wind.