Episode 54 (Traitor Side) Ship of Hope

Suddenly, I stopped by the pavilion in Joshi Park.

The roof and pillars of the pavilion, which has stood here since I was a child, are a little mossy.

Perhaps it was fate that brought me here today.

This is the place where Lyconess was born.

Just when I stopped by there, I received a call from Nobuhiko.

There was still some time left until the appointed day. I couldn’t help but have a bad feeling that he would call me at such an early date.

[Kingo……please. Get in a band with me again…… I can’t reach Yua, and Itsuki has gone back to his hometown……. I’m all alone now. I can’t even play. So please……you’re the only one I can rely on now…….”

On the other side of the phone, Nobuhiko was crying.  It’s hard to believe that it was from Nobuhiko who had such a strong personality.

I felt sorry for him when I imagined it. More than anything….I felt frustrated.

＊

I was in a car accident just before I entered high school. I broke a bone in my leg and had to be hospitalized, but fortunately it healed completely.

However, I missed the start of my high school life and the rest of my life was depressing.

I had always been introspective and had a hard time talking to others, so I did not fit in with the class where human relations were already established. At that time, I was still not close with Ryoko, so I ran away to the shade day by day.

Even when I went to school, I didn’t talk to anyone and ate my lunch alone during lunch break.

Why do I go to school……

As the days went by, my feet became heavier and heavier as I walked to and from school.

But that day was different.

[I heard you used to play the piano, Kobayakawa? Then you should play guitar in my band.]

As usual, I was sitting in the corner of the classroom poking at my lunch box when Nobuhiko came in.

What is this guy? How did he know that? Or rather, such a rude thing to say. And guitar?　Not keyboard? I’ve never played guitar.

While I was at a loss to answer, he started talking about the band as he pleased. He innocently said that he wanted to play this kind of music, that he wanted to be on stage at the school festival, etc. I couldn’t refuse him and asked him to join the light band.

In the end, I couldn’t refuse him, so I was temporarily accepted into the light music club, and Yua was dragged in as well, so we ended up forming a three-piece band.

We practiced day in and day out. I know a little about music, but I’m a beginner on the guitar. My fingertips hurt, I could break the strings, and I couldn’t play an F chord.

Whenever I went up on stage, my performance was not so good. The response to my original song was scant, and I was very embarrassed.

But because of that, I was able to change.

I had a reason to go to school, I enjoyed my days more, and I was able to fit in with my classmates a little more because I was able to express my feelings. I stopped playing the piano because it was “too girly,” but the guitar allowed me to experience the joy of music with my soul.

That was my youth.

It was all thanks to Nobuhiko.

You were my rock star. 

I wanted to be in a band with you more than anything……

＊

“No, Nobuhiko.”

But….there is no more hand to reach out to him.

“I thought of you as a friend, and I was so sad when you treated me like that. I still gave you a chance because I owe you a lot for what you gave me and for your passion for music. But you betrayed even those expectations…….”

[D-don’t say that ! Give me your last chance–]

“You thaught me that a chance is something you have to seize. From here on out, you must make your own way. If you’re up to it, we’ll meet again somewhere. And with great skill.”

[W-wait a minute !　At least let me borrow some money–]

I hang up the phone with a clunk.

I can’t stand to hear his pathetic voice any longer.

The past memories of the beautiful past are being tarnished as I listen to his pathetic voice.

So, good-bye, Nobuhiko. Goodbye, Lyconess.

My youth, which had lasted nearly four years, came to an end here.

I put my hand on the railing at the edge of the moat and stared at the surface of the water. The murky water reflected the blue spring sky like a rusty mirror. There was not a cloud in the blue sky at my feet, but drops were dripping down endlessly, creating numerous ripples.

＊Nobuhiko Side

An electronic sound vibrating his eardrums. He called Kingo with a gleam of hope, but he abandoned him without a second thought.

Nobuhiko was naive. He was saying pretentiously, [I’ll give you a chance as a band member] for the sake of it, he was arrogant and secretly said that he wanted to make up with him.

He was not wrong. But their hearts had already diverged tremendously.

“Your friend didn’t help you, did he? Well, I guess he’s not your friend anymore.”

In the backseat of a minivan driving through the dark night. Ushimine, who was listening to the conversation through the speakers, muttered ruthlessly.

“Nobuhiko, you’re too selfish. You lack the imagination to imagine what it would be like if you were in the other person’s shoes, so you take things from people with impunity and treat them unkindly. You’re always acting without any sense of ownership, saying, [I’ll figure something out.] You are optimistic that someone will help you.”

Ushimine lectured him without hesitation.

Nobuhiko was shaking so badly that he could not hear a single word.

The other day, Nobuhiko was taken back to his room and taken to Ushimine’s office, where he was stuffed to pieces and put under house arrest by Ushimine once it was confirmed that he had no ability to repay the loan. The house arrest lasted for days, but today he was suddenly let out of his room and put into a car.

“Sir, I’m here.”

“Okay, Nobuhiko, get out of the car.”

As he was being unloaded from the car, he smelled the tide and oil. Containers were piled up around us.

“Is this…..a port?

A ship…… He was scared. Could he be packed into containers and sold to foreign countries? Or will he be put on a pelagic fishing boat?

While trembling, Nobuhiko looked where Ushimine was pointing. What was anchored there was neither a cargo ship nor a fishing boat as Nobuhiko had imagined.

It was a passenger ship. It was a cruiser, so large and decorated with glittering lights that it looked just like the Titanic in the movie. The name of the ship, [espoir] was painted on the hull.

“Eh…..is this a luxury cruise ship?”

Nobuhiko was taken aback by this unexpected surprise.

“Yes. I’m going to hold a game tournament here, so take part in it. If you get on the ship, your debts will be discharged. If you win the game, you get the prize money. Go for it and turn things around.”

“I-I can’t believe that such a story exists…….!”

Unbelievable. There must be something behind it.

“What happens if I lose !?”

“Ahn? What do you mean by that? You lost everything. You lost your girlfriend, your friends, your music, everything. You have nothing left. Look, a zero is a zero no matter what you put on it. The only way a zero like you can turn things around is to jump at the chance.”

Chance…… Nobuhiko’s heart was shaken by the hope he once lost.

Nobuhiko had once destroyed a chance with his own hands. In fact, he destroyed his one and only band. He thought he would never get another chance to become a big name like this.

However, that chance came around again.

Nobuhiko swallowed hard.

“Nobuhiko, the word [espoir] written over there means [hope] in French.”

“Hope……”

“That’s right. It is a ship of hope that will guide you after you have lost everything. Get on it and get your future back.”

“……………………I understand, I’m going !”

Nobuhiko, determined, walks toward the ramp. He didn’t even know what was waiting ahead of him……

Ushimine and the others were staring at Nobuhiko’s back. If he tries to run away now, they are prepared to do everything in their power to stop him. But their fears were unfounded. Nobuhiko entered the ship from the ramp.

“What is that ship, Sir?”

“A wealthy man is going to hold a game tournament to gather workers. He is gathering debt-ridden bums from all over Tokyo. When people like us gather participants, he gets a referral fee.”

“So that’s how Nobuhiko’s debts are being collected. Nobuhiko will get the prize money if he wins the game. What happens if he loses?”

“I don’t know.”

Rumor has it that he will be forced to work in some kind of mining area. But nothing is known about where or what they do.

What is certain is that if they lose, they will be put into a huge debt by the bosses, and they will be exploited to the hilt.

“Fufufu…… Below zero is a minus. If you don’t understand that, you will borrow money blindly and betray people easily, Nobuhiko. It takes a tremendous amount of time and effort to make it positive. But the accumulation is a drop in the bucket. But the minuses swell tremendously in an instant. Go and learn.”

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