The In-Between

【Episode 3: The Muddy Conflicts of the Adults】

"Hey, Grandpa,"

Takumi said, sitting up from the sofa and gulping down cold barley tea.

"You and Ekashimatsu couldn't even speak the same language, yet you recognized each other as full-fledged hunters. It’s like you were true, equal partners, wasn't it?"

"Yes. Though our languages were different, we were equal partners chasing the same prey in the mountains."

Yosuke narrowed his eyes proudly, setting his teacup on the table.

"Then, why did the adults have to clash? Why couldn't they just get along?"

At Takumi's question, Yosuke let out a soft, wry smile.

"You young folks today always want to settle things neatly and clearly, just like on your smartphone screens."

"But let me tell you, real adults back then were all foolishly honest and clumsy just trying to survive."

Yosuke's gaze drifted once more toward the distant sky outside the window.

Autumn, 1954.

The settlement of Hidaka was shaking due to the presence of a large-scale Honshu timber developer.

The settlers, including Yosuke's father, Genzo, had lost their fields to severe cold weather damage and were on the brink of starvation.

"To survive this winter, we have no choice but to clear the mountain and sell the timber."

That was the muddy "reality" of the settlers, their righteous justification for survival.

However, the planned logging site was the sacred forest that Ekashimatsu's Kotan had protected for generations.

Specifically, they planned to cut down the giant trees of Kamuinupuri—the sacred mountain where deities dwell.

"That mountain is the garden of the Kamui—the spirits. If you strip the mountain of its trees, the spirits will be angered, and a terrible calamity will surely follow."

Genzo and the settlers dismissed the warnings of the Kotan elders as "mere superstition."

The settlers who cleared the mountains to survive, and the people of the Kotan who respected and coexisted with nature.

Both were desperately fighting to protect their lives and their pride.

"Did you and Ekashimatsu just stand by and watch?"

Takumi leaned forward, listening intently.

"Of course not. The two of us came up with a 'genius plan' to stop the adults from fighting."

Yosuke chuckled mischievously.

"A genius plan, huh? I have a bad feeling about this."

"We believed that if we brought our fathers together and had them show each other their 'prized tools,' they would respect each other's skills and surely get along."

Yosuke promised to bring his father, Genzo, while Ekashimatsu promised to bring his father, a hunter of the Kotan, to the ruins of an old mountain cabin.

Yosuke told his father he could see "amazing Ainu bows and arrows," and Ekashimatsu told his father he could see "amazing iron tools of the settlers."

On the scheduled day, at the cabin ruins.

The two fathers faced each other, keeping their guard up, staring each other down with mutual distrust.

"Look, Father! Ekashimatsu’s wooden bow is amazing! It never, ever misses its target!"

Yosuke shouted proudly, and Ekashimatsu pushed his father's back from behind.

"Yosuke's iron saw cuts incredibly well! It can bring down even the thickest tree in an instant!"

The two boys purely bragged about their fathers' skills, desperately trying to connect them.

But the reality of the adult world was cold and harsh.

The Ainu hunter looked coldly at the "iron saw" in Genzo's hands and spoke quietly.

"That iron tool will eventually kill the mountain. Taking only what you need is the law of the mountain. If you covet more than enough, your heart itself will rust."

Genzo's eyes widened with anger, and he gripped the brass-sheathed saw tightly, snapping back.

"Without this saw, our family won't survive this winter—we'll starve! Pretty words don't put food on the table!"

An explosive, heavy silence filled the air.

The clumsy "bridge" the boys had built shattered in an instant before the deep chasm dividing the adults.

"...I see. So, it didn't work out after all."

Takumi cast his eyes down, as if blocking out the blue light of his smartphone screen.

Unlike online conflicts, which could be resolved with the touch of a button, real-world friction was not so easily smoothed over.

"Yes. But let me tell you, Ekashimatsu and I did not give up."

Yosuke's voice burned with a strong heat once again.

"Even as the adults stared each other down, an ominous sound, unlike anything we had ever heard before, began to echo from the depths of the mountain."

"A heavy rumbling from the earth—grumble... rumble...—as if the mountain itself was weeping from its core."

Great Nature, as if mocking the ego of the adults, was quietly baring its fangs.

📖NextChapter:https://note.com/ttukumoo/n/n519925f390d5
📖Previous Chapter:https://note.com/ttukumoo/n/n2721ce7a81d1
🌐 Original Japaneseher:https://note.com/juicy_laelia8513/n/ne93e07cb0903

"Thank you so much for reading to the very end!"💗