An Irrational Special Solution 3

3 ,Things that cannot be quantified
Natsuko left work earlier than usual that day. She left the office, leaving the early-leaving permit she had submitted to her manager at the beginning of the week and gotten a stamp on it. She entered the subway station from the entrance furthest from the office and got on the train that arrived shortly after. A few minutes later, she arrived at Kiyosumi Shirakawa Station, took off her glasses in the restroom, changed into a dark blue and dark green checkered dress, and combed her hair. Kiyosumi Shirakawa Station, where she was unlikely to meet anyone from her company, was a very convenient station nearby.
Whenever Natsuko left the subway station, she walked toward the bridge. And she would usually find a slightly unusual black car parked in one of the narrow alleys just before crossing the bridge. When she approached the black car, the back window would open and she would be greeted by a smile and a voice saying, "Ritsu, how are you?"
Natsuko had no interest in cars at all. She couldn't tell the difference between them at all. All I could tell was the color and whether it was a regular or light car. But even Natsuko felt nervous for a moment whenever she got into that black car. She somehow felt that it wasn't a regular car.

Natsuko introduced herself as Ritsu in the shop where she worked at night, and the person who was driving the black car introduced himself as Miyamoto. Apparently, this Miyamoto used to be a big shot at a big company. But that was just a rumor, so I don't know if it was true or not. Ritsu has a policy of not asking until the other person tells him their title, so when they don't tell me their title, I take that as a message that they want to be treated as an ordinary person without a title, and I try to treat them as an ordinary customer.

As soon as I sat next to the elderly customer in his late 80s in the back seat, he would ask Ritsu, "What did you do yesterday and today?" and "Has anything interesting happened recently?". Usually, I would then report on interesting or surprising things that had happened in the past week or two. That person always seemed surprisingly interested when listening to the stories of ordinary people, which Natsuko found strange.
"Today was a normal day at the office. Yesterday too. Yesterday I finally found the culprit who was taking the office snacks without paying for them. I had my eye on the culprit and watched him closely yesterday. I also had another person confirm it as a witness. Even when ordering takeout lunch during a meeting, everyone else would order things like oyakodon or tendon, but he was the only one who ordered unaju. He always tends to do that kind of thing when the payment is a company expense, and although the delivery incident wasn't a crime or anything, I always wondered if he didn't think anything of it."
"There are people like that, aren't there?" Miyamoto answered, following the torii gates of Torigoe Shrine.
Ritsu also remembered that he had passed by here the other day when he was carrying a portable shrine.
"Then, the shop was pretty quiet yesterday. There were some foreigners there too. Come to think of it, I think a few Middle Eastern people came."
"Yeah."
Ritsu sensed that Miyamoto wasn't interested in this topic either, so he quickly changed the subject.
"After work at the shop, I started working part-time from midnight."
"After the shop closed, that was after midnight, right?"
"Yeah."
For a moment, he felt like he was being scolded by his father, and answered in a puzzled manner.
"What kind of part-time job is it?"
"A part-time job where you get pictures painted."
Ritsu's voice got quieter and quieter as Miyamoto spoke surprisingly seriously.
"Drawn? What's that?"
"An artist paints a picture on my back."
"My back? How do you get jobs like that?"
"It's more like being approached on the street."
Miyamoto was getting increasingly irritated, and Ritsu became flustered.
"What's it like? Let me see."
"I don't have a photo."
Ritsu answered, wondering what had made him angry. "You don't have any (photos)?"

"Yeah. I think she does."

He said, remembering the faint sound of a cell phone shutter that he'd faintly heard that morning in Emma's studio. Then Miyamoto suddenly burst out laughing.

"What, a woman? Hahaha. How boring."

"Borrowful? What, you thought it was finally here!"

Ritsu gave a bitter smile.

"I thought so. I thought so. But I guess not! Hahaha."

Miyamoto's mood returned, but Ritsu had a slightly complicated feeling. It wasn't that it was wrong, but it seemed like it was going to get complicated, so he decided to keep quiet for now.

"So what are you going to do with the drawings?"

"I don't really know because I always get sleepy and fall asleep halfway through, but I think you just take a picture of the picture you've drawn and that's it."

"Is that okay?"

"Yeah, probably. I told her not to take pictures of my face."

"You don't mind?"

Ritsu felt a little sorry for some reason when he saw Miyamoto's worried face. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't dislike it. I don't really like having my picture taken, but she seems to be very happy. The printed photos seem to be carefully stored in an album."
Ritsu answered as if to convince himself, thinking about whether he had done something wrong.
"Why don't you try to take better care of yourself?"
Ritsu thought that Miyamoto had said the same thing to him on the first day they met.
"Huh? Does that mean I don't take better care of myself? I'm always moved when I see a finished painting. And when I think that I have to take it down right away, I feel even more attached to it."
Ritsu spoke with a very happy look on her face.
"Really?"
Miyamoto didn't understand why Ritsu trusted the painter so much, but seeing Ritsu's cheerful, healthy smile and good complexion, he decided not to worry any more.
"Then in the morning I went back to the office, and today during my lunch break a Chinese engineer girl was giving a great talk about AI, but I didn't know enough about it so I couldn't follow what she was saying. I wonder how it's going to turn out."
"That's right."
"Oh, that's right," she told me that people like you can live happily in Japan. She said that Japan values ​​things that can't be quantified, but I wonder what she meant by that."
"There are good and bad things, but I think I understand that it values ​​things that can't be quantified."
"Really?"
"You'll understand if you go abroad. There are so many to list."
"Hmm. There are so many. So, "What kind of people are they? People who don't have any redeeming qualities, but live happily without worrying about it?"
"Maybe so, but I wonder. At first, I thought he looked really poor. But I also thought he lived an interesting life that was out of proportion to that. He was dressed like a country bumpkin, and even though his hair and clothes were well-formed, he was strangely plain, and yet childlike."
"At that coffee shop on 6th Street (Ginza)?"
"That's right. I could tell he was engrossed in a book by himself, and I couldn't help but laugh when I sat next to him."
"I'm sorry about that too. I accidentally spilled coffee and stained your clothes."
Ritsu bowed his head apologetically.
"It's fine. Even I wouldn't have been able to talk to you without that."
Miyamoto looked at Ritsu with a gentle smile.
"Moreover, I think at the time I was reading the climax of a full-length novel, and the psychological descriptions were going back and forth and I'd read a story that was over 150,000 words long, and I was just about to get to the point where he suddenly started talking to me, so it took me a few minutes to come back to reality, and I was causing you trouble, and I was very rude in my response, and I still regret that. I'm sorry."
"Hahaha. It was interesting. Please keep talking about it."
"If that's okay."
Ritsu was happy that he was pleased, but at the same time he wondered what kind of everyday life Miyamoto lived, to be happy over such an ordinary story.
Outside the window was a familiar cityscape. It was the road he had walked when he carried the mikoshi for the Kanda Festival last year. Under the mikoshi, he could see a small bit of sky between the person's head and the logs of the mikoshi, and the sign of a familiar building. In an instant, the excitement of that time was brought back to him.
"Now that I think of it, I've been thinking recently about the importance of hometowns. Last week I had a stomachache so I couldn't eat much, but on my way home from the store I realized I'd bought too much stuff. I was afraid it would all go bad if I brought it home, so as I passed by a homeless person sitting near a park in Shintomi-cho, I handed him a rice ball or something and asked him what he regretted."
"Really?"
Miyamoto looked at Ritsu with a very surprised expression.
"For a while, he mumbled something I couldn't understand, but gradually I started to understand and I realized he was saying things like "I'm lonely" and "I want to see you" over and over again."
"Really? So?"
"When I asked him who he wanted to see and where he wanted to go, he said his siblings, parents, family. I told him, "Well, why don't you just go?" and he said he didn't have any anymore. That made me think, isn't it very dangerous for people to only have one or two homes?"
"Really?"
"How many places do you have that you think are home?"
"Yeah. I don't have many."
"I haven't been back to my parents' house for three years because I fought with my parents, and I love the house of my painter friend, but that's all I have right now, so I'm scared. I need to create lots of places that are like home."
Ritsu nodded deeply, but Miyamoto frowned and asked,
"Do you think so?"
"Yes."
Ritsu looked puzzled, wondering why Miyamoto didn't understand. "Plus, you often talk to homeless people, in the middle of the night."
"I bought too much, so it was just by chance. Wasting food is not eco-friendly, is it? It's a waste, isn't it? That aside, how can you make a home?"
"Outside of your family, right? I'd like to say work, but maybe not. Like a hobby?"
"Hobby? Right now, reading is the only hobby I have. Do you think you can make a home like this?"
"So, what are your dreams or goals?"
"Nothing in particular. If there is one, it would be that I want Japan to remain a good place forever."
"I want to be rich "Don't you have a job?"
"Right now I'm in debt so I'm a little greedy for money, but when I'm out of debt I might not be greedy at all. It can't be helped. When I was a child I slept next to my grandfather every day, and he'd have nightmares about the war and he'd grind his teeth and cry and couldn't sleep every night. I've come to realise that my normal everyday life now is only possible thanks to people who went through so much in the past."
"Your grandfather is really a lucky man."
"Oh, Miyamoto-san, do you sleep with your grandchildren or great-grandchildren?"
"No. I didn't. I don't think so. That's why I envy you."
Miyamoto smiled. His smile looked a little lonely. When Ritsu realised that he was envious of something like that, he wanted to do something for Miyamoto. Looking out at the tree-lined road outside the window, Ritsu thought for a moment. Then he smiled and said. "Oh, well. I guess that can't be helped."
Ritsu spread his arms out and showed them to her, and Miyamoto laughed a little mischievously,
"Oh, is it okay? When?"
he moved closer to Ritsu.
"See, I'm dressed up now. Hahaha."
Ritsu looked at the window behind Miyamoto, who looked like he was having fun, and at the crimson exterior wall of Rikugien Garden.
"What's up with you, you idiot? Hahaha."
Miyamoto turned around.
"That's right. I'm sorry I'm always such an idiot. Even though I can't fly at all, I ran around without even getting into the birdcage, and caused you so much worry. I'm so sorry."
Miyamoto had tried to find Ritsu a job a few times, but Ritsu had turned them all down.
"That's right. You're an idiot. But lately I've come to realise that putting you in a birdcage will make you lose your energy."
"Thank you. For understanding. Besides, I can't really accept the idea of ​​being the only one in a birdcage. If there's one thing I'd like to ask, it's that the world would be a place where people can feel safe even if they're outside a birdcage. Please, Miyamoto-san."
Ritsu bowed deeply, and Miyamoto gave a wry smile.
"Even if you tell me."
"Then who should I tell?"
"You're right,
"That's difficult."
"Don't say that. You're the person I've ever met who has the most aura of what it takes. Please take care of me."
The car stopped, and Miyamoto signaled the driver to wait a moment with his eyes, then said.
"You're retired now, aren't you?"
"But even Mito Komon is called retired, isn't that strong?"
Ritsu laughed, but he was serious inside.
"Hahaha. I get it. Anyway, you should get some good sleep sometimes."
Miyamoto signaled to Ritsu with his eyes to go outside.
"Yes."
As Ritsu slung the small shoulder bag over his shoulder, he remembered the phrase in the afternoon's email.
"Oh! By the way, did something happen?"
"Well. But it's fine now."
"It's fine now?"
Ritsu thought of what to say, but nothing came to mind. Miyamoto didn't seem to want to say anything either, so he decided to stop talking.
As he walked to the entrance of Rikugien, Ritsu imagined Miyamoto's daily life, walking a little ahead of him. Miyamoto's daily life, where he apparently never sleeps with his grandson. As he passed a large weeping cherry tree and came to the side of the pond, a scene from Ritsuko's favorite book came to mind.
"What would a eunuch who serves Empress Dowager Cixi do? In a situation like this."
"Eh?"
"I just imagined the scene where Empress Dowager Cixi and a young eunuch are strolling around the summer palace, a summer resort."
"Ah."
Miyamoto remembered that Ritsuko had previously spoken about the novel.
"They're holding hands. Rather than holding, it's more like the eunuch is escorting them. Or supporting them. So, shall I support you today?"
When Ritsuko tried to hold Miyamoto's arm to support him, Miyamoto shook him off and said,
"I don't need that. I can still walk."
He stretched his back and gave Ritsuko a wink.
"I don't need an escort. Let's hold hands."
Ritsuko held Miyamoto's left hand. Then she smiled, a little shyly. "Hahaha. Going for a walk with your grandchild."
"That's right. Hahaha."
Miyamoto's hand was strong and warm. Ritsu muttered as he looked at the map of Rikugien Garden.
"It looks like they're having a real horse-riding battle."
The sounds of insects could be heard here and there from the greenery on both sides of the path in the garden.
"Hahaha. Not far from the mark."
The sound of a babbling brook could be heard faintly. Ritsu led Miyamoto's hand in that direction.
"I may never understand. In a small field deep in the mountains, there's no finger wrestling. It's hard for me to even imagine it. Sorry."
When Ritsu turned around, Miyamoto was looking down, and his expression was completely invisible. When he hurriedly looked into his face, Miyamoto was smiling with his teeth bitten. Ritsu smiled in relief, and Miyamoto pulled his hand towards him. "Isn't that fine? That's fine. That's fine."
It had been a long time since he'd seen Miyamoto's full smile. "Yes."
Ritsu was happy.

"And then, I want you to (reply) with a song."
Miyamoto said, taking out his cell phone.

"Okay."
Ritsu had never really written a song before, so he wasn't sure if he could do it, but seeing Miyamoto looking so happy in front of him, he couldn't refuse.

"Well, shall we go on a poetry walk?"
Miyamoto said enthusiastically.

"Yes. But there isn't much time left until the park closes, so we'll write it later. Anyway, let's take a walk. Let's look at it."
Ritsu said a little apologetically, and Miyamoto muttered,
"That's true."

Miyamoto was a very special customer. One time, someone from Miyamoto's side had talked to someone at the store, but he had never come to the store himself. In the car on the way to Ginza, Miyamoto handed Ritsu an envelope to give to the store as usual,

and said, "Next time, show me a picture."

with a strange nervousness. Miyamoto wanted to say this sooner, but since he had already told Ritsu to "take care of yourself," perhaps he couldn't bring himself to say that he wanted to see the photo. Thinking that he had been hesitating to do this up until that moment, Ritsu realized that this Miyamoto was a lovely person after all. And so, Ritsu nodded with a smile. Soon Miyamoto's black car entered a narrow alley near Ginza 3-Chome. He dropped Ritsu off and drove off.